Class of 2025 Continues Turkey Day Tradition
November 26, 2024
It may be Lake Catholic’s longest-standing tradition.
This year marked the 50th year.
Yesterday, the senior class took its turn with Turkey Day.
What had started back in 1974 as a Thanksgiving feast for friends to enjoy each other as an entire class, has turned into much more for Lake Catholic students, as they live out one of the school’s core values – its willingness to serve.
“This is a very important day for our school and our senior class,” said Mrs. Cari Foster, the school’s Director of Mission and Formation. “We want to carry out our core values every day, but in particular this day, serving those in need is very important. Everything our seniors did today matters.”
The day started with a small prayer service, where there were prayers not only for the senior class but also for those who it was going to help. The seniors chose between eight different service projects and headed out into the community.
The groups headed to:
- Lake Farmpark, where the students helped set up Christmas trees for breakfast with Santa and cleaned up the barns for when families go for country lights and horse races.
- Outdoor YMCA in Perry, where they cleaned up the area by raking and blowing leaves and moving large tree branches.
- Botanical Gardens, where they also helped with fall clean-up of the garden areas.
- Camp Red Oak, where they worked on various maintenance projects both inside and out
- Vocational Guidance Center, where they worked with those who have developmental disabilities by playing games and making crafts.
- Deepwood Industries, where they also worked with those who have developmental disabilities by playing games and making crafts.
- Broadmoor School, where they worked and played with the children.
- Project Hope, where the students, after a tour of the facility, made cards for the packed lunches that are handed out every day, as well as sorting donations and organizing their storage room.
When the students returned to school, they were served a Thanksgiving feast, which was what Turkey Day started as back in the ‘70s. Lunch was served by some parents of the students, who also served as chaperones throughout the morning.
The day ended with the seniors joining the rest of the student body for a presentation from Mrs. Caitlin Alifirenka, co-author of I Will Always Write Back – the summer reading book for the entire school, which focuses on the power of friendship and how it can change lives.
Five Seniors Awarded Governor's Scholarship
November 13, 2024
Five Lake Catholic seniors have been awarded the Governor’s Merit Scholarship.
Congratulations to Brecklin Harrold, Sophia Iannini, Megan Joy, Emmy Schoen, and Caleb Stein.
Each student could receive an up to $5,000 renewable scholarship for the next four years because they are in the top 5% of Ohio’s Class of 2025.
In collaboration with the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Governor Mike DeWine created this award to increase the number of high-achieving high school graduates who remain in Ohio for college.
Funds can be applied to tuition and fees, as well as other educational expenses, including books, equipment, and room and board. Students may use the scholarship at any public or private, non-profit college or university in Ohio.
Iannini, Harrold and Joy all said they haven’t made a college choice yet, but they do all have plenty of Ohio schools on their list of options, so using the scholarship remains a possibility.
Schoen said she will be attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Stein said he will most likely be headed to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
More information about the Governor’s Merit Scholarship can be found on the Ohio Department of Higher Education website.
Volleyball Heading to Fourth Straight Final Four, Coach Gets Her First Shot
November 07, 2024
As a high school player, Tess Connolly-Alcantara (’16) never made it to the state volleyball tournament. Now, though, in her first year as the head coach at her alma mater, she’s finally getting that chance to be on the court for the state semifinals, and possibly finals.
“Every year in high school we lost to the eventual state champion, so I never made it this far,” Connolly-Alcantara said. “As the coach now, I’m excited about what we’ve achieved so far, but we have high goals to reach. I’ll enjoy all the wins after the season is over.”
The Cougars play Frankfort Adena in one of the Division V state semifinals today at 6p at Wright State University’s Nutter Center. A win this evening will put them in line for their third straight state championship against either Franklin Bishop Fenwick or Ottawa-Glandorf at 1p tomorrow (Friday) also at the Nutter Center.
A championship would also be the fourth overall for the program, moving it past the football program’s three state titles for most in school history.
“Some might think that coming in as a new coach to such a successful program is easy, but it does come with different pressures,” Connolly-Alcantara said. “These girls are so used to winning, so I didn’t want to come in and mess any of that up. I know, because I played here, what high standards the volleyball program has. So, I wanted to come in and implement some of my coaching philosophies, but most importantly, just continue the success of the program.”
So far so good for Connolly-Alcantara and the Cougars, who have been in lockstep almost since the first week of practice.
“I think we adjusted pretty quickly (to having a new coach),” senior captain Julia Oster said. Oster’s sister, Kara (’13), won state titles in both her years of coaching the Cougars. “They both played here. So maybe that’s why the transition was so easy. They come from the same system in high school and they both understand what this program is all about.”
