Heard in the Halls - September 2017

September 12, 2017

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 | CHOIR | GUIDANCE | JROTC | THEATER

Athletics

Cross-Country

Cretin-Derham Hall Boys' and Girls' Cross Country is off and running. We are looking for more people to join us.

The girls' team is long on experience:  seven of its ten members are seniors. They are a welcoming group of kids who are willing to share their experience with anyone who wants to join in the fun. It is never too late to take the first step towards positive and eye-opening experiences.

The boys' team is experiencing one of its biggest ninth grade classes in recent memory. They will be a group to watch in the future.

Senior captains Lucia Frias-Wackman, Lucy Grumbles, Drew Kampmeier, Sam Luhman, Molly Roberge, and Matt Voigt are continuing the tradition of positive leadership that has helped to make this a great team to join.

If you would like more information email Coach Chris Babcock.

Dance Performance

The 2017 CDH Fall Performance Dance season is well underway. They have two dances to learn this year and three home football performances. Captains Bella Tambornino and Maddy Smothers have been working extra hard to make sure the team is ready.

This season, the girls will be taking their dances to the Coon Rapids Dance Showcase on October 7. This opportunity allows them to see other high school dance teams outside of the competition season. The team has already shown a great amount of hard work and unity. They are sure to finish out the season strong!

Football

The 2017 Football captains are Matthew Cunningham, James Williams, Charlie Denis, Tommy Underwood, and Anthony Czech. The team is looking to build off of last year’s success and growth. The Raider's defense is strong, returning many players from last season. On the offensive side, the team has good size and a ton of potential because of some younger players.

Boys Soccer

The Boys Soccer team is 2-2-1 in the early part of the season. After losing 11 seniors last year, the team is learning how to play with and support one another. We have a lot of young talent on the team and are returning five starters from last season, including senior captain, Shiferaw Williamson who earned All-State First Team honors as a junior last season.

Our leading scorer from last season Matthew Gleason also returns along with junior captain, Jack McGrath, senior captain Jacob Walters, and senior Jack Kimlinger. With a combination of youth and experience, we hope to continue to compete and once again finish in the top three of the Suburban East Conference as well as advance to the section finals for the first time since 2004.

Girls Soccer

The Raider Girls Soccer program is entering the season with an engine powerfully driven by nine passionate seniors, with extra gears added by a promising flight of newcomers. CDH is excited to face previously top-ranked section challengers early in the schedule: Washburn, Hopkins, and Wayzata. This is perfect preparation for a rigorous conference schedule and a star-studded section. With senior captains Liz Wirt, Lizzie Edinger, and Maya Quigley, at the helm, the Raiders are aiming for the top in both!

Girls Tennis

The Girls Tennis team is filled with depth and experience. The roster is made up of eleven seniors and two juniors, most who have at least one year of varsity experience. The team features five talented singles players in Maria Bedford, Anna Klein, Kaitlin Wilhoit, Paige Ernst, and Celie Bachman. The doubles teams include Claire McMahon/Madeline Marzolf, CJ Robinson/Jordy Sundt, Grace Altier/Julia Schneider and Aliah Lopez/Yana Houge. The team expects to be competitive in each match this year, considering the improvement made over the past year and the results to this point have been just that.

The matches are very exciting and the level of play is high, so the girls encourage people to come out and watch a match or two.

Volleyball

The Girls Volleyball program is excited to begin this season under the direction of new varsity coach, Ellen Schafer'10. Schafer brings a lot of high energy and passion to the court, which reflects in her players' performances. We have two returning starters this year, led by senior setter and captain Grace Anetipa. We are excited for this new team to work together and defend our 2016 SEC Conference Title.

Players to watch this season are:
Grace Anetipa (12th Grade - Setter)
Calista Weber (12th Grade - Outside Hitter)
Emma Anetipa (12th Grade - Outside Hitter)
Emma Honsa (10th Grade - Middle Hitter)
Mia Scanlan (10th Grade - Libero)

Girls Lacrosse (Update From Spring Season)

The Girls Lacrosse team was very successful on the field, battling their way to the consolation championship and receiving a number of individual honors. However, they were as equally successful in the classroom. The varsity girls team had a composite GPA of 3.7 and three girls were named Academic All-Americans.

Band

by Donna Novey, Band Director

The fall band season got started in early August with one week of Percussion Camp and one week of Full Band Camp.  During Percussion Camp, the group welcomed the incoming 9^th graders and acclimated the new string players to marching percussion.  Hard work and great mentorship by the upperclassmen made the week a success with the group putting together the cadence and learning the parade and field show music.

