Good morning! I'm Jill Johnson!
I'm Rachel McGuire!
And I'm Molly Bartolo! Welcome once again to the "Bear
Facts", the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High
School.
Today is a big day for Garrigan, with lots of important events. First there's the state cross-country meet. For the first time in eighteen years Garrigan's boys cross country team will be running as a team at state. The 1-A state championship will be this afternoon at 2:00 at Kennedy Park just north of Ft. Dodge, and we encourage everyone to head south and cheer on the Bears. Garrigan's top runner all year long has been senior Jeff Hellman. Running close behind are junior John Kohlhaas, freshman Brandon Rowley, and sophomore Matt Courtney. Other top runners include David Murphy, Tyler Rolling, Eric Cassmann, Donnie Monson, and Seth Rogers. Daryl Kohlhaas and Greg Ahlers coach cross-country at Garrigan.
The Bears have dedicated the 2002 season to cross-country legend Adam Sundall, who was tragically killed on his way home for Christmas last December. Adam was unquestionably Garrigan's top runner ever. His state record still stands, and even after his death he continues to be an inspiration for today's Garrigan runners. Adam was a great athlete and a great person, and we're proud to have our cross-country team continue his winning tradition.
Cross-country isn't the only group that's competing at state today. Three Garrigan girls are in Pella this weekend for the individual state dance competition. Sarah Schmitt, Nikki Loebig, and Nicole Krieps are representing the Golden Bear danz squad at state. According to Sarah they've worked hard to incorporate a wide variety of choreography into their routines, which should make for some especially interesting productions. Good luck, girls!
Also today five students are competing in a regional math competition. Garrigan has done very well in math competitions in recent years, even though the structure of the contests pits the Bears against schools with up to 750 students. Math competitions include a variety of types of questions. One of the most interesting rounds is the relay round, where one student answers a question. They then pass their answer to another student, who must use it to answer a second question. The second answer is then passed to a third student, who uses it to answer yet another question. Everyone has to be right, or the final answer won't even be close. We wish good luck in the relay round, and in all the competitions, to the Garrigan math team!
Last weekend the Garrigan quiz bowl team had a good day when they competed in the Ankeny Scholastic Bowl in suburban Des Moines. Garrigan went 4 - 1 in the preliminary rounds and ended up in third place overall in the tournament. Autumn Thompson was captain for the Bears, and her teammates were Mike Blocker, Eric Fouarge, and Nick Dahlhauser. The Bears' next quiz bowl tournament will be one week from today, when they compete at Algona High.
The Garrigan magazine drive is off to a great start. The senior class has already met their class goal, and we're already two-thirds of the way to the overall school goal. The drive continues through next Wednesday. Prices are the lowest you'll find anywhere, and a wide selection of magazines are available. So be sure to find your favorite Golden Bear and renew your subscriptions through the school.
If you enjoy the fine arts, next week is the week for you at Garrigan. First, next Thursday there's a special fall choir concert-the first time in years the choir has done their own concert separate from band. The concert will include selections from a special professionally-recorded CD that Garrigan produced last week. The CD will be available for purchase around Thanksgiving, just in time for the holidays.
The choir concert is just the beginning, though. Next Friday and Saturday the gym will come alive with the DARTS Extravaganza. This variety show brings together students, faculty, and alumni and will treat the public with a combination of comedy and music. Among the selections are short plays such as "The Philadelphia", "Sure Thing", "Deliver Us Not!", and "The Last Touchy-Feely Drama on the American Stage". In the shows you can students like Jeff Hellman, John Kohlhaas, and Keshar Nadkarni trying their hand at spotscasting, alumni like Tyler Struck and Amanda Freking playing unborn fetuses, and teacher David Burrow playing both a Mexican murderer and a drunk father who beats up his son for laughs.
English teacher Mary McCall organized the whole extravaganza. Funds from the show will go to DARTS, which supports drama, speech, publications, art, music, and other fine arts activities at Garrigan. In addition to the drama shorts, the show also features vocal and instrumental selections, artwork from the seniors at Garrigan, lyrical dance, and some laugh-filled improvisation groups. Tickets are just $5 for adults and $3 for students, so be sure to stop out at Garrigan next Friday and Saturday nights for the DARTS Extravaganza.
Because of all the news, we're skipping our usual Senior Spotlight this week. On our Golden Bear calendar right now as we speak there's a send-off for the cross-country team on Meister Drive by Garrigan. The team will be running at state down at Ft. Dodge at 2:00 this afternoon.
Also today the danz squad is in Pella for the state individual dance competition and the math team is competing in a Great Plains Math League contest in Sioux Center.
Sunday is the start of National Chemistry Week. Then Monday there's volleyball regionals-with the Bears facing North Kossuth for the third time this year. Tuesday is Election Day, and Wednesday the magazine drive ends.
Next Thursday we'll have the fall vocal concert. Friday we'll be ordering class rings and graduation announcements. Then that night the curtain goes up on the DARTS Extravaganza.
That's our first "Bear Facts" for November. Thanks for listening, and be sure to join us again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
