Volume LXXXI, Issue IV
sluh.org/prepnews
St. Louis University High School | Friday, September 16, 2016
Running of the Bills captures electric atmosphere Rap battle, bubble
soccer, and dodgeball: Spirit Week 2016 BY Max Prosperi REPORTER
S
photo | Brendan Voigt
Freshmen in the student section after being baptized in blue. BY Thomas and Peter Curdt REPORTER S
D
espite a thunderstorm ending the game prematurely, Running of the Bills and Freshman Fun Day held its tradition as initiation for SLUH freshmen this past Friday. The festivities began immediately following school, with bashball, trivia, and a pool tournament. Freshman class moderator Tim Curdt has run the event since 1999. He noted particular intensity with trivia this year. “Years back Mr. (Craig) Hannick helped us work out a point system to earn first in line. So now trivia matters
just as much, if not more than the rest of the activities,” said Curdt. After the points were tallied, students gathered and left from the F. Joseph Schulte Theater rather than the Danis Field House, adding some logistical problems. “(The theater) added to the ceremony of the announcement of the winners,” said Curdt. Exiting the theater, the freshmen lined up for painting on the upper field. Covered in blue, the adrenalinefilled herd got into formation, impatiently waiting for their time to run. J128, having tallied the largest number of
points, led the charge to the game. By the time the students poured into the stadium, the Jr. Billikens were already up seven, with a touchdown by senior running back Andrew Clair in the first two minutes of the game. Hyped up and covered in blue, the hundreds of freshmen and senior advisors lined up in the stands to begin the cheers they had rehearsed. “At that moment, everyone (was) a part of SLUH,” said Sam Owen, a senior advisor. The moment only lasted for the next few minutes, however, due to a rain delay
Honduras Project expands, spring break trip created to accomidate interest BY Jack Schweizer CORE STAFF
S
ix St. Louis U. High seniors will travel to Honduras to serve at a nutrition center in Yoro during spring break, a new initiative pushed for by students and faculty over the past five years. The added trip will allow more seniors to go on the famous service trip that takes place during January. The decision was finalized last spring by the SLUH Honduras Committee, a group of faculty, administrators, and Honduras Project alumni. Established two years ago, the committee’s purpose
was to broaden the service program while also learning how the trip functions, especially in preparation for a future without Spanish teacher Charles Merriott running the Project. Merriott has led the Honduras service trip for the past 23 years, starting in 1995. He’s been managing the service trip solely on his own, collecting money each year by selling candy and Ted Drewes ice cream outside of Campus Ministry. Each January, he continues to make the trek down to Honduras with the seniors who serve at Centro San Yves—a nutrition center for underfed children—which
The weekly student newspaper of St. Louis University High School 4970 Oakland Ave. - St. Louis, MO 63110 (314) 531-0330 ext. 2241 online at sluh.org/prepnews prepnews@sluh.org
Merriott established in 1993. “This is the realization that eventually at some point he’ll retire, and we’ll want to make sure that whenever that day comes the Honduras Project is in good hands and it’s as strong if not stronger than it ever has been when he leaves,” said fine arts teacher Sean Powers, a member of the committee. “He has given his entire life to this thing, and it’s a real testament, you have so many people it takes to help take it over from him slowly.” Each year, only six students from the senior class are selected from an application process to serve in Honduras
continued on page 4
News
News
Features
Features
Teaming up to Tutor Seniors work with Top Tier Learning, a company of students who tutor elementary students. Page 2
Behind the Scenes at SLUH Secretary to the President Kim Walsh looks back on ten years of ©2016 St. Louis University High working at SLUH, discussing stoSchool Prep News. No material may ries from the third floor. Page 3 be reprinted without the permission of the editors and moderator.
at the end of the first quarter, pausing the game 14-7, SLUH. The freshmen and other guests were herded to the Field House to escape the rain. Packed in the Field House, the freshmen hung out and cheered for the next few hours until the game was officially cancelled. Despite the rain, Curdt considered the night a success. He especially thanked the seniors helping: “Knowing a lot of those guys had to get home to rest before their ACT the next day made their… leadership even more special to see!”
pirit Week, a week full of activities promoting school spirit, kicks off next week. Curated by Student Council (STUCO), the week will feature a wide variety of activities designed to encourage involvement from all students. STUCO is also teaming up with Community Service Program’s (CSP) annual Food Drive, and all proceeds from the various Spirit Week activities will be donated to the Food Drive. “I’m really excited to be able to incorporate Spirit Week into the Food Drive, it should be interesting to see how it works out,” said STUCO moderator Kate Toussaint. As for the Spirit Week activities, STUCO Vice President Peter Hennessey said, “We were really aiming at setting up activities that included as many students as possible.” Spirit Week kicks off on Monday with All Your Heart Desires, an assortment of tournament-style events held throughout activity period. Some of the various activities on Monday include shinny hockey and three-on-three soccer. An all-time favorite re-
turns Tuesday: the Jr. Bill 8 Mile Rap Battle. Students and faculty are invited to spend their activity period in the Commons, listening to the rhythmic lyrics of SLUH’s blossoming rappers and talented lyricists. In addition to the 8 Mile, the class of 2020 will hold its first STUCO elections. Freshmen will gather in the theatre to hear their fellow classmates give speeches and later vote for their class leaders. On Wednesday, students and teachers will face off in a sporting event for the ages with student vs. teacher basketball in the Field House. Thursday morning, join fellow classmates and teachers bright and early for a pancake breakfast in the Commons, catered by Chris’ Cakes. All are invited to stop by for a pancake or two at no cost. However, STUCO urges that anyone partaking in the breakfast give a small contribution to the Food Drive. Later Thursday, bubble soccer will make its debut. Students will have the opportunity to participate in bubble soccer by entering a raffle in which students are selected at random. A few rounds of student dodgeball held in the Field House will cap off the week.
