ATHLETICS

Girls Basketball

By Joe Lynch, Head Coach

The Cretin-Derham Hall Girls Basketball team wrapped up the regular season as the Conference Champions of the Suburban East Conference. With a record of 12-4 and an overall record of 21-6, the team received the Number 1 seed in the Class AAAA, Section 4 Playoffs. The Girls team proceeded to beat North St. Paul, 93-33, Tartan 63-53 and Woodbury 54-52 to win the Section and advance to the State Tournament for the first time since 2002-03. All-Suburban East Conference players were Elizabeth Edinger’18, Autam Mendez’18, Frannie Hottinger’19, and Haley Moore’18. 

The first State Tournament game will be played on Wednesday, March 14. With a win, the semi-final game will be Thursday, March 15, with the final on Saturday, March 17. Please come out and support the Girls State Tournament basketball team!

Boys Basketball

By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach

Forward Daniel Oturu’18 scored a game-high 30 points and added 19 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead the Raiders (26-2) to a 77-63 win over North. St. Paul in the Section 4AAAA semifinals on March 10.

Ryan Larson’18 and Jake Prince’18 added 18 and 14 respectively as the Raiders blew open a close game in the second half. 

Come out and support the Raiders at the Section 4AAAA Championship Game against East Ridge - March 15 at 7 p.m. at Hastings High School.

Boys Hockey

By Jim O’Neill’74, Head Coach

The Boys Hockey team finished one of its most successful seasons with a 3-2 loss in section semifinals to Wayzata. The Raiders went down 3-1 after two periods but came storming back in the third with an early goal by Danny Magnuson’19 and a frantic finish but came up short. "We just ran out of time," is the way Co-Captain Liam Ryan’18 phrased it.

The Raiders finished with a 21-4-2 record, winning the Schwan Cup Silver tournament at Christmas, and captured the Suburban East Conference championship with a 14-0-2 record. The team played an exciting brand of hockey with skill and speed.

The Raiders will miss ten quality seniors but return ten underclassmen, including three of the top four scorers from this season. The players and coaches want to thank everyone for their support throughout the season. 

BAND

By Donna Novey, Band Director

One might think the band slows down after the Suburban East Conference Music Festival but that just doesn’t happen. There are always more performances and pep bands on the schedule.

In preparation for 4AA Solo/Ensemble Contest and in service to the greater good, CDH band members provided musical entertainment at Empty Bowls on February 7. Those same students attended a contest at Tartan High School on February 10, bringing home 13 ‘Superior’ and three ‘Excellent’ ratings, representing CDH extremely well.

On February 21, the Winter Concert was held in the Griep Family Gym and it was a great finale to the trimester with a wide variety of music.

The annual MMEA (Minnesota Music Educators Association) All-State Band and Orchestra Concert was ‘sort of’ held on February 24. A grand concert was planned for Orchestra Hall that afternoon. But, due to the impending snowstorm, the afternoon concert was canceled and an impromptu performance was held at the Minneapolis Downtown Hilton at 10 a.m. for anyone who could get there. The goal was to get everybody out of town before the roads got bad, which was already too late for those in the western part of the state. The performances were fabulous nonetheless!

Congratulations to flute player Mikey Jay’18 for being named to the All-State Orchestra. Congratulations to trumpet player Mary Grace Shearon’19 for being named to the All-State Symphonic Band.

Somehow the band members survived the grueling end of the trimester, ready to depart for the Orlando Band Trip, March 2-6. Once they boarded the plane, second trimester was behind them and beautiful Orlando was before them! Click to read about our adventures.

The Pep Band has been supporting the Girls and Boys Basketball teams at sections and beyond.

Up-coming Band events:

Tuesday, March 20                 
Hosting 4AA Large Group Contest

Thursday, May 10                   
Jazz Band Concert, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 16               
JROTC Twilight Parade, 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 19                   
Celebrate West St. Paul Grand Parade, 1 p.m.

Wednesday, May 23               
Spring Concert & Senior Farewell, 7 p.m.

