Jack Olstad, who will be features edi-tor; sopho-more John Lee, who will be entertain-ment editor; and junior Rachel Red-dix, who will be photo editor.

As editor of The Shield, Nixon, who will be a senior next year, will oversee the school yearbook. Nixon will be responsible for planning and directing produc-tion of the yearbook; this year, she helped edit and design senior yearbook ads.

Nixon’s staff will include freshman Brianna Cry, who will help design the book and take photos, and junior London Hat-ten, who will serve as photo edi-tor.

staff, direct news cover-age and lead an experi-enced editing staff. Paige, who will be a senior next year, has played a key role on The Bear Facts the past two years.

Her leadership and hard work are two of the reasons The Bear Facts was named best high school newspaper by the Missis-sippi Scholastic Press Associa-tion. Paige also won a first place award for feature writing and a third place for column writing at this year’s MSPA convention.

Joining Paige on The Bear Facts staff will be Greene, who will serve as managing editor; sophomore Jack Hall, who will return as sports editor; junior

Editor of The Bear Facts, senior Elisabeth Scott, says farewell

in an opinion column.

Page A2

Bear Factsthe

INSIDEn Opinion: A2n News: A3-A8n Entertainment: B4n Bruin Sports: B1-B2

FAREWELL FROM EDITOR

THE ROAR

JACKSON SIGNS WITHTOUGALOO

Senior Dymond Jackson signed to Tougaloo College to play basketball in the fall.

Page B1

Have a great summer!

VOLUME 17, NO. 5 l THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 l www.thebearfacts.net l ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL

‘DIVERGENT’ WORTH A VIEW

Entertainment Editor John Lee writes about what makes “Divergent” the blockbuster it is.

Page B4

from staff reports

SENIORS SELL,DISPLAY ART

St. Joe art students display their artwork at the school’s annual art show in March.

Page A6

Paige, Nixon to edit school newspaper, yearbook

Story by Bria Paige,photo by Elise Sheldrick

Members of the St. Joseph Catholic School Class of 2014 – one of the largest in years – woke Wednesday as seniors and ended the day as

graduates.Hours after graduation, St. Joe’s newest

alumni celebrated with a senior trip to Six Flags Over Texas. Graduates left the St. Joe campus at about 1 a.m. this morning and are expected to return at about 1a.m. Friday.

“What an impressive group of graduates,” St. Joe Principal Keith Barnes said. “They worked hard for the last several years. Their achievements are amazing. I wish them the best.”

I am so excited about the opportunity to lead the staff of The Bear Facts.”

– Bria Paige,a junior

“

See EDITORS, page A4

See SENIORS, page A4

Osborne, Chastain elected Mr. and Miss St. JoeSeniors elected Sam Osborne

and Anna Claire Chastain to rep-resent St. Joseph Catholic School as Mr. and Miss. St. Joe for the 2013-2014 school year.

The title represents the car-ing and considerate attitude the two show toward others. It also represents their outgoing person-alities and their leadership roles throughout the school.

Most importantly, the title highlights how involved and well-known the two are in the St. Joe community.

Chastain has attended St. Joe since the seventh grade. She is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, the National Honor Society and the retreat team.

She was chosen as Class Fa-vorite and as a member of the Homecoming court for two years. Chastain also served this year as student body president and cap-tain of the Spirit Steppers.

“It’s such an honor being named Miss St. Joe,” Chastain said. “It’s very humbling because I was voted on by the people I’ve gone to school with almost my whole life. And it means a lot that they chose me.”

Osborne also has attended St. Joe since the seventh grade. He is a member of the National Honor Society, the track team and the retreat team.

Osborne served as captain of the varsity basketball team. He has was in the cast of the 2013 spring musical, “The Music Man” and is a dedicated “Bleach-er Creature.”

He also was chosen as Most Athletic in his class.

Matthew Harkey, a St. Joe se-nior and Osborne’s close friend,

By HOPE ENGLEThe Bear Facts

Junior Bria Paige has been named editor of The Bear Facts, junior Jean-Nicolette Nixon has been named editor of The Shield and sophomore Noah Greene has been named general manager of Bruin Broadcasting for the next school year.

The appointments were an-nounced and take effect in Au-gust. All three students have worked for at least the past year on the staffs of The Bear Facts, the student newspaper; The Shield, the school yearbook; and Bruin Sports Radio, the stream-ing Internet sports radio station.

“I am so excited about the op-portunity to lead the staff of The Bear Facts,” Paige said. “I want

to build on the success we have experienced the past two years and make our school newspaper an even greater voice of the St. Joe student body.”

As editor of The Bear Facts, Paige will oversee the award-winning student newspaper

“This is a great op-portunity to craft a book that will document the school year in pho-tos and text,” Nixon said. “I’ve always wanted to serve as editor of the yearbook; I believe my drive and passion will help us create a year-book second to none.”

At Bruin Broadcasting, Greene will be responsible for supervis-ing and planning the weekly live Internet radio broadcast of Bruin football games. He also will serve as color analyst on the weekly broadcast and oversee the halftime interview show.

St. Joe streamed all football

Special to The Bear FactsSt. Joe seniors voted to honor Anna Claire Chastain and Sam Osborne as Mr. and Miss St. Joe.See HONORS, page A4

GOODBYE, ST. JOE

After a long high school career, hundreds of tests, untold hours of homework and a yearbook dedication to history teacher Sue Dickson, the Class of 2014 has said . . .

Greene to manage the Internet streaming sports radio station

BRIA PAIGE JEAN-NICOLETTE NIXON

NOAH GREENE

Members of the Class of 2014 pose with longtime St. Joe history teacher Sue Dickson. Seniors voted to dedicate the next edition of The Shield, the school yearbook, to Mrs. Dickson. The 2013-2014 edition of The Shield will be distributed to students early next school year.

THE BEAR FACTS NAMED BEST IN STATE

St. Joe journalism students take home more than 30 awards.

