Bring your Garden Equipment [rakes, shovels, brooms, trimmers, edgers, power washers and work gloves] as the West Catholic athletes, coaches and parents work with the facilities department and administrators to put the final sparkle on West Catholic before the start of the 2009 school year.

Join us on Saturday, August 14^th from 8-10 AM for our 3rd Annual Falcon Pride Day. Let’s “Raise the Bar!”

Invite friends, family and alumni of West Catholic. We have built our school with hard work, dedication, and with many hands for over 48 years. Now we need to continue to improve our facility with hard work, dedication, and we need to do it the true West Catholic way. 

Many hands make light work. If you have any questions email, danrohn@grcss.org, or call the facilities/athletics department at 616-233-5903.

Facility Clean-Up List

Painting

Paint will be here and we will have some rollers and supplies, but could use additional rollers, brushes and paint trays.

Coat of paint on the goal posts

Paint the Press box. A lot of graffiti as been covered and it looks bad.

Paint Garbage Cans - all one color

Trailer in stadium – Fresh coat of paint (Current paint ran and looks bad)

Weeds

Gloves-Rakes-Shovels

Weed the sidewalks and curbs around the school

Weed Whip along fences and around sheds on practice fields

Weed and pull dead grass around the edge of the track

Pull weeds and weed whip around visitors bleachers

Weed whip the hill on the visitors side

Weed whip around bleachers and press box at baseball field

Home Bleachers - pull weeds by base of fence under bleachers

Pull weeds in pole vault and handicap areas

Rake and weed the long jump pit

Weed along softball and baseball fences

Edging

Equipment - Edgers

Edging all Sidewalks around the front and back of school

Edging around the stadium sidewalks

Leaf Blowers and Power Washers

Blow the areas under the bleachers and around the back of the school. Especially maintenance area. Power wash around the dumpsters

Power wash the base of the shed on the practice field (holds football equipment)

Power wash the entrances and sidewalks to the stadium

Power wash entrances to the school, especially the gym area

Power wash all dugouts

Bleachers and area in front of bleachers

Blow off all sidewalks curbs and parking areas.

Cleaning

Windex, Paper Towels

Clean the press box, windows, and vacuum

Clean ticket booth windows and floor

Clean out concessions

Clean and power wash all dugouts

Clean the windows and doors - gym area

Clean the backboards

Clean drains on football field

Clean tables and mirrors in team room and vacuum

Vacuum all entrances

Wipe down all baseboards around the gym

Mop all steps and wipe down all baseboards leading up to the weight room and team room

North and South side of the gym

Clean the glass in front of the trophy cases

Clean indoor concession and move pop to outside concessions

Clean out and blow out the visitor’s locker room and garage on practice field

Mop the indoor bleachers

What is the game schedule for the weekend?

Thursday, August 26, 2010:

West Catholic vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at West Catholic High school.

Freshman game at 4:30pm ~ JV game at 7:00pm

Friday, August 27, 2010:

Catholic Central JV vs. Traverse City St. Francis JV at the CAT at 12:00pm

Varsity Games at West Catholic High School.

Catholic Central vs. Traverse City St. Francis at 4:00pm

West Catholic vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at 7:30pm

How much are tickets?

Freshman and JV games: regular season, admission pricing and passes will apply - $5.00. All tickets for Friday night games are $7.00. You can buy one ticket and that will be good for both games. No sports passes will be allowed for the Varsity games. Ticket gate will open at 3:00 pm on Friday.

Where can I purchase tickets?

Advance tickets can be purchased at CC and WC athletic offices until 4 pm on Thursday, August 26th.

Where is the best place to park?

Parking will be available in the West Catholic lots and Betz Industries, south parking lot (2121 Bristol Ave NW). There will be busing from the Betz lot starting at 2:30 pm. A $1.00 donation is suggested for all parking.

Can I tailgate before the game?

Tailgating is allowed on West Catholic property only – please only use Betz Industries for parking. We will have security policing all parking lots and any tailgaters in undesignated areas will be asked to leave. Alcohol is prohibited on school property.

