January
In memory of Mrs. Dishaw: teacher and friend
By Maria Foss - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - High school religion teacher Charlene Dishaw was a friendly, joyful person with a kind heart and a passion for teaching her students about God’s love for them.
The whole school was shocked and saddened when they heard that Dishaw passed away unexpectedly on the morning of January 2.
“Mrs. Dishaw always seemed to be in a good mood,” sophomore Riley Studinski remembers. “She was so bubbly and full of energy.”
Dishaw was born to late the Charles and Mary Zorch on April 11, 1958 in Rochester, New York. She attended Seton Hill College and graduated with a Bachelors of Art. Later, she received her masters degree from Boston College.
On November 19, 1983, Dishaw married Mark Dishaw in Fairport, New York, and a few years later, adopted two beautiful children: Dante and Margaret.
Dishaw mentored not only her own children, but countless others as a teacher here at Lourdes Academy. She taught for 13 years as a high school theology teacher, touching the lives of her students in countless ways. Dishaw was loved by the other staff members and teachers at Lourdes, especially the high school teachers with whom she worked.
“Lunch will never be the same,” high school English teacher Sue Dolan said. “Charlene always had a funny story to tell - she had a great sense of humor.”
In the classroom, Dishaw enjoyed discussing morality with her students and asking theological questions to make them think. As a teacher, Dishaw was dedicated to bringing her students closer to Christ and teaching them about the beauty of the Catholic faith.
Junior Tate Fabish recalls, “Mrs. Dishaw was so nice. A week before she passed away, she came up to me in the hallway and told me that I had really grown spiritually since she first met me. She was a great teacher.”
Dishaw was an active member of Saint Raphael the Archangel Parish in Oshkosh and was seen weekly attending the six o’clock Saturday Mass. She loved watching movies, especially action, comedy, and movies involving Lucille Ball. In addition, Dishaw liked to knit, read, and collect LulaRoe clothing. She was very active on social media, as many of her friends on Facebook know, and loved commenting on posts and videos.
As a teacher, mother, and friend, Dishaw will always be remembered as a special part of Lourdes Academy.
St. Norbert College students create projects to help the community
Ellie MacKenzie - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - Students in English teacher Sue Dolan’s St. Norbert College English classes recently completed their social justice papers and projects which help raise awareness about non-profits in the community.
The social justice projects have been a part of the SNC course for almost 10 years, and, according to Dolan, the projects challenge the students to investigate an area of need in the community.
After initial research, students reach out and interview someone from an organization to identify an area of need within the organization, Dolan said. Students must come up with a plan of action of how to resolve and better meet the needs of the organization, Dolan said.
Organizations that students have chosen in the past include Father Carr’s, the Oshkosh Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry and other non-profit organizations in the community.
Dolan said that students in the past have created supply drives to support the organizations they chose for the project. Other students have chosen to do informational videos to bring awareness to the need of the organization.
Senior SNC student Maggie Payson said, “I think it helps us realize that there are many things we can do as a community.” Payson chose the Christine Ann Center for her organization and learned that donations help run the shelter.
“Since we have this project, we can prove to each other that there are a lot of things we can do even as teenagers,” Payson said.
Students to participate in the March for Life
By Noah Ralofsky - Knight Writers
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - Lourdes high school students were given the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to participate in the March for Life on January 18, and five students accepted the opportunity.
Representing Lourdes this year at the march will be seniors Charleigh Reinardy, Jacob Diker, Seraphine Kabogora, Clarisse Muterateka, and junior Adam Michalec. Michalec is an exchange student from Slovakia, and Kabogora and Muterateka are international students from Burundi, Africa. Reinardy and Diker are both from Oshkosh. The students will leave on Jan. 15 and will return on Jan. 20.
Campus minister and middle school religion teacher Reagan Pecore organized the trip to Washington D.C. and the opportunity for the students to participate in the march. Pecore believes the March for Life trip is a unique opportunity for the students because they have the chance to stand up for something they believe in.
“Our faith puts a strong emphasis on the sanctity of life. We believe that life begins at conception,” Pecore said. “It’s important to be a voice for the voiceless,” said Pecore, referring to babies in the womb.
Pecore also said that the local parishes and those in the community have been very generous with donations to help make the trip more affordable.
Reinardy said she heard about the March for Life opportunity through those who have gone to march in the past. “I’m looking forward to this experience to advocate for something I believe in and to be around other people with the same beliefs.” She said that she wants to stand up for the babies with no voice.
Diker said he also heard about the march from former Lourdes participants. “I want to stand up for something I believe in,” Diker said. He also said that he wants to raise awareness that abortions are morally wrong.
Those interested in participating in the March for Life next year should contact Pecore around late October to mid November to discuss all aspects of the trip. The cost of the trip this year was $600 in total: $100 for spending money including food, and $500 for travel and lodging. The travel time is about 17 hours by bus.
May God bless our March for Life students as they travel to support the sanctity of human life.
Scooter hockey scoots back to Lourdes, Jan. 25
By James Gross - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - On Jan. 25, students and staff from all Lourdes schools will compete in the annual scooter hockey tournament to win the golden scooter hockey-stick award.
