Central Speaker | 4QTR 2014-2015 | Page 1

Vol: 32 | Iss: 1 | 4QTR 2014-2015

Central SpeakerFrom the Principal

I love the rhythm of the school year. There is a be-ginning, there is a time of growth and there is an end. The end of the year brings with it an opportunity to reflect as well as improve for the year to come. To me, the end of this year is bittersweet. It is bit-ter because the seniors have graduated and will no longer walk our halls on a daily basis. It has been a tre-mendous blessing to serve the Class of 2015 as both a teacher and an administrator over the past four years. It is sweet because we are confident they are leaving Central Catholic prepared to meet not just the aca-demic challenges they will face in the years to come, but the spiritual challenges as well. It has been a great joy to see them get into their college of choice and pre-pare for the next stage in their life. The end of this year is also bittersweet because we say goodbye to a few members of our faculty. Jan Schlickman, who has just finished her 26th year at Cen-tral Catholic, will retire at the end of this year. Lauren

LaCoy, Josh Hunt and Rich Sealy will be leaving Cen-tral Catholic at the close of the year as well. We thank them for their service to our school. Each has had a powerful impact on our students in his or her own way. We look forward to welcoming four new faculty and staff members to the Central Catholic family next Fall. New beginnings bring about new opportunities. We will have the opportunity to welcome the Class of 2019 to our building next year. It is the students who bring life to our school thus it is important for us to make sure we form them both academically and spiri-tually. It is our goal to prepare our students for college and for heaven. Please continue to sup-port us through your prayers so we may be faithful to our mission.

Sean FosterPrincipal

24 for 24 is an annual activity where students donate $24 then fast for 24 hours to raise awareness of hunger in our area. The event ends with Mass and a Pizza Party for all of the participants. This year, over $3,100 was given to Fr. Ric Schneider to help support St. Mary’s work with the poor.

24 For 24

Faculty and Staff will be in and out of the building throughout the summer, but these are the official summer hours: Monday, June 1 – Thursday, June 25: 8:00 a.m. – noon, Monday - ThursdayFriday, June 26 – Sunday, July 12: CLOSEDMonday, July 13 – Thursday, August 13: 8:00 a.m. – noon, Monday - ThursdayMonday, August 17: resume normal office hours of 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

Summer Hours

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Congratulations to the Class of 2015! Graduation is a time for many people to reflect on how they are now “moving on” to the real world. Seniors are getting ready to move on to something new and take more responsibility for their lives. And yet as many saints like St. Agnes, St. Maria Goretti or St. Dominic Savio have taught us, we are always in the real world. These young saints are an example to us that we are never too young to know, to love and to serve God in this life, and to be with Him in the next. God is always at work in our lives, and will be a part of our lives if we let Him. Living in Him and in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, helps us to always be grounded in truth and what is truly real. Our Faith guides us in this life to lead us to the ultimate goal of eternity in Heaven with the Most Holy Trinity. As our Seniors move on to the next phase of their lives, we pray that they will take with them all the gifts, talents and virtues that have been nurtured over these past four years here at Central Catholic

by family, faculty and staff. As Pope St. John Paul II chose as his motto, so we say “Be Not Afraid.” Know that Christ is always with you, and through Him, our prayers are always with you as well. We are all part of the Communion of Saints. So as we bring another year to a close, we pray that Christ continue to be a part of all our lives, and although summer vacation is a time away from the daily grind of school, our Faith keeps us grounded in truth and that which is truly real, the Most Holy Trinity, and it never takes a break. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, may the joy of the Risen Lord be with you all the days of your life. Mary, Queen of Angels and Saints, pray for us.

Fr. Pilon Chaplain

From the Chaplain

Music StarsSeveral Music Saints went to the IHSA Solo & Ensemble Contest. Receiving Division 1 Superior Performances were: PJ Baranek, Claire Boe, Laura Burns, Min Jeong Chae, Jack Costigan, Michaela Cruse, Emma Hartness, Barret Lee, Ignatius Plato, Patrick Rich, and Miguel Yu. Receiving Division 2 Excellence Performances were: Gil-lian Bush, Caroline Friedmann, and Maggie Knoll. Way to go!

A Special TraditionNo other day compares with our annual Special Olympics Young Athletes Day! Our Seniors work with the athletes in two sessions during the day. At the end of each session the athletes parade through our halls during the “Walk of Champions” as we all cheer them on and celebrate their accomplishments. This is quite a memory for everyone involved!

