Heard in the Halls - April 2020

April 8, 2020



We might not be gathering in the halls of CDH right now, but our co-curriculars still have updates! Many of our winter sports teams did not have the chance to hold their awards banquets, so take a look below to see who received awards!

We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.


ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | JROTC | CAMPUS MINISTRY | CHOIR | THEATER 

Athletics

Boys Basketball

By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach

The Boys Basketball team was recognized by the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association as the Class 4A Section 4 Team Academic Section Champions. The team had a GPA of 3.43. Well done, boys!!

We are Section Champions!!!! For the 3rd time in 4 years, the boys’ basketball team advanced to the state tournament by defeating East Ridge 51-48 on a 3 point basket by Curtis Jones ‘20 as time expired. The Raiders finished the season with a record of 25-4. Unfortunately, the MSHSL canceled the state tournament the next day due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read more.

Season-ending awards:

Associated Press All-State: Tre Holloman ‘22
Star Tribune and Pioneer Press All-Metro Team: Holloman: J’Vonne Hadley ‘20
All-Conference: Holloman, Hadley, Jones: Amari Carter ‘20
All-Conference Honorable Mention: Will Burke ‘20
Team Offensive MVP: Hadley 
Team Defensive MVP: Holloman
Bill McKee ‘70 Shooting Star Award: Curtis Jones '20
Len Horyza Award of Excellence: Keegan Hilger ‘21
Most Improved: Burke 
Best Practice Player: Peter Howard ‘21

 

Girls Basketball 

 

By Crystal Flint, Coach

 

CLASS 4AAAA Team All-Academic Team  (Team GPA 3.65)

 

CLASS 4AAAA Academic All-State (for Seniors Only, must have a 3.8 GPA)

 

Ana Cullen ‘20
Sydney Jackson ‘20

 

SEC All-Conference

 

Takara Mason ‘21

 

SEC All-Conference (Honorable Mention)

 

Jackson
Audrey Martinez-Stewart ‘21
Nevaeh Moeschter ‘20

 

ATHENA AWARD WINNER 

 

Jackson (read more)

 

Team Awards

 

Defensive Player of the Year - Nevaeh Moeschter ‘20

 

Coaches Award - Tyler Mader ‘22

 

Hustle Award - Audrey Martinez-Stewart ‘21

 

Raider Award - Anna Caruso ‘22

 

Most Improved Player - Abby Kline ‘23

Boys Hockey

By Matt Funk, Head Coach

Congratulations to our players who were honored this year:

Conference Forward of the Year: Matthew Gleason ‘20

All-Conference

Forward: Gleason
Forward: Jack Nei ‘20
Defenseman: Preston Thelemann ‘20
Forward: Drew Fisher ‘22
Goaltender: Marko Belak ‘22 

All-Conference Honorable Mention
Forward - Chuck Altier ‘21
Forward – Jake Sondreal ‘22
Defenseman – Zach Sondreal ‘22
Defenseman – Simon Houge ‘23 

Other Awards:

Pioneer Press Metro Player of the Year, Star Tribune Player of the Year, Star Tribune First Team All-Metro, 2020 AP All-State First Team, 2019-20 Mr. Hockey Finalist: Gleason

2019-20 Reed Larson Award (Top Defenseman) Finalist: Thelemann

2019-20 Hobey Baker Award: Nei 

CDH Hockey Awards:
Most Improved: Jake Sondreal 
Rookie of the Year: Fisher ‘
Defensive Player of the Year: Will Weegman ‘20 & Belak 
Offensive Player of the Year: Nei 
Most Valuable Player: Gleason 

Wrestling

By Dan Willaert, Coach

Team Awards: 

  • Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-State Gold Award

  • Section 4AA Team Semifinals

Individual:

  • Rookie of the Year - Justice Linton '23 and Nikoli Fitzgerald '23

  • Most Improved - Langston Butler '21 and Benny Williams '21

  • Most Dedicated - Isaac Enriquez '20 and Carey Vanier, Jr. '21

  • Most Valuable Team Member - Vanier and Enriquez 

  • Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association All-State (First MSHSL placer in CDH or Cretin history) - Vanier

