h iel d S Saint Thomas Aquinas High School the January 23, 2014 Volume 26, Issue 6 Inside Sports: Aquinas Welcomes New Coach Page 9 Winter Sports Page 9 Juniors Create Unique Service Project Page 3 Students Compete In New Improv Troupe Page 2 20 Signs You Go To Aquinas Pages 4-5 Teacher Returns To Aquinas Page 7 StuCo President Leaves Mark Page 7 Wrigley Earns Coaching Award Page 8 Opinions Pages 6 During the very first Kairos at Aquinas, theology teacher Ryan Best remembers thinking it was the greatest re- treat he had ever been a part of. The retreated ended up being so great that K-1 is now going on K-100. 15 years later, 4000 students later, and 100 Kairoses later, the impact of the retreat still remains. “The Holy Spirit works in miraculous and mysterious ways,” theology and English teacher Phil Farnan said. “What I’ve witnessed over the past 89 Kairoses is that it works every time, no matter the circumstances. The only way I can explain it is that there is something a lot more important than me involved.” Best was a part of the first Kairos, along with Brian Schenck and Bob Aley. After the Aquinas President at the time, Sister Kathleen Condry, showed him an article in a magazine about Rockhurst High School’s Kairos retreat, Best took six students to the retreat at Rockhurst. These six students ended up leading K-1 at Aquinas. K-1 brought back such positive results at Aquinas that an additional Kairos had to be added during the first year to meet the demands. Farnan wasn’t so eager at first. He said he ended up go- ing on his first Kairos mainly so people would quit bugging him to attend. His first Kairos, K-5, ended up changing his perspective. “As the retreat progressed, God kept smacking me in the head,” Farnan said. “Stuff would come up in the retreat that was in my talk. Finally about the third day, I decided, ‘Okay God, I’m supposed to be here.’ Since then, I’ve been as involved as I can be.” Best attended K-1 to about K-50, when his wife had a baby. He decided to stay involved behind the scenes but not attend the retreats. Farnan began with K-5 and has attended every retreat from K-20 to K-99. Kairos, according to Best and Farnan, is unique because it is student-led. Best explained that students are more likely to seek peer relationships. Many schools have added adults to the small groups that are a part of the retreat, but Aqui- nas has kept the small groups entirely student-led. “When one of your peers can give a talk [and] be a lead- er, I think it speaks volumes,” Best said. “You expect us to do that, but when a student does it, people are more likely to follow.” But the impact of Kairos doesn’t end when students pack their bags and head home after the retreat. Best, who has helped out with similar retreats such as Teens Encoun- ter Christ (TEC), said Aquinas’s Kairoses are unique because everyone on the retreat is a classmate—not a random group of people from different cities like TEC. Aquinas’s Kairoses make it easier for students to bring what they have learned back to the school and make it a better community. But the connections last even after high school, Best said. At the K-1 through K-99 reunion in January, the con- nections were still evident. “[The impact of the retreat] isn’t going to stop. It’s going to change,” Best said. “Your life is go- ing to change, so you’re going to find new ways to live the retreat and stay on the journey.” Farnan agreed. He also hopes to see that everyone who attends the retreat will have Kairos stick with them. “The whole idea is to build better relationships with family, better relationships with friends, and better rela- tionships with God. My hope would be that more people will realize the importance of that,” Farnan said. Plans are in place for K-100 to be held Jan. 28 through Jan. 31. Best is still behind the retreat, and Farnan will still be right back at the place he’s been time and time again. “The fact that I can be an instrument of the Holy Spirit is extremely humbling,” Farnan said, “and [knowing] that sometime, somehow, some way, I can have a lasting impact on somebody’s life and/or spiritu- ality is just a phenomenal feeling.” g by ANNIE SCHUGART Editor-in-Chief “What I’ve witnessed over the past 89 Kairoses is that it works every time, no matter the circumstances.” PHIL FARNAN eology and English Teacher “e impact of the retreat isn’t going to stop. It’s going to change.” RYAN BEST eology Teacher K-1 K-100... to Kairos YEARS through the Aſter the first senior Kairos retreat in 1999, Aquinas now prepares for the 100th. Tweets of the Month Weekend Weather Countdown 23 days until WPA dance 50 days until Spring Break 72 days until Prom at Union Station Friday 44 48 57 32 29 21 Saturday Sunday
Transcript
hieldSS a i n t T h o m as A q ui n as Hig h S c ho ol
the
January 23, 2014 Volume 26, Issue 6
Inside
Sports: Aquinas Welcomes New
Coach
Page 9
Winter Sports
Page 9
Juniors Create Unique Service
ProjectPage 3
Students Compete In New Improv Troupe
Page 2
20 Signs You Go To Aquinas
Pages 4-5
Teacher Returns To Aquinas
Page 7
StuCo President Leaves Mark
Page 7
Wrigley Earns Coaching Award
Page 8
OpinionsPages 6
During the very first Kairos at Aquinas, theology teacher Ryan Best remembers thinking it was the greatest re-treat he had ever been a part of.
The retreated ended up being so great that K-1 is now going on K-100. 15 years later, 4000 students later, and 100 Kairoses later, the impact of the retreat still remains.
“The Holy Spirit works in miraculous and mysterious ways,” theology and English teacher Phil Farnan said. “What I’ve witnessed over the past 89 Kairoses is that it works every time, no matter the circumstances. The only way I can explain it is that there is something a lot more important than me involved.”
