Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Spring 2016 St. Mary’s School
Alumni Newsletter Upcoming Events:
Jun 6, Jul 11, Aug 1, Sep 12, Oct 3, Nov 7, Dec 5 - Alumni General Meeting 6:30pm (Rectory)
Aug 15* - Back-to-School Ice Cream Social
Aug 17 - First Day of School
Aug 28 - August Rush Event (incl. Alumni-Hosted Corn Hole Tournament)
*Tentative Date - Check the school website calendar
SMS Mission: “To provide a Catholic education
that nurtures students’ hearts and
minds to become servant leaders in an ever-changing world.”
Newsletter
Contents:
Fr. Denny Farewell 1
Alumni News 2-3
Teacher News 4
School News 5
Alumni-Hosted Corn Hole Tournament 6
Farewell to Pastor Father Denny Hanneman
After 12 years as the Pastor at St. Mary’s, Fr. Denny is retiring. He’s been a blessing to our parish and school community. His homilies are always powerful. You can read them
on our parish website www.stmarysbellevue.com. Fr. Denny is an advocate for Catholic education and St. Mary’s School. Though a minority, there are some members of our St. Mary’s parish community who do not see the benefit of or need for St. Mary’s School. They view it as a financial burden. Fr. Denny helps them try to see its value and its im-pact, underscoring that when schools close young families leave parishes. Fr. Denny has always supported the school and its administration, faculty, staff, and students. We can-not thank him enough for his leadership, guidance, love, and support. He will be greatly missed. We will welcome Fr. Del Lape from St. Anthony’s in Columbus, NE in July. See below for a letter that Fr. Denny wrote to all of you.
Dear friends in Christ:
I come to the end of my active ministry and complete my time as Pastor of St. Mary’s.
Among the things which I will miss most is the laughter of children on the playground, the smiles and warm greetings of our students, and their alert attentiveness and partici-pation at our weekly Masses. St. Mary’s School will always have a very special place in my heart. The Catholic elementary school that I attended has been closed for many years. In this,
I envy you. For as alumni, you have a special gift. For the school you attended is, in-deed, alive and thriving. It continues to serve the needs of children and youth in the Bellevue community. If it’s been a while since you’ve visited your “alma mater,” I encourage you to stop by and become reacquainted with this wonderful school. With an excellent curriculum, state-of-the art technology, and a loving, faith-filled environment, St. Mary’s continues to
be a school you can be proud you attended. Thank you so much for the support you continue to give. You are not only a part of our past. You can be part of our future! Sincerely in Christ,
Father Dennis Hanneman, Pastor (2004-2016)
Contact Information: School 903 W. Mission Avenue
Bellevue, NE 68005 402-291-1694 stmarysschoolbellevue.com
School Principal Trish Wallinger 402-291-1694, ext. 8 trish.wallinger@
stmarysbellevue.com Parish Pastor
Fr. Dennis Hanneman 402-291-1350
[email protected] Business Manager
Collette Borland 402-291-1350 collette.borland@ stmarysbellevue.com
Alumni Relations Christina (Hascall) Legner (‘91) 402-598-1262 [email protected]
SMS Alumni News—Page 1
Spring 2016
SMS Alumni News—Page 2
Congratulations to the St.
Mary’s School Class of 2012 on their 2016 High
School Graduation:
Allayna Bash, Erika Bennett,
Jeremiah Connealy, Danielle
Cork, Asarar Gony, Julius
(JD) Gorham, Clara Heltzel, Yoonjae Hwang, Rosemary
Kennan, Arnold Kelly,
Hannah Kimsey, Elizabeth
Kolesik, Jason Kreps, Matthew Lampe, Kalvin
McGargill, Bryan Prewitt,
Jordan Roberts, Sal Savino,
Mikaela Schmitz, Natalie Sjostedt, Estee Stover, Emily
Summers, William Targy,
Mirjana (Missy) Walther
We want to know which high
school you graduated from,
where you’re going to college, what scholarships
you received, and what you
plan to study. Email
Congratulations to those
from the St. Mary’s
School Class of 2008 who may have celebrated a
Spring 2016 College
Graduation:
William Anderson, Mark
Beischel, Rebecca Bezy,
Patrick Cook, Lindsey Cork, Robert Dady, Rochelle
Dugas, Shane Giles, Christine
Hupf, Paula Hupf, Katelyn
Keefer, Andrea Kepford, Cody King, Hollie Konold,
Nicholas Kozusko, Kevin
Lewis, Marissa Lowe, Hailey
McGargill, Kelsee Packett, Jennifer Lamagna Reiter,
Megan Roberts, Shawn
Schaefer, Daniel Sjostedt,
Joanne Stimson, Gabriella Sylvester, Valerie Targy.