  • Section 4AA Academic All-Section Team - Rhys Engelmeier '20 and Enriquez 

  • The Guillotine Academic All-State Team - Enriquez 

  • Rebecca Leifeld Courage and Determination Award - Engelmeier 

  • Team Captains for Off-Season and Next Season - Ryan Gainer '21, Zach Steigauf '21, Vanier and at least one more to be named in the fall

Softball

By Patrick Bowlin, Head Coach

The Girls Softball team has done a social distancing softball video that was featured on WCCO recently. Here is a link to the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO24dOChEMg

Boys Tennis

By Randy Muetzel, Coach

I miss seeing you each day. Obviously we would not choose to be in the situation we are in but, since we are, let’s make the best of it. Let’s work at getting closer to our family members and becoming better people. Let’s make our individual situations as positive as we can!

Girls Golf

By Megan Smith, Coach

The CDH Girls Golf program was able to purchase ClicGear pushcarts for the Varsity team just before the school closures. The pushcarts will be especially helpful for many of the 18-hole invitationals and conference tournaments. ClicGear is widely used for high school and college teams to assist athletes with their clubs and equipment.  The addition of the ClicGear pushcarts will be an asset to the team for years to come!

The Girls Varsity team had two graduating seniors who competed in the MSHSL State Tournament (individually) last June. The current team has three returning senior leaders (Lyric Kochendorfer, Lauren Davis, Hien Winnie Do) as well as a strong team of junior players. CDH offers a Varsity, JV, and Development team model. The golf team is open to players of all levels and abilities! 

Counseling

By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Senior Students and Families: 

  • Many colleges are extending their deposit deadlines to June 1st. The schools you have applied to will notify you of any deadline changes and there is also a comprehensive list available where you can search for specific information on deposit deadlines, visits, etc. If you feel you would like a deadline extension at a school that has not offered one, call the admissions office to request an extension. Most places are being very accommodating given the situation, but you do need to ask if they have not offered.

  • You will, most likely, have all of your admissions decisions and financial aid packages by now. Be sure to read the entire decision letter as it will contain important information about making a deposit, housing, orientation and other steps to take next. Making enrollment decisions can be difficult under any circumstances, but given the uncertain times right now, your choices could be even more stressful. Please reach out to us if you need anything…help to understand a financial aid award, deciding, etc. Email one of us at joconnell@c-dh.org or lconnelly@c-dh.org.

  • If for any reason you want to apply to any additional schools, there are many colleges still accepting applications. We can still send your CDH supporting materials (transcripts, teacher recs) for you… just email us with your request and tell us whether or not you used the Common Application to apply.

Junior Students and Families:

  • We are sad to announce that our CDH Education Fair that was scheduled for April 20th has been canceled. We are exploring some virtual college fair options and will get back to you with more information as it becomes available.

  • You can log onto your Naviance account and do the career inventories available there. There are instructions below on how to access your account if you have forgotten.  Once you are into your account, click on “About Me”, then “My Assessments”.  There are three you can do … Do What You Are, Strengths Explorer and Career Interest Profiler. All of these will help you to gather clues about yourself and point you to possible career paths.

  • Don’t forget about another fun feature of Naviance – RoadTrip Nation! These are videos of high school students interviewing people in various career fields. You can sort the videos in a variety of ways depending on your career interests. The videos are short, informative and fun to watch. Click on the careers tab and then Roadtrip Nation.

  • You can also spend some time researching colleges. Naviance has a couple of search functions where you can put in your preferences and see what schools match. Click on the Colleges tab, then Find Your Fit, then either SuperMatch or Advanced College Search.

  • Most colleges are closed for visitors for the rest of the academic year…but there are many comprehensive virtual visits on their websites for you!

Please reach out via email to us is you have any questions or concerns.

Accessing Your Naviance Account

Students
All juniors were registered in Naviance in grade nine. Students are required to use their CDH email address for this account, which is lastname.firstname.21@c-dh.org. 