Can I reserve seating or a tailgate area?

There will be no reserve seating or tailgating. Everything is first come, first serve. After the game, please take all of your belongings with you as other fans may need a seat for their game. We will be bringing in additional bleacher seating for these games.

Will I be able to purchase this year’s spirit shirt?

There will be no merchandise sold at this game other than the “event” t-shirt.

Can I bring food into the game?

There will be no outside food allowed into the stadium. The concession stand will be open and there will be a steak dinner available from 5:00 – 8:00 pm in the West Catholic Cafeteria The steak dinner consists of steak/chicken, homemade coleslaw, bread, dessert and drink. Tickets are $10/adult and $5/kids meal (cheese pizza, dessert and drink).

Supporting Catholic Central/West Catholic High Schools

The proceeds from this event will be split between both schools evenly. The 50/50 raffle will go to the sports boosters at both high schools as well.

As we move forward into a new school year with many changes in place, there are still questions in the community that remain. Many questions have been answered by previous communications, however, this is an effort to give clarity and ease to obtaining your answers. We have made efforts to improve our communication plan and you will be hearing from us more often in a timely manner.

In our town hall meeting, members of our community posed questions that we want to address again. As explained in Father Stasker’s letter on May 19^th, the reason for going to a one principal model for both high schools was due to a governance issue. Realigning our administrative structure strengthens our ability to be flexible in adapting to constantly changing conditions such as enrollment numbers and school funding. In addition, a statement was made at the open school board meeting that only 38% of our students are college ready. This statement needs clarification. This statement was made in the context of the ACT Board report sent to us (and all Michigan high schools). This report states that 38% of our students exceeded the minimum standards needed for college readiness in ALL four core curriculum areas: Math, Science, History and English. It is an ACT College Board measurement intended as a tool for high schools to improve the structure of their academic programs. The state average is around 30%, with the highest score in the state at 44%. The report reminds us (as well as all Michigan high schools) that we have work to do in improving our core curriculum. A big benefit to our Catholic high schools is that we go beyond the core curriculum by positively developing our students’ physical and socio-emotional abilities, in service to others, faith and many other areas.

The role of the Board of Education as an advisory board was clearly addressed by GRCSS Board Chairman, Mark Scott, at the May board meeting and in his letter to the community dated June 11^th, 2010.

Other issues for clarification:

·   As Fr. Stasker stated in his May 19^th letter to the community, there was $912,722 in total unpaid tuition ($512,564 at CC; $400,157 at WC). Though there were exceptions, for the most part, the unpaid tuition referenced was for the 2009-2010 only. To date, the unpaid balance is down to apr. $515,000.

·   The business office is working daily, on a case-by-case basis, with the families who have communicated their needs with them.

·   The financial audit during the summer of 2009 uncovered many issues that needed to be investigated. The investigation has been ongoing with guidance from the auditors. It should be noted that the auditors did not find any wrong doing. As part of the corrective actions this spring, GRCSS started using a new financial package that allows for a clearer real-time picture of our finances and can adapt to fast changing economic and enrollment numbers both positive and negative.

·   This is a challenge; not a crisis. The schools are on course to eliminate the deficit (that has been compounding over the past years) and collect the 2009-2010 past due tuition. Generous donors are stepping forward to help with the tuition assistance need.

·   The GRCSS or the Diocese has not rejected an offer from donors to pay off debt.

·   This is both a financial issue and an HR issue as experienced by many schools across the country in the current economy. Due to declining enrollment, it was a financial decision to right-size the staff at our schools.

·   The Bishop Fund for Catholic Education provides tuition assistance and the parishes provide tuition assistance as well. It is the schools’ relationship with the diocese that guarantees their continuing operation through difficult financial times.

·   There has not been a change to the admissions process that was set up 2 years ago. The HSPT will continue to be used and if the student scores 20% or below, the application will be reviewed; If you are a partner school student scoring below 20%, you will be admitted, but on academic probation.

In closing, we want to communicate that making changes are difficult, however necessary, to position our schools for an ever-changing environment. We intend to continue our tradition established over the last 100 years by providing our children and their families with an opportunity to receive an outstanding Catholic education at the secondary level.