CHOIR

By Isaac Lovdahl, Choir Director

Join us for the CDH Choir Concert on March 20 at 7 p.m. in the Commons. Welcome in spring with all of the CDH choirs as they perform folk songs, pop tunes, spirituals, and other choral classics.

Click to read about the Chamber Singers exchange concert with Ripon College.

COUNSELING

By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Attention Juniors:

College counseling meetings with junior students and parents are underway. If you have not scheduled your appointment with your CDH College Counselor, please do so via the link to SignUp Genius sent to you via email or contact Mrs. Reding in the Counseling Office for assistance.

The CDH Education Fair will be held Monday, April 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for junior students and their families. We will host over 100 colleges and universities that evening, which is a convenient way to make contact with admissions representatives and get your questions answered. A list of attending colleges will be available prior to the event. New this year… students can register at www.gotocollegefairs.com to get a barcode that the colleges can scan so you won’t have to spend time filling out contact cards with each college!

The registration deadline for the June 9 ACT test is May 6. Late registration (with additional fees) will be accepted until May 18, 2018. Register online at www.actstudent.org. 

Dates for the Minnesota Private College Week this summer are June 25-29, 2018. All of the private colleges in Minnesota welcome prospective students and their families to campus during this week, both in morning and afternoon sessions. Wisconsin hosts a similar event. The Wisconsin Private College Week will be held July 9- 14, 2018. Call colleges or go online in advance to register for visits.

Attention Seniors:

Colleges will be sending you important information on admission, financial aid, housing, registration, and orientation. BE SURE TO READ & RESPOND TO YOUR MAIL! An enrollment deposit to the college of your choice is due by May 1.

Special Note:  Please keep information about all your admissions decisions and financial aid awards. CDH will be sending out a Senior Survey in late April to collect this data.

Thank your teachers for your letters of recommendation. Remember that CDH teachers write hundreds of letters of recommendation for students as they apply to colleges and universities – over and above all the other responsibilities they have as classroom teachers and coaches. Please take a minute to thank them for this very important work that they do on your behalf.

JROTC

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

Our Air Rifle Team traveled February 15-19 to Camp Perry, OH, to compete in the Eastern Regional Air Rifle competition. Five students made this trip and competed at a very high level. We had two personal bests in this 3x20 competition – John Koop’18 and Will Domler’20.  Team captain Isaac Yahn’19 and team members Bryce Vevey’18 and Michael Hannon’19 shot very well.

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. 

Our Armed Precision Drill team continues to perfect its routine as they prepare to perform for the formal inspection team that will be at CDH on April 11, as well as for the Twilight Parade on May 16. This team is working on a new performance sequence for these events.

Our Military Ball was held on February 24 at Ideal Hall in St. Paul. In spite of the stormy weather, over 200 cadets and guests attended. The young women and men looked fantastic in their formal attire. After a great meal, they danced the night away.

Orienteering season starts soon. Those interested should look for information on our bulletin board for upcoming events.

We conducted the Junior Officer exam at the end of second trimester and are happy to announce 2nd Lieutenant: William Anderson, Mary Andrzejek, Will Bechtold, Andrew Bussen, Sam Clausen, Anthony Dahdah, Adam Ernster, Seamus Foley, Ted Hoover, Dylan Jacobson, Rory King, Owen Mische, Ethan Overland, Joseph Schwirtz, Edmundo Villalva-Lijo, Henry Vinck, Ian Weninger, and Isaac Yahn.

These newly promoted lieutenants will be the heart of our senior leadership next year.

Our seniors are beginning to receive nominations from members of Congress for the academies. We should begin to hear more shortly about our other candidates that have sought ROTC scholarships. Juniors should be taking the 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.

We have begun emailing the weekly lab announcements out to parents as another way to keep you informed. If you have not been receiving the emails and would like to, please provide your email address to the JROTC Department.

THEATER

By staff

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was an amazing experience for all involved, including the audiences. Lead actor Abraham Teuber’18 reflected upon the privilege of participating in the production. Click to read Abraham’s article.

There is no downtime in the Lillian Theater! Everyone involved in the spring performance, 42nd Street, is hard at work getting ready for the April 27 opening night. Save the date for this rollicking musical – April 27-29 and May 4-6.