After two years of holding graduation at the Homestead-Miami Speedway due to the pandemic, we were back to our traditional commencement ceremony this year at the University of Miami Watsco Center.  On May 21st, 427 Columbus Explorers joined our alumni brotherhood.  We hope that the moral foundation they received at Columbus will guide them throughout their life-long learning and that they will always stay close to our school family.   Special thank to Ms. Ramirez for coordinating the ceremony.

Senior Prom - A Night to Remember
Senior Prom was a memorable evening of dancing and celebration.  It took place on May 6th at the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center.  Special thanks to the SAC team of Ms. Brown and Mr. Connell and all the faculty and staff members who served as chaperones.

The last event for the Class of 2022 was a Barbeque Picnic followed by the Diploma and Yearbook Pick-Up.  Come back to see us soon Explorers!

Columbus Led Miami-Dade at the Silver Knight Awards with 2 Winners and 5 Honorable Mentions
We congratulate all of our Silver Knight Award nominees and winners for their significant contributions to the community.  At the May 26th Awards Ceremony, Columbus once again led Miami-Dade County with two Silver Knight Awards Winners:  Juan Pablo Garcia-Casals (World Languages) and Hans Bendixen (General Scholarship) and five Honorable Mentions:   Andrew Falconi (Digital Media), Kevin Cordero (Drama), Justin Aguiar ( English & Literature),  Marcelo Andreu (Speech), Javier Cunat (Vocational Technical).  Special thanks to Mrs. Galvez-Cuesta, Mrs. Cibran, and Mrs. Amador.

Miami Herald First Team All-Dade Selections
In addition to Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete, several other Explorers were honored as part of the at the Miami Herald Athletic Awards.  Here are those who made the Spring First Team All-Dade selections:  Baseball:  Federico Zapata, Ryan Cainzos, Mike Corral; Track & Field: Shaddai Carter, Gustavo Alfonso, Darren McQueen, Durian Moss, Ahmere Foster, Adrian Cardero, Volleyball:  Ignacio Brito; Lacrosse:  Jacob Angulo, Joey Vilomar, Andrew Pozo.

Carlito’s House is Established to Aid Students Who Lost a Parent
In honor of Carlos Fernandez ’92, a Columbus parent who passed away in 2020 of Covid-19, the Carlito’s House Foundation was established to provide students who have lost a parent with bereavement services and tuition assistance.  Spearheaded by Alex Galvez ’92, the foundation was started  in October 2021 with the help of Carlos’ friends and classmates.  The group works together to fundraise, hire professional bereavement counselors, and organize group therapy sessions. To date, ten students have participated in the sessions which are supervised by guidance counselors, Mrs. Galvez-Cuesta and Mr. Hill ‘03, both of whom lost a parent at a young age.  The student club  Carlito’s Crew assists in the fundraising and is responsible for the delivery of food and beverages for the therapy sessions.  Donations to Carlito’s House can be made at carlitoshouse.org.

Students Participated in the National Constitution Center’s Scholar Exchange
Mr. Hermidia’s history classes gained a deeper understanding of the constitution and the 14th Amendment through their participation in the National Constitution Center's Scholar Exchange.  Through the program, students engage in civil discourse with other teachers and classes throughout the country.  

CCNN took home a record 14 Suncoast Student Production Awards from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  These awards which represent the best work in the Southeast US/Puerto Rico Region will go up against other regions for national recognition in the Fall. To view all the winners CLICK HERE.

It was a winning year for Columbus Films.  Their animated film “Mixed” won the Student Television Network’s Best Animated Film, swept  the ShortCut's Awards (winning the Viewers and Critic's Choice Awards) and the program came away with five SunCoast Student Production Awards:  Best Animation (mixed by Andrew Ordieres), Best Sound (mixed by Andrew Ordieres and Mickey Novo), Best Editing (mixed by Andrew Ordieres), Best Writing (mixed by Andrew Ordieres), Best Actors (Kevin Cordero and Stefano Sullo for New York Bromance).  Special thanks to the moderators Mr. Diaz and Ms. Rodriguez.