We appreciate your continued prayers. We look forward to this fall and kicking off another successful school year.

Save the Date! Please join us on Friday, August 27, 2010 at West Catholic Falcon Stadium for the inaugural Cross State Catholic Football Shootout. Come and cheer our teams on to victory!

Catholic Central will take on Traverse City St. Francis at 4:00 pm.

West Catholic battles Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at 7:30 pm.

There will be a steak dinner from 5:00 to 8:00.

More information to come in the next few weeks…

Congratulations to the West Catholic Baseball team for winning their Semi-Final game 2-1 against Mt. Pleasant in 8 innings. Danny Pittman batted in the winning run. They will play in the State Championship game against Dearborn Divine Child on Saturday at 9:30 am in Battle Creek’s Bailey Park. 

West won their first ever Regional Title by beating Comstock Park and Hudsonville Unity Christian. They proceeded to win the Quarterfinal game against Owosso 7-1 at MSU’s Kob’s Field.

The following article was one of the lead stories on June 16 in the Student and Athlete online magazine. http://studentandathlete.com/index_061610b.htm  

Come cheer on the Falcons to a State Championship!  Go West!

For complete coverage of the 2010 MHSAA playoffs, please visit > Baseball quarterfinals .

Meyers won the meet with a toss of 132-5 feet. She had also won the Discus event in the preceding week’s MITCA championships. She said, “This is amazing. I still can’t believe it.” Meyers also placed 8^th in the Shot Put to help lead the team to a 9^th place finish overall in the State.

Please click on the following link Board Address re: Restructuring and Strategic Planning  to view an open letter from our Secondary Schools Board Chairman, Mr. Mark Scott, addressing the Board’s view of recent events occurring within the Catholic Secondary Schools, including strategic planning and organizational restructuring.  

The West Catholic Boys Golf team won the Regional tournament in Otsego on June 3, allowing the team to advance to the MHSAA Division 3 State Tournament at The Meadows at Grand Valley on June 11 and 12. The team shot a score of 306, paced by freshman, Sam Weatherhead, who was medalist with a 71 (1 under par).

The West Catholic Boys Baseball team won its District tournament on June 5 at East Grand Rapids. The team defeated Union 10-2 and then East Grand Rapids 7-0 to claim the District title. The team will advance to the Regional tournament at Hope College on June 12, facing Comstock Park at 11:00 am.

The West Catholic Community Welcomes the Freshman Class of 2014.  To view the list of our newest Falcons to date, please click here.

We continue to accept Applications for Admission.  For more information, please contact our Advancement Director, Mindy Whiteside at 616-233-5918 or mindywhiteside@grcss.org. 

Come join our Falcon family!

On Tuesday, May 18, 2010, the 133 seniors of the Class of 2010 received diplomas in the graduation ceremonies held at West Catholic High School.

The West Catholic Students for Life club works to promote pro-life issues and causes in the school and community throughout the year. In the month of April, the club sponsored a Baby Bottle Drive in the school. Each religion class was given a baby bottle to fill with money for the cause. Each day for three weeks, a spare change collection was taken up in each class to fill the bottles. In some classrooms, individual Students for Life club members made cookies and cupcakes to sell to raise even more funds. At the end of three weeks, the total collected was $1000.

The money raised was sent to Grand Rapids Right to Life. 50% of the proceeds will be used for Right to Life programming, and the other 50% will be given to five different pregnancy centers in the Grand rapids area that offer material support to women facing an unplanned pregnancy.  The five centers are Mel Trotter Women and Children Center, Pregnancy Resource Center, HELP Crisis Pregnancy Aid, Alpha Women's Center and St. Mary's Pregnancy Crisis Center. Amanda Blok of GR Right to Life complimented the students’ efforts, noting that the money raised “will be a huge help to continuing the life-saving work in Grand Rapids. Thanks so much for doing the drive!”

The new structure calls for one principal for both West Catholic and Catholic Central High Schools. In addition, each school will maintain an assistant principal who will have redefined and enhanced responsibilities. Individual department heads will assume appropriate responsibilities for the faculty in their departments.

