2022 - Xaverian Winter Magazine

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MARCHING ON,

STRONGER THAN EVER

Donald Hicks ’23

The Magazine of Xaverian Brothers High School | Winter 2022

Xaverian Magazine

800 Clapboardtree Street

Westwood, MA 02090

781-326-6392

www.xbhs.com

ADMINISTRATION

Head of School

Jacob A. Conca ’94, Ph.D.

Principal

Michael G. Nicholson, Ed.D.

Assistant Principals

Stephen W. Dacey ’95, M.Ed.

Teaching and Learning

Lauren R. Hill, M.Ed.

Academics, Grades 9-12

Joseph D. McGilvray, III, M.Ed.

Francis Xavier Division, Grades 7 & 8

Joshua M. Tranfaglia, M.Ed.

Student Life

OFFICE FOR SCHOOL

ADVANCEMENT

Chief Administrator for Advancement

Christopher J. Vasta ’00, M.Ed., Ed.D.

Advancement Services Manager

Linda M. Calabrese, P ’20

Director of Data Management and Operations

Pamela J. Fothergill, P ’07

Advancement Office Assistant

Marissa A. Gelso, P ’19, ’21

Director of Alumni and

Parent Engagement

James J. Scholl ’03

Director of Annual and Leadership Giving

Joseph N. Tenaglia ’14

OFFICE OF STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATIONS

Director of Strategic Communications

Ann E. Alsfeld

Assistant Director of

Strategic Communications

Kathryn E. Hickey

Digital Marketing Coordinator

Heather M. Schnabel

Graphic Design

Margaret Galeano

galeano@optonline.net

averian

X THE MAGAZINE OF XAVERIAN BROTHERS HIGH SCHOOL

To see more images taken by Brendan Colin ’22, go to page 14.

1. Charlie Comella ’24 - During varsity football game vs. BC High

2. CJ Curtin ’22 - During art club

3. Entrance to Simoni Lobby (athletic wing)

4. Matthew Gay ’24 - Esports practice

From the Head of School

Dear Friends of Xaverian,

March on! God will provide. It’s a familiar refrain

of the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier, who were

founded in 1839 by Brother Theodore James Ryken

in Bruges, Belgium. The Xaverian Brothers traveled

to the United States in 1854, arriving in Louisville,

Kentucky at the invitation of then-Bishop Spalding

(later Archbishop) with the call to found a school

in the city. As the story goes, upon arrival they

discovered they were in dire financial straits and, as

any Xaverian student or alumnus can tell you, they

had only the gift of a single watermelon to sustain

them. In spite of this poverty, a lack of housing, and

an inability to speak the language, they continued to “march on.” Their trust in divine

Providence, along with their humility and zeal, yielded incredible results. Now 167

years later, there are 13 Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools serving 13,000 students

and families, and hundreds of thousands of graduates across the U.S.

Since the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our modes of living

and working, and certainly altered the landscape of education. However, similar to

the Congregation’s ability to persevere in the face of adversity when they first arrived

in America, we continue to march on here at Xaverian. And as you’ll see throughout

this magazine, we are emerging stronger than ever. To that end, we’re digging into

Mind and Brain Education (MBE) for a two-year professional development initiative

that allows us to further optimize classroom time, provide a balanced approach to

education, and yield even better results for our young men. You can learn more about

our MBE work on page 2.

As pictured on the cover, we launched a brand new robotics program this year.

Hawk Robotics —The Ryken Force will compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge this

winter and spring, and we look forward to sharing the results with you in the next

Xaverian Magazine. However, robotics is just one of many new activities for our young

men, including an esports team and a woodworking club. We also added optional

programming for all Xaverian students, grades 7-12, to come together every Friday

for special after-school events at our weekly community nights. The growth taking

place at Xaverian is exciting as it allows us to pay tribute to the foundation of the past

while striving to build a better and brighter future, all while honoring our mission as a

Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School.

In spite of the obstacles raised by COVID-19, our young men are thriving, both

during their time at Xaverian and beyond. Whether it’s chasing his dreams and

digging for dinosaur fossils like Owen Blomberg ’22 (page 4), theater students

returning to the stage for the first time since fall of 2019 (page 8), or the induction

of Matt Hasselbeck ’93 into the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor (page 15),

Xaverian continues to march on with enthusiasm and optimism. Like the Brothers

who came before us, the fact of the matter is that Xaverian will always march on in

service of our students and families. Thank you so much for your steadfast support

and prayers; our community is indeed stronger than ever.

Respectfully yours,

Jacob A. Conca ’94, Ph.D.

