DECEMBER
Girls cross country brings home gold
By Tate Fabisch - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
The Lourdes girls cross country team brought home first place at the state meet with coach Tim Moore by their side.
Moore coached the team of eight girls including his two daughters: senior Ellen Moore and freshman Molly Moore. The team also consisted of two additional seniors: Addie Masini and May Dunn, and three additional freshmen: Addy Heifmeister, Mackenzie Stelter, and Mary Husman. Moore said, “The whole team worked hard all season, and it paid off in the end.”
When all the runners completed their state race, the teams lined up “in the chute” to look at the scoreboard which displayed each team’s placement from the lowest ranking to first place. Moore, his runners, and all the Lourdes fans watched as the team names were displayed.
Moore thought his team had done well, but he said that he got to the chute a little late, and he missed some of the rankings. As the ranking went to second place, and he still didn’t see Lourdes Academy, he looked at his assistant coach Trent Trofka and said, “Oh my gosh, did we place eighth or worse?” Moore then said he finally saw that first place was Lourdes Academy! The girls started crying tears of joy as they realized they had won state.
Masini said, “I don’t think anyone in the finish chute thought we had won. I felt amazing afterwards, especially because our team is so close and everyone worked so hard.”
Stelter said, “I was honored we won and super excited that I was able to experience the win with my team.” Stelter went on to say that it was a major goal for her team, and she explained that her whole team ran their hardest that day.
Dunn added, “Winning state felt amazing, and it was a surprisingly emotional moment seeing Lourdes Academy in first place.”
Moore said he knew the girls had it in them to win state, and that he is proud of them. Moore said he hopes that the team can continue to be successful for years to come.
The cross country girls accept their gold medals and trophy at the state meet.
The cross country team finds out they won state as Lourdes is finally displayed on the monitor.
Football team breaks records and makes history
By Raechel Russo - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
The Knights football team broke school records and made school history, making it one of the most exciting and memorable seasons of recent years.
Much of the team’s success can be attributed to head coach Kevin Wopat who started coaching Lourdes football four years ago. Wopat said, “I will remember how much fun it was to coach this group and go to practice every day.”
This season, the Knights broke the record for most wins in a season, were the first team in school history to go 9-0 in the regular season, and the first team in school history to win a road playoff game. Finally, the Knights were the first team in school history to advance to a level-four football playoff game. The Knights finished the season with a remarkable record of 12-1.
Senior and captain Patrick Derleth played right tackle and defensive end, and he lead the team through his encouragement and dedication. No matter the outcome of each game, Derleth said he always remembered to share with the team how proud and honored he was to play with his teammates. Derleth said, “The most memorable moment of this season was when we defeated Johnson Creek and Hilbert. We played as a team.” Derleth finished every game by leading the Knights to the student section where the team sang the Lourdes fight song to the crowd.
Senior Caden Chier played slot receiver and outside linebacker. Chier made all-state honorable mention for defense. Chier said his favorite pregame tradition was “Biscuits.” Chier explained that Biscuits was a drawing of a horse science teacher Carrie O’Connor’s daughter drew. Chier said, “We hung it up in our locker room, and we’d bring it to every away game.”
Junior and captain Joshua Bauer was the quarterback for the Knights. He lead the team in passing yards and rushing yards. Bauer said, “Changing of the numbers was my favorite memory for the season.” Bauer explained that at the beginning of the playoffs, the Knights wrote how many games they were away from state on a whiteboard. Bauer said, “After each [victorious] game, the number would lower, and we were one step closer to our goal: state.” Bauer trained hours after practice and on weekends. Bauer said, “I would’ve done anything for this team and that meant putting in extra hours to be the best I could be for them and for our success.”
Junior Rudy Kuklinski was the center for the Knights. Kuklinski said, “In all honesty, my job was basically to protect Bauer.” Kuklinski, on and off the field, brought comedy to the team and kept the team laughing. Even in chaotic, stressful games, Kuklinski cracked jokes to keep the players loose and calm.
Overall, the Knights had an impressive and memorable season making Friday nights exciting for players, parents, coaches, and students. Next year, the Knights plan to pick up the season where they left off and hopefully earn their trip to state.
