Crime Scene Investigation Honors Biology Class

Crime Scene Investigation in Honors Biology Class 

        

Honors Biology classes completed a “crime scene” like investigation relating to their Bio-engineering Unit.  In these pictures shown, the students are learning about “gel electrophoresis” a technique that uses electricity to separate fragments of DNA based on their size.  The students were then given samples of DNA from the crime scene, victim, and the two suspects.  

In groups of four, they loaded the gel with all of the DNA samples. The class instructors, Mr. Ader and Ms. Dougherty hooked up the gels to a machine that ran 120 volts of electricity through the gel for a short period of time. This allows the pieces of DNA to run through the gel. The next day the students had to analyze the gel to figure out which of the suspects' DNA samples matched the "crime scene" sample.  They were able to successfully identify the victim’s murderer.  Good work to our investigation team (students)!

5th Annual History Day 2015

Mount Saint Joseph's 5th Annual History Day 

Every year Mount Saint Joseph's Social Studies Department hosts an annual History Day where selected students from 30 Social Studies class sections present their best projects. This year was our 5th event displaying nine different project categories. 

The top 75 projects from these classes advanced to our History Day event hosted on 1/27/2015. The judges included a combination of 21 volunteers from the Mount community and 10 teachers from the Social Studies department.

At the end of the day judges decided which students would move on to the Baltimore City History Day in March. In March students will have the chance to move on to States and then Nationals later in the spring


Everyone did a wonderful job and your handwork and interest on each topic was evident during the judging period. Thank you for your participation in making this day successful. See below the lists of winners in each category and pictures from that day

For more photos from the event, click here.

MSJ's History Day Winners 2015

Paper:

First Place – Danny Miller for Milton Hershey

Second Place – Andrew Lukas for Frank Lloyd Wright

Honorable Mention – Jacob Walter The Beatles

Individual Exhibit:

First Place – Everette Jackson for The Harlem Hellfighters

Second Place – Evan Chavous for Richard Allen

Honorable Mention - Sean Zaranski for JFK: Leading the Space Race

Group Exhibit:

First Place – Cooper Hoskins, Jesse Russo, and Nick Worthington for Jimi Hendrix

Second Place – Matt Hess and Avery Medlar for George Freeth – Surfing Leader

Honorable Mention – Tommy Luc and Ryan Gardner Carlos Hathcock

Performance:

First Place: Lingquan Hui for Isoroku Yamamoto

Individual Documentary:

First Place – Jacob Hansen for Benjamin Holt

Second Place – Jeremy Neville for USS Forrestal

Honorable Mention – Kevin Roche for The Newfoundland Wars

Group Documentary:

First Place - Quentin Boustany and Isaac Koerner for 82 Days: Lumumba and the Dawn of African Democracy

Second Place -  Joey Zietkowski, Luke Williams, Connor Prozeller for Ernest Shackleton

Honorable Mention - Joseph Jones, Plennis Randall, Devonte Hatcher for Napoleon

Individual Website:

First Place – Kolbey Barnes for Hayao Miyazaki

Second Place – Jackson Kriel for Arnold Palmer: The King of Golf

Honorable Mention – Augie Geierman for Steve Jobs A Technological Artist

Group Website:

First Place (tie) – Bailey Tabor and Oscar Perdomo for Claudette Colvin

First Place (tie) – Nick Caporlette and Jimmy Callas for Muhammad Ali

Honorable Mention – Rick Hart, Joe Filetto, Gary Agurs for Fritz Pollard: Leadership and Legacy

The 2014 Holiday Season at MSJ

The 2014 Holiday Season at MSJ

Every year at Mount Saint Joseph the students and staff make an extraordinary effort to keep our Mount traditions ongoing while keeping the Xaverian Brothers faith alive! Campus Ministry and Student Activities take on and contribute to many of the school events and donations during the holiday season. Below is a little recap from our holiday season this past year!

December is always a busy time of year.  This is especially true of life here at the Mount with Mid-Terms, winter sports, Christmas Concerts, deadlines for college applications, Founders Week, and preparation for the Christmas holidays.  In the whirlwind of the season, it’s sometimes easy to miss the Advent messages of patience, slowing down, stepping back, and preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ.

Our Campus Ministry tries to help us focus on those important messages of Advent, and challenges us to “Fall in love with the service of God through the common, ordinary, unspectacular flow of everyday life”. Our students lived out this charism during this season of abundance in many ways.

As the month began, the sights and sounds of Christmas were apparent as soon as we returned from Thanksgiving.  The Can-struction campaign – and the resulting tower of cans collected in November -- made for a generous donation of over 500 pounds of food to a local food pantry at St. Jerome’s Parish.  Likewise, the Toy Drive organized and managed by Student Activities afforded our school community an opportunity to share with and care for our neighbors in need at St. Bernadine’s Parish.  We provided 108 families (487 individuals) with shoes  and gifts for Christmas.

Toy Drive Below:

Each day during the month of December, we began our day with an Advent reflection or the daily Gospel reading.  The beautiful Advent Wreath in our Campus breezeway also helps us keep our focus on the season and on Christ as the light of the world. 

On December 3^rd we gathered as community to celebrate the founding of our school at our annual Mass on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier.  As part of this long-standing Mount Saint Joseph tradition, we were blessed to have a dozen Xaverian Brothers with us to renew their vows and to remind us of the dedicated men, including Theodore Ryken, who founded our Xaverian sponsored schools. On Friday of Founders Week, Campus Ministry helped “sweeten” the celebration by serving Feast Day cake to the entire school community.

