January 2017
Catholic Highlights
Your Monthly Lancaster Catholic Newsletter
Hall of Honor: Hoops Edition
IN THIS Issue
3 MONTHLY Class Notes 4 ALUMNI Spotlight: A Roller Coaster Ride - Robert Cybulski ‘13
6 STUDENT Spotlight: A Unique
Appointment - Noah Bamert ‘17
8 MONTHLY Feature:
Hall of Honor: Hoops Edition
12 THIS MONTH In Pictures IN THE
News
14 Lady Crusaders Win 100th Consecutive League Game 14 FPA Director Starts Youth Music Program 15 Sign Up Genius for Gala Class Baskets 17 Varsity Club Reaches Toys for Tots Goal 17 LCHS Students Network at Thaddeus Stevens 18 LCHS Junior, Founder of “Mother Teresa Project” 18 Catholic High’s Award Winning Rosmarian 19 Senior Student Particpates in Regional Poetry Contest 19 Jefferson Nets 1000th Career Point
MONTHLY Kiley Sharp ‘13, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semster at Cabrini College, where she is a senior student majoring in Exercise Science. Porscha Speller ‘13, was chosen as the PSAC East Division Athlete of the Week for women’s baksetball after accumulating 27 points, 11 steals, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in two of West Chester’s PSAC East wins. Her eight steals versus Lock Haven tied her for the second-most steals in a single contest in program history. Emily Martin ‘13, was named the USBWA Division III National Player of the Week in women’s basketball. Emily also won her fith career Athlete of the Week honors during her career at Elizabethtown College. Alaina Olson ‘13, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at the Univeristy of Scranton, where she is majoring in Health Care Administration. Lauren Carroll ‘14, currently a student and member of the Buckeyes field hockey team at the Ohio State University, was named to the Fall Academic All-Big Ten Team.
Class Notes Caroline Scarff ‘16, netted a career-high 19 points in Lebanon Valley College’s loss to Stevenson College. Elizabeth Eichenlaub ‘14, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at the Univeristy of Scranton. Madison Wolfe ‘16, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at the University of Mount Union. Lauren Zink ‘94, will be inducted into the American Platform Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame. This is APTA’s highest honor, bestowed on individuals who have made great acheivements in playing platform tennis or in the growth and development of the sport. Emma Lawson ‘14, was named to the Dean’s List for the fall semester at Franciscan University where she is dual-majoring in Theology/Catechetics with a concentration in Youth Ministry. Joe Chiccarine ‘04, and his wife, Jackie, welcomed their healthy and happy son, Patrick, at 12:32 a.m. on January 1, 2017. He was the first born baby in the New Year in Lancaster County.
This year’s recipient of The Saint John Paul II Excellence in Leadership Award at the Third Annual Purple & Gold Gala is Reverend Edward R. Lavelle. Fr. Lavelle served as vice principal and principal from 1974-78, and currently, in retirement, he volunteers countless hours for our students through his classroom visits, retreats and Masses. In order to make this night special for Fr. Lavelle, we are asking for your personal stories about him to include in the presentation. Please email Lori Wagner (lwagner@lchsyes.org) if you would like your story to be part of this wonderful event.
The Class of 1977 reunion will take place on Saturday, April 22 at the Burning Bridge. Catholic Highlights | 3
ALUMNI Spotlight
A Roller Coaster Ride - Robert Cybulski ‘13
Robert Cybulski ‘13, a Lancaster Catholic graduate and fourth-year student at the Rochester Institute of Tehcnology, and his team of five other RIT Theme Park Enthusiasts are chugging their way to the top of the thrilling rollercoaster design industry. In November of 2016, Robert and his team decided to take the plunge to present their creativity nationally at The Ryerson Inviational Thrill Design Competition, hosted by Universal Creative in Orlando, Florida.
