Lenten Projects at SUA
St. Ursula students initiated a variety of philanthropic service projects for the Lenten season. The Lenten Service Projects were chosen and implemented by juniors and seniors who volunteered their time. This year, the group decided to focus on fair trade and identified Georgette’s Grounds & Gifts, “as the only store we know where everything is fair trade,” according to Mr. Mark Dubielak, advisor. Georgette’s, a for-profit division of a not-for-profit organization which supports people with disabilities, was invited to SUA to set up shop on February 12. In other projects, the students also encouraged donations to Heifer International and initiated a Donation:Me! time where students donated their own time to various causes. Also, Locks of Love will return to SUA on
April 15. Students, faculty and staff may have their hair cut by professionals from Camelot Salon for donations to the Locks of Love organization which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have lost their hair from disease or treatments related to disease.
Model UN traveled to Kalamazoo, Michigan March 4-8 to participate in the annual Mid-American Model United Nations conference. The students participated in debates about international politics. “I love Model UN! I have learned may things, not only abut current world events but also about myself,” stated Jocelyn Toney ’09. “Model UN pushes me to come out of my comfort zone to get involved.” Participants included Sara Adas ’09, Hillary Alcala ’09, Ashley Chavez ’08, Taylor
Dana ’08, Kate Golda ’08, Stephanie Grod ’08, Ashleigh Jilek ’09, Rachel Keesey ’09, Lauren Kowalik ’09, Alison Lechlak ’09, Erin Leidy ’08, Megan Leidy ’10, Emma Lenz ’10, Kelly Lonsway ’09, Leah Matuszewski ’08, Claire Monaghan ’09, Samantha
Pacynski ’08, Kelsey Pizza ’09, Adriana Ramirez ’08, Sydney
Rush ’08, Amy Socie ’08, Jocelyn Toney ’09, Rochelle Voyles ’08, Meghan Wandtke ’08, Margaret Wentz ’08, and Michelle Yodzis ’09.
Afro Club Holds Prayer Service
On February 28, the Afro American Club held a prayer service for all students, faculty and staff. The program included scripture readings by students with Tessa Scott ’10 reading Rediscovering Lost Values by Martin Luther King, and Devyn Gray ‘11 reading her award-winning essay, Thoughts on Rosa Parks. Other readers included Rayna Anderson ‘09, Kim Outlaw ‘09, Sonya Brown ‘09, Symone Coleman ‘09, Shaneice Coleman ‘11, Shawn Reid '11, and Ashiana Walls ‘09. The guest speaker was Ms. Stephanie McBee. Songs included Tomorrow, performed by Brittni Hughes ‘09, and I Been Looking for You, performed by the Afro Club members. A dance was performed by Chimere Hornbeak ‘10 and Whitley Johnson ‘11 to I Want It All Back by Tye Tribbett. Thanks to parent volunteers Ms. Teresa Scott and Ms. Andrala Crenshaw.
Photography Class Hosts Exhibit
Ellen Kalinoski's Photography Class is hosting an exhibit in the St. Ursula lobby of a variety of photographs taken from the student's point of view.. Students in the introductory course were asked to select five to seven of their best works taken through the duration of the course. Mrs. Kalinoski stated, "I helped them select their photos, but ultimately it was their choice." The exhibition kicked off February 28th with a reception for students, friends, and parents; the photos will be on display through March 7th.
JETS Team Takes First Place
On February 15, eight members of the SUA Junior Engineering Technical Society Club (JETS) placed first in their division at the Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS) Competitions held at The University of Toledo College of Engineering. This team also received the highest score of any Ohio team there. Team members are Anissa Bereksi ’08, Dana Connors ’08, Elissa Irma ’08, Erin Leidy ’08, Sarah Muller ’08, Erica Navarette ’08, Lauren Sheehan ’08, and Maggie Wentz ’08. The JV team, who placed second in their division, included Brennan Brown ’09, Emily DeDonato ’09, Amanda Fisher ’09, Erin Kenney ’09, Sydney Murphy ’09, Katie Sanderson ’09, Libby Wentz ’09, and Veronica Zimmerman ’11.
The club meets once a week to practice and prepare for the competition. The club is advised by Mrs. Jackie Kane, SUA Physics and Geoscience Teacher.
SUA Students Excel at Music Competition
On February 2, 2008 the Ohio Music Education Association held its District I Solo and Ensemble Competition at Perrysburg High School. Deanna Buenger ‘09 performed Faure's Fantasie for Flute Opus 79, and received a Superior rating in Class A for her performance. Recently, Deanna received an invitation to join the Toledo Youth Orchestra flute section, in addition to serving as principal flute for the St. Johns's Wind Ensemble. Denise Buenger ’11, harpist, performed Two French Folk Songs by M. Grandjany. Denise received a Superior rating for her harp performance in Class B. Deanna and Denise are members of the St. Ursula orchestra and the St. Johns bands, including the Marching Titans, Wind Ensemble and Pep Band.
