vol. 4 issue 5

February 2017Faculty: M. Ryan & J. ReckardLayout: T. Smith & N. Ghrer

And then the Juniors...by Noelle Ghrer Every year, each class gets to go on a day-long retreat in order to learn about the Catholic faith with classmates and to hear about different people’s faith stories. On the last day of January, the Junior Class packed into two school buses to go hear talks from Miss Kenney, Mr. Head, and guest speaker Sam Mangeri. They then attended Mass at the cathedral in Peoria. We had the opportunity to go to the Spaulding Center and divide up to hear our teachers’ stories, then got into small groups in order to go more into detail about person-al experiences and those who in fluenced us. After lunch, we got to listen to the inspiring conversion story of Sam Mangeri, a friend of Miss Kenney’s and Fr. Schultz’s. He told us about his faith going through high school and college, all the way up to today. Next, we got to go to the St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. We had Mass in one of the side chapels, and just before we had to leave we got to see all of the cathedral’s beautiful renovations. “Many of the questions asked made me think about my life,” said Thomas Smith. This retreat helped all of us to spend a day learning about our faith and getting to connect with our classmates. “It’s a great way to grow in faith and to get pumped to be the leaders of the school next year!” said Miss Kenney. We learned about how to stay solid in our faith as we go forward, how to be leaders as the incoming Senior Class, and how to be all-around better people of catholic faith.

Saving da Babies by Lauren Mathewson and Hailey Scudder

“The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion, because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing in between” (Mother Teresa). Imagine marching through a big city chanting and holding signs that say “We Love Life” and “We Are the Pro-Life Generation.” Every year, Central Catholic takes a bus ride to Chicago to participate in the Pro-Life March. Then a few weeks later, the Senior Class takes its annual trip to Washington, D.C., to march for the lives of unborn babies. For many students it was a truly joyful experience and brought everyone together. Abby Bevilacqua said, “We thought there were only gonna be religious people there, but there was a secular movement that was also pro-life. It was cool and encouraging to see.” Before the march, the students practiced several chants. According to Miss Booth, “The chants we practiced before the march encouraged students to chant, and they even brought it to their own new level. They started making their own chants and brought forth a lot of joy.” Mr. Foster said that his favorite part was “to-wards the end of the march when we stood off to the side and started chanting to everyone walking, and they chanted back. We got everyone excited. Of the times that I’ve gone to the march, this was definitely the best as far as our students being vocal and participating.” Central students have gone to the March for Life in Chicago for three years and 13 years in Washington. In the years to come, Central hopes that these trips con-tinue to happen and that it brings joy and happiness to those who do go.

3...2...1...Happy New Year! At the beginning of a new year, many people make New Year’s resolutions to help them improve their lives, but as common as this seems, only 41% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions. Weight loss and healthy eating are the resolutions usually associated with the New Year, and this reigned true again in 2017 with 21.4% of Americans dedicat-ing themselves to these goals. Even though the majority of Americans are focused on weight loss and healthier eating, less comonly heard reslutions are popular. The second most popular New Year’s resolution is making life and self im-provements at 12.3%, and the third most popular is committing to better financial decisions at 8.5%. Some less common resolutions include quitting smoking, doing more exciting things, spending more time with family, and doing more good deeds for others. People always joke about never being able to keep their New Year’s resolutions, but a lot of people actually stick with them and keep their resolutions for a long time. 58.4% of Americans keep their resolutions past a month, but they never last a full year. Still, the majority of Americans (72.6%) don’t maintain their resolutions past one week. An interesting fact about New Year’s resolutions is that the majority of people who make reso-lutions are actually in their 20’s. 37.8% of people in their 20’s make and achieve their resolutions while only 16.3% of people over 50 achieve theirs.

