Volume LXXXIV, Issue XIV
sluh.org/prepnews
St. Louis University High School | Friday, December 13, 2019
Writing letters, spreading cheer, Unseth makes State Adoptand dodging snowballs: 12 Days Orchestra Audition, Van a-Family of Christmas brings spirit to SLUH Bree Honorable Mention raises Nick Koenig and $20,000 Noah Apprill-Sokol their abilities to play various musical styles like legato for thirty and staccato. Stressful to say LUH musicians trav- the least. local Slasteledweekend to Columbia, Mo. “I kept practicing and to audition practicing. My Saint Louis families for the State Band and State Symphony teacher would BY
STAFF, REPORTER
photo | Miguel Cadiz
Students craft gingerbread houses. BY Nicholas Dalaviras and Luke Duffy NEWS EDITOR, REPORTER
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s Thanksgiving drew to a close, STUCO worked like elves to transition into the next holiday season with Christmas festivities livening up the halls of St. Louis U. High for the second annual “12 Days of Christmas” celebration.
Christmas carols playing in the halls, “snowball” dodgeball, and gingerbread house building were among the highlights of the activities aimed at getting students in the spirit for the most wonderful time of the year. With a lot to live up to from last year’s 12 Days of Christmas celebration, STUCO planned two weeks
of events to boost Christmas spirit by way of both engaging activities and holiday spirit. “It’s something that’s really noncommittal for students, where you can have fun but it doesn’t take a lot of time and doesn’t cost much if anything,” said STUCO moderator Bradley
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Orchestra, which are comprised of the top musicians in the state. Junior Alexander Unseth made the State Orchestra, making him one of the top 12 cellists in Missouri. Meanwhile, senior Bryce Van Bree received an Honorable Mention for his State audition, making him the fourth-best piccolo player in the state. All of the musicians who traveled to Columbia had previously made one of the 11 District Bands. Depending on the instrument, musicians with a successful audition could choose whether they would play in the State Band or State Orchestra. For State auditions, every musician had to memorize and play challenging scales and songs that tested
help me along the way,” said Unseth. “But he said that it is for me to figure out because it’s sort of like a journey for me to figure out by myself.” Unseth played scales and a wide range of classical composers, including Brahms and Beethoven. Many of these pieces included difficult runs and octave jumps, where he had to cross strings quickly. “Walking in, I was very nervous, but once I started to play I just forgot about everything around me,” said Unseth. Unseth’s results reflect his year’s worth of practice. The cello auditions were particularly competitive. Over a 100 cellists auditioned for the orchestra,
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Normington shines in New Canvas courses open to Shakespeare contest; students to help best utilize iLab Johno Jackson on to city-wide meet Innovation Lab largely re- es this week begins to open BY EDITOR IN CHIEF
Fitz Cain and Nathan Rich BY
Miguel Cadiz, Peter Michalski, Sirius Song, and REPORTERS Normington. Each contes tant took the stage during s William Shakespeare activity period to perform a once wrote in his Scot- Shakespearean monologue tish tragedy Macbeth, “Life’s from memory. but a walking shadow, a This was SLUH’s 18th poor player, that struts and year putting on the comfrets his hour upon the petition, which was was stage, and then is heard no emceed by English teacher more.” In this tradition, Chuck Hussung and judged four St. Louis U. High stu- by his son John Hussung dents assumed their roles and senior Shakespeare as “poor players” last Mon- elective teacher Jamie Corday and strutted upon the dia. stage of the Joseph Schulte Hussung believes that Theater for SLUH’s annual the Shakespeare CompetiShakespeare Competition. tion represents a greater Senior Andrew Norming- cultural truth about SLUH. ton won the competition “I started the Shakewith a monologue from speare Competition beKing Lear. cause we were a school that The lineup of competi- loved Shakespeare and I tors consisted of seniors continued on page 9
stricted to a few connected the glass doors, creating aconths of regulation students and teachers. The cess for both students and creation and protocol introduction of two new teachers to the much-antic development have kept the school-wide Canvas courscontinued on page 9
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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
Five axis 3-D printer in the Innovation Lab.
News
Science and Theology Speakers For the love of all that is holy! SLUH brought in two speakers to discuss the connection between religion and science. Page 2 news
Faculty Curriculum Lunch The teachers have been cooking ©2019 St. Louis University High up some improvements to the School Prep News. No material may curriculum at faculty lunch prebe reprinted without the permission sentations. Page 2 of the editors and moderator.
Opinion
Where can we go? The editors discuss the lack of and misuse of student spaces around the school. Page 3
feature
Christmas Gifts Tales of Christmas gifts long long ago: Teachers share favorite gifts given and received from childhood to now. Page 4
BY Ben Klevorn NEWS EDITOR
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he St. Louis U. High community wrapped up its ninth annual AdoptA-Family drive last Friday, bringing Christmas cheer to 30 local families and 121 individuals. Adopt-A-Family is run each year by St. Francis Community Services Southside, and the goal is to help provide local immigrant families with basic household necessities, clothes, gifts, and gift cards. Campus Ministry and the Mother’s Club organized the drive this year. “St. Francis, which is South Side Charities, benefits,” said Campus Minister Jorie O’Malley. “That’s who we have been with; it’s been years that we’ve been with them. And we’re not the only people that bring them stuff, there are a lot of different high schools and families that do it on (their) own.” St. Francis Community Services Southside is a local organization that aims to “change the lives of the most vulnerable throughout the St. Louis region,” according to their website. Each of the 30 families that SLUH adopted received a package of basic household necessities, such as paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, dish soap, Clorox wipes, hand soap, first aid kits, and Tylenol. Families were also gifted a $100 Schnucks gift card and a $25 gas gift card. Additionally, each member of the family was gifted a shirt or a pair of pants as well as winter clothes like coats, hats, and
photo | Jonel Olar
sports
Hockey Hockey can’t get the biscuit in the basket in a tie against Chaminade, but tears up the twine against Kirkwood. Page 10 Sports
Wrestling Lodholz, Conroy, and Flack take first at Patriot Classic. Page 11
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INDEX 2 News 3 Opinion 4
Christmas Features
5 Miscellany 6-7
Photo Spread
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Continued from 1
10-11
Sports
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Merry Christmas!
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Prep News
NEWS
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
Loyola professors link science and theology in chapel talk BY Bob Devoll and Braden Kramer
STAFF
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t. Louis U. High welcomed two speakers from Loyola UniversityChicago this past Monday during activity period. Dr. Nancy Tuchman, a biology professor, and Dr. Michael Schuck, a theology professor, spoke to students and faculty about reimagining the relationship between science and religion in the world. Their talk centered around four main points: planetary boundaries, ethics, spirituality, and action. “Historically it has been a strained relationship,” Schuck mentioned in the opening address to the audience. “We now have to recognize eco-spirituality, asking ‘What does the earth
mean to us during this time of environmental stress?’” Tuchman, the founding Dean of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability, talked about the planetary boundaries and limitations of our earth, centering around the question, “How close are we to the tipping point of our planet?” Presenting a chart to the audience, she explained that earth’s biogeochemical flaws and lack of biodiversity are the weakest points in our planet’s limitations at the moment. Schuck brought in the ethics and spirituality behind the science. The center point of his address was that the earth has an intrinsic value to everyone, in the sense that we all use it. Finally, Tuchman concluded the presentation by
giving the audience some ways to take action and some examples of how it has already begun. In particular, she focused on the environmental group The International Youth Climate Movement, and noted that “around the world, there is an enormous movement of people your age and older where students sit in front of parliament and say we can save our planet.” While Tuchman does not expect for every SLUH student to become an ecological activist, she and Schuck both hope to encourage people to become advocates for the planet. This message of ecological advocacy was one of the main reasons science teacher teacher Bill Anderson organized this presentation
Chess continues dominating boards; with win against Ladue’s B-team BY Ben Gremaud REPORTER
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he St. Louis U High Chess A-team continued its winning streak last Wednesday with a convincing 26.5-3.5 win at home against Ladue’s B-team. Although it was not Ladue’s top team, the Rams started off the year 2-0 so the Jr. Bills were expecting a challenge. SLUH continued with their regular positioning, with seniors Thomas Reilly and Garrett Seal on boards one and two, sophomore Robert Mize on board three, senior Ben Gremaud on board four, and sophomore Broderick Nester on board five. Reilly was the first to gain a clear advantage in his game. “I opened strong. I came out with a forcing line against the London opening to win a minor piece in the first ten moves, and it was over after that,” said Reilly. After using a bishop check to force his opponent into a king walk, Reilly sealed the deal with a rook to d1 checkmate. Nester was next to gain a win. “I made a good pin with a continuous round of checks, and it led to a piece advantage for me,” said Nester, who also checkmated with a forced king walk. After these victories on boards one and five, the score was 12-0 in favor of SLUH. Mize also found checkmate in his game, finding his first win of the year for the Jr. Bills. “I was in control for most of the game. I felt I had more knowledge of the game than he did, and that’s what separated us and allowed me to win,” said Mize. After winning a knight with an early tactic, Gremaud avoided his opponent’s stalemate attempts and put him
into checkmate using a promoted pawn. Unfortunately, SLUH was not able to complete the 30-0 sweep. On board two, Seal fought through a close match to gain a winning position, but a tricky missed king move ended the game as a draw. “I thought I played rather well. I’m happy with the way I played except for one move,” said Seal. The match ended with a convincing 26.5-3.5 victory for the Jr. Bills, bringing the A-team to 3-0, tied for first in their division with Belleville East going into a Christmas break. SLUH’s B-team also played a match on Wednesday against CBC’s A-team. CBC
swept the B-team 30-0, but the result could easily have been different. Senior Kevin Stein, on board one, had a winning position in the endgame, but got caught in a mating net and lost the game. Sophomore Henry Narkiewicz exchanged a rook for a minor piece and two pawns, but was unable to convert this into a win. Overall, lack of experience is a large factor in the B-team’s early struggles, but they hope to improve as the year progresses. The A-team team will take on the CBC’s B-team on the road in their next match on Jan. 8th, and the B-team will face Ladue’s top team at home.
