FEBRUARY 2017
LEARNING, FAITH & LEADERSHIP A Kennedy Catholic Lancer Publication
COMMUNI-K PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The Sermon that Keeps on Giving
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Mike Prato - President
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Gospel of St. Matthew 5: 3-10
My father died ten years ago. His passing caused my world to change drastically. My mentor and the person who set an example for me as a father and husband, soon became a memory. Not a religious man by nature, I wondered how to honor his life while at the same time inviting others in? I discovered the Beatitudes, and in researching their underlying meaning, learned it was Jesus’ intent for these pronouncements to offer the promise of salvation - not in this world, but in the next. Perfect. I set about putting the Sermon on the Mount into Lawrence John Prato’s 84 years of life. Recently, the Sunday Gospel reading featured those very same Beatitudes I contemplated years ago. I found myself drifting back to my reflections and wondered how the Beatitudes might guide me in my life. I soon came to realize the Holy Spirit was preparing me for another family loss. Last weekend, I went to visit my dad’s sole surviving sibling, who was hospitalized and in ICU. The conversation would be my last with him. He slipped into a coma an hour after I left and passed away a day later. My prayer for him and over him was a plea for God to favor him for living the Beatitude life – and an additional prayer of my own: “Pursuing holiness isn’t complicated. The Sermon on the Mount gave us a way to behave.” After all, my Uncle (Unk as I called him) lived it. continued on page 16 Kennedy Catholic High School
140S 140th Street, Burien WA 98168
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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE I was recently asked at a Principal’s meeting to share why I do what I do. The answer is pretty easy- I am responding to God’s call to “be a shepherd of the flock that God so willingly gave and take care of it willingly…(1 Peter 5:2)”. Being a Catholic School principal allows me to inspire our students to find their greatest potential, to mentor them in faith, and form them spiritually and to walk the journey with them. It allows me to help prepare them for their life beyond high school.
Nancy Bradish - Principal
As we celebrated Catholic Schools Week during January 29-February 3, it was an opportunity for us all to reflect on the importance of Catholic school education and the gift that we give our children.
During that week we celebrated our students, our staff, our families and our community. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to our families for their support of their student and of our school. Thank you to our staff who believe in all of our students and who help them cultivate their individual gifts. Thank you to our community for supporting Kennedy Catholic and Catholic education. And thank you to our students who inspire me every day. It is an honor to be a part of the Kennedy Catholic family!
IN THIS EDITION: President’s Message Principal’s Message In the News KATCH Auction Sports News Lancer Legacy Awards Class Reunions Catholic Schools Week 2017 Rosellini Scholarship Dinner
IN THE NEWS: Annual Crab Feed
News Articles and Press Releases
50th Anniversary Cereal Drive
Find all of the latest news on our website!
Senior Retreat Easter Egg Hunt Alumni Birthdays DECA Regional Conference Rotary Students of the Month Anatomy Project
Senior Service Butlers
Washington State Legislature Page School
Annual Report
Fine Art News
Alumni Class Pages
President’s Message Continued
Alumna Profile
Mother Son Dinner Dance
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2017 Spring Fever - KATCH It Invitations are in the mail! Please watch your mailbox for an invitation to Kennedy Catholic High School’s KATCH Auction gala. It’s easy to RSVP on-line:
RSVP NOW
Be sure to check out our on-line Auction – bidding starts February 17. There are over 200 awesome items including: Family vacations, restaurant gift cards, electronics, and much, much more! Click here to preview items now!
With your help, this year’s Fund-a-Need will support new classroom furniture. It is our goal to furnish as many rooms as possible. Plan to raise your paddle high! Thank you for your generous support! For more information visit our auction website or contact KATCH@kennedyhs.org
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SPORTS NEWS
5 Lancers Participate in National Letter of Intent Signing Day In a brief ceremony on February 1, we recognized five outstanding Lancer student-athletes who formally declared their intentions of participating in collegiate sports.
Trevor H., football: Montana Tech University
Grayson O., baseball: Whitworth University
Makenzie M., golf: Bellevue College
Darien S., lacrosse: University of Michigan
Jared T., football: University of Montana
Congratulations to each of these students, as well as their families, coaches and support system that helped them achieve at such a high level. Page 4
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McCluskey Returns to Alma Mater to Lead Boys Soccer Program Kennedy Catholic High School is excited to announce that Vincent McCluskey, a 2010 graduate of the school, has accepted the position of head boys soccer coach. McCluskey returns to Kennedy Catholic where as a multisport student-athlete he served as a contributor on the 2008 team that finished runner-up for the WIAA 3A title. Following graduation, he was a 4-year member of the men’s soccer program at University of Puget Sound, where he was named First Team All-Northwest Conference and All-West Region during his senior season. Since graduating from UPS with a BA in Psychology, he has been playing professional soccer, and is currently a member of the Tacoma Stars Indoor team that sits in 2nd place in the Pacific Division. “Simply put, Vince blew away the interview committee with his passion for the sport and the energy and enthusiasm in which he is prepared to lead,” shared Sam Reed, Athletic Director. “Vince will immediately serve as a role model for current and future Lancers, and I am confident that his playing and coaching experience has him ready to help our soccer program compete at the highest level.” McCluskey takes over for former head coach Teddy Mitalas, who held the position for the past nine seasons, but resigned this past fall and has since taken the head coaching job at Ingraham High School in Seattle. The Lancers inaugural season in the 4A NPSL is set to begin on February 27. Boys soccer practices and plays their home matches at the acclaimed Starfire Sports, which also serves as the administrative headquarters and official training facility of the Seattle Sounders FC & Sounders FC 2 (S2).
