Elections, Elections, Read All About It!

By Hannah Reeves

 

The 2010-2011 school year is coming to a close, indicating that it is time to select the 2011-2012 class officers.  A president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer for each class are needed to ensure that the upcoming year will be successful and enjoyable.  Each student has the opportunity to run as a candidate for office.  When all candidates have been received, students running give a speech to let their fellow classmates know why they would be a good officer.  After speeches are given and students have time to ponder their future officers, they receive a ballet and vote on their favorite candidate. 

 

As the outgoing 8^th graders take their place as the Newman Catholic’s freshman class, it is vital for students to select their officers wisely.  Being new high school students, having good officers helps to ensure that the new environment and new school year will be a successful and pleasurable experience.  

The incoming freshman class is not the only one that needs to make sure its officers are up to par.  The upcoming seniors have critical decisions to make when deciding who they want to represent them as the class of 2012.  Senior year is their last year at Newman Catholic and it is only right for them to go out with a bang.  With good class officers, they will be able to achieve that bang and end their year successfully.

 

These students have been voted into office for the 2011-2012 year:

 

Freshmen - Class of 2015

Jose Larrain – President

Justin Damask – Vice President

Mackenzie Winter – Secretary

Nick Thoreson – Treasurer

 

Sophomores - Class of 2014

Anna McCarty – President

Grace Larrain – Vice President

Abby Connolly – Secretary

Erin Menzner – Treasurer

 

Juniors - Class of 2013

Christina Grunow – President

Brogan Resch – Vice President

Ben Vesel – Secretary

Aaron Roland – Treasurer

 

Seniors - Class of 2012

Matthew Hart – President

Erin Gassner – Vice President

Carolina Larrain – Secretary

Brianna Jehn - Treasurer

Student Council Advisor

Mr. Fech

The 2011-2012 school year has already began for the new officers.  Meetings and setting up of events have already taken place this year to get ready for what the new school year will bring.  Carolina Larrain, class of 2012 secretary, says, “Being a class officer gives me the opportunity to get my fellow classmates input involved in our school’s activity.”  With these new class elections, students are able to know that with their new class officers, their 2011-2012 school year will be an amazing experience and an unforgettable memory.

Softball Team Helps Out a Newman Family

By Stephanie Thomson

On Sunday, May 14^th the Newman Catholic softball team helped out the Brill family.  At Cabin Fever, the Brill family won a three hour period of yard work to be completed by the Newman softball team.  The softball team granted them their prize on Sunday.

The softball team arrived at the Brill house at one in the afternoon.  They did various yard work activities that Mr. and Mrs. Brill wanted completed.  This included raking, picking up sticks, cleaning various yard items, hauling brush, and cleaning up a great amount of tornado damage in the woods.  The team worked until about four in the afternoon.  Senior Hannah Baumann was asked how she felt about helping out the Brill family.  “It felt good to help out a Newman family with their yard work.  It was a way for our team to come together and help out.”

After the work was completed, the Brill family decided to have a cookout for the team due to all of their hard work.  After the team worked for a couple hours, Mr. Brill fired up the grill.  They had burgers and various side dishes for the team.  They also had s’mores for dessert.  The night ended by having fun with family and friends in the Brill’s newly clean backyard.

Newman Catholic Offers Resources

By Bailey Dillon

The end of the school year is near and Newman Catholic teachers are in the process of giving reports and research projects to their students.  This is why students need some assistance to end the year with star grades. 

Newman Catholic is able to help the students with their projects.  Most resources can be found in the Newman Library, which is loaded with Catholic encyclopedias, Bibles, dictionaries, almanacs, maps, occupational outlook handbooks, thesauruses, and of course, the internet.

Newman Catholic also provides online sources like Gale, Global Issues in Context, Badgerlink, and much more.  To receive the password to log in these online sources at Newman Catholic or at home, you need to visit the librarians in the Newman Library. 

Mrs. Kronberger, one of the librarians, is always willing to help the Newman Catholic students, and she also has access to thousands of titles using the WISCAT system.  “This system allows students to find materials from all over the United States, but this will take about two weeks for information to return to the student.” 

“Students are able to use libraries in our local area: NCTC, UWMC, and UWSP.  Some of these locations will not allow you to check books out, but there could be a suggestion.  At UWMC, a student under the age of 18 may have their parents check out materials for them using a community card.  Students are always welcome to use the quiet library on campus during the evening or weekends whenever they are open.” 