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Taking Time Graduation is over and the members of the Class of 2015 are Central Catholic Alumni. They will get to-gether for many big events in the coming years, but we’ll never see all of them in one place, at one time like they were at Graduation. I took a moment to look around after they tossed their hats in the air and saw friends and families gathering for photos and selfies. There were smiles all around and even a few tears. I saw graduates seeking out teachers to thank them and I saw teachers seeking graduates to say congratula-tions and good luck. I reflected back to the first day of school this year and how our Freshmen were simply trying to find their way. They had joined together from several different schools, many of them grade school rivals. Some may not admit to being nervous, but all were - at least a lit-tle bit. Through this year, new friendships developed, they learned to look out for each other and they are al-ready becoming one. Then, as I came back to the mo-ment, I realized I was seeing how four years together can make such a remarkable difference. Several of the pictures being taken were of best friends who barely knew each other four years ago, but who found a com-mon bond within these walls and developed relation-

ships that will last a lifetime. These graduates were no longer from this grade school or that grade school, they were ALL Central Catholic Saints. I have been fortunate to meet and welcome nearly all of the members of the incoming Class of 2019. I see young men and young women who are excited, a bit nervous and from several different schools. I won-der who will be their Valedictorian, their athletic stars, their musical leads, and Homecoming and Prom King & Queen, who will lead the Math Team to State and who will surprise us all by doing something none of us see coming. I look forward to seeing them grow together but I’m reminded of the advice that so many parents of graduates shared with me – this time goes so fast; en-joy it. So, as my son and his classmates enter their Senior year in the fall, and the Class of 2019 begins to figure it out, I’ll try to take that advice, enjoy the moment and realize I am in the presence of Saints.

Scott VogelDirector of Advancement

Senior CharityEach year, our Seniors pick a charity that the school will support throughout the year. The Class of 2015 chose St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and through jeans days, a car wash, collection at Mass and several other activities, over $12,000 was raised! In addition to the monetary donation, many Seniors gave their time to St. Jude projects throughout the year including their annual telethon held at Central Catholic.

Saints Alive SuccessThank you to everyone who supported Saints Alive on April 25, especially our co-chairs, Michelle and Dennis Whalen and Kim Fox, our Director of Special Events! It was a fun and successful evening that saw over $140,000 raised including the funding of this new rocket bus through the Fund-A-Need portion of the event. Winning bidders received several vacation pack-ages in the spirit of the evening’s “City Chic” theme and a couple of lucky bidders will be VIP guests at next year’s Masters! Saints Alive is our largest fundraiser of the year, but it is also a great opportunity for our families to gather together.

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Graduation

The Graduation Mass for the 94 mem-bers of our Class of 2015 was Sunday, May 17 at Epiphany Catholic Church. The Valedic-torian was Ethan Chu, and the Salutatorians were Joe Bevilacqua and Laura Burns. Ethan will attend Rice University, Joe is enrolled at the United States Naval Academy and Laura will continue her education at the University of Illinois. This class was so much fun to be around but they also worked very hard, securing over $2.6 million in scholarships and tuition assistance. Nearly all plan to further their education.

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Positively Positive by Faith Wieland

This is a note to everyone, especially our seniors. Positivity can carry us such a long way. Not only have we experienced this in our own lives, but it is scientifi-cally proven that thinking positively directly affects our bodies and emotions towards ourselves and others. I’d like to share with you a couple of accounts in my own life that will hopefully reinforce your perspective on positivity. I also have a couple of tricks up my sleeve for when life gets overwhelming. I am a perfectionist. By putting countless amounts of stress on myself to always be perfect, I became stuck in worry, physically sick even. A coach (and close friend of mine) shared with me her trick to let everything go--at least for a short moment. She told me to take a deep breath, stand up straight, look up to the sky, and give the goofiest smile I could. Just as she said, it is literally impossible to be upset when you look so silly. During homecoming court week, some underclass-men called down the hallway to compliment my dress. The rest of the day I felt so honored some girls I had barely ever talked to felt comfortable enough to call me out so kindly. It is truly incredible how the small-est gesture can make someone’s day, and how it takes such little effort. I was riding my bike down the trail on a particularly rough day. It began with being cut off by one car trying to cross, followed by a rude call from another car on G.E. Road. I dedicated my bike ride to them, making my goal to smile and wave at each biker, walker, and runner I saw on the trail. My day turned a complete

180, and I hoped that somehow I did the same for someone else who needed a friendly smile. It is incredibly hard, especially on your darkest days, to find the positive side to things. Sometimes it seems like everything is right in the world, the next day everything is falling apart around you. I have found it is more than okay to be sad--and to want to be sad. However, there comes a time to pull yourself out of your cave before it induces damaging effects to your-self and relationships with others. Positivity is more than just being happy. It is the thin ray of light shed on every dark situation. It is the hope that your future is bright and that good things will happen to you. It is trust in others that everyone has some bit of good. It is showing others that you care for them, that they hold a special place in your heart. It is showing yourself that you are valued and loved. I just wanted to take the time to let you all know, whatever your problems, whatever adversity you will face as you take on your new adventures there is al-ways a bright side; there is always a plan for you.

(NOTE: Faith Graduated from CCHS in May. She wrote this article for our student magazine, “Herald of the Saints.” If you’d like to read more from our students, check out the CCHS Publications link on the left side of our website. In addition to “Herald of the Saints”, you’ll find editions of Central Speaker, and our weekly parent newsletter, “Central Catholic @ A Glance.”)

Central Catholic is a sponsor of Catholic Spirit Radio 89.5 FM and we invite you to give it a listen. Click here for more information or to listen online.