Kennedy Catholic Celebrates Winter Sports Seniors Another sports season, another chance to recognize and thank our senior student-athletes for all they have done for Kennedy Catholic High School and the teams and teammates they represent. Our winter sports senior student-athletes are: Boys Basketball: Emilio M., Matthew S., Ben G., Trevor H., Quinton M., Lincoln M., Keannu R., Jared T.
Girls Bowling Qualifies for District Tournament in First Season
Girls Basketball: Miyu M.
Congrats to our girls bowling team who, in their 1st season as a varsity sport, have qualified for the West Central District Tournament! The girls finished 3rd overall in the NPSL tournament, rolling some of their best scores of the season, which earned them another week of the season. High individual honors goes out to Shayla F.
Boys Swim: Nick B., Bill C,. Braeden K., Peter G., Ian O., New P. Wrestling: Robert T., Matt Y. Gymnastics (pictured l-r): Allison H., Delaney O., Emily H.
Congrats to Coach Woodcock and Coach Felix as well as the following girls, pictured left to right; Kacie M., Shayla F., Sydney E., Sarynn G., Mara D., Jordan H., and Kaley M. www.kennedyhs.org
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Lancer Legacy Awards The Lancer Legacy Awards event was truly a night to remember. Click here to view the program and photo gallery on our website, and then watch for our Lancer for Life magazine, published in June, for a recap of this incredible evening. This year of celebrating our 50th anniversary would not have been possible without all of you – our Lancer Family. Thank you for helping us celebrate our past, and inspire our future.
Attention Classes of 1977, 1997 and 2007! If you’re from the class of 1977, 1997 or 2007 and are interested in planning your reunion, we want to hear from you! Kennedy Catholic is here to support you in any way possible. Contact Rebecca Nuffer, Alumni Relations Manager, at nufferr@kennedyhs.org, or visit our website for more information: http://www.kennedyhs.org/alumni
Catholic Schools Week 2017 January 29 - February 4 During Catholic Schools week, we celebrate the Lancer Family. On Staff Appreciation Day we thanked the Kennedy Catholic staff for all they do. Students wrote letters of appreciation to their teachers, the school hosted a coffee cart for an early morning pick-me-up for staff and the ASB made sure the staff was well fed all day. On Community Appreciation Day we worked together as a school to “Stuff the Bus.” Students brought boxes of healthy cereal to the school, it was stuffed into our school bus and then donated to the White Center Food Bank and NW Harvest to meet their winter needs. A special thank you card was mailed to all of our neighbors and our partner schools received a special gift to acknowledge their support of Kennedy Catholic. On Family Appreciation Day we showed appreciation for all that you, our families, do to sacrifice for a Catholic education. All families were invited to celebrate Mass with the students and phone calls were made to offer a special thank you to those who support our school. On Student Appreciation Day students feasted on donuts and juice as a way to show our appreciation of our amazing students. They also received a 50th anniversary World’s Finest chocolate bar. On School Appreciation Day we say “Thank You” to our faculty, students, parents, and alumni for supporting our school and making Kennedy Catholic a better place. Students wore red, white and blue to show our love for Kennedy Catholic. Page 6
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Rosellini Scholarship Dinner Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday, January 29 for the annual Rosellini Scholarship dinner. This event, in honor of the former Governor of Washington, Albert Rosellini, raises scholarship funds for current Kennedy Catholic students who demonstrate leadership, faith and integrity in their school life. The event serves as an annual mini-reunion for many alumni. It’s truly a fun and festive night with the Sons of Italy preparing a hearty and memorable pasta dinner. The support and legacy of the Rosellini family, event planner Joe Faccone and all our guests and volunteers makes a Kennedy Catholic education possible for deserving students every year.
Senior Service Butlers
Coming Soon! Kennedy Catholic Alumni Class Pages
St. Vincent de Paul’s senior service butler auction brought in over $600 for 10 student scholarships in Cuernavaca, Mexico. This will help cover all their education-related expenses for one school year. The auction took place on January 27 during both lunches and butler service was on February 3.
