The Bear Facts
April 14, 2024

Good morning! I’m Thadd Kollasch!

I’m Tate Foertsch!

I’m Daniel Meis!

And I’m Drew Muller! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, the weekly radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.

It’s Gala time again. This is the 35th year for Garrigan’s biggest fundraiser. Gala has come a long way since 1990. The very first Gala brought in $85,000, but things have gradually grown to the point that last year’s event brought in $430,000. All together over the years $8,226,000 has been raised to help support the local Catholic schools.

This year’s Gala theme is “A Winning Tradition”, and the decorations are centered around the Kentucky Derby. One of the prizes guests can bid on is a trip to Louisville to see the actual race in person. There’s almost seventy live auction items, which also include practical gifts like gravel, tiling, carpet installation, and tree removal; trips and meals, a diamond necklace, a loaded grill, and even a rare bottle of aged whiskey.

In addition to the live auction, there are hundreds of lower-value silent auction items, plus lots of games and raffles. The games include “heads or tails”, chest of chance, first chance, half chance, and last chance; and there are also raffles for home improvement, a gun, a recreational vehicle, and of course a car.

For the past few years one of the most popular parts of Gala has been “Pick Your Passion”. Teachers come up with things they’d like to have in their classroom—which can range from teaching aids to special furniture to just things that make class more fun for the students. Guests at Gala can support the specific areas they want by choosing one of those.

For lots of people food is the highlight of Gala. As guests arrive they’ll enjoy appetizers including southern tomato tarts, bourbon meatballs, apricot ham biscuits, and honey mustard smokie pastries. The formal meal starts with beer cheese soup with bacon and chives, and that’s followed by Benedictine wedge salad.

There’s a choice of entrée this year—either peach bourbon breast of chicken or bourbon cream tenderloin of beef. Those are accompanied by red jacket potatoes and prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Finally for dessert guests can choose between mint julep cake and Kentucky pecan pie. Wine, water, and coffee will accompany the meal, and this year Titonka Brewing is providing a signature American lager exclusively for Gala.

Gala is a very labor-intensive event. Dan and Katie Patten, Kyle and Farrah Wehrspan, and Robert and Beth Salinas have chaired the planning committee, Mindy Lichter designed the decorations, and dozens of other adults have worked hard planning and gathering gifts for the event. Garrigan students helped put up decorations, and tonight eighty-six different students will work as waiters, valets, and spotters for the auction. Thanks to everyone who helps make Gala a huge success.

Before working at Gala, many Garrigan students will be busy at the state solo and small ensemble music contest. This year they’ll head over to Graettinger for the competition. In band the Bears have four soloists: Alaina Casey on clarinet, Izzy Waechter on flute, Elena Salinas on saxophone, and Ethan Kuper on trumpet. There’s also a percussion ensemble featuring Griffin Geving, Lauren Swift, Violet Bode, Ava Hough, Sam Plathe, Benjy Trainer, and Kayden Graves.

In choir there’s one duet and five soloists. Amaury Thomas, Benjy Trainer, Tate Foertsch, Izzy Waechter, and Madelyn Bronk will all be singing solos, and the duet will feature Cora Deardeuff and Kylie Capesius. Best wishes at state solo and ensemble contest to directors Antonia Rupert and Katherine Wiemers and to all the music students!

Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Caelyn Capesius. Caelyn has been in a wide range of activities over the years. In her time at Garrigan she’s played basketball and volleyball, but she’s especially liked being part of the campus ministries program and helping with the little kids at Seton. Caelyn would like to be a therapist in the future. She plans to go to Kirkwood next year and then transfer to UNI. We wish her all the best after high school.

On our Golden Bear calendar today there’s state solo and small ensemble music contest at Graettinger. Then tonight and tomorrow the second graders at Seton will celebrate their first communion.

Tonight is Gala 2024. The worker mass will be at 4pm, doors open for guests at 5:30, the formal part of the evening begins at seven, and the meal is served at 7:30pm.

All through next week students will take the Iowa Assessments in their math, English, social studies, and science classes. Monday students who want to be part of next year’s danz squad will learn their try-out routine.

We’ll have mass on Tuesday. Many juniors will be gone that day doing job shadowing. Tuesday night there’s girls track at Garner, boys track at Belmond, and coed golf at Eagle Grove.

Next Wednesday Garrigan and Seton will have school. This was originally a staff inservice day, but we’re having school to make up the time from the snow day last month. We’ll have parish busing at Garrigan on Wednesday.

Thursday midterm progress reports go out. The school board meets at 1:00 that day. Thursday night there’s boys track at North Iowa, girls track at Estherville, and coed golf with the Bears hosting Lake Mills and Eagle Grove.

Bishop Garrigan will also host our junior high boys track meet on Thursday. Finally next Friday there’s boys track at Pocahontas.

Finally this week we want to congratulate Garrigan art teacher Cristina Rahm on the birth of her new daughter. Riley Kay Rahm was born right before Easter.

That’s the “Bear Facts” for another week. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to catch the show again next week to hear more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.