Heard in the Halls - February 2019

February 13, 2019

Welcome to Heard in the Halls!

We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.
ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | BAND  | THEATER | JROTC

Athletics

Spring Sports Parent and Athlete Meetings

All parents are encouraged to attend these meetings with their student-athlete:

February 25 at 6 p.m. 
-Boys Lacrosse in the Commons
-Baseball in the Griep Family Gymnasium
-Girls Lacrosse in the Choir Room

February 26 at 6 p.m.
-Softball in the Griep Family Gymnasium
-Track meets in the Commons
-Ultimate Frisbee Boys and Girls Teams will meet in Room C101 

March 11 at 6 pm: 
-Girls Golf meets in the Choir Room
-Boys Golf in the Jazz Room
-Boys Tennis in the Commons

Boys Hockey 

by Matt Funk, Head Coach

The Boys Hockey Team has enjoyed a very successful second half of the season thus far. Since Christmas, the boys have gone 11-2-1, winning the Schwann’s Cup Gold Division and improving our overall record to 14-6-1. We are currently ranked 18th in the state and have a lot of momentum heading into the 6AA section playoffs. The Raiders currently have 9 athletes in double digits for points with junior Matthew Gleason leading the way with 30 goals & 16 assists. He is closely followed by fellow seniors: Danny Magnuson (7G, 24A), Grayson Milosch (8G,18A), and Zach Brydges (8G,13A). The goaltending duties have been split by senior George Maguire and 9^th grader Croix Kochendorfer. 

Senior Day Recap: The boys recognized ten seniors as part of their Senior Day game against East Ridge on Feb. 2. Recognized seniors were Avery Shoemaker (Manager), Ryne Mohrman, Theo Hoppe, Zach Brydges, Grayson, Milosch, Robby Klein, Jude Awada, Danny Magnuson, Aiden Dooley, and George Maguire.

Coach Funk said of his senior class,  “This senior class will be my first graduating class at CDH and I don’t take that lightly. They have worked hard to show me the ropes of what it means to be a Raider and have graciously accepted me to their community as one of their own. I thank them for coming in with an open mind and for committing themselves to the future of Raider hockey. They have laid the foundation for what lies ahead, but their story hasn’t reached a conclusion yet either. We have plenty to accomplish over the next month and a half and I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group.”

Girls Hockey

Tonight's 5:15 p.m. game (2/13/19) against Blaine will be live-streamed on the NFHS Network today. Click here to follow the Raiders from the comfort of your own home!

Dance Team

by Emiley Sandvik, Assistant Coach

The CDH Dance Team has had a strong year so far! They have ranked 4th in Varsity Kick and Jazz Overall.  They are currently ranked 6th in Varsity Kick and 5th in Varsity Jazz heading into sections.  They are only a few points away from the coveted 3rd place ranking that would qualify them for the State Tournament. 

Sections were held on Feb. 9, at Kasson-Mantorville High School.  The dancers' hard work and dedication have paid off throughout the course of the season as proven by their scores continued to increase across all teams.  

Girls Basketball

Senior Night for Girls’ Basketball will be held at the game on Tuesday, February 19, at 7 pm.

During halftime, there will be a ceremony to recognize each of the senior athletes and their contributions to the team and to CDH basketball.  There will be some halftime games for younger kids, and each senior will throw out a basketball to fans.

Read more about senior Frannie Hottinger who hit a milestone this month as the school's highest scorer in girls basketball history. 

Wrestling

by Dan Willaert, Head Coach

The Raiders wrestling team hosted the 4^th Annual Sgt. Michael Carlson Memorial Duals on Feb. 2 in honor of Michael Carlson '00 who died in service of our country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The event featured several of the top-ranked teams in the state in a 12-team dual format.

Michael’s older brother Dan Carlson'98 was on hand to kick off the event with a powerful speech about Michael’s final hour and his heroic effort to save two of his fellow soldiers. He encouraged the wrestlers participating to continue honing their determination, dedication, and relationships through challenging undertakings such as wrestling.