As part of our ongoing commitment to enhance our school website and alumni communications, we invite you to join us in connecting with your Lancer classmates through new alumni Class Pages for our alumni community. Class Pages will offer our Lancer alumni the opportunity to share information and news, find classmates, update contact information, share photos, get connected to the school, socialize and easily email classmates all in one place. We hope this will be fun for you to use, and helpful in planning reunions and staying connected to the Lancer Family! You will be receiving an email with your login information later this month. If you would like to participate and join your class page, but do not receive the setup email, please contact Rebecca Nuffer, Alumni Relations Manager, at nufferr@kennedyhs.org or 206-957-9636.
Annual Report “By your fruit, you will be recognized.” Matthew 7:16 The Annual Report is available for viewing on our website. Faculty, staff, parents, grandparents, alumni and friends made gifts to Kennedy Catholic this past year through in-kind contributions, countless volunteer hours and monetary support. The 2016 Annual Report includes financial contributions made to the school from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016. Each and every gift is an affirming confirmation of support. www.kennedyhs.org
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Alumna Profile Just a few short weeks ago, Catie Pennie ’13 was sitting in her old seat in the Jim Paynton music room at Kennedy Catholic High School. That morning, along with the rest of the University of Portland Orchestra, Catie shared her musical talents with current students and faculty, performing several arrangements. Though she graduated several years ago, Catie still feels welcomed as part of the one-of-a-kind Lancer family. During her time at Kennedy Catholic, Catie was actively involved in music, athletics, and academics. She was constantly driven by her desire to be her best self, and pursued all of her interests. A talented athlete throughout her life, Catie was awarded the Carl J. Velling Student Athlete Award at Kennedy Catholic for her excellence in cross country and as a track captain. Today, she stays involved with running, finding time on the side to run marathons. As a Dean’s list student, varsity athlete, and talented musician at the University of Portland, Catie worked tirelessly to make the most of her college experience. Her athletic talent earned her a spot as a walk on to the varsity rowing team as a freshman, and she held the position all four years. On top of her athletic commitments, Catie will graduate this spring with her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, along with a double minor in Spanish and Music. After graduation, she will begin her career as a nurse.
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50-500-5000! In honor of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy Catholic, Lancers collected over 500 pounds of healthy cereal during Catholic Schools Week through their ‘stuff the bus’ project. Their generosity and support will provide 5000 breakfast meals to seniors in need in our community! The cereal was delivered to Northwest Harvest where many of our students volunteer through the Campus Ministry department. Ironically, Northwest Harvest is also celebrating their 50th anniversary this year--making the project even more of a cause for celebration. Congratulations Lancers! Your support of those less fortunate inspires us all.
www.kennedyhs.org
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2017 Senior Retreat On Saturday, January 28, we took 78 members of the senior class to Camp Sambica in Bellevue for a fun day away to reflect on three themes; where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going. This retreat was put together with the senior class officers in collaboration with campus ministry. There were some amazing highlights including Fr. Bryan celebrating mass to start the day, awesome reflections given by our seniors, open mic sessions where seniors shared from their heart, pizza, games, cool senior sunglasses, a lip sync battle, and great times had by all.
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Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday to our February Alumni! We wish you a wonderful year ahead. To make sure your name makes it into this section, head over to our Alumni page and fill in the form under “Help Us Update Our Records”. Click on the cake to see the February birthdays.
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DECA Students Compete in Regional Conference This year, Kennedy Catholic launched its own DECA chapter. DECA is an international organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe. DECA competition provides authentic learning situations related to current business practices. It supports students’ development of skills such as creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration, along with college and career readiness. Students study the principles of business in their selected field (marketing, finance, etc.) and take a rigorous exam. In competition, students participate in a role-play. They are given a written scenario to review and have ten minutes to develop a professional approach to solving the problem. Up to ten minutes are then allowed for the student to interact with a judge and demonstrate how he/she would solve the situation. The newly-formed DECA chapter has already found success in competition. Six Kennedy Catholic students participated in the regional competition against 650 students from 18 local schools. The results are below: Kennedy Catholic Student Results Nicole P. - 1st Place - Retail Merchandising and Marketing Luke C. - 2nd Place - Business Finance Amir M. - 6th Place - Business Finance Miguel G. - 6th Place - Human Resource Management Enrico V. - 10th Place - Business Services Marketing New P. - 17th Place - Sports and Entertainment Marketing
Congratulations to Nicole, Luke, Amir, and Miguel who will advance to the State Career and Development Conference in March!
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Rotary Students of the Month Each month the Burien White Center Rotary recognizes students who:
• Continuously provide service to the local community and/or in the community outside the school
• Maintain a positive attitude toward others and toward learning
• Act respectful to peers and teachers • Work to improve and/or maintain good grades
• Practice good citizenship • Actively participate in classroom discussions and activities
Congratulations to Alex P., Marla M., Robert B., and Lindasy M., (not pictured).
