Origins of the Red Hat

By Jon Kraft and Matt Schneider

The staff of the Red Hat has been a long standing part of Newman Catholic history since its creation in the late 1950’s.

Looking back in history, the name is believed to have been inspired by the red hat Blessed John Henry Newman wore as a Cardinal in the Catholic church. In the 60’s the Mad Hatters was a club of journalistically minded students located upstairs.  Unlike other clubs, their office was located at the top of the north stairs of the high school. At that time, the newspaper came out every five weeks.  During this time, the yearbook was a special edition of the school paper, with the newspaper as a spread in the center of the yearbook.

In the 1990’s, a beloved alumni known to many, Mr. Michlig, was a part of the Red Hat in his days at Newman Catholic High School. Due to the overabundance of members, the Red Hat transformed into two classes, split into publications and yearbook. In the mid 90’s, the bi-weekly newspaper was a five page spread containing photos and articles pertaining to current events in both the school and the surrounding city.

The Newman Catholic Red Had has long been an interweaved part of our history, which gives our school a unique connection to the world of journalism.

Taylor Thomas to Join UW-Green Bay Basketball Program

By Paige Gelling

She shoots…she scores! In the Fall of 2011, Newman Catholic’s very own Taylor Thomas plans to attend the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. Taylor was offered, and has accepted, a full ride to Green Bay on a basketball scholarship, and plans to sign with Green Bay this November.

Taylor chose Green Bay for a few reasons. The school offered her intended academic field of study and she noticed their highly-esteemed basketball team. “The girls on the team are awesome and the coaches are really cool. They were ranked in the top 25 nationally last season, and I knew I wanted to be a part of a successful program.”

Taylor is also an outstanding student and hopes to gain academic as well as athletic success during her time at Green Bay. She said, “There are a lot of academic advantages such as priority class scheduling and having access to more internship opportunities. Also, a lot of professionals in the community are season ticket holders and are boosters for the team, and those relationships will give me a one-up over a lot of other applicants when I’m applying for jobs after college.”

Taylor knows it will take a lot of hard work, but she is up for the challenge. “One thing I’m dreading is the conditioning – it’s so intense. It will really be worth it in the end though when we are successful. I’m most looking forward to the non-conference tournaments. The team has one over Thanksgiving break in Cancun, Mexico, and one during the summer before my sophomore year in Greece!” With a little motivation, determination, and talent, she is sure to go far in Green Bay and her life after college.  Good luck Taylor from the whole Newman Catholic community!

Students Balance School, Work and Play

By Brianna Bratland and Tawni Ruesch

Many students of Newman Catholic High School deal with having to balance school, and the after school activities that they participate in. 

A large majority of students participate in sports, a job, or both.  Everything requires time, effort, and motivation to continue.  The students of Newman Catholic find ways to balance their activities as well as receiving good grades.

Julie Butzlaff, a senior at Newman Catholic, sometimes finds it hard to balance school, work, and life.  “I like the responsibility of having a job, but sometimes I find it hard to concentrate on doing all my homework, and getting through the work day.”  Julie is not the only one that feels this way. 

Senior Justin Baumann also finds it hard to concentrate on the school work while doing his after school activities.  “I volunteer at the hospital and work on my Uncles farm,” says Justin.  “By the end of the night I am tired and just want to go to bed, but school is important to me and I will stay up all night to get my work done.”

Jon Kraft, a senior, has to take on the responsibility of balancing school, soccer, and a job at the hospital. “All my homework comes first,” said senior Jon Kraft. “As long as I get my homework done I am happy.”

With after school activities comes the responsibility to get the homework done, and maintain life outside of school.  Students learn as they grow up that life does not always work the way they want it to, but with life comes responsibility and Newman Catholic High students are good examples of responsible, active students. 

Open Campus Privileges Earned

By Marshall De Lonay

Open campus for seniors has always been a high privilege and the seniors at Newman Catholic High School have finally received that right.  It has been a long four years of anticipation for the new seniors and they are very relieved to have this new found freedom.  Mr. Larry Theiss recently discussed the limitations and the requirements to obtain open campus.

The students have to show good moral conduct before and during homecoming in order to receive the open campus privilege.  When asked why the faculty does not allow the seniors to go off campus from the first day of school, Mr. Theiss responded, “We have never given the seniors off campus from the first day of school.  The faculty needed to consult the seniors’ behavior after homecoming and discuss whether or not we should allow them to obtain this right in the event of a prank or other incidents that could have occurred.”