for SLUH. Additionally, their talk aimed to explain how science and religion can coexist to elevate people’s understanding of the sanctity of the planet. “Historically, science and religion have kind of been separate and apart, and that’s not the way it should be, and it’s definitely not the way Pope Francis wants it to be. He talks a lot about a change in heart in the way that you look at your world and life and recognizing the intrinsic value of the natural world as well,” said Anderson. Students felt that Tuchman and Schuck did an excellent job relating the two, or at least opening others up to the idea that a peaceful coexistence is possible. “I was a little familiar
(with the link between the two topics) because I’m in AP Environmental right now, and one of the major lenses we view the class through is moral goals and so forth, but I was amazed at how well these areas of study fit together,” said senior Patrick Dwyer. In addition to students, the presentation also had a sizeable impact on teachers. In particular, it helped make evident the importance of bridging the gap when possible in the classroom. Along with countless other teachers who have in the past combined the two topics, theology teacher Robert Garavaglia, as a result of the talk, has begun to more seriously consider ways to accomplish this goal in his classes. “I don’t see science
and religion in competition with each other; in fact, I think they can work together,” said Garavaglia. “What I think it motivates me to do, and I don’t know yet how I would do this, but I would like to try to make more opportunities for interdisciplinary approaches to projects and issues in our classes.” Through their presentation, Tuchman and Schuck helped bring the broader SLUH community a little closer to being part of the solution to the planet’s ecological crisis. While they can give people the tools to treat the earth correctly, it’s ultimately up to people to live out the mission they started.
Grading and rubrics focused on at faculty curriculum talks BY Peter LaBarge and Joe Studt STAFF, REPORTER
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ver the past month and a half, St. Louis U. High teachers have attended one or more of four professional development presentations on assessments. The main theme of the four presentations was visible learning: how the teacher will know that the student understands the material and how the teacher shows what the student should understand. Curriculum Coordinators Steve Missey and Kevin Foy, science teacher Robyn Wellen, and social studies Sarah Becvar each presented in the series, which was part of advancing professional curriculum development at SLUH. Missey and Foy organized these presentations after meeting with teachers individually and in teams during the first quarter. Foy and Missey designed the second quarter content based on what they heard in these meetings about where people were in their thinking about assessments. “The sessions all were related to how teachers think about assessing students, so they’re tools for assessing your work,” said Missey. Missey gave the first presentation, which outlined when a teacher should use a rubric and when a teacher should use a checklist, on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Missey shared that checklists are for binary situations where there are distinct right and wrong answers, while rubrics are necessary to judge levels of quality.
Two weeks later, on Tuesday Nov. 5, Foy presented on designing and developing rubrics. Titled “Developing Quality Rubrics,” Foy’s presentation described how one would construct a quality rubric that would best benefit the students. “Once you already know the thing you’re trying to assess has levels of quality, how do you do that in a way that helps students produce better work?” said Foy. Wellen’s presentation, on Wednesday Nov. 23, was titled “Using Rubrics for Self and Peer Assessment.” The main question answered in this presentation is how one would use a rubric to teach. Teachers tend to use rubrics as scoring guides, but Wellen’s presentation outlined how rubrics guide a student, who may be inexperienced in an area, so that he can figure out where he is and where he would like to get through peer and selfassessment. “They should see examples from all of the different levels depicted in the rubric. What is nice about peer assessment is that while the students are evaluating their peer’s work, they are also assessing their own,” said Wellen. “Any time a student sees more examples, they have a better scope of what is possible to accomplish the same goal.” Becvar’s presentation, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, was titled “Aligning Assessments and Learning Targets.” This presentation answered questions about how a teacher
could structure her tests to best measure what has been learned and how a teacher could reflect this idea in her daily teaching goals. This presentation also described how a teacher uses learning goals or targets throughout the lessons to make goals more visible to students. “(Learning targets) are to make clear what teachers want students to learn in a day or unit and at what level we want them to know something, so it’s going from being able to learn and identify information to high-level explaining, interpretation, or analyzing information,” said Becvar. In the end, all four presentations stressed how teachers can help students see the ways they are supposed to learn and for both teachers and students to accomplish the goals set for them through better visibility of these goals. “The big idea is “visible”—making learning visible for students and teachers,” said Missey. Foy and Missey are both grateful for their colleagues’ dedication to excellence and openness to learning. “We got some great feedback from the attendees, which is just edifying to show how committed SLUH teachers are,” said Foy. “The big takeaway for me in our work as Curriculum Coordinators so far this year has shown us again and again and again how much SLUH teachers care about doing their jobs well, and this is just great to see again and again.”
PN 84.13 Correction
Art | Will Blaisdell
In last week’s issue, the bashball photos on page 2 were atrributed to Mrs. Kathy Chott. The photos were actually taken by senior Miguel Cadiz. The Prep News regrets this error.
OPINION
December 13, 2019
Prep News
AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
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Editorial: Where should we go? Students need more accessible communal spaces At St. Louis U. High, students live busy—and stressful—lives. In addition to a demanding workload, students immerse themselves in the community by getting involved in clubs, playing sports, or hanging out with friends around the building. To many, SLUH feels like a second home. And like a home, SLUH’s campus presents barriers that challenge the cohesiveness of all the activities and needs of the students in the building. The problem here is that it feels like there is nowhere to go. Students looking for quiet space have lost the library due to overcrowding. Those looking to spend their free time decompressing are relegated to the Commons, which is often locked or serving as a site for an outside event or assembly. Niches are available to those who search hard—Campus Ministry, Fr. Marco’s office, and the Theater Lobby have their own cult followings—but large,
accessible spaces are widely unreliable and the overcrowding of the few available spaces contributes to an extra burden of unnecessary stress and anxiety that is piled on top of the alreadypresent stresses that come from homework, extracurriculars, and family life. With spaces large and small misused, undeveloped, and otherwise excluding the student body at least in part, we feel that much of the building’s potential remains untapped. When the Theater Lobby filled with chairs and couches from the Commons last year, students flocked to the space. For the glorious year that the furniture occupied it, it became a space of moderate chatter, an environment sorely needed by students who don’t want to remain in silence in the Library or find the Commons too loud. Two primary student spaces, the library and the commons, have become so overpopulated during peak
times that they fail to serve their intended functions, which has resulted in the misuse of spaces designated for specific purposes. The library has become a space for conversation and time killing not only during the day, but also after school. Disruptions disturb homework doers as bored, spaceless students take refuge in the only reliably open space in the building. After school, with the Danis Lobby now devoid of furniture and the Commons locked after lunch, adjacent spaces to the turnaround are rendered useless, so the library serves as the de facto waiting room for non-drivers who prefer not to sit on the floor between the exterior and interior switchboard doors. Many underclassmen who don’t want to deal with the raucous library after school are forced into the uncomfortable ritual of occupying this area between the doors as they await their rides just a few feet from the
Commons’ (locked) lounge area. The Commons functions largely as a cafeteria and event space, failing to feature the qualities its name implies—a communal space for students to spend time together. Presently, the students’ relationship with the Commons is one of being shuffled in and out for narrow purposes in strict time frames. It is an uninviting, plastic and glass noise box endlessly flipping between short-term uses—not an area for the casual passerby. When construction begins in the old cafeteria during the second semester, Fr. Marco’s office is being eliminated, taking away a space for student relaxation, and pushing more students into overcrowded areas. Even more predictable lockouts come from athletic facilities. Without a teacher or coach, students are not allowed to use the fields or the Field House with their own equipment during unreserved time. Giving stu-
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PN 84 Platform
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s the student-run newspaper of St. Louis University High School, the Prep News is a weekly publication that strives to inform the SLUH community about events and people, with its focus on those pertaining to the school, primarily through the written word. The Prep News is neither the voice of the administration nor the students. Rather, the newspaper serves to gather and distribute information for the entire school. The Prep News editors and staff members make every effort to be objective in their news coverage and editing. The members of the editorial staff are co-workers and share equally the duties of writing, copy-editing, layout, and staff management. All of the editors share responsibility and leadership of the paper. The editors are supported by a core staff of regular reporters as well as artists and photographers. It is the role of the edi-
tors to seek out and facilitate the reporting of all significant news at SLUH. While any faculty member or student is welcome to submit suggestions to the editors for potential articles, the Prep News is never obligated to publish any article idea. Our primary emphasis as editors of the Prep News is upon clear and accurate writing and careful editing. We also attempt to include visual expression—photography, drawing, technical aids, etc.— in every issue and on our web site. Despite our desire to make the paper visually appealing, we commit ourselves not to allow form to supersede substance. The editorial staff will use social media to communicate with the paper’s readership and to update students about SLUH events and highlight the paper’s content. The editors will not allow their goal of speed and accessibility online to weaken their commitment to accuracy and depth.