Page A3

ANNA EDGEVALEDICTORIAN

BAILEY BRILLEYSALUTATORIAN

RAMSAY FAIRBANK

SALUTATORIAN

They liked each other enough to stick together and looked to the correct people to lead the class – which made them better.”

– Linda King, school librarian and chair of English

“

who would be here. The three of us were coming from Madison Middle School, and we did not know what to expect.

Coming into a new community at a new school was scary.

I realized that the majority of the students in seventh grade already knew each other because they were coming from St. Richard Catholic School.

But a few students, like myself, came from public school, St. Terese, or Holy Child.

With a great number of the seventh grade class previously having formed relationships and

As the school year comes to a close and students, faculty and staff get ready for

summer, it has finally sunk in for the seniors that these will be the final days for uniforms, school Masses, morning assemblies, service projects, religion classes and many other events special to St. Joe.

We will soon leave this community to embark on a new world outside of detentions, uniform checks and tardies.

But in leaving St. Joe, we leave a school that has fostered our spirituality, educated our minds and built lasting friendships.

Spending six years here, I have made many memories. I remember my first day at St. Joe in the seventh grade. We came for orientation, and I was so nervous.

I only knew three other girls

friends. It almost seemed routine for anyone who goes through high school to do the same. It seemed like it was supposed to happen my whole high school career, like it was meant to be.

Everyone that I thought I would be friends with forever slowly drifted away from me and became just associates of whom I will have memories.

Don’t get me wrong; this is not a bad thing. It just simply happens. My mom reassured me of this when I would come home with tears on my face and feeling like I didn’t have any friends or anyone consistently being there for me.

My mom told me how sometimes you have those lucky people who find their best friend the first day of school, who they are friends with through high school and sometimes beyond.

“That’s great for them,” she said smiling. “Then you have special people like you that God is holding your best friend to

Junior year was definitely one of my favorite years at St. Joe. It was so much fun and a joyful year.

I was no longer the baby of the school, but I also was not the oldest. My best friend status was different at this time once again.

I no longer had the same friends I started with during my freshman year. Friends no longer mattered at this point as much as they did the years before. I started to realize how close I was to walking across the gym floor and sitting in the very spot where the seniors sat during morning assembly.

By the end of my junior year, I still couldn’t admit to my mother that she was right in her theory about how my friends will change, how I will grow away from most of my friends and how they will grow away from me.

When my senior year finally came around, I began to think about graduation, college and majors.

From the beginning, my senior year seemed to fly by. My friends changed, my perspective on life changed and everything my mom has ever said that will happen in high school happened.

I had limited myself to basically one or two good

Ever since kindergarten, I have always gone to different schools.

St. Joe is the first school that I have gone to for this long.

I remember my freshman year of high school just like it was yesterday. I was so excited to finally be in high school. I knew it was going to be a harder year with more challenges than middle school.

But I was ready. Freshman year seemed to be

the easiest year academically; my challenges fell more in the social area. I slowly thought I was finding my way around as well as finding my friends.

When sophomore year came along, it seemed to me to be the hardest year because I had to take geometry and chemistry at the same time – my two least favorite subjects in high school.

Distracted by the challenges with academics, I was no longer in need to focus totally on my social world. It was not as hard to have friends as it was during my freshman year.

I started to believe that the friends I had then were supposed to be my set friends. My best friend status started to fluctuate from one girl to another.

The end of my sophomore year came, and my best friend status changed once again. My junior year approached, and I start to look forward to my senior year a little more than I probably should have.

THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

Student Views

The BEAR FACTSBria Paige

Editor

Noah GreeneManaging Editor

Halle AndersonOpinion Page Editor

Terry R. Cassreino, Faculty AdviserKeith Barnes, Principal

Michael Juhas, President

The Bear Facts, the official student newspaper of St. Joseph Catholic School, is published at least once each quarter of the school year. This newspaper is devoted to the interests of the student body, faculty, parents, alumni and community of St. Joseph. This paper’s purpose is to reflect the spirit of St. Joseph Catholic School, keep the school community informed and help promote the school’s Christian values.

All stories and photographs are copyright © 2014 by The Bear Facts and St. Joseph Catholic School. Reproduction and unauthorized use of any article, photograph or graphic in this newspaper is prohibited without explicit written consent in advance. Contact The Bear Facts, P.O. Box 2027, Madison, MS 39130-2927.

Unless otherwise noted, opinions expressed on this page belong solely to the author or authors and do not necessarily represent the beliefs and opinions of the staff of The Bear Facts; the staff, leadership and administration of St. Joseph Catholic School; or the staff, leadership and administration of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.

If you disagree with any columnists’ opinions or want to share your own views, we invite you to submit a letter to the editor. Letters should be no more than 300 words. The Bear Facts reserves the right to edit letters for clarity. Send your letter by email to thebearfacts@stjoebruins.com. Or mail them to:Letters to the Editor, The Bear Facts, P.O. Box 2027, Madison, MS 39130-2927

ELISABETH SCOTT

“The student body.” – Jack Hoffman, a senior

OpinionPAGE A2

“Mrs. Walberg.”-Will Walenta, a freshman

“The teachers.”– Nickalas Sims, a junior

“ The unity.” – Meosha Smith, a senior

“Mrs. Mitchell.”-Katie Joseph, an eighth-grader

The Bear Facts staff members Whitley Panell and Jaela Hefner asked St. Joseph students what they will miss about St. Joe. This is what they said.

“The teachers like Mrs. Peaglar and Mr. Machado.”– Josh Clayton, a sophomore

HALLE ANDERSON

St. Joe is a very talented school. The spring play and spring concert were both a huge success as always.

We are so excited for all of the future productions at St. Joe. We can’t wait to see what changes the students will make in the future.

Not only will their parents will be proud, but we know the St. Joe faculty will be happy to have been a part of their lives.

Prom for the juniors and seniors and a few sophomores was very successful. Everyone had a great time and looked absolutely amazing at prom.

Prom was as successful as it was because our own student council worked on this important annual event.