“We continually seek ways to strengthen our Catholic high schools so we can provide our young people with a vital and viable education in the context of our Catholic faith,” said Father Stasker. “These changes will streamline our administrative structure providing for more effective implementation of programs and policies across the two schools.”

Father Stasker appointed Mr. Tom Maj to assume the role of principal of the two schools. Mr. Maj is the current principal of West Catholic and served as assistant principal for Catholic Central for 10 years.

“It is an honor to be appointed to this new position as principal of both of our Catholic high schools. I look forward to building upon the faith foundation and academic success which are an inherent part of Catholic Central and West Catholic High Schools,” said Maj.

Maj earned his master’s of education from Grand Valley State University; his teacher’s certification from Central Michigan University; and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati. Maj, his wife and daughter reside in Rockford and are members of the parish at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew.

Mr. Steve Passinault, who has served Catholic Central for 17 years, 12 of those years as principal of the school, was offered a position in the organization.

“Steve has a strong commitment to Catholic school education,” said Father Stasker. “We are grateful to Mr. Passinault for his leadership.”

For more than a century, Catholic Central and West Catholic High Schools have provided academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. Catholic Central, located at 319 Sheldon Blvd. SE, and West Catholic, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, have current enrollments of 782 and 582 students respectively.

To view the complete Press Release, please click here.

The purpose of the Sports Faith International annual contest is to encourage athletes to “let their light shine before men, so that they may see their good works, and give thanks to the Father in Heaven.” Without in any way diminishing the importance of this award, the first place award for the “Team of the Year” was actually given out in February in Chicago. But the West Catholic Varsity Football team was so close to being selected first that SFI wanted to recognize them because of their extraordinary accomplishments and faith example.

On May 19, Patrick McCaskey addressed the West Catholic football players on the topic of sports and faith; touching upon his growing up in sports, his family, his involvement with the Bears, and the impact and importance of faith in life and work.

West Catholic’s football team was specifically noted for its academic and service achievements this year, in addition to its second straight OK Blue Conference Championship. The team received Academic All State Honorable Mention honors for ranking 12^th in Division 4 based on team grade point average. The team also logged over 3000 service hours last summer, before the football season even began, working for the school and at youth camps.

One highlight for the team prior to the season was a two-day work retreat in July for team members, their fathers, and the coaches. They traveled to St. Michaels’ Parish in Brunswick. The participants scraped and painted the entire parish hall and also spruced up the parish grounds and play structures. The students reflected on the value of teamwork and commitment to others. The retreat concluded on Sunday with a Mass celebrated by the parish priest.

According to Coach Dan Rohn, “The 2009 WC Football program made a commitment to giving back to our community by providing opportunities for our players, coaches, and parents to get involved with a number of service projects throughout the year. We want our players to understand that being a student athlete at West Catholic goes beyond what we do on the game field. We want to develop and enrich our players completely, in their faith, commitment, and dedication.”

Sports Faith International is a Chicago-based initiative dedicated to inspiring and transforming our culture through the world of sports.  It utilizes the best of new and traditional media to feature and encourage the powerful personal testimonies of outstanding athletes at all levels, who are living out their faith on and off the field. The vision of Sports Faith International is inspired by Pope John Paul II, who was known as “the athlete’s Pope,” called for the aggressive use of the media to promote the faith, and encouraged the utilization of sports as a powerful instrument to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

All students who advanced to the Finalist level in the 2010 competition were considered for these single-payment scholarships, which were awarded on a regional representation basis, in proportion to the population of Black Americans in each geographic region.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately financed academic competition established in 1964 specifically to honor scholastically talented Black American youth, and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding participants in each annual competition. The program is conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance.

More than 160,000 students entered the 2010 National Achievement Scholarship Program by requesting consideration when they took the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) as high school juniors. In September 2009, approximately 1,600 of the highest scorers were named Semifinalists on a regional representation basis. To continue in the competition, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements for Finalist standing, which included having a record of consistently high academic performance; being endorsed and recommended by an official of their high school; earning SAT scores that confirm their PSAT/NMSQT performance; and writing an essay.