Moving from feast to fasting, ten of our students participated in the annual MSJ Hunger Fast this year.  The boys organized the event, which included a 24 hour fast beginning on Friday at lunch until Saturday afternoon.  The student-lead Stations of the Cross, and a late night movie and discussion, focused on poverty and homelessness.  Afterwards, the students spent the long, cold night outside, sleeping in a shelter that they had built out of boxes, garbage bags, and aluminum foil – in an effort to be in solidarity with the homeless. The next morning, we served lunch to our neighbors in need at My Brother’s Keeper, and later broke the fast with a community meal.

Midterms and the coming winter weather were met with seasonal comfort and joy, as Campus Ministry provided hot cocoa and cookies for the student body.   The treats and cheer were served daily between exams, and were warmly appreciated.

These holidays are truly “holy days” at Mount Saint Joseph.  We join the entire community in wishing and praying for a blessed Christmas for all.  May the One who brings light to the world, shine brightly in our hearts and continue to bless our community in the coming year.

We look forward to continuing our call to service the next few months by participating in the March for Life in Washington D.C on 1.22.2015 and hosting Junior retreats!

--Campus Ministry 

Varsity Basketball vs. Saint Frances Game Recap

Varsity Basketball vs. Saint Frances Game Recap 

The Mount Saint Joseph 2014-2015 Varsity basketball team has faced quite a few doubts this preseason. Many have referenced the youth and inexperience of this team as, "only three players are returning from last years squad." The young Gaels proved to be ready for their first test of the season, the 2nd ranked St. Frances Panthers, as they handily won 62-45 on Friday, December 5, 2014.

The Smith Center had a a college like atmosphere that night. The Gaels played in front of a sold-out crowd, and a rowdy student section. The Gaels proved why they will be contenders for the BCL and MIAA championships again this year.

The Student Section organized a "Costume Theme" for the game where they also participated in a Twitter contest hosted by the school. The participant needed to Tweet a picture of their costume using the hashtag #MSJvsFSA to win free Stromboli for a month. The picture with the most Retweets won the prize. Congrats to Mount Saint Joseph student Tyler Lassen with 59 Retweets on his costume Tweet!  

Mount Saint Joseph jumped out to a slow start, but that only made for a much anticipated "Silent Night" demonstration. The student section, decorated with many exotic costumes, remained seated in complete silence until the Gaels scored their 10th point, when then complete craziness took place. The Gaels led 13-10 after the 1st quarter.

Mount Saint Joseph came out with intensity in the second quarter, as they scored 5 points in 40 seconds, and forced a St. Frances time out. The 1st half ended with an exclamation mark, as sophomore Darryl Morsell '17 slammed home a pass from junior Randy Miller '16. The Gaels led at the break 28-21. 

The team controlled the second half not relinquishing their double digit lead but only once. The defensive effort by the Gaels seemed to disrupt St. Frances' offensive, while the home team seemed to thrive off of transition buckets. Lone freshman Jalen Smith '18 recorded 6 blocks during his first varsity start. 

Junior Randy Miller '16 led all scorers with 15, while fellow junior Doc Barnes '16 contributed 14 points and 8 boards, and sophomore point guard Justice Kendall '16 finished with 12. St. Frances was led by senior forward Josh Ayeni '15, who scored a quiet 13 points.

The 7-1 Gaels will travel to Gilman for their game at 6pm, but will return home next Friday (12/19) to face the Loyola Dons, tip-off will be at 7:00 pm.

A special thanks to our Athletics Department, Security, and Staff for making this game such a fun and exciting event at Mount Saint Joseph! 

GO GAELS! 

Please follow @MSJStudents on Twitter for all Student Section news and live game feed.
For more Mount action follow the main school Twitter account @MSJGaels.

Mount Juniors Participate In National Youth Leadership Mission

Mount Juniors Participate In National Youth Leadership Mission 

The Anti- Defamation league sponsored a four day National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington D.C. last week, and three of Mount Saint Joseph's finest attended. Juniors Ben Saia, Joe Ruf, and Jimmy Rosa collaborated with over 100 students from across the United States to promote the fight against hate. The Mount Saint Joe students were apart of a larger Washigton D.C. delegation comprised of other students from southern Maryland and the nations capital.

The students participated in numerous different activities over the four days. There were a number of break out sessions, when students had the opportunity to discuss different topics regarding hate, violence, discrimination, and other issues that plague our world today. In these sessions Saint Joe students interacted with others from Albany, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Florida, Denver, Chicago, and many other regions. On days two and three the group took a trip to the Holocaust Museum and took a a walking tour of Washington, D.C. There were also multiple keynote speakers throughout the week.

When asked their favorite part, Ben recalled that he enjoyed the Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center on Monday night, where the National Symphony Orchestra played and there were two celebrity appearances by Leslie Uggams and Isaiah Whitlock. The most memorable part for Jimmy was when Lithuanian Holocaust survivor, Nesse Goden talked to the group. A line from Nesse that Jimmy will always remember is "when I see children today, I see the future." Joe enjoyed hearing from Leon Bass, a World War II liberator of Buchenwald and civil rights activist. Now that the mission is over the delegates from DC plan to regularly update a blog that will educate all on domestic and foreign issues, including Genocide as well as the terrorist group, ISIS. In our very own Mount Saint Joseph community, Jimmy, Joe, and Ben plan to expand our pledge against hate, to include racial slurs as well as comments against body image.

A special thank you goes out to Mr. Shearer, who assisted in the success of this experience.

We commend Jimmy, Joe, and Ben for all their hard work, and look forward to positive change in Mount Saint Joseph's future.

(MSJ students with Holocaust Survivor, Nesse Goden.)

(Joe, Jimmy, and Ben in front of the Lincoln memorial on Day 2.)

(The representatives of the D.C. Delegation at ADL's NYLM)