Head of School

Embracing the Science Behind Effective Teaching and Learning

MIND AND BRAIN EDUCATION

ike all schools during the pandemic,

Xaverian Brothers High School had to

pivot quickly when the world locked

down in March of 2020. However, not all

schools utilized the experience as an opportunity

to fine-tune their educational practices. Xaverian

did, and continues to do so. As a direct result

of teaching during COVID-19 and navigating

the worlds of remote and hybrid education, this

summer Xaverian launched a new professional

development initiative for all of its teachers.

“Research suggests that the greatest

influence on student outcomes is the quality

of the teacher, and we believe if we understand

how the adolescent brain works, learns, and

ultimately creates knowledge, we can use this

to inform and optimize our teaching practices

in the classroom,” says Dr. Michael Nicholson,

Principal. For this reason, Xaverian has partnered

with The Center for Transformative Teaching

and Learning (CTTL) to provide all faculty with

professional development centered on Mind,

Brain, and Education Science (MBE). This

approach combines the latest research from

neuroscience, cognitive science, adolescent

psychology, and education to ensure that our

teaching methods continue to best serve our

students. As a first step, over the course of this

year and next, Xaverian teachers are taking 12

MBE online courses.

To facilitate this training, Mr. Gary Bowers

’87, P ’21, ’24, a Xaverian social studies teacher,

was appointed the new Coordinator for Teaching

and Learning. In addition to his work in the

classroom, Mr. Bowers is collaborating with

Mr. Steve Dacey ’95, Assistant Principal for

Teaching and Learning, to support faculty with

the online learning modules as well as the design

and implementation of MBE-informed lesson

planning. “The concept is simple,” says Mr.

Bowers. “By understanding how the brain works

and how students learn, teachers can better

deliver content to their students to help them

not just learn the concepts necessary to graduate

from high school, but to become better learners

in general. Many of our teachers already do these

things because it’s good teaching, and there are

good teachers here. The difference is that now

we’re looking at the science behind why these

practices work and we’re implementing them in

an informed way. We’re becoming more efficient

and gaining a common language that we can use

to discuss our effective practices with our peers.”

Ms. Andrea Doglioli, a veteran world

languages teacher who is in her first year at

Xaverian, appreciates this communal aspect of

the training. “We’re all in this together; I don’t

feel like I’m trying to catch up because we’re all at

the same stage in the training. It gives me a sense

of belonging and it really feels like the school is

invested in us — training us to be even better at

what we do.”

“As a school, we have an obligation to make

a commitment to our faculty to keep them on

the ‘cutting edge,’ knowledgeable in their field

and their craft of teaching,” says Mr. Dacey. “This

process should be very affirming because really

good teachers are reflective in their practice,

and that’s who we have here at Xaverian.”

MBE-informed approaches are already being

implemented across all grades and throughout

all disciplines at Xaverian, positively impacting

everything from the way content is presented to

how assessments are conducted. “These first 12

courses are really just the beginning,” Mr. Dacey

adds. “There’s so much that we can learn and

practice together, and we look forward to seeing

all of the good this incredible opportunity will

bring to Xaverian.”

“By understanding how the brain works

and how students learn, teachers can

better deliver content to their students

to help them not just learn the concepts

necessary to graduate from high school,

but to become better learners in general.”

MR. GARY BOWERS ’87, P ’21, ’24

2 www.xbhs.com

A FEW MBE TAKEAWAYS

Relationships Matter

Since our founding in 1963, Xaverian has always emphasized

the critical importance of relationships to successful

teaching and learning. Now MBE tells us that what naturally

ﬂows from the school’s mission—building enduring personal

relationships—is supported by neuroscience. Strong

relationships with adult role models and peers are best for

our young men. They thrive within a caring and supportive

community at school, and we will continue to provide this

type of community at Xaverian.

Neuroplasticity: It’s More Than A Buzzword

Human brains continue to develop throughout life, which

means our young men’s learning potential is not ﬁxed. They

can learn to learn! This exciting truth is supported by the

science behind MBE. Here at Xaverian, having a growth

mindset means that we are committed to affording every

student the opportunity to perform to their greatest potential,

and we believe that potential is unlimited.

Lightening the Load

Xaverian has already taken active steps to lighten the

cognitive load, including a revised homework policy and a

brand new schedule that changes a student’s class load

from eight (in pre-COVID times) to six classes per day. This

allows our young men to ﬁnd more balance in their lives,

giving them adequate time for extracurriculars, athletics,

family, and friends. Additionally, there are actionable

steps teachers take in the classroom to lighten the load,

from presenting information in simpler, smaller steps to

eliminating distractions like unnecessary decor or overly

complicated instructions. Why? Because science has

shown that we can only hold about three-to-ﬁve items

for roughly 20 seconds in our active memory. Delivering

content with careful attention to cognitive load means

better learning and more long-term retention. It’s about

lowering the barriers, not the bar!

