The Bear Facts
November 1, 2014

Good morning! I’m Emily Riesenberg!

I’m Betty Straub1

And I’m Kaitlyn Fogarty! Thanks for tuning in to the “Bear Facts”. Happy November from all of us here at Bishop Garrigan High School.

Last weekend four Garrigan musicians earned the highest possible honor. They were selected to the 2014 All-State chorus. Soprano Carolyn Baxter, alto Dorothy Kirsch, and tenors Levi Capesius and Mark Fakler were among just four hundred students from all around the state to earn this prestigious honor. They will travel to Ames the weekend before Thanksgiving to perform at the All-State Music Festival. Congratulations, all-state musicians!

Also last Saturday Garrigan’s quiz bowl team went down to Ankeny for the Centennial High School Scholastic Bowl. They ended up with the best finish they’ve ever had in that tournament. Garrigan had the best win—loss record overall. They were undefeated after five preliminary games and then beat Boone in the semi-final round. Then in the championship game they fell to Algona High, a team they had already beaten earlier in the day.

The Bears finished with a 6 – 1 record. The second best record in the tournament was from Ames High, who went 5 – 1 on the day, while Algona High was 5 – 2. Representing Garrigan at the tournament were Hannah Bernhard, Tony Kollasch, Zach Kollasch, Devin Degen, and Joseph Espinosa. Congratulations, quiz bowl!

The Golden Bear volleyball team has had a great playoff run. They began regionals with a straight set victory over West Bend Mallard. Then last Tuesday they came back from being down two sets to beat Newell—Fonda in five. We had to record this week’s “Bear Facts” before last night’s regional semifinal against Harris Lake Park, but we know the Bears gave it everything they had, and we’re hoping they’re heading for the regional championship next Wednesday.

There is a long tradition of football success at Bishop Garrigan, and that continued this year. While we wish that the 2014 playoff run could have gone on longer, the Bears had a good season. Toward the end of the season the Bears were playing with a number of injuries, but they toughed it out in the playoff game vs. AGWSR. 

While it was a loss, it was a respectable game, and there were especially good showings by seniors like Ben Vaske and Reece Wadle—both of whom were playing with injured ankles. The other seniors—Carter Hall, Andrew Miller, Kirk Kenyon, Nick Kayser, and Jake Kayser—all stepped up. We’re sorry to see the season end, but we’re proud of the effort the Golden Bears gave and of the season they had.

Today is the first competition of the season for the Golden Bear math team. Four Garrigan students are over in Waverly today for a Great Plains Math League tournament. Junior Joseph Espinosa, sophomores Ben Fogarty and Josh Hamilton, and freshman Sam Trainer will be competing today. Good luck, math team!

Next weekend the Garrigan drama and music departments will be presenting the fall musical. This year’s musical is The Sound of Music, with Dorothy Kirsch starring as Maria. Thirty other Garrigan students have named roles, and the entire choir will also appear in the show. In addition to beautiful music and good acting, art students have been working hard to create a spectacular set for the show.

Showtime for The Sound of Music is next Friday and Saturday, November 7 and 8, at 7pm. Reserved seats are available. A seating diagram can be found on bggoldenbears.org, and you can call the school at 295-3521 to reserve the seats you want. Tickets are just $5, and we hope to see everyone there next weekend for The Sound of Music.

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Morgan Hanna. Here to tell you about her is Taylor Illg.

Morgan Hanna is an Algona native whose biggest interests are in art. She has created a wide range of projects and has even had her work displayed at the North Central Conference Art Show in the past. Morgan has also been a cheerleader and a manager for the danz squad. Next year she plans to study photography at Iowa Central, and we wish her all the best in the future.

Thanks, Taylor. On our Golden Bear calendar this week, there’s a math competition today in Waverly. Daylight Savings Time ends tonight, and tomorrow Christian Leadership students will have their annual Halloween food drive.

Monday and Tuesday we’ll have parent—teacher conferences. High school conferences will be from 3:30 to 6:30 both nights at the Rochleau Center at Seton. After conferences on Tuesday the School Improvement Advisory Committee will meet.

The regional volleyball finals are Wednesday night in Spirit Lake. There’s no school at Garrigan on Friday, and that night is opening night for The Sound of Music.

That’s the “Bear Facts” for another week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.