March
Weiss sisters attend March for Life in Madison
Charleigh Reinardy - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - Lourdes Middle School students Silvie and Maddy Weiss attended the March for Life in Madison on January 22 to support the pro life movement.
Silvie, a seventh grader at Lourdes, and Maddy, a fifth grader, traveled with their family to Madison to stand up for the unborn: those without a voice.
Silvie shared that she is interested in politics and has a love for the unborn. When her father heard that Lourdes High School students were traveling to D.C. to the March for Life rally, he shared the news with his daughters. The Weiss girls decided they wanted to also support the cause but make a pilgrimage closer to home. That’s when they decided to attend the March for Life rally in Madison.
The Weiss girls traveled with their father, their aunt, and their cousin to Madison to attend the march for the first time.
The Weiss girls said they marched in Madison for two days prior to the march in D.C. The girls said that even though they were in Wisconsin, they still stood in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of other marchers across the country who took a stand to support pro life throughout the week in various states.
The day of the Madison march, the Weiss girls marched in the snow but were happy to brave the elements to support the pro life movement.
Previous to the march in Madison, the girls had the opportunity to travel to D.C. this past summer for a family trip, and the girls shared they hope to march in Washington D.C. someday soon to continue their fight for life.
The girls want to encourage others to join the fight for life whether that be marching close to home or making the trip to Washington D.C. “Every marcher counts,” the Weiss sisters said.
Lourdes students to serve as illustrators
By Riley Studinski - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - James “Jimbo” Williamson has started writing a book about experiences he has learned on his mission trips and has asked Lourdes students to help create pictures for his book.
Lourdes associate principal Andrew Hicks is the link between Jimbo and the students. Hicks said that he has been taking high school students on missions trips to Kentucky through an organization called the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP). According to Hicks, he met Jimbo on one of those retreats a few years back.
Hicks said he started talking to Jimbo and became fascinated with Jimbo’s journeys. Hicks said he encouraged Jimbo to write a book about his missions and that he could help Jimbo get his book published. In addition, Hicks said he could help Jimbo with the art for the book by having Lourdes students create the illustrations for him.
The pairing will benefit both Jimbo and the Lourdes students. Jimbo will receive illustrations for his book, and the students will get to hear some of Jimbo’s stories about the Holy Spirit. Hicks hopes that the students will be inspired by Jimbo’s stories and will get to experience the Holy Spirit in a fun way through art.
Hicks said that Jimbo’s narrative isn’t structured like a “normal book.” His book is filled with “little tid-bits of things” that Jimbo has learned over the years about God and the Holy Spirit, said Hicks.
Birds of prey fly into Lourdes
By Maria Foss - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - On Dec. 18, birds of prey from a local animal hospital were brought to Lourdes to enhance the curriculum for all middle school students and for the high school biology students.
The students gathered in the AV room for the presentation and were able to touch certain structures like talons and feathers. They had a chance see live birds of prey such as owls and hawks and even heard the call of one of the birds.
“Aves Wildlife Alliance told the students about their recuperation hospital and how the birds are helped there,” high school science teacher Carrie O’Connor said.
Middle school science teacher Marci Escamilla planned the day and said she hoped that the students could learn from a hands-on experience and discover more about birds in an interactive and fun way.
According to O’Connor, the day was beneficial to students. “The students got to see the birds, what their talons are like, how sharp their beaks are, and some of the injuries that the birds have such as missing eyes,” O’Connor said.
“One of the birds was nesting on the UWO campus when it got injured. The bird flew over a highway and was hit by a car,” freshman Clare Foss said. “It was cool to see how they [Aves Wildlife Alliance] were able to help the birds recover from their injuries at the hospital,” Foss said.
Lourdes students speak up in Forensics
By Noah Ralofsky - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - Junior Joely Hurkman and sophomore Laura Binning are this year’s Forensics competitors and are coached this year by religion teacher Abby Mikesell
Forensics is a public speaking competition where students choose different pieces to perform for points. Hurkman has been competing in Forensics since she was a sixth grader, and she said she enjoys the speaking aspect of it which allows her to progress in her speaking skills. Binning has been in Forensics since her freshman year and also enjoys the public speaking aspect of the competition, as well as “being able to explore new topics in each piece I perform.”
Binning stated that her favorite part of competing in Forensics is meeting the other competitors and connecting with them, while Hurkman said her favorite part is winning. Both Hurkman’s and Binning’s favorite and personal best meet was the state meet last year.
Hurkman’s favorite piece was called A Sunny Day in April, which tells a tale of a single mother and daughter moving to a new house and how the daughter tragically dies while playing in her new environment. Hurkman says this is her favorite piece because “it gets the most reactions out of the audience and judges.”
Binning said, “My favorite pieces are about mental health which addresses a real issue that needs awareness.”
