By Nicholas Currier ‘20

Similar to that of Harry Potter, Brother Rice created four houses called Cork, Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford. The idea behind this was to create a new way for the students to interact and grow as a community. The Irish house names are derived from Blessed Edmund Rice, who started schools for poor boys in Ireland.

House Cork’s dean is none other than Mr. Dunne.

House Dublin is headed by Doc. Luxem.

House Limerick’s dean is Mr. Dolan.

House Waterford is headed by Mr. Prunkle.

Mr. Dunne, House Dean of Cork, shared some of his thoughts on the new system and how it has affected him.

Being Dean of a house sounds like a lot of responsibility. Mr. Dunne discussed what being the Dean of House Cork meant to him:  “Being named the Dean of House Cork is an honor. It is a great responsibility to make sure all the members of the house are well-served and it is a privilege to be involved.”

Besides faculty and staff, there are student leaders who help out and guide the other members. These student leaders include Kevin Phelan, Charlie Fitzgerald, Nick Currier,James Maguire, Austin Veal, Kevin O’Shea, Rico Powell, Sean Mahanes, Luke Lawrence, Gabriel Valles, and Christopher Valles.

House Cork has some beliefs of their own. Mr. Dunne said, “House Cork believes its members embody the charism of Edmund Rice as we strive to live up to our mission statement of acting manfully in Christ Jesus.”

The house system seems to be a positive institution for the Brother Rice community. Mr. Dunne said, “The houses of Brother Rice High School afford our community opportunities for growth and brotherhood above what we have had in the past. The house system is a great scaffold to put students in a position to better serve the Brother Rice community. Ultimately, though, this system will be successful because of the great students of Brother Rice High School and how they embrace this opportunity.”

Ben Blahusiak is a senior and a member of House Cork. Ben said, “I think it is definitely a good way to get freshmen to interact with upperclassmen, but I do not like how forced it is. It could be better if the freshmen were interacting naturally in the groups during different activities or games.”

The assemblies and competitions with the other houses are a way to compete in a fun way. Ben said, “It is fun to watch. I like that we can leave class and go and experience a fun activity with our house. I am excited to see new competitions and more sport activities that involve the houses.”

The house system is still new, but everyone has high hopes for it to expand and bring all of the students closer together. Ben agrees, and said, “With some changes, I could see it lasting a while within the Brother Rice community.”