The Bear Facts
October 24, 2015
Good morning! I’m Carolyn Baxter!
I’m James Quinlin!
And I’m Devin Degen Thanks for tuning in to the “Bear Facts”, the weekly
radio show from Bishop Garrigan High School.
It’s all-state time! Today twelve Garrigan vocalists are over in Storm
Lake to audition for the All-State Music Festival. There’s always a wide variety
of music at all-state. Among this year’s selections ae “I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til the
Spirit Moves in My Heart”, “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide, and “Baba
Yetu”—a song originally composed for the video game series Civilization. There
are several religious songs and traditional patriotic numbers like “America, the
Beautiful” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic”.
This year’s all-state auditioners from Garrigan include two returning
all-staters: bass vocalist Levi Capesius and soprano Carolyn Baxter. Also
auditioning this year are sopranos Caitlin Thilges, Isabelle Davis, and Ashlyn
Harrington; tenors Sam Trainer and Gabe Trainer; bass vocalists Sam Vaske and
Eric Thul; and altos Mariah Bronk, Emma Thul, and Megan Bronk.
All-state really is a big honor. Statewide only 150 singers are selected
for each choral part, and at each audition site quotas limit the selections to
between ten and twenty auditioners. The students sing in groups representing a
mixture of parts, and auditors will evaluate their technical skill and artistry.
Some auditioners are selected after a single audition, while others receive
callbacks, where they compete with other top contenders.
Students who make the cut today will sing at the All-State Music Festival,
which will be held in Ames November 19 – 21. The festival concert will be
televised over Thanksgiving weekend. We wish all the best today to all the
Garrigan all-state auditioners, and to choir director Linda Ferjak. Break a leg,
everybody!
Last Saturday Garrigan hosted their annual quiz bowl tournament, which is
one of the oldest and by far the largest tournament of its type in Iowa.
Forty-two teams from twenty-one different schools were registered for the event.
After a full day of competition, the team of Devin Degen, Levi Capesius, Noah
Buscher, and Ben Degen ended up in second place overall.
The Bears were undefeated in preliminary rounds, with wins over
Emmetsburg, Bishop Heelan, Estherville Lincoln Central, Hartley Melvin Sanborn,
West Bend Mallard, Boone, Harris Lake Park, and Storm Lake St. Mary’s. They got
three more wins in playoffs before falling to Algona High in the championship
game.
A second Garrigan team with senior Joseph Espinosa and juniors Andrew
Thilges, Ben Fogarty, and Sam Harrington also made playoffs. They had a 7 – 1
record in preliminary games and fell to Ft. Dodge St. Edmond in the first round
of playoffs. Two other Golden Bear teams finished right in the middle of the
pack.
There’s more quiz bowl action today. The Bears are down in Ankeny for the
third annual Centennial High School quiz bowl tournament. There will be a lot of
tough competition, with teams from the Des Moines area, Ames, and eastern Iowa.
We wish good luck today to the quiz bowl team.
Our Senior Spotlight this week shines on Carolyn Baxter. Carolyn is hoping
to make a return trip to the All-State Music Festival. She’s excelled at choir
all through school, and she’s also been active in drama and speech. She’s also
an outstanding athlete who is helping lead the volleyball team through the
post-season. She’s also active in National Honor Society, and Christian
Leadership, and the “Bear Facts”. Carolyn will have already have several college
credits when she graduates, and we wish her all the best when she continues her
education after high school.
Thanks, DDDDD. On our Golden Bear calendar today, there’s all-state music
auditions in Storm Lake and quiz bowl in Ankeny. Also today Garrigan is one of
the sites for the autumn craft show.
Next week is Red Ribbon Week, a time to fight against drugs. Tuesday we’ll
attend a special assembly at Algona High with speaker Aaron Thomas. That night
the volleyball team hosts North Iowa in the second round of volleyball playoffs.
We’ll have an early dismissal for teacher inservice on Wednesday. That
night state football playoffs begin, and we’ll be hosting the first round here
at Garrigan.
Next Friday is the middle school and junior high will celebrate Fall
Festival in Friedmann Auditorium. Finally Friday night we hope the Bears will be
traveling to Lake Park for the third round of volleyball regionals.
That’s the “Bear Facts” for this week. Thanks for joining us, and be sure
to tune in again next week for more news from Bishop Garrigan High School.