The Prep News strongly encourages underclassman involvement, and our office on the second floor of the Jesuit Wing, room J220, is always open for involvement, criticism, praise, or suggestions. Contributed student opinions are also welcome under the Prep News Editorial Policy. Without student reaction and feedback, the Prep News could not function. If the Prep News is inaccurate, we will correct any significant error in the following issue and on our web site as soon as possible. Furthermore, the editors assume sole responsibility for the text of news and sports articles, features, and editorials. We ask faculty or students who take issue with the manner in which the news was reported or find an error to bring it to the attention of the editors, not the individual reporters. This is the platform of the editors of Volume 84 of the Prep News.
dents access to unused athletic facilities during the day would provide not only an opportunity to relieve stress, but also give rostered athletes more opportunities to practice outside of designated practice times. When Voices of SLUH opened up the athletic facilities for a week, this fall the Field House alone drew close to 50 students during an activity period. The Aesthetics Committee has been forming a plan since Fall 2018 to create new student spaces and revive the atmosphere of the current spaces. The advent of a mixed-use space across from the English office provides a space for students that is in high demand. We hope more small spaces can be created to accommodate small groups of students looking for a comfortable and functional space to pass time in the short run, lightening the load on larger areas in the school. It is also our hope that
as renovations and construction continues, student spatial needs are prioritized. One such space used to exist in the theater lobby. Spaces like the old switchboard and hallway pews provide some relief, but come short of providing comfortable or visually pleasing seating areas. All of the comfortable chairs from the Commons were packed into the area outside the box office and couches lined the walls. When this space existed, it was almost always filled with students who were both able to individually study and do muted group work on the couches. There is work to adapt the building to better suit students’ needs; we challenge the school to take action to ensure that our building can continue to foster high quality education of the whole person and attempt to get rid of the often stifling feeling of only having a handful of places in the school to live.
For tips, corrections, or story ideas, please email prepnews@ sluh.org
PN 84 Editorial Policy
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he Volume 84 Prep News opinion section serves the purpose of being the vehicle of the personal opinions of students, faculty, or others. All topics discussed in the section will be related to St. Louis University High School. Nothing published either as an editorial or as a letter to an editor should be considered the opinion of the school, the administration, or anyone other than its author or authors. A Prep News editorial is the opinion of all six editors on a particular topic. A commentary or column is an opinion of one member of the Prep News staff, not of the Prep News itself. A perspective or notebook, like a commentary, is the opinion of one person, often a Prep News staff member. Unlike a commentary, such a piece is often intended primarily to convey
a personal experience rather than to provide a viewpoint on an issue. Unlike a letter, such pieces are usually developed at the request of, and sometimes under the guidance of, the Prep News editors. Every member of the SLUH community is welcomed and encouraged to submit a letter to the editors. Every letter received by the editors will be read and given consideration. All letters must be signed, but the author’s name may be withheld from publication by request and at the discretion of the editors. The Prep News editors reserve the right to edit any submissions for publication in order to meet grammatical standards, but they will not skew the author’s original intent. Also, the editors reserve the right to withhold from publication any submission if it is deemed vulgar, tasteless, or other-
wise inappropriate. Authors should be available for the editorto contact them before publication to address matters of concern. All authors wishing to have letters published must submit them by 4:00 p.m. the Wednesday before the letter is to be published. Letters should be emailed to prepnews@ sluh.org, and, if possible, a signed copy should be given to a Prep News editors or moderator or mailed to the Prep News courtesy of St. Louis University High School, 4970 Oakland, St. Louis, MO 63110.
Prep News Volume 84 Editors: Johno Jackson, Nicholas Dalaviras, Jackson DuCharme, Ben Klevorn, Blake Obert, and Jimmy Stanley
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Prep News
CHRISTMAS FEATURES
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
GCBOAT—How to make it happen BY Victor STAFF
Stefanescu
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eventeen and a half lanyard-less, walk up the turn-around-less, scantronless, Canvas-less, Schulteless, homework-less, stressless days of nothing except the best holiday. What will you do with St. Louis U. High’s longest Christmas Break since 2011? To help you create a perfect break and in an effort to get a sample of all the holiday-happening in the St. Louis area, I interviewed students and faculty from around the luscious metropolis, including junior Jack Rosenstengel of Belleville, whose holiday-favorite is located in Missouri. “For me, (the place to be) would be skating at Steinberg. I skate there with friends, it’s just a fun vibe,” said Rosenstengel. “There’s a lot of familiar faces—it’s a great way to meet people and be social. On top of that, there’s nothing more satisfying than taking off the smelly, sweaty skates after a few hours.” Steinberg Skating Rink, open until 11 p.m. during the break, has long been a SLUH holiday favorite. The too-hotto-drink cocoa, the hockey players who skate like they are trying to prove something, the inevitable knocking-down of a five-year-old girl—it’s just all too perfect. If you’re not ready to act like you know how to skate
even though you don’t, perhaps spending time on South Grand would be more your vibe. The business district, although lesser known than the Loop and Central West End, is home to international cuisine, coffee shops, and boutiques. For Tower Grove Heights native freshman Peter Roither, the boulevard is home to Christmas spirit and satisfying feels. “I plan to spend most of my time on Grand where there are lots of good restaurants and Christmas cheer is spread,” said Roither. “There’s this place called Zee Bee Market I like because they have a lot of cool stuff there from South America. I like to go in and feel all the fuzzy things.” After satisfying social hopes, you may find yourself called back to your family. In particular, between grading exams, ripping apart research projects, and preparing the classroom and campus for the second semester, family get-togethers are important for SLUH’s faculty and staff. For social studies teacher Sarah Becvar, this means seeing coworkers. Becvar is the sister-in-law of math teacher Dan Becvar and the daughter-in-law of Assistant Principal for Academics Tom Becvar. “The whole Becvar family goes to Citizen Kane’s in Kirkwood to celebrate Tom’s birthday,” said Becvar. “It’s cool because sometimes we
get a SLUH student waiting on us, and it’s just like all the Becvars, so, a neat and slightly overwhelming experience for him.” Likewise, librarian Regina Austermann hopes to use the free time to reconnect with family through tradition. Every year, the Austermanns go to the Way of Lights at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville and take in the serene, festive environment. “My favorite place would be Lady of the Snows without a doubt,” said Austerman. “My children went there with us when they were children and have been going ever since. They are 30 now, so it really seems like a timeless thing.” The Way of Lights doesn’t have to be a family thing. If you and friends, and you know, maybe that crush, are looking for something to do, trek to Belleville and have yourself a jolly-old time. St. Louis has a booming Christmas lights scene. From the Way of Lights to Wild Lights at the Zoo to the Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden to The Hill’s Candy Cane Lane, the break never has to get dark. One show, Brewery Lights, gives visitors an in-depth, Christmas-laced tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. South City resident and junior Camilo Hernandez is an advocate of Brewery Lights.
Art | Fitz Cain
“You get to walk through the brewery which is set up with thousands of lights. They sell hot chocolate and kettle corn and they even have a small ice rink,” said Hernandez. “I mean, it doesn’t really get more Christmas than that.” Sophomore Patrick Young likes the biggest, most-traffic causing display: Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park. “My grandparents have taken me probably the past ten years,” said Young. “ It’s a great time to spend with them which I don’t usually get.” Family time doesn’t have to be a light show, a trip, or even getting out of your house. Sometimes curling up with a zebra-striped blanket in the living room next to your siblings would suffice. A
lot of senior Gabe Mills’ time will be spent indulging in moments like these, because family rules his break. “My family has three out of four birthdays over Christmas Break,” said Mills. “To celebrate, we go to Shogun in South County. It’s fun because of the tradition of it—it’s not necessarily Christmas-y but its a way to spend time with family.” Christmas Break really isn’t about SLUH. You’re bound to be berated by STUCO emails and end up going to a hockey game or two, but besides that, get away! Let yourself rekindle any relationships that were suppressed by your five months of homework and stress. Take two weeks to breathe, relax, and lose the dark circles. Follow in theology teacher Diego Navarro’s footsteps and
let yourself rest. “I will let myself sleep in late,” said Navarro, “and lose track of what day of the week it is.” What matters the most for your GCBOAT (Greatest Christmas Break of All Time) is being in the community— spending time with friends, families, and loved ones. For me, that will probably end up playing Louis the Child’s “Slow Down Love” in my ’11 Jeep Patriot to the sounds of passenger complaints, and for you it might be playing Louis the Child’s “Fire” in your ’10 Jeep Compass to the sounds of passenger complaints; as long as you are being present with others, you are working towards your GCBOAT. Or a Netflix subscription would probably work too.
