Good morning! I'm Abby Rahm!
And I'm Jessica Richter! Welcome to another edition of the "Bear Facts," the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrgan High School
Bishop Garrigan speech students did remarkably well at the district individual speech contest that we hosted last Saturday. Thirteen Garrigan entries received Division I, or excellent ratings and will now advance to state. Dan Bormann, Wade MacDonald, and Jake Kohlhaas all earned I's in Poetry; Mandy Rahm and Marian Studer received I's in Prose; and Tony Detrick and Jake Kohlhaas got I's in Improvisational Acting.
Amanda Freking earned a I in Radio News Announcing, and Angie Kohlhaas received a I in Acting. In Literary Program, I's went to Julie McGuire and Janet Kramer. The final Division I ratings were earned by Katie Reising and Amanda Freking, in the Storytelling category. All thirteen of these entries will now move on to the state speech contest, which will be held Saturday, March 20, in Storm Lake.
A group of Garrigan students headed out on the road today at 4am. They're on the way to Iowa City, where they'll be participating in the University of Iowa Mathematics Competition. Seton Grade School has traditionally done very well in mathematics competitions, but this is the first time in years that Garrigan students have competed at the high school level. Students taking the challenge include senior Abby Rahm, sophomores Angie and Lynn Kohlhaas, and freshmen Bob Brandenburg, Rebecca McGuire, and Jennifer Faber. Good luck to Coach Daryl Kohlhaas and the whole math competition team.
If you happen to be headed down to Des Moines next Monday, be sure to stop by Veterans Auditorium. Monday afternoon the state champion Bishop Garrigan danz squad will be performing as part of the halftime entertainment at the girls' state basketball tournament. You probably remember that last fall the danz squad finished first in Iowa in the jazz/funk division. Now they'll be showing off what they've got to a statewide audience next Monday at Vets.
There's a much bigger trip for the danz squad coming up at the end of the week. They'll be leaving next Friday for sunny San Diego, where they'll represent Iowa at the National Dance Competition. Twelve girls will be competing at nationals. They include Melanie McGuire, Natalie Salz, Abby Monson, Sarah Foth, Amanda Hilbert, and Anna Erpelding. Other girls competing are Jillian Trenary, Corrie Stetzel, Kelly Kunkel, Heather Johnson, Allison Courtney, and Monica Studer. Coach Colleen Conway-Schiltz and danz squad members Abby Bartolo, Tracey Fickbohm, and Katie Patterson will also be making the trip to San Diego.
It's not cheap to send the whole danz squad to California for the national competition. The girls have held a series of fundraisers to help defray the costs. They had T-shirt sales, a cavatini supper, and pop sales at Hy-Vee and Fareway. Several people and organizations have made donations to help them out, and they also got some of the money from the student council magazine drive last fall. The girls would like to thank everyone who is helping to make their trip to nationals a reality.
This is the first time in twelve years that Garrigan has won the state championship in drill team, and it's the first time ever that they've been to nationals. Their routine, called "Raise the Roof", was created by Natalie Salz and Melanie McGuire. The girls will be in San Diego March 12-15. The preliminary competition is one week from today, March 13, and the finals are Sunday the 14th. The top teams at nationals will be featured on a TV special on the USA Network, which will air Tuesday, March 30. We hope we'll be seeing our Garrigan girls on that show. Good luck to the Golden Bear danz squad!
If you haven't been to the Bishop Garrigan website recently, it's time to check it out again. There are lots of changes and improvements. The most recent addition is an on-line school store, where you can buy Golden Bear clothing and memorabilia. There's also a whole new aumni secton that features a stroll down memory lane, with photos and facts from old Garrigold yearbooks. Nick Even, evin Lind, Wade MacDonald, and Josh Harp have been working on the website this year. The easiest way to ind their work is to go to the City of Algona page at "www.algona.org", and then click on "Catholic Schools". So be sure to check out Garrgan's home in cyberspace.
This week's Senior Spotlight shines on Paul Richter and Lisa Rasmussen.
Paul Richter is a four-year football player who was a stand-out running back last fall. He has also made it to state in track for three straight years. This Whittemore native is also active in intramural basketball. He'll be off to college next year. Good luck, Paul!
Lisa Rasmussen comes to Garrigan from the Wesley area. She is a National Honor Society member who has also won awards in English and science. Lisa's biggest activity is band, and away from school she's active in 4-H. She plans to attend UNI next year, and we wish her the very best in the future.
On our Golden Bear calendar, today six Garrihan students are showing off their skills in the University of Iowa Mathematics comptition. Tomorrow is the third Sunday of Lent, and intramurals continue.
Monday and Tuesday students will be meeting with their homeroom advisors as they start selecting classes for the 1999-2000 school year. Also on Monday, the danz squad will perform at the girls' state basketball tournament in Des Moines.
Tuesday at 6:30 the basketball teams will hold their awards potluck. Then on Wednesday we'll be taking group pictures for the Garrigold yearbook.
Next Friday and Saturday there's indoor track at Iowa State University. Friday is also the day the danz squad leaves for nationals. Finally next Saturday, the quiz bowl team will compete at Northeast Hamilton in Blairsburg.
And finally, next weekend, be sure to attend the special benefit dance to raise money for Garrigan senior Melissa McGuire.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. Thanks for listening, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
