The Bear Facts

November 4, 2006

Good morning! I'm Rachel Byrkeland!

And I'm Chris Scobba! Welcome once again to the "Bear Facts", your weekly radio update from Bishop Garrigan High School.


Five thousand. That's a big number. But 5,000 is the number of cans, boxes, and jars of food that Garrigan's Christian Leadership in Action group collected in their Halloween food drive. More than fifty Christian Leadership students, one-fourth of Garrigan's student body, drove around Algona, Whittemore, Wesley, and Bancroft on Halloween night. Instead of asking for candy, though, they asked for donations for the Kossuth County Food Pantry. People responded in a big way. According to Christian Leadership director Rob Meister, five thousand items is the most we've ever taken in with any food drive, and we want to thank everyone for your help. If you didn't get called on at Halloween, we encourage you to keep the food pantry in mind and contribute directly or through your church.

The food drive was just one of many activities we've done recently to help out the community. On Tuesday we had a Respect Life prayer service. Then Wednesday at our All Saints mass, the group took up a collection from the students in attendance. The money they raised will go to the Kossuth CARE Team. We also raised some money yesterday, with a jeans day to help with the medical expenses for longtime friend of Garrigan Tim Schneider. We'd also like to remind everyone that there will be a pork loin benefit for Tim this Sunday night from 4 - 8 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Emmetsburg.


Fall sports are now over, and the most successful Golden Bear team in the post-season was cross-country. The regional champion Bears ran last Saturday at the state meet in Ft. Dodge. The girls team finished in tenth place statewide, with Tami Lallier, Kelli Black, Maria Kohlhaas, Carrie Courtney, and Joanna Freking all finishing toward the middle of the pack at state. On the boys side senior Chris Scobba ended up in 15th place in a field of 129 runners.

Four cross-country seniors-Chris Scobba, Tami Lallier, Maria Kohlhaas, and Tami Black-are running again today. They were selected by coaches around the state to represent northwest Iowa in the first-ever Elite All-Star Cross-Country Meet, which is being held at the NCAA national championship course at Iowa State University in Ames. The senior girls will compete at 1:00, and the boys run at 1:30.


State cross-country and special practices for football playoffs forced the quiz bowl team to completely change their roster for last week's meet in Ankeny. The Bears took a young team consisting of junior Melissa Cruise, sophomore Chris Hansen, and freshmen Brittany Berte and Rebeccah Erdman. Even so, they ended up with a winning record for the day. They beat Eagle Grove, Wilton, and South Hamilton, while losing to Marshalltown and Ames High. Today the Bears have four teams competing across town in the Algona Invitational Quiz Bowl. Good luck to our academic competitors.


It's not a lot of people who can say they've met a Nobel prize-winner, but Garrigan student JoAnn Kirsch can make that claim. Biology teacher Beany Bode nominated JoAnn to be among seventy-five students who participated in a youth institute that was part of the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines last month. One of the main presenters was Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, who started the Green Revolution that kept millions of Third World people from starving. JoAnn presented a paper she had written as part of the conference, which also included leaders from around the world.


Tonight is your one and only chance to catch the Bishop Garrigan Extravaganza. This variety show, subtitled "Who's Acting Up at BGHS", is a biannual event that features the talents of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. It includes funny skits, improvisation, music, dance, and more. Admission is $5 for adults or $3 for children, and it's free for supporters of the DARTS fine arts booster club. Show time is 7:00 tonight, so be sure to head out to Garrigan to catch the Extravaganza.


We're about halfway through the annual BGHS magazine drive, and after a great start things have stalled a bit. Our goal this year is to sell $11,000 worth of subscriptions. Of that amount, 40% goes to the Bishop Garrigan student council, which uses the money to help out almost every student activity in the school. The drive continues through next Thursday, and we urge you to renew your magazines through the school.


This week's Senior Spotlight shines on Chris Scobba. Here to tell you about him Chris himself.

Chris Scobba has all but been a one-man cross-country team this season. The senior has finished consistently near the front of the pack, while the other Garrigan boys have been a bit further back. In addition to cross-country, Chris is active in track, and he's the starting catcher for the Golden Bear baseball team. Chris is one of the top players in both quiz bowl and math team, and he's one of the main designers of Garrigan's award-winning website. Chris plans a business major in college, and we wish him all the best in the future.


Thanks! On our Golden Bear calendar, today is a very busy day. There's the senior elite cross-country meet in Ames, quiz bowl at Algona High, and the first math team meet of the season at Sioux Center. Also today there's state solo dance in Pella, and tonight at 7:00 you can see the Garrigan Extravaganza.

Tomorrow from 4 - 8 there's the benefit dinner for Tim Schneider at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Emmetsburg. Monday the magazine drive continues, and Tuesday many Garrigan students will be on a field trip to the Mall of America as a reward from the calendar drive last fall.

Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons we'll have parent-teacher conferences. Conferences run from 3:30 - 6:30 each day, and this year they'll be held in teachers' classrooms right at the school.

Wednesday sophomores will take the PLAN test. Then Thursday night we'll have the fall vocal concert. There's no school next Friday, but that day several health students will be taking the clinical tests to become certified nurse's aides.


That's our "Bear Facts" for this week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to tune in again next week for more exciting news from Bishop Garrigan High School.


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