Heard in the Halls - March 2017
March 8, 2017
Welcome to Heard in the Halls. We encourage you to read all the current blogs, but you can also click on specific entries to quickly go to that section.
COLLEGE COUNSELING | JROTC | THEATER
ATHLETICS
Wrestling
Two CDH Wrestlers qualified for last week's MSHSL State Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
Senior Josh Goldberg qualified at 170 pounds. He pinned his first round opponent and then lost his quarterfinal match by pin. In the Consolation Round, Josh lost a hard fought match, 6-3, to a fine Maple Grove wrestler. Josh finished the season with an outstanding 29-7 record.
Senior Nick Neumann qualified in the 285 pound division. In the first round Nick lost a tough match to Brady Reigstad of Willmar by a close 5-1 decision. In the Consolation Round, Nick came up short on a close 3-2 lost to a Lakeville North wrestler. Nick finished the season with a stellar 26-11 record.
The Raiders were coached by Dan Willaert, and he looks forward to returning many young men to next year's very promising team.
Boys Swim and Dive
The Raider Boys Swim and Dive team qualified events for the State Meet held March 2-4 at the University of Minnesota Natatorium. As a team CDH finished in 29th place with 12 team points.
In the prelims, the 200 Medley Relay finished in 18th place, with a time of 1:39.31. The relay consisted of Ryan Auran (9), Nick Wahlstrom (12), Jack Van Meter (11) and Nathan Reinboldt (11).
The 200 Freestyle Relay qualified for the finals where they finished in 11th place in a time of 1:28.66 after swimming a 1:28.54 in the prelims. The team consisted of Tor Cox (10), Isaac Wahlstrom (10), Reinboldt, and Van Meter.
Auran also qualified for the 100 Backstroke where he finished in 21st place in a time of 54.01.
The final event that qualified was the 400 Freestyle Relay which finished 19th in a time of 3:18.23. This unit was Auran, Wahlstrom, Reinboldt and Van Meter.
Coach Mike Steineman led the Raiders this year to an outstanding season with a number of swimmers returning to next year's team.
Alpine Ski
by Carrie Freitag, Head Coach
CDH Alpine finished the season with a 7th place finish in the Suburban East conference for the boys' and girls' teams. Senior Camille Gannon took a spectacular fourth-place finish at the Section 4 Championships held at Wild Mountain and qualified for the state meet, with Junior Grace TerEick in 47th, leading the girls team to a 13th place finish. Senior Kole Najarian and Junior Danny Dolinsky, in 61st and 65th places respectively, led the boys to a 17th place finish in the section.
Girls Basketball
by Joe Lynch, Head Coach
The Girls Basketball team won a four-way share of first place in the tough Suburban East Conference. The team had some great games down the stretch and had some bounces go their way to enjoy this first place finish. It has been several years since the Girls Basketball program has finished first in the Conference.
As they headed to Section Playoffs, the team received the #3 Seed in the Section. The first Section game was Wednesday, March 1st at Cretin-Derham Hall, ending their season with a hard fought game against White Bear Lake. The team finished with a 16-9 overall record, 11-5 in the Conference.
Those contributing to this great season include: Junior Guard Elizabeth Edinger who averages 14 points per game and can really shoot the 3 point shot, Junior Guard Autam Mendez averaging 11.5 points per game, Junior Forward Haley Moore averaging 9 points per game and 8 rebounds per game, Junior Guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning, the great play making guard, and Sophomore Frannie Hottinger who is leading the team in scoring with an impressive average of15 points per game. Please come out and watch the Girls Team in action. They are exciting, fast paced and very talented.
Dance Team
by Ashlee Sampson, Head Coach
The Cretin-Derham Hall Dance team wrapped up the Winter Competition season with their best performance of the year at Section Finals. Although the season has come to an end, the dancers are already eager to get back on the dance floor. The dancers will be able to do just that as they begin a new spring program that is led by CDH Dance Team alumni and soon-to-be graduated seniors. It is an amazing opportunity for current and new dancers to continue to develop their skills while alumni have the opportunity to give back to a program that means so much to them.
The dance team is also looking forward to its second annual free Dancer Clinic, open to any current 5th-11th grade athletes looking to see what the dance team is all about. If you want more information about that event, please email cdhdt@c-dh.org.
