Good morning! I’m Nathan Krieps!
I’m Brittany Kirsch!
And I’m Erin Quinlin! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, your weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Last Saturday we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Gala, and the Silver Celebration turned out to be the best Gala ever. Four hundred twenty guests attended this year’s event, and when all the bids were in, we took in more than $337,000, which is $35,000 increase over the previous record. Thanks to everyone who helped make Gala 2014 a huge success!
There’s more good news on the financial front. The Garrigan capital campaign has passed another milestone. In addition to raising over $3 million in pledges, we now have more than $1.7 million in cash on hand—which is what we need to go ahead with the building project without going into debt.
Final plans are being drawn up for the new gym as well as classroom and office space that will be added onto the school. We expect to break ground this summer, with construction going on all through the 2014 – 2015 school year. Thanks to everyone who has contributed toward this great improvement for our school.
Last Monday five Garrigan students competed in the state Envirothon. Only fifteen teams qualify for the state Envirothon, and this year Garrigan was the #15 seed going into state. The Bears were over-achievers, though. They did well on the tests and skills competitions and ended up in 9th place overall in Iowa, beating perennial Envirothon powerhouses like Decorah and Iowa City.
At the state Envirothon, the team made a fifteen-minute oral presentation and completed written and skills tests about wildlife, aquatics, soils, and forestry. Garrigan’s state team included Kristian McGuire, Kylie Fox, Morgan Frideres, Taylor Frideres, and Emily Riesenberg. Congratulations to Coach Beany Bode and the Envirothon team!
This past Tuesday the Garrigan quiz bowl team found out the results from the online spring 3—2—1 competition. The Bears score of 275 earned them second place statewide in Iowa. Only Davenport Central had a higher score than Bishop Garrigan. The Bears were #57 nationwide, which places them in the top third of schools around the country. Congratulations, quiz bowl!
Last week the Algona Public Library announced the winners in the annual Kossuth County Garden of Poets contest. Garrigan students have a long tradition of success in this contest, and we did well again this year. The overall winner for all age levels was Garrigan senior Levi Bernhard, while juniors Mark Fakler, Hannah Bernhard, and Ben Vaske swept first, second, and third places in the high school division. Reece Wadle, Andrew Miller, and Taylor Illg all received honorable mention. Congratulations to all these winners and to English teacher Mary McCall.
Last Monday art teacher Sheena Pease took nine students to the North Central Conference art show. 2014 will be the final year Garrigan will participate in the show, since the school is leaving the conference after this school year. Junior Morgan Hanna received a purple ribbon for the judge’s award at the art show, while Tess Mayer was named runner-up. Other Garrigan students honored include Michael Berke, Emma Plathe, Sarah Skilling, Nicole Walker, Carolyn Baxter, Olivia Vaske, and Cady Steinman. Congratulations, artists!
Today Garrigan is hosting the state solo and ensemble music contest. Band and choir directors from all over the area will be at Garrigan to perform both individually and in small groups. Music directors Ken and Linda Ferjak have organized the event, and Garrigan has dozens of entries competing throughout the day. Good luck, musicians!
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Bailey Kohlhaas. Bailey is probably best known for his accomplishments in football. He’s also been successful in track Bailey is a fun-loving guy, but he also makes sure he does well in all his classes. He’s part of the Christian Leadership in Action group, and he’s gone through training to become an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. He’ll be off to college next fall, and we wish him all the best.
Because of the Easter holiday, we’ll be looking at two weeks of events on our Golden Bear calendar. It begins today, as Garrigan hosts the state solo and ensemble music contest.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which is when St. Cecelia’s packages meals for Parish Families Against Hunger. Many Garrigan students will be helping with that project.
Tuesday the golf teams play Clear Lake. The boys are at home, while the girls are away. There’s boys track at Iowa Falls that night, while the girls track team runs at Algona High.
Wednesday will be the third trip during this Lenten season that Christian Leadership students are making to the Mary’s Place Caring and Sharing Hands mission in Minneapolis. The trap shooting team competes at Palmer Wednesday night.
The junior class has an overnight retreat Wednesday night. Then Thursday we have our annual Morning of Reflection at Garrigan. That afternoon the quiz bowl team will compete in the online Think Fast tournament sponsored by Iowa State University.
There’s no school activities over the Triduum that runs from Good Friday through Easter. On Easter Monday the boys golf team plays at Spencer.
The golf teams face Iowa Falls and Eagle Grove on Tuesday the 22nd. Also that night the girls track team runs at Garner, and there’s boys track at Belmond.
Wednesday the 23rd is the city-wide “Giving Back” Day. We’ll dismiss early for teacher inservice that day, and there’s also a rosary scheduled at Garrigan. That night the trap shooting team hosts a meet.
Friday the 25th the golf teams take on Algona High. The boys track team runs at Pocahontas that night. Finally on Saturday the 26th it’s Prom Night 2014.
Finally this week we want to offer our sympathy and concern to the family of Garrigan students Logan and Megan Besch, whose home burned down this week. Our prayers are with you in this difficult time.
That’s the “Bear Facts”. We’ll be off next week as we celebrate Easter, but be sure to join us two weeks from today for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