According to Shannon Gibson, Development Coordinator for Lourdes, “Scooter hockey was originally started as a FUN-raiser, not necessarily to raise a lot of money, but to celebrate Catholic Schools Week as a system in a really fun way.”
In more recent years, the tournament has been a successful fundraiser as well as a fun event. According to Gibson, funds raised at the scooter hockey event from team admissions go to the general operating budget which funds everything from "teacher wages to toilet paper."
The scooter hockey tournament will kick off Catholic Schools week which is from Jan. 27-Feb 2. One popular feature of Catholic Schools Week is the tuition raffle where a lucky individual will win up to $5,000 which is to be used toward one child’s tuition. Tickets for the raffle will go on sale for $100 the week of Jan. 14, and Lourdes will be selling them the night of scooter hockey and throughout Catholic Schools Week.
Many students and staff are looking forward to this year's tournament and have signed up to compete. Senior Maria Tushar, who will be playing on the team The Plague, is excited about this year’s competition. According to Tushar, The Plague’s other team members are seniors Sophie Laib, Ava McGuire, Rachel Aasby, Izzy Kelly, and Morgan Thiel.
Tushar said her team has done very well in scooter hockey in the past tournaments, and she claims her team has “the intimidation factor.” She also said that experience is a key factor to her team winning. The team The Plague is most fearful of is the Moore family team. However, Tushar is confident The Plague may have a chance to take the Moore family down this year as the Moore team does not have a key player this year: Jackson Moore who is attending college. Tushar claims that her team is stacked with "very good players."
During the scooter hockey competition, each team is guaranteed three games. Once the regular play is over, the top two teams from each bracket are to play until the championship. Each round is seven minutes with three minutes in between the rounds. There are no mercy rules in this game.
Information about scooter hockey and Catholic Schools week can be found at https://www.lourdesacademyoshkosh.org/domain/100
The Epiphany: why we celebrate
By Riley Studinski - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI Over two thousand years ago on January 6, the Magi followed the star to baby Jesus in Bethlehem on what is now known as the Epiphany.
According to catholicnewsagency.com, “The Epiphany celebrates the revelation that Jesus was the son of God.” The Epiphany focuses primarily on the revelation that Jesus was the son of God. The three Magi, also known as the three kings or the three wise men, are named Caspar(Gaspar) of India, Melchior of Persia, and Balthasar of Arabia according to whychristmas.com. These wise men bring the three gifts given to baby Jesus at the Epiphany: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The meaning of Epiphany is different depending on where one is from. According to brittanica.com, in the eastern hemisphere, the Epiphany mainly recognizes the Baptism of Jesus Christ and celebrates the revelation that Jesus Christ was both fully man and fully Christ. In the western hemisphere, the Epiphany is known as the twelfth night. The twelfth night is recognized as the night that the three wise men went to Bethlehem to give their gifts to the infant Jesus.
According to timeanddate.com, the Epiphany is the end of the Christmas season and is the first day of the festival season which includes Easter and Mardi Gras.
The Epiphany is celebrated in many different ways around the world. According to timeanddate.com, in some European countries including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, children dress up as the three wise men and go to different people’s houses and sing. In some Latin American countries, it is the three wise men who bring the gifts to children and not Santa Claus. In Spain, children fill their shoes with straw or grain and leave them on their doorstep for the three wise men's horses/camels to eat. When the children wake up in the morning, instead of having grain or straw in their shoes, they will find toys and treats.
According to brittanica.com, “The Epiphany is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian church.”
The Epiphany is an important holiday no matter what religion you practice or where you are from.
The Klopfs welcome baby Josephine!
By James Gross - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - The most heartwarming sound to Josh and Carly Klopf is the sound of their daughter giggling.
On Dec. 20, Lourdes Academy director of technology Josh Klopf and his wife Carly knew that they would be able to listen to those giggles for a lifetime as the adoption of their baby daughter Josephine became official.
In April 2018, Klopf said they were first blessed with the presence of Josephine when she joined their family as a foster child when she was an infant. The moment Josephine was placed in their arms, the Klopfs fell in love with her. Over the six months the Klopfs fostered Josephine, the bonds grew stronger and stronger. In order to adopt Josephine, the Klopfs said they had to foster her for six months according to the law.
Josh and Carly have also fostered other children before fostering Josephine. They had two children who joined their family as foster children in December of 2017. Josephine then joined the Klopf family in April, four months later. The first two children left the Klopf family in August, but during the time they had three foster children in their home, Josh said life was always exciting. Both he and Carly loved the experience of having a large family. One of the great joys, according to Josh, was driving the kids to different events, going on outings to the park, and driving the kids to and from school.
More of these outings are on the horizon for the Klopfs as they just learned very recently that three new children will be placed in their home on Feb. 15. They are currently preparing the house and looking forward to the children's arrival.
As they patiently wait, the Klopfs continue to be so excited that Josephine has joined their family, and Lourdes is excited to welcome another future Knight into its family.