New Year, but Is It Really a New You?by Emily Killian

Share the Loveby Mekinzie Tieman and Maddie Kelley

Gift Ideas--Flowers --Giant teddy bear --Jewelry --Chocolates --Starbucks gift card --Lotion--Perfume/cologne --Sweatshirt--Cookies --Balloons --Watch

In With the Oldby J.P. Sikora

Central Catholic has created its first-ever alumni magazine. The mag-azine features stories about Central Catholic alumni, current events at Central Catholic, school renovations, new teachers, and veteran teachers. The magazine was started because there has never really been anything like it before at this school. “The pur-pose of the magazine is for the alumni and friends at Central Catholic to stay connected with the school,” says Mr. Cook. The magazine bridges the gap between the older and younger alum-ni, so people of all generations will still feel connected with the current culture of Central Catholic. It will be an annual publication as of right now, but down the road the goal is for the magazine to be published more often. Mr. Vogel thinks it is going to be a success, saying, “It’s going to be a great way to connect the Central Catholic community together as a family.”

--Candy --Bluetooth speakerDate Ideas--Dinner and a movie--Picnic under the stars--Homemade candlelit dinner --Nice restaurant (not Chipotle)--Ice skating --Skate n’ Place --Bowling--Line dancing

Catholic School Weekby Alex Wilder and Jamie Lewis

“A good school provides a well rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all of its students to become saints.” As Pope Benedict XVI says, Catholic School’s Week truly helps all of our students become “saints.” Catholic Schools Week is an an-nual celebration of Catholic schools

in America. Among our Catholic community, we have the privilege of celebrating the education of stu-dents at Central Catholic, Epiphany, Corpus Christi, and St. Mary’s. While this week is a week of coming together with our Catho-lic community, Central Catholic divided into teams on Thursday to compete for the Olympic Champi-onship title. The day was filled with Saints Trivia, Just Dance, Human Battleship, 3 Pin, End Zone Foot-ball, the Best Game Ever, and the final relay race. All teams put up a tough fight. The final results were shocking to some, but team Spain pulled out the win. Senior team captain for Spain Kate Hoerdemann said, “I have always looked forward to the Olympics every year and was glad I got the opportunity to be a captain. I was happy to be able to be on the winning team for my final year of the Olympics.” On Friday, all students from Central Catholic and all three partner schools gathered at St. Patrick’s of Merna. Priests from all surrounding areas gathered to celebrate Mass for Catholic Schools Week. This celebration was a great way to bring together students, teachers, and faculty from all the Catholic schools together to finish off the fun-filled week. Overall, this Catholic Schools Week brought fun and games, but even more importantly, it brought a deeper faith to all the schools and brought our Catholic community closer together.

Girls Basketballby Maddie Holt

The girls basketball team is in the latter part of its season and has been working very hard to achieve a record of 16-10. “The team did very well this sea-son,” senior Kennedy Sheehan said. “We had a rocky start, but we are starting to do a lot better and are working together very well.” A 0-4 start in Intercity pushed them to work harder and together as a team. The girls really enjoyed playing together. “During practices, we worked very hard, which is why we did so well recently,” stated Senior Maddie Malinowski. The girls had a win-ning streak of five games, which was a product of all their hard work in practice. The young and talented girls bas-ketball team had big hopes to make it to State this year. Sophomore Bailey Coffman said, “With a lot of hard work and teamwork, we will be able to make a long post-season run.” Throughout the past, the girls basketball teams have made great post-season runs, placing third in State in 2015 and making it to Su-per-Sectionals in 2016. They hope to make a long post-season run

once again. Overall, the girls basketball team is working very hard to do as well as they can in the post-season, with hopes of extending their winning streak to Redbird Arena at State.

Got Unfinished Business by Matthew Barnes

The boys basketball team started off the season strong, with 15 wins and 7 losses so far. The boys started the Corn Belt Conference on a high note with a huge win over their rival, U-High. They continued their winning streak as they dominated both Pontiac and Prairie Central. Their streak came to an end with a hard-fought loss against Mahomet-Sey-mour with the score 45-52. Senior Captain JP Sikora said, “The loss to Mahomet made us more focused heading into the State Farm Classic. We knew we would be playing good teams and we were ready to go.” The Saints ended up going to the Semi-finals but lost against the number one seated team, Quincy Notre Dame. They earned third place in the State Farm Classic, beating Olympia by 13 points. Se-nior Garrett Holman said, “We had a great start going 2-2 in Intercity and kept our momentum into the Classic by winning third place. It

was a great first half of the season with the tough competition that we played.” Coach Welch added, “I’m really pleased with the way the season has gone so far, and I’m very excited to see how our boys come together and finish at the end.”