Some 1,300 Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist level, and all National Achievement Scholarship winners were selected from this group of outstanding students. Achievement Scholar awardees are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and greatest potential for academic success in college.

Gabriel will be attending Yale University this fall.

This program provides us with the ability to video events and stream them Live and On-Demand over the internet at our dedicated website www.mhsaa.tv/westcatholic

Go to this link to see baseball, soccer and even graduation this year! In the future, you will find principal and coaches’ interviews, fine arts-and this fall-football and other sporting events. 

We’re excited to provide another way for you to stay connected with West Catholic. In addition to keeping the West Catholic community linked together, this program provides real-life experience for our students. Through an internship, graciously sponsored by Meijer, students will learn how to film, direct and produce events; exactly the skills needed to get a job at CNN or WOOD TV.

Students will learn how to produce events using multiple cameras (we need a TriCaster or video switcher if anyone has one), audio inputs, play-by-play announcing, scoring graphics, and a variety of commercial elements.

“This brings together everything that we have been looking for in a program,” said Dan Rohn. “It is a great educational tool, keeps our community connected and can even generate additional funding for the school. West Catholic sponsors will have the opportunity to get exposure on the internet and be recognized as major West Catholic supporters.”

Live in another state or country? 

Now you can see it all at www.mhsaa.tv/westcatholic

Please contact Dan Rohn (danrohn@grcss.org  or 616-233-5903) if you are interested in learning more or wish to get involved.

The award is sponsored by Kettering/GMI alumni and is intended to give students well-deserved recognition, as well as attract qualified students to careers in engineering, mathematics, technology and the sciences. Awardees receive a bronze medallion with the Kettering seal and a portfolio personalized with their name. These students may qualify for Kettering’s Merit Scholarship and are encouraged to apply for admission to the university. Brechting’s scientific endeavors at West Catholic include the FIRST Robotics program and AP Chemistry. She is the daughter of Martin and Jill Brechting, and she is a graduate of Holy Trinity School. Congratulations Anna!

Bob Mock, Kettering Representative; Sharon Piers, Chemistry Teacher; Anna Brechting;

This scholarship program was established by LMCU in 1991 to honor and recognize the contributions of its founder, Lloyd F. Hutt. Entrants were asked to write a 750 to 1,500 word essay on the topic “Describe Your Best Day Ever: Past, Present or Future.” An independent panel of judges selected the winners after reading each essay, focusing on content and passion for the topic. Of 312 essays submitted, eight students were chosen to receive $2,000 each for their continued education.

Zeigler wrote her essay about her experiences on the West Catholic volleyball team. The essay can be read at https://www.lmcu.org/docs/hutt_booklet_web.pdf . She plans to attend Central Michigan University to study Speech Pathology. She is the daughter of Michael and Lori Ziegler, and she is a graduate of Holy Spirit School. Congratulations Abby!

Students can take classes in art, band, cartooning, choir, creative writing, drama, dance, and graphic design.  On Friday, June 18, there will be an art show and a performance showcasing the talents of all of the students. 

The cost is $35.00 per student, and registration is due May 31. Brochures are available in the West Catholic main office and the main offices of many local Catholic grade schools. Further details and registration information is available on line at:

http://enigma2075.com/Fine%5FArts%5FWebsite/.

You may also contact Lisa Nawrocki, Chairperson of the West Catholic Fine Arts Department, at (616) 233-5939 if you have questions about the camp.

West Catholic posted a dominant victory over Allegan before being eliminated from the tournament by eventual state champion Detroit Country Day. Team members competing at State were seniors Zach Hartman, Miles Johnson, Alex Herrington, and Devon Hagen; and freshmen Jack Brooks and Brendan Kosnik. The team is coached by Mr. Patrick Nugent. West Catholic has qualified for the State Tournament each year since 1999.  Congratulations!

During the week of March 1-5, West Catholic High School celebrated the Fine Arts with a whole week of various events and performances. Students’ accomplishments in the band, choir, art, and theater programs were recognized.