continued on page 4
SPIRIT WEEK CALENDAR Monday
Tuesday
The Danis Field House will hold a variety of tournament-style games, including shinny hockey and three-on-three soccer during activity period. Dress Theme: Dad
Up and coming SLUH rappers will compete for the Rap Battle title in the Si Commons during activity period. Dress Theme: Jersey
All Your Heart Desires Jr. Bill 8-Mile Rap Battle
Thursday
Pancakes, Bubble Soccer
Chris’ Cakes will cater for SLUH in the Si Commons in the morning, Students can also participate in bubble soccer by entering a raffle for a game during activity period in the Danis Field House. Dress Theme: Lumberjack
On sabbatical to switch up style Spanish teacher Myriam Aliste takes off time to work on perfecting her new teaching style. Page 4
For those remembering 9/11 and for those who can’t A compilation of past Prep News articles reflecting on the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001. Page 5
Student-Teacher Basketball
Students and teachers will battle for the championship in basketball in the Danis Field House during activity period. Dress Theme: SLUHSA
Friday
Student Dodgeball, Football During activity period, student dodgeball games will be held in the Field House. Also, the varsity football team takes on CBC that evening at CBC at 7:00 p.m. Dress Theme: Spirit Week Shirt/ Baby Blue-Out
Sports
XC gets muddy at Forest Park The cross country team raced on the slick, muddy course at the 11th annual Forest Park Cross Country Festival on Saturday. Page 6 Sports
Wednesday
Football struck by lightning Despite the rainout of the Running of the Bills game on Friday, football came back Saturday to thrash De Smet. Page 6
INDEX 2 Archivists Top Tier Learning Aliste Sabbatical 3 Behind the Scenes Earthball Comic Crossword 4 Continued from 1 Spikeball 5 9/11 Spread 6 Soccer Cross Country Football 7 Swimming Underclassmen Briefs Continued from 6 8 Around the Hallways Calendar
2
NEWS
Prep News Volume 81, Issue 4
Group of seniors tutor through nationwide business
Alumni begin creating archive for bicentennial anniversary BY Jake Hennes and Kevin Murati REPORTERS
A
artwork | Liam Connolly BY Komlavi REPORTER
Adissem
S
ome SLUH seniors have started tutoring elementary kids and lowerclassmen in a blossoming nationwide student-run business. Saint Louis U. High seniors are getting involved in a program called Top Tier Learning, a student-run business that tutors elementary and high school students around the country. There are 20 branches in several states around the country, and one SLUH senior, Henry Byrne, is a branch manager for the Webster Groves-Kirkwood area, as well as here at SLUH. “I got involved when my friend’s brother was looking for branch managers in the Saint Louis area,” said Byrne. A high school studentrun business, Top Tier Learning was founded in February
2014 in Naperville, Ill, after its founder, Anish Aggarwal, had trouble with his calculus homework and asked a friend for help rather than hiring a retired teacher as a tutor. This concept of student-to-student tutoring is what sparked the idea for Top Tier Learning. Since its founding, Top Tier Learning has been featured in publications such as the Chicago Tribune and Forbes, and formed partnerships with the YMCA and Fox Valley Park District schools. As a result of its growth and publicity, Top Tier Learning spread to five more states and is still growing. “I chose to take part in it because I think tutoring is very helpful for many students,” said Byrne. “I also think that student-to-student tutoring is much more powerful since the tutor and student
Food Drive starts today with goal of $8000
artwork | Lancer Li BY Luke Wilmes, Liam Connolly REPORTER , CORE STAFF
T
he annual Saint Louis U. High fall food drive begins today. The drive, run by the staff in Campus Ministry and the Junior Pastoral Team, is collecting items for the school’s Community Service Program, which will be cooking for Safe Haven, the Peter and Paul Emergency Center, and Karen House. Throughout the week, the Junior Pastoral Team will be working to advertise the drive as much as possible through P.A. announcements, a trailer that will be shown during lunch, and morning prayer services. “We’re trying to keep everyone focused on the end goal of the food drive and
keep everyone focused on why we’re really doing the can drive,” said Junior Pastoral Team member Riley McEnery. “We want everyone to really think about the purpose and not just blindly donate cans and money. We want everyone to have a sense of why they’re doing this.” Specific food items and money will be collected from each homeroom, with the goal of 1000 cans and $2000 per grade. A competition will be held to see what homerooms—and on a larger scale, what grade—will bring in the most cans. As in past years, every dollar will be tallied as two food items. In addition to the contest for goods, there will also be a “Can Castle Contest” during activity period on Wednes-
are closer in age. I think it is easier for a student to connect with another student, rather than an older tutor.” In addition to Byrne, four other seniors work for Top Tier Learning: Thomas Nordmann, Brandon Trusler, and Ben and Sam Bott. “It’ll be a great chance to help some kids who need the extra help with their schoolwork,” said Ben Bott. “I like that all of Top Tier Learning is connected. I can communicate with the CEO of the company at any time if I need to ask him a question. In most companies, the CEO is not connected with all of his workers, but in Top Tier Learning, he is,” said Byrne. If anyone is looking for or who knows someone who needs a tutor, please visit toptierlearning.com or email Henry Byrne. day, Sept. 21. While all of this is similar to past years, the Pastoral Team is working to make the food drive more exciting this year. “This year we’re raffling off some candy and perhaps a gorilla suit during lunch, but I’m not sure that [the gorilla suit] is actually happening,” said Junior Pastoral Team member Jack Schwiezer. The food drive will begin today and continue until next Friday, Sept. 23.
September 16, 2016
small group of alumni has recently got together to ponder the idea of creating an archive of SLUH, documenting its history since 1818. With the 200th anniversary coming up, they thought that a commemorative book would be a great way to bring the first two centuries to a close and begin the third century of SLUH. “Most of the alumni on the archivists committee are from the class of ’63,” said Director of Communication, Ben DuMont. “In 2013, when they had their 50th year reunion, they wanted to come up with some way to give back to SLUH. They went and talked with (President) David Laughlin and asked if they could put together an official archive for the school for the 200th anniversary.” After Laughlin got them started, they made themselves into an official committee dedicated to creating the SLUH archives. The committee, which meets every Thursday, was given a bigger space—a storage room in the old cafeteria—to plan out the archives and organize them. “For our method, we have broken the archives down into about 24 logical categories,” said Terry Donohue, ‘63. The organization of the archives is what really matters to the group’s goal of bringing the archives to life. Organizing it properly gives more of a sense of living the history, according to DuMont. “We had to make some sense about how to segregate all of this, so we first went and talked to the Jesuit
Across 1. Graphic Novels 4. To drive or force out; expel 9. Famous ones include: Bernie, Colonel, Deion 10. A big-time robbery 11. What you store in the fridge after dinner 12. Abbr. of Application 13. A foreigner 15. Agitated, impatient, restless 20. Person who officiates a baseball game 22. A woman known for being an Egyptian pharaoh 24. Reptilian monster with many heads from Greek mythology 25. Disney film about Rapunzel 26. A restaurant on The Hill sive it is also... 27. Condition caused by a 2. Conscious or aware of lack of vitamin C something 3. _____ therapy; cancer Down treatment 1. When something is expen- 5. One of the most common
archivists and they helped us along in our thinking on how we should set up the archives,” said Donohue. “Once we came up with a numbering system and an organizational system, we purchased an archival software, and now we have the tool that allows us to approach this project from various angles.” The group has dug through various closets at SLUH and talked to alumni and faculty about any records, artwork, theater equipment, books, photos, and any other materials that may help to preserve the history of SLUH. “The committee has tried connecting with other alumni through websites, social media, alumni board meetings, and reunions, as well as through word of mouth,” said DuMont. Along with the goal of creating an archive of physical objects, the group has decided to save the oral history of SLUH through multiple interviews. “Some alumni from the Class of ‘64 saw what the other alumni were doing and wanted to help out, so they began an oral archive to record an oral history of SLUH,” said DuMont. The group has already interviewed a couple dozen people for the oral history section, including former SLUH football coach Paul Martel, long time theater director Joe Schulte, and former President Bob Weiss, S.J. “The purpose of the oral history is to capture the culture and legends of the school, because without it, what those people brought to this school would have been lost forever,” said Donohue. “The goal is that the oral history project continues and will continue
forever.” The group has toyed with the idea of a museum, and hopes to one day have a physical space that can be accessed easily. “One of the ultimate goals is to have a physical place that visitors can walk into to learn more about SLUH,” said DuMont. The ultimate goal for the committee is to create a coffee-table style book to capture the major moments throughout the history of SLUH. “The book plans on highlighting key moments in the history of the school, as well as key people in the book,” said DuMont. “The book is to try to summarize the history of SLUH over the years, while adding life to the history by capturing stories from alumni.” The group also plans to make a video and online archive that can be viewed by the public. Although the archivists have already put in a lot of work, they still have a lot more to go. “We haven’t even scratched the surface of what the impact of the archives can be,” Donohue says. “We know that there are probably a lot more records in the school that we would like to make a permanent part of the archives.” The archive remains a work in progress and will still have a long way to go even after the 200th anniversary. That is just fine with Donohue and the other alumni, though. “As the Advancement office gets requests from alums, we want to be able to help them find what they need and to better preserve the history of SLUH,” said Donohue.