Track Stars McQueen, Carter and the 4X800 Team Win State Championships
The Columbus Track Team finished 2nd overall at the 4A State Championship at the University of Florida.   Their 68 points scored was the highest in Columbus history at a state meet. Those taking the gold winning state titles were:  Darren McQueen (100 meters), Shaddai Carter (Long Jump) and the 4x400M:  Durian Moss, Darren McQueen, Ahmere Foster, and Adrian Cardero 1st place (3:12, school record, #3 in the U.S.)

Baseball Team Won District Championship
The baseball team finished the season as the district champions and regional champion runner-up.   Congrats to Coach Weber and the entire team.

Six Explorers Were Recognized at the Last Signing Day Celebration of the Year 
The following seniors have committed to play their sport in college and were honored at a Signing Day Celebration on campus: Christian Guadagno (Soccer, Regis College), Darren McQueen (Track & Field, University of Pittsburgh), Luke Benitez (Football, Heidelberg University), Christian "Chip" Guzman (Wrestling, North Central College), Rocco Dascoli (Wrestling, Ottawa University), TJ Brown (Wrestling, Averett University).  Congratulations to all the signees and to their coaches: Coach Clark, Coach Dunn, and Coach Husk

Geography Team Won the Miami Dade Geography Bee
Congratulations to the Geography Team on their recent championship win at the Miami Dade College Geography Bee.  Special thanks to Mr. Hermida.

A Cord Distribution & Recognition Ceremony was held for Carricarte Business, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship students. Special thanks to Mr. Corazon and to Michael Carricarte '86 who was present to honor the students.

Members of the University of Miami’s Department of Orientation & Commuter Student Involvement visited Columbus to speak with our UM bound seniors about their Great Start Program.  The pre-semester program is designed for incoming commuter students and is aimed towards preparing them for a smooth start to their time at the UM. They also had an opportunity to hear directly from four  current UM students.  Thank you Mrs. Martinez.

Congratulations to the 10 new members of the International Thespian Society:  Sebastian Arana, Nicolas Ferrer, Alexander Naranjo-Sanchez, Jorge Alvarez, Victor Barreda, Austin Garcia-Hall, Alexander Valcarcel, Gabriel Vergara, Emilio Salas, and Joaquim Carvalho. Thank you Ms. McGrath.

After three years of hard work, the Spearfishing Club hosted its first ever tournament with nine boats.  The winners were:  Most Caught Lionfish (Matthew Pico), Heaviest Mutton Snapper (Nicholas Macia), Longest Hogfish (Carlos Saladrigas), Heaviest Black Grouper (Christian Pico).  Thank you Coach Dukes.

Nicholas Garces and George Alexander (winners of the Fish Flamingo Tournament) were taken on an offshore fishing trip by boat captain and owner of DoubleGCharters, George Garcia ’17. Thank you Coach Dukes.

The family of the late Rudy Sanchez visited campus to honor Anthony Mallafre '22 as the recipient of the 2022 Rudy M. Sanchez Memorial Award.  The award was created to  honor the beloved Columbus physics teacher who passed away in 2021. 

The 2022 SebastianStrong Foundation’s Science & Technology Scholarship was  awarded to Alec Alamina '22 for his strong leadership skills, service, and desire to pursue a degree in the medical field.  Thank you to the first scholarship winner, Greg Mesa '18, and his family for funding this year’s scholarship and continuing to honor Sebastian’s legacy. Special thanks to Mr. Oscar and Rose Ortiz, Columbus parents who lead the foundation in honor of their late son and Explorer Sebastian Oritz.

Columbus Connects Leadership Lecture Series Featured Jorge Mas
We held another great Columbus Connects Leadership Lecture event on June 1st with the participation of Jorge Mas ’81 (Managing Owner of Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami CF and Board Chairman of MasTec Inc.)  Coach Clark and the Columbus Soccer Team represented in full force and asked Mr. Mas some great questions about plans for the Inter Miami team.  Special thanks to Columbus Admissions Director and Inter Miami CF Announcer Mike Marinelli ’03 for moderating the lecture and to event chair, JB Aleman ’84. 