Art Students Recognized
Megan Tate ‘08, Nicole Momsen ‘08, Kelly White ‘08, and Brianna Bergman ‘09 had their artwork featured at the Congressional Art Exhibit at the Ninth Congressional District Invitational Art Exhibition. Brianna was one of the recipients of The University of Toledo Sponsored Award for her piece entitled, Broken Stitches. The students were recognized at an event held Feb. 10 at the SeaGate Center. The exhibit will travel to Oberlin College, were it will be displayed March 3 through March 21.
SUA Students Compete at Mock Trial
On Feb. 1, eleven students from St. Ursula competed in the Ohio Center for Law Related Education’s Toledo District Mock Trial Competition at the Toledo Municipal Court. Two teams from SUA entered the competition which focused on a dispute between a city and a church allowing the homeless to sleep on its’ property. Ashley Chavez ’08, Rachel Eby ’08, Lauren Kalinoski ’08, Brittnee Meyers ’08, Erica Navarette ’08, Samantha Pacynski ’08, Jennifer Dudek ’09, Stacie Hunt ’10, Melissa Lenz ’10, Erin Sarantou ’10, and Amelia Wolf ’10 studied law and developed arguments for and against the church’s actions. Chavez and Navarette were recognized as Outstanding Witnesses.
Mrs. Jackie Kane, physics instructor, recently created a website which will facilitate the use of free software and free Ohio LANDSAT images. She sees a need to bridge the gap between viewing wonderful sites, such as GoogleEarth and GoogleMaps, to acquiring and using satellite images to identify trends in ecosystem changes such as global warming, pollution, surface land usages, and to illustrate how beautiful our Earth really is. This site serves as a cross-curricula tool for science, geography, art and other subjects.
Go to usingrs.googlepages.com to find out more.
SUA Student Shakespeare Finalist
Kennedy Cox '10, was a finalist in the 2008 Toledo Area Shakespeare Competition sponsored by the English-Speaking Union of the United States. Kennedy performed a soliloquy from "Troilus and Cressida" and "Sonnet XII".
Click here for more information
Students succeed at WordMasters Challenge
Madchen Petrie '10, Erin Sheehan '10, and Valeri Wolf '10 won honors in the 2008 Word Masters Challenge, a national competition for high school students requiring close reading and analysis for many different kinds of prose and poetry. Each of these students placed among the 255 highest-scoring tenth graders in the entire country; over 59,000 students from 46 states entered the meet.
St. Ursula students participate in 2008 March for Life
Nine SUA students traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the 35th annual March for Life. Brittani Aschemeier '08, Marissa Gladieux '09, Lauren Graham '08, Christina Joseph '09, Rachel Lukasik '08, Breanne Prebe '08, Nicole Rayner '09, Lauren Sfaelos '08, and Liz Yaslik '08 took the trip to Washington to participate in this annual event on Jan. 22. The students were accompanied by Mr. Mark Dubielak, Chair of the St. Ursula Theology Department.
CYO Honors Student Athletes
Three St. Ursula students were honored by the CYO program as outstanding young women who have come from the CYO program. Hannah Boggus ’08, volleyball; Marie Fudacz ’08, soccer; and Ashley Roberts ’08, Cross Country were recognized for their good academic records and strong leadership qualities.
SUA Poets Chosen for Publication
Rochelle Voyles’ ’08 poem “The Man in the Moon” and
Kristen Prahl’s ’11 poem “My Heart” were selected for publication in
A Celebration of Young Poets. This anthology of poems features the best poems submitted from across the United States and Canada. Rochelle and Kristen’s poems were chosen as “high merit poems which create a poetic record of the fears, hopes, and dreams of today’s students”, according to Creative Communication, sponsor of the contest.
Truman a Scholarship Recipient
Elizabeth E. Truman ’09 is one of 33 recipients of The Ohio Knights of Columbus Scholarship. The Knights of Columbus award the scholarship based on Grade Point Average, academic awards, community and/or parish involvement, and extracurricular activities.
ALTA Artists Give Back
To share the Christmas spirit, several ALTA groups took the spirit of giving to the next level. Three ALTA groups decided to participate in the “Love Luggage” program. Working with Lucas Country Children Services, the students designed 18 pieces of luggage for and filled them with comfort items such as teddy bears, slippers and lotions for foster children and young adults moving to extended care communities. To see some of the designs, check out www.toledosua.org.
St. Ursula Academy students and guests accessorized their outfits for the Christmas Dance a bit differently this year. Instead of the usual corsage or boutonniere, all students attending the Christmas Dance at St. Ursula Saturday, December 1st were challenged by the SUA Student Council to bring a toy to donate to Toys for Tots. At the end of the night, eight large boxes were overflowing with student donations.
“(It) was very moving for me. Each couple brought in one or two toys,” stated Chelsea Schwab, senior and Student Council Secretary. This was the first year for the venture and almost certainly not the last, according to Schwab. “St. Ursula would never stop doing something in the name of charity, so I wouldn’t doubt if Toys for Tots becomes a new tradition.”
Angela Carter teaches Master Jazz
Students Raise $3,000 with Volley for the Cure
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