What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received? BY Sam STAFF
Tarter
Erwin Claggett “In high school, we had basketball practice on Christmas morning and it was one of my favorite things I experienced. Basketball on Christmas morning was awesome.” Claggett’s favorite gift he ever got was remote control Race Car Tracks, since he could play with more than one person at a time. As an adult, Claggett said his favorite gift is being with the people most important to him, “Having my Mom and family in good health is more than I could ask for.” Claggett also says that his favorite gift that he can give now is unconditional love. Tim O’Keefe “I remember when I was around four or five years old I received a table top hockey game, the kind where you slide and twist knobs to pass and shoot the puck. I loved this game and had a great deal of fun playing this with my dad and with my buddies from the neighborhood. I loved hockey and the Blues even back then.” O’Keefe’s favorite gift from his adulthood was when he married his wife the day after Christmas.
Addie Akin Akin’s favorite Christmas gift as a child was receiving a ping pong table, which brought her years of happiness and enjoyment. In adulthood, Akin’s favorite gift was when her husband once made her a snuggie, which he sewed himself. “I always love those types of gifts, the ones that take a lot of thought and are meaningful and personal,” she said. Last year, Akin gave a gift to her mother of a binder col-
lection of hundreds of emails attached to each other. “My mom and I are very close, and we email each other every morning. It’s a tradition we started when I first went away to college. The book chronicles our lives for the last 12 years as we mention major life events that were going on or things we were dealing with. They almost read like a diary. My mom’s reaction was priceless.” photo | courtesy of Sarah Becvar
photo | courtesy of Addie Akin
Sarah Becvar “One of my favorite memories was the Christmas after the Rams won the Super Bowl, in the year 2000. My dad gifted each of my family members a Rams Super Bowl jersey (mine was Marshall Faulk). We were huge Rams fans and were all so excited, and it was so special because watching the Rams was something we did together every Sunday.” Becvar’s favorite Christmas gift in her adulthood is from 2012, when her husband proposed to her on December 20. “He planned an elaborate scavenger hunt around St. Louis to our favorite destinations that ended with him meeting me at the bottom of Art Hill in Forest Park. It was so cold and windy that the fountains were spraying us as he asked
me to marry him. We then met our families for dinner at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, which is a special place to both of us.” Kate Toussaint Toussaint’s most special gift from her childhood was her American Girl Doll and its accessories, which was special to her because she loved reading the books and spent many years collecting all of the little accoutrements. In her adulthood, Toussaint’s favorite gift was getting a yoga mat from her husband, and she has enjoyed giving experiences to others, including tickets to shows, and restaurant gift certificates. Myriam Aliste Some of Aliste’s favorite gifts from recent years are Christ-
mas ornaments or decorations that were given to her by students and friends, especially anything related to the Peanuts characters. When Aliste was 12 years old, she worked at a store wrapping Christmas presents, eventually making $50, which she spent all on buying presents for her family. For her mother, she bought her favorite perfume and face cream, and for her father she got his favorite cologne and an ‘Old Spice’ shaving set, along with matchbox cars for her brother. Aliste reflected, “That Christmas I learned the happiness that comes with giving something instead of receiving.”
December 13, 2019
MISCELLANY
Prep News
AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
Palindrome
Around The Hallways
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Father Son Bowling The SLUH Fathers Club hosted its annual Father-Son Bowling last Saturday afternoon at Olivette Lanes. The event included lunch and three ten-frame games with varying rules, including highest average lane score, bowling poker, and strike rob your neighbor, with prizes awarded to the various winners. In all, over ten lanes were filled and the event brought together over 25 father-son duos. IBL Speaker Brandon Smith, ’15, came to SLUH this past Tuesday to talk to the Ignatian Business Leaders about his and his brother’s (Austin Smith, ’13) E-sports business, Mission Control. They spoke about their business model of partnering with universities to create intramural E-sports leagues through their app and about the importance of knowing the market they operate in. This was the first of three installments put on by club moderator Kevin Foy about growing a business. They will return in the third and fourth quarters to continue. High School Placement Test Two hundred prospective students filled the hallways of SLUH last Saturday and Sunday to take their high school placement tests. The test was set up in a standardized test format with students being asked a variety of questions based on the core subjects. Admissions’ team members use the test as a way to view all of the SLUH applicants on an even playing field and also to determine which candidates are eligible for a merit scholar award. STEM Speaker Benjamin Hilker, ’12, returned to SLUH last Friday to speak to the STEM Club about his job working on what will become the largest rocket ship ever produced. Hilker works as the primary systems engineer for a company working with NASA on the rocket project. During the presentation he explained what he does for NASA and the mental skills that were necessary for him to earn his position. The two ideas that he highlighted that were important for anybody going into engineering were persistence and having a growth mindset. During the second semester, the STEM Club plans to host more alum guest speakers to talk to students about their careers in a STEM-related field. Senior Project Missioning On Wednesday during activity period, the senior class gathered in the chapel in one of the final steps before their month-long service projects at various sites, both in the St. Louis area and in countries around the world. They were blessed as a class, and each student was called to stand according to his type of service in order to be honored and prepared to embrace the service experience of the coming month. -Compiled by Mitchell Booher and Jack Figge
SLUH tweet of the week: Alan Carruthers
@sluhpresident Senior Service missioning today. Time to pray & prepare for truly being Men for & With Others. We pray that these fine yong men find Christ in moments of solidarity with those they walk with beside on projects. Be humble, be patient, be selfless & find joy in service. #AMDG
crossword | Mr. Paul Baudendistel
ACROSS, SET 1 1. Peter _____ 4. Panther Newton 13. “You _____ here,” accompaniment of an X 14. Bullfight cry 17. What T. Rex did during 75-Across 19. Flotsam or Jetsam, Ursula’s minions 23. “... live and _____ live,” Circle of Life lyric 24. What a car does at an octagon 27. Organization concerned with preserving access to 41-Down 29. Most of the country calls this pop or Coke 36. When repeated, an African biting fly 37. What you should get when you forget your lanyard 43. Zebra 44. *Actress Gardner, and the subject of the Turing test in Ex Machina 46. *”Mr. Owl _____ my metal worm.” 47. St. Peter, at the entrance to Heaven 51. Section of a hospital or prison 54. x0, regardless of x 57. That, in Tabasco and Tequila 59. Feature of a Dalmatian 65. Long rides at ski resorts 67. He has appeared in the most Marvel movies 70. Website that features video game walkthroughs 71. Hydrogen-1 is about 1 of these 76. *”Don’t _____” 77. One of six on a turducken
DOWN, SET 1 1. Pen _____ 2. Crossword seed covering 3. Actress Campbell of Scream 4. *”(68-Down), note, I dissent: A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on _____.” 5. 76er Horford 6. Swimming competition 18. Active volcano with an insurance company named after it 20. A time frame longer than 75-Across 24. Room for Rafael o Regina 29. One broke the camel’s back 30. Language found in Iran 31. Teams that win the coin toss in football usually do this 37. Nickname for a fast food staple 38. Wrestling floor 39. *Response to “Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam,” which like the other asterisked clues is similar but not identical to the rest of this puzzle’s answers 48. The final boss in Kratos’s first game 52. Archenemy of the Fantastic Four 55. Alternate spelling of the ark builder 57. Therefore 58. Estimates say there are about 1000 stars in the universe for every grain of this on Earth 60. One of these has two or three prongs 65. Man who was Dorothy’s friend 66. DC gangster Maroni who disfigured Harvey Dent 72. Taylor Swift, or All of John Legend
ACROSS, SET 2 7. Many a deodorant or hair product 10. Cheadle who plays War Machine 15. Actress Thurman, mother of Robin from Season 3 of Stranger Things 16. FBI system that supersedes fingerprinting 19. Flotsam or Jetsam, Ursula’s minions 21. Someone with a 4.0, probably 24. What a car does at an octagon 26. Suffix for sugars 28. Ambient musician Brian 32. Command for an artist or duelist 37. What you should get when you forget your lanyard 42. Airport letters, and a Greek letter 44. *Actress Gardner, and the subject of the Turing test in Ex Machina 45. If you ain’t agin it, you this 47. St. Peter, at the entrance to Heaven 50. Cornerstone abbr. 53. Troubles 56. Nickname for Schwarzenegger 59. Feature of a Dalmatian 62. _____ Aviv, the most populous city in Israel 67. He has appeared in the most Marvel movies 68. Enemy of what this puzzle would call “dog” (no, not like 59-Across) 73. Group that Don’t Bring Me Down 75. Mesozoic, e.g. 78. Cheese’s partner 79. 40 winks
DOWN, SET 2 7. Big _____, a 7-Eleven classic 8. Dorothy’s Auntie 9. What’s missing from the Golden Knights official team name 10. Twisted ladders or double helixes 11. Shrek, e.g. 12. Alternative to March Madness 20. A time frame longer than 75-Across 22. One of five in Inside Out 25. “Que _____ _____” 33. Filled the cat’s bowl again 34. Language found in Uganda and Kenya 35. Feature of a witch 39. *Response to “Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam,” which like the other asterisked clues is similar but not identical to the rest of this puzzle’s answers 40. Scottish hat 41. Slang for a biceps 49. “_____, poor Yorick!” 53. Feed the kitty (no, not like 33-Down) 55. Alternate spelling of the ark builder 61. Abound 63. *”Never odd or _____.” 64. Euro predecessor 68. *”_____, note, I dissent: A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on (4-Down).” 69. Swimming length 74. This state is positioned about where this answer is
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Prep News
SLUH CHRISTMAS
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
Freshman Nick George rocking his Christmas sweater.