Mikesell is the first-year coach for the Forensics team. Mikesell said she participated in Forensics as a high schooler herself and decided to coach because she believes that it helps students build skills for life. She said she enjoys seeing young performers do well in their presentations.
Mikesell’s favorite meet was the meet that Lourdes hosted in February because she saw how much hard work it took to put the competition together, and she loved how so many people came together to work and make it happen.
Hurkman and Binning will continue competing at the district meet on Monday, March 18 and at the State meet on Saturday, April 13 in Madison.
Students enjoy annual Ski Club trip to Michigan
By James Gross - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - On the weekend of Feb. 17, high school Ski Club members, led by coach and Lourdes parent Tim Moore, traveled to Indianhead Ski Resort in Michigan for the annual ski trip.
Moore has been offering the ski trip for eight years. According to Moore, his goal for the ski trip is for the students to have fun and to be able to ski with their friends in a safe and friendly environment.
Students traveled to Michigan via bus and stayed at the Indianhead Resort. The male students stayed in a house up the hill from where the female suites were located. Every morning the Ski Club members would go to chaperone and head chef Mandy Hendrick’s suite to eat breakfast. Hendrick’s, the former Lourdes physical education teacher, prepared a custom breakfast for each student which ranged from scrambled eggs to omelettes and pancakes. Students also came back to Hendrick’s suite for lunch. ¨Mrs. Hendricks is a great cook,” sophomore Logan Wolff said.
The students spent four days on the mountain and enjoyed two full days of skiing and snowboarding. ¨The ski trip was executed perfectly, and I loved having the freedom to be with friends and go wherever we wanted on the hills,” stated sophomore Peter Chartier.
Sophomore Mia Maslowski said, ¨There was perfect weather, and it was easy to have fun. The trip was well organized, as well.”
Will Navin, another sophomore, said, “ The ski trails were great!”
Clearly, everyone had plenty of time to ski over the long weekend. The students and chaperones arrived late on Friday night and left later in the morning on Monday, which was a day off from school for President’s Day. The first day the members skied or snowboarded on Indianhead, and on the second day they were given a choice to go to Blackjack or to stay at Indianhead.
Sophomore Will Pollack said, “It was nice to have a weekend away with friends.”
The members were busy with other activities after a day on the slopes. All the members, as is tradition, congregated at the Moore's house and ate dinner together at night. In addition, students were allowed to swim at the resort. Sophomore Charlie Weber said, ¨Swimming was very fun and so was the sauna.”
On Saturday, the students and other members were required to attend mass at four p.m. The last night of the trip the members all gathered at Moore's house for a celebratory dinner. Moore delivered an inspirational and spiritual talk which was followed by a raffle. All the students’ names were pulled out of a bowl, and each student picked a prize from a table. Sophomore Logan Wolff said, “Mr. Moore is a great guy!”
All high school students are eligible to attend the ski trip. The cost of the trip is $300 which includes all food, lodging, travel, and skiing expenses. Thank you, Coach Moore, for offering the students a chance to make memories that they will cherish forever.
ACT - a student perspective
Maria Foss - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
OSHKOSH, WI - On Feb. 20 from 7:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., students from the junior class took the dreaded ACT test.
The ACT is a stressful, long, tiring exam which juniors all over the country must complete in order to determine which colleges they will be accepted into. The test consists of five sections: English, math, reading, science, and writing, all of which must be completed in a pre set amount of time. To make the test even more difficult, the only break students are able to take is between the math and reading tests.
Junior Joely Hurkman said that the worst section of the test for her is math. “You have to complete the test in 60 minutes and there are 75 questions, so it is hard to finish the test in time,” Hurkman said, but she added, “The science section is the easiest section for me. It’s simply reading graphs.”
In contrast, junior Raechel Russo thought that the science portion was the most difficult section of the test. “English is the easiest portion for me,” she said.
An enormous amount of pressure is put on the juniors who must take the ACT test. This frightening exam determines the future of students and dictates which colleges will accept them. If the student’s ACT score is not high enough, they may not be able to attend the college of thier choice.
Junior Tate Fabish said, “The ACT test shouldn’t judge students’ futures. Some kids are smart and hard working but aren’t amazing at taking timed tests or exams in general. The ACT isn’t accurate in judging who is smart enough to get into a certain college.”
“The ACT is a nice asset to getting into college because high scores can grant you scholarships, but you shouldn’t have to be good at taking a stressful, timed test to determine whether or not you can go to a specific college,” Russo explained.
Hurkman shared some advice for next year’s juniors who will take the ACT. “Don’t stress out about the test. You either know the information or you don’t, and it’s not worth your time and energy to worry over the ACT, even though it’s stressful.”
Russo said, “Make sure you do some practice you take the ACT, and know what to expect. Taking a practice ACT is helpful, too, so that you know what it’s like.”
The best way you can get through the ACT is to be calm, collected, and aware that it’s okay if you have to retake the test.