Best was a part of the first Kairos, along with Brian Schenck and Bob Aley. After the Aquinas President at the time, Sister Kathleen Condry, showed him an article in a magazine about Rockhurst High School’s Kairos retreat, Best took six students to the retreat at Rockhurst. These six students ended up leading K-1 at Aquinas.
K-1 brought back such positive results at Aquinas that an additional Kairos had to be added during the first year to meet the demands.
Farnan wasn’t so eager at first. He said he ended up go-ing on his first Kairos mainly so people would quit bugging him to attend. His first Kairos,
K-5, ended up changing his perspective.
“As the retreat progressed, God kept smacking me in the head,” Farnan said. “Stuff would come up in the retreat that was in my talk. Finally about the third day, I decided, ‘Okay God, I’m supposed to be here.’ Since then, I’ve been as involved as I can be.”
Best attended K-1 to about K-50, when his wife had a baby. He decided to stay involved behind the scenes but not attend the retreats. Farnan began with K-5 and has attended every retreat from K-20 to K-99.
Kairos, according to Best and Farnan, is unique because it is student-led. Best explained that students are more likely to
seek peer relationships. Many schools have added adults to the small groups that are a part of the retreat, but Aqui-nas has kept the small groups entirely student-led.
“When one of your peers can give a talk [and] be a lead-er, I think it speaks volumes,” Best said. “You expect us to do that, but when a student does it, people are more likely to follow.”
But the impact of Kairos doesn’t end when students pack their bags and head home after the retreat. Best, who has helped out with similar retreats such as Teens Encoun-ter Christ (TEC), said Aquinas’s Kairoses are unique because everyone on the retreat is a classmate—not a random group of people from different cities like TEC. Aquinas’s Kairoses make it easier for students to bring what they have learned back to the school and make it a better community.
But the connections last even after high school, Best said. At the K-1 through K-99 reunion in January, the con-nections were still evident.
“[The impact of the retreat] isn’t going to stop. It’s going to change,” Best said. “Your life is go-
ing to change,
so you’re going to find new ways to live the retreat and stay on the journey.”
Farnan agreed. He also hopes to see that everyone who attends the retreat will have Kairos stick with them.
“The whole idea is to build better relationships with family, better relationships with friends, and better rela-tionships with God. My hope would be that more people will realize the importance of that,” Farnan said.
Plans are in place for K-100 to be held Jan. 28 through Jan. 31. Best is still behind the retreat, and Farnan will still be right back at the place he’s been time and time again.
“The fact that I can be an instrument of the Holy Spirit is extremely humbling,” Farnan said, “and [knowing] that sometime, somehow, some way, I can have a lasting impact on somebody’s life and/or spiritu-ality is just a phenomenal
feeling.” g
by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief
“What I’ve witnessed over the past 89 Kairoses is that it
works every time, no matter the circumstances.”
PHIL FARNANTheology and English Teacher
“The impact of the retreat isn’t going to stop.
It’s going to change.”
RYAN BESTTheology Teacher
K-1
K-100... to
Kairos YEARSthroughthe
After the first senior Kairos retreat in 1999, Aquinas now prepares for the 100th.
Tweets of the Month Weekend Weather
Countdown
23 days until WPA dance
50 days until Spring Break
72 days untilProm at Union Station
Friday
44 48
57
32 29
21
Saturday
Sunday
2 The Shield January 23, 2014Campus News
STUDENTS IMPROVISE NEW CLUBby KATIE BERNARDReporter
A new club at Aquinas, the Saints Improv Troupe, is gearing up to compete against Olathe South next month.
The Saints Improv Troupe, started last spring by current juniors Ben Trickey and Jack Dotterweich, was inspired by the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and is preparing to compete on Feb. 2 against Olathe South.
The troupe was started by Trickey and Dotterweich last year as a side project during forensics class. Over the course of the spring, the idea grew. The troupe had a showcase at the choir Coffee House last year prior to making the club official this August.
“Improv is different; it forces you out of your comfort zone,” Trickey said.
The team practices twice a week, putting in about three hours a week during semi-nars. Those that compete also practice for two hours directly before the competition.
The troupe competes once a month against local teams, including Shawnee Mission North, Olathe South, and Olathe Northwest. They compete for Operation: Show!, a Kansas City league. The com-petitions are at ComedyCity in Westport. Although there are about 12 students in the troupe,
only four to six can compete on any given week. The decision regarding who competes is made by Trickey, Dotterweich and the faculty sponsor and
Performing Arts Department Chairwoman, Kim Harrison.
At the Operation: Show! competitions, the troupe com-petes against one team at a time.
Each team is ranked out of 10 in separate improv games. Between four and six students compete at competitions each month, although two of their scheduled
competitions had to be canceled due to weather.
The team currently has a record of one and one. g
Photo by KATIE BERNARD | The ShieldJuniors Joseph Denning and Jack Dotterweich act out a scene in which they are cutting down a tree during practice. The Improv Troupe practices during seminars in the theater, rehearsing for their competitions which take place about once a month.
Student Council and faculty is gearing up for the celebration of Catholic schools that will take place on the week of Jan. 26 to Feb. 1.
While some festivities are being organized, Aquinas is scaling back on some of the more frivo-lous celebrations that have accompanied the week in years past. Instead of indulging on these superficial celebrations this year, Aquinas is hoping to achieve a deeper understanding of what going to a Catholic school really means.
The Archdiocese has requested that activities like themed dress days be kept at bay since they are not actually celebrating anything having to do with being a Cath-olic school. While themed dress days certainly add excitement and fun to a school day, they are slightly off target in terms of appreciating Catholic schools.