The action on the mats did not disappoint the crowd either. In the championship match, Stillwater upset Apple Valley to take home the trophy. Forest Lake finished in third place by defeating Lakeville South. Sartell-St.Stephen won the Tier I Consolation bracket and Fridley won the Tier II Consolation bracket.

Michael’s mother Merrilee Carlson was in attendance to present the team trophy.

The Raiders coaching staff would like to extend a huge, “Thank you!” to all of the volunteers who helped contribute to an outstanding day of wrestling in honor of Michael.

CDH Alpine Ski

by Wendy Loudas, Assistant Coach

The CDH Alpine Racing Team has wrapped up their fast and furious season!  The team may be small, but they've got fortitude!  This season was a battle with the elements that  Mother Nature has thrown at us all. Through rain, wind, sleet, snow, ice, and the polar vortex, they prepared for the Section Race on February 6, held at Wild Mountain Ski Area. Despite the weather challenges, the team participated in 4 all-conference races and 1 non-conference race crammed into the month of January.  

The girls team was lead well by two CDH Alpine veterans.  Junior Isabella Korsilius and Sophomore Serena Jacobson, who both wrapped up their seasons with great consistency in the Section Championship.  In a field of 102 racers, Serena secured an impressive 31st place, and Isabella took 69th place.  A rising star of the girl's team is Freshman Jane Zirnhelt who nailed down the 55th place finish at Sections.  Despite not meeting the number of racers required to be formally ranked as a full section team, they brought in enough points that would have earned them 15th place out of 20 teams!  We look forward to these three veteran racers leading a larger team next season!!

Seniors and veterans to the boys team, Dylan Jacobson and Augustus Nelson, were leaders on the team throughout the regular conference race season.  Up and coming star, freshman Thomas Gagnon, navigated a steep learning trajectory amazingly well, and we look forward to him assuming his well-earned role of leader and veteran on next season's boys team!  Nelson was the "lone man" CDH representative to the section race.  He placed 77th in a field of 102 racers.  Despite their preparation, due to circumstance, senior Dylan Jacobson and freshman Thomas Gagnon were unable to race at Sections.   We must bid Dylan and Augustus a fond farewell, and we wish them all the best as they prepare for graduation from CDH.  

If you can catch any of these fast racers in the halls of CDH, congratulate them on a great race season, and ask them how you can join them on the team for next season.  No previous experience required.  Ask Thomas how easy it is to get from casual skier to racer.  Also, contact Head Coach Carrie Freitag to hear how easily you could get from non-skier to racer!  We've got the coaching staff to guide you and would love to have you join us on the slopes!  Spread the word...CDH Alpine can get you up to speed on the Varsity Team!

Ultimate Frisbee

Counseling

by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Parents/Guardians of Junior Students:  A reminder to please schedule a family appointment for post-high planning with your student and his or her college counselor.  An email message via Naviance was sent to you with a link to your counselor’s appointment schedule on SignUpGenius.  Please check your email (spam folder too) for this message from Connie Reding and be sure to schedule your appointment as soon as possible.  Please remind your student to complete his or her “Game Plan” on Naviance prior to your meeting. Gather your questions and we will look forward to seeing you.  Please contact Connie Reding in the counseling office if you need assistance at 651-696-3312.

The April ACT test will be given on Saturday, April 13, 2019.  Register for the test online at www.act.org by March 8.  We recommend that students sign up to take the “optional” writing portion of the ACT at least once. CDH School Code is 242-245. 

Please mark your calendars for the CDH Education Fair on Monday, April 8, from 6:30 to 8 pm.  Over 100 colleges and universities will be here to answer your questions and distribute information.  Save time by pre-registering for a barcode for our CDH fair at www.gotocollegefairs.com.   With a barcode, your contact information can be scanned instead of you having to fill our individual prospect cards at each table.

There was a mandatory PSEO informational meeting held on Friday, Feb 1.  If your student is interested in PSEO and did not attend the meeting, please have them contact their school counselor as soon as possible.  

Band

by Donna Novey, Band Director

On February 6, the Jazz Band and about a dozen band members supported the Empty Bowls event with a wide range of dinner music from classical to swing. 

