By: Harley Chapman
This year’s spring musical
was stupendous from beginning
to end. We travelled to the
streets of Agrabah, through the
palace gates, and beyond with
the cast and crew of Aladdin Jr.
Mr. Vaziri and Mr. Wells
expertly directed the group
through opening night. “The
show was the largest production
we’ve ever attempted. I felt like
it was a huge success,” said Mr.
Vaziri. Mrs. Laura Connolly
choreographed the dances to
every song. There were about
fifty cast members from fifth to
eighth grade. Everyone was
dedicated and worked hard
throughout the three months of
practice.
The lead performers in-
cluded Curtis Scott as Aladdin,
Sarah Turner as Princess
Jasmine, and Mary Conroy as
the genie. Fan favorites in-
cluded Carter Pruett as the evil
Jafar and Brianna Williams as
the colorful Iago. Aladdin Jr.
was a musical that everyone is
sure to remember.
By: Sophie Bougeois
This year’s Catholic
Schools Week was a blast!
Catholic Schools Week occurs
the last week in January. This
week is set aside as a holiday
to celebrate America’s Catholic
schools. During Catholic
Schools Week, our students
received a treat of some sort
each day. On Monday every-
body got a St. Francis of Assisi
Catholic School pencil. On
Tuesday everyone enjoyed a
York peppermint patty in honor
of our wonderful principal,
Mrs. York. On Wednesday
the annual SFA Variety Show
was held. In this feature SFA
students in grades four
through eight showcased their
hidden talents for the school.
From beautiful singing to
break dancing routines, this
show was an afternoon to re-
member. According to eighth-
grader Jake Griesmer, “It was
a great show full of wonderful
talents.” On Thursday the
entire school was served free
ice cream courtesy of Sodexo.
On the last day everybody got
to enjoy a half day, a jeans
day, and the student-faculty
volleyball game. At the stu-
dent-faculty volleyball game, the
teachers dominated the court with
their fourteenth win in a row. It
was definitely a triumphant
moment for teachers, but also a
disappointing one for students.
Who knows? Maybe the students
will emerge victorious next year.
This year’s Catholic Schools
Week was a wonderful success.
The Howler The Student Newspaper at SFA
Catholic Schools
Week
The Spring Musical: Aladdin
Sarah Turner and Curtis Scott
sing “A Whole New World.”
Co-Editors
Ashley Buckingham
Sarah Turner
Student
Newspaper Staff
Harley Chapman
Jake Greismer
Sophie Bougeois
Allison Weske
Sydney Bloodworth
Megan Morrison
T.C. Fowlar
Avery Graziosi
Faculty Advisors
Michael Jeffrey
Eileen Scrivener
Words of Wisdom Knowing is not enough;
We must apply.
Willing is not
enough;
We must do.
-Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe A sample from Mrs. Chando’s
eighth-grade poetry project:
The thing I love most is music.
I love to make and use it.
Although it is hard to find
someone who can make it.
Try your best not to find
someone who fakes it.
Music isn’t just noise or a
pleasant sound,
It’s a kind of emotion I’m glad I
found.
It’s not something that you can
just do;
It’s something you have to feel
inside of you.
Music isn’t just a bunch of
notes thrown together;
It’s something I will keep with
me forever.
EVAN ROGERS
Spring 2012
Seventh-
grader Brianna
Williams
had fun
being Iago
in Aladdin.
Narrators Jo Dearman, Yuzuka
Kaube, Sophie Bougeois, Rachel
Sweeney, and Monika Milczek
Full cast and crew of Aladdin Jr.
Mardi Gras and May Crowning Page 2
By: Sarah Turner
St. Francis’ May Crowning of Mary
was another beautiful service. Sarah Turner,
Sophie Bougeois, and Baylee Thielemier
cantored for the ceremony under the direction
of Mrs. Crone and the accompanist, Mrs.
Moore. It was celebrated by Father Jolly.
Noah Kurtz and Margaret Sell were chosen
as the eighth-grade students to crown Mary.
Two second-graders, Joshua Henley and
Jenna Harper, assisted them as they walked
down the middle aisle of the church. The
statue of Mary looked stunning surrounded by
and crowned with hundreds of fresh flowers.
Every student in our school was asked to
bring in at least one beautiful flower to make
Mary’s crowning a special event.
Jacob Timmins,
Evan Rogers,
Jack Conroy,
and Dale
Pitawanakwat
play in the band.
Mrs. Nash’s third-grade Krew
of Games throw treats to an
appreciative audience. “Throw me something, mister!”
Dale Pitawanakwat, Tyler Richards, and
Luigi Siligato play in the band.
