BISHOP GARRIGAN JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL
November 2014
BGHS admits students and hires staff without regard to race, national origin, gender or disability.
Notes from the Music Department
The month of November has some exciting events coming in
the Music Department. Five students have been accepted into
the OPUS Honor Choir Festival in Ames on Thursday, Nov. 20.
They are: Freshman, Sam Trainer and 8th Graders, Emma Thul,
Megan Bronk, Eric Thul and Sam Vaske. They were chosen
from recorded auditions submitted to a selection committee.
There are eight high school vocalists who auditioned for the
All State Music Festival to be held in Ames on Nov. 21 and 22.
Students who auditioned were: Carolyn Baxter, Dorothy
Kirsch, Levi Capesius, Caitlin Thilges, Mariah Bronk, Mark
Fakler, Isabelle Davis and Samuel Trainer. All of these students
have spent endless hours in preparation and made a strong
showing at auditions.
Students accepted into the All State Festival are: Carolyn Baxter, Dorothy Kirsch, Levi Capesius and Mark Fakler.
The Music, Drama and Art Departments are busy finishing
staging, costumes and rehearsals for the upcoming musical,
“Sound of Music” to be presented in the Friedmann Auditorium
on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 & 8.
There are 50-plus students in grades 9 – 12 involved either on
stage or behind the scenes as well as two elementary students in
the children’s roles.
Tickets are on sale by calling the BGHS office during office
hours at 295-3521. Reserved seating (a cushioned chair) is $5
per person, with general bleacher seating also $5.
Those wanting reserved seating are encouraged to call, as seating will be on a first come, first serve basis. Seating may also
be
reserved
by
e-mailing
Mary
McCall:
[email protected].
Bishop Garrigan School Board
At the October School Board meeting, the Board approved
moving the 4th, 5th and 6th graders to the Bishop Garrigan
campus for the 2015-16 school year.
Counselor’s Corner
Kids and Lying—Part 2
(Love and Logic)
In part one of the article "Kids and Lying," I wrote about a
situation in which the parent knew what her child had done,
but what if you suspect a misbehavior but don't know for sure?
Then what do you do?
Janice's intuition tells her that her son Brad has been drinking
at some recent parties. However, as they say on those cop
shows, she just doesn't have the evidence to prove it.
Lack of evidence shouldn't keep her from talking with him
about it. "Brad, I've been getting this funny feeling that you are
drinking at those parties. I just don't like to worry about things
like that, especially since you are driving."
"Aw, Mom, you don't have to worry about that. You know I
don't drink."
"That could be, Brad, but you've lied to me about some other
things lately, so I am worrying about it."
"Yeah, but why are you on my case about this? I'm not lying
this time."
"Brad, we are not talking about lying. We are talking about
my worrying. And your job is to make sure I don't worry. I
love you, and as a mom I have a duty to worry about drinking
and driving. It's all about keeping you and others alive."
"So?"
"So, Brad, I know that if you are not driving, I won't worry
as much. Figure out a good way to keep me from worrying and
you'll get back the keys to the car."
"But why do you think I'm lying?"
"Brad, we're talking about worry, not lying. I'll be anxious to
hear your plan to set my mind at ease. Thanks, pal. See you
later."
Could you use the same approach about brushing teeth,
computer use, cell phone use, etc?
Policy on sending transcripts
JUNIOR HIGH NEWS
Basketball
In joining the new North Iowa Conference, the playing
dates for basketball have changed some.
The boys will begin practice on Oct. 30, and they will play all
of their games except two of them before Christmas. This is
due to the majority of schools in the NIC have wrestling after
Christmas.
The girls will begin practice on Dec. 8, because all of their
games start after Christmas vacation and wrap up on Feb. 19.
I hope this may clear up a little confusion some might be having.
In addition, when we play Mason City Newman and North
Iowa, those will be a single seventh grade game followed by a
single eighth grade game.
Connect with us on Facebook or on Twitter @bgprincipal
Most people apply online. Give Sister Janet Goetz, Registrar,
the name of the college and its address and an official Garrigan
transcript will be mailed. An official transcript has the school
seal and signature. Official transcripts are not faxed.
The first transcript is mailed without charge. If you send more
than one transcript to the same college, there is no charge for
the second or third transcript to that college admissions office.
After the first free transcript, each succeeding transcript (to
apply for scholarships, jobs or to other colleges) is $2 each.
This fee may be paid at the time the transcript is requested or at
the semester.
After graduation, the fee of $2 also applies. This fee is due
when the transcript is requested. For these post-graduation requests, provide your full name, birth date and year of graduation. All official transcripts are mailed.
Iowa Lakes transcripts are requested directly from ILCC and
should be mailed by Iowa Lakes directly to the college. Do not
have them sent to Garrigan.