As you can see, Newman Catholic provides extra information in the library that many students can use to help them finish a project or report while receiving a decent grade.

Senior Trip and Retreat

By Gaonou Lo and Bailey Dillon

During the weekend of Friday May 13 to Saturday May 14, the majority of the seniors participated in their last field trip together before they graduate in 2011.  The class as a whole voted for the location of their trip and retreat.  This year the seniors decided to go to Chicago, Illinois where they stayed at the Loyola Retreat Center and had a blast at Six Flags Great America. 

On Friday, the seniors’ retreat involved talking about moving on after they graduate and keeping their faith strong in college and never losing faith in God, no matter how bad things get.  The two retreat instructors told the class inspiring stories relating to their faith and becoming closer to God.  They did an activity that brought the class emotionally closer by expressing their deep thoughts that had never been shared until that point. 

On Saturday, the class spent most of the day at Six Flags, but majority of the seniors went to the Gurnie Mall.  It was an experience they will remember the rest of their lives. 



Built To Last: Newman Catholic Baseball

By Logan Gajewski

The first half of the Newman Catholic baseball team’s season has been a success.  Thus far, the Cardinals are 8-2 (6-2 in conference) after a recent victory against the Stratford Tigers.  Junior Bradley Knoblock had this to say about the season: “I would have to give this season an A- so far; we have been competitive in all of our games, and have already grabbed some key wins.”  The Cardinals’ only losses this season have been against marquee matchups; they split games with the Marawood Conference South leading Edgar Wildcats and last year’s Division 3 State Champions, the Marathon Red Raiders. 

When asked about the team’s playoff aspirations Knoblock responded, “Win State.”  This is very possible considering their thrilling walk-off victory against the Red Raiders and their leader, last year’s conference player of the year, Cody Hanke.  In addition to this, the Cardinals sit third in the conference standings, just two games behind Edgar. 

Senior pitcher/first baseman and team captain Adam Rutz has seen a significant increase in playing time this year, and has been making a difference ever since.  When asked about the role the team captains have had, Rutz had this to say: “All captains have done a good job leading this year; we have a good group of guys. You also have to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff.”  The Cardinals are coached by Newman Catholic’s physical education teacher, Dan Smet, who has led the team to a 33-21 record through his first two and a half seasons as head coach.

The Cardinals’ next game is at Northland Lutheran (3-6) this Thursday, May 12^th.  The next Cardinals home game is a non-conference matchup against Mosinee next Monday, May 16^th, at Athletic Park.  Admission is free to all regular season games, so come out and support the team for the remainder of the regular season and the playoff games that are to come.

Students Compete at State Solo and Ensemble

By Gaonou Lo

Newman Catholic has many aspiring students who are musically talented.  Newman Catholic offers both band and choir classes where students are allowed to show their musical skills and creativity.  One of the main competitions that Newman Catholic students take part in is solo and ensemble, and they are often very successful.  Solo and ensemble is a music competition where any students that can sing or play a musical instrument compete against other students. 

Newman Catholic has been known for its talented students that can sing and also play a musical instrument.  State solo and ensemble was on May 7, 2011 in Stevens Point.  All students that received a starred first rating on their class music at the prior solo and ensemble competition in February participated in this event.  Erin Kast, who is a participant, said, “Going to state requires a lot more practice and I have been putting it in for the most part; either way it will be fun and I am looking forward to it.” 

A few of the students participating in state solo ensemble included Nate Martin, Erin Kast, Nicole Cornell, Marshall Delonay, Erin Gassner, Nick Cornell, Scott Clark and others.  Thank you for joining us in support of all our student musicians’ hard work over the past several months!

Math Team on the Map

By Jon Kraft

The newly resurrected in 2010-11 NCHS Mathematics Team attracted 14 students; they participated in mathematics competitions at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Points against about 75 schools from the surrounding area.

From those competing students, Erin Kast, participating in the advanced division, placed 6^th out of 67 students in division 3. Andrew Dushek placed 16^th of 63 students in the algebra II division, while Morgan Lukes earned a rank of 45^th out of 88 students over the course of three meets. In the geometry division, Bradley Miller ranked 4^th out of 62 students taking the exam. Danielle Gorski and Teagan Leitzke also placed high across the three meets, ranking 10^th and 34^th respectively out of 83 students.

