Congratulations to the following seniors who signed college athletic scholarships.  They were honored on Friday, May 17th in the cafeteria during senior lunch. 

Basketball
Johnny Minervino:  Ave Maria University
Kevin O’Brien:  Santa Fe College

Football
Fabian Guerra:  Fairmont State University
Nick Fernandez: Villanova University
Patrick Stout :   Wesleyan University 
Gilbert Henric:   Camden Military Academy
Erick Trujillo:     Stetson University
Ricky Martinez:  Cornell College
AJ Cardoso:       John Carroll University
Ulises Marquez:  Ave Maria University
Joey Gonzalez:   University of Mount Union

Golf
Christian Melendez:   Johnson & Wales University

Lacrosse
Alex Ferran:      Regis College
Grant Nordlund: St. Andrews University 

Tennis
Bernard Tefel:  University of Miami

Wrestling
Henry Powell:      University of Chicago

The Columbus family is praying for Bella (daughter of Raymond Rodriguez-Torres, CCHS class of ’94). To find out more about  Bella's battle with cancer visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bellart

Incoming freshmen who received a summer school letter must register for summer school using the form below.  
Download Summer School Registration Form_13.  Please contact Mrs. Rams-Foyo at mrams-foyo@columbushs.com if you have questions.

CCNN (the Christopher Columbus News Network) is once again a state champion team, winning 21 overall awards at this year's FSPA journalism convention, including 3 first place awards in the On the Spot Competitions.  Andrew Briz was once again awarded Top Anchor in the state and very impressive was their honorable mention for a Suncoast Television Emmy, an accomplishment that is almost unheard of for a high school publication. CCNN is also rated Gold by the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Congratulations to all the students who participated and to moderators Mr. Delgado and Mrs. Hidalgo.


VIEW 1st PLACE ON THE SPOT ENTRY (students had 4 hours to shoot/interview/edit/submit)
Andrew Briz, Mario Perez, Joseph Cacioppo, Joseph Piscitelli, Fernando Juncadella (3rd year in a row that CCNN wins 1st place in this category)

ON THE SPOT COMPETITIONS

Other 1st Place Awards: Best Anchor in Florida-Andrew Briz (2 years in a row)/Pardon The Interruption-Tito Benach 

2nd Place: Danny Wellman Display - Jose Companioni, Evan Bandin, Matthew Ley

3rd Place: Edit to the Beat - Henrique Bolivar, Steven Guas, Tristan Simoes-Ponce, Rodrigo Fernandez, Michael Miranda, Ruben Rodriguez, Raul Fagundez

CARRY-IN COMPETITIONS
All Florida:  1) Feature Package-Fernando Juncadella; 2) Feature Package-Cristian Gutierrez & Gabriel Liceaga

Excellent: 1) Sports Package-Tito Benach; 2) News Package-Mario Perez; 3) PSA-Chance Fernandez; 4) Graphics Reel- Henrique Bolivar; 5) Talent Demo Reel-Joseph Piscitelli, Joseph Cacioppo; 6) Weather Segment-Joseph Piscitelli; 7) Sports Package-Henrique Bolivar, Andrew Briz, Nick Cangahuala; 8) PSA-Tristan Simoes-Ponce

Honorable Mention:  1) Broadcast Show Opening-Andrew Briz; 2) Feature Package-Joseph Cacioppo, Andrew Briz; 3) Everybody Has a Story-Mario Perez, Fernando Juncadella; 4) News Package-Mario Perez, Fernando Juncadella; 5) Sports Package-Tito Benach, Nick Oyarzun

The new Weight Room & Wellness Center Construction Project has been moving forward steadily.   As of late March, the second floor is well underway with walls erected and the slab poured.   The entire facility should be finished and operational by the end of July. 

So far over $4 million has been raised towards this project.  However, the entire project is estimated to cost $7 Million, including equipment, so Columbus still needs to raise $2.5 million.  If you would like to make a donation to our capital campaign, please do so by CLICKING HERE.

On March 6th, 30 Mas Scholar seniors went on a thrilling and rewarding adventure as they completed the Team Ropes Adventure Challenge (TRAC) at FIU’s North Miami Campus.  TRAC is a challenging course that involves groups to work together in activities like  rope climbing, balancing on beams, and bridge making, all to accomplish a series of goals.  The students had to climb ropes to a height of 30 feet off the ground while being pulled and supported by one another.  “I am terrified of heights and didn’t think I could make the climb but after seeing everyone do it and hearing my friends cheering me on, I was able to climb 20 feet, it was very rewarding,” said Christopher Tonareli (’13).  Other participants were blind folded in activities requiring them to place a lot of trust in their fellow classmates.  All the activities encouraged the students to brainstorm, collaborate, and think creatively, all while keeping in mind everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.  “Initially there were some clashes of personalities and disorganization but after a few attempts, efficiency was improved, and everyone helped and relied on each other,” said Eduardo Morles (’13).

“It was a fun way to get to know my classmates better; everyone was able to complete the course because it was about staying strong mentally and not athletically,” said Henry Powell (‘13).  “We came out of our comfort zone...it was a memorable…we have many funny stories to tell,” said Morles.   