Swimby Robert Brady

Michael Phelps, Aquaman, and the Central Catholic Swim Team have something in common...sort of. They are all phenomenal swimmers! Although Central Catholic is still in its early years of the program, the boys swim team has managed to place second in two of its four meets so far. This year’s swim team is led by seniors Ryan Cassidy, Barret Lee, and Charlie Cresci. This magnificent team is coached by Coach Bill Rhodes. Coach Rhodes commented, “The young Saints team is doing great and will do excellent things this year and many to follow!” Ryan Cassidy stated, “We have the drive to win just like any other team at Central.” Senior Charlie Cresci stated, “My favorite stroke is the breaststroke; it is a very hard technique to conquer.” Central Catholic is very excited to watch another program rise to great-ness!

The Writing TwinBy Thomas Smith

Central Catholic became a center for athletes and fame as many gathered to celebrate the induction of several alumni into the Saints Athletic Hall of Fame. These inductees included Bob Bard-well of the graduating class of 1965, Jen-ny Kabbes Fuente of 1998, Emily Kabbes Kauten of 2002, Megan Naborowski Penfold of 2004, Rachel Galligan of 2005, and Michael Hoomanawanui of 2006. Hailing from a variety of sports, they all came together to be recognized for their outstanding achievements. All of these athletes were presented with their awards by coaches, friends, and other significant figures who helped get them

Livin’ in the Hall of FameBy Jamie Lewis and Alex Wilder

So many of you have heard of the better twin, Thomas Everett Ray Smith, but this article is not about him. It is about his brother, junior Lucas Smith. He recently wrote a paper for Voice of Democracy in order to receive a scholarship. Lu-cas won the District Level Scholar-ship and received $200. The project was first introduced by Mr. Hunt. “I did the same thing when I was in high school,” said Mr. Hunt. Mr. Hunt didn’t make it as far as Lucas, but he is happy for him. Mr. Reckard believes that, “Lucas has the face for radio, and that’s why he is so good at talking and writing.” As for Lucas himself, he main-tains, “I am proud to be represent-ing my district and my town at the State Competition for Voice of Democracy. Patriotism is important to me and I am glad I can spread it this way. Our freedoms are not something to be taken for granted.” Lucas Smith will move on to the State level in Springfield for a chance to win $2,500 in scholarship funds.

to where they are today. Presenting Jenny Kabbes Fuente and Emily Kabbes Kauten with their awards was Tony Gliwa, former Central Catholic volleyball coach. The award for Megan Naborowski Penfold was presented by Brian, David and Kevin Wiltz, her step-brothers. Matt Pelton, quarterback for Michael Hoomanawanui during his time at CCHS, presented Michael with his award. Coach Debbie Coffman, in her twenty-third year as Central’s bas-ketball coach, along with assistant Coach Mendy Smith in her nineteenth year, presented Rachel Galligan her award. Fi-nally, Bob Bardwell’s award was present-ed by Bart Williams, longtime friend and former basketball rival. All the athletes were honored to become a part of the Hall of Fame. Michael Hoomanawanui stated, “The Hall of Fame is a dream come true. Being inducted with the oth-er great athletes this year makes it that much more special. Once a Saint, always a Saint.” Following the ceremony, all inductees and their guests gathered for dinner. Since the boys’ varsity basketball game was cancelled that night, the inductees were not able to be recognized during halftime. However, these athletes are appreciated by Central Catholic and will always be recognized as great, no matter where their lives take them.

Best Bang for Your BuckBy Harry Egbers A new year means many new movies hitting the big screen. Movies nowadays can become pricey, but there are many ways to get the most out of your dollar this winter. One of the most popular theaters in town is Wehrenberg Galaxy Theater. Average price for students is $6.00. This theater offers a variety of deals such as the Tuesday spe-cial, which is $5.00 admissions and a free popcorn. My personal favorite is Carmike Ovation Theater. Ovation has a convenient location and also in-seat dining. The average tick-et price is cheaper than Galaxy’s at $5.25. Without specials it would be harder to find a more striking deal than at this theater. The third theater is Starplex Cinemas, located in Normal. With decently-priced tickets at $5.75, this theater is always a good option. However, the food is subpar in com-parison to other theaters in town. The menu is not as diverse and what is served is very bland and lacks flavor.