According to Junior Class President AJ Meyers, this year’s Catholic Schools Week will aim to support the Catholic Education Foundation. Events like a pancake breakfast preceding a 9 a.m. start on the Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week will help to raise money for the foundation.
Later that week, on Friday, theology teach-er Mary Ann Hilgers will be having her annual “Appreciation Cafe” for teachers. With the help of
her students, she will provide a nice lunch for the teachers and staff of Aquinas in appreciation of their year-round efforts to educate and provide for students. Activities such as this will add some fun to the week but at the same time will not abandon the reason behind the celebration.
Meyers also said the other major goal of StoCo this year is to make it known that it is Catholic Schools Week.
“Last year, I didn’t even really know Catholic Schools Week was going on,” Meyers said.
The goal is for excitement to build throughout the week, peaking on Thursday for the girls’ home basketball game against Shawnee Mission North-west and on Friday for the boys’ away game against Blue Valley West.
Academic Principal Craig Moss said Catholic Schools Week is a very worthy reason to celebrate.
Moss referenced a quote from a Catholic Cardi-nal when he said that “if we don’t teach our children values, someone else will. If we don’t teach our children Catholic values, no one else will.”
He also said that Aquinas should celebrate being a Catholic school just as much as state cham-pionships. Doing so is what allows for a chance to celebrate the Aquinas community as a whole. With attitudes like this and a community of spirit-filled Saints, Catholic Schools Week of 2014 has the po-tential to go down as the best in 40 years. g
SAINTS AMP UP CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
by JORDAN EBERHARDYReporter
“Last year, I didn’t even really know Catholic Schools’ Week
was going on.”
AJ MEYERSJunior Class President
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Frivolity is discouraged, but StuCo and others want to make sure Catholic schools are celebrated.
The Shield 3 January 23, 2014
Campus News
SPIRIT GIVINGAquinas juniors plan the fourth year of their original service project, the Give N’ Get Coat & Shoe Exchange.
A single mother came in asking for help, as many had before. But junior Bri-anna Woicke remembers this experience specifically because as she helped carry bags of coats out to her car, she found the woman was living out of her car.
The story isn’t unique. There’s the story of the father who just received cus-tody of his daughter but had to start from the bottom to provide for her. There’s the story of the woman who has a sister teaching impoverished children in Africa. There’s the story of the administrator of the Kansas City Kansas School District who was hoping to help some of its less fortunate students.
All of these are people who the Give N’ Get Coat & Shoe Exchange has impacted.
“It’s the coolest thing in the entire world seeing certain people you’re affecting that you wouldn’t usually see in your ‘bubble,” Woicke said. “You get to hear their stories, hear what they’re going through, and hear why they’re in the place they are, and it’s just really touching.”
The Give N’ Get is a unique service project started four years ago by Aquinas juniors Jackson McElroy, Jordan Eberhar-dy, Brianna Woicke, and Jake Konnesky, as well as St. James juniors Bailey Ingolia and Josh Lewis. Originally it began as an eighth grade project to obtain Confirma-tion service hours in a meaningful way and to bring the class together.
But it has only continued to grow.“It started with the Prince of Peace
community, then it got to the Aquinas community, and each year now it seems like we’re reaching out to the entire Kan-sas City area,” McElroy said.
The Give N’ Get is advertised in The Leaven, parish bulletins, at Aquinas, at Kansas City School Districts and other school districts, and at Advice and Aid Pregnancy Center, to name a few.
The students collect donations of coats, shoes, and other winter items; typ-ically, they receive about 2000 donations.
The items are set up at Prince of Peace in Olathe, where the store is open to anyone from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a Sunday; this year, it took place on Jan. 19. All items are free for anyone. Typically, about three to four hundred people come shop for items. Leftover items are donated.
The project isn’t an easy undertaking. The students put in many hours planning every small detail: fliers, announcements, speeches at Mass, sign ups, collecting hangers and bags for items, and other small tasks. The Key Club sends volun-teers to help at the Give N’ Get as well.
McElroy, Eberhardy, and Woicke all said that they lead busy lives between school, activities, and work, but they be-lieve anyone can find time for service.
“There’s always so much to be done, and there’s always going to be people in
need,” McElroy said. “It’s not just us. Anyone can do it. We’re so busy, but we’re still able to help people. I love the feeling after, just know-ing you’ve done so much to help people.”
Eberhardy agreed, saying that service doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking to help.
“It doesn’t take a very big idea to actually have an impact on people,” Eberhardy said. “When we first started, it was a relatively basic idea: we’re going to collect coats and give them out. And it actually helps a ton of people.”
While the Give N’ Get has continued to grow throughout the years, now reach-ing nearly every corner of the community, it continues to impact these four students just as much as it does the community.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself as a leader. Every year it makes me very thankful,” Eberhardy said. “You see these people coming in every year who don’t have something as basic as a coat.”.
Woicke agreed.“The stereotype of Johnson County is
that everyone is well-off, but people even in our own community are struggling,” Woicke said. “It seems like everyone is always asking for the latest thing, but some people would kill for a coat.” g
by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief
“There’s always so much to be done, and there’s always going to
be people in need.”
JACKSON McELROYJunior
Photo by JORDAN EBERHARDY | The Shield
Photo by NAME | The Shield
the of
Photos by JORDAN EBERHARDY | The ShieldAbove: Junior Jackson McElroy sorts through donations on the Saturday before the Give N’ Get. McElroy was one of the original creators of the project.Below: Junior Caroline Backs organizes a coat rack on Saturday in preparation for the Give N’ Get. Backs was one of the Key Club volunteers.