“There have never been any major incidents with open campus that have caused us to retract the privilege; there have been a few tardies but nothing to that extent of revoking the ability to go off campus,” stated Mr. Theiss when asked about the implications for taking the privilege of open campus away from the seniors. 

Last Thursday was the first day the seniors could go off campus for lunch and they did very well.  The seniors are showing great leadership for the younger students by showing they can have the freedom they want and also be able to come to class on time.  The seniors are great role models and so far the faculty and staff are very happy with what they have seen from the seniors. 

Newman Catholic Manhandles Beavers, Clinches Playoff Spot

By Adam Rutz

The Newman Catholic Cardinals football team’s streak of clinching a playoff spot continued last Thursday, as the Cards ran all over the Augusta defense in a big 41-12 victory. From the start of the game, Newman Catholic’s offense was rolling and the Augusta Beavers couldn’t find a way to stop them. Entering the locker room at half time down 34-0, Augusta wasn’t able to come back and put up a fight in the second half.

           

Junior tailback Brad Knoblock started the game with a 13-yard touchdown run, and found the end zone twice more after that in the first half. He led the Cardinals with 126 rushing yards on 13 carries. Luke Prososki also added two touchdown’s on five carries for 69 yards for Newman Catholic before half time.

“I thought we played a good first half, and we came out and did what we needed to do. Football is all about execution and we did that very well Thursday night” said Newman Catholic head coach Paul Michlig. He has led the Fighting Cardinals to three consecutive playoff appearances now, and the program is doing very well.

“It feels great to get back to the playoffs” said Knoblock. “We worked really hard for this all season, and we are starting to click here at the right time. Hopefully we can get past the first round this year and go deep into the playoffs.”

Newman Catholic took on the Assumption Royals Thursday night at Stiehm Stadium at 7:00 p.m.  The Cardinals were in need of a win in order to have a better shot at getting a home game in the first round of the playoffs, and were looking for crowd support on Senior Night at “The Pit”.

New Faces Include Students Too

By Gaonou Lo

Newman Catholic High School began this year with new configurations and with new students.  One student’s mother got remarried, which caused the student, Mai Thao Xiong, to move to the Wausau area.  For the most part, Mai Thao likes Newman because most of the students are very kind and helpful. 

Before Mai Thao attended Newman Catholic, she attended a public school in St. Paul, Minnesota and there were almost 200 people in her class.  Transitioning from 200 people to between 30 and 40 people was very interesting for her.  For now, she says that she does not have a favorite teacher or a favorite subject and has not joined any clubs yet.  She has been busy with school work, so she has not had the time to sign up for clubs.

The one thing that Mai Thao would change about Newman Catholic is the dress code.  She was used to wearing jeans to school, so the dress code is a new experience for her.  Newman Catholic School and community is happy to have her and is hoping to see her expand academically and spiritually throughout the year.

High Notes in the Music Program

By Paige Gelling

The halls of Newman Catholic are filled with the sounds of songs such as “Navy Hymn,” “Seasons of Love,” and “Just Friends” as the music department prepares for their Fall Concert. This year’s concert will be held on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the NCHS gymnasium.

               

The concert will feature all three branches of the music department; Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Choir. Heading up the preparation for the event are Mrs. Ginny Mootz, Mrs. Lynn Ahles, and Mr. John Greiner. They have spent a large amount of time selecting music for the students. The students have also contributed many hours preparing and practicing.

               

The beginning of the school year is always busy and stressful, especially for Concert Band students, due to events such as the Labor Day Parade and Homecoming, so putting together a concert is just a few weeks is always a challenge.

               

It is also a challenge for both the teachers and students due to the small numbers present in each ensemble. Many students in band and choir are required to either double up on parts or hold their own in a harmony in order to create the complete sound or the full effect. Thankfully, there are some highly dedicated individuals in the Newman Catholic music department, and they are never afraid to take on the task of learning new music.

               

Other events in the music department this year include the Winter Concert and Solo and Ensemble. Please take the time to come out and acknowledge these musicians. The music events at NCHS are often enjoyable and successful, and this year will be more of the same.

Pep Club Needs You!

By Hannah Reeves and Makayla Heisler

The school year has just started and Pep Club has already had a busy start. The members have taken care of locker recognitions for the fall season and decorated Newman Catholic with posters promoting school spirit and Homecoming, but Pep Club activities go on throughout the whole school year. 

Just around the corner is the winter dance, Peppermint.  Peppermint is one of Pep Club’s biggest events to plan. This year’s officers; Stephanie Thomson, Nicole Cornell, Gaonou Lo, and Makayla Heisler, are trying their best to make it a memorable event.