A Christmas tree made of books in the library.
A Christmas tree.
Mr. Wehner’s Pope Francis cutout with a festive hat.
Seniors Peter Michalski and Miguel Cadiz showing off their outfits.
Photos by Luke Duffy, Miguel Cadiz, and Jonel Olar Freshman Patrick Brennan flexing his sweet sweater.
December 13, 2019
SLUH CHRISTMAS
Prep News
AMDG
Thomas Bock smiling in his smiling sweater.
Volume 84, Issue 14
Senior PJ Butler putting the finishing touches on the STUCO gingerbread.
A Christmas tree in Mr. Wehner’s room.
The Christmas tree in the Commons.
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A festive wreath in Mr. Wehner’s room.
Seniors selling pretzels during activity period.
Students participating in the “snowball” fight.
A Buddy the Elf cutout in the STUCO room window. Freshmen in their Christmas sweaters.
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NEWS
Prep News
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
From Santa to Snowballs: STUCO serves up Christmas spirit in 12 Days
Seniors Ben Witte and Austin Brush tinker their gingerbread masterpiece.
(continued from page 1)
Mueller. Simple events like playing Christmas music over the intercom during passing periods and inviting students to wear ugly holiday sweaters gave STUCO the chance to subtly insert the Christmas season into students’ lives in a fun way that allows everyone to participate in the festivities without forfeiting their free time. “I like it when the holi-
day spirit at SLUH tingles my senses,” said freshman Michael Niklawski. “I saw the faces of my peers light up like lights on a Christmas tree.” The attraction of week one was no doubt the Chris’s Cakes feast hosted before school began on the Wednesday late start. One hundred nineteen emptystomached Jr. Bills in total made their way to the Si Commons to fill their tummies with breakfast food
and set aside the middle-ofthe-week blues. In the same vein of family Christmas Day games and competitions, gingerbread house making took place last Friday as the engaging activity of the week. After a tense battle, switchboard receptionist Mimi Hartung voted in favor of the seniors, aided by STUCO members, for the win. “The gingerbread house contest was fun,” said
photo | Miguel Cadiz
STUCO President PJ Butler. “It was one of the major activity period events we planned, so we were hoping to get a good draw. STUCO got in on the action, and honestly, that was the biggest circus because whenever Victor Stefanescu gets involved in decorating something, it is bound to be a disaster. But Mrs. Hartung ultimately handed the victory to the seniors who deserved it.” The second week of
Through Adopt-A-Family, SLUH strengthens its own as well as the greater STL community
12 Days began Monday, which was headlined by picture taking with the lovable Head of Security Dan Schulte dressed as jolly old Saint Nick. Schulte’s Santa followed in the family line of taking on the larger than life holiday persona at SLUH. “(Schulte’s) dad was Santa for a really, really long time and would do similar things when he was here,” said Mueller. “So Mr. Schulte doing that was great.” Letter writing on Tuesday had a wider impact on the St. Louis community, as students wanting to spread holiday cheer to patients, doctors, and nurses at Children’s Hospital wrote thoughtful notes to those in most need of uplifting. Head Food Service consultant Kathy Hylla provided mouth-watering sugar cookies under a last minute request to incentivize students to help the cause. “Christmas is just as important to (those at Children’s) as it is to us, so we felt that this was an especially needy case to send help towards,” said Butler. Yesterday was the snowball fight dodgeball game where athletes pelted one another snowball fightstyle until the seniors found victory in the flurry of competition. “(Dodgeball) was fun, it was juniors versus se-
Band program displays its skill, excels among talented musicians at State Band auditions (continued from page 1)
Boxes and containers of donations for the Adopt-a-Family Drive.
(continued from page 1)
gloves. Children 12 and under received toys or games while everyone over 18 received a gift card of their choice. This year’s drive did come with some changes, most notably the number of families adopted by SLUH. The 30 families and 121 individuals adopted by SLUH is a significant decrease from the 56 and 228 from last year. Campus Ministry instead placed more attention this year on helping the families within the SLUH community that are strug-
gling. “We lessened the families from St. Francis because we didn’t want to ask for more; we wanted to spread it over all the kids. That was a big difference,” said O’Malley. “We’re realizing the need within our community and trying to help them with their Christmas as well to try and make it a little brighter.” According to O’Malley, the drive raised roughly $20,000 in gift cards and cash, which will be distributed to families from St. Francis and SLUH alike. The logistical aspect of
photo | Miguel Cadiz
the drive stayed the same as in years past. Each homeroom accounted for a family—in some cases homerooms were split up because of the decrease in the number of families. For organizational purposes, the increase in gift card totals and decrease in the number of families was beneficial. “There hasn’t been the usual whirlwind stress of things, we’ve had a couple mornings where we were really busy but it’s felt a lot more organized. And maybe that’s because we got more gift cards, but this has been a lot easier to do be-
cause there’s less families,” said O’Malley. Students and mothers volunteered their free time to wrap the gifts this past week, and today after school volunteers will transport all the donations from SLUH to the AdoptA-Family headquarters at St. Francis Community Services Southside. “It’s just a great way to help. I think it’s a great way for everybody at SLUH, in any way that they can, to care for other people, and there’s a lot of ways to do that,” said O’Malley. “It went very, very well this year.”
niors, which made it a good battle,” said STUCO secretary Irfaun Karim, who won the game for the seniors with the winning pelt. “The other seniors and I pinned the junior in the corner, and boom-shocka-locka, it was over.” Today, 12 Days inside the school will conclude with a student favorite: the annual NHS Teacher Karaoke. Donations collected at the event will be sent to Variety, the Children’s Charity of St. Louis on behalf of freshman class vice president Nick George and to Knockout ALD on behalf of freshman Nick Purschke. Later tonight, the Cocoa and Cookies Tailgate before the Hockey game against CBC will formally wrap up all of the events planned for the STUCO holiday program with the hope of drawing a large crowd to come together as a merry community over steaming hot cocoa and ice cold hockey. As for the impact 12 Days of Christmas has had on the student body, STUCO has received a great response from freshman students experiencing the SLUH holiday swing for the first time. “Being a SLUH student, 12 Days of Christmas really gives you something to look forward to each day,” said freshman Grant Vehlewald.
but only 12 spots were given. Unseth’s earning one of those spots is no doubt an accomplishment. “Alex plays at such a high level no matter how easy or difficult the music is,” said band director Jeff Pottinger. “He is a leader through his actions.” Although Unseth crushed his audition, he wasn’t the only one in the spotlight this weekend. Van Bree also demonstrated a great depth of skill in the midst of strong competition. Like the cello auditions, the piccolo auditions were also very competitive. Van Bree was one of 40 piccolo players who auditioned for one of two spots on the orchestra. Unlike many instrument auditions—composed of primary auditions and then callbacks—there is only one audition for the piccolo. “It was very stressful,” said Van Bree. “You walk into the room. It’s four judges sitting down and you are alone. There’s a room monitor behind you and you are told to play songs.” Although Van Bree did not get a spot in the band, he placed fourth overall.
“I think Bryce played really well,” said Pottinger. “Especially on his etudes, he let his musicality show.” Juniors Michael Krauz, Brendan Carr, Andrei Chura, Noah Apprill-Sokol, and sophomore Joseph Pottinger were some of the other Jr. Bill musicians who auditioned for the State Band along with Van Bree. They all considered the weekend a great learning experience and encouragement to work harder. “Hearing all of the other musicians playing so well inspired me to work and practice harder,” said Krausz. “I really want to make the group next year.” With its connection to the Jesuit principle of the magis, Pottinger reflected on the weekend, his musician’s success, and the gift of music. “We have been given the gift of music by God,” said Pottinger. “We are called to give, share, and use the gift, to do more with our talents. I think these students are trying to do more with their musical talents.” Unseth will be performing in the orchestra during the MMEA conference in late January.