We want to know where you graduated from, what your
major was, and what you’re
doing next! Email
“Home for the Holidays : Advent with Alumni” Event - December 2015 Recap
The 2nd Annual “Home for the Holidays: Advent with Alumni” Event was held on Sunday, Decem-ber 20, 2015. All Alumni—attendees & graduates—and their friends and families were invited. We celebrated 12:30pm Mass to-gether. Alumni, former teachers, and Alumni family members served as readers, ushers, Eucharistic Ministers, gift bearers, and altar servers. Then we had a reception in the school gym and a scavenger hunt throughout the school. Con-
tact Christina (Hascall) Legner (‘91) (contact info on page 1) if you’d like to help plan the next Alumni event! Pictured above (starting in back row left): Theresa (Kouba) Howell ‘66, Molly Kouba, Pat Kouba ‘77, Debbie (Cook) Kettleson ‘69, Heather Pearce ‘91, Kathy (Cook) Pearce ‘66, Janet (Cook) Clerc ‘67, Will Targy ‘00, Tony Kouba (’00), Larry Ortega ‘69,
Willie Wessling ‘87, Ken Wessling ‘53, Patti (Ferrante) Nastase ‘61, Kellee Halliburton ‘14, Joanna (Jungers) Lee ‘89, Lia Reck-meyer ‘15, Jamie Legner ‘15, Jackie Hascall ‘97, Christine Hupf ‘08, Diane (Hupf) Lechner ‘97, Sena Djidjoho ‘15, Marlene Djid-joho ‘11, Jean-Marie Djidjoho ‘13, Dean Jungers ‘56, Ben Reckmeyer ‘11, Mary Ellen (Vacek) Reckmeyer ‘74 Dean Hascall ‘68, Christina (Hascall) Legner ‘91.
Congratulations to the Newest Alumni - SMS Class of 2016
Welcome to the newest members of the St. Mary’s Alumni Community!
The St. Mary’s School Class of 2016 members and their future high schools, if known, are: Ashley Arrowsmith (B. East), Romia Back,
Jillian Belcastro (B. West), Jaycee Billings (Gross), Anna Braxton (B. West), Fernando Cox (Prep), John Donahue* (Prep), Mikaele Gabiola (Papillion LaV-ista) Benjamin Goetz (Mt. Michael), Aziz Gurfrov (Prep), Briana Hale, Ryan McMaster (B. West), Orion Moreno (B. East), Jack Nam (Gross), Tony Traggiai (Mt. Michael), Jacqueline Van Huffel (Duschesne), Layla Yanez (B. West). * = child/grandchild of alum
The Alumni Relations Committee presented the student-designed shirts
as gifts at the 8th Grade Banquet on Friday, May 20, 2016. We are
proud of the SMS Class of 2016 and look forward to their future accom-plishments! The Class of 2017 will receive their “Class of” Spirit Shirt at
the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, at the August Back-to-
School Night Ice Cream Social. We will also recognize alumni with cur-
rent students at that event.
Alumni Scholarships - 2016 Winners
Introduced in 2014 and currently funded by the generous Home & School Association, the
2016 scholarships results are:
#1 - Alumni Attending Catholic High School (Freshman Year) - $1,000 awarded to Tony
Traggiai (‘16) (Mount Michael), brother of alumnae Veronica (’11) and Lauren (’13).
#2 - Alumni Attending Catholic College/University (Freshman Year) - $1,000 awarded to Mir-jana Walther (’12) (Creighton University), daughter of alumnus Randy (’77) and sister of alumni Tommy (’10) and Joey (’14). Tommy (Creighton University) won this award two years ago.
#3 - Alumni Employed by a Non-Profit Organization (any age alumni) - $1,000 awarded to
Elizabeth Connealy (‘05), sister of alumni Jacob (‘07), Ben (‘10), and Jeremiah (‘12). Eliza-beth works for FOCUS (Fellowship of Christian University Students) at Wayne State College.
Information about the 2017 Scholarships will be in the St. Mary’s parish bulletin and on
the school website (stmarysschoolbellevue.com) starting in January 2017.
Spring 2016
SMS Alumni News—Page 3
Tell Us What’s Going on With You! We want to share achievements, weddings, births, deaths, milestones and whatever else you can think of. Don’t be bashful. Pass YOUR STORY along to [email protected] so we can share it with the rest of the St. Mary’s Alumni Community!