Patrick Derleth plays defense.
Coach Kevin Wopat leads the team to a record-breaking season.
Quarterback Joshua Bauer prepares for a snap from center Rudy Kuklinski.
Caden Chier stiff arms an opposing player.
Rudy Kuklinski lifts a teammate after he scores a touchdown.
Lourdes Academy students volunteer at annual auction
By Annie Schraa - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
On Nov. 9, Lourdes Academy held its annual dinner auction to raise money and promote education.
With many staff and parents in attendance, the school needs volunteers to aid in the running of the auction, and, therefore, looks to the students for support. In addition, students also receive service hours and learn the art of service.
At this year's auction, the Lourdes Academy Madrigals group sang medieval-themed songs at the entrance to the banquet hall to welcome the guests. Junior and Madrigal singer Laura Binning said she found singing to the guests exciting and said she enjoyed that her singing got the guests in the spirit for the rest of the night.
Members from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen also volunteered at the auction by greeting guests at the door, supervising the coat check, and aiding in the live auction. Having the LOEG members help at the auction not only showcased the club to guests but also gave the young men the ability to practice the important gentlemen skills taught at the meetings. Senior member of the LOEG Tate Fabisch said he enjoyed being able to greet fellow teachers and supporters of Lourdes Academy while they entered the auction.
Other students from Lourdes Academy volunteered at the auction by signing in the guests, collecting money for the auction games, working different auction booths, and engaging with various guests to make the night special. Freshman Mackie Stelter ran an auction booth during the dinner. She said she enjoyed being able to see teachers and parents dressed up and interacting with each other outside of school.
The Lourdes Academy auction was a success thanks to the help of the student volunteers.
Lettuce celebrate new school lunch
By Noah Ralofsky - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
Cathy Steinert, the Director of Dining Services, is excited to promote the new lunch program for the 2019-2020 school year.
With improved menus, more variety, and healthier options, the lunch services at Lourdes has taken a turn for the better, Steinert said. New to the lunchroom this year are homemade pizzas served every day. With different toppings every day, these pizzas come in cheese, pepperoni, sausage, Hawaiian, and more. Senior Tate Fabisch said that he enjoys the variety of homemade pizzas this year. Sophomore Thomas Derleth said that he now gets the lunchroom pizza almost every day.
Steinert said at the new fresh deli station, students have the choice to choose from a flatbread, a wrap, or a sub with a variety of meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Junior Laura Binning said she likes all of the different options she has for her sandwich at the deli station. The new extra-extra bar has an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables and a different salad every day. Freshman Mackie Stelter said that she enjoys the salads and all of the different dressings and toppings that can be added to the salad. The beverages now consist of Powerade, tea, and lemonade, Steinert said.
Along with the changes to the food choices, Steinert said lunch information can now be found on an app called Nutrislice. This app gives students the menu for the day and a spot to give feedback on the meals. Steinert said that the lunchroom staff is very open to suggestions and likes to hear the students’ feedback to better the menus.
Starting the week of Nov. 11, Steinert said the lunchroom will be serving breakfast sandwiches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but this is just a sneak peak for what is to come. Starting in January, the lunch room will be implementing a breakfast program where an assortment of breakfast foods will be served in the morning.
Steinert said that students have been responding to the new lunch menu well, for there have been many more a la carte purchases.
Glenna “Pizza Queen” is one of the lunchroom employees. She said she enjoys working the deli and making the students sandwiches and pizzas. Steinert has been working with Lourdes in the cafeteria for the past three years. Her responsibilities are to create the menus, do paperwork and book work for DPI, and is in charge of all marketing.
Steinert said she has always worked in the food business whether it be in a school cafeteria or in a restaurant. Steinert has a degree in business management and supervision. Steinert said the cafeteria sells about 100 student meals in the middle and high school every day, as well as 100 meals in the elementary school.
Steinert said she wants all of the students to know that they are always welcome to buy food from their lunch room whether it be a whole meal or just a slice of pizza!
Steinert and lunch room employees excited to promote the new lunch menu.