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Saints Taking the LeadSophomores Abby Bevilacqua, Grace Herr and Emily Killian represented Central Catholic in “Take the Lead”, a United Way leadership program. Each of the students worked with a group comprised of students across McLean County to work on projects addressing graduation rates in the County. Participants were also rated in-dividually and Abby was awarded first place while Grace placed third. Congratulations to Abby, Grace and Emily for your hard work and for representing Central Catholic!

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Trivia NightOur annual Mad Hatters Trivia Night was March 7 and we had a record number of teams. It was an exciting and fun-filled night of being proud of what you do know and humbled by what you don’t; of answers on the tip of the tongue and answers from out of the blue. Congratulations and thank you to all of our teams!

Oh When the Saints Come Marching InWell, maybe more like riding in. Our Music Saints leave for their biannual field trip and this year’s destination is New Orleans. Activities include: clinics at Tulane University, a Jackson Square band performance, visit to the St. Louis Cathedral, a swamp tour, Hurricane Katrina Tour, dinner at the Palm Court Jazz Café, a National D-Day Museum choir performance, and a Natchez Steamboat Dinner Jazz Cruise. Please pray for safe travels for all of our Music Saints!

Spring MusicalWe have many talented students here at Central Catholic and when they all put those talents to work on the same project, the results are magical. This year’s school Musical, “Annie”, was a great ex-ample. From the special matinee with all of our partner schools to closing night, our students gave it their all and continued to put on tremendous show after to show to appreciative full houses.

Thank you to Mrs. Myers for putting the cast together and Mrs. Huberman for minding the pit and to all of the volunteers who loaned us their time and talent to make each performance such a success. And a special thank you to all of the students who work months of practices into their schedules then shine when the lights come on!

Math & WYSE Teams at State• Seniors Ethan Chu and JP Smith for their first place finish in the Junior/Senior 2-Person competition at State!

Ethan also finished 5th in Pre-Calculus.• Ethan Chu and JP Smith and Junior Emma Hartness qualified for State in the World Youth in Science (WYSE)

competition. Ethan placed 4th in physics and math, and JP placed 5th in math.

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• Our Girls’ Basketball team finished 3rd in the State and, along the way, Coach Debbie Coffman earned her 400th coaching victory – all at Central Catholic.

• Our Boys’ Basketball team made it to the Super Sectionals this year after another strong campaign.• Emma Hartness (Jr., Pole Vault), Katherine Brady (Sr., 4 x 200m Relay), Addison Ely (Sr., High Jump), Annie

Elias (Sr., 4 x 200m Relay), Sarah Allen (Sr., 400m), Sydney Shanks (Jr., Long Jump & 4 x 200m Relay), and Ellie Maxwell (Fr., 4 x 200m Relay) represented Central Catholic at the State Track & Field Meet.

• Senior Joe Bevilacqua is the State Runner Up in pole vault.• Girls’ Soccer won another Regional Championship.• Boys’ Baseball won their Regional Championship and progressed to the Sectional Championship game.

Saints Athletics Highlights

Wednesday, July 15, 11:30 a.m. is the newly-renamed Tim Flynn Memorial Golf Outing, featuring the Commerce Bank $1,000 Shootout at Ironwood Golf Course.

Tim Flynn Memorial Golf Outing July 15

Mark your calendars now for the Ladies Night Out on Wednesday, September 16. Bring your slightly used or new designer handbags to Kim Fox for our purse auction (we already have bags from Kate Spade, Coach & Dolce Gabana). Enjoy vendor shopping and a basket raffle as well. See you in September!

Mark your Calendars - Ladies Night Out Sept. 16

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Mark your calendars for these important summer Market Day dates. Place your order at www.marketday.com then pick it up at the school between 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Market Days this Summer

JUNEOrder by: June 17Pick up June 23

JULYOrder by: July 22Pick up: July 28

AUGUSTOrder by: August 19Pick up: August 25

Interested in Attending Central Catholic? Parents of new students can make an appointment with a counselor by calling the office at 661-7000. Please return your registration packet when you meet with the counselor. All new, incoming students must present a copy of their birth certificate and have a physical. Students entering 9th grade and all transfer students are required to have all immunizations current. We look forward to meeting more new students over the Summer!

2015 Corn Belt Art Show Central Catholic proudly hosted the annual Corn Belt Art Show again this year and Joseph Schopp’s work was named Best In Show! Here’s a look at the winning artwork.

Saints RoyaltyCongratulations to Katie Clark and Eric Whalen, the queen and king of this year’s Prom. Thank you to all of the students, parents, faculty and staff who made this year’s prom such a success!

Dance Party We hosted our third annual Junior High Dance and nearly all of our Partner School 6-8 grade students enjoyed quite an evening. We held a bags tourna-ment, handed out over 100 gift cards to lucky win-ners and our Student Ambassadors provided the music and energy to keep everyone on the dance floor. Thank you to Laura Miller who has helped to organize all three dances and to our wonderful committee of Junior High parents who make it all happen!