After the
kids throw
their candy,
it’s time for
cleanup!
Noah Kurtz, Margaret Sell, Jenna
Harper, and Joshua
Henley prepare to
crown Mary.
Eighth grader Margaret Sell crowns
Mary. To her right
stands eighth grader
Noah Kurtz.
Father Jolly says
the blessing with
the help of eighth
grader Thomas
Herrman.
By: Allison Weske
The British are coming; the
British are coming! Last semester, fifth-graders cele-
brated the Boston Tea Party by dress-
ing up as individuals from the Boston
Tea Party era. The original Boston
Tea Party occurred on December 16,
1773, when a group of colonists
boarded ships containing taxed tea
that was to be returned to Britain.
They destroyed the tea by throwing it
into the Boston Harbor to demon-
strate objection to the heavy tea taxes
imposed by Britain. This famous
event was one of several leading up
to the American Revolution.
Fifth-graders portraying famous
Confirmation
people from the Boston Tea Party told
the class about their person without
mentioning his name. Students were
allowed three chances to guess who
the individual was supposed to be.
Rewards were given to the individu-
als whose characters were guessed.
According to Hunter Filsinger, “The
guessing game was a lot of fun and
helped us learn about the people who
lived back then.”
Following this guessing exercise,
the students enjoyed tea and scones, a
traditional British snack. Students
especially loved the blueberry scones!
The tea was not as well received.
Katy Weske exclaimed, “The scones
were amazing, and the entire activity
was a great way to learn!”
The Boston Tea Party
Page 3
By: Ashley Buckingham
Two beautiful masses were held
on April twenty-first and the twenty-
eighth. It was First Holy Communion
for proud parents, excited second-
graders, and many of their eighth-
grade prayer partners. Monsignor
kept the crowd guessing with his
humorous homily and the children
showed off their knowledge by enthu-
siastically answering all his questions.
Mrs. York felt that, “First Communion
was a beautiful service, and the kids
did great.”
Gathering for the reception in the
Parish Life Center, everyone looked
very pretty and handsome in their attire
and smiles were all around. When
asked what Communion meant to her,
Courtney Zoccola of Mrs. Hultman’s
class responded, “Thanksgiving and
Holy Christ!” When asked if she was
nervous before receiving it, she smiled
By: Sarah Turner
On April 23, 2012, about one-
hundred newly Confirmed Catholics
stepped out of the Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception. Before the
ceremony, these same young adults
had been nervously waiting in line to
go into the Cathedral while being
greeted by Bishop Steib. Pictures had
been taken and the pre-ceremony talk
had been given, so now all that was
left was to receive their final initia-
tion into the Church, Confirmation.
As girls in white dresses and boys in
their blazers entered the Cathedral, it
was silent as everyone waited. Every-
one’s name, one by one, was called
and then each candidate and sponsor
walked up to become fully con-
firmed. The night was a celebratory
evening as all of the young adults be-
came one in the Church and received
yet another sacrament, completing the
sacraments of initiation. After being
taught throughout the year by the
eighth-grade religion teacher, Mrs.
Odom, the eighth grade was fully
prepared to be confirmed, and it was
a night celebrated by all.
First Communion
Mrs. McQueen celebrates with
Mrs. Schober’s class.
Hunter Filsinger with friends
Emma Twele is
dressed in an
eighteenth-
century style
gown.
Bishop
Steib confirms
Matthew
Barczak.
and said, “Yes, I was so scared and so happy at
the same time!” First Communion was a happy
and joyful ceremony for all the lucky children
who received it!
Second-graders Sara Esrael, Mia DeFilippo, and
Kathryn Hosp prepare to receive First Communion.
Seventh-graders enjoy a visit to The Hermitage on
their annual field trip to Nashville.
Tristan Kopinski and Andalyn Woody from Mrs.
Jacks’ 5K class celebrate the Wedding of ‘Q’ & ‘U’.
The Advice Column: Ask Kiki
Page 4
Book Review: Among the Hidden
Dear readers, Thanks for writing all these questions! I
really appreciate all of them!
Q: My friend brags a lot! She is very
athletic and brags about her
accomplishments. I am very annoyed.
What do I do? Help!
A: Tell your friend that you don’t
appreciate the way she talks about her
accomplishments all
the time. You friend
may be upset when
you tell her so give
her a day or two to
cool off. Then you’ll
be best friends again!
Q: What do you do when you’re one of
the only kids not going on the over-night
trip?
A: You can just have fun at home for a
few school days. You could go shopping,
skateboard, etc. You can even go to SFA
and help teachers with the little kids for
service hours. Hope you have a fun time!