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Cybulski lead, as the President of the team of the Theme Park Entusiasts, when it came to completing the three challenges in the competition. The challenges consisted of retrofitting a Ferris wheel to keep children in open gondolas, designing a rollercoaster that could not exceed 40 miles per hour, and redesigning the well-known Teacups ride to make it more appealing to teenagers. Judged by the senior staff at Universal Creative, the RIT team won
ALUMNI Spotlight all four possible awards - for each individual challenge and the overall award. In addition, each member of the team was surpised with internship offers to join the team at Universal Creative, the research and development team responsible for designing rides and attractions for Universal Parks & Resorts theme parks. After sweeping the competition on the national stage, Cybulski was honored with a prestiguous individual honor at RIT, the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award. As part of the honor, he was able to recognize a high school teacher that had a profound influence on his academic career and he chose Mrs. Pat D’Elia, a math teacher at Lancaster Catholic High School. Since 1976, RIT has honored the top 1% of students that are able to maintain a record of acaemic excellence while also giving back to the community through civic or volunteer work, conducting research, or being engaged in co-op or work in their field of study. Each of the students honored has achieved the distinction of maintaining a minimum grade-point
average of 3.85 out of a possible 4.0. All have completed at least 83 credit hours of study, more than two-thirds of the credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree. In addition, selection of students was based on other factors complementing academic acheivement, including creative work, service on student committees, civic activities, employment and independing research. Cybulski and D’Elia will be honored at a cerement at RIT in Rochester, New York on April 6, 2017.
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STUDENT Spotlight
A Unique Appointment Noah Bamert ‘17 The United States Military Academy’s acceptance rate was just 9.6 percent last year; couple that with the difficult application process that requires all applicants to receive a nomination from a congressional representative, it’s not too often that a high school student graduates high school and heads straight to West Point. So one would think that Catholic High senior Noah Bamert was a long shot to make it. But just ask around; this unique appointment wasn’t an against all odds story. “Like so many successful USMA cadets, Noah knows how to cram 25 hours into a 24 hour day, and look good doing it,” explained Peter J. Ross, D.M.D, a Field Force representative for USMA. “Noah is a natural leader. This is not because he is boisterous, but because he demonstrates though his actions and his words what it means to be a Crusader both in the classroom and on deck,” Noah’s swim coach Daniel Mikula praised. “He balanced his high school career, earning an Eagle Scout award, and applied and earned a nomination and USMA appointment, all within a nine month period of time. Impressive for a high school student,” Ross added.
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Noah Bamert, in a recent Catholic High advertisment.
Just a few weeks ago, Bamert received word that his goal of heading to West Point was coming true. It actually came a few weeks earlier than he anticipated, and, of course, it was a welcome gift that was celebrated by Noah and his entire family. “I was first inspired to join the military in part by my Catholic education, which taught me the importance of selfless service to others,” Bamert detailed. “I know that the career that I have chosen will be challenging, but Lancaster Catholic has prepared me to continue my education in becoming an Army officer because of the challenging classes I have taken.”
STUDENT Spotlight Noah was helped along by his faith, but also by his school counselor, Greg Dietz, who guided him through each step of the application process and even set up a mock panel interview with about seven LCHS employees to prepare him for the difficult task he was about to undertake. “It’s such a prestigious honor for students to get an appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point. I try to explain to those who apply that, if accepted, they are essentially getting a $300,000 scholarship from tax payers to go to one of the best schools in the country and to serve their country in return”, Dietz described. “They are only going to take the best of the best.”
Noah is the first Crusader to receive appointment straight out of high school in Dietz’s four years at LCHS. Sarah Ross ‘05 is the only other Crusader in the past 18 years to head to the United States Military Academy. And that honor is not lost on Noah. “I am very thankful to Lancaster Catholic for providing me with the opportunities and the support to allow me to achieve my goals.”
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MONTHLY Feature
Hall of Honor: Hoops Edition
L
ancaster Catholic High School held its annual Athletics Hall of Honor Ceremony with a basketball filled class and celebration. All three members of the induction class, Tony ‘Pops’ Arcudi, Kristin (Hirschler) Gilhool and Kari (Kubala) Null, played or coached basketball at elevated levels of greatness. The evening was filled with wonderful friends and family, great stories, a few laughs and even a few tears. Arcudi was presented by his old friend Sam Paone ‘54, and ‘Pops’ gave a short but sweet speech where he remembered his late wife, Mary Ann. The entire boy’s basketball program, where Arcudi still helps out and never misses a game, showed up for his induction and each member of the team greeted him with a congratulatroy hug prior to the ceremony. Arcudi joined the LCHS family in 1987 as an assistant boys’ basketball coach. After 27 years as an assistant coach at Lancaster Catholic, he was looked up to by players and families as a mentor and father figure.