NEWS
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Prep News Volume 84, Issue 14
With completion of Canvas courses, students allowed to pursue personal projects with the help of machines in iLab (continued from page 1)
ipated tools and machines living in the space. The Innovation Lab Certification course centers around safety. Through this course, students are first asked to complete a basic assessment on general lab safety and iLab rules. Then they can begin the certification process for individual machines. Canvas modules in the certification course are arranged by machine. After passing each Canvas quiz, students can schedule a practical assessment with Innovation lab director Jeff Schaefer science teacher Robyn Wellen, or theology teacher Jim Hubbman. After the in-person review, students are allowed to use any machine that they’ve been certified for. “We want to make sure that not only are people safe, but that the machines are safe,” said Schaefer. Currently two machines, the drill press and Glowforge laser, are available for quiz certification online. The iLab team hopes to have modules for all ma-
3-D printers in the Innovation Lab.
chines on Canvas by fourth quarter. Some machines are still being integrated into the iLab and will undergo testing and a quality check before safety protocols are formalized and students can
Hussung-run Shakespeare contest impresses for 18th year Four seniors compete in the school-wide contest (continued from page 1)
just thought, ‘it’ll be easy to find students who want to do this,’” said Hussung. “So there’s a sense in which it’s an expression of a culture that was here before the competition existed.” First place ultimately went to Normington, whose monologue as Edmund from King Lear won over the judges. Normington also won SLUH’s Poetry Out Loud competition just last week. “I was emotionally moved by his performance. There (was) some moment in that monologue in which it wasn’t just a high school actor saying, ‘I think I’ll make my voice loud now, won’t that be compelling?’,” said Hussung. “He was inside that character’s fury at the way the world sees him, and I was moved by his anger.” “The monologue is so filled with passion because he’s so upset that it’s easy to act out that passion,” said Normington, who is taking the Shakespeare elective. “I really enjoy Shakespeare … I’ve memorized a lot of Shakespeare before just out of personal interest. I think it’s great.” Second place went to Song, who performed a monologue as Prince Hal from Henry IV. Song shares
Normington’s love for Shakespeare and also sees value in its recitation. “I’m taking the senior elective Shakespeare class now and we work with Shakespeare’s language a lot. Sometimes in class we perform it out loud just to get a really good understanding of the language and the meaning behind it,” said Song. “Shakespeare is not written as something for you to read. It’s a script for a play; it’s meant to be acted out loud. I’ve always loved Shakespeare’s language and I feel like whenever I read Shakespeare it feels really good to read out loud and imagine that I’m the character.” Normington will go on to perform his King Lear monologue, as well as an additional sonnet, at the St. Louis regional competition at Fontbonne University on February 29, 2020. The competition is open to the public, and Hussung strongly encourages anyone in the SLUH community to come support Normington. “I know Andrew will work hard at preparing for the local competition, and I know he’ll represent us well,” said Hussung. “People should absolutely come see Andrew perform and cheer him on.”
photo | Jonel Olar
start using the machines. “It’s going to be ever evolving,” said Schaefer. “We have a lot of new equipment that isn’t fully onboarded yet. All of those machines will be coming online, and
we’re still planning future aspects of the shop.” There’s no limit on how many machines a student can become certified to use, and students can become certified on a certain ma-
Prep News Volume 84, Issue 14 Editor in Chief Johno “Another Sibling” Jackson News Editors Nicholas “TikTok Fame” Dalaviras Ben “Huskers in the Natty” Klevorn Sports Editors Blake “You ;)” Obert Jimmy “A Nice Long Hug” Stanley Visual Editor Jackson “Stand Arrow” DuCharme Staff Luke “A Winning Fantasy Team” Altier Mitchell “Fortnite 3 Announcement” Booher Carter “Delphine” Fortman Braden “NABRE” Kramer Peter “Imo’s Coupon” LaBarge Kyle “My Wife Back” McEnery Victor “A Big Hockey Crowd” Stefanescu Sam “Shrunken Head” Tarter Michael “Mariokart Kart” Trower
chine they hope to utilize for a specific project or all of them for no particular reason. The course promotes increased accessibility while being disruption free, encouraging students
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to engage with parts of the iLab they hope to utilize for targeted projects rather than require full knowledge of the whole space. “We’re hoping to really roll out the space for student use coming up in the spring,” said Wellen. Students can become certified for their personal agenda or for classroom projects, both of which are managed through a second Canvas course, Innovation Lab Projects. Teachers hoping to bring a class into the space are certified alongside their students in general lab safety and specific machinery they hope to use. The project proposal form allows for students to present personal projects that utilize iLab materials. At the moment, all personal projects are self-funded. Some materials, like 3D printer filament, can be acquired through SLUH, and others need to be self-provided. Integration without disruption to classrooms is a goal of the iLab team as they continue to expand access to the space.
Credits
“What do you want for Christmas?
Reporters Noah “Canadian Flag” Apprill-Sokol Fitz “Neti Pot” Cain Luke “Uggs” Duffy Jack “Fig Newtons” Figge Ben “The Tab Key” Gremaud Julien “Zipper Shirt” Jensen Nathan “Money” Rich Jack “Ear Wax Candle” Rybak Joe “Another Million” Studt Contributing Photographers Miguel “The Archetypal Sheep” Cadiz Mrs. Kathy “Chemicals” Chott John “Underwear” Hilker Jonel “Selfie Stick” Olar Contributing Artists Will “A Better Senior Advisor” Blaisdell Moderator Mr. Steve “World Peace” Missey
Staff Artist Bob “Passenger Door Locks” Devoll Nick “Bread Bowl” Koenig Harrison “A Haircut” Petty
“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder
After slip up against Chaminade, SLUH hockey Varsity wrestling exceeds expectations recovers with a 4-2 win over Kirkwood in Patriot Classic; Blake Obert and think it wasn’t a point where on goal. the game, and it became a Julien Jensen we wanted to give up. We On the other side of back and forth battle be- Lodholz returns BY
SPORTS EDITOR, REPORTER
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fter an unexpected and disappointing 1-1 tie against MCC rival Chaminade last Friday, the St. Louis U. High. hockey team bounced back a day later with a commanding 4-2 win over Kirkwood. The team’s record is now 6-1-2. SLUH’s offense came out hot against Chaminade, outshooting them 8-2 in the first period, but that had no effect on the scoreboard. However, SLUH used its momentum from the first to bury a goal in the second. The goal came after junior Matthew Warnecke handled a rebound in traffic and finished under pressure to give SLUH a 1-0 lead with 8:20 left in the second. “We kept trying to score on our chances and it just wasn’t working out for us. We knew we weren’t going to get a win by only scoring one goal, so tying that game was a big wake up call to us,” said senior captain Jack Hazelton. The pace and intensity from both teams seemed to pick up from there. Not even a minute after the goal, junior Gus Heithhaus got into a scuffle with a Chaminade player and put himself in the penalty box. The penalty turned out to be a costly one, as Chaminade put away their first goal of the game on the power play, tying the game at 1-1 with 6:28 left in the second. “(I went after) the Chaminade guy because he had previously broken someone’s arm, but it was definitely a penalty I shouldn’t have taken,” said Heithaus. “It sucked, but I
just wanted to get past it. Stuff happens.” SLUH led in shooting at the end of the second 1510, but once again couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities, which included another close call from Warnecke on a breakaway. Neither team found net for the rest of the game and SLUH left the building disappointed with the tie. “Not satisfied is the best way to describe our
John Loretta against Kirkwood.
mood after the Chaminade game,” said head coach Jack Behan. SLUH was hungry for a win after their second tie of the season, and they got what they were looking for against Kirkwood the next night with a 4-2 win at the Kirkwood Ice Rink. SLUH controlled the pace in the first period. Senior goalie Cole Jansky and the defense shut Kirkwood out, allowing just four shots
the ice, SLUH opened up the scoring. After missing their first few shots on goal, a cheeky goal from senior Tyler Lindhorst tickled the twine and earned him his first goal of the season halfway through the first. SLUH received a power play with five minutes left in the opening period after Kirkwood got called for cross checking, but none of SLUH’s four shots on net during the man advantage
photo | Jonel Olar
crossed the red line. “We were disappointed after we tied Chaminade. We’ve beat them twice already and we should’ve won again. We wanted to jump out the gate and get the lead early,” said Warnecke. Kirkwood gained some momentum following a minor penalty against Hazelton for holding in the opening minute of the second and used the opportunity to net their first goal. SLUH lost control of
tween the two teams. The Jr. Bills responded with sophomore Zach Petlansky’s third goal of the season—which came only three minutes after Kirkwood’s—to give SLUH the lead again. They held the lead for the next six minutes while still putting up shots on Kirkwood’s goal. Yet, Kirkwood found the chink in SLUH’s armored defense, striking with 4:29 left in the second to tie the game. The tie didn’t last very long though, as the Jr. Bills attacked quickly and with precision. They netted two more goals in rapid succession, one from Warnecke with 2:30 left in the second and the other from freshman Tyler Woodcock, who sniped in the finishing blow only 29 seconds later to extend SLUH’s lead to 4-2. The two rapid strikes seemed to suck the life out of the Kirkwood players, with the opposing team only putting up four shots on goal in the closing period, with none of them connecting with the back of the net. The game ended 4-2, with SLUH improving their record to 6-1-2. “We outshot Kirkwood 28-13. We were relentless and did do without several key players. Very impressive effort,” said Behan. The Jr. Bills, who are currently ranked second in the state, play possibly their most important game thus far against the number one ranked CBC Cadets tonight at Affton. The puck drops at 8:25 p.m.