PN Puzzle
crossword | Brad Gale and Craig Grzechowiak
last names in the U.S. 6. Capital is Beijing 7. Common ab exercise 8. Discovered Justin Bieber 14. Mexican drug cartel leader 16. Another word for colonist
17. City in Family Guy 18. _____ by Dre 19. Popular song by Daniel Powter (2 words) 21. “Father” in Italian 23. _____! at the Disco
FEATURES
September 16, 2016
Prep News Volume 81, Issue 4
Behind the Scenes at SLUH: Sit down Earthball: old with Kim Walsh
Walsh at a faculty meeting. BY Zach Hennes REPORTER
R
eporter Zach Hennes sat down with Secretary to the President Kim Walsh on Tuesday to discuss what she does at SLUH and how she finds ways to interact with the student body through her job. Zach Hennes: So, just to start at the beginning, how did you end up working here at SLUH? What did you do before this? Kim Walsh: I had been working corporate in many department stores and then I worked at Emerson for the Vice President of Finance. I had left my résumé on Monster.com and forgot about it and (SLUH) contacted me and told me about SLU High School and I said, “Oh yeah, I’d like to go there.” My fatherin-law went here and so did his dad. So then I came and applied and Mr. Laughlin hired me that day. By the time I got home and took my jacket off, I got a phone call saying I got the job and I started the first week in June of 2006. ZH: Were there any other reasons you came to SLUH, besides there was an opening and you thought it would be a good opportunity for you? KW: Well, I’ve always thought it would be really nice to work in a school, and SLUH is a legacy, and after I interviewed with Mr. Laughlin and I met several of the people here on the third floor, it just felt like a really good fit. It just felt right. ZH: So what exactly do you all do here? What does your job entail? KW: I take care of Mr. Laughlin’s schedule; all his travel, his scheduling, meetings, and lunches. Right now
photo | Mr. Matt Sciuto
he is working on a Go Forth campaign, so we really have a lot of lunches planned there. I go to several events, such as the Founder’s Reception, to help him out. We do Cashbah and things like that. I help manage the day to day stuff with Mr. Laughlin. We also have the President’s Ambassadors. I also make it a point to try to go to a Kairos once a year and I help with Freshman Service at McCormick House. I’ve done Freshman Retreat a couple times. I am also kind of the front person that benefactors and alumni see, so I try to work really well with them. ZH: How do you feel about having a job at a high school that doesn’t have a lot of student interaction compared to people like teachers? KW: That’s one of the reasons that I really like when I do things like Kairos, because I’m still friends with folks from 2006 that have graduated and moved on. I also keep in touch with President’s Ambassadors. I don’t teach, but I feel like I kind of get the best of both worlds. ZH: So you already mentioned Kairos, President’s Ambassadors, and Freshman Service, but what other student interaction do you have, if any? KW: This year, I’m also in charge of work grant, so I’ve really gotten to interact with the kids. I try to make it a point to go down there maybe two to three times a week just to say, “Hey guys, how’s it going?” I go to Mass and try to volunteer whenever possible. I usually go to the Junior Kairos, and I always tell the kids that I have candy and they can come up whenever, so they will come up and visit.
We get some kids coming up from the art department and introducing themselves. The choir usually makes an effort to come up here and sing during Christmas time. I go to the cross country meets too. One thing that is hard is that I try to remember names. It’s easy for guys to remember me, because I’m one person, but I try to make an effort to remember their names too. One time I was sitting outside and went on the field to try to do a lacrosse thing with the guys and almost killed myself. So yeah, I just try to interact with the guys as much as I can. With the President’s Ambassadors, they will tell people and they will come up and go, “Oh, so you’re Mrs. Walsh.” I also meet some guys through my fish guy, Christian Thornberry (I call him Nigel), a student that I’ve had for four years who takes care of my fish and he will bring guys up here sometimes. I get to know the Ambassadors better when they come to our events and Cashbah and things like that. When I first started here, I did KEEN on Sundays for about two years too, and there were always a lot of guys at that too. ZH: So you kind of said that you have the best of both worlds, but do you ever wish you had more student interaction on a day-to-day basis? KW: Yeah, sometimes. I really, really love the Kairos retreats. I love the one-onone interaction with small groups. I think I wish I could be there more for some kids, maybe some kids that don’t have troubles, but need someone to talk to other than their teacher, and I have been that for some guys before. I do make it kind of a law that I’m
not Facebook friends with any guys until after they graduate. I always try to be a part of the kid’s time here because that is what makes this school so great. I just love the kids here. Love them. I’m still good friends with guys who have graduated and moved on. I kid you not, I just had Will Whitney text me saying, “Hey momma Walsh, just wanted to text you and tell you I love you,” and he must have graduated seven years ago. I’ve been to graduation parties and I’ve had parents thank me for mentoring their kids after I met them on Kairos. So yeah, I really love my job. I love the boys here. ZH: Is there anything that you would want the general student population to know about you, since you don’t always get to meet all of them? KW: I would want them to know that I have an opendoor policy and that they can come see me anytime they want. I’m a good listener. If they need a place to just come up here and sit on the couch for five minutes because they are having a rough day they are always welcome to do that. I’ve also had a couple of kids who will come up here when they need a quiet place to do their homework. I’m glad you are interviewing me because I would love for kids to stop by more often. ZH: Alright, I have one more question for you. What do you like to do when you are not here at SLUH? Like do you have any hobbies, or how do you spend your free time? KW: I read. I am an avid reader. I love, love, love to read. I bet I read five or six books a week. It’s insane. That’s all I do. I play computer games every once in a while, but right now I’m reading a great book. I just started it the other night and I’m almost finished with it and it’s about two inches thick. I read anything. Once in awhile, my husband and I will go to the show or out to eat or something, but I’m very much a homebody. I do also take care of my mom. My father passed away five years ago and so I visit her like three or four times a week. We just moved her to two miles away from me so I try to do stuff with her. But yeah on the weekends, I kind of just hang out with my husband, read, work in the yard, and things like that.
comic | Kevin Gerstner and Cameron Spence
sport dug up by SLUH students BY Daniel REPORTER
Sitek
A
round 20 St. Louis U. High seniors and their friends from surrounding girls’ schools met at Whitecliff Park near Grant’s Farm in Sept. 2 to resurrect a long dead SLUH tradition: Earthball. Leading the revival of the sport was senior Robby Esswein, who first heard about the sport in physics teacher Paul Baudendistel’s AP Physics class. “He told us about it in class one day, and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I looked into it,” recalled Esswein. The ball used for the sport is six feet in diameter and cost the students around $60. It took the students around two hours to fill with an air pump. “The first time, we did attempt to fill it up purely through lung power,” explained Esswein. “After around two hours of struggling, we got it good enough to play a game.” The ball popped a few days later, during another game when Esswein and fellow senior Robbie Schaefer ran into the ball at the same time. “I fixed it with lots of duct tape and a little bit of glue,” said Esswein. Despite the fun of the sport, it appears to have no guidelines. “I believe it’s got official rules, but I don’t really know them, and I don’t really care to know them. It’s lots of fun to just kick it around,” Esswein explained. In truth, Earthball is less
Prep News
kicking and more body slamming, which raises the question of safety. Given the success of the sport, one has to wonder why it was killed off. Computer science teacher and Direction Day director Dan See points to injuries as a result of play. See explained he saw an accident with the game at an Earth Day celebration with a different organization. “We had a group of little kids do a little thing where they gently carried the Earth. They started to bounce it, and the Earth floated higher and higher. With an ironic stroke of vengeance, the Earth came down and wiped about ten of them out.” Even Esswein recognizes the potential danger of the sport. When asked if Earth ball was safe, Esswein commented, “No, but I think it’s fun, so I do it anyways.” “A couple weeks ago, we were playing on the field,” said fellow earthballer senior Philip Cibulka. “It was funny because Mr. Steingruby walked by. We asked him, ‘Mr. Steingruby, do you know Earthball?’ and he said “Yeah, back when I was here, we had to stop playing because a kid broke his leg,’ and I was like, ‘I’m going to keep playing this game.” Esswein and Cibulka agree that the key to safety is taking breaks. “Everyone is aware that it can be dangerous, and so we’re smart about it. We make sure if things get too extreme, we take a second to cool down,” Cibulka explained.