The woodwinds and percussion joined the next week, again welcoming the new 9^th and 10^th graders.  The band quickly got to work for a one-week crash course in marching band, with some band members learning to march for the first time.  The music had to be memorized for both the parade and the homecoming field show.  The week culminated in a neighborhood parade in full uniform and a family potluck.

All of this was in preparation for the State Fair Parade on August 31, which was a great day for a parade.  This year’s drum majors are senior Claire Connelly and junior Will Dusek.  They did an excellent job of training and leading through camp and through the parade.  The crowds were great and there were many CDH alums, family and friends at the Fair.

The band will be supporting both the JROTC Fall Review and the Cretin Alumni Banquet on September 14, Homecoming on September 29 (Field Show will feature the music of Queen) and several pep bands.The Fall Concert will be on Monday, November 13.

Band Member Spotlight:  Drum majors for the Band this year are senior Claire Connelly (percussion) and junior Will Dusek (French horn & trumpet).  Drum majors are responsible for assisting with musical and marching rehearsals/sectionals as well as running field show rehearsals.  In performance, they are in charge of leading the parades and directing the field show.  The senior drum major determines when and how often to play, maintaining a good pace for the band and providing showmanship at the front of the band.  The junior drum major relays communication to the rear block and assists with keeping the band members in line and in step.  In field show rehearsals, Connelly has done an excellent job of running the rehearsals, while Dusek assists with counting, timing, and positioning.  Both are called upon during the year for conducting warm-ups, rehearsals and pep band and for assisting with musical decisions on behalf of the band.

Choir

by Isaac Lovdahl, Choir Director

Hello! My name is Isaac Lovdahl, and I'm the new choir director here at Cretin-Derham Hall. There's only one criterion for joining choir: You need to enjoy singing! If you love to sing, I'll take care of the rest. Feel free to stop by during one of our morning choir rehearsals on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 AM in the choir room to see if it's for you!

Mark your calendar for October 12:  We have our first choir concert at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. There are no tickets, but there will be a free-will donation to help support the choral program and the church.

Guidance

by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Where are they now?  CDH Class of 2017

• 85% Attending Four Year Colleges & Universities
• 11% Attending Two Year Schools

Of the students in the Class of 2017 continuing on with their education:

• 46% are attending 26 different post-secondary schools in MN
• 69% are attending post-secondary schools in the five state area including Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota & Wisconsin
• 31% are attending post-secondary schools in 26 other states
• 54% are attending public institutions & 46% private institutions
• 30% are attending Catholic colleges & universities

The Class of 2017 completed 1,292 applications, of which 80% resulted in offers of admission.

CDH College Application Boot Camp
Close to 140 seniors in the Class of 2018 worked hard at the CDH College Application Boot Camp this August where they got a head start on college essays, applications, and resumes.

Fall College Visits
Fall is the prime time for college and university admissions representatives to make their annual visits to high schools. CDH expects to host over 100 institutions of higher education this fall and many of our students take advantage of these opportunities to learn more about schools. A complete list of schools scheduled to visit CDH can be found on Naviance. 

JROTC 

by LTC Jamie Fischer, SGM David Berrisford, and MSG Ken Peloski

We are happy to announce that this year, CDH will celebrate its 100^th year of being an Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Program (JROTC) school.  We will kick off the year-long celebration with our Fall Review, which will be held on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at 2 p.m.on Wingerd Field.  This spring we will hold the Annual Twilight Parade and we will conclude the year-long celebration next fall with another Fall Review.  We invite all past JROTC cadets to attend any or all of these events and join us as we pass in review.

Success seems to breed success and again we are off to another absolutely great year in JROTC at CDH. Our opening enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is 220 cadets, of which 60 are ninth graders.

This summer, in June, right after the school year ended and for the tenth year, 13 members of the CDH JROTC Corps of Cadets traveled to Camp Wilderness near Park Rapids, MN.  Our cadets joined JROTC cadets from high schools from Fargo, ND; Bemidji, MN; Red River, ND; Grand Forks, ND; and Lower Brule, SD for a week of activities that included archery, athletics, canoeing, high and low COPE courses, land navigation, physical training, and swimming.  The CDH cadets were Bryce Vevey, Isaac Enriquez-Olvera, Ellie Dougherty, Margaret Musolf, Ella Richards, Christian Strommen, Max Karas, Drew Osterman, Jon Anderson, Nick Owsley, Jack Patwell, Will Domler, and John Anglum.  At this camp, we have the privilege of selecting one outstanding cadet from our group and this year Margaret Musolf earned the honor.