Auggie Lodholz at the Patriot Classic.
Luke Altier STAFF
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fter losing to Oakville 39-33 and Windsor 4227, the St. Louis U. High varsity wrestling team bounced back last Saturday in the Patriot Classic. Despite the team placing 6th overall, the individual performances by the varsity wrestlers exceeded all expectations. The Patriot Classic Tournament, hosted by Parkway South, puts SLUH against teams like Parkway South, Lee’s Summit, Rockwood Summit, Potosi, Parkway West, and Poplar Bluff. “Friday and Saturday were great at the Parkway South Tournament, we had a lot of great individual performances, and I am really proud of the guys,” said
photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
head coach Rob Nahlik. “Conroy and Lodholz both pinned through their way through the tournament and won every game they wrestled.” Wrestling at 132 pounds, Leo Wagner placed fifth in the tournament and secured three wins on the day. “I was able to get three solid wins, including my final match, which I was happy with,” said Wagner. “I’m looking forward to a rematch with each of the two kids that beat me, which I hope I will get later in the season.” Both sophomores Jack Onder and junior Logan Neumann lost only one match in the tournament
continued on page 11
SLUH racquetball wins eighth Winter Rollout Tournament in a row BY Kyle McEnery STAFF
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he St. Louis U. High racquetball team fought against several different teams and players on the courts of Vetta Concord last weekend during the annual Winter Rollout Tournament. SLUH completely dominated the tournament, winning with a total of 945 points, beating the second place team CBC who only had 190 points. SLUH has won Winter Rollout every year since 2012, making this their eighth consecutive championship in a row. Winter Rollout started last Friday afternoon and went into Saturday evening, pitting all the players from the Missouri High School Racquetball Association league into different brackets. The tournament has 14 different brackets for different levels
of play styles, seven for boys and seven for girls. SLUH’s Nos. 1-4 seeds from both Varsity 1 and 2 played in the No. 1 bracket, while the Nos. 5, 6, and doubles players participated in the No. 2 bracket. “We faced some tough competition and it was not at all an easy win,” said coach Stephen Deves. “When you look at the point total of Winter Rollout, we look like we won pretty substantially, but if you watch every single game, it’s a battle. You got guys playing some really tough matches.” In the No. 1 bracket, No. 2 seed Andrew Porterfield (Sr.) came out as champion, defeating No. 4 seed Kyle Zoellner (Sr.) 11-8, 11-4. The match started off with a lot of back and forth action and dozens of sideouts, but as the match neared the end, Porterfield began to dominate.
“Kyle was a tough opponent,” said Porterfield. “But my serves and passes help me take control of the court. It was a lot of fun though, getting to play another SLUH guy in the finals.” Porterfield started off his journey by defeating Parkway West’s Adam Lancia 11-1, 11-1 and Lindbergh’s Nathan Ellmo 11-3, 11-1. Entering the quarterfinals, Porterfield faced tougher game play as he entered into a tiebreaker against De Smer’s Sam Prusaczyk— winning 11-6, 8-11, 11-4— leading into the semifinals match against Lafayette’s Will Sherman, which he won 11-7, 11-5. “Will definitely put up a tough fight,” said Porterfield. “We’ve played before and he’s a heck of a player, but in the end, I kept my shots really low and carried on into the finals
against Kyle.” “I think Andrew Porterfield just proved himself to be maybe the most consistent player on SLUH racquetball, just a solid player,” said Deves “He knows smart racquetball, knows how to play it, can execute it, knows how to adjust his game when it’s not working and it showed.” Before the finals match against Porterfield, Zoellner started off playing against Parkway West’s Rick Phung, winning 11-2, 11-6. Up next, he defeated Chaminade’s Adam Pendleton 11-1, 11-8, leading into the quarterfinals where he battled against De Smet’s Joe Hartrich. The long match went into a tie- breaker game and Zoellner came out on top 5-11, 11-0, 11-7. “Joe and I always have really competitive games and we have a lot of fun with it and
really respect each other,” said Zoellner. In the semifinals, Zoellner played against SLUH’s No. 1 seed Nick Schulze (Sr.) in an interesting match. As Schulze was feeling a little under the weather, he was not at the top of his game. “I didn’t have a lot of energy from being sick so I was not able to play my normal game,” said Schulze. “I was unable to pull off the Michael Jordan and play through the flu.” No. 5 seed Oliver Allen (Jr.) conquered the No. 2 bracket, defeating SLUH’s very own doubles teammate John Hilker (Sr.) 11-5, 11-2 in the semifinals. He went into the finals to battle against No. 6 seed Danny Juergens (Jr.), who had just come out of a long match against Parkway West’s Nio Hulen, which Juergens won 11-3,
7-11, 11-5. Allen kept the ball ridiculously low with immense speeds, taking control of the court as he defeated Juergens 11-2, 11-5. Part of what made Winter Rollout special this year was the large number of SLUH athetes playing against SLUH athletes. “It was nice that my last two games were against SLUH guys, so it was much more casual than against other schools,” said Allen. “It felt really cool to be playing a teammate in the finals,” said Juergens. “It made the game pretty low-pressure and really fun.” “I think a lot of people walk away from this tournament either positive about what they did, or motivated to do better at the next tournament, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Deves.
Prep News
SPORTS
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Volume 84, Issue 14
11
Wrestling thrives in individual Despite strong play in first half, basketball falls to top-ranked CBC performances at Parkway South; JV and Varsity bring home hardware Jimmy Stanley and Michael Trower
SPORTS EDITOR AND STAFF
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he St. Louis U. High varsity basketball team travelled to CBC on Tuesday and lost 80-61 in its first MCC competition this season. The start of the game was very promising for SLUH, but they weren’t able to keep up with CBC. Early in the game, CBC came out with a full-court press to put pressure on sophomore
In the second quarter, SLUH and CBC were mostly knotted through the first five minutes. However, McClain found himself in foul trouble with two fouls early, forcing him to sit when SLUH was leading 29-28 with 3:30 left in the quarter. McClain’s presence was missed as SLUH was more prone to turnovers, allowing the game to turn in CBC’s favor. SLUH had eight turnovers in
Art | Bob Devoll
Jaden McClain and junior Freddie Cooper. From the start, SLUH rebounded aggressively on both sides of the court, securing seven boards in the first quarter including a put-back dunk by Cooper. SLUH also shot well from the field with a 54 percent field goal percentage. Sophomore Luke Johnston capped off the quarter with a four-point play for a lead 12-11 SLUH lead. SLUH finished the quarter leaving CBC stunned after freshman Aaron Walker Jr. buried a three with 19 seconds left in the quarter to put SLUH up 19-16. “I thought early we contained them, which is a tough deal to do,” said head coach Erwin Claggett. “I thought the guys did a good job overall.”
the quarter. “It kind of got away from us where we started to get careless with the ball and things opened up (for CBC),” said Claggett. Foul trouble for SLUH allowed CBC to get easy points on free throws which opened up the scoreboard even more. Shortly after, the energy in the building erupted after a CBC dunk off a SLUH turnover. The Cadets looked like a different team and started making seemingly every shot and playing lockdown defense for the final three minutes of the half. CBC went on a 21-3 run after the dunk, and scored 33 points in the second quarter, doubling their first quarter total. CBC led SLUH 49-32 at the half.
“The energy made us start to go too fast and we lost our composure,” said Claggett. “We just needed to stick to working hard and controlling the basketball.” As the second half began, SLUH was able to hang with CBC, but with a 20-point deficit to recover from, they looked lifeless and lost their first half spark. SLUH scored on 61 percent of their shots, but defensively they couldn’t stop the explosive CBC offense, and lost 81-60. CBC has one of the most talented rosters in St. Louis, including senior Caleb Love, a five-star recruit ranked number 18 in the nation according to ESPN’s 100 Basketball Recruits. Love is currently committed to play for the University of North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams, who was in attendance Tuesday night. Senior Demarcus Bond stepped up to the challenge of guarding Love and was able to keep him in check in the first half, allowing Love just 11 points. “It was really tough because of all the movement,” said Bond. “I thought I did a good job staying with him though and it showed.” “(CBC) is one of the best teams right now so it’s good that we were competing with them,” said Claggett. “We just got to focus on us, get back to basics and take care of the ball.” Next Friday Dec. 20, SLUH will face off against Vianney in the Silent Night Basketball game with many students to cheer them on.