Volume 81, Issue 4
Credits
Editor in Chief Sam Chechik
News Editors Andrew Pluff Joseph Reznikov Sports Editors Will Farroll Andrew Modder Features Editors Galen Bacharier Matthew Book Core Staff Liam Connolly Matt Godar Sam Goedeker Jack Schweizer Staff Artists Ian Mulvihill Joe Fentress
This comic does not necessarily reflect the views of St. Louis U. High or the Prep News.
3
Staff Photographer Brendan Voigt Reporters Jack Waters Brad Gale Komlavi Adissem Will Smit Jr. Niles Bernabe Kyle Irvine Ben Dattilo Tommy Rogan
Nick Prainito Brian Price Matt Quinlan Kevin Murati Jake Hennes Max Prosperi Luke Wilmes Jack Winschel Fitz Cain Peter Curdt Thomas Curdt Daniel Sitek Zach Hennes Alexander Rodgers Jack Perry Chandler Love Nate Wild Angelo Karagiannis Eric Schnelker Nick Gima Contributing Photographers Mr. Matt Sciuto Dominik Skroska Contributing Artists Will Kramer Lancer Li Advisor Mr. Ryan McAnany Moderator Mr. Steve Missey
4
NEWS
Prep News
September 16, 2016
Volume 81, Issue 4
Spikeball club to foster community through sport
artwork | Joe Fentress BY Brad Gale REPORTER
T
here is a new club at St. Louis U. High aiming to provide students the opportunity to enjoy an extremely fun sport called Spikeball. The Spikeball Club was founded this year by senior Jake Swyers and a few senior
friends. With P.E. teacher Patrick Zarrick as their moderator, they are confident the club will be a fun success. “If foursquare and volleyball had a baby, it’d be called Spikeball,” said senior Spikeball Club officer Matt Wulff. “Spikeball Club is all about getting the game out
to the community.” Wulff admits that it might be a little bit of a strange concept to students, as many of them probably haven’t heard of Spikeball. The official Spikeball website describes it as “The sport of roundnet (or Spikeball) is played 2 vs 2, with a taut hoola hoop sized Spike-
Aliste uses semester-long sabbatical to explore varying teaching styles BY Jack Winschel and Fitz Cain REPORTERS
S
aint Louis U. High Spanish teacher Myriam Aliste has been up to quite a lot on her sabbatical. With her classes in the hands of Michael Killeen, she has taken some time off to observe classes in order to further study the unique teaching style of Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), a style she has recently implemented at SLUH. A sabbatical is paid leave taken by teachers to travel and further study the subjects they teach in order to develop their teaching abilities. Invented by California Spanish teacher Blaine Ray in 1990, TPRS is a style of teaching that utilizes storytelling to grab and hold the attention of the student, immersing them in the foreign language. In an effort to even better understand TPRS, Aliste has been traveling around, observing other TPRS classrooms and attending TPRS-centric workshops. “Señora Aliste is basically taking a leave of absence for some professional development,” said Killeen. Before discovering this new form of teaching foreign language, Aliste used a more traditional method based on grammar. However, she felt that something was missing from this style. Since discovering TPRS, she has also used Comprehensible Input-based teaching, which is based on the belief that language acquisition occurs as the result of receiving comprehensible input, not from grammar.
Aliste says she has noticed a profound change in her students. “After only one year of teaching using Comprehensible Input, all my students started making incredible progress that they had never reached before with the traditional method,” said Aliste. The sabbatical has granted her the opportunity to collaborate with those who have also found success and TPRS teaching. Currently visiting a class in St. Paul, Minn. taught by Grant Boulanger—a TPRS guru—Aliste has been pleasantly surprised by what she has seen. “Classes in Minnesota started last Tuesday right after Labor Day and Mr. Boulanger’s students are already able to comprehend, sign or act out basic structures, reply, ask for information, and communicate very simply,” says Aliste. “To accomplish this kind of progress in just a week is staggering if you take into consideration that the majority of the students in these classes have never had Spanish before, and their prior knowledge of Spanish comes from watching Dora the Explorer.” Aliste has not completely left SLUH and her students while on her sabbatical, trusting her Spanish classes in the hands of Killeen. Aliste met with Killeen on a couple occasions before her leave of absence, giving him her expectations for the development of her students in Spanish as well as a breakdown of her usual approach to the subject. Killeen says he is adapting well to the environment here
and plans to do his best to take care of the gap that Aliste has left. “It’s a great place to be working and I can tell that the students miss her,” said Killeen. “I can tell what an effective and respected teacher she is. I’m trying to fill some big shoes.” While her sabbatical is voluntary, Aliste did not take it easily, nor on a whim. She is saddened to not be able to teach her students this semester, but also excited at the chance to learn more and be able to pass that knowledge down to not only her current and future students, but to the rest of the Language Department here at SLUH as well. Aliste chose to take a sabbatical because of her passion for learning and teaching, as well as her passion for her students. “I would like to thank the Administration at SLUH and my colleagues for their support and encouragement in this endeavor,” said Aliste. “I consider myself very lucky to work in an institution that encourages its faculty to continue learning to better themselves professionally and spiritually, and provides the venues to do so.” “I want to tell my students they are the main force that inspires me to be a better teacher. I love the art of teaching and therefore I try to model for them that whatever you do in life, don’t be mediocre but instead work passionately and give it your very best,” said Aliste. —Sean Hennessey contributed reporting
ball net placed between the teams. A player starts a point by serving the ball down on the net so it ricochets up at his opponents. They have up to three hits between them to control the ball and bounce it back off the net. When they miss, you score.” Swyers and his friends got the idea to start the club after playing it a lot over the summer. “Me and my friends enjoyed playing it a lot over the summer, so we thought we might as well share this passion with the rest of the student body and see if they enjoy it,” said Swyers. “It’s a great game. It’s a fun pastime. Me and my friends play a lot.” Swyers, with the help of Zarrick, is currently focused on trying to get the word out about Spikeball club and to show people how fun it is through Spikeball events. “We are trying to find some more underclassmen who would be interested, maybe have some intramural tournaments, maybe some intra-school play with De Smet,” said Swyers.
Spirit week donations to go to food drive
artwork | Lancer Li
(continued from page 1)
Additionally, students and faculty are invited to keep their school spirit alive Friday night when varsity football takes on CBC at 7 p.m. at CBC. Throughout the week, students can also contribute to the Food Drive for a chance to hear their favorite tunes played over the PA system in between classes. In addition to the various activities taking place each day, students will have the opportunity to dress down in either SLUH-themed clothing or clothing that reflects the day’s theme. On Monday, students can release their inner dad with “Dad Day.” On Tuesday, dress in your favorite jersey while on Wednesday, be prepared to be patriotic with red, white, and blue. On Thursday, make sure to dust off your favorite flannel for Lumberjack Day while on Friday, students and faculty will receive their Spirit Week shirts. Events are subject to change and STUCO hopes to include additional events and activities to be announced at a later time.
