Bear Facts
August 24, 2013
Good morning! I’m Kara Eischen!
I’m Taylor Hovey!
And I’m Erin Quinlin! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, where today we’re starting our twenty-second season on KLGA, bringing you the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
School started up last Monday, and while it’s been pretty hot this week, we still got the school year off to a good start. There are some new faces in the office at Garrigan this year. Longtime president Gene Meister retired over the summer, and former principal Lynn Miller took his place. Our new principal is Christina Peterson, who graduated from Garrigan back in 1995.
Mrs. Peterson grew up as Christy Mosbach in Whittemore, and she married another Garrigan alumnus. Since graduating from college she’s been an elementary teacher. She’s worked in big city schools, and she also spent the past several years at Seton. She says her goal for the school year is to continue to provide students with an outstanding Catholic education. We’re glad to welcome Mrs. Peterson as our new principal.
Over the summer longtime secretary Janet Heupel also retired. Taking her place is Cheryl Hamilton, who had previously worked in the office at St. John’s in Bancroft. Also new in the Garrigan office is assistant registrar Christy Skilling. She’s not really a new face to the students, though, since she’s worked for many years at Seton. Another newcomer on the staff this year is Mark Johnson, who took over as head custodian from Chuck McCabe.
A lot has happened at BGHS since we signed off last spring. At the end of May the Golden Bear girls returned to the state golf meet. The Bears ended up second in the state, losing by just two strokes to Grundy Center 711 to 713. Alexa Capesius, Brittany Arndorfer, Makayla Foertsch, Rebecca Richter, and Haley Froehlich all had counting scores for the Bears.
The most exciting news from state was that Alexa Capesius became the first Bishop Garrigan golfer ever to win a state individual championship. The American Legion golf course in Marshalltown was very well, and everyone had scores over par. Alexa finished at eight over, fourteen strokes ahead of second place. Congratulations to our state champion, Alexa
Capesius.
In early June the Bishop Garrigan quiz bowl team made their fourteenth trip to the National Academic Championships. The competition was in Alexandria, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. area. The Bears had a great tournament, playing much larger schools but holding their own with a 3 – 3 overall record.
The team included recent graduate Allison Frideres, as well as seniors Jake Hamilton and Levi Bernhard; juniors Tony Kollasch, Taylor Illg, Zach Kollasch, and Hannah Bernhard; and sophomore Devin Degen. In addition to competition they spent time sightseeing, including taking a private tour of the Pentagon thanks to Bancroft native Colonel Ed Degen. Congratulations on another great showing at nationals, quiz bowl!
The Golden Bear danz squad also had a great summer. They followed up their national championship by winning the Grand Championship trophy at the M.A. Dance Competition in Des Moines. The team also won the 100 Percent Award. Sarah Skilling and Courtney Noonan received superior solo ratings; and Mariah McCall, Anna Hohmeister, Patricia Brandt, and Kaitlyn Fogarty won honor roll medals. Congratulations, danz squad!
Each year we begin our Senior Spotlights by looking at our Student Council Presidents. This week we’re saluting Co-Presidents Nicole Behr and Sydney McNertney. Here to tell you about them are
Jake Hamilton and Brittany Kirsch.
In addition to being student council co-president, Nicole Behr serves as editor of the Garrigold yearbook. This Algona native is a National Honor Society member who has been to state in cross-country and track and also enjoys basketball. She’s also a cheerleader, she’s on the wellness committee, and she does service work through Christian Leadership in Action.
Our other student council co-president is Sydney McNertney. Sydney is a cheerleader and she has also been one of the key workers on the publications staff. Her other activities include serving as an announcer here on the “Bear Facts”. Both Sydney and Nicole will be off to college next fall, and we wish both of them the very best in the future.
Thanks Jake and Brittany! On our Golden Bear calendar, today is the wedding of former art teacher and longtime drama assistant Anne Studer. We wish her and her new husband many years of happiness.
Monday we’ll have parish busing at Garrigan and Seton, because the Algona Community Schools are not in session. Going to school that day is one of the reasons we’ll finish earlier than the public school next spring.
Tuesday the cross-country team begins their season with a meet over in Spencer. Then on Wednesday we’ll have a special assembly to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
We’ll dismiss early for the Labor Day holiday next Friday. The football team begins their season that night, with a trip to Ft. Dodge St. Edmond. Finally next Saturday volleyball begins with a tournament at St. Ed’s.
That’s the our first “Bear Facts” of the school year.
Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to catch us every week to hear all the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
TS 8/21/13
