Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Speech Team Honored


This year, the Mount Michael speech team received a plaque from the National Forensic League, which is an honor society that recognizes students in speech and debate.  The Mount Michael team was recognized with the Leading Chapter Award, the highest honor that a team can receive, given to one school in each district for their level of participation and success in speech competition.  The Mount Michael Benedictine chapter of the National Forensic League was founded in 1963 and has added 48 new members since 2008.

Knights Garner Medals at U.S. History College Bowl at UNO; Team places 3rd


This past Saturday the Knights competed in the 1st United States History College Bowl at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Students completed an AP US History practice exam consisting of multiple choice questions, free-response essays and a DBQ essay.

15 Mount Michael students won medals.

·       Matt Bohnhoff and Alex Hynes received medals for scoring in the top 10 of the multiple choice section

·       Collin Donahue, Brian Kim and Cameron Engel received bronze medals in essay writing

·       Matt Bohnhoff, Danny Pavlik and Robin Britt received bronze medals for DBQ writing

·       Eun Woo Jee, Thomas Kalil and Peter Xu received silver medals in DBQ writing

·       Kevin Jewell received a silver medal in essay writing

·       Rowan Gruber received a gold medal in essay writing

·       Jacob Eyth and Andy Johannes received gold medals in DBQ writing

·       And the team of Jackson Taylor, Rowan Gruber, Thomas Kalil, Cameron Engel, Alex Hynes and Jacob Eyth finished in 3rd place in the overall team competition

Steier receives prestigious TOYO Teens award.

Mount Michael senior Jimmy Steier has been selected as one of Omaha’s ten TOYA Teens.

The TOYO Teens award is based on the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Omahans (TOYO) awards that began over 80 years ago in Omaha. TOYO Teens was created in 2004 because the Omaha Jaycees wanted to expand the effort to recognize teens who contribute to their community through volunteerism. Applicants must be individuals between the ages of 13 and 19 that are making a difference in the Omaha community through volunteerism and community action.

Jimmy volunteers a the Heart Ministry Center which offers low-income individuals a multitude of services including a food pantry, clothing closet, medical and dental care and outreach programs.

The director of the Heart Ministry Center said “Jimmy has assisted with the Center’s youth mentoring program. This program serves children in Omaha, who frequently go to bed hungry and may not know where they will sleep each night. Most recently, Jimmy and his younger brother Mick completed a ropes course with the boys from our mentoring program. Throughout the day Jimmy repeatedly encouraged the boys as they occasionally struggled to complete the various obstacles as well as to spend time simply talking with them. I also saw Jimmy quietly offer some of his lunch to one of the boys that frequently has no food to eat at home.

An awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. at Village Pointe Shopping Center Amphitheatre, located near 168 & Dodge.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

New York Alumni Gathering April 2013



Front Row:  Steve Tamisiea, ’86, Colman Lynch, ’01, Erick Crawford, ’00, Andy Jewell, ’08, Michael Duce, ‘12
Back Row:  Paul Wolters, ’84, Mark Lanspa, ’80, Abbot Michael Liebl, O.S.B., ’68, Walt Bahr, ’87, Matt Mahony, ’92, Jon Blue, ’94, David McTaggart, ’94 and Josh Hankins, ’11.

With Spouses and Friends

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Knights Make A Good Showing at World Championship

Josh Bloomquist, Paul Kujawa, and David Bastian

At the Vex Robotics World Championship The Mount Michael team (Sleepless Knights) did very well. There were 420 High School teams in five divisions. Sleepless Knights finished 12th in their divisional qualification. They went on to the Elimination portion of the tournament where they lost in the Semi-Finals to the eventual champions.

Paul Kujawa and Josh Bloomquist were the members of Sleepless Knights who could make the trip to California to compete. Unable to make the trip was David Bastian.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Spring Sampler

The Mount Michael Band, Choir, and Strings teamed up with the Speech team providing a varied and entertaining evening. Vocal solos were performed by Eun Woo Jee, Vinney Harvey, and Christian Jones. The Band played Ashokan Farewell and the Theme from Patton. The Choir sang All Thing Bright and Beautiful, and Irving Berlin's America. The Strings played Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.  Numerous humerous acts were performed by the Speech students.

More Photos - Strings & Choir: America.wma (45 sec. excerpt)  Additional audio files are available on the student shared drive in a folder called "2013 Sampler" feel free to make copies. 

