THE BEAR FACTS
September 12, 2020

 Good morning! I’m Joseph Trainer!

 I’m Riley Rosenmeyer!

 And I’m Reese Rosenmeyer! Welcome to the “Bear Facts”, where we’re getting ready for Homecoming here at Bishop Garrigan High School.

 After all the problems in 2020, everybody wants to get away, and our Homecoming theme goes along with that. The theme this year is “Road Trip 2020”, and each day next week we’ll dress for a different road trip destination. Monday will be “To the Beach Day”, Tuesday we head “To the Stadium”, and Wednesday we head “To the Battle”. Thursday we’ll head “Into the Wild”, and Friday is “To the Field” Day.

 In addition to the dress-up days, all the classes are preparing decorations like banners and spirit squares to share the Homecoming feeling. We’ll also have the traditional class competition on Wednesday, where everyone in high school competes in a variety of games. Then we’ll crown our annual Mr. Garrigan on Friday morning.

 While there are some modifications for social distancing, we’ll be keeping up most of the Homecoming traditions. High school students will have our annual Homecoming mass Friday morning in the new gym, where there’s more space to spread out. The parade will follow a new route, traveling from Garrigan to Seton via Diagonal Street. Adults are welcome to watch near the Garrigan parking lot, by the railroad tracks on Main Street, or by Algona Marine and Sport on Commercial Street.
 

 Homecoming is always a big time for all the fall sports. This weekend the cross-country team will kick off Homecoming with the big CYO Tournament, and they’ll run again Monday at Emmetsburg—which is literally a “homecoming” for some of our top runners, since they live there. The volleyball team will play at home on Tuesday against North Union, and next weekend they’ll have their CYO tournament at LeMars. And, of course, there’s also the big Homecoming football game, with the Bears hosting Alta—Aurelia next Friday night.

 The Homecoming queen candidates for 2020 are Ava Bartolo, Anna Berke, Kiana Book, Gracie Elsbecker, and Gracie Rosenmeyer. The king candidates include Mitch Buscherfeld, Kale Kramer, Joe Merron, Kellen Murphy, and Joseph Trainer. The winners will be announced at a special coronation ceremony next Friday afternoon at 1:00.

 The annual Garrigan calendar drive is off to a good start, and it will continue through most of September. Money raised in the calendar drive helps to support the school transportation budget. That’s more important than ever this year, since with social distancing we have to use more buses to transport students to school activities. Calendars cost $30, and they come with a raffle entry that lets you win from $35 to $500. Be sure to find a Golden Bear and get your Garrigan calendar.

 While the school year is mostly off to a good start, it hasn’t been without its problems. Like just about every school in Iowa, Garrigan has had some students test positive for COVID-19. Those students have to quarantine at home, and other healthy students also have to quarantine if they’ve had close contact with people who have tested positive. That’s caused some issues for our sports teams, as they’ve had to reach deeper onto the bench.

 The school has also made even more adjustments due to COVID-19. Furniture has been re-arranged in classrooms to make sure desks are always at least six feet apart, and some classes have been moved to larger rooms. Everything is sanitized frequently, and masks are required in places where social distancing is harder—like in the hallways or at volleyball games.

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Kellen Murphy. Here to talk about him is Jack Snyder.

You probably know Kellen Murphy best as a running back for the Golden Bear football team. Kellen also runs track, and he was part of the state runner-up basketball team last spring, He’s a four-year student council member who’s one of this year’s student body co-presidents. He’s also been to state in DECA, the business and leadership organization. Kellen will be off to college next year, and we wish him all the best in the future.

 Thanks, Jack. On our Golden Bear calendar, there’s CYO cross-country today in Holstein. Tomorrow there will be a virtual version of the Bishop’s Dinner for Education for the Sioux City Diocese.

Monday is Beach Day for Homecoming. The cross-country team runs at Emmetsburg that night, and there’s JV football at Mason City Newman. The younger volleyball players are also busy, with JV and JJV tournaments at Lake Mills and Estherville.

 Tuesday for Homecoming we’ll dress to salute our favorite sports teams. The volleyball team is at home that night, when they’ll take on North Union.

 Wednesday will be Game Day for Homecoming, and each class will have their own color. The seniors will be in black, the juniors white, the sophomores blue, and the freshmen gray. Staff members will wear yellow that day. There’s an early dismissal Wednesday for teacher inservice.

 Thursday is “Into the Wild” Day, so you’re likely to see a lot of camo and safety orange. Friday will be the traditional Black and Gold Day to end the week. We’ll begin the day with mass in the new gym.

 After mass we’ll have the Mr. Garrigan contest. The coronation will be at 1pm, and the parade starts at 2:00. A reminder that the parade route is on Diagonal Street this year.

 The football team takes on Alta—Aurelia at 7:00 Friday night. Then after the game we’ll have a high school social to end Homecoming week.

 That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week. Be sure to tune in again next time, when we’ll wrap up the Homecoming fun and bring you more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.