St. Thomas Aquinas High Receives Unexpected $250,000 Gift

DOVER—
For several years, St. Thomas Aquinas High School’s largest benefactor lived next door at St. Ann’s Home…only the school never knew it. Last October, 99-year-old Alicia Sullivan passed away after an extended illness. A resident of Somersworth and later of Dover, and a daily communicant at St. Mary’s Parish, Ms. Sullivan was the last surviving member of a family that included two other unmarried sisters, Ruth and Melanie Sullivan.
Together, the sisters invested their financial resources wisely, and when the time came to consider who would benefit from their foresight, their thoughts turned to education. The oldest of the three, Ruth, was a woman who had earned a college degree at a time when such an occurrence was extremely rare. Combined with their devout Catholic faith and deep understanding of the needs of Dover residents, the sisters designated St. Mary Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas High School as the beneficiaries of their largesse.
On Tuesday, July 12, 2011, Sullivan family attorney Anthony McManus, and longtime family friend Paul Boucher presented a check to St. Thomas in the amount of $250,000 – by far the largest single donation ever bestowed on STA. According to Mr. Boucher, the sisters were a remarkable trio whom he and his late wife had come to know when the oldest Sullivan sister was stricken with ovarian cancer. Alicia, he said, “had a sharp wit and a ready quip” and along with her sister Melanie, had been a supervisor with the telephone company with a reputation for toughness.
It is clear, however, that the sisters had a soft side as well. Their legacy to St. Thomas Aquinas designates that the bequest be invested, and the income used to provide scholarships for needy students from Dover or Somersworth who attend STA. For Principal Kevin Collins, this legacy helps fulfill one of his chief goals: making a St. Thomas Aquinas education accessible for as many deserving students as possible.
“This gift couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Principal Collins. “The opportunity to experience an STA education should not be a faraway dream, but a reality.”
St. Thomas Aquinas has long been committed to this goal, and is particularly focused on maintaining affordability in the current economic downturn. A little-known fact about STA is its financial aid program, which provides nearly a half-million dollars annually in grants and scholarships. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 students at the school receive some level of aid.
“Many of our top students could not have attended St. Thomas without help,” Collins noted.
“However, perhaps even more important than the benefit they receive from us is the way in which these students – like all our students – enrich our lives.”
The Sullivan legacy check was accepted on behalf of the school community by Dominique MacDonald, Vice-Chairperson of the St. Thomas Aquinas School Board – and someone who understands the impact of this gift more than most. She and her husband Tim are both members of the STA class of 1982, her children are recent grads, and she was recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award.
“The sisters have given us a tremendous gift,” she remarked upon accepting the gift. “In this economy, I’ve seen how an STA education has become more difficult to attain. This will help so many families.”
The gift of the Sullivan sisters – Ruth, Alicia and Melanie – will help secure the future of STA students for years to come. There is a play by Anton Chekov which includes this line: “…our sufferings will pass into joy for those who will live after us, happiness and peace will be established upon earth, and they will remember kindly and bless those who have lived before.”
The name of the play? “The Three Sisters.”
Photo caption: From left to right: Sullivan family attorney Anthony McManus, family friend Paul Boucher, STA Dean of Students Gordon Quimby, Vice-Chairperson of the STA School Board Dominique MacDonald, Dean of Studies Ron Holtz and Principal Kevin Collins. (Courtesy photo)

Opening Scenes: The Final ‘Harry Potter’

