Heard in the Halls - February 2018
February 14, 2018
Welcome to Heard in the Halls!
We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.
ATHLETICS | BAND | COUNSELING | JROTC | THEATER
ATHLETICS
2018 Spring Parent/Athlete Meetings
February 26 - Baseball and Softball at 6 p.m.
February 26 - Boys Tennis at 6 p.m.
February 26 - Boys Golf at 6 p.m.
February 27 - Girls / Boys Track & Field at 6 p.m.
March 12 - Boys / Girls Lacrosse at 6 p.m.
March 12 - Girls Golf at 6 p.m.
All meetings will be held in the Joe Mauer Field House.
Football
Congratulations to the Cretin-Derham Hall student-athletes who signed on National Signing Day.
Girls Basketball
By Joe Lynch, Head Coach
The Girls Basketball Team is enjoying a very successful season so far. The Raiders are in first place in the tough Suburban East Conference and 15-3 overall. We have had a tremendous roller coaster of emotions with a game the day after the death of Assistant Athletic Director Kelley Hood, a thrilling victory over Stillwater, and a one-point win over Roseville on February 6. The team has been ranked in the Top Ten Class AAAA teams all season and is looking forward to a great end to the season and a possible State Tournament appearance.
Seniors Elizabeth Edinger, Autam Mendez, Haley Moore, Justyna Butler and Chan'el Anderson-Manning having been leading the way as captains and contribute points, defense and energy for the team. They are joined by juniors Frannie Hottinger, as the leading scorer, Paige Goaley, and Allie Reding. Sophomore Sydney Jackson provides a great spark and plays gritty in-your-face defense, which gets the team fired up.
We hope you can catch a regular season game and come watch us in the Sections playoffs, which start February 28. Be sure to check the Athletic Calendar for game times and locations. Thank you for your support of CDH Girls Basketball.
Boys Hockey
By Jim O’Neill’74, Head Coach
The Boys Raider hockey team continues to lead the SEC with an undefeated conference record. With only three games remaining, the pucksters can clinch a conference championship with victories versus Roseville, Stillwater, and Park. Currently, with a 18-3-1 record, the Raiders are ranked fifth in the overall state polls and look to be the number two seed in Section 6 with top-ranked Edina being number one. Leading the team in scoring all year has been sophomore Matthew Gleason, with junior Danny Magnuson leading the defense. The playoffs are an exciting time and the Raiders hope to make a deep run and get to State.
Girls Hockey
By Brooke White-Lancette, Head Coach
The team continues to strive to build strength through team unity." The 2018 season consisted of the Girls Hockey team relying on their strengths of speed, great puck possession, team depth, and sheer grit. The Raiders had one of their best showings against #4 ranked Hill Murray, with a dead lock of 1-1 at the end of the third period. In overtime, both teams were evenly matched. With one minute left in the overtime, the Raiders took a penalty and the game ended with a 2-1 win for Hill-Murray. The Raiders’ tenacity proved to be a success in our book.
The Raiders depth and tenacity rose to the top again when the Raiders took on White Bear Lake, which was a highly anticipated match-up. With White Bear having two U18 USA National Team players on their squad, this would pose as a challenge for any opposing team. The Raiders were prepared for the challenge and knew through taking care of their defensive zone, taking away time and space, being aggressive, getting pucks and traffic in front of Cala Frank, along with using our speed, would equal success. CDH had a convincing 4-1 win in their first match-up and a 1-1 tie in their second match-up. Visit the Hockey Hub to read the write-up on the game vs. Forest Lake.
Wrestling
By Daniel Willaert, Head Coach
The Wrestling Team hosted the annual Michael Carlson Memorial Duals on February 3, 2018. The tournament is named after Michael Carlson’00, who died serving our country in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
This year's tournament was the largest and most competitive yet, with 12 teams competing on six mats in addition to junior varsity brackets. There were four teams in the state rankings and over 30 individuals who were ranked in the most recent poll.
National powerhouse Apple Valley took home the team title. Michael's parents were in attendance and presented the trophy to the Eagles after the finals.
The Raiders begin their post-season run by hosting the 3AAA Team Section Championships on Friday, February 16. Coming up are the 3AAA Individual Section Championships at East Ridge on February 23 and 24. Senior Javen Guzik-McNeil (132 pounds) and junior Danny Vrtis (113 pounds) are likely to be the Raiders that start the tournament with the highest seeds at their weight classes. The top team and the top two individuals qualify for the State Tournament at Xcel Energy Center, March 1-3.
The Raiders Varsity squad has just learned that they will be recognized an All-State Gold Academic Award. Click here for the full story.
BAND
By Donna Novey, Band Director
Ten CDH students were recognized at the 31st annual Suburban East Conference (SEC) Music Festival, held January 29, 2018, at Stillwater Area High School. Click here to learn more about the festival.
The Pep Band season ended on February 3 with the ninth pep band event of the trimester. Additional events will depend on post-season opportunities for the hockey and basketball teams (both girls and boys), some of which will go into the third trimester.
By the time this issue of Communicator is published, about 20 band members will have attended the 4AA Solo/Ensemble Contest at Tartan on February 10. Results of that event will be published in the next issue. Other band members are slated to attend in late April.