Commitment Ceremony is Held for the  2^nd Cohort of Marists of Champagnat
Congratulations to the Miami group who completed the 2022 Marists of Champagnat formation program.  The following 12 Columbus faculty/administration members formed part of the program’s second cohort which in total had 66 participants from around the country: Richard Amador,  Carter Burrus, Andrew Chacon, Teresa Chomat,  Omar Delgado, Pedro Garcia- Casals, Gerardo Gonzalez, Andrew Harriman, Christina Insua,  Wency Ortega, Eric Pino, and Juan Vila (not pictured).  Enrique Chomat ‘77 (alumni parent) also took part as did two alumni from Colegio Champagnat, Venezuela. Special thanks to Br. John, Br. Peter, Br. Al and Br. George for coordinating the event which included a live feed of the ceremony led by Br. Dan O’Riordan (Marist Brothers USA, Provincial) and Maureen Hagan (Council of Lay Marists, Chair). 

At the annual end-of-year celebration held in the cafeteria, faculty and staff members who marked milestones in their time at Columbus were recognized.   The members of the faculty recognized that day with the most years included Mr. Ciooca and Br. Marcos (20 years), Mr. Frazier and Mr. Ortega (30 years), Mr. Staiano and Br. Herb (40 years) and Br. Kevin (50 years).  In addition, the entire maintenance department was recognized.  Our faculty and staff put a tremendous amount of love and dedication into their work. This celebration is just a small way to show how much they are valued.

Junior Andrew Watkins Wrote His First Novel
Junior Andrew Watkins is well on his way to becoming a published author.  During sophomore year, he started his first fantasy, epic novel entitled “Nightshade:  The Devil in the Shadows” which took him one year and seven months to complete.  He is now editing his 400 page book and looking into publishing companies.  He says that his friends describe the book as an exciting page turner.  He hopes to publish the book during his senior year and then work on a spin-off series. 

Juan Pablo Garcia-Casals Won Univision’s Orgullo de Nuestra Juventud Scholarship
Juan Pablo-Garcia Casals ‘22 was 1 of 10 high school seniors in South Florida to be awarded the “Orgullo de Nuestra Juventud” award for his extraordinary academic success and outstanding community service. He was honored by Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava at the awards ceremony which took place on May 6th at Firefighters Memorial in Doral.    

Benjamin Cure Won the Jim McKay Memorial Scholarship
Benjamin Cure '22 recently attended the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Sports Emmy Awards in New York City to receive the Jim McKay Memorial Scholarship.  The scholarship is awarded to students pursuing a career in sports television.

Congratulations to our teacher and CCNN Live moderator Mr. Omar Delgado for being named the Student Television Network's Teacher of the Year.

Carla Bates joined our team as Education Technology Project Manager. Carla started her career as a teacher and transitioned to an education technology trainer role. She has managed software deployments and implemented new technology solutions while managing the change process. She will be responsible for creating all documentation and processes related to the use of technology in the classroom and other school operations. She will also serve as a liaison between the Technology team and C-Tech team for training materials on all technology systems.

Life Lessons with John Lynskey
“Life Lessons with John Lynskey” is a video series that relives many of the history lessons taught by legendary Columbus teacher John Lynskey ‘78.  There are 10 episodes in Season 1 which include subjects like The Cuban Missile Crisis, D-Day, and The Space Program.  100% of the proceeds from “Life Lessons With John Lynskey – Season 1” go to our Caring Hearts Fund which aids Columbus students who lack family support and resources.  The episodes can be purchased at:    https://lifelessons.columbushs.com/categories/season-1

Overtime Series Follows Our State Champion Basketball Team - Now on YouTube
Overtime, the leading brand for the next generation of sports fans which produces content for YouTube and social media, filmed and edited a series that followed our Basketball Team throughout their season leading up to the State Championship Win.  SUPERTEAM – Columbus is available on YoutTube - WATCH HERE.   

Upcoming April Dates to Remember:
4/3 – 16:  Easter Recess (No School)
4/17:        Classes Resume
4/17/18:   Freshman Retreat (Gym)
4/19:        Easter Mass (Gym)
4/19:        Columbus Connects Lecture “State of the Ports” (6:00pm, Café)
4/21:        Grad Bash
4/26:        Drama Spring Show (2:00pm, LBC)
4/27:        Drama Improv Show (2:00pm, LBC)
4/29:        Fishing Tournament (6:00am, Shake-a-Leg Marina)