Key Club Keeps Activities Coming

By Gaonou Lo

Key Club is one of the more well known clubs at Newman Catholic.  The club is currently run by Nicole Cornell (president) and Maria Legenza (vice president).  The main theme of Key Club is to volunteer and help improve the community.  Key Club participates in various activities including Men Who Cook, Make a Difference Day, Elephant Ears, and many more. 

During a student’s senior year, the Kiwanis of Greater Wausau, who sponsors Newman Catholic’s Key Club, provides a college scholarship.  Two very important events that are coming up for Key Club are Men Who Cook, on January 15^th, and District Convention (DCON), which is held on the weekend of March 5^th.  DCON gives Key Clubbers the opportunities to interact with other Key Clubbers around Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and learn more about Key Club.  Elections are also held during DCON and there is a big dance party Saturday night.

Band and Choir Attend "Billy Elliot"

By Paige Gelling

 

If you want to dance … dance! On Sunday, January 9th 2011, the Newman Catholic High School music department traveled to Minneapolis. On the agenda for the day was the award-winning Broadway musical Billy Elliot, and a stop at Minnesota’s own Mall of America.

The funding for this trip came from the music department’s annual cookie sale that goes on during December. The music department tries to go on a trip every year, and it is always a great experience. Senior Ashley Bradfish says her favorite part of this year’s trip was seeing how much talent came from all the actors, especially the young ones. “I love the NCHS music department trips because we get to go see a professional show. Not everyone gets to do that so I think we’re really lucky.”

Bradfish isn’t the only one who loves these trips. They continue to be a big success, and the students hope they keep going for many years to come.

Rotary Club Offers a Chance for Community Involvement

By Matt Schneider

This past year a select group of Newman students have had the privilege of attending Rotary Club meetings.

Rotary Club meetings take place on Mondays and consist of a lunch, followed by guest speakers. Guest speakers usually include prominent community members who inform those attending on the goings-on in the community. Such discussions could range from up-and-coming social events to town policies.

Visiting Rotary Club meetings is an excellent opportunity for students to become more connected with their community. Club members are typically local businessmen and women and it is not uncommon to see local politicians there as well. P.J. Menzner was one of the students who was chosen to attend Rotary Club meetings during his lunch hour. When asked about his experience he said: "It was a fun and engaging experience. I got to eat lunch and meet with many important business leaders in our community and it was very interesting to hear their stories." P.J. is currently hoping to pursue a degree in business in college.

Among the many unique opportunities offered to students at Newman Catholic High School, a chance to visit Rotary Club is a chance worth taking.

Exam Nerves Affect Students

By Matt Schneider and Tawni Reusch

Exams are one of the most stressful parts of high school and a very new experience for freshman.

Unlike any form of tests taken before high school, exams are typically heavily weighted toward a student's overall grade.  Exams take up over half a week: Wednesday, January 12^th and Thursday, January 13^th have three tests, Friday January 14^th have only two. 

Although they only last half a normal school day, exams are very daunting to seniors and freshman alike.  One freshman, when asked about how she felt about exams, said she did not know when to feel ready as she had never taken such big tests before. 

Similar thoughts are shared by seniors at Newman, despite experience. One stated that even after all those years, it is hard to tell what each new class will do to challenge students in their exams. This is the second to last set of exams for the seniors.  It is common for some to believe that they are going to be fine as long as they study only a little because they have already been accepted into college, while others believe they should study extremely hard in order to get perfect grades. Either of these points of view can be taken depending on the type of student you talk to. No matter which kind of student you deal with, stress is a key emotion that comes along with taking some of the largest tests students will ever have to take. 

The long awaited exams cause stress for everyone from freshman to seniors. 

Young Musicians Perform in Christmas Concert

By Marshall De Lonay

On Wednesday, December 15^th, the Newman Catholic High School music department put on a rousing performance at their Christmas Concert.  The night started off with the Concert Band playing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and three movements from the piece “Messiah.”  The pieces set the environment, and Christmas flair filled the gym. 

The second group to perform was the Newman Catholic Jazz Band.  Their songs put a lovely swing on the whole concert.  They performed songs including “Feliz Navidad,” “O Christmas Tree,” and a lovely melody of Christmas favorites in “A Big Band Christmas 1 and 2.”  There were tremendous solos by Marshall De Lonay, Nate Martin, Erin Kast, and most importantly Brad Miller who premiered in his first solo performance.

The Concert Choir was the last to perform, but certainly not the least.  They performed some of the great songs such as “All Through the Night” and “Dinner Bell Carol.”  Their harmonies filled the gym and if you closed your eyes it seemed as though you were in Carnegie Hall listening to the Notre Dame Choir. 

The night ended with a collaboration of the Concert Band and Choir in a performance of “Mary Did You Know?”  The band and choir complimented each other seamlessly and the extra accompaniment by our special guests, Mrs. Raddatz on cello, Maddie Luetmer on violin, and Mr. Maher on trumpet, added so much to the arrangement.  The night ended splendidly and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the performances. 

The next time to catch the talented music department will be in the spring at the Spring Concert; it will be an inspiring end to the seniors’ performances under the Newman Catholic High School roof.  They will all be missed, but it will be a performance that will never be forgotten.

Senior Projects Presented

By Gaonou Lo

On your mark, get set, here comes Senior Project!  Every year, seniors are required to do Senior Project, which becomes part of their first semester grades.  It is a required class at Newman Catholic; either you do it or receive a zero.  It allows students to be independent and choose a topic of interest. 