With such a strong program and a large 9th-grade class, the new freshman class is a source of excitement because of its energy, involvement and early contributions.  JROTC at CDH is organized to include freshmen in many meaningful ways.  Their talents will be showcased at the Fall Review, which will be held on September 14 on Wingerd Field.  Our Corps of Cadets along with the CDH Band, conducted by Ms. Donna Novey, honors our new cadets and officially welcomes them into the corps.  The acting Brigade Commander Joseph Seifert and the acting Battalion Commanders: Andrew Keis, Giselle Centeno, and Dan Guild are doing their best to get everything rolling.  They have organized drill instruction, preparing for Fall Review, and building their plan for the year. At the same time, the sophomore and junior classes have been preparing to take on more leadership responsibilities as leaders at squad and platoon level. 

In regards to new leadership roles, congratulations to the cadets who earned Junior Officer over the summer: Connor McKay, Katie Kirmeier, Jack Rymanowski, Anastasia Ingstad, Sam Luhman, Obi Abulu and Peyton Yurek.  Their performance is noteworthy because they did extra study and then set an appointment with LTC Fischer to test again, while they were on summer break! That shows the kind of dedication that leaders should have.  They are eligible for promotion to Diamond Officer and higher responsibility in the Corps.

The Annual JROTC Encampment at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, will be the weekend of September 22-24, 2017. We anticipate 110 students will attend.

The Armed Precision Drill Team, which is commanded by Johnathon Koop and Mary Andrzejek, has started practice for the year to prepare for their first performance at the Fall Review.  Along with the Crack Drill, the Regulation Drill Commander Leland Pornschloegl will start practice shortly after the review.  We have a great returning corps and new 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th graders are welcome to join Regulation Drill as well.

The Color Guard, under the leadership of Michael Burke, kept busy this summer with events in Minneapolis.  We continue to support all home football games plus select soccer and volleyball games.  The highlight of our fall is posting colors at the Cretin Alumni Banquet and performing in the Fall Review.

The Orienteering Team, led by Drew Kampmeier, plans to continue the progress we made last year.  We will use Camp Ripley to recruit and participate in some MNOC events in the fall.

The Honor Guard, under the leadership of Joseph Seifert and Rory King, is scheduled to accumulate many hours of service in the first four weeks of school, with service at numerous wakes and funerals, as well as the Back to School Night, the Cretin Class of ’67 - 50 Year Reunion, the Cretin Class of ’57 - 60 Year Reunion, and the Cretin Alumni Banquet.

Isaac Yahn will lead the varsity Air Rifle Team this year.  Currently, there are over 40 students involved in the rifle team.  The team’s competition season runs from November 1 through the latter part of March.  This year’s schedule will include twelve postal matches around the nation, the Upper Midwest JROTC Challenge (UMJC) at CDH, the USA Shooting Match, state and sectional level competitions, and possibly a match in Ohio (Midwest Region JROTC Competition).

Cadets are traveling with Admissions teams to 26 feeder schools to talk about the JROTC program at CDH.  This is an important opportunity to highlight program activities and to inform prospective students that JROTC is a leadership development and citizenship program with the mission "to motivate young people to be better citizens."

Those interested in military scholarships are putting the finishing touches on their application packets.  They are taking the necessary fitness assessments, completing essays, collecting letters of recommendation, improving their ACT scores, and attending interviews.  All the instructors are happy to write letters of recommendation for cadets in good standing.  The application windows will be closing soon which is why we encourage students to complete the process over the summer.  Members of the class of 2018 and their parents who have questions about the Academies or College ROTC can contact LTC Fischer.

Throughout the school year, our co-curricular organizations and cadets will be active in the CDH community.  They will be striving to model the values of CDH.  As one of many important programs in the school, the JROTC is committed to contributing to the great reputation of our high school.  It's never too late to transfer into one of our classes regardless of the date or the academic class.  There are no physical, mental or any other limitations.  We welcome all students.  Why not enroll today and share in the tradition?

Theater

The 2017-2018 CDH Theater Season has been announced and enthusiasm is high.  Auditions are underway for the fall show: One Man, Two Guvnors.  Plan to attend this show the weekends of October 27 and November 3.