Good morning! I'm Andrea Arndorfer!
And I'm Samantha Arndorfer! You're listening to the "Bear Facts", where we're wrapping up a very busy Homecoming week here at Bishop Garrigan High School.
We traveled through "The Golden Bear Time Machine" this past week, taking a peek at the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s-and also seeing our Golden Bear sports teams have an awesome week. Monday we elected our Homecoming king and queen, who were crowned in a special ceremony Wednesday night. When the votes were counted, Alison Brandenburg took top honors as Homecoming Queen for 2005, and John Reding was elected Homecoming King. Congratulations, Alison and John!
One of the most fun parts of Homecoming is our annual class competition. Things started out Sunday with one of the closest powder puff football games ever. In a very hard-fought game, the freshman and senior girls beat the sophomores and juniors by a score of 21 - 18. We also decorated floats over the weekend. The judges complimented all the floats, but they particularly liked the special effects on the junior float and named it best overall, followed by the seniors, the sophomores, and the freshmen. Another artistic event is hoops, which the athletes go through at the Homecoming pep rally. All four hoops turned out nice, but top honors went to the seniors, followed by the freshmen, the juniors, and the sophomores. We also performed Homecoming skits. The sophomore skit was judged best, followed by the freshmen, the seniors, and the juniors.
Last year we started a new tradition that we renewed this year. The "Battle of the Classes", a day of games where all four classes competed against each other. We spent the whole morning Wednesday having fun and earning points for our classes. The seniors won kickball, dodgeball, ultimate Frisbee, girls home run derby, girls tug of war, and video games; while the juniors were tops at trivia, volleyball, Texas hold 'em, and pep rally relays. The sophomores won the boys home run derby, and the freshmen took top honors in backgammon. Twister ended up as a four-way tie, with opposite results in two sections of competition, and the boys tug-of-war had to be cancelled because everybody pulled so hard the rope broke.
Each day of Homecoming week the classes competed by dressing up in the theme of the day. The seniors had top participation on both "Hillbilly Day" and "Celebrity Day", but all four classes got into the retro look with "Decade Day" on Wednesday. There was 100% participation in the traditional "Black and Gold Day", and Friday everyone put on their best outfits for "Dress-Up Day". Other parts of the class competition include the spirit prize (which the juniors and seniors split) and a collection of canned goods for the Kossuth County Food Pantry. The class competition was a close race overall, but when everything was added up the senior class ended up on top.
The Golden Bear volleyball team definitely enjoyed Homecoming week. After a couple of tough road losses, they came home and celebrated with three straight victories. First they bested Eagle Grove last week, then they came from behind to defeat Ft. Dodge St. Edmond on Tuesday. Finally they trounced Clear Lake for their third straight district win. The Bears will be hosting their own tournament this morning, and we hope the success continues. Congratulations on a great job to the volleyball team!
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on our Homecoming King and Queen, John Reding and Alison Brandenburg. Here to tell you about him is Allison Even.
John Reding is an Algona native who's biggest activity is football. He's a captain who was named an all-district football player last year. John has also qualified for state track twice, and he's been in the co-ed danz squad for three straight years. He's active in National Honor Society and Christian Leadership in Action, and for the past two years he's been president of the Class of 2006. Next year he'll be off to UNI, where he plans to major in business. Good luck, John!
Alison Brandenburg is also from Algona. She's a cross-country captain and state qualifier. She has also earned multiple letters in softball, basketball, and quiz bowl. She's a percussionist in band, and she works hard on student council, Christian Leadership, and right here on the "Bear Facts". Alison also plans to attend UNI next fall, where she'll be majoring in exercise science and sports physiology. Best wishes to our Homecoming royalty, Alison and John!
Thanks, Allison! On our Golden Bear calendar this week, the Bears are hosting a volleyball tournament this morning. Then on Monday there's JV football, with the Bears traveling to Mason City Nerwman.
Also on Monday the Golden Bear cross-country team runs as close to home as they'll be all year, when they compete in the Algona Invitational. The meet takes place at the Whittemore Golf Club, and we encourage everyone to head over there to see them.
Monday we'll also start ITEDs, the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, which continue over the next two weeks. Tuesday is Picture Day. That night the freshman football team hosts Clarion and the volleyball players travel to Humboldt.
ITEDs continue the rest of the week. Then on Friday the football team hosts Lake Mills. The junior class will be sponsoring their annual tailgate party at that game.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure to set your dial here again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
