THE BEAR FACTS
September 16, 2023

Good morning! I’m Thadd Kollasch!

I’m Benjy Trainer!

And I’m Drew Muller! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts”, where each week we bring you the news from Bishop Garrigan High School.

This past Wednesday was an especially weird time for many people at Garrigan. Forty-nine students were at school for band practice and to finish decorations for the Homecoming parade. Band practice had just finished when we got word of a shooting in Algona. While the incident was on the other side of town, law enforcement advised that we should shelter in place with doors locked, so the band and Homecoming workers ended up staying at school until almost midnight, when the suspect was finally apprehended.

We’ve been keeping Officer Cram and his family in our prayers throughout the week. Friday morning we lined the street as his body passed by, we began our Homecoming parade with a police flag, and Friday night we had a special moment of silence before our football game. While Officer Cram was not directly associated with Garrigan, many of our graduates have gone into law enforcement careers, and some of our students have officers in their families. We do want to express our sympathy to the family, and we certainly hope nothing like this happens again.

For the most part this week was a happy one. It was Homecoming week. Our theme this year was “We Got the Beat”, and all week long we’ve been dressing up to portray the vibe of different eras of music. We began Homecoming on Monday with our coronation and pep rally. The king candidates this year were Justin Bauer, Nick Laubenthal, Logan Nemmers, and Sam Plathe; while the queen candidates were Violet Bode, Abbie Capesius, Avery Lichter, and Ella Schaaf. When the votes were counted, we were pleased to crown our king and queen. Congratulations to Justin Bauer and Abbie Capesius!

The class competition is one of the biggest parts of Homecoming every year. In this year’s contest, the seniors won dodgeball, both rounds of trivia, both rounds of Ultimate, both rounds of volleyball, as well as spikeball, boys home run derby, boys Gatorade chug, hot dog eating, boys tug-of-war, and the class egg toss.

The junior class won kickball, kan jam, girls home run derby, girls tug-of-war, and the partner egg toss. The sophomores won the pie eating contest, and they also tied with the seniors in the girls Gatorade chug. We had to record this week’s show before all the events were finished, but it looked like the seniors would end up with a narrow lead overall.

We are now in the middle of our “Walk and Pray” fundraiser. This replaces the former calendar drive and the frozen food sale, with proceeds going to both our transportation budget and to classroom supplies. As an incentive, donors who contribute $50 or more will be entered in a raffle with opportunities to win $100 or $500. You can also request special prayer intentions with your contributions. See your favorite Golden Bear to contribute to the “Walk and Pray” fundraiser.

Next Monday the Garrigan and Seton staff will be heading over to Heelan High School for the Ministries Conference of the Sioux City Diocese. The goal of this event is to help staff better incorporate religious teachings into every field of study. The teachers will be getting up early and returning late after spending a very full day at the conference.

We’re featuring two people in our Senior Spotlight this week—our Homecoming king and queen, Justin Bauer and Abbie Capesius. Here to tell you about them is Reagan Murphy.

Justin Bauer has connections to both the Emmetsburg and Wesley areas. He’s a four-sport athlete who won all-state honors in baseball, ran at state in track, is a receiver and plays defense on the football team, and also plays basketball. Justin also plays guitar and piano, and he’s a member of the honor society. Away from Garrigan Justin works at Bauer plumbing, and next year he plans to major in business at college. Best wishes, Justin!

Abbie Capesius is also a four-sport athlete. She was an important part of the state championship basketball team, she won all-state honors in softball, she’s run at state track, and she’s medalled in cross-country. She’s also in quiz bowl and the honor society, and she announces here on the “Bear Facts”. When she has a bit of time away from school she works at Bode’s Moonlight Gardens. Next year she plans to major in wildlife biology at college. Congratulations to our Abbie Capesius and Justin Bauer, our 2023 Homecoming royalty!

Thanks, Reagan. On our Golden Bear calendar today the volleyball team is over in Sioux City for the big CYO tournament. There’s also a swim meet today at Fort Dodge.

Monday there’s no school at Garrigan or Seton because the staff will be attending the Sioux City Diocese Ministries Conference. Monday night there’s cross-country in Humboldt, and the JV football team will be hosting Graettinger.

Tuesday is the second turn in deadline for the Walk and Pray fundraiser. There’s a swim meet in Spencer Tuesday night, and the volleyball team will be hosting North Iowa.

Wednesday is also a “no school” day. Both Garrigan and the Algona public schools are off that day because of staff inservice. Then on Thursday it’s picture day at Garrigan and Seton.

Thursday night there’s a swim meet at Fort Dodge. Friday we’ll listen to a speaker on human trafficking, and that night the football team travels to Rockford. Finally on Saturday the volleyball team hosts their home tournament.

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