ROTC recruiters visit gym classes
By Tate Fabisch - Knight Writer
Student Journalism - Lourdes Academy
Students from both the middle school and high school in Stacey Smith’s physical education classes were visited by members from the Reserve Officers' Training Corps on Oct. 30.
During the ROTC visit, the students played exciting games like dodge ball with bows and arrows that had foam tips.
According to Smith, the reason the ROTC volunteers came to Lourdes was to inform both middle school and high school students about what it is like to join the armed forces. The ROTC leaders also stressed that being in the military can be fun at times.
Smith’s classes started out with some easy conditioning which then turned into playing dodge ball with bows and marshmallow-foam tip arrows. At the end of each class, the ROTC recruiters handed out a sheet to all the students with information about ROTC.
Both middle school and high school students said that the games were “super fun” and hoped they had the opportunity to participate in another ROTC program. Senior Tyler Johnson said, “You learn to play as a team and how to accurately use a bow and arrow.”
Smith said that the middle schoolers “loved it” because the games were something new, and the students got the gist of how important combat is.
Smith said she is planning for the ROTC recruiters to come in to her classes every fall, winter, and spring with different activities every time. She said future activities will include extreme conditioning, an obstacle course, and the bow and arrow games.
ROTC recruiters show students how to shoot bows.
Students play capture the flag.
Lourdes swim team makes a splash
By Regan Kraus - Knight Writer
Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy
Many Lourdes students are surprised to learn that their school has a swim team since there is not a pool at the school.
The three Lourdes swimmers: seniors Claire Vandenhouten, Rosa Natalia Melendez, and Regan Kraus, drive to Oshkosh North High School and practice. The Oshkosh North-Lourdes swim team is a co-op team between Lourdes and North which allows the girls to participate in a sport they might not have been able to participate in.
The ONL swim team is not just for experienced athletes. Melendez joined the team when she was a sophomore. “I mostly joined because Regan and Claire convinced me to,” Melendez said. Melendez also said that she never would have joined the team if her friends did not tell her about it because swimming is barely mentioned at Lourdes.
Kraus said, “I guess people tend to forget that swimming exists; that’s probably why we only have three Lourdes girls on the team.” Also important to note is that, all current members are seniors, so the girls are advocating for more people to join the team so their legacy can continue.
The swim team is not just a sport for the girls, they say that the team is also their family. The team members are fun-loving and although practices can be difficult, they push each other to become stronger.
Vandenhouten participates in club swimming as well, and she says the dynamics are completely different. “High school swimming is so much more team-orientated; I feel like we all help one another to reach our goals instead of focusing on ourselves,” Vandenhouten said.
Kraus, who participated in club swimming in the past, agrees with Vandenhouten. “I was not even going to join the high school team because I did not have fun in club swimming, but I’m so glad that I did.” Kraus also mentioned that she joined the high school team because of her friendship with Vandenhouten.
The ONL swimming season runs from August to early November, but the three Lourdes Academy swimmers wish it lasted longer. They said they believe that there are many benefits of joining the team and making friends is one of them. “I’m really going to miss my friends,” Melendez said. “I never expected to meet so many amazing people.” Melendez also said that she still stays in contact with the girls she has met over the last few years.
Senior Claire Vandenhouten said, “Swimming really allows us to see what a public school is like and make friends with people that we probably never would have met if we did not join.” Each of the girls said that they have become extremely close through swimming and were able to meet new friends from participating on the ONL swim team.
Sadly, the senior girls recently completed in their last year of high school swimming. Melendez worked hard during the junior-varsity conference meet at the end of October, and Vandenhouten and Kraus gave it their all at the sectionals meet in early November. Vandenhouten swam the 500 freestyle, finishing in the top eight in the sectional. Kraus swam the 50 and 100 freestyle ending with her best times of the season. Melendez swam the 200 freestyle in her fastest time of the season.
Melendez said that even though her high school swimming career is over, she hopes to continue swimming for recreation during college. Vandenhouten said she will attend UW-LaCrosse next year and is looking forward to swimming for the UW-L team. Kraus said she is still deciding her future plans, but she is hoping to swim for UW-O in the fall.
Vandenhouten and Kraus swim at sectionals.
Vandenhouten, Kraus, and Melendez at their last senior night.