(Jingle bells ring.)
Merry Christmas, everybody! I'm Matt Courtney!
And I'm Amber Golwitzer! Welcome to a special holiday edition of "The Bear
Facts". Seasons gereetings from all of us at Bishop Garrigan High
School.
Christmas is a time of sharing, and again this year lots of different groups at Garrigan are trying to share the holiday spirit with those in need. The BGHS Student Council used some of the money from last fall's magazine drive to buy presents for two large families in the county's Adopt-a-Family program. The Garrigan faculty is also supporting a needy family, and the school's Christian Leadership in Action group has been collecting coats to help people stay warm this winter.
With the holidays here, we surveyed almost half the Garrigan students to find out what their plans were over Christmas vacation. By far the most common response was "sleep"-which isn't a surprise after a rushed December filled with events like
Madrigal. Other responses included "eat", "work", "have fun", "hang out with friends", "go to grandma's", "play basketball", "work out", "study for semester tests" (yeah, right) and "chill with my buds". Senior Mike Blocker is going to San Diego over Christmas, and exchange student Ana Pal is visiting her uncle in California. Katie Von Ruden will be traveling to South Carolina and New Jersey, and sophomore Jill Patterson will be going to Miami to watch the Hawks play in the Orange Bowl.
We asked people what they wanted for Christmas, and there was a wide variety of answers. The top responses included expensive choices like cars and computers to cheaper options like watches and make-up. "Money" was by far the most popular response, but there were a lot of requests. Some were for noble stuff like "world peace", but most of the requests were things people wanted for themselves. Freshmen Jude and Jesse Studer wanted guitars, and so did sophomores Brandon Stone and Emily DeWaard. Chris Kirsch wanted a Playstation II, while Adam Elbert wanted an X-Box. Then there was senior Justin Fickbohm, who said that what he wanted for Christmas was "the girl of my dreams".
Our survey continued by asking people what was the best gift they ever got for Christmas. Here the answers were all over the place. Some people remembered trips to Hawaii and Mexico, while other people couldn't forget a special doll they got when they were little. The single most common answer for "best gift ever" was a cell phone. Other responses included TV, a wide range of videos, a three-wheeler, a snowmobile, a train set, a weight system, an Easy-Bake Oven, jewelry, a BB-gun, a sled, a snowboard, and an electric shaver. It's not really a surprise that golfer Andrea Schiltz's best gift was a special driver or that David Laubenthal was most pleased with getting a cow named Betsy. Then there was freshman Eric Goodman, who said that pretty much all his presents have been all right.
Finally we asked Garrigan students what was the worst Christmas present they ever received. The vast majority gave some variation on "ugly clothes", but there were some creative answers, too. Some people got gifts that were really appropriate for other people-like the boys who got Barbies and Care Bears and scented soap. Molly Black once received a Scooby Doo Chia-Pet, while Kris Sutter opened up a big wrapped package to find a box of Junior Mints. And then there was Jeff Hellman, who works as an announcer here at KLGA. Jeff said his worst gift was having to work this coming Christmas day.
Our Senior Spotlight for the holidays shines on Molly Bartolo and Jenni Erpelding. Here to tell you about them is
Anthony McGuire.
Molly Bartolo comes from a family with a lot of athletic talent, and in spite of her stature, her ability still lets her tower over her opponents. Molly is a starter on the Golden Bear basketball team, and she enjoys other sports as well. She'll be off to college next fall, and we wish her all the best.
Jenni Erpelding is also a good athlete. Her biggest activity is probably softball, but she has been active in other sports as well. Over the years Jenni has also participated in speech, music, and dance. Jenni will also be a college girl next year. Good luck to both Jenni and Molly.
Thanks, Anthony! We've got three whole weeks to cover on our Golden Bear calendar, because of the holiday break. We have a full two weeks of Christmas vacation this year. After New Year's, on Friday, January 3, basketball starts up again, with the Bears hosting Hampton-Dumont.
The first weekend of January there will be open house at St. Cecelia's to show off the newly renovated sanctuary. Then school starts up again on Monday, January 6.
There are spring play try-outs the afternoon of the 6th. Then on Tuesday, January 7, the basketball Bears play at Humboldt. Wednesday the 8th we'll have mass for Epiphany, and that night the freshman basketball teams host Humboldt.
Thursday the 9th there will be a meeting for junior parents who are planning next spring's After-Prom activities. Then on Friday, January 10th the basketball Golden Bear basketball players host St. Ed's.
That's the "Bear Facts" for 2002. All of us at Bishop Garrigan would like to wish every one of you a wonderful Christmas and a great new year. We'll be off the next two weeks for Christmas vacation, but be sure to tune in again on January 11, 2003, when we'll be back with more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.
(Jingle bells ring.)