Contact Sister Janet if you have questions about transcripts.
November 2014
BGHS NEWSLETTER --- PAGE TWO
BISHOP GARRIGAN JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH
President: Mr. Lynn Miller
Principal: Mrs. Christy Peterson
Pastoral Director: Mr. Rob Meister
Activities Director: Mr. Ron Patterson
Deacon: Rev. Mr. Bill Black
Counselor/Curriculum: Mr. John Byrkeland
1224 North McCoy St.; Algona, IA 50511
Quiz Bowl news
Forty teams competed at the 2014 Bishop Garrigan quiz bowl
tournament in October.
The Bears had four teams among the top 16 overall. The
team of seniors Tony Kollasch, Taylor Illg and Zach Kollasch,
and junior Devin Degen finished in third place overall.
The freshman team of Ben Degen, Noah Buscher, Sam
Trainer and Trevor Darling made it to the quarterfinals before
falling to the #1 seed in the tournament.
The home tournament was the first of the season for the
Golden Bear quiz bowl team. They will compete at Algona
High in November and then at Spirit Lake and South O’Brien
in December.
Magazine drive
A reminder that this year we will no longer be doing a formal
magazine drive, but you can still support our student council by
renewing your subscriptions online. There is a link at the bottom of the “What’s New” page on bggoldenbears.org that will
take you directly to the fundraiser site to get credit for our
school.
You may choose to support a specific student if you
wish. Forty percent of all sales come back to the school to support student activities.
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society induction ceremony for the 20142015 school year will take place Nov.18, at 2:30 p.m. in Friedmann Auditorium. Current members and new members and all
parents will be honored at a reception in the school lunchroom
following the ceremony.
All juniors and seniors who have a cumulative grade point
average of 3.50 or higher have been invited to complete a Student Activity Information form. A Faculty Council then reviews these forms.
New members are selected by a majority vote based on leadership, service, and character. Faculty Council members are
changed each year to insure maximum fair consideration.
Senior class notes
Class flower, gold rose; colors, black and gold; motto,
“Behind us are memories, beside us are friends, before us are
dreams that will never end.”
Baccalaureate will be Wednesday, May 6, at 7 p.m.
Graduation will be Sunday, May 10, at 2 p.m.
Prom will be Saturday, April 25, with the Grand March at 8
p.m.
Tech Talk
Students are using their Google accounts and Chrome Books
multiple times daily. Teachers are also gaining momentum with
Google Classroom. All are to be commended for digging in and
using our technology to positively impact student achievement.
Ongoing tasks include resolving some details on our network
equipment, especially our server and firewall, relative to the
change of our internet service provider from the ICN to Algona
Municipal Utilities. Our increased bandwidth is helpful with the
increased number of machines coupled with an increase in internet use by students and staff.
Here is some feedback from the students:
“It’s unique how homework is on Google Classroom, it makes it
much easier and it saves a lot of paper.” -Kaila Cink.
“Junior High students use technology a lot during class. We are
learning to use technology during presentations.” - Emma Thul.
“We have been using technology more in the classrooms which
is very helpful to have laptops available anytime.” - Olivia Hall.
“The opportunity for our knowledge has had the chance to expand because of the laptops, Chrome Books and Smart Boards in
the classrooms. It’s very helpful to me and all the students.” Courtney Kirsch.
Kindergarteners love playing the games on the IPADs! We
used the IPAD to FaceTime all the way out to California with
Mrs. Lind! Mrs. Lind says it was exciting to see her class too
and talk with them about how they were doing on the lessons she
left for them to do while she was gone!
Second grader: “We like learning with technology! We have
used the Mimio board and the Elmo during class. In small
groups we use I-pads and our class lap top. We visit the Computer Lab twice a week to learn more about the reading and
math skills we have learned in the classroom.”
Third graders are learning to take pictures with the Ipad so they
can incorporate them into a project later this year.
Fifth grader: “I use it for learning and the teachers say, I use it
for spelling and reading.” Many stated they loved using the
ChromeBooks in the classroom versus the computer lab. They
use the same web sites in either place - SpellingCity, keyboarding. everydaymathonline, and google docs.
Another 5th grader : “Most of the time we use Spelling City
with Mrs. Birkey. With Mrs. Hough, we use google docs to do
reading vocabulary and to make graphs. We use Symbalo with
Mrs. Birkey and Mrs. Hough. We have computers in the computer lab and Chrome books that the school uses. We also use
typing club with Mrs. Birkey. We also have Ipads that are the
teachers. We play every day math and in every room there is an
Elmo and overhead projector.”
6th grader: “We use technology in our classroom by using
Chrome Books to complete assignments online. The students
also do research for papers and projects online and type up their
reports using Microsoft Word. I use the Elmo to display information during class.”