Mission & Ministry

During the annual Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony on March 22, senior Kelly Carville will be recognized as Student of the Year and faculty member Jeff Hutchinson-Smyth will be recognized as Educator of the Year.

Sr. Judi Keehnen ‘59 received a special blessing from Fr. Jan Schmidt ‘72 as her ministry in Cincinnati and at McNicholas draws to a close. Sr. Judi has been a part of the fabric of McNicholas High School since she entered McNicholas as a freshman in 1955. Since her graduation in 1959, she has served her alma mater as a teacher, coach, school board member, alumni board member, archivist, and volunteer.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Board for CancerFree KIDS Night for the Fight, senior Shelby Highfield is working to “knock out cancer.” Her heart and hard work as a member of the board helped CancerFree Kids to raise over $245,000 for cancer research. Seven teams of students from McNicholas participated in the event as well, contributing to that total.

More than 40 McNicholas students are skipping study hall for a good reason: They’re tutoring kids at Sands Montessori, Mt. Washington Elementary, and St. Joseph Catholic School. Through a program launched in the 2021-22 school year, our students provide reading enrichment at Sands, math and language arts support at Mt. Washington, and homework assistance at St. Joe’s.

Since becoming school Chaplain and Theology teacher in 2021, Fr. Kevin Scalf of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood has woven himself into the fabric of McNicholas through his wit, sense of humor and ability to make anyone he meets immediately feel valued.

McNicholas High School celebrated students achieving their academic best by inducting 31 new members into the Altiora Chapter of National Honor Society on Thursday, Dec. 1. The National Honor Society recognizes the achievements of junior and senior students who excel academically and fill leadership roles in the school and community.

McNicholas students donated, packed, and wrapped over 100 gift boxes to be shared with local teens through Hope Emergency. This is our ninth year partnering with Hope Emergency to help make Christmas brighter for our neighbors.

The Theology Department held their annual Heritage Week, a mini course for the freshman class highlighting the history, legacy, culture and vision of McNicholas High School. Students learned about our founders the Sisters of Saint Joseph, our namesake Archbishop John T. McNicholas, and the values and mission we continue to strive toward today.

McNicholas student organization Hands Across Campus (HAC) was honored for their compassionate leadership by the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC).  At their annual gathering, IJPC awarded the first Youth Justice Award to HAC for their work to promote justice, diversity, and inclusion at McNicholas and in the community.  

During a six-day service immersion retreat, 12 seniors visited eastern Tennessee to serve the rural poor and build a community both among themselves and with the people in the Appalachian Mountains. This marks the 41st year that McNicholas has traveled to areas in Appalachia in conjunction with Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic organization dedicated to serving the poor and establishing a Catholic presence in rural areas of the United States.

The McNicholas Mission & Ministry Team wants to remind and encourage students to walk with the two feet of love: charitable works and social justice. As the video "Two Feet of Love in Action" by the USCCB reminds us, “God gave us two feet. If we don’t use both, we don’t get very far.” As such, McNicholas expects students to walk with both feet during their four years as Rockets, requiring at least 40 hours of Christian service prior to graduation.

McNicholas welcomed 5 students from Collegi Casp, a sister school in Barcelona, Spain, for a 3-week study abroad program. During their stay, Ariadna, Ana, Andrea, Biel, and Abel lived with McNicholas host families, explored Cincinnati, and experienced life as a Rocket. They participated in clubs, cheered from the Launch Pad, attended a full class schedule, and even helped in our Spanish classes.  

McNicholas is excited to unveil Leadership McNick, its newest initiative in the development of compassionate leaders. Leadership McNick is a four-year, intentional growth experience that combines high-quality leadership training with small-group relationship building, retreat programming, vocation and career exploration, and formal and informal mentoring.

Partnering with Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, members of the RLC collected and packed hygiene kits to send to Manna from Heaven Outreach, a group working to support the people of Eastern Kentucky who were devastated by the recent flooding. With a focus on Community, Curiosity, and Creativity, the RLC provides students with the opportunity to learn through community engagement.

McNicholas is proud of and grateful for theology teachers Mrs. Mary Beth Sandmann and Mr. Jeff Hutchinson-Smyth who were featured in the August issue of The Catholic Telegraph as “Role Models of Faith.”

Students in Mrs. Kendra Lonneman’s personal finance classes learned about the importance of philanthropy and supported pediatric cancer research by participating in the Magnified Giving program. 

The senior St. Joseph Scholars highlighted the ways they have grown in compassionate leadership as they presented their Social Justice Capstone Projects.

The Class of 2025 grew in compassionate leadership this week as they bonded together during leadership formation. This day of formation laid the groundwork for the Leadership McNick program, a joint venture between McNicholas and the Xavier University Leadership Center (XLC), that will officially kick off next school year.

As part of the Guardian Angels School’s CANabilities Program, McNicholas hosted the eighth grade class from GA, leading them through a morning of witness, reflection, and activities fostering kindness and compassion.

Around McNicholas, you will often hear the phrase, “Once a Rocket, Always a Rocket.” So when one of your own is about to play on football’s biggest stage, we don’t just cheer (though we’ve been doing a lot of that!).  We act. To support 2004 McNicholas graduate Kevin Huber, senior Grant Must designed and marketed a “Rockets show their stripes” t-shirt whose proceeds benefit Huber’s FUR Foundation.

Rockets grew in compassionate leadership today thanks to Hands Across Campus (HAC), our inclusion and diversity student organization, who organized an assembly whose topic was autism and theme was “Show me my neighbor.”

St. Joseph Scholars spent the day serving and learning at the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub.  Scholars sorted recyclables, “shopped” for reusable items, and learned about ways that they can be more sustainable in their daily lives.

During October, McNicholas Rockets for Life challenged our community to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life through prayer, a Pro-Life Poster Contest, a Cup-Cake Day, a clothing drive benefiting A Caring Place, the annual Evening for Life, and more.

Over the past month, Hands Across Campus (HAC) has led our community in the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, a time dedicated to recognizing influential Hispanic Americans and their positive impact on society.

McNicholas is excited to welcome Father Kevin Scalf of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood as School Chaplain and Theology Teacher. 

After 45 years of service, Mr. John Norman taught his last class at McNicholas High School and exited the school building amidst the cheering of students and staff.

Congratulations to freshman artist Lucy Timko whose artwork was selected as one of twelve designs for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Bicentennial Holy Cards.

Senior Bella Dawson received the Spirit of Sr. Dorothy Stang Award for exemplifying Sr. Dorothy’s values, including outreach to others and care for creation.

Morgan Vogler, Class of 2017, speaks to faculty and students about taking steps toward sustainable living.

The McNicholas St. Vincent de Paul Youth Conference helps members grow in compassionate leadership through service learning.

McNicholas celebrates its 125th Kairos retreat.

Students team up with CancerFree KIDS to fundraise for and spread awareness about childhood cancer. Rockets raised over $15,000.

Rockets celebrate Martin Luther King Day by participating in a service learning opportunity through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's Ozanam Center.