Ryan is a tremendous young man on and off the field. He was a leader on the freshmen football team and is a leader in the classroom. We are honored to have a young man like Ryan Brown at Columbus

The Columbus Geography Team, led by Mr. Cunningham, performed exceptionally well at the Independent Schools of South Florida Annual Geography Bee on March 14^th.  The team competed against 12 teams and finished in second place after being narrowly defeated in sudden death overtime.  It was CCHS' best finish at this annual competition.  The students who participated were: Sebastian Murati, Michael Orozco-Fletcher, Antonio Ramos, Kevin Cruz, Nick Austin, Oscar Guerra, Daniel Gonzalez, and Luis Moas.  Congratulations to these talented students

Over the summer of 2012, junior Andrew Briz, the current president of CCNN (The Columbus News Network) attended a journalism workshop at the University of Miami.  As part of the workshop, he created a video about the Cuban-American vote in the 2012 election that was entered into the Dow Jones News Fund’s Summer Workshops Competition.  The organization notified Andrew that he was  one of eight winners that were chosen from across the country.   

As a winner, a  $1,000 college scholarship has been reserved in his name which he can apply towards tuition/room and board expenses at the college of his choice for the 2013-2014 school year.  In addition, the DJNFC  will  re-publish his work in the “These Struck Our Fancy”  section of their newspaper for high school journalism teachers and on their website.

Congratulations to Andrew! 

On March 8th, The Holocaust Documentation and Education Center awarded Columbus Social Studies Teacher, Mary T. McCullagh with the highest honor that a teacher can receive from their organization - the Teacher of the Year Award. The HDEC Award Committee reviews the contributions of exceptional teachers from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, and selects only one award recipient whose contributions in Holocaust education are remarkable and outstanding, surpassing those of all other teachers in South Florida.   "Ms. Mary T. McCullagh meets this very high standard and we are honored to name her our Teacher of the Year," said Amanda McGee, Director of Eduation Outreach for the HDEC. 

For the past 18 years, Ms. McCullagh has attended the HDEC's prejudice reduction programs called Student Awareness Days. She has volunteered her time and expertise to help students obtain the full benefit of the experience. In addition, each year she organizes one of these unique programs at Christopher Columbus High School, where approximately 350 students have the opportunity to sit with Holocaust Survivors and ask them questions about their experiences. This program was the first of its kind at any private school in Florida.  Furthermore, she has both attended and presented at the HDEC's Teacher Institute on Holocaust Education sponsored by the Florida Department of Education and serves as a member of the Florida Commissioner's Task Force on Holocaust Education and is on the Educational Consultants’ Committee of the HDEC.

In November, Mrs. McCullagh was honored at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference as the Top Fellow of the Year by the Transatlantic Outreach Program.  The award was given to her in appreciation for her dedication to fostering German-American relations in the Social Studies classroom and beyond.

Congratulations Ms. McCullagh for this very well deserved honor! 

In March, the Columbus Debate Team earned top honors at the Florida Forensic League Varsity State Championship with Alex Bornote and Cristian Llop leading the team in a top 8 placement. Alex advanced to the October Finals while Cristian advanced into the Quarterfinals and placed 5^th overall.  In addition, Nicholas Anderson and Alex Bornote took the only two Miami-Dade spots to the National Forensic League Tournament which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama in June. Only six students qualify for each state to the Nationals.

Congratulations to these talented students!

Congressman Joe Garcia visited Columbus on March 1, 2013 to present a Congressional Records Statement that honors the school for 55 years of service to the community.  He also took time to speak to students and gave interviews to Columbus CCNN TV station reporters as well as to local news stations - CBS4, Channel 10, and Telemundo.  Afterwards, he took a tour of the Mas Technology Complex.       

The Congressman was accompanied by two Columbus alumni who currently work for him - Raul Martinez Jr. '92, his District Manager, and Giancarlo Sopo '01, his Director of Communications. 

Congressman Garcia entered the statement honoring Columbus into the Congressional Record on February 12, 2013.  To read the Extension of Remarks by the Congressman  - click here. 

Thank You Congressman Joe Garcia!

Click Here 
For More Information 

In February, four CCHS students/football players were selected by USA Football to represent the United States in a team comprised of 40 kids (age 18 and under) from throughout the country.  The team won their game against Canada (29 - 14).  Impressively, three of the CCHS players were chosen by the coaches and team to be the Captains.  

Pictured Above Are:
#48 Jose Alvarado (Captain)
#18 Tucker Beirne (Captain)
#36 Joey Gonzalez (Captain)
#43 Nick McBeath

National Vocation Awareness Week was celebrated at Columbus from January 14 - 18, 2013.  In partnership between the Vocation Team, Campus Ministry and the Department of Religious Studies, sophomores, juniors, and seniors enrolled in the second semester Religious Studies courses gathered in the Lawrence Bell Center to hear from guest speakers that presented various themes to our students.  The speakers that participated were: Marta Vargas (Family Life Program Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Miami) - Topic:  Marriage, Family Life, and Single Life); Fr. David Zirilli  (Vocations Director, Archdiocese of Miami - Topic:  Priesthood); Br. Dan O’Riordan, Vocations Director, Marist Brothers - Topic:  Religious life); Dr. James Dugard, Religious Studies Teacher and Candidate, Archdiocese of Miami Diaconate Program - Topic: Diaconate).   Thank you to all who participated.



Pictured above/center are Br. George DiCarluccio (Columbus Teacher - left) and Br. Dan O'Riordan (Vocations Director for the Marist Brothers - right) on the session day that focused on "Religious Life."

Thank you to all the students and their families who participated. 

View Herald Article

View UM Article about Bernard

Four seniors have met the requirements to enter the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program because of their high performance in the 2011 PSAT/NMSQT test. Due to their outstanding academic potential, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will refer them to two colleges or universities in the United States in which they are especially interested.

Congratulations To:

Corey Blanco
Thomas Cook
Thomas Nanni
David Sanchez

View Article

Congratulations to athletic director, Chris McKeon and all the coaches who worked so hard with our student athletes throughout the year.