Spring break Honduras trip created (continued from page 1)
for their senior service project in January. The low number of seniors allowed to go has frustrated students and faculty for years. “That’s the unfortunate tragedy of the one in January is that only six get to go,” said Merriott. “But that’s what we have housing for, and if we’re working at the center with the babies if we have more than six then we’re kind of in each other’s way, and then we don’t have enough to do.” Last Spring, all of that changed. The committee decided to host another trip to Honduras during spring break, where six more seniors who had previously applied for the January trip could have the opportunity to go for a week in March. Accompanying them on the trip will be Powers and science teacher Bradley Mueller. “I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’ve led a lot of different immersion trips over the years. I mean there’s a sort of nervousness that comes with never having done this before, but excitement because at least I’m very confident that this is going to be a really informative, moving spring break trip,” said Powers. While the trip will be
similar to the one during January, there are a few changes to the agenda. Powers plans to take the group to the neighboring city, El Progresso, where the seniors will visit a Jesuit parish with another nutrition center and orphanage. “I thought it might be interesting to see how that center is operated versus how Centro San Yves is operated,” said Powers. The other big difference will be the time, with the spring break group only having eight days to serve, as opposed to the month-long trip in January. “I’m expecting the guys here at SLUH to get a lot out of the experience. Maybe more so than they’ll be able to give to the people down there. But I think it will be a very good experience for them, just for their eyes to be opened to things that we may take for granted here,” said Mueller. According to Powers, this could be the first of many steps in expanding the Honduras trip to more and more seniors over years to come. “There’s a big desire for people in the school to expand the opportunities to go to Honduras so this is just one of the initial first steps to do that,” said Powers.
2016 AP Tests
NOTE: The graphics below show the number of students who received certain scores on 935 Advanced Placement (AP) tests that SLUH students took in 2016. The four levels of AP Scholarship are: AP Scholar: taking 3 or more exams and having an average score of 3.0 or more. AP Scholar with Honor: taking 4 or more exams and having an average of 3.25 or more. AP Scholar with Distinction: taking 5 or more exams and having an average of 3.5 or more. National AP Scholar: taking 8 or more exams and having an averaged of 4.0 or more. Six SLUH students are National AP Scholars this year, the most prestigious level of AP Scholarship. All of them are from the class of 2016: Lucas Kammerer, Chris Kreienkamp, Robert Mallow, Ethan McIntyre, Tim Tierney, David Viox.
graphic and reporting | Matthew Quinlan
9/11: LOOKING BACK
September 16, 2016
PN Vault
BY Matthew Book FEATURES EDITOR
W
Prep News Volume 81, Issue 4
5
9/11: Prep News coverage through the years
e are now entering a time when there will be no students at St. Louis U. High who remember the attacks of September 11, 2001. The oldest seniors would have been just over three at the time of the attacks; such a far removal in time and memory
often makes the events seem distant and unconnected to us. Hearing about the horrors of the buildings crumbling seems as far off and unrelated to our lives as the things we learn about in history class. I have as much first hand experience with Gettysburg as I do the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. That is why
the Prep News has assembled these pieces from the Prep News archives: to help us remember what happened and how SLUH dealt with it, but more importantly to help us connect to something that otherwise feels so far off. Please, read what it was like to be a student—much like yourself—in these hallways as this
happened. Read how teachers you know now reacted to a disaster they could never have imagined. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your 2001 equivalent. You may not really love what you see, you may be uncomfortable or upset, but that is exactly the point. artwork | Ian Mulvihill
Prep News 9/11 Timeline
A chronological list of important events in the history of the Prep News’ coverage and commentaries since September 11, 2001.
September 14, 2001 Editor in Chief Andrew Ivers talks about what it was like to experience 9/11 first hand as a student in SLUH’s hallways a mere three days after the attacks took place.
September 21, 2001 A week following 9/11 and Andrew Ivers’ commentary, Prep News published a story on Fr. Jeff Harrison, S.J.’s prayer service.
September 15, 2006 A school display on the fifth anniversary of the attacks on the upper field enraged a number of students and faculty, resulting in seven letters sent to the Prep News.
Math teacher Frank Corley shares the story of attending a 9/11 memorial in New York for his best friend’s older brother, Joe MacDonald.
On the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Democratic Socialists Club filled the upper field with rows of tombstones. On these stones were the names of American service members and Iraqi civilians who had died since the start of combat operations in Iraq and a banner that read “How many more must die for revenge?” hung on the outside wall of the band room. The display, though met with satisfaction by some students and teachers, upset many in the school that day. In that week’s Prep News featured six Letters to the Editors expressing outrage over the incident. “How much more distasteful can the Young Democratic Socialists get?” questioned Ray Wagner, ’07. “I am absolutely appalled by the ‘political statement’ which took place throughout the school day on the upper field,” said J. Alexander Indelicato, ’07, “I believe, regardless of your political beliefs, each person can appreciate the gravity and sanctity of this day to immortalize the souls of the countless lives that were lost. At least this is what I expected.” —Matthew Book
Excerpt Sources:
Ivers commentary: Vol. 66, Issue 3 Kane Commentary: Vol. 66, Issue 4 Corley Memorial: Vol. 71, Issue 4 Callon Reflection: Vol. 76, Issue 3 —Compiled by Matthew Book
September 9, 2011 English teacher David Callon Reflected on his personal 9/11 experience ten years later. artwork | Joe Fentress
Interested in more of the Prep News’ coverage of 9/11? Read our feature from last week, or find more archives online at student.sluh. org/prepnews.
Volume LXXXI, Issue IV
September 16, 2016
Soccer gets shutout against CBC, rebounds Lightning strikes: Jr. Bills’ offense puts up and beats Webster in PKs 54 against De Smet Nick Prainito and Brian Price REPORTERS
O
The Jr. Bills celebrate after junior Kurt Schumacher (3) scores to tie the game in the win against Webster.
Jack Waters REPORTER
T
he St. Louis U. High varsity soccer team has had a roller coaster of a week. SLUH lost to rival CBC last Saturday in a painful 1-0 match, only to rebound with an emotional 2-1 win over Webster Groves in penalty kicks on Tuesday. SLUH traveled to CBC last Saturday to play in their final game of the CBC tournament. After losing their first two matches in the tournament to De Smet and Vianney, the Jr. Bills were looking to prove themselves in the game. The U. High had a scare early, as junior goalkeeper Alec Meissner botched a punt and the ball landed on the foot of a Cadet, only to be saved by Meissner on the point blank chance. However, SLUH continued to grind out opportunities as play from seniors Luke Marcouiller and Donovan
Ditto developed into chances, but to no avail as the Jr. Bills’ offense could not capitalize. “It takes a huge toll on the players. I think part of it is that they feel like they’re letting their defenders down,” said head coach Charlie Martel. “We play so well defensively, but when we get into the top third, we have trouble putting the ball in the net.” The Jr. Billiken defense remained strong however, stifling CBC’s chances. Meissner made back-to-back saves off Cadet shots with ten minutes left in the half to keep the score at 0-0. As the first half was coming to an end, junior Kurt Schumacher lined up and ripped a shot off the top of the crossbar, resulting in the Jr. Bills’ best scoring chance in the first half. The back and forth first half ended 0-0. Early in the second half, a CBC forward and senior right back Jeff Walter both
went up for a header. A scary moment followed, as the two clipped heads, sending both directly to the ground. Both players’ heads hit the ground as they fell. “They hit right in front of me, I was a couple feet away. I thought he (Walter) was hurt really bad,” said Martel. Walter stayed down for about a minute, ultimately getting back up under his own power. The opposing CBC player, however, laid motionless for upwards of 10 minutes. An ambulance was called and he was stretchered off the field and taken to a hospital. The game resumed after a 15-minute delay, still tied 0-0. Just minutes after the collision, Walter subbed back into the match, drawing a huge reaction from the U. High crowd. With 22 minutes left in the half, right after being subbed back on, Walter made a goal-saving tackle to
photo | Brendan Voigt