The junior class raised money for prom, and the junior class officers, along with parents and faculty, did a great job decorating the venue and making prom the best it could be.

Prom wasn’t the only recent big event. Dance Marathon, in its fourth year, was phenomenal as always.

Dance Marathon, an annual event that began at St. Joe in 2011, raised more than $6,000 to go to the only children’s hospital in Mississippi.

We are so proud of the students who played important leadership roles to support and coordinate these events. The Dance Marathon is truly a great fund raiser because you have so much fun raising money for such sweet girls and boys.

Graduation is one of the last major events of the school year. We will say goodbye to the wonderful Class of 2014. A very enthusiastic and energetic class, the Class of 2014 will truly be missed. Good luck in the future to all the graduates.

This was a very successful school year, and we can only look forward to another great year at St. Joe.

Now my high school career is about to end, and I couldn’t be more excited to embark on new challenges and meet new people.”

“

Our ViewAnnual

events for the Joe

Saying farewell to high schoolcome at the perfect time.”

Who is better with time than God?

Life goes on further from high school. When you are in high school, it’s a transition time for your life ahead. It all makes sense as I head toward the end of my senior year. I’m supposed to change. My friends will change. My school work will change.

This was a time to learn about myself and the things for which I stand.

My life has been consumed with high school these last four years – as if I would never leave high school and my day of being a senior would never come.

Now my high school career is about to end, and I couldn’t be more excited to embark on new challenges and meet new people.

Maybe I’ll even get to find my new “best friend” status.

In ninth grade, I could barely imagine the day I would walk across the gym to the other side and sit in the senior section for morning assembly.

Yet again, with God’s help, I walked across the stage on Wednesday night to encounter another exciting side – this time being a St. Joe graduate of 2014.

Goodbye, St. Joe. I enjoyed my high school

experience here. But, just like any other senior, it’s time I look to new adventures.

Halle Anderson, a senior at St. Joe, has served the past year as Opinion Page editor of The Bear Facts.

established friendships, I didn’t know where I would fit in or if I would be able to find my place.

As the day went on, we split into homerooms and followed our schedule. Everyone I met was so nice and welcoming.

St. Joe started to feel like my

Just like it was when we first entered a new community at St. Joe in middle school, I, along with my fellow seniors, are about to venture into a new community outside St. Joe.

“

new home. As I met new people

throughout the year, I became involved in clubs and other extracurricular activities at St. Joe. The friends I made in middle school are still my core group of friends.

Just like it was when we first entered a new community at St. Joe in middle school, I, along with my fellow seniors, are about to venture into a new community outside of St. Joe.

We will go to a new place where we don’t know many people and where we will start fresh.

College can be scary, but there is a place for everyone. The best way to find your place is to get involved in what you like to do and meet new people.

Elizabeth Scott, a senior at St. Joe, has served the past year as editor of The Bear Facts.

College-bound and ready

proud of our students’ accom-plishments.”

“If you like to write, if you are interested in journalism, if you want to learn how to tell stories using broadcast, print and mul-timedia elements, then St. Joe is the place to be,” said President Mike Juhas. “We believe in a

Bruin NewsPAGE A3THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

KENT’S KAJUN KITCHEN

119 COLONY CROSSING WAY

MADISON, MS

From staff reports

We believe in a strong high school media program, and we seek to strive for excellence in everything we do.”

– Mike Juhas,St. Joseph Catholic

School president

“ OXFORD – St. Joseph Cath-

olic School student Jack Hall was named high school sports writer of the year, teacher Terry Cassreino was named newspa-per adviser of the year and The Bear Facts was named best high school newspaper at the 2014 high school press convention.

St. Joseph Catholic School also took home 33 other Missis-sippi Scholastic Press Associa-tion awards for The Bear Facts; The Shield, the school yearbook; and The Josephian, the school lit-erary magazine.

The awards included 16 first-place finishes in competition against 1A-3A schools statewide.

“What an accomplishment,” St. Joe Principal Keith Barnes said.

“These awards show what hap-pens when you combine talented, hard-working students with a teacher who can identify their talent and pushes them to do and achieve the best they can. I’m

St. Joe dominates journalism awards

Special to The Bear FactsSt. Joe journalism students attend the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association Convention this month. Back row from left: Charles King, Jon Dale Dieckman, Benjamin Payne and Jack Olstad. Second row: Jack Hall, Noah Greene, London Hatten, Jaela Hefner, Rachel Reddix, Mia Nichols, Bria Paige and Elise Sheldrick. Front row: Whitley Pannell and Katherine Mangialardi.

strong high school student media program, and we seek to strive for excellence in everything we do. These results underline that.”

St. Joseph Catholic School, located in Madison just off In-terstate 55 and Mississippi 463, offers seventh through 12th grade Catholic education with a rigorous college prep curricu-lum grounded in the teachings of the church. St. Joe is accredited by the Mississippi Department of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school, founded in 1870, serves students in the Greater Jackson area.

The journalism awards capped a full day for more than 600 high school students from 39 schools statewide who attended the Mis-sissippi Scholastic Press Asso-ciation convention at Ole Miss. Students, including a 14-member delegation from St. Joe, attended sessions designed to improve high school publications.

For the two statewide awards – the Orley Hood Sports Writer

of the Year and Joanne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year – the winners, Hall and Cassreino, were chosen from students and faculty at all high schools across the state regardless of size.

Hall, sports editor of The Bear Facts, received an award named in honor of the late Orley Hood, a

longtime, award-winning writer and columnist for The Clarion-Ledger.

Hall was recognized Wednes-day, May 14, at an event sched-uled for the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum – where he received a plaque.

Cassreino, in his third year at

St. Joe and second year leading the journalism program, began teaching after spending more than 28 years as a political re-porter, political columnist and editor at Mississippi newspapers.

Cassreino teaches high school journalism and eighth grade Eng-lish classes.