On Monday, all Fine Arts students wore their Fine Arts Week T-shirts, and the Jazz Band performed at lunch for all students.

Festival of Arts Night was held Tuesday evening and included performances by the WC Jazz Band, Concert Band, Brass Quintet, Concert Choir, and Percussion Ensemble, as well as a video presentation of student art work and an excerpt from the upcoming school musical “Grease” performed by the cast.

On Wednesday, Art students spent the day visiting the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Concert Choir performed and a video of student artwork was shown at an assembly for all students on Thursday.

On Friday, the cast of the upcoming school musical performed “Grease Lightning” at lunch on stage for the student body. That afternoon, the Concert Band concluded the week in competition at the MSBOA State Concert Festival at West Ottawa Harbor Lights Middle School.

The events of the week were coordinated by the teachers in the Fine Arts Department, including Lisa Nawrocki (chair), Darren LaPrise, Josh Doe, Mary Harwood, and Cathy Pearce.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Girls Basketball Teams completed a sweep of the OK Blue Conference Championships at all three levels of competition, Freshman, JV, and Varsity, for the 2009-2010 season.

The Freshman team, coached by West Catholic Alumnus Kristen McDonald, completed their season 15-5 and won its second straight OK Blue Conference Championship.  The Junior Varsity, coached by Mark Yondo and Nancy Wagner (1979 State Championship Team Member and West Catholic Alumnus), also won its second straight OK Blue Conference Championship and finished with an awesome 18-2 record.

The Varsity team, coached by Mike Glass, John Beadling, Brenda Sack and Carrie Roys Polega (1997 State Runner-up Team Member and West Catholic Alumnus), won the first Varsity Conference Championship since 2000 and first OK Blue Conference Championship. The team finished the regular season with a 13-1 conference record and a 15-5 overall record and will have all team members returning next season.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The Varsity Boys Basketball team ended its regular season with the team performing at a high level.  Though not winning every game, the guys have competed hard in practice and in competition.  The team finished in 3^rd place in the OK Blue with a league record of 8-6 and an overall record of 9-11.  West Catholic will be the host for the district tournament, where the Falcon seniors will look to leave their mark on the program with a District championship. 

GIRLS BOWLING

The Girls Bowling team completed conference play in second place with a 10-2 record. They finished second in the post-season tournament to a very strong Sparta team. The team had a strong season, with a winning record and several new school record games. The O.K. Blue All-Conference team includes senior Olivia Steil, junior Kayla Feutz, and junior Marissa Steffens.

In the Regional, Marissa Steffens finished 11^th, Kayla Feutz finished 12^th, and Olivia Steil finished 18^th. Unfortunately, only the top 10 move on to the State Tournament.

In the Regional team competition, where the top 3 teams move on to the State Tournament, the team ended its season very close to qualifying in the 4^th spot.

BOYS BOWLING

The Boys Bowling team ended conference play with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses. They ended the regular season with a second place finish in the post-season tournament, just 24 pins out of first. The boys had a very strong season. They worked hard for their second place conference finish.  The All-Conference team includes seniors Zack Kasperlik, Steve Kuzma, Nick Byrne, and sophomore Caleb Steil. 

Zack Kasperlik qualified for the State Tournament by finishing 3rd in the Regional competition on Saturday. Zack knocked down 1177 pins in the six games. Other WC bowlers who did not qualify for State competition but had good games included Trent Clark finishing 17^th and Nick Byrne finishing 19^th.

In the Regional team competition, where the top 3 teams move on to the State Tournament, the team finished in 5^th position 79 pins behind the 3^rd place team.

SKI

The Boys Ski team finished 3^rd among Division II teams in the conference. The Girls Ski team also finished 3^rd among Division II conference teams.

In the Regional, the boys finished 11^th out of 16 teams while the girls finished 12^th out of 15 teams. Steven Kelly earned a 9^th place finish in Giant Slalom, and qualified for the MHSAA State Meet.