Photo by ANNIE SCHUGART | The Shield
Freshman Julia McElroy and junior Bri-anna Woicke sort through coats during the Give N’ Get Coat & Shoe Exchange.
6 The Shield January 23, 2014Opinions
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School
hieldSthe
11411 Pflumm RoadOverland Park, KS 66215
913-319-2460www.stasaints.net/shield
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAnnie Schugart
CAMPUS NEWS EDITORBryan Zack
OPINIONS EDITORJordan Bartz
SPORTS EDITORTroy Hilderhof
CENTERSPREAD/FEATURES EDITOR
Annie Schugart
REPORTERSJanie BachkoraKatie Bernard
Jordan EberhardyJackson McElroy
ADVISERMatt Hallauer
MISSION STATEMENTThe Shield is a newspaper sponsored by Saint Thom-as Aquinas High School and produced by its stu-dents to provide informa-tion, entertainment, and open forum, as well as a learning experience for its staff members. The goal of The Shield’s staff is to meet professional journalism standards. Staff members are responsible for the content of the newspaper and strive to report news accurately, objectively, and completely. The Shield is an open forum for student expression and aims to communicate the con-cerns of the student body as well as the faculty, staff, and Aquinas community.
ADVERTISINGThe Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any ob-scenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2460, send an email to [email protected], or visit www.stasaints.net/shield
SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscriptions to The Shield are $2 per issue. Subscriptions can be sent to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School c/o Matt Hallauer.
LETTER POLICYLetters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not contain libel-ous statements. The Shield re-serves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Opinions of Aquinas students, based off 184 student and faculty
responses to an email poll.
OH SAY CAN YOU SING?
There is something dis-appointing about going to a sports game.
No, it’s not the players’ performance or the end score but what we do at the begin-ning that never fails to disap-point and annoy me simultane-ously. More accurately, it’s what we don’t do.
Here’s a hint: it starts with “national anthem” and ends with “not singing it.”
I think it’s disheartening to know teenagers barely older than our senior class marched into battle and fought for the rights that cushion our lives, yet we can’t be bothered to
sing a few notes. We’re content to let the instruments wash over us or watch one singer belt out the high notes. And it’s not like I can claim innocence; I’ve done this more times than I can count. I was more or less content to sing along quiet-ly (which I’m sure everyone around me was grateful for), and let the music drown me out until I was little more than back-ground noise. Heck, I didn’t even know the entire song until I was in second grade or so. I could recite the Pledge of Allegiance, my ABCs, all my prayers, but the national anthem?
Eh…. Sure, I knew the begin-
ning, and of course everyone knows the ending, but I would always mix “perilous fight”
with “night” or “light,” and stumbled around “O’er the ramparts we watched.”
If you did not see the glaring problem with the previous statement, please go back and read it again.
It wasn’t until one day in choir when our director asked if it really only bothers him
that no one ever sings the national anthem.
Wow. Talk about a sucker punch. I wasn’t prepared for the guilt—and yeah, a little bit of shame—that seeped into my conscious. What made it worse was knowing everyone else seemed content to go
along with the status quo. It seemed to be one of those unspoken rules; right up there with ‘on Wednesdays we wear pink’ and ‘Ewing doesn’t buy Androids,’ we’d find ‘no one sings the national anthem.’
It’s even worse during the Olympics. While we’ll proudly display our national flag, it’s somehow perfectly fine to stand stock-still, stoic and silent, while the national anthem plays? While not only the country watches, but also the entire world?
Rough.Honestly, what’s holding
us back? Embarrassment over our singing voices? Hesitancy to be the only one singing? All are solved if everyone pitched in. It’s only a few stanzas, sure, but considering those stanzas re-flect our struggle, our loss, our desperation, and our hope in the fight for our Independence, I’m thinking we could maybe put a little more effort. g
by SHANNON BECKERGuest to the Shield
“It seemed to be one of those unspo-ken rules; right up there with ‘on
Wednesdays we wear pink’ and ‘Ew-ing doesn’t buy Androids,’ we’d find ‘no one sings the national anthem.’”
Want to see your opinion published on
this page?The Shield wel-comes opinion
articles from any Aquinas student
or faculty member as we seek to be
the voice of Aqui-nas, and approved
opinion articles will be published
on this page.
If you are interest-ed in writing an
opinion article or helping out in any way, please con-
What are the best/worst hours to have your most difficult class?
What are your ideas for WPA themes?
The Great Gatsby
Disney'Merica
Superheroes SPORTS
Spy
Formal
Did
you
dona
te t
o th
e G
ive N
’ G
et C
oat
& S
hoe
Exch
ange
?
29%
38%
33%
46% 54%
Yes (29%)
Yes (54%)
Worst
Hours 1 & 2 Hours 3 & 4 Hours 5 & 6 Hours 7 & 8
No, because I’m not 16 (33%)
No (46%)
Best
No (38%)
The Shield 7January 23, 2014Features
After five years away from teaching, Amy Person had an emotional experience that brought her back.
“Sept. 11 is a day that I obviously remember teaching,” said Person. “I sat in my class-room and went through a lot of emotions with my students that particular day. This past year, I was watching the History Channel on Sept. 11, and I was immediate-ly taken back to the day that I was sitting in my classroom teaching. I totally remember it being my re-sponsibility to really be there for [the students] because of the emotion of the day.”
