Good morning! I'm Mike McAlpine!
And I'm Michael Loebach! Welcome once again to the "Bear
Facts", the radio show where every week we keep you in touch with everything that's happening at
Bishop Garrigan High School.
Last weekend the Golden Bear danz squad brought home two big trophies and three plaques from the Iowa Drill Team Association state competition in Des Moines. Garrigan earned Division I ratings in both the "pom" and "dance/funk/jazz" categories, and they ended up finishing in second place statewide in both events. The girls also won a special citation for their distinguished academic achievement as a team.
Seniors Allison Courtney, Stephanie Hilbert, Jamie Roethler, Laura Seeley, and Monica Studer are at the heart of the danz squad this year. Dancing with them are juniors Lindsey Eischen, Rachel Foth, Kim Frideres, Nikki Loebig, Sarah Schmitt, and Amanda Wolf. The squad also includes sophomores Maria Erpelding and Nicole Krieps, and freshman Ashley Shaw. Becca Studer and Melissa Vaske are the alternates for danz squad. You can see their award-winning routines at Garrigan's home basketball games throughout the season.
This has been a very successful week for the Golden Bear quiz bowl team. Last Saturday they competed at the Spirit Lake Invitational Tournament. For the fourth time this year the team was seeded first after the preliminary rounds, with a perfect 4 - 0 record. Garrigan's only loss came in the semi-finals, and they ended up in third place overall in their division. Sophomore John Kohlhaas was captain for the Bears. Also playing on the team were senior Bob Brandenburg, juniors Autumn Thompson and Steven Kellner, and freshman Matt Courtney.
The quiz bowl success continued on Wednesday, when for the first time ever the Bears competed at the high school level in the
Knowledge Master Open, a nationwide computer-based academic competition. In Knowledge Master teams work together to answer 200 questions from all fields of knowledge. Eleven Golden Bears answered 174 of the questions correctly, to earn 1,167 points. That score puts them on par with top students from all around the country.
Among the categories in which the group excelled were health, geography, economics, and law. Garrigan students correctly answered 100% of the questions in each of those fields. They also did especially well in biology, world history, current events, and physical science. Team members for the Knowledge Master competition included seniors Rebecca McGuire, Bob Brandenburg, Mandy Rahm, and Chris Kohlhaas; juniors Steven Kellner; sophomores Jesse Bode, John Kohlhaas, Rachel McGuire, and Amber Golwitzer; and freshman Matt Courtney. Congratulations to all of them!
Because of their many play-off appearances this year, coach David Burrow announced this week that the quiz bowl team had again qualified for the
National Academic Championships and that the team would again be traveling to compete at the national level. This will be the
fifth trip Garrigan has made to nationals. In 1996 the Bears ended up in 17th place nationwide when they went to Dallas for their first crack at nationals. Over the years the team has also traveled to New Orleans, Washington, and New York for national quiz bowl tournaments. This year's National Academic Championship will take place at the beginning of June. We'll fill you in on more of the details as the event approaches.
This week's Senior Spotlight shines on Mandy Rahm and Heather and Holly Forburger. Here to tell you about them is
Chris Kohlhaas.
Mandy Rahm is a Wesley native who is among the top students in the Class of 2002. She is active in quiz bowl, speech, drama, and music, and when she's not cramming for classes, you just might see her working at Johnny's in Wesley. Mandy will be off to college next year, and we wish her all the best.
It's not hard to figure out that Heather and Holly Forburger are twins. The girls are Algona natives who love to spend time with their friends. They especially enjoy health classes, and Holly has been very active in HOSA, the Health Occupations Student Association. Heather also serves her country through the National Guard. We wish both Holly and Heather the very best in the future.
Thanks, Chris! On our Golden Bear calendar, today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Garrigan and Seton staff will have their holiday party this evening.
Monday we'll have another Advent prayer service. That night there's freshman and JV basketball at Ft. Dodge St. Edmond's. Then on Tuesday we'll have our Advent reconciliation service.
Tuesday night the varsity basketball teams host Iowa Falls. Then Wednesday the JV teams face Pocahontas, with the boys away and the girls at home.
Thursday there's no school at Garrigan, due to in-service and a reward from the magazine drive last fall. That night the juniors have their Evening of Reflection for Confirmation.
Next Friday the basketball teams host Webster City, and then on Saturday Garrigan will be hosting a competition for the Great Plains Math League.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to join us next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
