Faculty In-service Day: Benedictine Values

While the students took the day off for a three day weekend the Mount Michael faculty gathered for an  in-service day on Benedictine Values.   Bro August led the day which first focused on the Rule of Saint Benedict.  This past semester the faculty read "The Rule" and had met monthly in small groups to discuss it.  The faculty also met is small groups during the in-service day to discuss the 1st three chapters of  Abbot Primate Notker Wolf''s book the Art of Leadership. The Art of Leadership focuses on the values and wisdom on leadership found within the The Rule and Benedictine tradition.

Abbot Michael Liebl OSB also gave a presentation and slideshow on Mount Michael Abbey's History.   More Photos

Speech Team: River Cities Conference Runner-up

Congratulations to the speech team for earning conference runner-up.

Individual placements:

• Extemporaneous: Zach Starman—1^st; Fletcher Lin—5^th
• Poetry: Broden Kaps—5^th
• Dramatic Interpretation: Zach Frevert—3^rd; Kevin Arul—6^th
• Persuasive: Eric Zhang—4^th; Vincent Dai—6^th
• Entertainment: Taesung Kim—4^th; Adam Terasinski—5^th
• Informative: Case McNally—4^th; Stefano Tarantolo—6^th
• Duet Acting: Kevin Arul & Armel Mignondje—5^th
• Oral Interpretation of Drama: Zach Frevert, Broden Kaps, Andrew Pace, Zach Starman, Adam Terasinski—3^rd
• Humorous Interpretation: Paul Forget—3^rd

Knights Repeat as State Champions in the Academic Decathlon

Adam Terasinki, Dave Cormier (Coach) Jared Mikuls, Jon Collins, Jacob Bova, Alex Hotovy, Cade Johnson, Max deMayo, Michael Fischer, Broden Kaps, Jacob Raemakers, Walt Wear, Andrew Ahn

The United States Academic Decathlon is a ten-event scholastic competition for teams of high school students. Each high school enters a team of nine students: 3 "A" or Honor students (3.750 - 4.00 GPA), 3 "B" or Scholastic students (3.00 - 3.749 GPA), and 3 "C or below" Varsity students (0.00 - 2.999 GPA). This year's Academic Decathlon theme was New Alternatives in Energy: Ingenuity and Innovation. - More Results: Omaha World Herald

Honors:

• Jonathan Collins: 1^st in Economics, Lang/Lit, Math, Science; 3^rd in Art and Music; 1^st overall honors
• Broden Kaps: 1^st in Economics; 3^rd in Speech; 3^rd overall honors
• Max deMayo: 1^st in Economics, 2^nd in Literature; 3^rd in Math

Alternate Honors:

• Andrew Ahn: 1^st in Soft Science and Humanities; 2^nd in Hard Science

Scholastic:

• Jared Mikuls: 1^st in Art, Econ, Lang/Lit, Math, Music, Science; 2^nd in Speech, Essay; 1^st overall scholastic
• Alex Hotovy: 1^st in Science; 2^nd in Economics, Lang/Lit, Music; 3^rd in Art; 2^nd overall scholastic
• Adam Terasinski: 1^st in Essay; 2^nd in Art; 3^rd in Economics, Literature, and Music; 3^rd overall scholastic

Alternate Scholastic:

• Jacob Bova: 1^st in Soft Science, Hard Science, and Humanities

Varsity:

• Jacob Ramaekers:  1^st in Art, Lang/Lit, Science, Speech, Essay; 1^st overall varsity
• Walter Wear:  2^nd in Lang/Lit, Music, Speech; 3^rd in Art, Economics, Science, Interview; 2^nd overall varsity
• Michael Fischer:  2^nd in Art, Economics, Lang/Lit, Interview; 3^rd overall varsity

Alternate Varsity:

• Cade Johnson:  1^st in Soft Science, Hard Science, and Humanities

Team:

• First place in Super Quiz
• State Champions

Robo Knights: State Champions, Two teams head to National & World Competitions.

At the Nebraska State Robotics competition two Mount Michael teams had outstanding performances. - More Photos

Knight Shift Team Members: Nolan Gottsch, Nolan Huetter, Nick Huetter, Reilly Jackson

Knight Shift took first place to become Mount Michael's first State Championship winners!
They were also awarded the state driver's skills award for the top driver in the state, Nick Huetter.
In addition, Knight Shift was awarded the event's Presidential  Award for overall excellence both on and off the field. 