Person took her thoughts to Facebook where she posted a status about not letting the Sept. 11 attacks be forgotten. She also talked about remembering where she was on that day and wanting to make sure that her son knew the importance and magnitude of the devastation. The post received an abundance of attention and love from former students, who said they would not have wanted to be with anyone else on that day.
These heartfelt comments left tears in her eyes.
“I just remember having a massive impact on a lot of students,” she said. “I felt like it was a gift God gave me to teach, and I felt like there was a small part of me that was missing that. I was missing the connections I had made with my students.”
Person contacted Aquinas about the possibility of return-ing and was asked to come back part-time for the spring semester, sooner than she had originally planned. She prayed about it, talked to her husband, and de-
cided it was the perfect opportunity to see if she definitely wants to return to teaching full-time.
Person’s return to Aquinas is already
receiving positive feedback. “I think I’m very lucky to
have gotten the opportunity to have her as a teacher even if it is only for one semester,” said junior Madeline Crume, a student in Person’s American History class. “Her teaching style is different from what I’m used to, but I think the challenge will benefit us juniors in the long run.”
Person said that the most
difficult part of her return is re-establishing her expectations and reputation.
“I’m coming in to a situation where I’m having to go back to the beginning as far as establish-ing my expectations and my rules of the road,” Person said. “When I was department head, I ran a certain ship and now I am just a teacher in a department. It’s dif-ferent for me because I’m usually in control of what I do and what is around me, and this is a little bit
unnerving for me.”Person had an established
reputation when she was at Aquinas before. Immediately after graduating from Kansas State University, she was a stu-dent-teacher for current Social Science Department Chairman David Shriver and then was hired as an Honors American History and Honors Economics teacher in 1996. She eventually became the head of the history depart-ment and played a major part in
the success of “We the People,” a class for seniors that tested their knowledge of the Constitution. With her help and guidance, the club was able to compete on a national level.
“It was something that was visionary for the school and something that put us on the map,” Person said.
Person decided to leave Aquinas in 2008, after teaching for 12 years, to spend time with her newborn son. g
MEMORIES PROMPTTEACHER TO RETURN
Amy Person left in 2008 to raise her son, but she was drawn back by memories of 9/11.
Photo by JANIE BACHKORA | The ShieldAmy Person lectures to her American History class during 2nd hour on Jan. 17. Person was a student-teacher at Aquinas and rose to department chairwoman before taking an indefinite break in 2008 to raise her child.
by JANIE BACHKORAReporter
“I felt like it was a gift God gave me to teach, and I felt like there was a small part
of me missing that.”
AMY PERSONSocial Studies Teacher
A PRESIDENT AND A QUEEN
Lind grew up knowing she was going to attend Aquinas. What she didn’t know was the impact she would have on the Aquinas community.
“She is so creative, energetic, sweet, driven, and extremely com-passionate,” says Student Council moderator and theology teacher Phyllis Distler. “She walks into the room and it just lights up.”
Since freshman year, Lind has been involved with many Aquinas clubs and activities. She participates in Student Council, forensics, yearbook, Key Club, choir, musicals, and was previously a member of dance team. She was also a freshman retreat leader, is a Senior Ambassador, and partic-ipated in the junior mission trip.
Since she is so involved, she loves the sight of others taking part in embracing what Aquinas has to offer.
“Seeing others kids being big-ger than themselves and becoming part of their community is always so awesome,” she said.
Of all her involvements, Lind enjoys StuCo the most.
“It is the best group of people. Everyone is so happy and enthusiastic,” Lind said. “It is cra-zy to think how little things have such a big impact on the entire school.”
She has no regrets about StuCo and is really thankful that her mom made her do it freshman year.
“Annie stands out as a president,” Distler said. “In 30 years, I have only seen four or five
students who can come close to comparing with her leadership and enthusiasm.”
Very few people walk in freshman year saying that they want to get to know everyone in their class on a personal level. Even fewer people can say that they have done just that. Lind’s
goal is pretty much accomplished. “I’m able to make Aquinas a
home for everyone,” she said. Her love and passion for
Aquinas is evident. “It didn’t happen right away,”
said the Homecoming Queen, “but now my heart beats faster when I walk in. I look forward to school—you’re at home here.”
Like many other students, Lind is unsure of her future. At the moment, there are five schools she has narrowed down for
college, with many options for majors. No matter where she goes to school, Aquinas will still be her favorite.
When asked about being a teacher or student council moder-ator at Aquinas, she said “there’s a definite possibility of me coming back.”
Whether she comes back or not, Lind wants students to
know to take advantage of getting to know everyone personally and to remember that there is a little bit of loser in everyone.
“She is my biggest role model and she inspires me to do everything,” said her sophomore brother Jack Lind. “She is my best friend.” g
“My day can go from a one to a 10 just by seeing a glimpse of that stubby blond ponytail.”
SARAH BREKKESenior
Favorite Annie Lind storiessubmitted via survey
“Her sophomore year Homecoming dress was strapless, but she didn’t like it so she sewed a
headband of the same color on to it to make it look like she had a one shoulder strap dress.”
“One time I was sitting at a stoplight and Annie was driving behind me. I looked in my rear view mirror and no one was in the driver’s seat. I then proceeded to almost pee my pants because plas-
tered to my window was a wild Annie Lind.”
“I walked up to her locker to go to class with her, and I found her sleeping on the floor.”
“One time in the summer she texted me at like 12:30 a.m. and said that she missed being at
school, so she just drove to Aquinas and hung out in the parking lot and listened to music.”
