Every Student, Every Day

By Ariel Anderson '13

Congratulations to the 94 Marian Catholic scholars who were inducted into the following National Honor Societies last May: Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematics), Spanish National Honor Society, National Junior Classical League (Latin) Honor Society, and the National Honor Society!

Marian Catholic welcomed this year’s freshman class with an induction ceremony that included presenting them with Class of 2026 pins to wear with pride. As we focus this year’s theme on the Dominican Pillar of Community, we are grateful for our newest members. We hope they will come to know that the Marian Catholic High School Community is here to support them and inspire them to use their gifts to help others.

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BOOKS

An example of the Dominican Pillar of Community in action, Josie Guzzo '24 and Sophia Ponnezhan '24 proposed the idea of sponsoring a book drive during National Reading Month. With the help of Mrs. Denise Iggins, Josie and Sophia coordinated the drive from March 16 until April 13. Thanks to their efforts and the Marian Catholic Community, 1,430 books were donated to Share Our Spare, an organization dedicated to helping families with the stressful and challenging endeavor of raising children!

In April, Marian Catholic’s Robotics Team participated in the Southside Engineering and Robotics Olympics. Max Cash '23 and Martin Leedy '25 came in 2nd place out of over 20 schools in the Sumo Survivor ring competition, where the goal is to push your opponent out of the ring.

Led by the English Department, Marian Catholic introduced a One Book, One Marian reading initiative in the summer of 2018 with the intention of cultivating connection, communication, and discussion throughout the school community and across content areas. Books are chosen based on what the school community needs the most. This year’s selection was The Midnight Library. In Matt Haig’s enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER BREAK – TEACHER EDITION!

Do you ever wonder what teachers do over summer break?

For the fifth year, social studies teacher Stacy Lombardo represented Marian Catholic as an AP Reader at the AP Government Reading and Learning site in Salt Lake City, Utah. Readers score student responses to Free Response Questions on College Board exams. While in Utah, Ms. Lombardo had the opportunity to cheer on the Salt Lake Bees, which by coincidence, sport the same colors as Marian!

Marian Catholic social worker Faye Johnson and her family enjoyed part of their summer abroad! Pictured at Trevi Fountain, Roma, Italia are (left to right): Kevin Johnson, Sara Johnson '22, Faye Johnson, and Kevin (KJ) Johnson Jr. '20.

Mike Carlson, Marian Catholic’s Director of Networks, and his family headed to Florida this summer for vacation. They spent time at Universal Studios and visited Cocoa Beach.

Marian Catholic’s Director of Library Services, Victoria Keller and her family traveled to the Hill Country of Texas where they visited the Missions of San Antonio (including the Alamo), and watched antelope walk by their cabin! They also stopped in Waco, Texas and a garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

In July, Marian Catholic Spanish teacher Sarah Grauvogl and Bracha Spanish Tutor Denise Iggins completed the last 115 km of the Camino de Santiago, or the Walk of St. James. They were finally able to fulfill the trip originally planned for 2020!

The Walk is a pilgrimage through northern Spain, ending at the Cathedral of Santiago where it is believed that the remains of St. James are held. The Camino is the subject of many cultural and religious books and was featured in the movie “The Way,” (2010) starring Martin Sheen. Both Sarah and Denise have taught about The Camino in their Spanish 3 classes over the years!

“It was a beautiful (yet physically challenging) journey of the body and the spirit. We were lucky to have mostly good weather along the way as well as the prayers and support of our friends, family, co-workers, and many former students to keep us determined,” said Sarah.

STUDENT FEATURE:

Martha Pierre-Louis '23

This summer, Martha Pierre-Louis, Class of 2023, was chosen for the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP) at Northern Illinois University. ACAP was created to provide minority high school students with early exposure to career opportunities within the business and accounting professions. Pierre-Louis first learned about the program during Marian Catholic’s Career Day, applied, and was selected.

Over the five days that Martha was on the NIU campus attending the program, she participated in accounting classes, met with representatives from major accounting firms, and even visited the local Coca-Cola site. “Each day we did something productive and fun. I really loved it,” said Martha.

Towards the end of the program, the students were divided into teams and given a project about an embezzlement case. The winning team won a scholarship and that team was Martha’s!

Martha is really interested in the accounting field, especially after ACAP. “I learned that accounting is not just about numbers. It’s also about communication and how you can fix a problem using words and gathering information. It’s a fun field and flexible!”

