Heard in the Halls - September 2022

September 14, 2022

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

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

Athletics

Girls Tennis 

By Tim Spika, Head Coach

The Girls’ Tennis season started on August 15. There are 46 girls on the Varsity, Junior Varsity and B teams. Each team has a busy schedule, with 2-3 matches per week.

The varsity team is led by Maggie Roberto '23, Leah Stoltz '23, Piper Lee '23, Tavary Un '23, Dayna Lynch '23, Helena Hannahan '23 along with Captains Morgan Redden '23 and Norah Barrett '23. Rounding out this year’s varsity are Claire Rom '24, Ava Wieland '24, Caroline Sullivan '24, Sam Wells '24, Izzy Mattaini '25 and Lauren Fairbairn '26.

An early season highlight took place when the Raiders won the CDH/Highland Park Tournament, held jointly at those two schools. CDH defeated Highland Park 6-1 and secured razor-thin 4-3 victories over Two Rivers and Rosemount.

Suburban East Conference play, which annually provides tremendous challenges, will continue through the end of September, with Team and Individual Section play scheduled for October. The team has shown itself to be highly competitive on the courts, and super fun, positive and team-oriented during practices. The fall weather has been ideal and the girls have given their fans some entertaining tennis, with plenty more to come in the hectic month of September.

Cross Country

By Chris Babcock, Head Coach

With 14 new faces, including eight ninth-graders, the 2022 Raiders Cross Country Team  is
building the foundation for a bright future.

Under the guidance of returning runners, including boys captain Liam McLay '24 and Andy Chestovich '22, who earned a trip to State last season, teammates are enjoying the process of challenging one another to be their best every day at practice. For most, every day is another step in building toward their best efforts in the conference and section meets.

For some, that first step is simply finishing a competitive race. Fortunately, cross country rewards
improvement throughout the season. Other newcomers are hoping to apply their abilities from different endeavors. Juniors Bella Brondom '24 and Katie Chestovich '24 will see if they can transfer their competitive spirit in swimming and track to a cross country course.

While the season is still unfolding, a few Raiders have made the leaderboard in the first two races.

Cross country is both an individual and team sport, with personal goals contributing to a group effort, and the process of getting there is half the fun. To that end, The team is looking forward to rebooting
some old traditions, such as the iconic Watergate Workout, as well as establishing some new ones of their own.

Dance Performance

By Alison Svendsen, Head Coach

The Cretin-Derham Hall Fall Performance Dance Team is excited to be back in action this season. They have come off a fantastic end to summer with attending Just For Kix dance camp, attending a dance team intensive clinic at Larkin Dance Studio, and hosting a kids clinic in August.

Practices have been well underway with the team learning new choreography, working on dance technique and taking full advantage of the workouts provided by Coach B! The team is incredibly excited for their first performances to get underway at the CDH home football games taking place at UST.

This season is sure to be a great one, as the team will be heading back to the South St. Paul Dance Show on Oct. 1 at 10 am. They will also be hosting another kids clinic to be held at CDH on Saturday Oct. 15 from 8am -12:30pm, with a performance taking place at the Oct. 19 CDH home football game!

Be sure to check them out at one of their performances, or get your own kids involved with the kids clinic. Any questions, please inquire at cdhdt@c-dh.org. Let's go Raiders!

Football

By Steve Walsh ’85, Head Coach

The Varsity Football Team elected 5 captains this season: Michael Bougie ’23, Sam Koopmeiners ’23, Isaac Koemptgen ’23, Josh Ojo ’23 and Will Ek ’23.

Upcoming Varsity Home games will be Homecoming vs. Apple Valley September 23 at 7:30pm at University of St.Thomas and the annual Tackle Cancer game to benefit the Randy Shaver Cancer Research Fund vs. Chaska on September 30 at 7pm at University of St. Thomas. Donations will be collected at the gate.

Boys Soccer

By Carter Albrecht, Head Coach

CDH Boys Soccer (3A) has started the season with a 6-0 record, scoring 26 goals while allowing only 2 goals. Diego Giles Quiroz ’23 has scored 13 with one assist in those six matches, leading him to the top of the MSHSL scoring charts across all classifications. Liam Hafenbrack ’24 has 2 goals and 6 assists, placing him second in the MSHSL assist charts across all classifications.

Counseling

By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

We look forward to working with the Class of 2023 this year. If you would like to schedule a fall check-in with a College Counselor, please contact one of us.