keep the game scoreless. After many game-saving stops from Meissner, the Jr. Billiken defense finally cracked. A speedy cross was played onto the foot of a Cadet who buried the shot to give CBC a 1-0 lead with 18 minutes left in the match. The Jr. Bills had no trouble finding chances in the half, but struggled to finish them. “We know they’re trying hard, that’s the bottom line. They’re serious about what they’re doing,” said Martel. “We get the ball in positions to score, but we don’t hammer it, we don’t hit it with authority. It’s something we need to work on.” “Our top three, we just haven’t gotten the finishing down, but our whole buildup has been amazing. Our defense is so solid, but they can’t keep up for a whole 80 minutes,” said junior Ray Goedeker. “Our top three needs
n a night with rain in the forecast and menacing clouds crawling overhead, the St. Louis U. High football team took the field for the annual Running of the Bills game against MCC rival De Smet Spartans. As the freshmen lathered themselves in the sacred blue paint, the Jr. Bills looked to get back to their winning ways after suffering a close loss to Chaminade the previous week. The Spartans came into the game riding a two-game winning streak and with high hopes for the matchup. Though it took them a 24-hour rain delay, the Jr. Bills ran away from the Spartans, 54-14. The Spartans’ hopes fell quite a bit in the first few minutes of the game. After taking the opening kickoff, the Jr. Bills ran just two plays on offense, the second of them a 67-yard dash straight through the defense by senior running back Andrew Clair. After a punt by each side, the Spartans’ offense came onto the field ready to go. Mixing up runs and passes, they slowly pushed up the field, then made a breakout play of their own as quarterback Nate Martens launched a 53-yard pass to receiver Bryant Perry to even the score, firing the Spartan bench up once more. As always, the Jr. Bills’ offense had an answer of its own. Taking the field as cheers thundered down from the freshmen, the offense wasted little time once again, pushing the ball down the field play after play to rack up yards and first downs. The drive ended when senior quarterback Mitchell Batschelett launched
a 40-yard touchdown pass to senior Tony Adams to put the Jr. Bills back on top, 14-7. Minutes later, the Jr. Bills defense forced the Spartans to punt, but just a few plays into their offensive drive, lightning began flashing just south of SLUH. The field was evacuated of all players and fans, and an hour later, the game was postponed until Saturday evening. There may have been some fear of the delay slowing down the Jr. Bills’ game, but if anything, the lightning sparked the explosive power of the offense. The Spartans started off the evening with a quick score after a Jr. Bills turnover, evening the score at 14 points and hyping up the De Smet squad. But this excitement quickly faded, just as it had at the beginning of the game. After a long SLUH drive that stalled within the De Smet 20-yard line, senior kicker Joe Rogan nailed his first field goal of the season to give the Jr. Bills a three-point lead. Then, after a strong defensive stand forcing De Smet to punt, Adams returned the punt 49 yards to the end zone to increase the lead to 10. For the rest of the game, the Spartans had absolutely no answer on either side of the ball for the overpowering Jr. Bills team. The touchdowns quickly began to pile up for SLUH, as they led 3114 at halftime, and finished the game with a score of 5414, scoring 40 unanswered points. “You have to be concerned about whether the guys would get fired up the next day,” said head coach Gary Kornfeld. “But they did.
continued on page 8
continued on page 7
XC tramps through mud to 12th place finish Andrew Modder SPORTS EDITOR
T
he St. Louis U. High varsity cross country team powered through muddy conditions to claim 12th place in last Saturday’s Forest Park Cross Country Festival with a total of 330 points. St. Thomas Aquinas of Overland Park, Kan. won the Festival with a score of 81 points. This was the 11th running of the SLUH-hosted Festival, and it certainly proved to be interesting as the course was soaked with mud from heavy rain over the previous two days. “As soon as I got there, I surveyed the course and looked at all the mud and I was a little bit worried,” said junior Paul Burka. “But then I adopted
the thinking that it’s just going to be fun and doesn’t really matter the time because you’re not going to PR but (instead) just go out there and see if you can’t be with the leaders for a while.” In addition to the atrocious conditions, the Festival featured a loud and fun atmosphere. Besides the race, there were merchandise tents, concessions, and an expansive athlete village with sponsor giveaways. “It’s loud and it’s crazy and we do our best to try and create that atmosphere,” said head coach Joe Porter. “We have a meet announcer with a live play of the race, a lead vehicle radioing in who’s in the lead, crowd going the whole time, music blaring near the finish line, and we try to create that
carnival atmosphere as much as we can.” The Festival is the biggest meet in the Midwest, with 126 different high schools participating from eight different states. Twenty-eight other teams raced against SLUH’s varsity team in the Green division. Senior Joe Laughlin ran very well for the Jr. Bills, notching the team’s best time at 17:59, putting him in 39th place overall in the division. “He kind of shot out the back early on, and had to cut through some of the worst mud to get caught back up,” said Porter. “He pulled our pack along through the middle of the race and was able to pull away from our group over the last 800 meters or so.”
continued on page 7
Senior Tony Adams goes up for a catch against De Smet. photo | Dominik Skroska
SPORTS
September 16, 2016
Prep News
XC hosts 126 schools from eight states, over 4,500 runners
Senior Joe Laughlin in the Forest Park Festival last Saturday.
photo | Andrew Pluff
(continued from page 6)
Burka followed closely behind Laughlin, grabbing 57th place with a time of 18:17. One of Burka’s shoes fell off due to the mud on the course, but he was still able to post a solid time for the team despite this issue. Sophomores Patrick Hetlage and Reed Milnor delivered solid performances, as Hetlage placed 67th with a time of 18:28, and Milnor snatched 87th with 18:43. Milnor’s run was especially
impressive considering he is not usually one of the top four finishers for the team. Seniors Will Kelly and Thomas Leeker, the fifth and sixth finishers for SLUH, had trouble finding their footing in the mud, as Kelly took 94th with 18:48 and Leeker 114th with 19:06. Senior Roman Lipinski, normally a top five runner, found lots of trouble in the mud due to his physical stature. He ran the race in 19:29 and placed 129th.
“I went into that race feeling great. I was ready to go. I felt like I could charge through (the mud) and have no problem,” said Lipinski. “When it came to the actual race, the mud got me down, when you’re heavier it’s actually harder going through the mud and you sink in more and use more energy to pull yourself out.” Senior Matt Northcott, SLUH’s eighth finisher, experienced a first at the Festival: he ran his first ever race on Varsity-1. Usually, he is one of the top runners for the second team. “There was definitely a different way of approaching it, I had to focus on staying focused and not letting my mind wander and there’s an extra bit of pressure when you’re the main event,” said Northcott, who finished in 164th with a 20:02. “With all the tents in that one area and you’re running around those tents and you just see everybody lined up to cheer you on, it’s a feeling like no other.” Junior Matt Gunn rounded out the SLUH varsity squad, struggling like others
to tame the mud, leading to a 20:13 and 172nd place. The team competition was very tight, as SLUH finished just 21 points out of seventh place, displaying the very high level of competition at these big meets. “Putting us in these tough races will set us up good as we get ready for postseason stuff, (it is important) that we get in these big meets and learn from every race we run,” said Porter. Overall, despite a close finish, the Jr. Bills took positives out of the race but also know what improvements they need to make to prepare for the rest of the season. “We knew that we could have done better, we kind of got sucked back early with tons of runners,” said Northcott. “We thought that we could have had a better day placewise but we’re definitely not counting ourselves out for the rest of the year.” In order to be able to compete on the big stages later in the season, improvements in game plan, strategy, and execution need to be made to produce higher finishes in the
postseason. “We’ll focus on trying to get our top four running a little more together; they got lost off the start and couldn’t really find each other,” said Porter, who also emphasized the need to close the gap between the fourth and fifth runners to ensure more consistent finishes for the team. SLUH also had highlights in the freshman race, as Noah Scott and Mitchell Booher led the team to fifth place in the team competition. Scott placed fourth individually and Booher came in 12th. The varsity-1 team will adjust its focus to the Palatine Invitational just outside of Chicago, Ill. on Saturday, Sept. 24. The field will be just as competitive as the Festival, with at least one top 25 team in the nation participating. This weekend, the varsity-2 team heads to the Paul Enke Invitational at Sioux Passage Park at 9 a.m. on Saturday while the top team enjoys a weekend of rest and prepares for Palatine.
