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Bishop's Forum
By BISHOP
GERALD A.
GETTELFINGER
Personal achievements
bring honor
There is wisdom in the statement: com-
parisons are odious. There is not one among us
who did not cringe when one of our parents said:
"Why can't you be like your brother!" or "Why
don't you get good grades like your sister?" Then
again the unthinking teacher on the first day of
school says namelessly to a freshman in high
school: "You are a sister to..." and -then pro-
ceeds to name the sophomore brother."
Last week I received a letter from a concerned
reader of the Message displeased with the com-
arison of Catholic schools to public schools made
y youngsters. The author of the letter asked
when we would get beyond "bashing of public
schools" and allow the goodness of Catholic
schools to be judged on merit. The point is well
made. It also reinforces the difficulty in making
comparisons in a global way. There are
nonetheless many, many reasons to celebrate the
achievements found in our Catholic schools.
Have you ever considered the daily miracles of
achievement that take place in our Catholic schools
when children and young people are able to stand
at the lectern at Mass and proclaim the Word of
God in clear and distinct fashion with proper in-
flections? Young people in the earliest grades are
able to express themselves before the gathered
assembly in prayer for parents, classmates,
teachers, priests, and for those fighting a war in far
off lands. Such achievements bring honor and
praise to God.
Then there are those moments when Catholic
school students are singled out for success in the
public forum. Comparisons are made in the
ultimate arena of competition. Students risk the
possibility of not measuring up to such competi-
tion, to the comparison. However, the miracle of
self-confidence rooted in personal talent, sound
preparation and reassurance from mentors gives
such students courage to step forward to the
challenge. The effort alone is an achievement
bringing honor to parents, teachers and fellow
students. When one wins the prize, however, so
much greater is that honor which all can celebrate.
In any given year students in our Catholic
schools bring untold honor to God, to themselves,
their families, their schools and their parishes. In
fact, it hapens so regularly that we tend not to
notice. When we fail to notice, then we have no
reason for celebration. When we can't celebrate,
we remember only the burdens that a Catholic
school can bring to a parish community.
Let us take notice of those achievements of our
young people! Let us celebrate those special
public moments. Let us remember those whose
names appear publicly and let us learn the names
of those who do not. Indeed we have reas/m to be
proud of them all who have excelled in speech
contests, spelling bees, acting, stage production,
national merit exams, athletic contests and
academic studies. Especially proud are we of
those who in addition reach out to brothers and
sisters in need both in prayer and deed.
School Notebook
Continued fi'om page 7
Eighth grade -- Matt Utley and
Melissa Kiefer, tied for first.
Geography bee
at St. James
Curtis Knapp is the winner of
the school geography bee at St.
James School, St. James.
Regional fair
Students at St. Joseph School,
Vanderburgh County, who are
participating in the Tri-State
Regional Science and Engineer-
ing Fair at the University of
Evansville are:
Kim Gries, Scott Tindle, Kim
Weber, Greg Raben, Erin Smyth,
Jason Gries, Nicholas Helmer,
Nichole Kempf.
Greeting
card contest
Julie Moll, a fifth grader at
Westside Catholic Consolidated
Intermediate School, Evansville,
has won a certificate of award for
her entry in the Xi Mu Kappa
Delta Pi Society greeting card
contest.
: Crypt selections are now
offered to Catholic
a pre-construction
basis.
Offeiing:
o Clean, dry, above-ground entombment.
• A beautiful chapel for committal services & private prayer.
• An atmosphere reflecting traditional Catholic beliefs.
• Mausoleum entombment at prices comparable
monument-lot burial.
Your pre-need reservation
will insure the crypt or
niche of your choice.
Geography bee
at Christ the King
John Grismore is the winner of
the geography bee at Christ the
King School, Evansville. Katie
Stumpf is runner-up.
Precious Blood's
orators
Students from Precious Blood
School, Jasper, won first, second
'and third prizes in the annual
Optimist Club Oratorical Contest
ST. JOSEPH CHAPEL MAUSOLEUM I
2500 Mesker Park Dr I
Evansville, IN 47720 [
Name ..... '
Address
City Zip ,, : I
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Why delay making this
important decision?
in Jasper.
Seventh grader Audrey Vogler
placed first; seventh grader Teri
Wehr placed second, sixth grader
Jarred Hopf place second, and
fifth grader Jayma Wehr placed
third.
Top spellers
at Preoous Blood
Audrey Vogler is the winner of
the spelling bee at Precious
Blood School, Jasper. She is the
daughter of Bernie and Donna
Vogler of Jasper.
Andy Staggs, the son of Stan
and Theresa Gehlhausen, is
runner-up.
Dental Health
poster contest
Three students from Corpus
Christi School, Evansville, are
the winners of the Dental Health
poster contest. They are Becky
Oliver, sixth grade; Stephanie
Ward, eighth grade; Becky
Schenk, eighth grade.
Math-a-then
Students at Corpus Christi
School, Evansville, have raised
$3111.05 for St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital in a math-a-
then.
Because the seventh grade
class raised the most money dur-
ing the math-a-then, they earned
five free dress days.
St. Philip's
musicians
Students at St. Philip School,
St. Philip, receiving superior
ratings in vocal at the University
of Evansville are:
E. W. Scott, Justin Scott,
Charles Seifert, Paul Stoltz, Scott
White, Mark Wildeman, Tim
Carleton, Niki Hemmer, Robert
Masterson, Matt Mills, Libby
Schenk, Peter Stoltz, Matt
Kirsch, Sarah Kirsch, Kelli Reid-
ford, Kelli Scott, Rick Stephens,
Amelia Stoltz and Kim
Wildeman.
Ryan McNally and Maria
Kirsch received second place
Mathcounts
at St. Philip's
Students participating in the
MathCounts program at St. Philip
School, St. Philip, include: In-
grid Meier, Jill Fehrenbacher,
Sarah Kirsch, Peter Stoltz, Todd
Winiger, Elizabeth Verkamp,
Mike Hemmer and Jenny Folz.
MHA forensics
Members of the forensic team
at Marian Heights Academy, Fer-
dinand, participated in the Term
Haute West Vigo High School
speech tournament on Feb. 23.
Students receiving awards
were Erum Mrza and Huma Mir-
za, discussion, first; Elizabeth
Watkins and Amy Hermann,
prose interpretations, second;
Lola Schiebler, poetry, second;
Ruby Corner, oratorical inter-
pretation, third; Emma
Verkamp, poetry; fifth; Angela
Harris and Angie Ryan, duo in-
terpretation, fifth.
MHA music awards
Students at Marian Heights
Academy, Ferdinand, receiving
firs! division awards in state
auditions in Indianapolis Feb. 23
were Rory Gillingham, Christine
Machicao, Itzel Martinez and
Keiko Obayashi.
The academy's vocal ensem-
ble. the Melodette, received a se-
cond division awards.
Mater Dei's
musicians
Members of the vocal ensem-
ble at Mater Dei High School,
Evansville, earned a Division II
rating at the state solo and ensem-
ble competition in Indianapolis.
The Mater Dei sudents are
Lauryssa Humm, Cathy Kitsch,
Leanne Preske, Stephen Master-
son, Katherine Werner and Greg
Williams.
Please send information for
SCHOOL NOTEBOOK to Mary
Ann Hughes, The Message, P.O.
Box 4169, Evansville, IN 47724.
The deadline for copy is 9 a.m.
the Friday before publication
