MARIAN A N EWSLETTER
FOR
Matters
M ARIAN C ATHOLIC A LUMNI , PARENTS AND F RIENDS . . . B ECAUSE M ARIAN C ATHOLIC R EALLY D OES M ATTER SUMMER 2005
SCHOLARSHIP DEFINES CLASS OF 2005 Leaders in faith and service. State champions and achievements galore in the academic arena. Excellence in the arts and community. All of those have the familiar ring of VicePrincipal Jack Heneghan’s epithet each year at graduation.
birth...the love of your parents and families brought you into being and nurtured you along the way. “There are others who have brought you to this graduation...your teachers, coaches, moderators- from t-ball to varsity, from learning the alphabet to delving into research...your first music lessons to your performance at nationals or in Marian’s musicals...each adult who has been a mentor to you has helped you develop those gifts and talents that have shaped your career at Marian.
2005 However, the proof of all of those comes in the answer of $7.3 million itself. . . as in the amount of college scholarships earned by the Class of 2005! One Marian slogan of “Prepared for College, Prepared for Life,” certainly came to life as Marian honored a class of 393 at its 44th Commencement on May 23 at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
Senior Class President, Charlie Wright ’05, addresses the Class of 2005 at graduation.
What’s the $7.3 million answer that describes the Marian Catholic High School Class of 2005? Scholastic accomplishments.
“Graduation is the culmination of four years of effort and study, successes and opportunities for growth,” explained Marian Principal Sr. Kathleen Anne Tait. “But the culmination tonight had roots in your
“Your classmates and friends have shared the journey with you and formed you in a way no one else could.”
The journey has brought tremendous accomplishment for the newest members of Continued on page 6
F O R E N S I C S S H AT T E R S R E C O R D S AT N AT I O N A L S You seldom hear that anything about Marian Catholic High School is “all talk.” However, the Marian Catholic Forensics Team is talking and speaking its way to national heights. Marian recently sent 17 students to the National Catholic Forensics League Tournament in Milwaukee, with five advancing to the “octolevels,” and top 15-20% in the nation. With his performance, “Olive Juice,” Alex Kuehr ’05 advanced to the quarter-finals and matched with duo partner Nick Wilson ’06 to advance to the quarter-finals as well. Quarter-finalists could rank as high as 13th in the nation. The national event, which included 394 private school qualifiers from throughout the nation, featured 291 students in each event. Other octo-finalists for Marian were Amy Dettmann ’05 with “Horton Hears a Who” in Dramatic
Performance, sophomore Mike Whittaker in Extemporaneous Speaking and Jean-Phillip Brignol ’06 with “King” in Poetry. Additional students in Marian’s recordqualifying 17 entries to the nationals included the following: Vanessa Brignol, Oratorical Declamation; Courtney Cunningham, Oratorical Declamation; Lauren Eldridge, Oral Interpretation; Melissa Harmon, Oratorical Declamation; Catherine Mitros, Oral Interpretation; Matt Nix, Dramatic Interpretation; Louise Packard, Original Oratory; Nicole and Samantha Padula, Duo Interpretation; Michelle Pritchett, Original Oration; Andy Schramm, Extemporaneous Speaking; and Elaine Wilson, Extemporaneous Speaking. Matt Nix ’07 qualified for the National Forensic league, competed in Philadelphia June
11-18 where he placed 30th out of 300 in Prose Reading. Coach Tom Sweeney was selected as a National Finalist Coach in Philadelphia at the NFL. He was one of 13 selected nationwide to judge dramatic interpretation.
Alex Kuehr ’05 and Nick Wilson ’06 helped lead Marian Forensics to unprecedented success at Grand Nationals in Milwaukee.