PARENT NEWS
Parent Organization Updates
This second semester has arrived quickly, and there are plenty of exciting events for the Parent Organization. Planning for the March 20 “Puttin’ on the Ritz” Auction is well under way and many parents are working hard to plan a wonderful evening for all of us. Donations are now being accepted so please click HERE or contact any Parent Organization member if you have questions about making a donation or volunteering.
Last June, parent service projects started and many parents have given a great deal of time and talent to transform Holy Family Rectory/Saint Aloysius Convent into a usable space for school staff and parents. In August, we also had a wonderful time working with parents from Christ the King Jesuit College Prep to prepare for their second school year. In gratitude for all of you wonderful parents, there will be a thank you reception on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m. Please join us at 1019 S. May St. for refreshments and a chance to share stories and friendship.
Finally, please see Fr. Paulson’s letter above for information about the “Catholics at the Capitol” event on March 3. We hope some of you will be able to attend!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
SCHOOL NEWS
Fr. James Vorwoldt, S.J. Celebrates 50
th Year as a Jesuit
Fr. James Vorwoldt, S.J., founder of the Art Department and Saint Ignatius faculty member for 34 years, recently celebrated his 50th anniversary as a Jesuit. He entered the Chicago province novitiate at Milford, Ohio in August of 1959 but did not follow the usual path to the Society of Jesus as most young men in the 1950s. Most entered the order right out of high school, usually a Jesuit high school. Vorwoldt graduated from a public high school in Cincinnati and planned to join the Navy, but he later took a job with Procter and Gamble and then took courses at Xavier University’s night school where his interest in the Society of Jesus came out of his contact with his Jesuit professors. Vorwoldt’s work as a Jesuit is not limited to the visual arts. In fact, as a scholastic, he worked with juvenile delinquents in St. Charles, Illinois and as a newly ordained priest; he also worked with Catholic Charities on skid row, just north of Ignatius and even started a degree program in art at the American Academy of Art. (See full story by Dr. Raymond Heisler ’78 in the upcoming Saint Ignatius Magazine.)
Admissions Welcomes Hundreds for Open House
Saint Ignatius enjoyed a strong turnout of over 720 families and their prospective students at the annual Open House in December. After an introduction by Saint Ignatius President Fr. Brian Paulson, S.J. and Principal Dr. Catherine Karl, prospective students and their families followed current students on tours of the school, where teachers, club moderators, coaches and current parents met the attendees and answered their questions. Over 100 current parents generously volunteered to assist in hosting the event with efforts led by senior class reps. Thanks to all faculty, staff and parent volunteers for assisting in this successful day where the entire school got to showcase what makes Saint Ignatius such a special place.
Scholastic Bowl Team Qualifies for National Championship
Due to their 2nd place finish at the Loyola Ultima competition this past fall, the Saint Ignatius Scholastic Bowl team has been invited to participate in the 28th annual National Academic Championship. Congratulations to science teacher Frank Bellucci, who coaches the team, and all the students who participate. So far, the team is half way through the season and has finished in 3rd place or higher in each competition. A coaches poll of all participating schools also has the Ignatius team ranked 4th in the state. Andrew Deveau ’11, considered one of the best players in Illinois, has anchored the team this season. Shown at right after a recent victory is Michelle Yuen ’10, Jake O’Shea ’11, Amy Brabec ’11, Vincent Kenny ’11, Brian Kenny ’10 and Andrew Deveau ’11. The team will be hosting a competition at Saint Ignatius on February 6. E-mail frank.bellucci@ignatius.org for more details.
Opera Workshop Presents Rogers and Hammerstein’s "Cinderella"
You’re invited to the Opera Workshop. Performances will take place on January 29 at 7:30 p.m., January 30 at 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. and January 31 at 3:00 p.m. Each show will take place in the McLaughlin Theater at school. The program will include wonderful music and a stage performance by the Saint Ignatius choir and orchestra students. Tickets are $7 and can be reserved at the box office by e-mailing maryellen.schneider@ignatius.org.
Mission Collection is Underway
This year’s mission collection is going towards helping Living Water International and the Our Lady of the Angels school in Rwanda. The goal for this year’s mission is to collect $2 a month per student. Living Water International is a not-for-profit that works to help communities acquire desperately needed clean water. The group implements community-based water solutions in developing areas and has completed water projects for 7,000 communities in 26 countries. The Our Lady of the Angels school in Rwanda is run by the Benebikira Sisters who are an indigenous Catholic order of nuns in that country. They work to improve the lives of war-affected individuals in Rwanda including through the ministry of educating over 5,000 students (80% of them girls) in seven primary schools and 13 secondary schools.
The annual Jesuit Cup basketball games took place on January 8 at Loyola University Chicago’s Gentile Gym. There was another round of great competition between the Wolfpack of Ignatius and the Loyola Academy Ramblers with a huge turnout of alumni and friends to watch the girls’ and boys’ games. The girls’ team lost by just a few points but the boys’ team got out to an early lead and never looked back in their win.
