Good morning! I'm Sarah Erdman!
I'm Steve Kellner!
I'm Jenna Hansen!
And I'm David Murphy! Thanks for joining us for the "Bear Facts", the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.
Tonight guests will be gathering in Friedmann Auditorium for the annual Gala celebration. This year's theme is "Gala Magic", and the entertainment includes live magic acts. Throughout the evening guests will bid on live auction items-ranging from hand-crafted furniture to garbage disposal service to elegant dinners to preferred seating at sporting events. There are also silent auction gifts like theatre tickets, hog processing, Christmas crafts, college sweatshirts, and an autographed photo of Brewers all-star and former Garrigan slugger Brad Nelson. Gala-goers can also enter raffles to win anything from a centerpiece to a big-screen TV to a new car.
As always, one of the highlights of Gala is the food. As guests gather tonight, they will nibble on hors d'oeuvres such as pesto pizza, shrimp toast, and pumpkin ravioli with orange amaretto dip. The dinner starts with Vidalia onion soup with Parmesan croissant stars. That's followed up by spinach and strawberry salad with poppy seed vinaigrette. The main course is tenderloin of pork with forest mushroom stuffing and mustard beurre blanc. On the side they'll enjoy a mélange of Edamame beans, sweet corn, and red peppers, plus garlic mashed potato spirals and whole grain Parmesan, rosemary, and sourdough bread. Finally there's dessert, called "towers of magic", which includes crème anglaise, raspberry and mango coulis, and chocolate sauce.
Literally hundreds of people are involved in organizing Gala-from the chairpeople who oversee the whole event to the students who design decorations and serve as waiters and waitresses for the evening. The event is now in its fourteenth year, and it is far and away the biggest fundraiser at Garrigan and Seton. Over the years Gala has raised $2,122,000 to help support the area Catholic schools. This year's organizers are hoping to bring in around $200,000 more to add to that total. We hope this year's Gala will be another huge success.
Monday eight Garrigan students will be in Waterloo for the state mathematics competition. Steve Kellner, Jeff Hellman, Rosalind Kirsch, John Kohlhaas, Matt Courtney, Spenser Rahm, Jeff Lappe, and Scott Stence all earned the right to compete at state by placing high at regional competitions throughout the year. The state finals will be held at Hawkeye Community College, and math teacher Daryl Kohlhaas will be accompanying the team to the tournament.
There are several types of events in math competition. One of the most interesting is the relay round, where teams compete in groups of three. Each person has a different, but related problem to solve. The trick is that the second person needs to know the first person's answer to solve their problem, and the third person needs the second person's answer for their problem. It's like a big chain, and if anyone happens to be wrong, it goofs up everybody's answers. Other events include the sprint round, which basically amounts to taking a long, hard math test, the team round, where teams can work together to solve complex problems, and the power question, which centers on the idea of mathematical proof. Garrigan has done extremely well in math competition in recent years, even though we compete in a class that includes schools more than three times our size. We wish all the math team members good luck at state!
Our senior spotlight this week shines on Amy Rahm. You may have seen Amy Rahm working when you were shopping at the Algona Hy-Vee store. Amy's biggest activity is probably volleyball, and she has also been active in track. In addition to sports, Amy enjoys helping out with the Christian Leadership in Action group. She'll be off to college next fall, and we wish her all the best.
Thanks, Steve! Because of the upcoming Easter holiday, we've got two weeks of events on our Golden Bear calendar. It starts today with the state solo and ensemble music contest in Britt. Then tonight it's time for some magic with Gala 2003.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. The boys and girls track teams will be running in the CYO meet at Ft. Dodge. Then on Monday there's a science field trip and the Great Plains Math League state finals in Waterloo.
Tuesday we'll have a special performance by the University of South Dakota concert band. That night the girls track team runs at Algona High. Then on Wednesday the golf teams face Webster City and Humboldt and the boys track squad runs at Estherville.
Thursday we'll have our annual Morning of Reflection for Holy Week. There are no activities from Good Friday through Easter Sunday, and there's also no school on Monday, April 21. Tuesday the 22nd the Peer Helper class will visit the prison in Rockwell City and the girls track team will run at Garner.
Wednesday the 23rd the quiz bowl team will compete in the computer-based Knowledge Master. Also that night the golf teams face Clear Lake and the girls track team runs at Armstrong. Then on Thursday the 24th residents of area care centers will visit Garrigan.
Thursday night will be the awards potluck for the speech and quiz bowl teams. Then on Friday, April 25 we'll have elections for next year's student council president. That night there's girls track at Estherville and boys track at Pocahnotas.
That's the "Bear Facts" for another week. We'll be off next weekend because of the Easter holiday. But be sure to join us two weeks from today, on Saturday the 26th when we'll bring you more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