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Coach Arcudi coached for a total of over 54 years and dedicated his time to teaching, molding, and mentoring young boys into better players and people. Bill Hayek presented Gilhool and he remembered a few good stories of her career and his daughters’ interaction with her, including presenting Gilhool with a poster-sized image of her sharing a laugh with his daughters with her big hoop earrings. Gilhool, ’90, helped the Crusader girls’ basketball team to three L-L League Section Championships, two L-L League Championships, three PIAA District III Championships, PIAA AAA State Championship Runner-up in 1988, and the PIAA AAA State Championship in 1989. She is the third all-time leading scorer at LCHS with 1,301 points and grabbed over 1,000 career rebounds. The final presenter was Ron Kubala ‘65, Kari’s father. He fought through proud tears to introduce his daughter and remembered her with kind words and great stories about how he may have bent the rules to allow her to play early.
MONTHLY Feature Null, ‘96, was an All-Star for the basketball team finishing her career with 1,003 points and lead LCHS to the PIAA District III Championship and PIAA AAA State Championship in 1996. She was named the team defensive MVP, L-L League Section III
All-Star, L-L League All County AllStar and Reader’s Choice 2nd Team All-Star during her junior season. During her senior year, Null was named L-L League Section III AllStar, L-L League All-County, PIAA District III All-Star.
Athletic Hall of Honor Photo Gallery
Tony ‘Pops’ Arcudi
Kristin (Hirschler) Gilhool
Kari (Kubala) Null Catholic Highlights | 9
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IN THE News
This Month In Photos The Japanese students from Hakodate LaSalle University being welcomed into Berger Gym for their stay in the United States from December 12 to December 16.
Students enjoy icecream sandwiches passed out by Mr. Reigner, dressed as Santa, during lunch on December 15.
Members of the LCHS boy’s basketball team celebrate a victory on December 21st and raise awareness for Lymphoma, in honor of former teammate, Joe Zukus, who was recently diagnosed.
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IN THE News
This Month In Photos Recent graduates gather in the chapel for prayer after the Welcome Home Young Alumni event on December 22.
Members of LCHS Student Council perform their Christmas Skit on Friday, December 23 before leaving for Winter Break.
Members of the Alumni Association gathered at Two Dudes Painting on January 12 for their annual mixer.
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IN THE News Lady Crusaders Win 100th Consecutive League GAme On Tuesday, January 3, Lancaster Catholic’s girls basketball team celebrated their 100th consectutive win in the Lancaster-Lebanon League with a 72-35 triumph over Columbia. The winning streak started back in the 2010-2011 season and the Crusaders made it an even 100 on Tuesday Night.
FPA Director Starts Youth Music Program Excerpt from Lancaster Online: Its Called Guns Down, Drums Up, but there is not a chance that those who turned out Thursday night for a new program at Crispus Attucks
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Community Center had violence on their minds. The five boys, ages 6 to 13, just wanted to play the drums. The drum-teaching and musicreading program is a partnership between the community center, Lancaster Catholic High School, and Lancaster Bible College. And for nearly two hours, Tony Brill, director of Fine & Performing Arts at LCHS, and Lancaster Bible College sophomore Ethan Miller, showed kids the basics in the center’s basement cafetera. To read the full story, click here.
IN THE News Sign Up Genius for Gala Class Baskets Our primary fundraiser, the Purple & Gold Gala, is quickly approaching. Since the revenue generated from this event is responsible for funding all aspects of the education your child receieves here at LCHS, it is imperative that we have 100% family participation in securing sponsorships, acquiring auction items, as well as doating items for each themed Class Basket. Each grade has been assigned 2 themes with a very specific sign-up list. Please take time to click on the links below, depending on your child’s class rank, and review the requests for your child’s grade and designate your contribution. • • • •
entered to win 2 free prom tickets. Each sophomore and freshman family will be entered to win a free yearbook for the 2017-2018 school year. Please feel free to sign up for more than one item, go together with a group of parents for a larger item, or make a monetary donation towards an item. Please send all donations to school by Monday, March 20, 2017. Please note that all alcoholic beverages must be dropped off in the Main Office or Advancement Office by an adult. All checks should be made payable to LCHS, with GALA in the memo. Thank you for your support and generosity!
