Albertus BBQ: Better Than Last Year

To keep homecoming week and school spirit going, Albertus Magnus High School had a Mass and Barbecue to lead into their back to back soccer games Saturday, Oct, 10.

Starting at 4 p.m. Mass was in the gymnatorium and the side doors opened afterward to the barbecue outside. Inside the gymnatorium and outside were balloons provided by Cheryl Ward from 'A Personal Touch' in Pearl River. The silver balloons that spelled "Falcons" were a big hit.

Outside, there were three stations for hotdogs and burgers, a salad station and a drinks station. There were tables and chairs spread out and a huge tent in the middle of everything for shade.

The Falcon Parents Club was a major force behind the organization of the event and they volunteered to man the stations. Although they were working hard setting up, cooking and cleaning, each group of parents at the three different grill stations shared laughs and claimed they were the No. 1 station. One of the parents, Lydia Rubino, looked back on last year's barbecue.

"It went a lot smoother this year with the three stations," she said. "Last year there were only two (grill stations) and one line. I think the turn out was bigger this year too."

Patricia Morris at a different grill station felt the three stations were a success.

"We rocked it," she said with a smile.

There were not just students, but their families, younger siblings from other schools such as St. Margaret in Pearl River. Alumni, new and old, and faculty came, making this a very large event.

Marty Moran, director of development and alumni relations, was one of many people and groups that made this barbecue and homecoming week a reality. Moran listed of several key players in organizing the barbecue:

• Parent Falcons Club
• Kim Gruffi
• Lisa Sullivan
• Ann Durkin
• Mary Jane Michalak
• Peter Greene, Social Studies teacher and Moderator
• Student Council
• Andrew Festa, President of the Student Body
• Tim Gavin, Senior class moderator

"It's a really great turn out, better than last year," Greene said. "It's a great day out. The Falcons have a great night against Tappen Zee."

"The weekend is great. The weather was a thousand times better than last weekend," Moran said pointing up to the sky. "For Mass, we had 500 in that room. We kept having to take chairs from outside under the tents. Last year was great, but I think we had a little bit more (people) this year" He added that the chairs were gathered by all the sports teams after Mass to the outdoor barbecue.

"We had some great patrons that underwrite for the lights," Moran said the patron is from the school board and has paid for the lights on the field each year for this event. Just to have the lights running goes up more than $5,000 for the soccer games that night. Moran was very appreciative of the donator's generosity.

"Some of the monies go to senior class events and some to the spring dinner auction," he said. The spring dinner auction is hosted by the Parent Falcons Club

After the barbecue, people slowly walked over to the adjoining soccer field for the start of the girls varsity match followed by the boys' against Tappan Zee High School.

Both matches were great. The Albertus girls lost 0-2, but the boys won 4-2.