The Cougars head to Dayton having won the new North Coast Conference title, and with a 22-4 record, with three of their four losses coming to teams in the Division III state semifinals.
This will be the fourth straight trip to the Final Four for the volleyball team. That’s the first time in school history a Lake Catholic team has made it to the state semifinals four years in a row. Oster, Natalya Bergant and Ava Budrys Rini have been a part of all four of those teams.
“It’s pretty cool that us seniors have always made it to Dayton,” Oster said. “But at the same time there was a lot of pressure to get there again. So, when we won (the regional final Saturday against Elyria Catholic) I did have a little sense of relief.
“But we do still feel some pressure, because we want to win so badly.”
Although it is the first team to make four straight trips to the state tournament, the school has had several individuals make in their sport all four of their years – Anthony Constantino (wrestling, 00-03), Brian Connelly (wrestling, 03-06), Je’Rica Sanders (track, 08-11), Jenna Krolikowski (swimming, 14-17), Silvija Taraska (swimming, 14-17), Kevon Freeman (wrestling, 15-18), Conor McCrone (wrestling, 16-18), Cole Hivnor (wrestling, 18-21), Brendan McCrone (wrestling, 19-22), and Joey Romano (wrestling, 21-24).
Despite this being the fourth straight trip, this team has heard doubters throughout the season after last year’s historic run when they went undefeated and only lost three sets all year.
“We lost so many great players from last year’s team, but we still have a lot of great players too,” Oster said. “There’s going to be so much satisfaction proving that we can still shine.”
Not only has this group of seniors continued to shine and its winning ways, maybe just as important is how this group of seniors carries themselves and what they’ve passed down to the rest of the team, Connolly-Alcantara said.
“They just carry themselves a certain way, and they want it to continue even when they’re gone,” she said. “They continue to show the expectations of what it means to be a Lake Catholic volleyball player. For example, (freshman) Lola (Loncar) is a great player, but she now knows what it takes to be a great Lake Catholic player.”
What it means to be a great Lake Catholic volleyball player seems to now include annual Final Four trips.
School Collects More Than 3,000 Pairs of Socks for Socktober Drive
November 06, 2024
Setting a goal is always a measuring stick of your progress.
For the Socktober sock drive held during the month of October, Lake Catholic had a modest goal of collecting 2,000 pairs of socks. It took some time, but eventually, the school blew right past that goal and ended up donating the most socks it ever has over the past five years of participating in this drive.
On Wednesday, November 6, Mrs. Kelly Wolf, the Visual Arts Department Chair and coordinator of the drive, announced the school had collected 3,364 pairs of socks.
According to the Socktober website – happysocktober.com – more than 600,000 people in the United States sleep on the streets each night. “This October, we want … to show that even a small act of love, such as donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors who are homeless,” the site states.
Wolf knows that what Lake Catholic has been able to collect will make a difference.
“This is the most we’ve ever collected here,” she said. “Eventually the weather is going to start getting colder and people will need these socks. I’m just so grateful for everything our community has been able to do.”
Lake Catholic students, faculty, and staff were motivated throughout the drive by two separate competitions - homerooms all competing against each other weekly, and the four grades competing against each other throughout the entire month.
The monthly competition, for the first time ever, was won by the faculty and staff with 1,438 pairs of socks. The classes followed: sophomores (763 pairs), seniors (466), juniors (300), and freshmen (258). Sixty-one pairs of socks were donated without a name or class designation.
The top donors were: sophomore Lily Long (662 pairs), staff member Mr. Jamie Simonis (500), senior Dakota Mudrakas (310), and junior Matt Florence (261). Each received a Got Socks? t-shirt and a pass for a free school lunch.
Wolf has worked with Ms. Julie Tinik for the past five years collecting socks. Tinik has a passion for helping the homeless and after reading about Socktober through Random Acts of Kindness started her own sock drive in Lake County.
During the five-year partnership, Tinik and Wolf have have collected 13,465 pairs of socks. Tinik also collects paper products and cleaning supplies to donate to Project Hope.
All socks collected this year will be distributed to Project Hope, Sub Zero, Forbes House, Little Annie's Hope Train, and City Mission.
* * * * *
Other figures
Over the last five years, Lake Catholic has collected and donated 10,881 pairs of socks!
- 600 pairs in 2020
- 2,021 in 2021
- 2,999 in 2022
- 1,975 in 2023
- 3,364 in 2024
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