“My favorite was after her 6 a.m. practice and she was running down the hallway brushing her teeth with no
shoes on and had her coffee in the other hand.”
by JACKSON McELROYReporter
Annie Lind’s exuberant love for Aquinas is infectious.
Photos by JACKSON McELROY | The Shield
The process for setting the schedule for more than 900 Saint Thomas Aquinas students involves a lot of moving parts and is not as easy to change as many students think.
After the schedule is made, a student has to go to the Academic Counseling office to get it changed. To do this students go into the office and see if the changes they want are even possible. Next a student then takes a form home for them and their
parents to sign. There is also a small fee if the change is not made before the first deadline.
Registrar Ellen White said, “For each student, there are 14 different pieces to their schedule. Their seven classes first semester and their seven for second semester.”
When the schedule is made, it is made to have roughly 20 to 25 students per class. Once students start transferring to different hours or different classes entirely, these numbers can fluctuate.
“In some theology classes there might be a wider range of students than in some science classes where there are only a
certain amount of room for students to do labs and other activities,” White said.
Academic Counselor Deb Castinado said, “We try our hardest to accommodate all of the requests we get but a lot of times the class will be full or won’t be available in the certain hour that the student wants so it makes the switch difficult if not impossible.”
This can be one of the reasons that a schedule change might be denied, or allowed with multiple switches changing most if not all of a student’s classes.
“With some of the schedules, you can just switch two classes out and it works,” White said. “But for others there is a trickle-down effect which can lead to multiple changes in a student’s sched-ule.”
Another reason a class change request might be denied is if the change is being made just to switch teachers but stay in the same class.
“I think that it’s a good life lesson for students,” White said. “You’re not always going to like your boss or coworker but it’s good to learn how to work well with them.”
Sometimes these changes are accepted. If White or Castinado get one of these requests, they send them to academic prin-cipals Craig Moss and Brian Schenck, who then decide whether to accept it.
Moss said, “When it’s a teacher change request, the process is mostly the same. The student still goes to Academic Coun-seling and fills out the same form, the only difference is that an administrator has to approve it.”
What they look for is a “sound aca-
demic reason,” not just a student wanting a different teacher or to be with friends.
The deadline for the current semester was Tuesday, Jan. 14. This early date helps in many ways. First, it gives the Academic Counselling office workers time to send colleges transcripts for the semester. Colleges like to see these to make sure that seniors are still academically challenging themselves. Also, the current junior class will be picking their courses for next year very shortly and
this lets them know what credits they still need so that they can graduate.
Castinado said, “I personally look at all 200 plus of the Class of 2015’s transcripts and find out what credits that they still need.”
This deadline also creates a hectic week
for those who work in the Academic Coun-seling office. An estimated average of 300 to 400 students who transfer each semester, some more than once, and many of whom transfer during the final week.
“The final week can be kinda crazy,” White said. “Some years it’s better than others but usually there is about 10 people in line waiting to see if their switch will work.”
Upperclassmen make significantly more schedule changes than underclass-men.
“First semester, the seniors usually have the most changes because of all the electives that they have to choose from,” Castinado said. “Before second semester, more juniors usually transfer.
“Underclassman in general transfer less, especially the freshman,” Castinado said. “I don’t even think that some of them know that they can change their schedule.”g
8 The Shield January 23, 2014Features
WRIGLEY NAMED MIDWEST COACH OF THE YEAR
In the fall of 2001, Justin Wrigley walked in the doors of Aquinas to serve as simply an assistant to cross country Coach Greg Wilson.
13 years later, Wrigley walks in with his new title: Midwest Sectional Coach of the Year.
Wrigley was recently selected by the National Federation of State High School Associations, receiving the Midwest award which included the states of Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ne-braska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
When he first heard he had received the award, Wrigley said he was shocked simply because he wasn’t focused on coaching awards; he was focused on the greater good of the team.
“What the girls accomplished at the state meet was historic on every level, so I view this award as a way of recognizing the accom-plishments of those kids,” he said. “It is a reflection of all of the people involved.”
Wrigley was quick to credit his fellow coaches Chris Ronan, Matt Hallauer, Jim Halling and Kadie Calovich, saying that it’s not just a single vision, but rather multiple people sharing the same desire to succeed. He also was quick to thank each and every member of the team “that has ever worn the Saints cross country uniform for contributing their efforts in making our team culture so great.”
Yet the athletes he coaches were quick to praise Wrigley.
“Not many people can say
that they love their coach, and I seriously couldn’t ask for a more inspirational role model,” senior cross country captain Grace Geiger said.
Senior boys’ captain Mat-thew Wilderson agreed.
“Wrigley deserved it because of all the endless hours of workouts, talks, and research on how to be the best runner,” Wilderson said. “He is always there to give me motiva-tion and help the team.”
Wrigley has been impact-ing the lives of his athletes since he first entered Aquinas in 2001. His coaching philosophy is that
athletics are just one aspect of a “full and balanced life” that everyone can benefit from and
can be a replication of overcom-ing challenges in other aspects of
life. He promotes competition to motivate athletes to improve, and he believes in teamwork and
becoming one’s personal best.Certainly the girls’ cross
country team this year left a permanent mark on Kansas history as they became the first team to earn a perfect 15 points at the state meet. Yet Wrigley saw more than just another state title.
“When our kids get to the starting line at the champion-ship meets, it is easy to see that because they truly care so much
for one another that they will stop at nothing to bring success to the
group,” he said. “That kind of love is an incredible thing to witness and an impossible thing to stop.”