May Day: Service & Fun

When you think of May Day you think of sun and warmth but this cold and damp spring it has been hard to find a good day for outside activities.  Nevertheless, we did manage to get a sunny day even if it started out below freezing.

Everyone bundled up in sweat shirts for the morning service work. The entire school assembled in the chapel for a brief prayer and instructions for projects to be completed which included such things as sorting and moving items between storage sheds, planting trees, and reworking the long jump pits.

After lunch the track and baseball teams headed off for competitions and the remainder of the student body shifted into game mode.  The school divided up into teams for massive games of War Ball in the gym and a series of “grade school games” on the practice field.  Sharks and minnows, Red Rover and Duck, Duck, Goose have a different character when you are a teenager.  It was all lots of fun and provided laughter and release before the final drive of studies to the end of the school year. More Photos
Korean Newspaper - April Issue

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Knights Win at Chemistry Field Day

 At the University of Nebraska Omaha Chemistry Field Day, Mount Michael's Team Hydrogen took 1st place in the overall competition in the advanced division. Duschesne finished in 2nd place and Westside 3rd place . Some of the other schools competing at the tournament were Blair, Central, Creighton Prep, Fremont-Mills, Glenwood, Lincoln High, Lincoln Southwest, Millard South, and Skutt Catholic.
Team Hydrogen: John Choi, Steve Jeoung, Tony Gao, D.J. Wooton, Paul Kujawa
From the lower division the Knights were represented by five teams two of which won 1st place in an event. Team Uranium won "Fax and Facts", while team Praseodymium won "Equation Balancing Act". Schools from Blair, Westside, Lincoln Southwest, and Duchesne each won one event.
Team Uranium: Young-Joon Park, Jonathan Collins, Cameron Bretsen, Zach Frevert, and Jin Seo Kim
Team Praseodymium: Marcus Cronin, Gus deMayo, Luke Tucker, Eun Woo Jee, Taesung Kim


Knights Win Award of Distinction in S.A.M.E. Competition

Team #2: Chris Bierman, Austin Ramaeker, Ben Coneally, Rowan Gruber, Dan Pavlik, John Mikulicz, Griffin Willer

                Mount Michael drafting team #2 in the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) contest included team members John Mikulicz, Austin Ramaekers, Danny Pavlik, Rowan Gruber, Ben Coneally, and Chris Bierman, all juniors. The project was A New Home for YES, which involved working in Drafting Class to design a new outreach center for Youth Emergency Services, which serves at risk and possibly homeless youth in the Omaha Area. The final project took hours of research and design and included a 30 page book, a model, and a 45 slide PowerPoint presentation. When the group proposed our solution to YES, they were very excited and wanted them to present it again in the future to help with fundraising efforts.

                At the competition the judges evaluated the project in the areas of sustainability, applied science, innovation, research, teamwork, technology, presentation, and the proposal. The project received gold ratings for the applied science and presentation, and silver ratings in innovation, research, teamwork, technology, and sustainability. For the project as a whole, the team won an Award of Distinction and received $250, one of only five given away at the high school level. 

                Mount Michael SAME team #1 also competed. They created a campus to aid in the education of disabled returning veterans. The campus was designed to accommodate 200 students..

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

35 Inducted into National Honor Society



Seniors: John Choi, Thomas Maliszewski, Albert Park, James Steier, William Watson, DJ Wooten
Juniors Diego Berrueta, Benjamin Connealy, Garrison Emsick, Will Ernst, Jacob Eyth, Alex Hynes, Eunwoo Jee, Moonsup Kim, Jackson Taylor, Griffin Willer, Davis Wilson
Sophomores Ian Alfieri, Cameron Bretsen, David Choi, Jonathan Collins, Marcus Cronin, Gus deMayo, Andrew Ernst, Chase Goddard, John Gutsmiedl, Harrison Hohman, Oliver Jarosik, Ashton Legenza, Jared Mikuls, Young Joon Park, Eric Sullivan, Stefano Tarantolo, Anthony Taylor, Lucas Tucker

Monday, April 15, 2013

Night of Knights Thank You!

Thank You for Supporting the Night of Knights


Coach Gathje Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Mount Michael's coach John Gathje was recently inducted into a sports hall of fame in Rochester Minnesota. The Hall of fame banquet was held at Mayo Civic Auditorium.