Bruins have best showing ever at journalism convention

Sophomore Jack Hall named Sports Writer of the Year; The Bear Facts repeats as Best Newspaper

From staff reports

OXFORD – Here is a list of all awards St. Joseph Catholic School and St. Joe students re-ceived at the 2014 Mississippi Scholastic Press Association Convention.

STATEWIDE AWARDSSt. Joe competed against all

schools across the state regard-less of size.

The First Orley Hood Sports Writer of the Year (named af-ter the late Orley Hood, a long-time, popular sports columnist at The Clarion-Ledger) Jack Hall. Jack was hon-

ored at a program Wednesday, May 14, at the Mississippi Sports

Hall of Fame and Museum. His name appears on a plaque that will be on permanent display at the museum.

Joanne Sellers Newspaper Adviser of the Year Terry R. Cassreino

THE BEAR FACTS STAFF AWARDS

St. Joe competed against small schools, Division 1A-3A, in Mississippi.

Best Newspaper First Place: The Bear Facts

Best News Writing First Place: The Bear Facts

Best Feature Writing First Place: The Bear Facts

Best Sports Writing First Place: The Bear Facts

Best Opinion Writing First Place: The Bear Facts

Best Adverting Design First Place: The Bear Facts

Best Print Design First Place: The Bear Facts

THE BEAR FACTS STUDENT AWARDS

St. Joe students competed against students from small schools, Division 1A-3A, in Mis-sissippi.

News Writing First Place: Noah Greene

for his December 2013 story about former Athletic Director

Flip Godfrey’s resignation. Third Place: Mia Nichols

for her October 2013 story about Homecoming.

Depth Reporting First Place: Nathan Gieb,

Elisabeth Scott, Maggie Smith for stories and photos from the 2013 March for Life. The sto-ries and photos appeared in the March 2013 edition of the news-paper.

Feature Writing First Place: Bria Paige for

her April 2013 story previewing “The Music Man.”

Editorial Column Second Place: Elisabeth

Scott for her November 2013 column on the value of student overseas travel. Honorable Mention:

Whitley Pannell for her Novem-ber 2013 column on the govern-ment’s inability to conduct busi-ness.

General Column First Place: Halle Ander-

son for her October 2013 column about her sister at St. Joe. Third Place: Bria Paige

for her March 2013 column on her tour of civil rights landmarks.

Sports Writing First Place: Noah Greene

for his October 2013 sports anal-ysis on Bruin football. Second Place: Jon Dale

Dieckman for his October 2013 story on the Bruin swim team.

Sports Feature First Place: Benjamin

Payne for his November 2013 feature on athletes’ superstitions. Second Place: Jack Olstad

for his December 2013 story on senior basketball players Sam Osborne and Matthew Harkey.

Sports Columns First Place: Jack Hall for

his May 2013 column on St. Joe track star Ryan Crandall Second Place: Jack Hall

for his December 2014 column about the resignation of Athletic Director Flip Godfrey. Third Place: Jack Hall for

his October 2013 column about Bruin football.

Sports Photos First Place: Elisabeth Scott

for her October 2013 photo of Bruin swimmer Walker Burrow. Second Place: Benjamin

Payne for a photo in the October 2013 edition of Bruin football running back Hunter Beene.

News/Feature Photo Second Place: Jon Dale

Dieckman for his November 2013 front-page photo of Chuck Dorian kidding a bronze giraffe – part of a story looking at super-stitions and athletics. Third Place: Sara Powell

for her April 2013 photo from “The Music Man” rehearsals.

Entertainment Writing Third Place: Jack Olstad

for his December 2013 entertain-ment column on Christmas films.

Reviews Honorable Mention: Noah

Greene for his October 2013 re-view of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Page Design Honorable Mention: Elis-

abeth Scott.

THE JOSEPHIAN LITERARY MAGAZINE

STUDENT AWARDSSt. Joe students competed

against small schools, Division 1A-3A, in Mississippi. Our com-petition included such schools as St. Andrew’s, Jackson Academy and Canton Academy.

Magazine Illustration Honorable Mention: Mary

Regan Baladi

Short Fiction Second Place: Shannon

Harkins for her story “A Fairy Tale.”

THE SHIELDSTAFF AWARDS

St. Joe competed against small schools, Division 1A-3A, in Mississippi.

Best Table of Contents First Place: The Shield

Best Sports Photos Third Place: The Shield

Special to The Bear FactsSt. Joe sophomore Jack Hall accepts the first Orley Hood Sports Writer of the Year during a special awards program at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on Wednesday, May 14. Standing next to Hall is Rick Cleveland, executive director of the museum and former sports editor of The Clarion-Ledger.

THE BEAR FACTS wishes everyone a

safe summer

Bruin News THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014PAGE A4

Special to The Bear FactsSt. Joe students celebrated Holy Week with a Mass. Senior Bailey Brilley gives a blessing to eighth grader Jamarcus Sutton during Mass. Brilley and other seniors attended their final school-sponsored Mass on Tuesday with the Baccalaureate Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Madison.

St. Joe’s Holy Week MassHONORS, from page A1

Sam Osborne, elected Mr. St. Joe, has attended St. Joe since the

seventh grade.

n Favorite Color: Blue n Favorite Movie: “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”n Favorite Food: Mac and Cheesen Hobbies: Basketball and track n College attending in the fall of 2014: Mississippi State University

MEET SAM OSBORNE

Anna Claire Chastain, elected Miss St. Joe, has attended St. Joe

since the seventh grade.

n Favorite Color: White n Favorite Movie: “Hairspray” or “Warrior”n Favorite Food: Chicken dumplings and tiramisu n Hobbies: Spirit Steppers and dancing at Ballet Mississippin College attending in the fall of 2014: Mississippi State University

MEET ANNA CLAIRE CHASTAIN

said he was glad seniors chose Osborne: “It fits him well. Every-one knows Sam Osborne.”

Chastain and Osborne plan to attend Mississippi State Univer-sity this fall. They said they will miss their class next year – one of the closest to go through St. Joe.

Chastain said she will miss hanging out in the hallways and seeing everyone. Osborne said he will miss the students.