They also qualified for a spot at the US National Competition at the Mid America Center in Council Bluff, Iowa in March and the Vex World Competition in Louisville, Ky,  April 15-19, 2015. 

Chase Goddard, Will Fleissner, Lukas Williams, Ethan Tylski, Blake Worsham

Team Talledega Knights made the quarterfinals.  

They also qualified for a spot at the US National Competition at the Mid America Center in Council Bluff, Iowa in March and the Vex World Competition in Louisville, Ky,  April 15-19, 2015. 

Ash Wednesday 2015

More Photos from Ash Wednesday Mass 

League Play Champions

The Knight Shift, consists of freshmen Nolan Huetter and Nolan Gottsch and sophomores Nick Huetter and Reilly Jackson. 

On Saturday February 14, Mount Michael robotic team "Knight Shift" won first place at this year's League Play Championship. They qualified to compete at the state robotic competition in Stromsburg, NE. February 20-21. Go Knights!

Jewell thrives in new position at Creighton

Dan Jewell | Staff Writer "The Mount"

Mount Michael alumni are known for doing great things after high school, but one alumnus is doing something a bit different this year. As a freshman in college, Kevin Jewell (‘14) is already making the most of his opportunities. Jewell is a team manager for the Creighton Blue Jay basketball program.

Jewell played basketball while at Mount Michael, but decided to become a manager in college based on the advantages he saw from it. “It’s a great experience. I want to be involved in sports in some aspect later in life, so this will be helpful,” Jewell said. As manager, Jewell has a variety of responsibilities. Mainly, he helps out at practice by running the clock and setting everything up (i.e. jerseys, towels, and chairs). He also cleans all rooms and facilities associated with the basketball team, as well as occasionally getting food for the players. His job includes, as he puts it, “everything except coaching.”

Kevin Jewell '14 (Holding Ball) Photo by Emily Jewell

“You learn to take care of your responsibilities and make sure it all gets done,” Jewell said. While many students find that college is a lot of hard work and have little time for extracurricular activities, Jewell has learned to balance school and managing, though he admits he sometimes struggles with it.

“It is extremely hard. It’s partly because I love managing and basketball, so I spend a lot of time at the practice facility. But my grades are good and I love what I’m doing,” he said.

Jewell believes he is a good manager which the Blue Jays’ starting center, Zach Hanson confirmed, saying, “Kevin’s awesome. He always shows up ready to work. He puts in maximum effort and you can tell he cares about Creighton basketball. His jumper needs a little work though.”

Jewell credits his ability to balance managing and academics to Mount Michael’s education system. He is never worried about finishing an assignment on time because he knows how to use time effectively. This skill is essential for Jewell to keep up with all his academics while also excelling as a manager for the Jays.

JEA winter regional contest

Mount Michael journalism students did quite well recently in the JEA (Journalism Educators Association) Competition.

Congratulations Knight Writers

First Place

Harrison Hohman-Sports Newswriting

Second Place

Joe Budd-Column Writing

Jackson Thompson-Review Writing

Indepth on Money – Lead Jack Morrissey, Team Young Joon Park, Harrison Hohman, Joe Budd

Indepth on Deans – Lead Jack Morrissey, Team Joe Budd

Third Place

Harrison Hohman- Newswriting

Joe Budd-Editorial Writing

Leo McGrath – Review Writing

Mick Steier – sports feature writing

Sam Van Haute – sports feature writing

AlumKnight at U.S. Embassy in France

Mount Michael Graduate Tim Fitzgibbons '93 and three other Nebraskans are serving in the U.S. Embassy in Paris France.

Quotes from Omaha World Herald Columnist and Alumni Dad, Mike Kelly:

Three former residents of the Cornhusker State are working together at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, and one took part in a recent high-level meeting about Ukraine.

They are Kimberly Krhounek, a 1984 graduate of Omaha Westside High and later of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Timothy T. Fitzgibbons, a 1993 graduate of Elkhorn Mount Michael and later Dartmouth College; and Bisola Ojikutu, a 1994 graduate of Lincoln High and then the University of Kansas.

Fitzgibbons repeated an embassy quip: “Our California boss said he is getting very suspicious of the Nebraska mafia in our section.”