Alumni Giving We would like all alumni to consider giving to the Adopt-A-Student (AAS) program. Established in 2009, the program helps bridge the financial gap for some families. It helps assure a great Catholic Education for those in critical need. No gift is too small. Please prayerfully consider making an AAS donation by our fiscal year-end June 30, 2016. See enclosed self-addressed envelope. One of our alum’s funded a student’s entire tuition bill this year! Consider starting your AAS giving to echo your graduation year. For example, if you graduated in 1977, consider giving $19.77 to AAS! Contact St. Mary’s Business Manager Collette Borland (contact info on page 1), Principal Dr. Trish Wallinger (contact info on page 1), or AAS Chairs Larry & Jackie Ortega ([email protected]) with questions.
In Memory Of William Marx (‘65) - 7/17/14 Rosemary (Wessling) Lubbers (‘67) - 10/20/15
Alumni Highlights
Our Future Business Leaders Story by Jackie Ortega Congratulations to Missy (’12) and Joey Walther (‘14), two St. Mary’s alumni, and their teammate Karissa Jacobson for their Nebraska State Leadership Conference 1st Place
Winner Public Service Announcement (PSA). Bellevue East team’s winning Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) 2016 PSA is titled “Positives of Sports”. Watch it now on our school website (www.stmarysschoolbellevue.com) or facebook page. Joey also took 2nd
place in American Enterprise with his partner Colton Patrick. Both projects qualified for National FBLA competition in Atlanta in June! Good luck at Nationals!! The Greatest Day of His Life Story by Jackie Ortega
For Matt Delaney (‘06) March 25, 2016 is a day he’ll never forget. It’s the day he asked for Jessi Waker’s (‘05) hand in marriage. The day I proposed to Jessi, we boarded a charter bus at 5:00 A.M.
for a Grand Canyon tour. She had no idea that I was hiding the engagement ring in my backpack. We made a stop at the Hoover Dam and snapped some photos and then finally reached our desti-nation at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. We spent a few hours walking around tak-
ing in the beauty of the day. I finally found the perfect spot. Then I got down on one knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. She said yes, of course! A kind onlooker actually asked us if she could take our photo. Her being unaware of the gravity
of the moment made it all the more amazing and surprising. We tried our best to call all of our family after the proposal, but we were in the desert! By the end of the day we went out to dinner to celebrate. Our entire family was finally in the loop and we could begin making plans for our wedding and future together.” Congratulations to Matt and
Jessi! Your St. Mary’s family wishes you both a lifetime of happiness. St. Mary’s Alumnus Going to Teach Abroad Story by Jackie Ortega
Aaron Menzel (‘05) will be moving to Cheongna, South Korea this fall 2016 to teach at one of South Korea’s premier schools: Cheongna Dalton School. He and his wife Rachel, who married July 4, 2015 just signed a
two-year contract, he as a 5th and 7th grade literature teacher, she as a writer. After graduating from St. Mary’s School and then Mount Michael Benedictine High School Aaron attended Saint John’s University in Minne-sota. While there he earned a degree in English and Secondary Education.
He spent his first year out of college working as an editor, and with Artist Relations for Minnesota Public Radio. Since then he’s been teaching English, Environ-mental Science, and Creative Writing at a new charter school in St. Paul—Upper Mississippi
Academy. Aaron says, “St. Mary’s truly set me up for success. By offering me such a per-sonalized education, I always felt at home in the classroom. Each and every teacher knew my strengths and weaknesses, and challenged me daily to improve. Additionally, St. Mary’s taught me to be tolerant of all beliefs—religious or otherwise—a skill which I value
above all else.” Our School Nurse is a Real Blessing Story by Jackie Ortega St. Mary’s School is one of the few Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese to have a school nurse. Every Tuesday Bridgette (Nicotra) Laney (’81), our school nurse, is at St. Mary’s taking care of our children. One week she was in the 1st grade giving eye exams. The next week she
was back in the 1st grade classroom for a dental health presentation. Mrs. Laney, employed by CHI Health/Midlands Hospital, says “They [CHI] have generously donated the school nursing services to all Sarpy County Parochial
schools for over 20 years now. I am truly blessed to have such a great employer and wonderful schools to visit!” We are blessed to have Nurse Laney. She is the daughter of our beloved former Extended Day Director and current St. Mary’s School volunteer Kathy Kibler and has been with us as our school nurse for 12 years.
Spring 2016
SMS Alumni News—Page 4
School/Parish Calendar Highlights for Summer 2016 and School Year 2016-2017:
Italics = date tentative
Vacation Bible School - June 27-July 1
Back-to-School Night Ice Cream Social - Aug 15
First Day of School - Aug 17 (full day)
Arrows to Aerospace Parade - Aug 20
August Rush - Aug 28
Parish Picnic - Sep 11
6th Grade Vocations Day - Oct 21st
See the school website stmarysschoolbellevue.come for more!