“I wouldn’t be here without everyone else extending a hand to help me out whenever I needed it,” he said. “And I am also going to miss Mama Jean, the beautiful campus and the administration.”

EDITORS, from page A1games live on the Internet for the first time last fall.

Greene played a key role in those first Internet radio broad-casts, serving as color analyst for the three-man broadcast team and working on home and away game broadcasts.

St. Joe is the only high school in metropolitan Jackson in which students broadcast football games live on the Internet.

“Our Internet streaming radio

broadcasts were wildly success-ful during our first year,” Greene said. “I can’t wait to build on our success next fall.”

Terry R. Cassreino, the jour-nalism teacher who oversees student media, said St. Joe is for-tunate to have dedicated, talented students intent on informing the school community through the newspaper, yearbook and broad-casting.

Paige, Nixon and Greene are

effective leaders who will do a great job, he said.

“I am proud to be associated with such a great group of high school journalists,” Mr. Cassre-ino said.

“Our newspaper, yearbook and broadcast staffs are talented and hard-working. I have com-plete faith they will continue to improve our efforts to keep stu-dents, faculty, staff and alumni informed.”

SENIORS, from page A1

I wouldn’t be here without everyone else extending hand to he me out whenever I needed it.”

– Sam Osborne

“

Graduation ceremonies and the senior trip marked the end of a journey for St. Joe’s senior class – a journey that for many began six years ago when they became a Bruin in the seventh grade.

This year featured many milestones for the class. Among them were this week’s graduation activities, the final St. Joe prom last month and an announcement last week that the class will dedicate the yearbook to longtime world history teacher Sue Dickson.

Mrs. Dickson was surprised by the announcement, which was made during the senior class’ final morning assembly on Monday, May 12.

Seniors, though, said she deserved the honor.

“Mrs. Dickson is our favorite teacher,” said Anna Claire Chastain. “She encouraged us to have school spirit when we were in 10th grade. She helped make us into the class we are.”

Mrs. Dickson was chosen for the dedication after the senior

class cast ballots. The yearbook is expected to be published and distributed this fall after the start of the new school year.

Besides dedicating the yearbook, seniors also were faced with a decision where they will attend college next year.

National College Decision Day, officially May 2, was the

first time for many seniors that the beginning of their college journey was no longer surreal.

A total of 87 graduating seniors will disperse around the state and country, attending a wide variety of prestigious colleges and universities.

The majority of the members of the senior class already has decided where to attend college in the fall.

For the first time in a couple of years, more graduating seniors plan to attend Mississippi State University than the University of Mississippi. A total of 36 students plan to attend Mississippi State, while 17 plan to attend the University of Mississippi.

Although many call Mississippi home, 12 seniors plan to spend their college career outside of the state.

One of those is Bailey Brilley, who will attend Washington and Lee University – a private liberal arts college in Lexington,Va.

Brilley received numerous

scholarship offers from various colleges that amounted to $539,000 before he made his final decision.

“I’m excited to go to college out of Mississippi because of the diverse range of people I’ll be in school with,” Brilley said.

Brilley and Ramsay Fairbanks served salutatorians for the Class of 2014. Anna Edge served

as valedictorian of the class, giving the main speech during graduation exercises Wednesday night at the Jackson Convention Complex.

Linda King, who serves as the school librarian and also teaches AP Literature and Composition, said the Class of 2014 was a “very cohesive class.”

“They liked each other enough

to stick together and looked to the correct people to lead the class – which made them better,” she said.

The senior class also has had a profound effect on underclassmen at St. Joe.

“They were some of the most creative and funniest people I’ve ever met,” said Avery Pogreba, a junior.

Mrs. Dickson is our favorite teacher. She encouraged us to have school spirit when we were in 10th grade. She helped make us into the class we are.”

– Anna Claire Chastain

“

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER: FROM THE BEAR FACTS

Middle SchoolPAGE A5THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

By GRANT MURPHYThe Bear Facts

Eighth graders eye Youth LegislatureSuccessful stint at Junior Youth Assembly whets appetite for more

Beads of sweat dripped from his brow as he heard his proposal called up for debate.

He was seconds away from having to talk in front of a large group of other students. And he was nervous.

Every year, St. Joseph Catho-lic School students attend the Mississippi Youth & Govern-ment Youth Legislature in the fall – a mock legislature in which students write, debate and vote on proposed laws.

This year, eighth graders had a chance to participate. This year, St. Joe participated for the first time in the Junior Youth Assem-

bly – a similar program designed for seventh, eighth and ninth graders.

The program serves as a great introduction to the annual fall Youth Legislature.

Eighth graders who attended the spring conference will have an opportunity to sign up in the fall for the high school version of the program in November.

For Junior Youth Assembly, 24 eighth graders attended the three-day program at the Marriott and the old Capitol in downtown Jackson. The program started Thursday, April 3, and ended Sat-urday, April 5.

When students arrived at the hotel, they received a name tag with their name and stating whether they were serving in the House or the Senate. They also received the name of their politi-cal party and their committee as-signment.

Students received a booklet with a detailed calendar of events and proposals students authored and sponsored for the session.

The program began with train-ing at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“The first session was great preparation and an overview of what to expect the following few days,” eighth grader Blaine Turner said.

The second session that night was the political party commit-tee, where students presented their bill to a group of people for the first time.

At that session, other students questioned their bill – helping them prepare for the actual legis-lative sessions the next day.

Photo by Dena Kensey/Special to The Bear Facts

Some bills make up the plat-form of the Junior Youth Assem-bly governor, an officer elected in the fall by the Youth Legislature.

Two St. Joe bills made it to the governor’s platform; both passed and were “signed into law” by the Youth Legislature governor.

“I was overjoyed to hear that all of my hard work and dedi-cation paid off,” eighth grader Anna Baladi said.

Baladi and fellow eighth grad-er Jack LeDoux worked together on the bill.

“I was ecstatic when I heard our bill made it on the governor’s platform. I knew I had worked very hard on this bill, and I was relieved to know that my work paid off.”