A big part of Peppermint, especially for the seniors, is Peppermint court. This year if you are a senior interested in court, there are some simple steps you need to follow. The first step is to join the Pep Club; the fee is only five dollars, and you need to fill out the membership form which you can get from Mrs. Kronburger in the school library.

To be on court, you need to have eight Pep Club hours. If you need help getting these hours, you can speak to the advisor, Mrs. Kronburger or to one of the Pep Club officers.  The tasks would most likely include poster making, locker recognition signs for the winter season, and other tasks that Pep Club needs done.  Pep club especially needs senior boys to be on Peppermint court.

For more information, or with any questions, email nchspepclub@yahoo.com.

Newman Catholic Cardinals Drop Heartbreaker on the Road

By Adam Rutz

The Newman Catholic Cardinals football team needed a win to clinch their third consecutive WIAA playoff berth Saturday, October 9^th, but came up short in a defensive battle with Athens.

Trailing 9-0 in the fourth quarter, Newman Catholic drove down the field, and after Nick Bush had two key catches to get them inside the 10-yard line, Andrew Wilke found the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown run, and Paul Messerly's extra point kick cut the deficit to two points. However, when the Cardinals didn't recover the onside kick, Athens picked up their sixth victory of the season. Newman had 284 yards on offense on the day, but it was three turnovers that really hurt their chance at victory.

"I think the defense did a great job" said Newman head coach Paul Michlig. "But we have to quit turning the ball over and execute better for next week." The Cardinals had three turnovers Saturday, which hurt them in the outcome, but they have a lot of things that are going well for them as well. Their defense has been playing outstanding football lately, holding their last three opponents to less than 15 points each game, and they still have the top offense in the Cloverwood conference.

In Thursday's match-up they took on the Augusta Beavers, who are still winless at 0-7, but the game is very big one for both teams. Newman Catholic, who need only one more win to clinch a playoff spot, beat Augusta in "Beaver Country" last season, but the Beavers were not only looking for revenge Thursday night; they were also looking to pick up their first victory of the season.

The Cardinals (4-3) displayed their high-powered offense and physical defense at Stiehm Stadium Thursday night against Augusta (0-7). Newman is still on a mission to get a first WIAA playoff victory in school history, but will need one win in the next two weeks to get into the playoffs. With only two games remaining, both at home, the odds of the team clinching a spot are looking good. However, they still aren't going to take any team lightly, as they want to win out with the rest of their schedule. Kick-off Thursday was at 7 p.m. in the Cloverwood match-up at Stiehm Stadium.

Volleyball Team Supports Women's Community

By Gaonou Lo and Bailey Dillon

On September 9th, 2010 at Newman Catholic High School, the volleyball team raised money for the Women’s Community by donating half of the admissions from the Newman Catholic vs. D.C. Everest volleyball game. The main goal of the fundraiser was to help our community be aware of the services that the Women's Community provides for the Wausau area and to work together with Everest’s volleyball team to challenge our schools and community to donate to help this worthy cause.

The fundraiser idea came from Mrs. Vanderloop after she heard that Newman Catholic was going to be playing Everest. Many volleyball teams host fundraisers in the area and she felt that Newman Catholic should too. Mrs. Vanderloop and Mrs. Baumann were the two people that made the fundraiser a success by contacting both schools, planning the event, and getting permission from both volleyball coaches.

Hannah Baumann, who is on the varsity volleyball team, also contributed a lot to getting the word out about the fundraiser. “I developed announcements, helped with the T-shirt order, and held jeans day as well as many other things,” said Hannah.

Another person who played a major role to make this fundraiser a success was Betty Lang, the Newman Catholic varsity volleyball coach. She helped out by working together with parents and players from both D.C. Everest and Newman Catholic to coordinate the details for the fundraising event. Coach Lang felt that this is a very worthy cause and it is something that our community needs to be more aware of and help with as much as possible.

“The fundraiser had a very positive effect on the volleyball team. The players from both programs were challenged to come up with ideas on how they could fundraise to help the Women's Community Shelter. They helped make their school and community aware of what the Women's Community Shelter does for the women of Wausau and the surrounding area that are in need of their services. It was an opportunity for the teams to come together and work toward a common goal of raising money and collecting items for the shelter,” said Coach Lang.

That night, Newman Catholic beat D.C. Everest, and the teams collected many items to donate to the Women’s Community and raised approximately $700.