Soccer breaks losing streak, moves on to St. Dominic
photo | Brendan Voigt
The Jr. Bills celebrate after defeating Webster this past Tuesday.
(continued from page 6)
to make that click.” The Jr. Billikens lost to CBC 1-0, their third loss in a row (all to conference opponents). After the loss, the squad had to rebound quickly and prepare for Webster Groves, the reigning Missouri Class Three State Champions. Days after the head to head collision with a CBC player, Walter started to experience headaches and nausea on Tuesday morning, causing him to sit out the match due to concussion protocol. The Jr. Bills were shocked early. Just seven minutes into the game, a Webster midfielder played a through-ball into the box, where a Webster forward settled the ball, shot with his left foot and beat Meissner to give Webster an early 1-0 lead. After the goal, SLUH played with a new intensity. The Jr. Billikens began to dominate the Statesmen, creating chance after chance, and possessing the ball the major-
ity of the first half. Martel decided to use some new faces, resulting in a new spark for the team. Seniors Nic Delgado and Carson Berry saw major minutes in the game against Webster and provided SLUH with good scoring chances. “I thought Carson played really well,” said Martel. “Nic was very courageous the other night, he was out for a while and isn’t in top shape, but he gave everything he had.” The SLUH offense continued to pressure Webster Groves, most notably on a beautiful cross from sophomore Alex Lehmann into the 18-yard box, but the Webster goalie shut down the chance. The first half ended 1-0, with Webster’s early goal remaining the deciding factor. Junior Will Rudder had a great chance to start off the second half, but the Webster goalkeeper again made a decisive save. Marcouiller also had an impressive shot from about ten yards above the center
circle. He struck the ball with his left foot, resulting in a highly lofted shot that barely went over the crossbar in what would’ve been the goal of the season for the U. High. After the Webster goalie received a yellow card with less than 20 minutes to play, SLUH had a corner kick opportunity, only to be headed just over the net by senior Brandon Trusler. However, with a minute and a half left, SLUH was fouled right outside of the box, giving Schumacher a legitimate chance to tie the game. “He (Schumacher) really hammers the ball. He does it in practice and guys just shake their heads,” said Martel. Schumacher lined up for the free kick, as SLUH’s last hope to finally break open the game. Schumacher ran in and hit an absolute bullet into the left side of the net, giving the keeper no chance to save it. As the Jr. Bills’ student section went crazy, the team had finally broken its four game
scoreless streak at a crucial time. “We were in desperate need of a goal. I knew Kurt was going to put that in,” said Ditto. “It was a great shot. He put it off the left side corner of the wall and just laced it right in, he hit that hard,” said Martel. “That’s what we needed. That may turn out to be the biggest goal of the year, in terms of confidence and getting going.” Overtime began with strong play from both sides. The first half of overtime was a back and forth effort as Delgado continued to provide a spark for the Jr. Bills, with multiple scoring chances. However, Meissner also saved his team with a clutch onehanded save with only minutes left in the first overtime period. The second overtime period saw SLUH start to dominate the pitch again with big chances from forwards Rudder and Goedeker. With a minute left, Webster commit-
ted a foul right outside the 18yard box, giving Schumacher a chance to single-handedly end the game. Schumacher stepped up and bent the ball around the wall of Webster Groves, missing the top right corner by a matter of inches, as the match headed into penalty kicks. In the first round, Schumacher shot first, converting his shot and giving the Jr. Bills a 1-0 lead. Webster’s shooter ran in and hit a bullet, only to be stopped with a spectacular save from Meissner. Junior Cam Verzino shot second. Verzino buried the ball and gave SLUH a comfortable 2-0 lead in PK’s. The Statesmen player ran up in an attempt to stay in the game, but again Meissner made a remarkable save, keeping SLUH up 2-0 after two rounds. Goedeker shot third and bulleted his kick into the net, setting up a “must make” shot for Webster. The player converted, finally beating Meissner, and leaving the score at 3-1.
Volume 81, Issue 4
7
Swim dominates De Smet Kyle Irvine
REPORTER
T
he St. Louis U. High swimmers took on the De Smet Spartans in their third dual meet of the season this past Friday. The Bills won decisevily, 127-53. The Bills saw a lot of exceptional swims, including three more state qualifying times to add to their collection. State qualifiers included sophomore Joe Feder in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.7, and junior Barclay Dale in the 100 freestyle at 49.39. The Bills also managed to qualify in the 200 free relay, consisting of Dale, Feder, senior Kyle Irvine, and junior Nick Mattingly, with a time of 1:33.73. “De Smet went pretty well,” said junior Jack Laux. “We added to our undefeated dual meet record; hopefully we can keep that up.” Head coach Lindsey Ehret deemed the swimmer of the meet to be Russian exchange student Egor Blokhin for swimming in his first races in this hemisphere. Blokhin has been swimming with the Bills since the beginning of the semester, contributing his breaststroke and freestyle abilities. “The meet looked really great,” said senior spectator Roman Visintine. “It was the first swim meet I have been to and I will hopefully be coming back for more, maybe with some of the spirit squad to support.” Looking ahead, the Jr. Bills have a busy weekend ahead of them, highlighted by a very tough invitational on Saturday, the De Smet Invitational at the Saint Peters Rec Plex. This exceptionally large meet includes teams from Saint Louis, Cape Girardeau, and Kansas City. “It’s fast water up there,” said Mattingly. “We should hopefully see a lot of time drops and some new state times.” The meet this Saturday starts at 3 p.m. Junior Pietro Nicastro shot fourth, shooting a rocket at the Webster keeper, but was denied. Webster answered with a score of their own, leaving the score of 3-2 after four rounds. Junior Peter Kickham stepped up to take his shot, with the chance to give SLUH the much-needed victory. As the Webster goalie guessed left, Kickham shot right, winning the match for the Jr. Bills. “It was pretty cool to watch. It was a great game, the boys really came out to play. Alec (Meissner) played great and made some great saves,” said senior Klaus Preusser. The Jr. Bills play their next match tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. against St. Dominic at SLUH.
8
Prep News
SUNFLOWERS
September 16, 2016
Volume 81, Issue 4
Friday, September 16
Around the Hallways Sophomore Class Mass Friday, September 9, marked the first sophomore class Mass of the year. Presided by Ralph Houlihan S.J., the Mass was the first time the newly inducted senior Eucharistic ministers were able to celebrate the Mass with only the sophomore class. The Mass encompassed many SLUH favorite songs, including “Gather Your People (Gathering),” “Servant Song,” “One Bread, One Body,” and “Open My Eyes.” Father Houlihan gave the homily, enlightening the sophomores about Saint Peter Claver, S.J., and how he aided many slaves and converted many people to Catholicism. Sophomore Paul Gillam thoroughly enjoyed the Mass, stating, “It was awesome to see all of my classmates worshipping God together in the same place. I sang in the choir so I was able to see everyone from a different perspective, and it was neat to look out into the sea of friends and classmates.” Gillam also acknowledged
that the Mass would not have been possible without the sophomore Pastoral Team, and especially without the help of Mr. Brian Gilmore. Senior Follies Montage Last Friday there was a meeting in M209 to begin the yearlong process led by Senior Follies director and math teacher Dan Becvar. Becvar said that there are a few skits that are already set as they are every year such as the ballet, choreographed by dance teacher Simone Anzalone, and the opening song, orchestrated by choral teacher Addie Akin. Becvar was also very optimistic about the situation, and referred to the entire white board that was covered with ideas from the forty plus seniors that attended the meeting. Although there is a plethora of participants already, Becvar foresees and hopes for many more students to email him about joining the show with any amount of participation.