Among others, Nicholas Cornell, Nicole Cornell, Nate Martin, Sam McCarty, and Taylor Thomas participated in the advanced group. Emily Coates took part in the algebra II category, while Thomas Kita and Michael Meister competed in the geometry group.

Though the outlook for next year's team is unknown, the driving forces behind mathematics at Newman Catholic High School will surely shine.

2011 Farwell Spring Concerts

By Brianna Bratland

Monday, May 9, 2011 will be the last concert for the Newman Catholic High School band and choir this year, but it will be one to remember.  The band and choir are both performing pieces that will blow the audience away with their beautiful sound. 

           

The Newman Catholic concert choir, under the direction of Mrs. Lynn Ahles, will be performing four compositions: “Cantate Hodie!,” “ Et In Terra Pax,” “Song of Freedom,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.”  The choir has perfected the pieces “Cantate Hodie!,” Et in Terra Pax,” and “Song of Freedom” by already performing them at their large group contest.  “You Can’t Stop the Beat” is a fun song for the choir that lets them show off their dance moves, and is entertaining for the audience. 

           

The Newman Catholic High School band will be performing two pieces: “Symphonic Prelude,” and “Light Eternal.”  Band student Marshall DeLonay talks about the themes that the songs portray. “Both songs are emotional.  ‘Light Eternal’ tells the story of a sinking ship, and the emotions that are brought by this sinking.”  The band and choir are also performing a piece together called “Rockin’ Rickie Rocket.”  The band and choir as a whole will be human percussion instruments while Marshall DeLonay pretends to play all the percussion sounds the musicians make.  This will definitely be a fun performance you will not want to miss!

           

On May 2, 2011 the Newman Catholic Middle School completed their last band and choir concert of the year with an outstanding performance.  “They were good and I hope they explore their musical talents further in high school,” said senior Makayla Heisler, who attended the middle school concert.  Hopefully next year we will see a lot of incoming freshman in the high school’s choir and band. 

The Trials and Tribulations of the Track Team

By Erin Gassner

Track, the sport of constant running and sprinting, jumping over hurdles, pole vaulting, and relays, is one of Newman Catholic High School's most popular sports.

The 2011 track team has been doing very well so far this season, taking second in several meets as well as winning first place in the Pittsville meet.

However, the season has not been running (pardon the pun) completely smoothly. With the track not finished, and with the middle school track team now on campus as well, the high school team is struggling to find places to practice. On rainy days they do sprints and other activities in the school hallways and stairs, and on days when the weather is good they practice in the parking lot and parks, lift weights, and run around the city.

Senior Andrew Wilke enjoys participating in many events: the 4 x 200 meter relay, 4 x 400 meter relay, 300 meter hurdles, 110 meter hurdles, triple jump and long jump. He hopes to make it to state in at least three of his events. Wilke says that the best thing about track is making new friends as well as reuniting with old friends at meets. He enjoys working hard in practice to be in shape. He says: “People should join track to make friends and get a good workout in.”

Wilke will compete with the boys track team at Athens High School on Monday, May 9. Both the boys and girls teams will be in action again on Thursday, May 12 for a second meet at Pittsville. Good luck to all the track participants! Have a great season!

Phone Calls for Education

By Gaonou Lo

One of the most popular fundraisers that Newman Catholic organizes is the Phonathon.  The Phonathon is phase two of the Newman Catholic Schools annual fund drive.  Every April, Newman Catholic students gather to make telephone calls to seek support from any alumni, parents, parents of alumni or friends that have not already donated to the annual fund.  The funds raised from the Phonathon are restricted; they are only used to help support those families who may otherwise be unable to afford a Newman Catholic School education for their children.  

Each year over 100 students receive financial assistance from the Phonathon.  Four Newman Catholic High School scholarships, at $2,000 each, are awarded, and approximately 100 Newman Catholic Schools financial aid grants are made available to qualifying families. 

Phonathon signups are held in the registrar’s office and student ambassadors are obligated to sign up and help with this event.  The class that earns the most money receives $100 and the class with the second most earned money receives $75 for their class accounts.  This event is a great way to give students the opportunity to receive a Catholic education.