LeDoux and Baladi plan to at-tend Youth Legislature this fall and Junior Youth Assembly next spring.

Another bill on the governor’s platform and signed into law was one eighth graders Allie Milner and Nina German sponsored.

Their bill called for children

with special needs having equal opportunity to participate in school sports.

“I have a friend with disabili-ties, and he was not able to try out or participate in the activity he wanted to,” Milner said.

“He became very sad and al-most depressed because he did not feel equal to the other people at his school,” she said, adding she was overjoyed when the gov-ernor signed her bill.

Photo by Dena Kensey/Special to The Bear Facts

Photo by Tanita Mitchell/Special to The Bear Facts

Honoring Veterans

Special to The Bear Facts

Science Experiment

St. Joseph Catholic School took 24 eighth graders to the 37th Annual Junior Youth Assembly Thursday, April 3, through Saturday, April, 5, at the Marriott in downtown Jackson. Front row from left: Katie Joseph, Abbi Grace O’Brien, Emily Hinds, Akili Lewis, Alexandria Smith and Hannah Toombs. Second row: Allie Milner, Carrie Ann Loper, Anne Mabry Walker, Riley Cole, Hannah Kimbrell and Brandi Palmer. Third row: Anna Baladi, who was named an outstanding senator; Olivia Rives; Linda Martinez; and Nina German. Fourth row: Jack LeDoux; Tre’Jan Rogers, who was named an outstanding representative; Grant Murphy; Blaine Turner; Caleb Pellegrine; and Sam Indest. In back: Nicholas Bouldin, who was named an outstanding representative, and Trey Frierson.

St. Joe eighth grader Tre’Jan Rogers, left, studies a proposal at Junior Youth Assembly. Sitting next to him are Sam Indest, Blaine Turner and Grant Murphy. Rogers was named an outstanding representative at the three-day conference.

I was overjoyed to hear all my hard work and dedication paid off.”

– Anna Baladi,eighth grade

“

St. Joseph Catholic School eighth grade student council leaders visited the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center Home on Saturday, April 12, 2014, to thank veterans for serving the country. While visiting, the student leaders helped veterans play bingo and served them cake and ice cream. Pictured here from left: Jack LeDoux, St. Joe eighth grade president; Jamarcus Sutton, the eighth grade treasurer; Blaine Turner, the eighth grade vice president; Brandi Palmer an eighth grade student body representative; and Allie Milner, the eighth grade secretary.

Seventh graders Josh Bailey, left, and Andrew Sheldrick dissect a sheep’s eye in Mrs. Katherine Horlock’s seventh grade science class.

Bruin NewsTHURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014PAGE A6

MADISON GARDEN CENTER

811 Madison Ave.Madison, MS, 39110

Phone:601-856-5554

Hours:Mon-Sat: 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

By KATELYN HANNEKE The Bear Facts

By HOPE ENGLEThe Bear Facts

St. Joe Astronomy Club reaches for the starsThe previously donated

Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is finally being put to use once again by the new Astronomy Club.

Most likely at some point you have wondered what the big sil-ver shiny dome is between the Fine Arts building and softball field. This silver dome actually houses a state-of-the-art tele-scope. It’s called the Hulett Ob-servatory and was donated and named after Dr. Hulett in 1998.

While the observatory has been sitting vacant for years, Mary Kathryn Wheatly, an 11th grader at St. Joe, came up with the idea to start the Astronomy Club and put the Schmidt-Cassegrain tele-scope to use. She also started this club because she has always been interested in the stars and planets

ever since she was a little kid. “My hopes for the Astronomy

Club are to further enlighten the students of St. Joe about the beautiful world that God created for us,” Wheatly said.

The club’s first meeting was a Sunday night at 7 p.m. in March. Around 20 people attended the meeting. The students got to go into the observatory, and Dr. Hu-lett explained to them how to use the telescope.

Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy and no one had a chance to look at the stars. Nevertheless, Hulett talked about the history of the first astronomer, Galileo.

At the next meeting, around 30 people attended and the sky was clear and crisp. With Dr. Hulett’s help, club members were able to see the Orion Belt – a constella-tion on the celestial equator. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the

night sky. It was named after Ori-on, a hunter in Greek mythology.

The students also saw Jupiter and three of the Galilean Satel-lites. The Galilean Satellites are the four biggest moons of Jupiter that Galileo was able to see with his telescope.

The Galilean Satellites’ names are Europa, Io, Callisto and Gan-ymede – all of which were lovers

of Jupiter. The night was ended by Dr. Hulett explaining the his-tory and origin of how Zodiac signs are determined.

The Astronomy Club encour-ages and welcomes any new members that are interested in joining.

“I really enjoyed it and learned a lot by going,” said Megan Pat-terson.

“I never knew how complex and interesting our universe re-ally is,” she said. “I think anyone and everyone should at least go once. You can learn a lot from Dr. Hulett.”

So far, the Astronomy Club has been a great success due to use of the Hulett Observatory.

If you are interested in attend-ing the next Astronomy Club meeting or have any questions you can talk to Mr. Matt Hosler, Mr. Mike Juhas, Mrs. Rachel Hill or Mary Kathryn Wheatley.

I really enjoyed it and learned a lot by going.”

– Megan Patterson, a member of the astronomy club

“

Seniors paint a vivid display for 2014 art show

Seniors expressed their cre-ative talents Sunday afternoon March 30.

Mrs. Lou Ann Turner, Pottery and Art III teacher for three years at St. Joseph, had been preparing for the show for months. The stu-dents had been working on art for the show since Christmas.

Once all the pieces were fin-ished, it took Mrs. Turner around a week to hang and position all the pieces of art students created.

The Art Show consisted of 150-200 pieces from Art I, II, III, IV and about 75 pieces from the pottery classes.

This means that most of the seniors had anywhere from five to 10 pieces of work in the show.

The art in the show included

water color paintings, oil pastel drawings, multi-media creations, and a wide variation of pottery.