Embracing the Rust

Educators can help students become better learners

by teaching them to “embrace the rust.” Simply put, the

act of trying to remember something helps us to learn

information. Stepping away from material and then working

to recall it can help students retain and use course

material more effectively. As a real-world application,

this means that consistent low-stakes assessments will

improve student performance on tests at the end of a

teaching unit.

“…the school is invested in us —

training us to be even better

at what we do.”

MS. ANDREA DOGLIOLI

Winter 2022 Xaverian Magazine 3

“It gives me a sense of humility, knowing that

we are not the only creatures to have ruled the

Earth. This was once a completely different

world, and I want to better understand the

intricacies of the life that once resided in it."

OWEN BLOMBERG ’22

“I am one of those

dinosaur kids who

never grew up,”

says Owen Blomberg ’22. You know the type

— the little boy or girl who can rattle off dino

names well beyond T. rex and Triceratops (and

does whether or not you ask them to), wearing

dinosaur paraphernalia, sitting in their dino-

themed bedroom, pouring over picture books

of ancient reptiles. “The first thing I ever drew

was a Triceratops,” he says. “I had my first kids’

dinosaur encyclopedia at the age of about four,

and I always had my head tucked in dinosaur

books. I loved going to the Museum of Science

and the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

And yes, there were a lot of dinosaur toys and

clothing.” For most prehistoric-loving tikes, the

fascination eventually subsides. Not so for Owen.

Instead, his passion for all things dinosaurs has

only grown.

“I think my classmates knew that I liked

dinosaurs before they knew my name,” says

Owen of his peers at Xaverian. “In Mr. Gunning’s

bio course, when we got to the parts where we

talked about paleontology, evolution, deep time,

everything like that, he’d sometimes just hand the

mic to me and let me take over.”

Mr. Sean Gunning ’11, chair of the

science department, confirms. “I’d go through

everything and then turn to Owen and say, ‘Did

I get all of that right, Owen?’ He’d say, ‘Yes...’, and

then invariably add more to the conversation.

He’s honestly never short on information.

Considering how many millions of years his area

of interest spans, it’s incredible that he knows so

much about all of it as a high school senior.”

Owen’s knowledge about the history of

vertebrates comes from more than his childhood

encyclopedias. This past summer, he spent

two weeks working with the Bighorn Basin

Paleontological Institute on dig sites around the

Montana-Wyoming line (the Bighorn Basin). This

wasn’t Owen’s first time there either; he had gone

previously for a one-week trip with his father. For

most people, it’s a bucket-list adventure to spend

a brief trip living a childhood fantasy digging for

dinosaurs. However, it quickly became clear to

the professionals at the Paleontological Institute

that Owen was more than a casual dinosaur

enthusiast or adventure-seeking vacationer. His

detailed knowledge and conscientious efforts

were recognized and rewarded. “It got to the point

where they trusted me enough to leave me at a pit

and they would send people over to help me work,”

says Owen. “I got to lead them and be the person

running that area.”

His highlights of the trip include uncovering

a tooth of an Allosaurus and finding the vertebra

of a sauropod that was so well preserved the

hole for the spinal cord was still intact, roughly

150 million years later. Additionally, his favorite

activity, he says, was walking through untouched

areas of the desert looking for “float,” or small

pieces of fossil bone that have broken off of

a larger fossil. “One can follow the float like

following breadcrumbs to find larger fossils. If

the float leads to something significant, then it

could mean the establishment of a brand new dig

site.” Owen hopes one discovery he made will do

just that, and it looks promising. While searching

out in the desert for float one day, he found

what is currently believed to be the vertebra of a

crocodylomorph (think ancient crocodile) from

the Jurassic period. Since the vertebra was found

in an untouched area of land, this discovery

BOYHOOD DREAMS BECOME REALITY

Allosaurus tooth

could lead to a brand new site if more bones are

found. Owen hopes to be able to continue his

search at that site when he returns to the Bighorn

Basin next summer.

In the meantime, Owen is looking at colleges

to find the right program in his pursuit for a

career in paleontology. He notes that there

are very few schools offering this specific

undergraduate focus, but says that if he can

find a strong program in evolutionary biology

or zoology, he feels he will be well on his path.

“It’s always cool to see a student who already

knows what he wants to do with his life,” says

Mr. Gunning. “But with Owen, it’s not just what

he wants to do in the future; it’s what he’s doing

right now. This is what interests him. It’s his

passion.”

This passion for prehistoric knowledge

boils down to a very Xaverian ideal for Owen—

humility. “It’s so interesting, trying to understand

what was here before us. It gives me a sense

of humility, knowing that we are not the only

creatures to have ruled the Earth. This was once

a completely different world, and I want to better

understand the intricacies of the life that once

resided in it.”

Owen’s Favorite Dinosaur

What do you ask every dinosaur-loving child?

“Which one is your favorite?”, of course!