....... Fitzgibbons, a state speech champion in high school, has served in India, Greece, Italy and the Dominican Republic as well as in Washington, D.C., and at the U.N. in New York. 

Tim is the son of Dr. Timothy C. Fitzgibbons and his wife, Therese of Omaha. 

See Complete Column

Wrestling: River Cites Conference

Congratulations to the Knights on their success at the River Cities Conference Meet!

106 2nd Place - Tommy Whitaker
113 3rd Place - Seth Broadstone
132 4th Place - Jacob Ramaekers
145 5th Place - Ian Alfieri
152 3rd Place - Jean-Marie Djidjoho
195 3rd Place - Ben Nigro
285 4th Place - Steven Schneider

State Qualifier: Seth Broadstone

RoboKnights Teams: 4th Place Out of 120 Midwest Teams & World Top 10 Driver Skills

This past weekend Mt. Michael robotics teams competed at the Benson High School robotics tournament.  Two Mt. Michael teams, Talladega Knights, with Chase Goddard, Lucas Williams, Blake Worsham, Will Fleissner,and Ethan Tilske, and the Knight Shift formed an alliance and made it through the quarter finals and into the semi finals. After going for the best 2 of 3 rounds, and losing one round by a single point, the Knights were second in their division and finished in the top four of about 120 teams from the Midwest.

The Knight Shift, comprised of Nick Huetter, Reilly Jackson, Nolan Huetter, and Nolan Gottsch, was also awarded the Driver Skills Award for the event. Sophomore Nick Huetter is now ranked in the top ten in the world for high school level drivers.  Go Knights!

Top Ten World Ranking for Knight Shift's Nick Huetter
Knight Shift Members: Nick Huetter, Reilly Jackson, Nolan Huetter, and Nolan Gottsch

District Champions

James Meyer, Jacob Bova, Max deMayo, David Mordan, Aaron Meyer, Nathan Thomas, Gus deMayo, Caleb Pflug

The Knights Keglers made school history this weekend by winning the first district title on the bowling lanes.  In addition, Aaron Meyer was the district singles champion with a 636 series (three games). 

 

The other teams joining MM at the Class B State Bowling Tournament in Lincoln on February 14-15 are Hastings, Gretna, York, Aurora, Lincoln Pius X, Grand Island Northwest, and Lexington. 

Quiet Student’s Talent Shines on the Lanes

Thomas D’Aquila | Staff Writer

Aaron Meyer’s unassuming nature may lead people to overlook him, but the bowling team knows this gentle giant to be a bowling wizard.

“I had bowling birthday parties at the old Elkhorn Lanes,” Meyer, a junior, said of his early years of the sport. “My dad always took me bowling and it was fun. I liked bowl­ing, so he eventually bought me my first bowling ball and I just sort of went from there.”

Junior Aaron Meyer preparing to throw a strike.
( Photo courtesy of Meyer family)

Meyer’s passion for the game grew as he began to view bowling in a more competitive light. “I started practicing the summer after eighth grade,” Meyer said.

He does feel that sometimes this sport is overlooked by his peers. “[Some people] don’t think it’s hard to do, or they see it as useless. But they don’t realize how much skill and dedication it takes,” Meyer said. “It’s not a basic sport, it kind of a unique thing.”

Meyer is not the only one in the family with the bowl­ing bug. Most of his family on his dad’s side have been on a competitive team at some point, reaching back to his great-grandfather’s love of the game.

More notably, Meyer’s father is a part of the coaching staff for Mount Michael’s team.

“He brings a lot of knowledge to the team, so I mostly look at him as a coach,” Meyer said. “[The team] respects him as a coach as well, but they also see him as my dad.”

Working so closely together Meyer and his father have developed a shorthand way of communicating during a match.

“We have a connection. Some­times my dad will give me a look that says ‘What are you doing?’ But I will give him another look that says ‘I got this,’” Meyer said.

For Meyer, being on the bowling team is not too different from the casual bowling of his childhood.

“I guess it’s just kind of the atti­tude, which is more focused on scor­ing,” Meyer said. “It’s more about trying to get a better score and focus, not just goofing around. I clear my head and think about the importance of the match I’m heading into,”

With a first place in the individual series at district and a second place individually at state, Meyer seems to be doing just that.