A new thing about this year’s Art Show was that instead of it being Sunday from 7-9 at night, it was Sunday afternoon from 2-4. This allowed the already huge crowd that came to increase.

More grandparents and sib-lings attended now that it was at an earlier hour.

“As for this being the 10th year for the art show,” Mrs. Turner said, “I think it was the best show we’ve ever had.

“It was a representation of the past art shows and how they have led up to this year’s show. Plus, we had a lot of people show up and give great feedback.”

Another new addition to the show this year was that anyone who showed up could give feed

back on Fan Letters to the artist. They could express what they thought about the pieces and ask questions of artists.

Any of the pieces in the show with a red dot on the tag were for sale. The students got to decide which of their pieces they want-ed to sell and which pieces they wanted to keep.

If someone wanted to buy a piece of art, they had to talk

to the artist and discuss a price together. The students were in charge of their own sales.

The Art Show is of huge im-portance to St. Joseph.

It lets the word out about how far the seniors have come in their fine arts classes and how talented they truly are.

Photo by Mia Nichols/The Bear FactsThe Hulett Observatory is the main meeting place for the astronomy club.

Bruin NewsPAGE A7THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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This summer I plan to enjoy my time off of school and have a great time tanning.”

– Tori Cobb, a freshman

“

The play was different than anything St. Joe has done thus far.”

– Charles King,a sophomore

“

By BRIA PAIGEThe Bear Facts

An unexpected St. Joe play grabs local attention from WLBT

Although “A Raisin in the Sun” experienced several hur-dles, the play debuted on May 2 at 7 p.m. in the St. Joe Fine Arts auditorium.

The cast and crew of around 20 students along with director and tenth grade English teacher, Ms. Veronica Peaglar, worked tirelessly since January to pro-duce the play.

The production of “A Raisin in the Sun” was not in conjunction with the St. Joe theater depart-ment. The idea originated from Ms. Peaglar, who began the au-dition process directly following

Hansberry. Set in the South Side of Chi-

cago, the play gives a first-hand look into a black family’s expe-rience living in Washington Park subdivision of Chicago’s Wood-lawn neighborhood. Throughout the play, the Younger family ex-periences many trials and tribula-tions that test many relationships and situations.

The cast and crew, ranging from Grades 7 to 12, invested countless hours into the play in order to bring it to the St. Joe stage.

The play was unlike anything that has been shown at St. Joe. The production of “A Raisin in the Sun” brought a different per-

winter break. It was originally associated with the Black His-tory Month festivities, but had to be pushed back.

A historical play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” first premiered on Broadway in March 1959. The play was written by Lorraine

St. Joe students reveal their interesting plans for summer 2014By FRANCES HUFF

The Bear Facts

Toes in the water, sitting in the sand, or sitting at home playing a video game are just three things many people plan to do this sum-mer.

Summer is a time of shorts, tank tops, late nights and lots of sleep. Many people will spend their days sitting by the pool working on their tan, while oth-ers may be spending their time trying to catch up on sleep.

Because a relaxing break from the stress of school is great, many families decide to take off and

enjoy a family vacation.Sophomore Timothy Cook

said his family “always goes to a

lake in Alabama, and we always have a great time just relaxing and growing closer.”

Many families decide to take a couple of days off and enjoy a peaceful time to get together and enjoy themselves.

A lot of people enjoy a trip to the beach or travel out of town to see extended family that they don’t often see.

Other people decide that get-ting a summer job is the way they want to spend their summer.

Many upcoming juniors and seniors are out searching for jobs. Many people decide to be lifeguards, and others might de-

cide they want to work at country clubs or restaurants.

Sophomore Mackenzie Riley said, “I have applied to many different places like Sno Biz and places I would like to work. Now, I’m just waiting to hear back from them.”

Many people will be joining Riley in the job search, hoping to find the perfect summer job.

While a lot of people decide to be either adventurous in their travels or make money and get job experience in the summer; there are always people who just want to lay out by the pool and enjoy soaking up the sun.

“This summer I plan to enjoy my time off of school and have a great time tanning and spend-

spective to everyone in the audi-ence.

“The play was different than anything St. Joe has done thus far – both because of the student involvement and the time and effort it took,” said sophomore Charles King.

There was no charge for the play, but donations were wel-come.

The donations went to three separate causes. Concessions were sold and all profits went to Christ the King Catholic Church in West Jackson.

A story featuring St. Joe stu-dents in the play was aired on the WLBT evening news.

My family always goes to a lake in Alabama, and we always have a great time.”

– Timothy Cook, a sophomore

“

ing late nights hanging out with friends,” said freshman Tori Cobb.

Many people will join Cobb in having a relaxing summer soak-ing in the sun.

Many are all ready for the end of school, but it seems to some that summer is taking longer and longer to come.

While everyone has different plans for summer, there is one thing they definitely will share: a break from the everyday stresses of school and grades.

Bruin NewsTHURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014A8

Benefit concert raises more than $2,000

St. Joseph Catholic School’s Fine Arts Department hosted a benefit con-cert for Mississippi tornado victims in Louisville and Tupelo.

The concert took place in St. Joseph’s Fine Arts theater on May 9. More than $2,800 was raised to benefit storm vic-tims in The Rev. Lincoln Dall’s parish of St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo and other areas affected by the recent tornado.

Beginning at 7 p.m. with a brief prayer by St. Joseph President Mike Ju-has, the concert ran for approximately three hours.

The event was spear-headed by the St. Joseph band, jazz band and choir. The event was planned by Ronnie Rus-sell, chairman of the Fine Arts Depart-ment and director of the Bruin band.

Aside from typical choir and band standards, performers rocked the house with a rendition of “Stairway to Heav-en” originally by Led Zeppelin, “Hal-lelujah” popularized by Jeff Buckley, “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group, and “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley & The Wailers.

Mr. Russell commended all who par-ticipated in the event.

“I’m very pleased that the students had that sense of commitment to such a great cause,” Mr. Russell said.