Senior parents: Click Here Junior parents: Click Here Sophomore parents: Click Here Freshman parents: Click Here
Every family making a donation towards a Class Basket will be entered to win 2 free tickets to the Purple & Gold Gala on April 29, 2017! In addition, each senior and junior family will be Catholic Highlights | 15
IN THE News
lchs sne 2o17 summer ak e p k a
camp
We might be closing in on the winter months, but Lancaster Catholic is already thinking about the summer !
fine & Performing arts
Youth Athletics Camps
Jazz Band, Percussion, Art, Vocal performance, Concert Band, Strings, and Acting
Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Girls Volleyball, Field Hockey, Speed and Explosion, Football, and Baseball
Academic camps for current/incoming LCHS students including Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 prep, SAT English, and SAT Math
Academic classes for credit for current/incoming LCHS students including Geometry (1 credit) and Health (.5 credits)
Youth Academic Camps Dissection, Lancaster History, World Languages, Aquatics, and WE CARE Learning to be stewards of the environment while fulfilling God’s callto care for our common home
and m o r e !
mark your calendars now! Camp registration will be available in February
contact the Summer Camp Co-Directors, 16 | Catholic Highlights Mrs. Amanda Calhoun and Mr. Greg Dietz at summercamps@lchsyes.org
IN THE News Varsity Club Reaches Toys For Tots Goal
Throughout the month of December, the Lancaster Catholic High School Varisty Club collected toys for the well known U.S. Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Homerooms across the school created a competition to see who could collect the most toys and win a special priza. Before collection started, five LCHS boys agreed to receive Marine hair cuts if the goal of 600 toys was reached. Volunteers included Bryan Downey, Josh Houser, Jeff Campagna, Nathan Dell Isola, and Harley Winters.
With a final number of 750 toys, greatly surpassing the goal, the boys gathered in Mrs. Cicchetti’s room after school on December 20 to shave their heads in support of the foundation and U.S. Marines.
LCHS Students Network at Thaddeus Stevens On Thursday, January 19, our Lancaster Chamber Women in Business Mentoring program participated in a networking event at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, learning more about women in the workforce that have been involved with nontraditional work paths. This program helps shape and grow the future leadaers of our local
workforce by providing guidance, sharing wisdom and offering encouragement to a high school aged young woman from a local school through a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Activities include job shadowing, special learning, and professional growth opportunities.
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IN THE News LCHS Junior, Founder of “Mother Teresa Project” Devin McMahon, a senior student at LCHS, is the founder of a student-run organization called the “Mother Teresa Project”. The organization works toward the goal of making family homelessness a temporay situation, rather than a prolonged lifestyle. Devin and the “Mother Teresa Project” have partnerned with the Lancaster County Coalition to End Homlessness, who have recently
received national regonition from the White House for making Lancaster one fo the first cities to end chronic homlessness among veterans, to acheive this goal. Devin’s next objective is to end chronic homlessness among families by the end of his senior year. As a fundraiser for his organization, Devin hosted a dance called “The Heart of Gold Gala” on Saturday, February 4 at the Doubletree Resort. Devin extended the invites to student bodies at LCHS, Lancsater Country Day School, and McCaskey High School. Over 180 students supported Devin and the “Mother Teresa Project” at the dance, giving him the ability to raise over $2,000 for his organization goals.
Catholic High’s Award Winning Rosmarian
Notice was received on Tuesday, Association Contest. January 3, 2017 by Lancaster Catholic Congratulations to everyone who High School’s yearbook advisor, was involved with putting together an Mrs. Rebecca Harvey, that last year’s excellent publication! yearbook was awarded second place in the 2016 American Scholastic Press 18 | Catholic Highlights
IN THE News Senior Student Partipates in Regional Poetry Contest After winning the school-wide Peotry Out Loud competition in December, Helen Cao, a senior student, represented Catholic High at the regional Poetry Out Loud Competition on Wednesday, January 25 at the Ware Center. A few days before the competition,
classes throughout the building invited Helen to practice her poem in front of a live audience. Helen performed her poem entitled “Broken Promises”.
Jefferson Nets 1,000th Career Point Excerpt from Lancaster Online: Kiki Jefferson did something pretty rare on Tuesday night. Lancaster Catholic’s standout 10th-grader joined the 1,000-point club - as a sophomore. We haven’t seen that in LancasterLebanon League circles in recent memory. Jefferson hit the milestone on a driving layup with 3:19 to play in regulation during the Crusaders’ 5041 Section Three setback at Northern Lebanon, as the Vikings snapped a first-place tie with LCHS and took over sole possession of fist place in the section race. To read the full story and watch a video of Kiki’s milestone bucket, click here. Catholic Highlights | 19