At State, Steven placed 32^nd of 70 in the first run of GS. Deciding to "go for it," he bobbled slightly on the second run, finishing with a "no regrets" 59^th place. Steven's participation in the State Meet marks the 10^th time in the last 11 years that WC has participated in the MHSAA State Ski Meet.                     

SWIMMING and DIVING

The West Catholic Boys Varsity Swimming and Diving team took fourth place over all, missing third place by five points to rival TK-Hastings, at the OK Rainbow Swimming and Diving Championships. The Falcons were led by Nick Burciaga, who took first place in diving, setting a new conference record in the process. Nick was also part of the 200 yard and 400 yard freestyle relays that took third place in the Championship finals. Danny Selgo, took second place in diving. On the swimming side, Forrest West took second place in the backstroke and fifth in the 200 yard freestyle; he was also part of the 200 yard and 400 yard freestyle relays. Forrest qualified for the State Meet in the back stroke. Hunter Nemmers took third place in the 50 yard freestyle and sixth in the 100 yard freestyle, qualifying for the State Meet in the 50 yard freestyle. Hunter was also part of the 200 and 400 yard relays.

Because of these efforts, Nick, Danny, Forrest and Hunter all earned All-Conference honors.

The Falcons did a tremendous job to take an overall fourth place finish in the OK Rainbow Conference meet. Congratulations to all the swimmers and divers on a great season. The Falcons finished 3-3 in the league duals and 4-5 overall in duals.

WRESTLING

The Wrestling team’s season came to an end at the Conference Meet where Zac Nowicki took 2^nd, Mitch Norder placed 4^th, Tom Doyle placed 3^rd, and Tony Brechting took 2^nd place. 

Zac Nowicki was also District champ in his weight class of 103 lbs.   Taylor Nowicki finished 3^rd in District competition, in the 130 lb. weight class.  This qualified both wrestlers to Regional Competition on February 20.  Although both wrestlers gave it their all, they did not advance to State competition this season.

Kelly competed in the giant slalom and finished 59^th overall at State. Kelly said, “I was pumped when I found out I made it to state.” Coach Scott Inman added, “He has led his team by example, demonstrating the rewards of hard work and hard training. It has been a very enjoyable four years working with Steven.” Congratulations Steven!

West Catholic Band Director Darren LaPrise summed up the students’ achievements with the following statement: “To walk into a room and make a presentation to complete strangers is extremely difficult, particularly if it took you months to prepare it. To walk away and call that presentation successful is one of the best feelings our students can have. That feeling was achieved by many of our Band students at the MSBOA Solo and Ensemble Festival.”

The following students earned First or Second Division ratings at the Festival:

FIRST DIVISION RATED (Excellent)

Brass Quintet Eamon Carmody, Mike Sacha, Ashley Savage, Andrew Bearinger, and Ray Kalinowski    

Percussion Sextet (Mallets) Zach Hartman, Patty Pierzchala, Katrina Marks, Jordan Alber, Katie Hartman, and John Paul

Flute Duet: Anna Brechting and Theresa Brechting

Flute Solo:  Anna Brechting

Flute Solo: Theresa Brechting

Trumpet Solo: Eamon Carmody

Piano solos:  John Paul, Francis Burns, Katie Hartman

SECOND DIVISION RATED (Good)

Trumpet Solo: Jeff Ford

Trombone Solo: Joel Gravelyn

Bass Clarinet Solo: Dominic Frazine

Saxophone Quartet: Josh Laske, Jacob Dean, Stacey Sienkewicz, John Gravelyn

Piano Solo: Mary Francis Eshleman

Congratulations West Catholic Band Students!

While there, the students attended Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, toured the monuments, visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and participated with approximately 300,000 people in the March for Life. They returned to West Catholic very tired but inspired by the trip to continue their pro-life activities.

On Wednesday, February 3, West Catholic High School inducted three new members into its Religious Vocations Wall of Fame. The induction ceremony was held during an all-school Mass in conjunction with Catholic Schools Week. The new members are Rev. Fr. Khanh Hoang (Class of 1986), Rev. Mr. Edward Harwood (Class of 1972), and Rev. Mr. Gerald Roersma (Class of 1976).

