The Bear Facts
May 7, 2011
Good morning, I’m Anna Kollasch!
I’m Kristin Berte!I
’m Kelsie Berke!
I’m Aimee Dahlhauser!
I’m Michael Fakler!
And I’m Becca Moslberry! Welcome to a very special edition of the “Bear Facts”, where we’re saluting the Class of 2011 here at Bishop Garrigan High School.
The seniors have finished up all our semester tests, and we’ve turned in all our research papers and projects. We’ve cleaned out our lockers and left the school to the younger Golden Bears. Next Wednesday we’ll have our baccalaureate mass, with an awards assembly afterwards. Then on Sunday, May 15 we’ll walk across the stage as Garrigan’s fifty-second graduating class.
Anna Kollasch and Rebecca Molsberry are valedictorians of the Class of 2011. Aimee Dahlhauser is the salutatorian, and her fellow honor students chose Aimee to give this year’s commencement address. In addition Rachel Beletti, Jake Rosenmeyer, Katie Miller, Kristin Berte, Ashley Bode, Nora Krahenbuhl, Michael Fakler, Miranda Gisch, Becky Jennings, and Alex Hamilton will all be graduating with highest honors and a grade point average of 3.75 or higher.
This year’s diplomas will be presented by Fr. Randy Schon, who is finishing his pastorate as parish priest for Wesley and St. Benedict. Fr. Schon has also taught religion and social studies courses here at Garrigan. He’ll be headed to Boone this summer, and we wish know he’ll do well in his new parish.
The Class of 2011 is a small group, with just forty-four graduates. We’ve had a lot of successes and made a lot of impact on the school, though. One of the areas where we’ve been the most successful is in dance. This year’s seniors have led the danz squad to state and national championships, and they’ve won individual dance championships as well. This past week we learned that three senior danz squad members—Kristin Berte, Aimee Dahlhauser, and Becca Molsberry—made the dance teams at their colleges. Congratulations to them!
Another field where the seniors have excelled is quiz bowl. Jake Rosenmeyer and Anna Kollasch are among just three Golden Bears ever to qualify for the National Academic Championships all four years of high school. Joining them at nationals this summer are fellow seniors Michael Hellman, Alex Hamilton, and Michael Fakler. All five were part of the Golden Bear team that made the best showing in school history at nationals last year, and they’re hoping for more success in New Orleans Memorial Day weekend.
The seniors also excel in golf. Andrew Schiltz and Tyler Lallier are back from the state championship boys team, while Kelsie Berke, Miranda Gisch, and Laura Richter are looking to improve on their state runner-up trophy from last year. The girls team won and set a new record at the CYO meet earlier this season, and both boys and girls have won key meets throughout the season. Good luck to the golf teams as they wrap up regular season play and head into tournaments.
The Class of 2011 has also excelled in the fine arts throughout their time in high school. Members of the senior class have won all-state awards in both speech and music, and nearly half the class has earned “I” ratings in competition. Seniors have also created beautiful paintings, sculpture, and photographs, and they’ve helped keep bishopgarrigan.org one of the best high school websites anywhere. Seniors have also been part of outstanding plays and musicals that will be remembered long after we’ve left Garrigan.
We could list off almost every sport and activity, and we’d find that members of this year’s senior class have set new records or made major accomplishments in those fields. We know the younger kids are talented, too, but we’re proud to say there will be some big shoes to fill now that the Class of 2011 has left.
Our review of the Class of 2011 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning one student who is no longer with us, Sean Beisch. Sean began school with us and was a good friend of many of this year’s seniors when we were back at Seton. He struggled with cancer for more than a year and finally died just after Thanksgiving in the year 2000. Sean’s spirit still remains with us today, and we’re proud to have him as our classmate.
Several Garrigan juniors recently won awards for their accomplishments in English. The Catholic Daughters of America held an essay contest for students around the area, and Jenny Broesder, Grant Reding, and Addison Miller took the top three places. Jenny also took first place at the state level, and her essay is now competing at nationals. Special recognition went to Brandon Schiltz and Carly Loss, and Austin Vaske and Shelby Schindler earned honorable mentions.
In the high school division of the Kossuth Garden of Poets contest, Luke Eischen and Rachel Berte earned first and second places in the county, while Sam Evers and Alex Boisjolie were honorable mentions. Poems by Terrenze Franklin, Sheridan Berte, Samantha Cruise, Shelby Schindler, Cede Forburger, Craig Kohlhaas, Mallory Bormann, Lizzy Hohmeister, and Jeanne McCall were also selected for publication. Congratulations to these writers and to their teacher, Miss Mary McCall.
Our final senior spotlight of the year shines on Kristin Berte. Kristin has won all-American hnors in dance, and she’s also won awards in competition cheerleading. She’s been part of the Christian Leadership group all through high school, and her other activities have included choir, intramurals, and the National Honor Society. Kristin will be part of the Cyclone dance team at Iowa State next year, and we wish her all the best in the future.
On our Golden Bear calendar this week there’s boys golf at Hampton today. Then tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Monday are the conference golf and track meets. Boys golf is at Iowa Falls, while Garrigan hosts the girls golf meet.
The conference boys track meet is at Algona High, and the girls track conference meet will be in Humboldt. Tuesday ecology students will be taking a canoe trip, and that night we’ll have the awards banquet for music, art, speech, drama, quiz bowl, and the “Bear Facts”.
There’s a school mass next Wednesday morning, and that night is baccalaureate for the Class of 2011. Then next Thursday there’s the district track meet at Armstrong.
Next Friday we’ll have our annual Stewardship Day, and there’s boys sectional golf that day. Then a week from Sunday we’ll have the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2011.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week, and it’s the last “Bear Facts” for us seniors. For the next two weeks you’ll hear some of the younger Golden Bears wrapping up the school year’s news. As seniors we’re out of here, though, so thanks for listening, and ...
Goodbye, everybody!
(Originally recorded with Michael Hellman and Alex Hamilton in addition to those listed here.)