You have 2 options to access your Naviance account: 

  • Create a shortcut to Naviance on your iPad that will then look like an app.  
    • Click on your "Manager" app to get to "Self-Service" 
    • At the bottom of the screen, click on "My Profiles" and then "Naviance", “Install”
  • Go to the CDH homepage and click on “Current Parents & Students” and then click on the “Naviance” button.  

In either case you will access your account by entering your CDH email address and password.  

  • If you have not used your Naviance account in a while, click “Forgot my password” and reset it to meet the new security requirements.

Parents
Parent registration codes were distributed via email after the December junior meeting.  Access the sign-in page as described in #2 above and click on “I need to register” under “Are you new here?”.  The next step is to enter the registration code that was emailed to you.  Click “register”.  

  • If you have used Naviance in the past for another child and have any difficulty registering, please send an email to creding@c-dh.org with the name and graduating class year of your former student(s) and she will get your account linked to your current student.I 

What do I do if I have forgotten my email and/or password? 

  • Students, remember that your Naviance email address is your CDH email address. 
  • If you have forgotten your password, click on “Forgot your password?” and the system will email you a temporary password to use.  You can then reset your password. 
  • If you are still having trouble, please send an email message to Mrs. Reding saying that you need help with your Naviance account.
    • Include in your message your full name.  
    • We will confirm that we have the correct email address on file and have the system issue a new temporary password for you to log in.


JROTC

By LTC Jamie Fischer, SGM David Berrisford, and MSG Ken Peloski

Writing this article is bittersweet for us here in JROTC. As of this writing, we are not in the classroom at CDH. We are at home teaching and learning online with some challenges for both students and instructors. Regardless of the challenges, we are confident that our JROTC faculty and students can adapt and show resiliency.

We again want to celebrate our projected enrollment for next year’s Corps of Cadets at just over 300!  The growth of the corps over these past years is phenomenal. Twelve years ago we had a total enrollment in JROTC of 132 cadets. Since then we have more than doubled the size of the corps. This is directly attributed to the cadets telling the good news of what JROTC offers. We encourage students to stretch themselves. We challenge them to lead peers to be better community citizens.

Many things we had planned have been impacted. In light of our brigade not being in school in April, the Annual Formal Inspection slated for April 1, and all co-curriculars have been canceled. We are still scheduled for the Twilight Parade on May 13 at 6 pm on Wingerd Field. We continue to hope we will be back for this time-honored event.

We miss the cadets; their enthusiasm for learning leadership skills, their desire to serve our community, their desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. This is what makes the brigade and the cadets who are a part of it so special. We have hit an obstacle in the road, but we as a Corps of Cadets and the CDH community as a whole will overcome this obstacle and emerge stronger!

Our seniors are beginning to receive nominations from members of Congress for the academies and ROTC scholarships. Juniors should be taking time to review the steps and begin their application process. If someone is considering enlisting in the military, please have them consult with us so we can make sure they have ALL the information. We are always willing to answer any questions that students or parents have about military service.

LTC Fischer, SGM Berrisford, and MSG Peloski are adjusting to the online delivery of course content in multiple ways. Of course, we are assigning work through Google Classroom. This work includes reading assignments, handouts, and writing assignments. We are also meeting with our students through Google Meet once a week. We've had a few glitches in doing this, but as we meet throughout the duration of online teaching, we are confident it will become smoother. Our first meetings were centered on identifying problems with uploading assignments, standardizing attendance checks, and asking and answering questions about expectations. Our primary focus was checking in on the students to make sure that they and their families are healthy and okay.  We are hearing from the students that all is well, but they are bored.  
 
Over the next few weeks, we plan on having more interactive online sessions. We will practice drill and ceremonies together; we'll see how this goes. We will interact about assignments. Since we are not in the classroom, we will do some lecture, but these lectures will be shorter than while in the classroom at CDH. I know we will continue to talk with and check on how students are holding up.  We, in JROTC, recognize how important personal connection is, and since we can't be with students in the classroom, we will emphasize our health portion of the curriculum. We will encourage exercise and reading to challenge their body and mind. We will also encourage students to use their imagination by drawing, writing for pleasure, and journaling. Together, we look forward to when we will be able to get back together in the classroom, visit in person with our friends, and enjoy our extended families.