Registration Information:
St. Mary’s is thriving. It continues to get better and better. It’s achieved a level of excellence that was hard-earned and just the beginning of what lies ahead. Be a part of it! Register your student today! Call the office (402-291-1694). You may qualify for a $1,500 Welcome Tuition Grant!
Did You Know?:
St. Mary’s is AdvancED Accredited. This accreditation process is a comprehensive evaluation of all the parts of our school including our vision and goals, teaching and learning, documentation of results and resource allocation processes.
Teacher Spotlights
First Year Principal Trish Wallinger gets her Doctorate!
Mrs. Jennifer Thompson - 7th Grade Homeroom Teacher, Middle School Science
Years Teaching: 2 years, both at St. Mary’s
Family: “I have two children: Cameron, age 11, and Coventry, age 9. They
both attend St. Mary’s. I am married to John. We’ve been married for al-most 18 years.” What she enjoys most about teaching: “I enjoy watching students learn. The best part of learning is when students take a concept and make it their
own in unexpected ways. I have always enjoyed projects and seeing what
the students produce. The end result is a true representation of learning
that has now become knowledge.”
Why she chooses to teach at a Catholic School: “I choose to teach at a
Catholic school because I live my faith everyday, it is a part of who I am. I enjoy working in a place where I can share my faith and not hide the big-
gest part of who I am.”
What sets St. Mary’s apart from other schools: “St. Mary’s has a strong community that goes out of its
way to support the school. Families go out of their way to make sure teachers have what they need and
to ensure the future of the school. St. Mary’s is like a big family. There are lots of families that have
attended St. Mary’s for generations.”
Miss Mary Jankovich - 4th Grade Teacher
Years Teaching: 29 years; 2015-2016 is first year at St. Mary’s
Family: From a large family of 11 brothers and sisters (yes, 12 total!)
What she enjoys most about teaching: “Inspiring students to know that each
and every one of them is a gift from God and that anything is possible if they
work hard enough for it.”
Why she chooses to teach at a Catholic School: “I love sharing my faith with
students and guiding them on the path to God. I also love the way they keep the faith alive for me.”
What sets St. Mary’s apart from other schools: “Everyone supports each other and helps each other be the best they can be.”
What a year this has been for Trish Wallinger. Not only did she take on a new job as principal of St. Mary’s School with three weeks to get ready before the 2015-2016 school year began, she continued her own studies in Educational Leadership and just recently defended her doctoral disser-tation, The Use of Twitter for Professional Development earning her new title as Dr. Wallinger. Dr. Wallinger’s area of focus has been technology in the classroom. We are so blessed to have a principal whose area of expertise is taking our little school of St. Mary’s to new technology heights. Through smart use of our current technology and strategic employment of grants and teacher education from the Archdiocese of Omaha and the St. Mary’s Home & School Association, we can expand the use of technology to make a difference in our children’s education. Dr. Wallinger’s commencement was May 15th. Story by Jackie Ortega
Cindy Menzel Selected for 2016 Storm
Chaser’s Teacher of the Year “Dream Team”
Cindy Menzel, our 5th grade teacher, was nominated by St. Mary’s and chosen to be a member of the Storm Chaser’s Teacher of the Year “Dream Team”. She received her well deserved recognition at the May 26th game, along with fellow community teachers. We are blessed with many wonderful teachers at St. Mary’s, including Mrs. Menzel! Story by Jackie Ortega
School & Current Student Highlights
St. Mary’s - Committed to Being a High Tech Leader in Education Story by Jackie Ortega This summer, thanks to a very significant Ignite the Faith grant from the Archdiocese of Omaha, 21 of our classrooms will be equipped with brand new access points, projectors, screens, surround sound stereo systems, and Apple TVs. This grant also includes all of the wiring upgrades needed to make the technology and learning in each of our class-rooms truly state of the art with a web access point in every room. In addition, the grant will provide training for our teachers to continue to grow their skill sets to be able to employ this technology to teach our students. The Archdiocese is supporting us be-cause of our internal commitment to be a high tech leader. Just last year we put 100 chromebooks in the hands of our students by raising more than $24,000 through Fill-A-Need at the 21st Annual “Spring for the Children” Benefit Auction in March 2015. Feeling Groovy Story by Jackie Ortega The middle school students (grades 6-8) presented their annual Spring Musical on Friday, May 13, 2016. This year’s musical was Groovy!, a fun musical trib-ute to the 1960’s. Performers and audience alike had rollicking good time! Then again, who wouldn’t love the colors, the clothes, the songs, the dancing, and the Groovy feeling that came from the 1960’s? Some things are timeless and not lost on our youth. The musical concluded with a special heartfelt, partriotic salute to all those who served in the Vietnam conflict. A Personal Best at Nationals Story by Jackie Ortega Ryan McMaster (‘16) finished 19th in the all-around competition at the Gymnastic Nation-
als in Battle Creek, Michigan. Last year he placed 41st, so a great improvement! He placed 2nd on Parallel Bars with a personal best score of 14.00 on that event. Not a bad week at Nationals after fighting through a tough season with wrist and ankle issues and being sick the last couple of days before the competition. Con-gratulations from your St. Mary’s family who was praying for you!