Wrigley may be the one receiving the tangible award, but he has left the true reward in the mark he leaves on his athletes--a permanent impact seen not only through the success in their sport, in the team they see as family, or in the challenges they overcome, but rather in a way that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
“He taught so many of us to fall in love with our sport,” Geiger said, “and that’s the best gift he could have ever given to us.” g
Cross country coach Justin Wrigley has dedicated 13 years to Aquinas, most recently leading the girls’ team to break a state record.
by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief
Photo courtesy of MATT HALLAUERWrigley speaks to the girls’ team moments after they set an unbreakable state championship record. Team co-captain Grace Geiger,
pictured at far right, said, “He taught so many of us to fall in love with our sport, and that’s the best gift he could have ever given to us.”
“Wrigley deserved it because he is always there
to give me motivation and help the team.”
MATTHEW WILDERSONSenior, Captain
SAINTS CHANGE SCHEDULESMany students made last-minute changes to their schedule—a process that is not necessarily as easy as it may
seem—yet some underclassmen might not even realize it is possible to change their schdules.by JORDAN BARTZOpinions Editor
“The final week can be kinda crazy. Usually there is about 10 people in line waiting to see if
their switch will work.”
ELLEN WHITERegistrar
JCCC Honors: Dig deeper. Aim higher.
“The Honors program enhances your college educationand provides opportunities to gain hands-on experiencein areas of interest.”
Amanda, JCCC Honors student and Gardner Edgerton High School graduate
Johnson County Community College’s Honors Program stimulates and challengesacademically talented students. An Honors application is required for admission. For moreinformation, call Pat Decker at 913-469-8500, ext. 2512, or visit www.jccc.edu/honors
Saint Thomas Aquinas hired new head football coach Randy Dreiling on Dec. 13. Serious talks of a new head coach started to circulate around President Bill Ford’s board last fall when the Saints ended the season with a 3-7 record.
Dreiling was previously head coach at Hutchinson High School for 17 seasons. In 2008, Aquinas lost the 5A state football champi-onship to Hutchinson 38-0. In the near future, Aquinas players hope to be the team holding up the trophy under Dreiling.
“With the decisions we’ve made over the past couple months, we hope to be competing on the Saturday after Thanksgiv-ing,” Ford said, referring to the traditional date for KSHSAA’s state football championships.
When Dreiling started at Hutchinson, the Salthawks were on a 26-game losing streak. Dreiling explained how he turned around the Hutchinson fooball pro-gram.
“It all starts in the weight room. It develops you physcially and mentally, which ultimately builds confidence,” Dreiling said. “We followed the simple formula of going to work every day, getting better every day.
We had a plan and we put it in place.”
Dreiling was able to turn around Hutchin-son’s losing football program to a have a re-markable 160-38 record over the next 17 seasons.
The Salthawks won six straight state championships from 2004 to 2009 and managed to go to the state championship nine out of 10
seasons. And when Dreiling won state
championships, he didn’t just win state championships. The Salt-hawks’ seven state championships were by an average score of 34-12.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Ford said. “It’s unquestionable the amount of success he has had. He’s the type of guy we were looking for.”
However in 2013, Hutchin-son finished the season 5-4 and their 13-season streak of playoff berths was snapped. It wouldn’t
be soon after that Dreiling would be getting calls about a new job offer at Aquinas.
Shortly after Dreil-ing accepted the position as new head football coach of the Saints, he got right down business. One of his changes Dreiling is bringing to Aquinas is a whole new weights program.
“The team has already started our weight program in the morn-ings and after school,” junior Kyle Bollig said. “Soon we will start watching film and learning the new offense.”
The new offense Dreiling is bringing is the triple option offense similar to what Navy and Georgia Tech runs.
The team started the new program at the beginning of the second semester and works out four times a week.
Dreiling mainly focuses on speed and agility.
“We’re not trying to build power lifters,” Dreiling said. “We’re trying to build athletes.”
Junior Kyle Raunig said the team goes in the gym and works on quickness and changing direc-tion.
“Coach Dreilling has started to put us through speed and agility to make sure we are in the best shape we can possibly be in come season time. He’s a very good coach with class and a lot of experience and will push everyone to their limit.”
Aside from the foot-ball records, Dreiling is also a great fit to be a role model.
“He’s Catholic and a Benedictine graduate with
great character,” Ford said. “I’m excited to see what is to come in the upcoming years.” g
The Shield 9January 23, 2014Sports
WINTER SPORTS UPDATESwimming The boys’ swimming team has been in action recently at the Shawnee Mission Northwest and Lawrence Free State meets. This is a very young team with nine freshman, four sophomores, and two juniors. Also with brand new coach, Ken Grayam, this has definitely been a rebuilding year. This does not discourage freshman swimmer Zachary Dare. “Al-though we currently do not qualify for state, we are working really hard to improve our times. Coach Grayam has made it clear that his goal was to get us a state title in a few years. He can have fun with us, but he knows when to be serious and get to work,” said Dare. Led by captains Derek Ecklund and Michael Zalenski,
the Saints are headed in the right direction. “Sophomore Derek Ecklund has been our leader. He works hard in practice and sets a good example for the rest of the team” said Dare. The team is in action next this Saturday at Blue Valley Southwest.
