New England
|
August 5, 2022
Share:
Three look out from a high window in Palmer

Having bid a sad farewell to Boethius in their Thursday classes, students on the New England High School Summer Program spent the ensuing afternoon on an altogether different sort of endeavor — basketball. Down at the Pope St. John Paul II Athletics Center, the entire campus gathered for a Summer Program highlight, the prefects vs. students basketball games!

First up was the women’s contest, with teams of five playing two 10-minute halves. The prefects quickly took the lead, and by the end of the first half the score was 8-0 in favor of the prefects. But the students put on their game faces for the second half, and just one minute in programmer Anastasia O. scored the team’s first basket. The prefects, however, were not to be outdone and won the game by a score of 12-5.

Women's Game
  • A programmer takes a shot at the hoop
  • Passing the ball in from out of bounds
  • Everyone runs full tilt in pursuit of the girl with the ball
  • Two at the center of the court, with spectators all along the back wall
  • Free throw
  • Students play basketball
  • Two compete for the ball
  • A team discusses their strategy
  • The opposing team discusses their strategy
  • The spectators on the benches
  • One attempts to block another's pass
  • Students play basketball
  • A student takes a shot
  • A student takes a shot
  • The teams high-five one another post-game
  • The prefect team
  • The prefect team poses for a photo

Next up the men kicked it up a notch with 20-minute halves and raucous cheering from the sidelines. The student team was determined to end its losing streak and come out victorious, with programmer Alfred F. earning his team the first two points of the game. The prefects were ready for whatever the students had to throw at them, though, and took a 28-17 lead at halftime. The second half was intense, with the students narrowing the 11-point gap to seven points, but luck was not on their side. The prefects won the day by a final score of 50-37.

Men's Game
  • Fr. Markey leads the students in prayer pre-game
  • Intense competition for the ball near the center of the court
  • A prefect takes a shot
  • The shot misses, and chaos erupts as everyone pursues the rebound
  • A student attempts a three-pointer
  • A student takes a free throw
  • A student attempts to block a prefect advancing down the court
  • A student takes a shot
  • The spectators on the benches
  • A prefect tries to block a student's shot
  • The spectators on the benches
  • A pull-up contest to one side of the gym
  • Stiff competition for the ball
  • Spectators on the benches; two prefects smile for the camera
  • One takes a shot
  • The basketball is right on the rim! Will it go in?
  • The spectators cheer and applaud
  • The prefects pose for a post-game photo

The prefects’ overwhelming wins were a hot topic at dinner, where students devoured chicken in a cream sherry sauce with wild rice and asparagus. Then the students headed to the final study hall of the program, where prefect Stephen Brown (’25) beat fellow prefect Hope Ascough (’22) in the nightly roll call race. Once the cheers for Stephen’s win had subsided, the students found couches and desks to read Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That Rises Must Converge, then made their way over to the classrooms to practice their last three Euclidean propositions.

Study Hall
  • Students study on the lower floor of the library
  • Two study in armchairs
  • Five study at a rectangular table
  • Two study by the replica of King Solomon's Temple
  • Four study in chairs by the bookshelves
  • Four study in chairs
  • Three study by the bookshelves
  • Eight study on couches and armchairs in one corner of the library
  • Three study on a couch
  • Three study in armchairs
  • Two discuss props on a bench in the Palmer hallway
  • A prefect and a student discuss props at the board
  • A student practices I.16 at the whiteboard
  • Four study props at the classroom Palmer
  • Two discuss I.16
  • Students studying in one of the classrooms
  • Through the window: three study props in a classroom

From there it was on to Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel to pray the Rosary …

Students pray the Rosary in the ChapelStudents pray the Rosary in the Chapel

 ... and then to the Dolben Auditorium for an Admissions talk. Assistant Director John Jost discussed the benefits of a TAC education, gave the students some insight into the California campus, and walked them through the application process. Next he introduced the Admissions counselors and opened the room up to questions.

Students applaud the talk in Dolben

After the Q&A session, students exited the auditorium with much more to consider, which they did, while sipping Arnold Palmers from the coffee shop and sitting at bonfires outside the Bl. Frassati Student Center. They discussed much about TAC with the prefects, admissions staff, and their peers, including the curriculum and student life.

When curfew finally rolled around, students returned to their residence halls and were greeted by loads of food from McDonalds, courtesy of the prefects! Everyone chowed down on burgers, fries, and chicken nuggets, chatting with each other until lights out.

Come back to the Summer Blog later today to read about the last classes of the 2022 Summer Program!