Iggy’s Cafe Last Friday, SLUH Campus Ministry held an event before school in order to give seniors an opportunity to sign up for retreats. Seniors could stop by between 7:00 AM and 7:40 AM to sign up on x2VOL and then enjoy breakfast, including Donut Drive-In donuts and fair trade coffee, and live entertainment from seniors Dominick Gherardini and Ben Adrian. Seniors could choose from six different retreats this year: Art Retreat, Kairos, Service Learning Retreat, Manresa Retreat, Philia Retreat, and Wilderness Retreat.
AP Lunch brate together under one roof. 7:00pm
I was very proud of them. We really just put points on the board and then shut them down the rest of the day.” As the score ran up higher and higher for the Jr. Bills, several of the De Smet players began to let their emotions out, knocking down SLUH players away from the ball several times and being flagged over and over again. Despite being shoved around, the SLUH players did an admirable job of not retaliating, and let their plays do the talking for them. “Our guys didn’t retaliate,” said Kornfeld. “I was very proud of the way they handled (the aggressive play). I know that it’s tough at times, since it got a little chippy there. I’m really happy with what they did.” The offense was powered by Clair, who totalled 222 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 touches. Thanks to a dominant offensive line and his great vision to find holes to run through, Clair consistently gained six to 10 yards on every run, moving the ball and getting first downs for the offense. Batschelett did his part to lead the offense as well, totalling nine completions for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Four of these passes found the hands of Adams, who gained 117 yards and three total touchdowns, two on passes from Batschelett along with the punt return. “I was pretty pleased with how we stayed balanced, since they couldn’t just focus on one part of the game,” said Kornfeld. “They had to take everything into account.” Despite the powerful display put on by the offense, the defense may have been even more impressive. As well as
holding the Spartans to zero points after the first minutes of the second quarter, the Jr. Bills’ defense held them to under 200 yards of total offense. They helped the offense, too, tackling the Spartans kicker in the end zone for a safety in the third quarter. Junior defensive tackle Kameron Bowdry was outstanding in stopping the De Smet running game and getting to the quarterback on pass plays. He finished the game with 12 tackles and a sack, as well as pressuring the quarterback on multiple other plays. Senior linebacker Henry Herzberg controlled the middle of the field with 12 tackles of his own. Junior Jared Scott also supported the SLUH scoring effort, running in a two-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter, and quickly following it up with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown in the opening seconds of the fourth. This score put SLUH up by the final score of 54-14, and also ended the night for most of the starters, giving the second string play-
Case Western Reserve University University of Kentucky Northeastern University Providence College University of San Diego Snack—Mini Tacos Special—Toasted Ravioli Vegetarian—Garden Burger V Soccer vs. Jefferson City @ SLUH
After the Mass concluded, the students and their families Saturday, September 17 were invited to a small brunch 10:00am C-team Football vs. Jeff City in order to bring the commu10:00am C-team Soccer vs. St. Dominik @ SLUH nity together. Mass for Steenberges This past week, Timothy Steenberge, father of a SLUH sophomore Charlie Steenberge passed away unexpectedly. On Tuesday, there was a 7:20 Mass in honor of the life of Mr. Steenberge. Many members of the SLUH community went to the funeral on Wednesday, including the entire varsity soccer team and multiple faculty members. Please keep the Steenberge family in your prayers.
11:15am B-team Soccer vs. St. Dominik @ SLUH 12:00pm JV Football vs. Jeff City 1:00pm V Soccer vs. St. Dominik @ SLUH 3:00pm Swimming vs. De Smet V/JV/C Cross Country @ Sioux Passage Regular Schedule Monday, September 18 Spirit Week AP Jesuit College Tour Dartmouth College Snack—Mini Corndogs Lunch Dominican University Earlham College Iowa State University Trinity College Tulane University Special—Quesadilla Vegetarian—Black Bean 6:00pm V Soccer vs. Oakville @ CYC tournament Tuesday, September 19 Regular Schedule
Family Mass Last Sunday, SLUH held its first family Mass for the 2016- —Jake Hennes, Nathan Wild, 2017 school year. The entire Angelo Karagiannis, Niles BerAP student body along with their nabe, Eric Schnelker families were invited to cele-
Football rebounds after loss to Chaminade continued from page 6
Regular Schedule
ers some valuable experience on the field. Despite the blowout score, the win did not come without a significant loss for the Jr. Bills. Adams sustained a leg injury on a tackle late in the game, and, after spending the remainder of the game on the bench, was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Monday. The injury will mean the end of his high school football career. In two and a half years of playing at the varsity level, Adams, primarily playing wide receiver and safety, accumulated 1,102 receiving yards, along with 14 total touchdowns. On the defensive end, he totalled 13 interceptions and over 100 total tackles. “I want to do anything I can for the team,” said Adams. “I can’t be physically on the field, but I’m going to be there and give everything that I can. SLUH football has taught me how to focus. It has changed my life, and it means everything to me. I just regret that I can’t be on the field.” “We lost a big cog in Tony,” said Kornfeld. “I told the rest of the guys that it’s
time for everyone to step it up a little bit more. I don’t think that there’s any doubt that the rest of our guys will.” Tonight, the Jr. Bills face off at home against the Jefferson City Jays. They come into this week ranked sixth among Class 6 schools, while SLUH sports a ninth place. They have displayed a powerful offense this year, scoring as many as 83 points in a game. For the Jr. Bills, the game presents an opportunity to get some momentum by beating a strong team, momentum that will be very important going into the always-important CBC matchup next week. “I’m looking for (everyone) to step up and be leaders,” said Adams. “They just need to play to their abilities, because we have some very good players.” “We just need to keep everything in front of us,” said Clair. “Their quarterback is really good, and their defensive back is great. We just need to keep the ball in front of us, keep their players in front of us on defense. If we do that, I know we can get the win.”
DePaul University DePauw University Macalester College Seton Hall University Snack—Turnovers Lunch Hendrix College Special—Brunch Vegetarian—Olive Oil Pasta 4:00pm C-soccer vs. CBC @ SLUH 4:00pm Swimming vs. MICDS 5:30pm JV Soccer vs. Collinsville @ SLUH 6:00pm V Soccer vs. Kirkwood @ CYC Tournament
Wednesday, September 20 Regular Schedule AP Lunch
University of Dayton Indiana University at Bloomington John Hopkins University Oklahoma City University Southern Methodist University Valparaiso University Snack—Chicken Rings Vanderbilt University Special—Chicken Tenders Vegetarian—Mac & Cheese Regular Schedule Thursday, September 21 AP Avila University Bradley University University of Colorado at Boulder University of Dallas Davidson College University of Illonois at Urbana-Chapaign University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Mississippi State University Snack—Bosco Sticks Lunch University of Arkansas Butler University Knox College Millikin University Yale University Special—Papa John’s Vegetarian—Black Bean 5:30pm JV Soccer vs. Ofallon 7:45 pm V Soccer vs. Mehvillie @ CYC Tournament Regular Schedule Friday, September 22 AP Lunch 4:00pm 7:00pm
Florida Southern College Lindenwood University Purdue University Snack—Chicken Bites Special—Fried Chicken Vegetarian—Grilled Cheese C-Soccer vs. Vianney @ SLUH V Football vs. CBC calendar | Jack Schweizer
Soccer Nightbeat
Senior quarterback Mitch Batschelett scoring in last week’s win over De Smet.
photo | Brendan Voigt
Last night, the Jr. Bills took on their MCC rival, the Vianney Griffins. SLUH came away with a 1-0 victory with the lone goal scored by junior Pietro Nicastro early in the game off of a cross from junior Kurt Schumacher. Vianney failed to convert on a penalty kick with five minutes left in the game, sealing the win for the Jr. Bills and avenging their earlier season loss to Vianney in the CBC tournament. —Compiled by Nick Gima