The Religious Vocations Wall of Fame was inaugurated in 2004, and the display was blessed by Bishop Kevin Britt at an all-school Mass concelebrated by the Wall’s first inductees. Since 2004, more honorees have been added to the Wall, and including this year’s three new members, the Wall now displays plaques honoring 18 priests, sisters, brothers and permanent deacons. These honorees are all alumni of West Catholic or its predecessor West Catholic Central. The Religious Vocations Wall of Fame is located outside of the St. Maria Goretti Chapel, adjacent to the school cafetorium.

Fr. Khanh Hoang is a native of Vietnam. He came to the United States at the age of ten as a refugee. He graduated from West Catholic in 1986 and entered Aquinas College. After further study at Seton Hall University and St. Thomas Seminary, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1994 for the Diocese of Colorado Springs. Due to allergies, he moved to Hawaii in 2003. He is currently serving as Vicar for Clergy for the Diocese of Honolulu.

Permanent Deacon Ed Harwood attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from West Catholic in 1972. He studied theology and Scripture at Aquinas College, and he was ordained to the permanent diaconate on February 10, 2006. Since ordination, he has been assigned to pastoral work at St. Mary’s Parish in Grand Rapids. Ed and his wife Joanne (WC ’71) are the parents of six children, including four WC graduates and one current WC student.

Permanent Deacon Jerry Roersma attended Holy Trinity School and graduated from West Catholic in 1976. He graduated from Aquinas College. He was ordained to the permanent diaconate on February 10, 2006. Since ordination, he has been assigned to pastoral work at Holy Trinity Parish. Jerry and his wife Susan (WC ’75) are the parents of three children, all of whom are WC graduates.

The December blood drive was very successful.  Ninety Two (92) people came to the blood drive to donate, and 73 pints of blood were collected. These totals include 35 new donors who were registered on that day. According to Michigan Blood, West Catholic’s per-student donation levels are the highest in our area. Student volunteers, advised by Mrs. Cynthia Kneibel, staff the event in conjunction with Michigan Blood. The next blood drive at West Catholic is scheduled for Friday, March 5, 2010.

West Catholic High School Football Coach, Dan Rohn, was selected by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) as a Regional Coach of the Year.  

Every year, West Catholic students and staff generously give in many different ways to share the Christmas spirit with the surrounding communities. This year, a number of service projects have been undertaken throughout the school to continue this giving tradition.

For the second year, the entire school participated in a fundraising program to help homeless teens in Grand Rapids. Led by the Student Government and its adviser Mrs. Cindy Kneibel, the school held a Red and Green Day to raise over $1100 to purchase hoodies and pajamas for local teens. These items were distributed in partnership with Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Throughout the year, West Catholic students respond daily by donating to an HTN (Help the Needy) fund. This fund generates thousands of dollars annually. This month, $500 of HTN money was spent to purchase sleeping bags, blankets, nonperishable food items, coats, and other outwear for the local homeless. In addition, students also generously brought in food, clothing, and personal hygiene items. Two carloads of goods were delivered to local missions.

Sophomore and Junior students in Mr. Patrick Nugent’s religion classes have been collecting money this month for the Catholic Church Extension Society. They have chosen worthy causes from Extension’s annual Christmas Wish List. Over $1000 will be sent to support the Church across the United States; helping to sponsor a seminarian for the armed forces, supporting prison ministry in Texas, building a school roof on a New Mexico Indian reservation, and supporting hospital ministry in Puerto Rico.

Art students made over 100 cards for the residents of St. Ann’s home. Student used silkscreen and linoleum block printing to create the hand-made cards. They then addressed them with simple holiday greetings and well wishes for Christmas. “I have two students, Andrea Powers and Megan Rogalski who work at St. Ann’s Home. They are going to bring the cards in for us and they are sure that the residents will really appreciate receiving our Christmas cards,” said art teacher Mrs. Lisa Nawrocki.

WC Art Students Making Cards for St. Ann's Home

To view previously published News Briefs which feature many of our successes, please click on the link below.

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