The project starts toward the end of junior year, when juniors have to start thinking about what topic they want to research.  It wraps up the following November, during senior year. 

One thing that Nicole Cornell would change about Senior Project is to make the due date at the end of third quarter or before spring break because it would allow more time for seniors to work and might avoid some senior slide. 

The seniors worked very hard on their Senior Projects this year.  On December 17, 2010, presentations were held for fellow students, the underclassmen, and outside visitors.

Peppermint 2010 Court Selected

By Makayla Heisler

Peppermint 2010 will be Saturday, December 18 at the Rose Garden. Around 130 people will attend the winter formal. However, there are a few individuals who will stand out from the rest; this group of people is the 2010 Peppermint Court.

To be on court a person must have completed eight hours of Pep Club related services to the school; this would include things like 50/50 Raffles, locker signs, and posters. They also have to have completed other requirements, such as handing in their dues and being an active member in this year’s Pep Club.

Evan Olson will be running unopposed for Peppermint King this year. Nicole Cornell, Stephanie Thomson, Terese Dlobik, and Makayla Heisler are the individuals running for Peppermint Queen. Good luck to all who are running!

Newman Catholic Supports One of Our Own

By Logan Gajewski

Newman Catholic High School has hosted two fundraisers that have helped benefit the Resch family in a time of need.  The first fundraiser was held on November 19th, where students brought in either $2 or $3; the money then went to benefit the family.  The students who chose to bring in $2 were allowed to wear jeans, while those who brought in $3 were allowed a comfy day. 

The second fundraiser was the Penny War, held during the week of November 15^th through the 19^th, where students competed against one another’s classes by placing money into their classes’ money jars located in Mrs. Lambrecht’s office.  Pennies, checks, and cash counted as positive towards the class, while silver change was counted as negative towards another class’s total.  The winning class, the sophomores, contributed $215 in cash and pennies, and will receive a comfy week of their choosing. 

The Penny War was very successful, as all classes contributed a good amount of money.  In total, all four classes combined raised just $7 shy of $1,000 for the Resch family.  The school would like to thank all the students who participated in the Penny War and Jeans Day to support the Resch family.

The Last of the Pioneers

By Marshall De Lonay

As Newman Catholic High School continues on its first year as a combined middle school and high school, there should be time for remembrance of those who came before us.  Many of the students at Newman Catholic High School do not even know the rich history that we have always had.  Many students do not even know that we were not always at the location we are today.  In fact our school was actually at St. Mary’s school while our current building, which was being built at the time, was being finished.  The last class that came from St. Mary’s has a great story to tell all of us newcomers.

Joanne Schlaefer, previously known as Joanne Acheureiner, was a member of the class of 1959, the class everyone called “The Last of the Pioneers.”  This class was called “The Last of the Pioneers” because they were the final class from the St. Mary’s school. They actually went to St. James for their freshman year because the school at St. Mary’s was so packed already; then they were moved up to the new building their sophomore year, thus making them the class of the Newman Catholic Pioneers.

“When we did the crossover to the new building it was like we crossed over to Cali,” stated Joanne Schlaefer in her interview.  “We were all so happy to be starting at a new school and we did not even come up with the name for ourselves, they just always deemed us “The Last of the Pioneers.” Of course we did not mind the attention.” 

When asked about the environment of the school, Joanne stated, “The classes were much bigger, that’s for sure.  We also bought the picture of Cardinal Newman that now stands in our entryway and no one stepped on the “N” either.  Back then there wasn’t a gate or anything blocking someone from walking on it, but everyone just kind of parted around it.  The classes were all a decent size and for the most part everyone got along.”

It seems that some things will never be forgotten and the Class of ’59 is a classic example of that.  A special thanks to Joanne Schlaefer for the insight and history she provided, and remember that she and her class will never be forgotten.  When we walk down the halls and see the Class of ’59, we will all know their story, how much this building meant to them, and how much they did for this school.  How will we leave our mark on Newman Catholic High School?  Only time can tell.

Pep Club Proposes Dance Team

By Brianna Bratland

The Pep Club advisor, Mrs. Kronberger, wants to enhance Newman Catholic High School’s school spirit. 

School spirit posters are hung around the school, but posters are not always enough.  Posters do not express the school spirit of the students at Newman Catholic.

There are many things that Pep Club does to cheer on Newman Catholic during pep rallies and sporting events like making signs, cheering at pep rallies, and participating in singing the school song.  At sporting events people cheer on Newman Catholic, but no cheers are really ever started by the students.  Pep Club’s duty is to bring that school spirit to the games and make up cheers that the students can follow to cheer on the sports teams. 

One idea Pep Club has proposed is a dance team at sporting events.  A group of people would compile dance steps that the crowd could follow to cheer on the sports teams.  This is not to be taken as a cheerleading squad.  The idea of the dance team is to motivate the crowd at the sporting events to dance and enhance school spirit.  The dance team committee will propose the dance steps to the advisor Mrs. Kronberger, and if she likes them then they can present them to the principal of Newman Catholic, Mr. Theiss. 

Pep Club President Stephanie Thompson thinks that the dance team will be successful if the dance is well thought out and easy for others to learn.  “It will be an exciting addition and will give the crowd more to cheer for.”