Finally, a leader from World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe, Commander of the 101st Airborne Division, when faced with a demand to surrender while surrounded by a daunting German Army at Bastogne, Belgium, replied to the surrender demand with one word, “Nuts.”

He was determined to fight and win the battle he and his soldiers were in. In JROTC, we have the same sentiment when faced with COVID-19. We will follow the direction of our governor and public health experts and persevere. We pray our entire community does the same. If we comply with social distancing and follow the “stay at home” order, we will get through this. Be Well.

Follow us on Instagram @Raider_Brigade

Campus Ministry

Empty Bowls

 On February 5, students and staff once again hosted our 18th year of Empty Bowls supporting the work of Heifer International. Over 1,200 guests, students, staff, parents, grandparents, and so many others enjoyed soups and breads, bid on silent auction items, selected handmade ceramic bowls, and provided the resources needed by Heifer International to combat hunger and starvation around the world.

A special recognition for their amazing leadership goes out to our student leaders: Seniors - Ana Cullen, Will Domler, Olivia Kalla, Max Karas, Ellie Murphy, Harry Olander; Juniors - Gaby Blanco, Cherry Jordan, Maria Lacina, Charlie Lindell, Cecilia Shearon, Glenna Wethington; and Sophomores - Lolo Goddard, Danny Honsa, Kashaun Pierce, Maddie Schearer, Saela Schwab, Maria Zago.

Empty Bowls would not be possible without our generous donors: At Last Gourmet Foods, Gabe’s by the Park, Joseph’s Grill, Ms. Helen Haas, Casper’s Cherokee of Eagan, Tinucci’s, Shamrock’s, Exchange Food & Drink, Kincaid’s, Luci’s Ancora, the Lexington, Plums, CDH Science Dept. and the Sustainability Club members, Taher Chef Antone, Colossal Café, Great Harvest Bread, Ceramic students and staff from the Convent of the Visitation, Nativity of our Lord and CDH, A. Johnson & Sons, Café Latte, Davanni’s, Christine Fischer, Frame Minnesota, Max Karas, Helen Haas, Leitner’s, Joe Mauer, Teresa Mauer, St. Patrick’s Guild, St. Paul Hotel, Gold Com, and Peak Printing, as well as current and past CDH staff, Pat Norusis, Katie Kreitzer, Montse LaVelle, Tony Leseman, Mary Winker, Martha Thornton, Sharon O’Connor, Tom Ruhland/Ruhland’s Strudel Haus, Nicolle Spears, Julie Quinn-Kiernan, David Berrisford, Jeff Ruhnke, Joe Miley, Mark McGuire, Tyler Berg, Jamie Fisher, Brian Lundell, and anyone else that we’ve missed.

If you have any questions regarding Empty Bowls, or are interested in supporting Empty Bowls 2021, please contact Peter Gleich. 

LaSallian Youth ~ “Faith, Service, Community and Justice”

Sock Drive: Our LaSallian Youth and Student Council Service Committee once again organized the collection of socks for two Sisters of St. Joseph ministries, Peace House and Learning in Style. New or gently used children and adult socks were collected through our February Justice Week. 

Sophomore Class Retreats: All students in our Sophomore class participated in class retreats this past February. Through an online survey, students indicated their preference from 10 retreat experiences, ranging from a Service Retreat, an Overcoming Obstacles Retreat, a Men’s Retreat, a Stress Busters and Meditation Retreat, a Nature Retreat, a Writer’s Retreat and more. These varied retreats offered the Sophomore class wonderful opportunities to explore and grow in their relationship with God, with themselves, with their classmates, and with the Dear Neighbor, near and far.

Ms. Tighe and I are particularly grateful to the CDH staff whose generous, faith-filled, and adventurous spirits make it possible for our Sophomore students to have such a selection of these awesome retreat experiences. This year’s retreat leaders were: Mr. Mike Steineman, Ms. Carolyn Osdoba, Ms. Katie Carroll, Mr. Jerry Macken, Mr. Joe Moss, Ms. Alisa Rogers, Mr. Tim Teuber, Ms. Montse Lavelle, Mr. Chad Anderson, Ms. Nicolle Spears, Mr. Joe Miley, Mr. Jesse Cusick, Ms. Annmarie Tenhoff, Ms. Katie Shead, Ms. Lou Anne Tighe, Mr. Lenny Gerten, Ms. Jackie Bohrer, Ms. Morgan Lieske, and Mr. Randy Muetzel.

