THE BEAR FACTS
January 7, 2023

 Good morning! I’m Savannah Waechter!

 I’m Avery Berte!

 And I’m Eva Snyder! Welcome to our first “Bear Facts” of 2023. Happy New Year from everyone here at Bishop Garrigan High School!

 Because of weather school has been kind of hit or miss since the middle of December. We even had an extra-long holiday break because of snow days both before and after Christmas. We’ll still be completing the first semester next week, and because of counting minutes rather than days, we’re still on track to finish the school year at the scheduled time in May.

 The snow postponed our annual Christmas concert twice. It was originally scheduled for the Wednesday before Christmas and was then rescheduled for January 4th. We’re hoping three’s a charm, because now the concert is scheduled for tomorrow evening, Sunday, January 8, at 5pm. The forecast is looking good, and—knock on wood—we hope that this time we’ll be able to perform the concert.

 The holiday concert begins with the jazz choir singing “Mister Santa”. Then the junior high Northside Singers will perform “The Little Drummer Boy”, “Santa Tell Me”, and “Carol of the Bells”. The high school choir will sing a song in Latin, followed by “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella”, “Sing We Now of Christmas”, “Mary, Did You Know”, and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”. Finally the combined choirs will sing “Silent Night”.

 High school students with solos at the concert include Eva Snyder, Nathaniel Darling, Madelyn Bronk, Benjy Trainer, Savannah Waechter, and Joey Doerning. While it may be a little bit later than expected, we hope the Christmas concert will be a fun way for everybody to finish off their holiday season.

 The cast was recently announced for the BGHS spring play. The play is scheduled for March 17 and 18. This year the Garrigan drama department will be presenting Angel in the Night, a drama set in Poland at the time of the Nazi invasion. Cast members include Madelyn Bronk, Ava Hough, Savannah Waechter, Joey Doerning, Eva Snyder, and Violet Bode.

 The cast also features Brooke Ludwig, Maggie Vaske, Alaina Casey, Spencer Doerning, Drew Casey, and Sam Plathe; plus Benjy Trainer, Nate Bronk, Brendan Plathe, Griffin Geving, and Thadd Kollasch. Rounding out the group are five actors performing monologues: Gavin Swift, Kayden Graves, Elena Salinas, Isabella Waechter, and Lauren Swift. Mark your calendar for March 17 and 18 for the BGHS spring play.

 Today four Garrigan students are headed over to Mason City for honor band. The North Central Iowa Bandmasters Association is holding their annual honor band at NIACC. Representing Garrigan are Isabella Waechter on flute, Lauren Swift on clarinet, Molly Peterson on oboe, and Addison Kuper on bassoon. Congratulations to all these top musicians!

 A little over a month ago the Golden Bear quiz bowl team competed in the fall 3—2—1, an online contest that features academic teams from all over the country. The Bears’ score of 231 points was the highest among all teams from Iowa and #63 nationwide. Students competing included Brendan Plathe, Ben Greteman, Spencer Doerning, Alaina Bormann, and Sam Greteman; as well as Nick Laubenthal, Nathaniel Darling, Sam Plathe, and Benjy Trainer. Congratulations, Golden Bear quiz bowl!

 The first semester is almost finished at Garrigan. We’ll be reviewing in most of our classes next Monday and Tuesday, and then semester tests are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. There’s always a special schedule on semester test days. We’ll have three hour-long tests each day, with open campus in the time between the exams.

 Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Aidan Hovey. Here to tell you about him is Drew Casey.

 Aidan Hovey is one of five seniors on the Golden Bear boys basketball team this year, where he’s especially known for his defensive skills. Aidan also started at tight end on the football team, and in the past he has been in track and baseball. He’s also helped out with a lot of service projects at school and in the community. We wish Aidan all the best after high school.

 Thanks, Drew! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s the North Central Iowa Bandmasters Association honor band today at NIACC. Tomorrow is the feast of the Epiphany, and the choir will have their Christmas concert at 5pm.

 Tuesday we’ll have a student mass. That night there’s wrestling at Okoboji, and the Bears will host a basketball quad against Belmond—Klemme.

 There’s parish busing next Wednesday, because the Algona Community Schools are not in session. We’ll begin semester tests that day.

 Tests continue on Thursday, and that night the boys basketball team has a rescheduled game against Newell—Fonda. Then on Friday the first semester ends.

 That’s our first “Bear Facts” for the new year. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.