Wits Clash - Learning on Many Levels Story by Jackie Ortega St. Mary’s hosted its 2nd annual Wits Clash competition. Twenty-one teams competed in the event. We had an amazing day that showcased the students’ knowledge in a broad range of topics. The top four winning teams were from Holy Cross, St. James, Mary Our Queen, and St. Pius/Leo. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made this day run so smoothly. The money raised from the event will help offset the cost of competitions next year. To help teach the idea of tithing, the students will give 10% of the money to charity. The students voted to donate to St. Mary’s Tuition Assistance. Science is More Than Book Learning Story by Jackie Ortega Middle school students have been hands on in the lab. The 6th graders worked on sim-ple machine kits that were purchased last year with the money from Home and School. Some of the students took it a little farther and built their own creations. The 6th grad-ers also tackled building bridges out of toothpicks. It’s amazing what you can do with sticks and glue. The 7th grade science class was treated to a special biology class when St. Mary’s parent Tina Tweedy, a beekeeper, came to teach them about bees and their role in pollination during their plant unit. Exciting things are going on in the Science lab.
Spring 2016
SMS Alumni News—Page 5
Alumni with Current Students at St. Mary’s School: We have 22 alumni with 28 children/grandchildren currently at St. Mary’s! Alumni choosing St. Mary’s for their child/grandchild sends a powerful message. Have someone you’d like to attend St. Mary’s? Call the school today for information (402-291-1694)!
Dane’ (Huck) Ames ’86: 4
John “Quint” Dacey ‘05: 1
Cindy (Wessling) Donahue ’80: 1* (Ken
Wessling ‘53)
Sean Giles ’04: 1
Suzy (Peters) Godwin 99:
1
Patrick Kettleson ’95: 1*
(Debbie (Cook) Kettleson
‘69)
Breanna Koch ’04: 1
Patrick Kouba ’77: 2
Joanna (Jungers) Lee ’89:
3* (Dean Jungers ’56)
Christina (Hascall) Legner
‘91: 3* (Dean Hascall ’68)
Jackie (Hascall) Lizarraga
‘97: 1 (Dean Hascall ‘68)
Sarah (Roth) Mlnarik ‘92:
1
Patti (Ferrante) Nastase
‘61: 1*
Alan Swiecicki ‘89: 2
Willie Wessling ’87: 3*
(Ken Wessling ‘53)
Janet (Jungers) Yale ’91:
1* (Dean Jungers ’56)
Kim (Schreiber) Zieno ‘97
& Angelo Zieno ‘95: 1
* = Grandchild of Alumni Italics = Graduation year listed, but did not attend through graduation
Spring 2016
Prayer of St. Francis:
(Recited daily at school)
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
SMS Alumni News—Page 6
2nd Annual Alumni-Hosted Corn Hole Tournament - August 28, 2016
Save the date, round up your classmates, and bring your
friends and families to the 2nd Annual Alumni-Hosted
Corn Hole Tournament at the 4th Annual St. Mary’s
Youth Ministry August Rush event on Sunday, August
28th 3pm-8pm at the Columban Fathers grounds!
There will be live music, a beer & wine garden, food,
games, and more! Among the games will be the Alumni Relations-Sponsored
Corn Hole Tournament. Plan to pair up with a classmate or spouse/child/parent/
friend. Entry to the August Rush event is free. Entry to the Corn Hole Tournament is
only $10 for each 2-person team. The winning team will get 50% of the pot and the 2nd
place team will get 25%. The remaining 25% will go toward Alumni Scholarships (for
the fourth year in a row the St. Mary’s Home & School Association will offer three $1,000
scholarships and the goal is that eventually the Alumni Com-
munity can finance these opportunities ourselves!). Contact
Alumni Relations Chairperson Christina Legner with ques-
tions (contact info on page 1), to enter the tournament or to
volunteer for the event. Spread the word and be sure to
attend!! See you on August 28th!