ART
by Mary Steinson, Art Teacher
The following CDH students had work chosen for inclusion in the 60th Les Farrington Best 100 Juried Art Exhibition:
- Claire Minea with Plate and Cup #1, Plate and Cup #2, Plate and Cup #3, Plate and Cup #4 (ceramics portfolio)
- Gavin Reeder with Gaverick, Maverick, Raverick (ceramics portfolio)
- Isaac Nelson with Rock Climber (photo)
- Ashton Musielewicz with Monochrome Tricolor (drawing)
- Nathan Schmitz with Pot o' Gold (ceramics)
- Gabby Auth with Honeycomb (ceramics)
- Logan Defoe with My Room (lino print)
- Grace Altier with Brown and Artic (ceramics)
- Shawna Kast with No More Silence (photo)
The show opens Thursday evening at the AZ Gallery in downtown St. Paul and runs through March 25 - Hours: Thursdays and Fridays 5 - 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
BAND
by Donna Novey, Band Director
The Winter Concert was held on February 22 in the Lillian Theater and was a testament to the hard work and unity of all the band members! The Band Parent Board was also on hand to recruit new members, as many will be graduating next year. Feel free to contact the Band Office for more information (651-696-3314).
CDH Band Members attended 4AA Solo/Ensemble Contest at White Bear Lake South on February 25, bringing home 16 Superior Ratings. Top scores went to the following:
Lulu McMahon & Thea Gutzmann (Score: 38) - clarinet duet
Joe Seifert & Alex Christensen (Score: 39) - tenor sax duet
Mikey Jay & Ashton Musielewicz (Score: 39) - flute duet
Mikey Jay scored a perfect 40 on his flute solo!
Other band members earning Superior Ratings were:
Josie Baker
Nora Jolowski
Jack Chojnacki
Payton Meskan
Lynn Willems
Claire Connelly
Ryan Klein
Jack Calkins
Mary Grace Shearon
Katelyn Jaksha
David Jaksha
Danny Gendreau
Isaac Dietz
Upcoming Band Events:
April 4 - 4AA Large Group Contest at White Bear Lake North
May 17 - Spring Concert and Senior Recognition
by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor
Attention Juniors:
College Counseling Meetings with junior students and parents are underway. If you have not scheduled your appointment with your CDH College Counselor, please do so via the link to SignUp Genius sent to you via email or contact Mrs. Reding in the Counseling Office for assistance.
Exploring Majors & Careers is a brown bag lunch being offered in the CDH Commons during Junior Homeroom and Lunch on Thursday, March 23. Come get some ideas about how to think about these important decisions and learn about the career tools on Naviance. Passes will be available in the Counseling Office prior to the event.
The CDH Education Fair will be held Monday, April 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for junior students and their families. We will host over 100 colleges and universities that evening, which is a convenient way to make contact with admissions representatives and get your questions answered. A list of attending colleges will be available prior to the event. Hint: If you come to the fair with pre-printed labels of your contact information including your name, address, email and phone number you won’t have to spend time filling out contact cards with each college!
The registration deadline for the June 10 ACT test is May 5. Late registration (with additional fees) will be accepted until May 17, 2017. Register online at www.actstudent.org.
Mark your calendars for:
Minnesota Private College Week from June 26 to 30, 2017. All of the private colleges in Minnesota welcome prospective students and their families to campus during this week, offering both in morning and afternoon sessions. Iowa and Wisconsin host similar events. The Wisconsin Private College Week will be held July 10 to 15, 2017 and the Iowa Private College Week will be July 31 to August 4, 2017. Call colleges or go online in advance to register for visits.
Attention Seniors
Colleges will be sending you important information on admission, financial aid, housing, registration and orientation. BE SURE TO READ & RESPOND TO YOUR MAIL!! An enrollment deposit to the college of your choice is due by May 1st.
Thank your teachers for your letters of recommendation. Remember that CDH teachers write hundreds of letters of recommendation for students as they apply to colleges and universities - over and above all the other responsibilities they have as classroom teachers and coaches. Please take a minute to thank them for this very important work that they do on your behalf.
by David Berrisford, Sergeants Major, U.S. Army, Retired, Army Instructor
We continue to be very busy in the JROTC department.
On February 15, 2017, five members of the Air Rifle team traveled to Camp Perry, Ohio to compete in the regional JROTC Air Rifle Championships. This is an event in which the team must qualify to attend. Team members, Jack Calkins, Riley Domler, Jack Spencer, Johnathan Koop, and Bryce Vevey competed over the four day event and did very well. They finish in 14th place out of 20 Army JROTC schools. This was a tremendous improvement over last year. The improvement equated to moving up six places. In shooting sports, this type of improvement is phenomenal. I am happy to report they represented the CDH community in an exemplary fashion and we, as staff and a JROTC community, are very proud of them
Our Color Guard team continues to practice for various events. They, along with members of the Honor Guard will perform service at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the St. Paul Cathedral on March 17. Also, the Color Guard will continue to present the colors at various sporting events in which CDH competes.