Bowling The season has gone well for the Saints. “We started off a little slow at the place we seem to never do well
at. Then we went and got second in a tournament that was easi-ly winnable. But I look forward to us all being consistently good to win some meets,”
said senior Alex Van Pelt. The team is looking for suc-cess in the post season this year. “I think we have an amazing chance at making it to state, there are a few teams that will be competitive with us at regionals but I think
we’ll be better,” said Van Pelt. The Bowling team has a lot of senior leadership which is really helping out the team. “Having a lot of seniors on the team makes practice and meets a blast, it’s pretty much a family. We are pretty close and know how to treat each other when we are struggling and need a boost. It makes the season so enjoyable.” said Van Pelt. The bowling team is in action next at the Bowl Miege Invitation-al at Mission Bowl.
Girls’ Basketball The girls’ basketball team has had a great season so far. The Lady Saints have an impressive 8-1 record with the only loss coming to Columbia Rock Bridge. The Saints are a perfect 5-0 in the league after knocking off previously undefeated Miege Friday night. The team is ranked No. 2 in Kansas by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. Saints nation has been coming out strong to the games. “The crowd has been amazing so far!,” senior Tia Weledji said. “Shout out to John Wernel, Jack Hopfinger, and Joe Kelley for be-
ing three of our biggest fans. They, along with the rest of our support-ers, really keep us energized and enthused to play our hardest every second of the game.” Most awards and recognitions don’t come out until the end of the season but last week Weledji was nominated to be an All-American.
Boys’ Basketball The Saints boys’ basketball team is not off to the start that they wanted with a 2-6 record. “We’ve started off a little slower than we would have liked, but we know we have to come together as a team to turn it around,” senior John Kohnle said. But that 2-6 record is deceiv-ing considering that three out of the six losses have come in over-time so the games have been very close. Like the girls team, the crowd has been a huge factor.
“The crowd this year has been amazing,” Kohnle said. “Best crowds I’ve experienced in my four years here and it’s really helped us on the floor. The South-west game was great and you guys all contributed to the win. We have the best fans in the EKL and we appreciate your support.” The Saints are in action this weekend at the Saints Classic.
Wrestling The boys wrestling team just
competed at the Bobcat Classic this past weekend. The team has experienced some injuries but senior Zack Hoskins doesn’t think that will stop them.
“We have suffered some injuries, including my shoulder but I still feel good about the team” said Hoskins. “ I think we have a 50/50 chance at winning state. Our main competition is St. James,” said Hoskins. The team is currently ranked third in the Kansas Wres-tling Coaches Association. g
DREILING WASTES NO TIME BUILDING A NEW DYNASTY
Sports are approaching the season midway point and are getting ready for the post season run.by BRYAN ZACKCampus News Editor
“The crowd this year has been amazing. Best crowds I’ve experienced in my four
years here.”
JOHN KOHNLESenior
“Sophomore Derek Ecklund has been our leader. He works
hard in practice and sets a good example.”
ZACHARY DAREFreshman
by TROY HILDERHOFSports Editor
Photo by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldHead Coach Randy Dreiling instructs junior Brent Keffer how to correctly squat during 1st hour wights class. This class is part of Dreiling’s new weights program.
“It’s unquestionable the amount of success
[Dreiling] has had.”
BILL FORDPresident
“We’re not trying to build powerlifters. We’re trying to
build athletes.”
RANDY DREILINGHead Coach
Upcoming Sport EventsToday Saints Classic starts V Boys Basketball vs. Washburn Rural (6:30 p.m.)Friday V Girls Basketball vs. BVNorth at KaMo Basketball Tournament V Wrestling Hays Invitational (2:30 p.m.)Saturday JV/V Boys Swimming at Blue Valley Southwest (1 p.m.) JV/V Bowling Miege Invitational (1 p.m.) JV/V Dance Team KSpec Competition at Olathe East (3 p.m.)Tuesday Freshman A/B Boys Basketball vs. Blue Valley (6 p.m.)Wednesday JV/V Wrestling Senior Night at home (6 p.m.)Thursday, Jan. 30 JV/V Bowling vs. Schlagle, Washburn at Ranch Bowl (3:30 p.m.) JV/V Girls Basketball vs. SMNorthwest (5:30 p.m.) Freshman A/B Boys Basketball vs. Blue Valley West (6:00 p.m.)Friday, Jan. 31 C/JV/V Boys Basketball at Blue Valley West (5:30 p.m.)
Photo by BRYAN ZACK | The ShieldFreshman Zachary Dare dives into the pool at the SMNW swimming meet.
New Head Coach Randy Dreiling is welcomed at Aquinas and starts new weights program.
10 The Shield January 23, 2014
Last Look
Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldThe starting five for boys’ basketball—sophomore Riley Pint, junior James Pyle, junior Adam Kutney, senior John Kohnle and senior Chris Ernst—walk onto the court for the Miege game Friday.
Photo by Jordan Bartz | The ShieldJunior James Pyle drives past a Bishop Meige defender during the second half of Fri-day’s game.
Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldJunior Savannah Miller dances and baton twirls at halftime during the girls’ basketball game against Bishop Miege.
Photo by Jordan Bartz | The ShieldThe crowd salutes senior Chris Ernst with the “Hunger Games” sign.
Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldAllie Dierks drives in for a layup during the game against Bishop Miege. The Aquinas girls’ basketball team won, with their season standings at 8-1.
Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldSenior guard John Kohnle shoots a jump shot in the first half of the Bishop Miege game.
Photo by HANNAH NEY | The MedallionSenior Zack Hoskins takes down a wrestler during the Shawnee Mission South varsity tournament on Jan. 11.
Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldAbove: The varsity cheerleaders enthusiastically pump up the crowd by singing the wiggalo.
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