(from MVP Magazine, Rochester, Minnesota)
Gathje, a 1981 graduate of Lourdes, was one of the greatest track and cross country runners in Rochester history and went on to St. John's University where he attained All-American status three times in Cross country and once in track......

John Gatje
John was one of the many Gathje runners at Lourdes  In track he was a three-time State Champion in the 3,200 meter run.  He and his brother Jim led Lourdes to three straight state team championships (1978, 1979, 1980) in Cross Country after two years in which the Eagles were runners-up   At Lourdes John won five letters in cross country and four in track. He was the state cross country champion in 1980 after a runner-up finish in 1979. After high school it was on to St. John's where he continued to excel in the two sports.  He was three-time All-American at St. John's -- twice in cross country and once in track.

John now teaches, serves as cross country coach and is an assistant coach in track at Mount Michael Benedictine High School in Elkhorn, Neb.  He has coached that school's cross country team to five Nebraska state championships, two runner-up finishes and has led the school's cross country teams to berths in 19 of the last 22 Nebraska state meets. John lives in Omaha with his wife and two sons. 

Night of Knights: A Royal Affair



This year’s Night of Knights featured special Guests of Honor Mr. John and Mrs Ann Louise Micek and Honorary Chairmen Mr. Dennis and Mrs. Karen Connolly.

The General Chairs for the event were Mr. Rick and Mrs. Jennifer Bohnhoff, Dr. John and Mrs. Pat Drahota, Mr. Jeff and Mrs. Connie Jamrog 

Photo Sets: One - Two

Friday, April 12, 2013

Curtis Farmer to Play for Avila University

Next fall Curtis Farmer will be playing football for the Avila University Eagles in Kansas City. 
Curtis plans to major in Criminal Justice.  Pictured with Curtis is his mother Cynthia Farmer and Mount Michael's football coach and activities director Jon Borer.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Abbey Receives Newly Professed Monk


Bro Roger Mangels professed his first vows as a monk of Mount Michael Abbey on Sunday April 8th. Abbot Michael and the Benedictine community are grateful for the many blessings Bro Roger brings to Mount Michael.
To learn more about Brother Roger read: “From Stage Actor to Man of God” from the September issue of “The Mount” the school newspaper.
 Abbot Michael’s Homily for Bro Roger’s profession.  ---- More Photos

Friday, April 5, 2013

Mount Michael Student to Represent Nebraska in National Writing Contest


Sophomore Young Joon Park was selected as the 2013 winner for the State of Nebraska in the Letters About Literature national writing contest.  The contest asks students to write a personal letter to an author of a book they have read, reflecting on the impact of that book on their own life or way of thinking.  Young Joon's letter to Arthur Miller about the play "Death of a Salesman" was selected from hundreds of letters across the State of Nebraska as the winner for the high school level of the contest.  In recognition of this honor, Young Joon has been invited to attend the Governor's Proclamation Signing in Lincoln, and his name will be included in the official National Library Week Proclamation for Nebraska.  Young Joon's letter will now go on to the national competition, where it will be read by a panel of judges at the Library of Congress.  More information about the contest and a list of past winners can be found at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.
Update: It was recently announced that Young Joon Park won 3rd place in the "Tribute to the Rescuers Essay Contest" sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education. Congratulations Again! http://ihene.org/essay-contest/  - More Photos

The following Mount Michael students also did well in the essay competitions. These students will receive certificates for being finalists (top 5% of essays) or semi-finalists  (top 20% of essays) in this competition.


Finalist:
Cameron Bretson (essay about Sonderkommandos who were German resistance fighters in WWII)

Semi-Finalists:
Jake Batenhorst (essay about Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat who falsified paperwork to help hundreds of Jews escape from Nazi-occupied territory)

Jacob Bragg (essay about the people of Denmark, who refused to comply with Nazi regulations about the treatment of Jews in Denmark)

Gus deMayo (essay about St. Maximilion Kolbe, who died in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz)

John Gutsmiedl (essay about Rudolph Vrba, who escaped from Auschwitz and supplied the Allies with information about the concentration camps)

Eric Sullivan (essay about Oskar Schindler)

Stefano Tarantolo (essay about Rick Rescorla, a security guard who died after helping evacuate others on 9/11)