Good morning! I'm Amber Golwitzer!
And I'm Nicole Krieps! You're listening to the "Bear Facts", the weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Today is Band Day in Algona, and once again the Bishop Garrigan Solid Gold Marching Band will be part of the festivities. In spite of bad weather, the band has been working hard to get ready for today's competition. They'll be marching in the parade this afternoon at 1:00, and then tonight at around 6:15 they'll be competing in the field competition.
This year's Garrigan band show includes "Secret of the Desert", with a saxophone trio featuring Spenser Rahm, Amanda Golwitzer, and Gavin Freking. The song "Salsa and Chimps" features solos by saxophonists Roaslind Kirsch and Amber Golwitzer. Another number is the '60s classic "Sloop John B", which features a solo by Jeff Hellman on the trombone.
One special feature of this year's show is "Walking on the Sun", an ensemble piece by the whole percussion section. Percussionists include Steven Kellner, David Murphy, John Kohlhaas, Chris Buscher, and Matt Courtney, as well as Sam Dittrich, Alison Brandenburg, Sadie Foertsch, Autumn Thompson, Samantha Arndorfer, Jessica Cink, and Bridget
Doughan.
The field commanders for this year's Solid Gold Marching Band are Autumn Thompson and John Kohlhaas. The auxiliary flag corps includes Kim Frideres, Keshar Nadkarni, Sarah Schmitt, Melissa Hilbert, Lizzie Mayer, and Michaela Pease. Dennis Freking is the Garrigan band director, with assistance from Seton bandmaster John Mallett. Good luck to all the band as they perform today in the Algona Band Day competition.
Last Saturday the Bishop Garrigan math team traveled to Cedar Rapids for their first competition of the year. The Bears ended up in second place in the eight-team field, just behind Vinton/Shellsburg. Seniors Jeff Hellman and Steven Kellner and junior John Kohlhaas all qualified for state. Congratulations to them, as well as to Coach Daryl Kohlhaas and the whole math team.
Quiz bowl season is about ready to start. The Bears will have their first tournament two weeks from today, as they host the largest academic competition in Iowa, the Bishop Garrigan Invitational. This year's Garrigan team is one of the largest ever-with more than thirty-five students out for quiz bowl. Leading the team are veterans of national competition like Steven Kellner, David Murphy, John Kohlhaas, Rachel McGuire, and Matt Courtney. Other returning seniors include Mike Blocker, Autumn Thompson, Drew Miller, Zac Lickteig, Jeff Hellman, Eric Fouarge, Nick Dahlhauser, and Joe Hellman. Good luck to the quiz bowl team throughout the year!
One of the least known organizations at Garrigan is a group called "DARTS". No, they don't throw things at targets. "DARTS" stands for "Drama, art, and speech", and they provide funding whenever any of the fine arts at Garrigan has a special need. Among the things "DARTS" has done is buying recording equipment for us at the "Bear Facts". English teacher Mary McCall is in charge of "DARTS", and they're having their annual fundraising drive right now.
Last month we had the annual calendar drive at Garrigan. A lot of people were upset because of the printing quality of the pictures on the calendar. Because of public outcry, the printer has re-printed all the pictures at no charge, and they're being sent out free to everyone who bought a calendar. The development office and printer both apologize for the mix-up, but they hope everyone enjoys the re-printed pictures.
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Mark Steier and Janel Richter. Here with their biographies is Beth Becker.
Mark Steier is a Whittemore native who is best known for his accomplishments in football and track. Mark also enjoys intramural basketball and FFA. He is part of the group that maintains the school website, and as part of that class he's created his own personal web page featuring seventy photos of himself and his friends. Mark plans to major in agribusiness in college, and we wish him good luck.
Janel Richter is a volleyball and basketball captain who has also lettered in softball and track. She is an honor student whose other activities include choir, speech, drama, broadcasting, youth council, and the National Honor Society. Janel plans to major in either elementary education or business at college. Best wishes, Janel!
Thanks, Beth! On this week's Golden Bear calendar, today is Algona Band Day. The band will march in the parade this afternoon and then around 6:15 they'll compete in the field competition at Algona High.
Monday the volleyball team plays at Eagle Grove and the freshman football team hosts Ft. Dodge St. Edmond. Then on Tuesday there's cross-country at Eagle Grove.
Next Wednesday eight student council members will attend a leadership workshop in Webster City. That night the volleyball team hosts Humboldt and the JV football players travel to West Bend.
Next Thursday and Friday we'll finish up the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. Then next Friday night the varsity football team plays at Lake Mills.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to join us again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