The Pep Band provided support for the CDH Open House as well as several basketball and hockey events this winter, culminating with the Coaches vs. Cancer event at the boys basketball game on February 8.  The team’s fundraiser was in honor of Owen Loftus, who passed away after a 4-month battle with leukemia.  Owen was also a percussionist in the CDH Band.

Next Pep Band appearances will be for post-season winter sports events in February and March.  The typical protocol is to support the teams for Section Finals and for State events going toward the championship game.

Read more about the band at the Suburban East Conference Music Festival.

The Band’s Winter Concert is on Wednesday, February 20, at 7 p.m. in the Griep Family Gymnasium.  The concert will include the selections performed at the SEC Music Festival (“A Scottish Portrait” and “Apollo:  Myth and Legend”) as well as music featuring seniors Jack Chojnacki (alto sax) on “What a Wonderful World,”  Alex Christensen (bari sax/bass) with his arrangement of “Mamma Mia,” and Zach Muetzel and MC Arvidson (xylophones) on “Fiddle Faddle”.  The concert will close with a medley of Mexican folk songs, “Viva Mexico!”

Theater

Auditions for the Spring Musical, "Jesus Christ Superstar" are scheduled for February 21 and 22.  More information can be found on the Auditions page.

Read more about the remarkable 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Lillian Theater in January that highlighted both CDH students and many alumni from all over the nation.

JROTC

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

On February 1, Cretin-Derham Hall hosted the 29th Annual Upper Midwest JROTC Challenge.  Twelve schools representing Air Force, Marine Corps, and Army JROTC programs attended with over 300 cadets. This is a competition in which schools compete in physical fitness, knowledge bowl, regulation drill, color guard presentation, and air rifle.  CDH competed very well and was a gracious host.  CDH took first place in the air rifle and physical fitness competitions, second place in color guard and knowledge bowl, and third place in the regulation drill.  Read the article by one of our cadets, Sam Clausen. 

Congratulations to the winners of our Platoon Drill Competition: 

1st Battalion: Bravo Company, Third Platoon (Peter Howard, Flynn, Lucia Copps, Reagan Rapp, Matthew Wingerd, Vincent Lam, Joe Silva, Emmett Sexton, Jessica Lutmer, Natasha Krieger, Nick Ryan, Sean Xiong, Christian Pornschloegl, John Galles, and Adam Koenig).

2nd Battalion: Charlie Company, First Platoon (David Ek, Alesana Anetipa, Sam Anglum, Valerie Krinke, Samantha Pizinger, Jamell Edwards, and Will Burke)

3rd Battalion: Foxtrot Company,  First Platoon (Ronan Heal, Ciera Geisen, Erin Hannon, Elena Reinboldt, Sam Vinck, Ervin Kemoon, Adam Wicker, Chris Walsh, and Cameron Jackson)

Our Orienteering Team will be starting their preseason schedule on February 17 at Nerstram Big Woods State Park.  We have unlimited room for cadets on the team.  This is a great sport that exercises your mind AND your body while enjoying the great outdoors.     

Our Air Rifle Team is finishing up its season through the end of February with three postal matches they will shoot in.  This has been a wonderful season of having experienced shooters on the team, but also a large number of first-year shooters participating.

 Practices do not stop for the Regulation and Color Guard Teams.  They are preparing for a competition in Sioux Falls, SD at the end of March.  Color Guard has been busy supporting winter sports.  We still have a few more basketball and hockey games coming up.  Also, we were honored to present the colors for the opening of the 4th Annual Sergeant Michael Carlson Memorial wrestling duals on February 2, 2019, at CDH.  The Honor Guard continues to represent JROTC and CDH at many events.  The dedicated students who give freely of their time are so appreciated by our CDH community.  They continue to be available for school, alumni, and community events.  They will be assisting on St. Patrick’s Day at the St. Paul Cathedral with a mass.

An exciting upcoming event is our Military Ball, which will be held on February 23 at Ideal Hall in St. Paul.  This is a fun event where the cadets eat a great meal and dance the night away.  This is a highly-anticipated dance and we usually have 250-300 attendees.

Our seniors are beginning to receive nominations from members of Congress and our Senators for the academies.  The window for College ROTC applications is closing for all three services.  We should begin to hear more about our other candidates. 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.