(continued from page 10)
and won the first two on ously have a wrestler at 126. and put forth great perfor- Friday night,” said Flack. “I “I’m filling a new mances. Onder, wrestling in came out strong on Satur- weight class for the team at the 152 pound weight class, day, and I pinned two guys.” 126 because for the tournawent 6-1 in the tournament, Lastly, senior and team ments and meets we play in but lost in the champion- captain Auggie Lodholz we’re going to need as many ship for his weight class. He (160) made his official weight classes as we can to left the tournament with a comeback from his ACL get filled and on the mats,” second place medal. tear last year, pinning his said Coovert. Another JV standout Neumann, wrestling at way through the tourna170, lost his first match to ment and finishing first in from this tournament was sophomore Caden Owens, a tough opponent who took his weight class. eighth in state last year, but “I think after my injury who took first at 182. The Jr. Bills took their bounced back to win his last last year I underestimated five matches and place third myself coming into these tournament performance in the tournament at 170. matches this year,” said and got ready for a match “It was a dogfight, and it Lodholz. “I think it’s nice earlier this Wednesday happens. It was pretty much because after being gone against a tough St. Claire’s both us dying and trying to for a year I’ve gotten some school. “We need to improve keep fighting in the third wins that I wasn’t expecting (period),” said Neumann. “I to get.” on what we’re doing on got mad because I lost my After losing in week the mat,” said Nahlik. “Top first match, but it ended up one at the varsity level, and bottom position have going well after that.” junior Will Coovert was some signifigant room for Junior Bobby Conroy moved to JV for the week, improvement in those po(182) placed first, going and won first place in the sitions and hopefully they undefeated in his string of JV tournament, dominating show in time.” Against St. Claire’s, the matches. He pinned his way at 132, a class up from his through the tournament, normal 126. Coovert’s only team had balanced results. and showed a dominant and loss came against someone Neumann (170), Conroy experienced presence on two weight classes above (182), and Onder (152), all the mats. him. After the tournament, pinned their opponents. Although his recent re- Coovert dropped back to However, despite the indisults were great, Conroy’s 126, which is going to help vidual success, the team lost determination to reach as the team did not previ- 52-30. State this year is incredibly high, so he’s focused on keeping his head down and grind the season out. “My tournament wins mean nothing until I get to State and place, but it still felt great to get back out there,” said Conroy. “I was working in the offseason a lot to keep the pace and abilities strong, and it felt good to have what I had at the end of last year.” Senior Kevin Flack recovered from his first loss School in Gilman, Ill. of the season at Hazelwood “It was a very close West, to win first place at match,” said head coach 195. Junior Logan Neumann at Patriot Classic. Will Bresnahan. “It was a “I had four solid wins, photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott good experience for the younger shooters who went.” With the top team putting up competitive scores, B Team Basketball (2-1) the match was remark12/9-Francis Howell ably close. It also provided B Hockey (1-2) North(Northwest Tournament) a baseline for where the 12/8Webster SLUH 23 23 46 shooters stand on scores. The two freshmen also got SLUH 1023 Francis Howell 21 15 36 a chance to shoot at their Webster 2 3 0 5 Jack: 17 pts first away match and gained Goals: Matt Hempstead, some great experience. The US Army Qualifier Matt Windler, Troy Pugh 12/10-St. Charles West(Northwest match will be the first home Tournament) match with all precision and SLUH 20 26 46 freshman shooters. With all players competing for the St. Charles 10 15 25 top spots, the team is exJack Christanell: 11 pts cited to see where it stands among other schools.
Freshman Rifle gains experience in loss BY Jack Rybak REPORTER
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he St. Louis U. High freshman rifle team had its first match last Wednesday, Dec 4. The team went up against Heritage Christian Academy and put up some competitive scores. Freshman Austin Wald held the top score with an impressive score of 94 in the prone position. “The first freshman match went well. I think all the guys learned a lot from the experience of their first competition,” said assistant coach Hayden Steingruby. “That learning has been beneficial to the whole team.” “I felt like our hard work at practices definitely showed in our scores
even though Heritage got the best of us,” said Wald. “Overall, we did great, especially for our first match, and we have a lot to look forward to as a team.” After the match against Heritage, the team now has a clear idea on what they need to work on. They have a plan in place and are excited for the upcoming match. The freshman team is still practicing and improving every day. Future matches prove to be interesting with the new gear and coaching staff. In addition to the freshman match, four precision rifle shooters and two freshman sporter shooters attended the Raider Classic at Iroquois West High
TODAY. BE THERE. 8:25 P.M.
TAILGATE AT 7:30
Underclassman Briefs
JV Hockey White (2-5) 12/8- Seckman SLUH 0101 Seckman 0033 Goals: Niko Nadreau
C Team White Basketball (1-2) 12/5-Lutheran St. Charles (Liberty Tournament) SLUH 7 17 24 St. Charles 11 17 28 Ken Klaid: 8 pts, 9 rebounds 12/6-Timberland (Liberty Tournament) SLUH 7 15 22 Timberland 22 17 39 Garret Shearer: 6 pts, 5 rebounds
12
Prep News
MERRY FORTNITE
Volume 84, Issue 14
SLUH Chorus & Dance Concert
December 13, 2019 AMDG
Calendar Friday, December 13 Adopt-A-Family Delivery
Regular Schedule
AP Snack—Bosco Sticks Lunch Special—Country Fried Steak, BBQ Rib, Steak and Cheese Vegetarian—Olive Oil Pasta NHS Faculty Karaoke 8:25PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs. CBC
Saturday, December 14 Freshman Rifle/US Army Qualifier Varsity Rifle/US Army Qualifier Faculty Christmas Party
Sunday, December 15 Varsity Rifle/Int. Air Jr. Olympics 8:00PM SLUH JV White Ice Hockey vs Lafayette 9:15PM SLUH JV Blue Ice Hockey vs Lindbergh
Monday, December 16
Half-Day Schedule
3:30PM JV1-2 Racquetball vs Chaminade B 3:30PM JV2-2 Racquetball vs Chaminade A
Tuesday, December 17
Exam Schedule
Science Exams English Exams
Wednesday, December 18
Exam Schedule
Theology Exams Math Exams
Thursday, December 19
Exam Schedule
Billz II Men Foreign Language Exams Social Studies Exams Psychology Exams 4:00PM Basketball (C-Team Blue) vs DeSmet 5:30PM Basketball (C-Team White) vs MICDS 7:00PM Basketball (B-Team) vs MICDS
Friday, December 20
No Classes 3:00PM Basketball (C-Team White) vs Vianney 4:30PM Basketball (C-Team Blue) vs Vianney 6:00PM Basketball (B-Team) vs Vianney 7:30PM Basketball (V) vs Viannney - Silent Night 10:05 SLUH Varssity Ice Hockey vs Priory
Saturday, December 21
3:30PM JV1-1 Racquetball vs Lindbergh 4:00PM Webster Shootout (V Basketball) vs. Thea Bowman (IN) 9:40PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs Ft. Zumwalt South
Sunday, December 22
8:00PM SLUH JV Blue Ice Hockey vs CBC 8:00PM SLUH JV White Ice Hockey vs Rockwood Summit
Tuesday, December 24
9:00AM Freshman Rifle/Alumni Match 9:00AM Varsity Rifle/Alumni Match
Thursday, December 26 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Freshman dance class dancing. Members of the Acapella Club singing. Circus Club members juggling. Members of the Freshman Choir singing. Freshman Max Adelman singing. Junior Alex Bollini performing. All photos by Mrs. Kathy Chott.
SLUH Legends of Winter Roundball Classic Tournament Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team Blue) Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team White)
Friday, December 27 SLUH Legends of Winter Roundball Classic Tournament Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team Blue) Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team White)
Saturday, December 28 SLUH Legends of Winter Roundball Classic Tournament Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team Blue) Cardinal Ritter Basketball Tournament (C-Team White)
Sunday December 29 SLUH Legends of Winter Roundball Classic Tournament 8:00PM SLUH JV Blue Ice Hockey vs SLUH JV White 8:00PM SLUH JV White Ice Hockey vs SLUH JV Blue
Sunday, December 30 11:00AM M/C Class of 2019 Lunch 8:40PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs Lafayette
Wednesday, January 1 8:45PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs CBC
Friday, January 3 @ Vianney Wrestling Tournament (JV/V) 2:30PM @ CBC Basketball (C-Team White) 4:00PM Basketball (C-Team Blue) vs CBC 8:25PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs Vianney
Saturday, January 4
Varsity Rifle/Int. Air Jr. Olympics 8:00AM HSPT 3:10PM Ice Hockey (B Team) vs Parkway South 8:00PM SLUH Varsity Ice Hockey vs Chaminade
Sunday, January 5 7:15PM SLUH JV Blue Ice Hockey vs Fort Zumwalt West 8:00PM SLUH JV White Ice Hockey vs Chaminade
calendar | Carter Fortman