Our Honor Guard just performed a service at the Retired NFL Players Alumni Gala held at the Minneapolis Hilton. This was a great event for the students because they are able to see and meet former professional athletes. Our honor guard continues to represent the CDH/JROTC community at both in school and community events as requested, to include alumni funerals. The dedicated students who give freely of their time are so appreciated by our CDH community.
Our Military Ball was postponed from February 24 to March 16, 2017. This postponement was due to the predicted severe snow event to occur on February 24. Well...the snow didn’t come, but in light of our taking every precaution to ensure students safety, we felt it was best to err on the side of safety. Because we have rescheduled the event, we have been able to accommodate a few more students attending due to the change and their availability.
Our Armed Precision Drill team is now in full practice for the Twilight Parade scheduled for May 10, 2017 at 6:00 pm. They will perform prior to the parade. We are hoping for great weather and we would like to invite the community to attend. This is the final formal JROTC event for the senior class and it is a wonderful evening to see the corps of cadets in all of their glory.
Orienteering has started their spring pre-season. On February 19, about a dozen JROTC Orienteering Team members competed at Afton State Park; they will again compete on March 29 at Lebanon Hills. The actual conference season will start on April 15 and we are anticipating a very successful season.
On March 14, the Flight Club will be afforded the opportunity to fly on an Air National Guard C-130 aircraft. They will have a pre-flight briefing, board the plane and fly to either Camp Ripley, Duluth or Moorhead and return. The flight is about two hours long and it will be an experience of a lifetime.
Our seniors are beginning to receive nominations from members of Congress and our Senators for the academies. The window for College ROTC applications has closed for all three services and we are beginning to hear results. We will announce everyone in May. 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.
by Katie Kreitzer, Theater Director
A recent article in PLAYBILL by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, author of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series, claimed that we are living in the new Golden Age of Musical Theater. The article states, “Somehow, when we weren’t looking, it became cool to be a musical theater fan.”
With Broadway musicals moving into movie theaters and winning Grammy Awards, and musicals being broadcasting live on television, it certainly feels like musical theater is thriving in the mainstream. A huge portion of this year's glorious golden status belong to the genius creator of CDH’s Spring Musical, In the Heights: Lin- Manuel Miranda. Miranda also wrote that little Broadway smash, Hamilton. Ever heard of it?
CDH was incredibly lucky to land the production rights to In the Heights and it has been the most exciting, challenging, and leading edge work that I have tackled. Never in my twenty-two years of directing high school theater have I had a cast AND crew that could sing along to all the songs without looking at the words during our first rehearsal.
Rehearsals are now in full swing. In the Heights, set in Washington Heights in New York City, takes place over three days during the hottest time of the year- the fourth of July. In the Hispanic community of Manhattan’s Washington Heights, the bodega owner, Usnavi, is in love with Vanessa, who works at the neighboring hair salon.
Because this show honors the Hispanic culture, the directing staff has worked hard to be sensitive about producing a play that is not a part of our dominant culture. Even though our rehearsals are just getting started, we have spent time as a cast (and will regularly spend a lot more hours), learning from our Hispanic students in our cast and crew. Every Thursday, cast members gather to discuss various aspects of the show and how the show is reflective in their own personal stories. Stories of assimilation, love and respect for parents and grandparents, Catholicism, dealing with stereotypes, celebration of food, and family loyalty were the dominant themes of our last meeting.
Personally, I learned more listening to students telling their stories than I did in all of my research for the show. When asked about high school students that were not of Latino background producing the show, Lin Manuel Miranda said this, “When I see a school production with not a lot of Latino students doing it, I know they're learning things about Latino culture that go beyond what they're fed in the media every day. They have to learn those things to play their parts correctly. And when I see a school with a huge Latino population do HEIGHTS, I feel a surge of pride that the students get to perform something that may have a sliver of resonance in their daily lives.”
I believe it is my job to make this an honest performance and to honor Miranda’s words. The only way that I can do the work justice is to allow students to participate in the process by sharing their own stories and teaching us their truth.
How does this musical differ from others? You will hear storytelling through hip hop/rap. You will hear modern language mixed with Spanish. You will hear current social and political issues such as gentrification. You will hear first accounts of how immigrants have to fight obstacles to live in the United States. And, you will also hear a heart-felt gorgeous testament of love and loss. You may not know the words to any of these songs, but you will feel the Golden Age of Musical Theater seeping through the songs and dances, and I think you will be proud to be part of this new era. Look for tickets online soon.