Upcoming events include the Winter Concert on Wednesday, February 21, at 7 p.m. in the Griep Family Gym. It will include the SEC pieces as well as several that will be played on the upcoming band trip to Orlando, Florida! The trip will take place March 2-6, 2018. Stay tuned for the report on a great, warm-weather trip!
Spotlight on the junior band members who form a small but active contingent of the band program as they prepare to assume leadership after the seniors graduate. The group instrumentation consists of one flute, one clarinet, two violins, one alto sax, two trumpets, one French horn, one trombone, one string bass (and tenor sax) and two percussions; a well-balanced group in itself! They may not know it, but they are ready. Some have already started working on plans and ideas for next year!
Counseling
by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor
Parents/Guardians of Junior Students:
A reminder to please schedule a family appointment for post-high planning with your student and his or her college counselor. An email message via Naviance was sent to you with a link to your counselor’s appointment schedule on SignUpGenius. Please check your email (spam folder too) for this message from Naviance and be sure to schedule your appointment as soon as possible.
Please remind your student to complete his or her “Junior Meeting Questionnaire” on Naviance prior to your meeting. Gather your questions and we look forward to seeing you. Please contact Connie Reding in the guidance office at 651-696-3312 if you need assistance.
The April ACT test will be given on Saturday, April 14, 2018. Register for the test online at www.act.org by March 9. We recommend that students sign up to take the “optional” writing portion of the ACT at least once. The CDH School Code is 242-245. Questions? Call Katie Shead at 651-696-3323.
Please mark your calendars for the CDH Education Fair on Monday, April 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Over 100 colleges and universities will be here to answer your questions and distribute information. Save time by pre-registering for a barcode at www.gotocollegefairs.com. With a barcode, your contact information can be scanned instead of having to fill out individual prospect cards at each table.
JROTC
by LTC Jamie Fischer, SGM David Berrisford, and MSG Ken Peloski
Cretin-Derham Hall hosted the 28th Annual Upper Midwest JROTC Challenge on February 9. Click here to read more about the Challenge.
Eighteen highly motivated members of the JROTC Raider Brigade traveled to a drill competition in Council Bluffs, IA, the last weekend in January. Click here to read more about the trip.
The Honor Guard continues to represent JROTC and CDH at many events. The dedicated students who give freely of their time are so appreciated by our CDH community. They recently supported the Wounded Warrior Amputee Football game at Concordia College in St. Paul. Click here to read more about the game.
Our Orienteering Team will be starting their preseason schedule on February 18. We have unlimited room for cadets on the team. This is a great sport that exercises your mind AND your body while enjoying the great outdoors.
Our Air Rifle Team will travel February 15-19 to Camp Perry, OH, to compete in the Eastern Regional Air Rifle competition. This is a competition that we needed to qualify for, which we did in November 2017. Five students will make this trip and in light of how they have been doing, we believe we will do well.
An exciting upcoming event is our Military Ball, which will be held on February 24 at Ideal Hall in St. Paul. This is a fun event where the cadets eat a great meal and dance the night away. This is a highly anticipated dance and we usually have 250-300 attendees.
Our seniors are beginning to receive nominations for the academies from members of Congress and our Senators. The window for College ROTC applications is closing for all three services. We should begin to hear more shortly about our other candidates. Juniors should be taking time to review the steps and begin their application process. If someone is considering enlisting in the military, please have them consult with us so we can make sure they have ALL the information. We are always willing to answer any questions that students or parents have about military service.
We have begun emailing the weekly lab announcements out to parents as another way to keep you informed. If you have not been receiving the emails and would like to, please provide your email address to the JROTC Department
THEATER
by Katie Kretizer, Theater Director
The winter season has been a busy one for the CDH Theater Department. Seven students traveled to New York City to immerse themselves with Broadway theater, the winter Black Box show has been diligently rehearsing for their opening this week, and the Lillian Theater 25-year reunion planning committee had their first official meeting.
The annual NYC Broadway trip was held January 31-February 4. Chris Hill and I joined seven students and we all took in five Broadway plays. Click here to read more about the trip.
Our winter Black Box play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is looking extremely beautiful. The 21-member cast has been working hard to tell the unique story of Christopher, a 15-year-old British boy who attempts to solve a neighborhood mystery. Based on the book by Mark Haddon, the main character has an exceptional brain. He is mathematically gifted but unable to interpret human emotions. Although never stated in the book or the play, Christopher (most likely) is on the autism spectrum.
The Black Box theater provides the perfect setting for staging The Curious Incident. Our goal is to try to immerse the audience with similar feelings that the main character experiences. It is a gift to see the world in a different way and we hope audiences will come away with that understanding. Click here to purchase your tickets.
Next year marks the Lillian Theater's 25th Anniversary and we are planning a series of celebrations. The first planning committee met on January 28. Ideas were shared, memories noted, and laughs were abundant. Planning Committee Members include Ali Franklin Hourigan’04, CDH Theater Director Katie Kreitzer, Aaron Cook’00, CDH Theater Assistant Chris Hill’01, Anne Romens’02, Elijah Heggernes’15, Charlie Clayton-Wilson’97, and Bob Galligan’06.
The kick-off event will be the Alumni Improv Show on Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m. This will be one of several events leading to our big reunion next January. ALL are welcome to attend!
See you at the Shows!