For Owen, it’s the Yutyrannus, the largest

feathered animal thought to have roamed

the earth. It’s an earlier, fuzzier relative of

the T. rex. “Certain dinos had feathers,”

Owen explains. “Albeit not always like

the feathers that you see in birds today—

normally more primitive. Some feathers,

like those found on Yutyrannus, were more

like ﬁlaments. I like seeing feathering on

dinosaurs; it makes them feel more like real

animals as opposed to the big, scaly movie

monsters the media tends to portray them

as. Also, Yutyrannus most likely lived in

cooler environments; since I’m a person who

enjoys the cold myself, I have another reason

to like this dinosaur.”

Winter 2022 Xaverian Magazine 5

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

Tristan Hyppolite ’22 wants to

be a doctor. And not just any doctor.

“Specifically, I want to be an oncologist,”

he says.

It’s mid-July and unlike many

teenagers who are cooling off at the beach

or spending time with friends, Tristan

has come to Xaverian to speak about

his recent experience at the Congress

of Future Medical Leaders. He’s excited

as he describes the conference. “It’s

intended for students between high

school and early college who want to be

physicians or work in the medical field

in some capacity. Really, it’s for anyone

who wants to make a difference. You

get to listen to physicians and people

involved in medical research, and then

from the other perspective, you hear

from patients.” He says that the two-day

conference (during which he earned a

“Congress of Future Medical Leaders

Award of Excellence”) helped to solidify

his plans to be an oncologist. “I felt it

motivated me more on the path that I’ve

always known I want to take,” he says.

How can he, at the age of 17, already

know with such certainty what he wants

to do with his life? He’s a sincere young

man, quiet, and deliberate, and he

doesn’t hesitate to explain that for him,

it’s personal.

“In 2014, my grandfather was

diagnosed with prostate cancer, on

my Mom’s side. As he went through

his treatment and was starting to get

out of the woods, my grandmother

on my mom’s side was diagnosed with

uterine cancer, and my dad’s mom was

diagnosed with breast cancer.” After

13 months, his maternal grandmother

passed away. Witnessing the experiences

of his grandparents only solidified that

which he says he has known since he

was four.

“I always said I want to help people,”

Tristan tells me. “I don’t know why, but

at four I just said I want to be a doctor

when I grow up. I know kids change, but

I’ve never changed. As a doctor, I can

make a difference in other people’s lives.”

Having witnessed his grandparents’

battles with cancer and losing his

grandmother to the disease, he knows

FUTURE MEDICAL LEADER

A Mission to Help Others

THE GIFT OF SERVICE

One Student’s Birthday Trip

of a Lifetime

Andrew Maggiacomo ’26 got a 13th birthday present

that, at first blush, might not sound like a gift to many kids

— 24 hours of community service. He was thrilled! Andrew

was part of a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii, offered by ARCC

(Adventures Cross Country). It’s a blend of service, learning,

and adventure in a two-week trip to Kauai and the Big Island.

Weighed down with a 40-pound backpack, Andrew took off to

volunteer and explore with a group of 13 other students from

across the globe.

“It was labeled as a

marine biology trip and I’ve

been interested in marine

biology since third grade,”

he explains. “I want to be a

marine biologist; I want to

study fish! My dad always

took me fishing and gave

me the bait and told me to

cut it for him, and I’d always

study it - feel it - I know it sounds weird, but I was fascinated

by it. I started to get books about fish, and I just blew through

them all.” On this trip, instead of looking at fish in a book,

Andrew was seeing them up close on snorkeling expeditions.

“We got to see a ton of different types of species that you’d

never see here. It’s stuff like you’d see in Finding Nemo. We saw

sea turtles. We swam with manta rays; it was amazing.”

And he learned some important lessons along the way. “A

lot of cute things can be invasive,” he says. “There were snails

everywhere. And there were minnows invading the water.”

For service work, much of the focus was on restoring natural

habitats for both marine life and animals on land, and that

meant addressing the invasive species.

“It felt really good to do this trip. Knowing that I helped

not just the animals but other people, too, it makes me feel

amazing. And proud.”

Back on the mainland with dreams of future marine

adventures, Andrew came home with two new skills in addition

to his new knowledge about the natural habitats of Hawaii. He

can surf, and he can crack a coconut. And he now has a group

of friends from around the globe with whom he plans to stay

connected.

part of being an oncologist is having

difficult conversations with patients and

families. “I think part of being a doctor

is being strong,” he replied. “You have

those tough conversations when things

don’t go as expected. But when things

are difficult, when I need help, I always

go to my faith.”

Faith has been a constant for Tristan

throughout his life. He attended a

Catholic elementary school (St. John’s

in Canton) and once he became a Hawk

here at Xaverian, he immersed himself

in the campus ministry experience. He

serves as a peer minister and eucharistic

minister and even earned the honor of

being one of the handful of students

selected to attend the Xaverian Brothers