Good morning! I’m Nick Bronk!
I’m Anna Hohmeister!
And I’m Nathan Krieps! Thanks for joining us for the “Bear Facts” Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at Bishop Garrigan High School.
The biggest activity happening this weekend is the All-State Music Festival. The festival began on Thursday, and the festival concert will be at 7:00 tonight at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. This year Garrigan has five singers among the top musicians in the state. Seniors Jake Hamilton and Nick Bronk, junior Christian Matthews, sophomore Mariah Bronk, and freshman Levi Capesius are all being honored as all-staters.
The all-state choir will be conducted by Professor Sandra Snow of Michigan State University. Among the eight songs they are performing are “America the Beautiful”, “Zadok the Priest”, “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing”, and “Battle Hymn of the Republic”. If you can’t make it to Ames for the concert, you can see it on Iowa Public Television Thanksgiving night at 7:00 or Sunday, December 1st at 2pm.
Next Wednesday we’ll have two special events at Garrigan. At 9:00 that morning we’ll have our annual memorial mass for deceased alumni. The number of graduates who have passed away grows every year, and there are now well over 200 of them. While that’s just a small fraction of the roughly 5,000 people who have graduated from BGHS, we always want to remember the many people who built the great tradition our school has today.
More than a thousand people are expected to attend the memorial mass, most of them family and friends of those who have died. The highlight of the event is a PowerPoint that shows pictures of all our deceased alumni, with their names read as their faces are projected. The annual mass at Thanksgiving has been a tradition for more than twenty years, and throughout the school year a list with the names of our graduates who have died is kept in a place of honor in the school chapel. There’s also an online tribute to all our deceased alumni on the school website—bishopgarrigan.org.
Also on Wednesday we’ll have our annual hunger meal. This event has been sponsored for many years now by Garrigan’s Christian Leadership in Action group. Instead of the usual school lunch, we’ll have a light meal, with the savings going to help out those in need around the world. Christian Leadership students will give presentations that help us to understand the problems with hunger and food distribution around the world.
Basketball season is almost here. Last year the Golden Bear boys made it all the way to the substate finals, and they’re hoping to go even farther this year. While the Bears graduated an NCAA Division I player last year, they have a big group of talented seniors back at the core of this year’s team. They include all-district and all-conference honoree Nathan Krieps; all-area players Chris Loss and Brayton Loss; and returning letterwinners Neal Koob, David Klein, and Michael Berke.
Juniors Tyler Schnurr and Reece Wadle are also returning letterwinners. Other juniors include Christian Matthews, Ben Vaske, Andrew Miller, and Jess Marlow. Rounding out the team are sophomores Michael Condoleon, Zach Boelter, Logan Besch, Zac Kibby, Logan Rosenmeyer, Alex McGuire, Will Kellner, Devin Degen, Landon Studer, and James Quinlin. Good luck to Coach Roger Froehlich and the basketball team!
The start of December brings the state dance championships. This year Coach Colleen Schiltz is hoping for another great showing. The 2013 danz squad includes returning senior veterans Anna Hohmeister, Mariah McCall, Mallory Schiltz, and Jacquelyn Origer. Also on the team is freshman Courtney Noonan, who won the state individual championship last month.
Sarah Skilling also received superior marks for her individual dance. She’s joined on the team by fellow freshmen Chloe Garman and Danielle Plathe; juniors Patricia Brandt, Megan Lappe, and Kaitlyn Fogarty; and sophomores Kassidy Schiltz, Sophia Grandgenett, and Hailey Kollasch. Good luck at state, danz squad!
Our Senior Spotlight for Thanksgiving shines on Sean Hart. Here to tell you about him is Dillon Walker.
Sean Hart has one of the longest commutes of all the students at Garrigan, since he comes to our school from Emmetsburg. Sean loves music. He’s performed with the Solid Gold Marching Band, and he also likes playing guitar while performing with his friends. Sean has also been involved with speech, drama, and quiz bowl, and he’s had fun being the Golden Bear mascot at football games. We wish Shart all the best after high school.
Thanks, Dillon! Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, we’ve got two weeks of events on our Golden Bear calendar. The All-State Music Festival concert is tonight. Then tomorrow the football team will have their awards potluck.
Monday the girls basketball team has their first official game, as they host North Union. There will be a supper at the game to support the school technology program. Tuesday a group of seminarians will visit the school, and the seniors will take them on in basketball in the afternoon.
Wednesday at 9am is the memorial mass for deceased alumni, with the hunger meal at noon. All our classes are short that day, and we’ll dismiss at 2:15 for the holiday.
Next Friday there’s a boys basketball jamboree at Estherville. Advent begins on Sunday, and we’ll be lighting our first Advent candles at school on Monday, December 2nd.
That night the boys basketball team plays North Union at Armstrong. Then on Tuesday the 3rd there’s a basketball quad, with the Bears hosting St. Edmond. The cross-country team will serve a chili supper that night.
Wednesday December 4th we’ll dismiss early for teacher inservice. The Christmas band concert will be that night, with an art show beforehand.
Thursday the 5th there’s freshman basketball with the Bears hosting Emmetsburg. Also that afternoon the quiz bowl team will compete in the online 3—2—1 competition.
Thursday will be the state dance championships in Des Moines. Finally that night the basketball Bears travel to Eagle Grove for a basketball quad.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for Thanksgiving week. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll be off next weekend because of the holiday, but be sure to join us two weeks from today for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School!