By Chip Schrader
Movie Reviewer
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” begins with Voldemort casting a bolt of lightning into the night sky. The scene cuts to the ghostly black dementors hovering above Hogwarts, the once magical wonderland that has now become a brooding and ominous castle that resembles a giant lair in classic Gothic literature where evil lurks. Severus Snape, the new headmaster, looks down upon his school, the children march like stormtroopers inside. Harry is hiding out with his friends in a small hut; he gazes into a broken mirror that reflects his own face, and that of the deceased former headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
All bets are off in this final installment of the Harry Potter legend. All of the roles are carried out by the same actors as the previous films, and they continue to embody their character with precision. The most notable newcomer is Albus Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, played by Ciaran Hinds. While he plays a smaller role in this film, he is masterfully placed to fill in a few gaps of Dumbledore’s past, but the role is too brief to get a feel for the character.
The film, as a whole, takes broad sweeps of the original book, as to be expected. But, the film is best judged upon its own merit since cinema is at a great handicap compared to literature. In comparison to Part 1, Part 2, if possible, is even darker and takes place underground, and in narrow passages, while its predecessor was greatly shot in the vast countryside. The claustrophobia the director provides in the cinematography builds tension for the viewers as Harry must invade Bellatrix Lestranges’ vault at Gringot’s bank.
Dragons, giants, and assorted ghouls inhabit the land in this film, and boost its grandiosity without providing the cheesy CGI side effects that plague a Michael Bay film, i.e. “Transformers.”
Harry’s return to Hogwarts is marked with a chilling message from Voldemort. The old magic of Hogwarts, greatly missing from the previous installment, swarms in a mass of darkness and mayhem, and the expansive campus becomes the site for an epic battle between good and evil.
The shortcomings include the fact that Harry never seems in too much danger of Voldemort catching him. It just plays out as a scavenger hunt for Harry, Hermione and Ron, while the deatheaters wait idly by. The visions Harry gets of Voldemort provide glimpses of evil, but no real suspense. The necessity of Harry to face Voldemort, and the circumstance under which he must meet him do provide some white knuckle viewing three-quarters through the movie.
The bottom line: this movie is darker, creepier, and more intriguing than any of the previous films. It is even more entertaining than the first part. The cinematography is gorgeous, and uses shadows and perpetual darkness to not only convey a sense of foreboding, but makes it a beautiful movie to look at. If the movie could stand to be an hour longer, the loss of many characters shouldn’t have been glazed over, and the battle deserved greater detail as does the character development. Combined with the previous release, the character development and action will appear more balanced. Collectively, both parts are a nearly flawless grand slam. 4.5 out of 5.
Photo caption: (Courtesy movie poster of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”)

Thursday Night Special at Warner House

PORTSMOUTH—
The Warner House will offer special tours of the c.1716 mansion throughout the 2011 open season. Sandra Rux, Museum and Collections Manager at the Portsmouth Historical Society, will lead a tour focuses on the museum’s many unique textiles. Light refreshments will be served after the tour. Admission is $5 for Warner House members and $10 for non-members. Registration is encouraged and can be done by calling 603-436-5909 or emailing info@warnerhouse.org. The Warner House is located at 105 Daniel Street in downtown Portsmouth.
The Warner House was occupied continuously by the Warner family until becoming a historic house museum in 1930. Family members have stayed involved with their ancestral home and collection pieces are often returned back to the museum to be placed where they were once used. The Warner House textile collection includes crewel work, magnificent reproduction nineteenth century bed-hangings and many family costumes. Visitors to the house during this tour will be shown pieces not normally on display.
The Warner House is the earliest extant brick urban mansion in New England, It was built in 1716-1718 for Captain Archibald Macpheadris and his bride-to-be Sarah Wentworth, daughter of New Hampshire’s Lieutenant Governor, John Wentworth. The long history of the house is told in rooms furnished with many of the original family pieces, documented by estate inventories and early photographs. Each room represents different owners, culminating in the recently restored parlor of Evelyn Sherburne (d. 1929), one of the last residents. The museum is open for tours from noon to 4 p.m. every day but Tuesday. Contact the Warner House at 436-5909 or visit www.warnerhouse.org.
Photo caption: Warner House in Portsmouth will offer special tours throughout the season, providing a behind-the-scenes look at areas of the museum not typically on display. (Courtesy photo)