If you have any questions regarding the Sophomore Class Retreats, please contact Peter Gleich or Lou Anne Tighe. 

 

Choir

By Tyler Berg, Choir Director

I hope you are all staying well during these trying times. The choir has continued rehearsing it's music online via practice recordings and recording assessments. Occasionally, we meet via "Google Meet" just to catch up and chat about class a little bit, but we do not rehearse in this manner as lag makes it very difficult. We were disappointed in missing out on so many cool events that were scheduled to take place last month and in the coming months. My goal is that even if it is remote, the choir will be able to produce a recording this trimester, via individual recordings stitched together, so that the students have something to show for all their hard work. We continue to try and keep the "community" aspect of choir alive as best we can via the google meets and community threads in our google classroom. I know for many students, this is the reason they choose to be in choir, and it's important that even in this incredibly isolated time, we continue to find ways to be a part of a community. 
 
We can't wait to be singing for you again!
 

Theater

By Katie Kreitzer, Theater Director
 

Since our stay-at-home order, I think most of us have come to realize the significance of the arts in our lives. My daily virtual check-in with theater students has been: What are you listening to? What are you reading? What are you watching? I write down their choices and make a point to give their artistic interests a try. I believe teaching keeps me young, and, being open to where and how teenagers escape artistically has widened my taste in the arts for the BETTER.

I am writing this article with much gratitude for the way in which this pandemic has opened my world to become a better teacher. Obviously, none of us had the choice to teach in this new way. It felt like being pushed off a cliff. This is what we are doing now – GO! But, what I am learning about how to approach my subject area has been profound.

I understand that my situation is easier than most CDH teachers. First of all, my classes are small and they can fit on one Google-Hangout screen. Second, my children are grown and I’m able to commit to this at all hours of the day (including my 2 am anxiety-induced sleepness nights). On the other hand, I’m teaching Improvisation, Acting 1 and Technical Theater which are all hands-on active learning courses. So, I had no choice but to push myself in new directions.  

The outpouring of information freely shared on Facebook Education Distance Learning groups has helped me continue to deliver Theater Education.  Being a part of these groups is like having my best substitute lesson plans at my fingertips. The phrase, “We’re all in this together,” has really been felt throughout these best practices groups. I have refused to stop teaching theater actively. Every time Theater classes meet through our computer screen, students are asked to get up and do theater warm-ups and Improv and Acting exercises. Last week, Hunter Hansen '20 led Acting 1 students in a Theater dance class! I’m still doing some of the moves. 

It has also helped to stay in contact with fellow theater directors in the Twin Cities community.  Former CDH Theater teacher Ann Frances Gregg and I have been swapping lesson plans and cheering each other on as much as we can. We are both teaching an Improvisation Class which primarily studies comedy and team building. Due to the difficulty of doing virtual scene work, we decided to initiate a Stand-Up Comedy unit. We asked former CDH grads Murphy Roscher '07 and Tommy Schneeman '12, both professional stand up comedians, to help our classes out, and they did so without hesitation (See photo of Murphy’s on-line tutorial). And, for Technical Theater class, last week their assignment was to create a Thanksgiving Dinner from paper mache. 

Finally, if you are looking to expand your artistic taste, theaters around the globe are streaming plays free on-line. The National Theater in London, The Globe, and Broadway are just a few options to see award-winning theater free...The Shows Must Go Online! If you are interested in viewing CDH’s winter black box production of 1984, please drop me an email at kkreitzer@c-dh.org, we’d be happy to share it with you.  

Teaching a class online will never have the same impact as teaching a class at CDH. Viewing a play online will never be the same experience as watching it live.  Theater, at its core, is a relationship between the actors and the audience. Live theater depends on this relationship. So, this is a particularly hard time for all the theater artists in our community. 

Be strong. Find the positive. 

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