Students Participate in Walsh Bridge Building Contest
Over 300 students participated in the annual contest this year by building over 200 bridges. Kelly Kohler ’12 and Cora Byrne ’12 won the competition with a bridge that held 13 bricks and close to 1000 times its own mass. Diane Casini ’13 earned 2nd place honors with a bridge that held 9 bricks and 800 times its own mass. Evan McHugh ’12, Jack Reidy ’10 and Austin Mroz ’12 tied for 3rd place for the two bridges they made as a team. Their bridges held about 700 times their own mass.
Congratulations to everyone that participated and thanks to the Walsh Group for their sponsorship
of the event.
Chinese Christmas Carols Liven Holidays
Students in Dr. Miriam Leung’s Mandarin Chinese classes took time during the last class before Christmas break to sing some classic Christmas carols… in Chinese! “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night” sounded great as the students performed for their classmates, Fr. Paulson and Dr. Karl. Dr. Leung’s lessons are designed to align with national standards for foreign language learning: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. Students gain listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Mandarin Chinese with a connection to social and cultural awareness and the goal is to use the language—to understand, to express and to communicate.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
FAITH MATTERS
Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Ignatian Values Day
On December 8, the entire school community joined the Church to celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary. This dedicated day away from class routines was a special moment of prayer for our entire community, centered around the Eucharist, meditating on God’s word and reflecting on the Grad-at-Grad value of Intellectually Competent. Students gathered in their homerooms to discuss what it means to be intellectual competent, described times when they were intellectually competent and watched a video of students from all grades speaking about the topic.
Students Give Back During Christmas
This past December, the Ignatius school community celebrated the ninth year of Christopher Christmas as our student volunteers spread holiday cheer at the Christopher School in Chicago. The 170 students who attended sang songs, played games and made crafts with the students of the Christopher School and all participants helped fulfill the wishes of over 200 grammar school kids by bringing them presents. Thank you to faculty and staff members Mrs. Susan Weiss, Mr. Bob Zigmund, Mr. Erik Eastman, Mrs. Kate Trinley, Ms. Maureen Lonergan and Mr. Peter Corrigan for their help in chaperoning and thanks to the generous donations from our faculty and students.
March for Life
Over the next couple of days, several Saint Ignatius students will travel with Mr. Steve Lord, religion teacher, to Washington, DC to take part in the March for Life rally. The event serves to memorialize the January 22, 1974 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. Please keep them in your prayers while they are away from school on this important journey.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
School Completes Recruitment Video
The new admissions video has been posted on the school’s homepage under the title “We are Saint Ignatius” under the heading “Quick Links.” We encourage you to take a moment and view it and think you’ll agree that it catches the essence of who we are as a school community. A special thanks goes to Mrs. Maura Maloney, Assistant Principal, and Ms. Beth Cummings ’01, Director of Admissions, for their efforts with this project. Maloney came up with the idea and put together the original layout, playing a large role in the filming during the spring. Cummings then came into the project halfway through and did a wonderful job with the final filming and editing in the fall. Thanks to all faculty and staff who opened up their classrooms, practices, dress rehearsals and club meetings to make this possible.
Annual Auction Only a Few Months Away!
We want to see YOU at the March 20 auction-- either as a bidder or as an event volunteer! Will you partner with us for the school’s biggest and most spectacular annual fundraising event? Guests of Puttin’ on the Ritz – Midnight in the Garden of Athena will enjoy a vast array of items from six themed auction tables. Cost to attend is $60 per person (parent pledge deductible), which includes hors d'oeuvres, dancing to tunes by Danny and the Danettes (Dan Lopatka ’06) and fabulous bidding opportunities. There will be a cash bar and guests must be at least 21 years of age to attend.
Enhance your chances to walk away with something special by buying a RAFFLE TICKET. In the
Tuition Raffle ($50 per ticket), for every 1,200 tickets sold, a full Saint Ignatius tuition for the 2010-11 school year will be awarded. There is no cash value, the prize is tuition only. You can also participate in the Grecian Gold Raffle ($100 per ticket). For every 1,000 tickets sold, monetary prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 will be awarded. In addition, SPONSORSHIPS are also being sought. Click HERE for specific sponsorship information.
Finally, in recent months, there was talk about using hand-held devices for bidding. However, because of technology-related challenges the hand-helds will NOT be used this year. We look forward to perhaps trying them at a future auction. In the meantime, click HERE to register today or call 312.432.8406 to donate an auction item or to volunteer.
Ignatius Families Help Raise Money for Tuition Assistance
The Dodd (Mikel ’12 and Sophia ’13), Devitt (Peter ’12), Lynch (Brian ’12 and Colin ’11), Piekos (Patryk ’12) and Troy (Andrew ’12) families recently held a birthday party for their sons and they invited the entire sophomore class. In lieu of gifts, guests were asked to make a donation to the Saint Ignatius Tuition Assistance Program in support of the sophomore class. This wonderful gesture fits in perfectly with the school motto of being “men and women for others” and we thank the Dodd, Devitt, Lynch, Piekos and Troy families and everyone who contributed for their support of this worthy cause. We’re happy to report that the fundraising effort netted more than $2,300 for tuition assistance!