Marian Catholic was fortunate enough to sponsor a baby formula and diaper drive to help the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Infant Jesus of Prague, St. Irenaeus, and Lawrence O’Toole parishes in their efforts to support Aunt Martha’s, an organization committed to social justice, health equity, and access to quality services for all.

In total, 3,045 diapers and 333.4 ounces of formula were collected!

Members of the Class of 2023 transformed Marian Catholic’s parking lot once again through the traditional senior parking spot painting event. Students were able to reserve a space and paint it with their own design. Rain delays couldn’t dampen the spirits of students and their families who were finally able to come together to create some amazing artwork and memories!

After more than two years of nothing being truly normal in the lives of high school students, Marian Catholic held its first All-School Mass on September 9. Students, parents, faculty, and staff gathered as a community to seek the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit for the 2022-2023 school year. We are blessed that the Kairos tradition is still going strong at Marian Catholic with students, staff, and faculty sharing in Women’s Kairos 212 this September! LT4

CANCER

Marian Catholic’s volleyball teams and Becky’s Warriors have partnered to host Spike Out Cancer. The ongoing event was organized to raise awareness for Becky’s Warriors and to admire Marian Catholic cancer survivors, support the fighters, and honor the taken. The men’s volleyball program faced off in a balloon-and-ribbon studded gym in April with the women taking to the court on October 20. In conjunction with a bake sale sponsored by Marian Catholic’s Service Club, a total of $3,000 was raised to benefit Marian Catholic families who are fighting cancer.

Marian Catholic was the host site for the Illinois Regional College Fair on October 3, providing students and their families the opportunity to meet with admissions representatives from 125+ colleges

to discuss entrance requirements, campus life, application deadlines, majors, and financial aid questions.

Taylor DuBose '23, donated a signed copy of her book to the Marian Catholic High School Library. Published in 2020, Stepping Over Puddles of Pain: A Teen’s Journey Through Grief, examines Taylor’s experience of coming to terms with her father’s death with a view toward helping others who are coping with the loss of a loved one. Coralie Humbert '23, recently received a special honor. Coralie participated in the Lake County Indiana 4H program, completing many projects, three of which were selected to go to the Indiana State Fair. More specially, her Rabbit Poster not only went to the State Fair, but also earned Sweepstakes, the highest honor possible. As a side note, Coralie also earned Lake County’s High Point Award for earning the most points with projects and activities.

The Dominican Pillar of Community recognizes the dignity of all people, celebrates our connectedness, and calls us to serve others to make our shared home a better place. Each month, students who have truly lived out the Marian Catholic mission are presented with a Mission Medal that bears the image of a torch representing the Dominican call to bring light to darkness. Recipients are a wonderful example of our community figuratively “setting the world on fire.” In addition, one staff member is crowned the Staff Champion of Marian Catholic each month in recognition of their efforts to ensure that students are able to grow and learn in a joyful Catholic setting. Awardees are presented with the Marian Catholic Championship Belt, which they keep until a new champion is crowned the following month.

MISSION MEDAL HONOREES

SEPTEMBER Seniors Peter Cavalieri, Ariana Espinosa, Tariq Cotton, and Mrs. Nancy Voll

OCTOBER Seniors Jayla Davis, Hannah LeCocq, Tommy Walsh, Xavier Buford, and Mr. Jeremy Turner '09 National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 - October 15, celebrates the stories, culture, and contributions to the history of all those with Hispanic heritage. Marian Catholic’s Head Chef, Mario Reyes, and his wonderful crew dressed in traditional Mexican outfits and served burritos with chorizo potatoes to kick-start the festivities. In celebration of Mexican Independence Day, the Latinx Student Coalition (including Stephanie Suarez '23 and Alexa Reyes '24, above right) sold Mexican bracelets during lunch periods. The red, black, and blue bracelets featured a charm of either the Cross or Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Freshmen Robyn Carroll and Isabel Cavazos joined the Cooking and Baking Club to make Kopytka, polish potato dumplings, during the first Community Period of the year. Theology teacher Mr. Nicholas Filipiak assisted students with the cooking lesson. The excitement of Homecoming 2022, Dancing in the Dark, filled the halls the last week of September! Monday started off with Album Cover Day, followed by Disney Duo Day, What’s That Meme Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, and Friday Night Lights/Anything But a Backpack Day! Seniors won the hallway decorating contest with their all pink neon theme. Friday’s pep rally included a glow-inthe-dark dodgeball tournament, recognition of the football team, and a performance from the cheerleading team. Even Sparty made an appearance! At the Homecoming football game, seniors Jaidyn Bush and Tariq Cotton were crowned Queen and King.