High school students attend March for Life in D.C.

Charleigh Reinardy - Knight Writer

Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy

OSHKOSH, WI - Five Lourdes Academy students traveled to Washington D.C. on January 15 to participate in the annual March for Life event to support their pro life beliefs. Seniors Jacob Diker, Charleigh Reinardy, Seraphine Kabogora, Clarisse Muterateka, and junior Adam Michalec joined the 650,000 marchers who stood up for life on January 18. The five students spent months speaking at local churches, raising money, and asking for prayers as they prepared themselves for their pilgrimage.

Diker said going on the March for Life was one of the best decisions he has ever made. “Being able to take part in such an important event means so much to me. 18 years ago my birth mother chose life and adoption over abortion. Standing up against abortion is so important to me because someone had the choice to either give me life or end it right there. I want to fight for all of the unborn children who haven’t been given the chance at life like I have. Being a part of the March for Life was so moving to me because I so closely relate to the lives being affected everyday by abortion, the lives that never got the chance to live, and those whose lives were ended far too early,” DIker said.

The students left on Tuesday night from St. Pious church in Appleton after gathering for Mass with 162 other marchers from the Green Bay Diocese, their families, and Bishop David Ricken.

The students traveled Tuesday night through Wednesday, stopping in a few states along the way. After arriving in Maryland on Wednesday afternoon at the 4-H Center, the entourage celebrated Mass together which was presided over by the four priest who traveled with the group.

On Thursday morning, the participants toured Saint Matthew’s Cathedral and started the day off with Mass. Together, the group walked to visit the White House and the Washington Memorial.

The students were able to give a day of their trip to service. After lunch at the Reagan Building, the students split themselves into service groups. Students were able to serve at a SHARE Warehouse food sorting, visit the Little Sister of the Poor, visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum, or spend a day in prayer at the Sisters of Life convent.

On Friday morning, the participants loaded the buses by five a.m. to beat the rush of those heading to the Capital One Arena for the Youth Rally and Mass for Life. The students listened to multiple speakers from around the world, shared in praise and worship, and celebrated Mass with 20,000 youth from around the world at the arena.

With a police escort, the students then marched from the arena to the start of the march at the Washington Monument. Several speakers including Ben Shapiro, vice president Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence, and president Donald Trump shared their thoughts and thanked the marchers for their presence in D.C.

The March for Life began close to 2:00 p.m., and the five Lourdes students were just a few among the thousands who stood up for life. The students marched from the monument and up Capital Hill until they reached the capital building.

“The coolest site was to turn around on the top of Capitol Hill to see the thousands of other marchers standing up for the lives that don’t yet have a voice,” Reinardy said. “I got to meet some amazing people and stand up for something I strongly believe in. Being adopted made me want nothing more than to advocate for the 60 million lives already lost due to abortion since Roe vs. Wade.”

The students continued to walk past the end of the march to Union Station where the diocese met to have dinner and board the buses to visit the National Basilica.

The diocese choose to leave Friday night, a day early, due to a winter storm that was planning to sweep through the midwest states.

Diker shared that he truly enjoyed seeing all 650,000 people beside him marching for the end of abortion. “The weather for the march was amazing. It was like God had seen his children fighting for the lives of the unborn and sent 40 degrees and sunshine. My favorite part was getting to grow in my faith. I have not always been the best Catholic, but I learned how great God truly is. He brought hundreds of thousands of people together, and it was amazing to see everyone banding together in this fight. I am grateful for this experience because I was able to meet so many other high school-aged students who either were at the same points in their faith as me or more grown in their faith. I loved being able to learn about my faith from my peers; I felt as though God was working through my new friends and was reaching out to me to really open my eyes to his love and power,” Diker said.

Polar vortex puts a freeze on Catholic Schools Week

By Maria Foss - Knight Writer

Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy

OSHKOSH, WI - School was canceled three times from Jan. 28 through Feb. 1 due to brutal weather conditions, but Lourdes Academy grades K-12 still found a way to enjoy Catholic Schools Week.

The week was kicked off with the annual scooter hockey tournament on Jan. 24. Students, alumni, parents, and staff who wished to participate in the competition formed scooter hockey teams and competed against other teams in a battle to make their way to the championship game. In the end, a sophomore boys´ team, “That Wasn’t Very Cash Money of You,” won the tournament.

Pajama day was planned for Monday; however, a snowstorm caused school to be canceled for the first time that week.

Tuesday was dress for Jesus for the all system Mass day. Students dressed in respectful attire: girls wore dresses, skirts, or blouses, and boys wore dress shirts, ties, and pants. The Mass was celebrated at St. Peter’s church and focused on the blessings of being part of a Catholic school. Fr. Jerry Pastors was the presider over the Mass, and his homily reflected the Gospel reading from Mark 3:31-35 which talked about following God’s will and having love for Him and our neighbor.

Meme day was supposed to be on Wednesday, and students planned to dress up as their favorite meme. However, the frigid -25 degree temperature from the polar vortex caused classes to be canceled once more. School was also canceled due to cold weather on Thursday, which was supposed to be jersey day.

Friday was crazy red and white day. Students wore their craziest red and white attire for the day and participated in the afternoon pep rally which included the annual boys’ volleyball tournament, music from the school band, and a game of Family Feud which featured teachers against students. The students proved to be victorious.

Besides dressing up for each day of the week, students participated in a door decorating activity. Each homeroom class decorated its homeroom teacher’s door that the student council members assigned. Seniors decorated their homeroom doors in a fall theme, juniors decorated their doors in a winter theme, sophomores decorated their doors in a summer theme, and freshmen decorated their doors in a spring theme.

To wrap up Catholic Schools week, the winter formal was held on Feb. 2 from 8-11 p.m. in the commons. Students attended the dance dressed up in fancy attire and enjoyed a night of dancing and music surrounded by decorations related to the masquerade theme.

Reflecting on Catholic Schools Week and its meaning, sophomore Mia Maslowski said, “The biggest part for me about being able to go to Catholic school is that I get to learn how to grow in my faith. I can also learn about being a good person and how to treat others as well as how to be a leader in the community.”

Senior Gwendolyn Gruber said, “I am proud to attend a Catholic school because I can grow in and express my faith every day. I can connect and create strong relationships with classmates, younger students, and teachers, too.”