Anatomy Project The Anatomy project was inspired by the documentary Gleason, which covers a five-year period following retired NFL player (and Spokane native) Steve Gleason’s diagnosis with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Shortly after being diagnosed Steve and his wife Michel started Team Gleason, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide technology and experiences for those living with ALS, as well as to raise awareness for the disease.
Washington State Legislature Page School Kennedy Catholic sophomore, Zach B., was recently accepted to attend the Washington State Legislature Page School. For one week, he served at the Captitol in Olympia. Pages assist Senators and staff with their important legislative work.
Small groups of students selected a neurological disease to study, as well as an affiliated charity or research organization. Each group then created a presentation to educate their classmates about the disease and to encourage their peers to contribute to the organization they selected. Every student was given 1000 hypothetical dollars with which to donate. The most wellsupported charity in each class will receive a donation from Mrs. Bacher in the the names of the students who presented it to the class.
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FINE ARTS NEWS
Kennedy Catholic Charters International Thespian Society Membership Exciting news from the theatre program! Kennedy Catholic High School has now chartered membership in the International Thespian Society. This student led group will recognize achievement in theatre while presenting our thespians with opportunities to network with others and grow as artists. Founded in 1929, the society has grown to include over 3,900 schools and over 100,000 individual members worldwide. It is an honor society, and students are invited to join only after completing 100 hours of extracurricular work. Once in, they can advance in rank through continued participation and take leadership roles within the troupe. Members can also attend festivals, advance to compete in state and national competitions and win scholarships.
Camelot As Kennedy Catholic High School celebrates its 50th anniversary, it seems only fitting to produce the musical that is most strongly associated with John F. Kennedy, his work, and his legacy. Camelot is the story of King Arthur and his quest to transform his kingdom into something better. The play features such beloved songs as If Ever I would Leave You, How To Handle A Woman, and The Lusty Month Of May. Over 30 students are currently working together to tell a story that is big, charming, challenging, and timeless. We hope you’ll join us! Performances are March 16-18 at 7pm and March 19 at 2pm at Highline Performing Arts Center.
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Our new charter includes 12 members, and is led by co-presidents Caitlin S. and Connor M. We attended our first event on February 4 in Olympia, and look forward to growing membership and activity in the years to come!
Festival of Catholic School Choirs The 18th annual Festival of Catholic School Choirs took place on Monday, January 30 at Benaroya Hall. The Kennedy Catholic choirs combined to perform “Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down” by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory. In Act II, all 10 Catholic high schools combined, forming three choirs, under the direction of Professor Vijay Singh (Central WA University). The students worked hard and performed well. Special thanks to Lisa Holmberg, ASL teacher, for assisting us in our performance, as well as BSHARP and parent volunteers who helped make Sunday’s rehearsal a success. Seniors Helena D. and Steven T., along with sophomore Emily D. will be participating in the All-State/NW Honor choirs in Bellevue, WA over President’s Day weekend. Close to 3,000 students submitted recordings for this event and fewer than 25% were accepted. We are so proud of you! Choral students are actively preparing to compete in the regional Solo & Ensemble Contest, to be held at Hazen High School on Saturday, March 11. Good luck!
Kennedy Catholic Elementary Band Program Ninety wonderful young musicians have been selected to represent their school in the 2017 Honor Band. Rehearsals will begin at Kennedy Catholic in February.
For more fine arts news, see the BSHARP newsletter or like our Facebook page!
Catholic Schools Week provided performance opportunities for a few of the bands. St. Francis School Band at their Sunday Open House. St. Bernadette’s Grandparents Day and O.L.G. held their Winter Concert, February 1! www.kennedyhs.org
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CONTINUED Indeed the loss of my Father left a huge void in my life. My world turned to a place of loneliness and aridity, as it will for my aunt and their children and grandchildren as they mourn. Their shared legacy is the opportunity to live out the Beatitude life, the end time blessing, the example and reminder to each of us that in time our world will turn. Am I allowing God to work great things in me? Am I acknowledging the mercy shown to me as I show compassion to others? Am I allowing the very name of Jesus to work on my behalf or am I still trying to do this on my own? Using the Beatitudes as a guide, how would my spouse or children define my legacy? What is the legacy I leave for others? If you feel ready for reflection answer those questions for yourself. Pursuing holiness isn’t complicated. PS, this song, Canticle of the Turning, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyGh1MW2OM was played at Mass on my way to visit my uncle. The refrain helped me understand my grief in a special way. It provides us all with hope that in Christ, all things are possible. Though I am small, my God my all, you work great things in me. And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be. Your very name puts the proud to shame and to those who would for you yearn, You will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.
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