Q: My friends made a club and let me
join, but right after I entered they
disbanded the club! Then they went on
and made a new one. What do I do?
A: I experienced this a while back. They
may be subtly kicking you out of their
group. You may
need to tell a
teacher because
SFA has a strict
No Exclusion
policy. I wish
you luck!
By: Sydney Bloodworth
Luke Garner is an illegal third
child, one of the shadow children. He’s
not allowed to go to school or even go
outside! He’s never had a friend. Then
he meets Jen, a fellow shadow child.
With her help he hopes that maybe
one day he can lead a normal life. Among the Hidden is the first book
in the Shadow Children
series which contains six
other books. Written by
New York Times best-
selling author Margaret
Peterson Haddix, Among
the Hidden is a great read
for the fourth grade and
up.
By: Jake Griesmer
In this edition of “Innoventions” the main topic of interest is the voice recognition
feature on the iPhone 4S called Siri. This is a puzzling augmentation to the already stunning
iPhone. By recognizing your voice you can start an internet search, place a call to a friend,
send a text message, or even get it to call you by another name. Siri is also learning from
every new thing that she hears from her users. Whether it is someone asking a legitimate
question about the news or someone asking her to marry them it’s always taking in
knowledge. It has also been stated by Apple that by processing and interpreting the questions and statements said by the user, Siri is getting progressively less intelligent. Due
to the sheer amount of illegitimate questions asked by the users, Apple has publicly stated
Siri’s intelligence has been eroded by the strange questions. Luckily, Apple has patched this problem, but it is still very interesting. Regardless, Siri is an amazing advancement in
technology and is definitely something you should get your hands on.
“Innoventions”: Siri
Artists’ Corner
Margie Thais
Susan, 1972
Bartlett Block Party
“Chalk the Walk”
Best in Show: Design
28 April 2012
Congratulations to Margie Thais,
SFA’s own lower school Art Teacher!
Congratulations to Olivia Webb for winning
the Memphis in May 2012 International
Children’s Poster Contest with her landscape
of The Philippines. Olivia will sign and number
100 of these prints. Other SFA students that
placed in this contest are Maggie Alexander
– 3rd place and Mela Clorina – 2nd place in
the 3rd and 4th grade category. Also, Emily
Cea placed 3rd in the 5th and 6th grade
category. We are so proud of all of these
talented young artists!
The girls of the first and second grade basketball team were the PAA
league champions with an undefeated record of 8-0. Pictured above back
row: Jordan Simspon, Kate McBride, Sara Israel, Gina Iranski, and Bianca
VonBergen, and front row: Vina Vedala, Rachel Gammill, Bradleigh
Bearden, Emily Esnard, and Kathryn Hosp.
SFA SPORTS Page 5
Members of the faculty
and Father Jolly celebrate
their victory against the
eighth-graders.
The faculty is undefeated
in fourteen seasons against
the students in the
faculty-student
volleyball game..
Girls’ Tennis Team back row: Elizabeth Bunch, Amber
Dote, Kate Dudek, Bryana Clancy, Stella Cea, and Coach
Bunch; front row: Caroline Raulston, Lauren Neuhoff,
Maddie Buchholz, Jessica Morrison, and Elana Blackard.
BASKETBALL
Boys’ Tennis (from top left):
Dale Pitawanakwat, Ben Jones,
Matthew Barczak;
(bottom row) Nick Vaught,
Nikesh Patel & Gregory Sun
TRACK (Collage of the 2011-12 Season)
7th and 8th grade boys’ baseball (left to right): Daniel
Caprio, Sam Childers, , Sam Cox, Nick Ashker, Matthew
Hammond, Jack Dyles, Matthew Fehrenbacher, Austin
Wise, Thomas Herman, Nick Morris, Jack Schaaf and
Coach Gillenwater.
Page 6 ART GALLERY
Advanced Art Project by
Lauren King, 7th grade.
Jake Greismer
“Give a Hoot” project by
Gabrielle Lomasney, 5th grade
Skeletal System by
Nathan Bosque, 4th grade Personal Color Wheel by
Ashley Buckingham, 8th grade Pop-Art self-portrait by
Noah Fullen, 3rd grade
Created by: Zoe Swick, Ashley Herbers,
Sarah Henson and Lee Arnold
Created by: Tyler Richards, Brandon
Chung, Indie Caldwell, Caroline McClure
“Pints, Cups, Quarts, Gallons” by
Carmella Neri and Gavin Smith, 6th grade
~~~
Civilization Flags
designed by
Mrs. Tyer’s 6th Grade
Social Studies
Class
~~~