Ms. O'Connell - Last names A-K - joconnell@c-dh.org
Ms. Nelson - Last names L-Z - lnelson@c-dh.org

CDH will once again be hosting in-person visits from college admissions officers. These high school visits provide an opportunity for junior and senior students to get personal attention and up-to-date information on schools that interest them. It also gets students connected to the school’s mailing lists for further updates and information.

Students can come to the Counseling Department to get a pass for a visit he or she would like to attend. CDH teachers give the final approval for missing a class period. Check the CDH website and/or the announcements for the college visit schedule. Students can also go to individual college websites for virtual tours. Making that individual connection with the admissions officer is an important step to take to show interest in the school and to get individual questions answered.

The National College Fair is back in-person this year! It will be held at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Wednesday, October 5 from 5-8pm. Colleges and universities from all across the nation will be there to answer your questions!

Check out this article on the changes in the college process. 

Campus Ministry

By Peter Gleich

Choir

By Tyler Berg, Choir Director

Greetings from the CDH Choir!

We are so excited to be back singing in a more "normal" singing environment again.

We have already begun working on music for the November 1 concert, and are working once again towards building a program that we can carry with us on a small regional tour in March. More updates on that soon, hopefully.

We've also added a second choir this year, the "Chamber Singers." This 12-voice auditioned ensemble will begin meeting next week to prepare Christmas music and will perform at other school events. The choir is also singing the National Anthem at the Homecoming football game. We hope to see many of you there!

Look for the choir/band newsletter which will hopefully be attached to the next E-Raider News for more information on concert dates, fundraising opportunities and other events.

Band

By Nick Zahler, Band Director

We're back! The CDH band is back in the swing of things, welcoming new and returning students. There are plenty of things for band students to look forward to this year, including a special joint Christmas concert with the University of St. Thomas Concert Band.

The band's first concert is scheduled for November 10. The concert is free and open to the public, so come on by and hear our students' first performance of the year!

For more information on the band and plans for the year, please refer to the forthcoming CDH Band Newsletter, which will be attached to an upcoming eRaider News.

If you are interested in supporting the CDH Band, your student is interested in music at CDH, or you have any questions, please reach out to me at nzahler@c-dh.org!

Theater

CDH welcomes Penelope Parsons-Lord as the new Theater Director. Her 2022/2023 Season Schedule was announced last week and includes some great shows!  Auditions for the fall show start Friday, September 16.

Read more about her and see what she has planned for the upcoming school year.

JROTC

JROTC started its 106th year at CDH with a strong and thriving cadet corps of approximately 270 cadets. Of the 71 freshman cadets, for the first time ever, more than 50% are female.

An expanded offering of JROTC co-curricular activities started up this school year to include Rifle Team, Orienteering, Flight Club, Honor Guard, Color Guard, Regulation Drill, Armed/Crack Drill, Robotics, JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl (JLAB), Fitness Challenge, Archery, and Cyber Patriot. Cadets will determine which co-curricular activities are supported each school year based on their interest.

The JROTC Diamond Promotion Ceremony took place during an all-school assembly on Monday, September 12. During this annual ceremony, 16 of our top Senior Cadets were promoted to senior leadership positions in the Raider Brigade, along with our 107th Cadet Colonel. Please see the separate article and photos in this Communicator for details.

The JROTC Fall Review will be held on Wednesday, October 5 at 2 pm on Wingerd Field. This annual event welcomes the new ninth graders to the Raider Brigade Corps of Cadets, and recognizes some of our top performers. All are invited to attend.

The annual JROTC adventure training trip to Camp Ripley will be held the weekend of October 7-9. While at Camp Ripley, cadets will take part in land navigation course, leadership reaction course, and other activities to build their leadership skills as they enter into more challenging positions leading their peers in the Raider Brigade and at CDH. Permission slips will be going home in the next few days. Space is limited, so please return your paperwork as soon as possible.

Congresswoman Betty McCollum will host the Fourth Congressional District U.S. Service Academy Information Night on Tuesday, September 20, from 6:30-8:30pm at Mounds View High School for individuals interested in applying for a nomination to a U.S. Service Academy. All interested students and families are invited to attend to learn more about these opportunities and how to obtain a Congressional nomination.

Seniors, please check out this college scholarship opportunity for JROTC cadets provided by National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC). The application form can be found here.