“They did it because it was the right thing to do. The purpose for being here was God-driven. This purpose tran-scends the differences of the faiths. We all come together on things like this.”

Mr. Juhas also recognized religious service as a cardinal focal point for stu-dents.

“I believe it was heavenly inspired and an opportunity for our students to really make a difference in the commu-nity and share God’s love with victims of the recent tornadoes,” Mr. Juhas said.

“I am absolutely proud of the stu-dents,” he said. “They never cease to amaze me with their generosity, their support, and their overall excellence at St. Joe.”

After sets put on by the St. Joseph choir and jazz band, St. Richard’s youth band, sisters Maggie Smith and Ellie Smith, students Tess Lott and Helen Greene, and The Fabulous Sea Panthers, the tornado-victim benefit concert ended with a final performance by the popular band The Simple Gulls.

Although the event was to aid the victims of a horrendous natural disaster, that did not stop the performers from filling the room with as much artistic en-ergy and zeal as possible in the wake of such a devastating loss.

The soft melodies and acoustic gui-tar heard with Maggie Smith and Ellie Smith’s cover of “Demons” by Imagine Dragons followed in conjunction with Tess Lott and Helen Greene’s perfor-mance of the aforementioned “Hallelu-jah.” Both songs include themes of re-demption and hope for the future, which were the sentiments the event planners intended to convey.

Following a brief intermission, Mat-thew Hosler, the St. Joe Latin and cre-ative writing teacher, took the stage with his band The Fabulous Sea Panthers. They turned up the dial, adding an ele-ment of rock to the night.

The set featured their songs “The

Ballad of Trashius” and “Thanksgiv-ing Song.” The band’s chosen name has deep roots originating from a mosaic in the palace of Fishbourne, which was King Cogidubnus’s palace. It is studied by his students in Latin II.

Mr.Hosler also agrees on the ethics of a benefit concert.

“Anytime you get a chance to help someone out by rocking out, you say su-per yes,” he said. “That’s the beauty of a benefit concert.”

Lastly, The Simple Gulls took the stage. The band consists of St. Joe stu-dents: senior Loden Snell on lead vo-cals, senior Blake Rueff on bass guitar, senior Gene Loper on drums, and junior

By JACK HALLThe Bear Facts

Money will aid victims of storms that struck Louisville and North Mississippi

Photo by Jack Hall/The Bear FactsMembers of the Simple Gulls, from left, Blake Reuff, Loden Snell, Gene Loper and Warren Beebe perform at the May 9 benefit concert at St. Joe to help tornado victims in Mississippi.

I am absolutely proud of the students. They never cease to amaze me with their generosity, their support and their

overall excellence at St. Joe.”

– Mike Juhas,St. Joseph Catholic

School president

“

Warren Beebe on lead guitar. They opened with a medley of their

songs “I Know,” “Release,” and “Truth be Told.” After the rest of the set, they were greeted with applause and a stand-ing ovation.

The crowd demanded an encore. They obliged, continuing to conclude with their latest hit “Some Birds.” Their lat-est EP, “Moon,” can be found on Reverb Nation.com. As goes with the spirit of service, half of the profits are donated to charity to supply water to those in need.

The benefit concert put on by the groups at St. Joe will provide tornado relief for St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo and also a mission in Louisville.

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Images from the concert

Top left photo: Matthew Hosler, who teaches Latin at St. Joe, performs with his band.

Top right photo: The St. Richard Catholic Church Youth Band performs.

Bottom left photo: Members of The Simple Gulls before they took the stage. From left, Blake Reuff, Loden Snell, Warren Beebe and Gene Loper.

Bottom right photo: The Smith Sisters, Maggie, left, and Ellie, perform at the concert.

All photos by Jack Hall/The Bear Facts

This past year, we have had many exemplary successes with our numerous athletic

pursuits at St. Joe. Football and soccer

respectively reached their playoff opening games.

The boys swim team won its state competition, allowing for a new title to be brought to school in the team’s honor.

Bowling continued on its gradual slope to new heights, winning the district competitions for Boys’ and Girls’ bowling

Acquiring these feats is especially notable due to the fact that St. Joe lost its pivotal Athletic Director Flip Godfrey.

Godfrey passed the baton to new Athletic Director Miller Todd.

Approaching May, we had three sports still competing: baseball, track and tennis.

In particular, I’d like to single-out Bruin tennis. Under the leadership of Coach Lynn Ogden, this team has flourished.

Ogden came to St. Joe nine years ago, brought on as a tennis coach under former Athletic Director Bill Raphael.

Since then, she has managed and coached the varsity tennis team while simultaneously teaching health and physical education at St. Joe.

Ogden notes her keen ability of intertwining strict discipline into her routine, after-school practice regimen. Having been a former student of Ogden’s, I can attest to her no-nonsense style.

With tryouts in early fall and practice starting mid-winter, the team is continuously primed to be ready for any opponent standing.

There is no fault in her line up, either.

She strategically places her student-athletes with partners who will not only accentuate their own gifts and talents, but will allow for competitive matches against strenuous opponents. As a coach, she prepares them for the pinnacle of competition.

I’ve gathered through my time as sports editor that a team’s success is one part leadership and another part membership.

While a team may have formidable leadership on the court, the team must solely rely on the actual players of the game in a tournament atmosphere.

This is where all of the preparation as per the coach comes into play with her competitors.

The team came through in early May as they placed second in the state tournament.

Katelyn Hanneke has a full list of titles won in her article on Page B2.

The team will surely carry on with much strength and vigor in the following years as the younger members grow in skill and experience.

This small group of young athletes is headed in a great direction under the guidance of Coach Lynn Ogden.

Jack Hall, a sophomore, is Sports Editor for The Bear Facts.

Bruin SportsPAGE B1 l THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 l www.thebearfacts.net l ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL

From the Press Box

State of St. Joe tennis

JACK HALLSports Editor

how the sprinters prepared for the first meet.

“We are doing some mid-ranged running so far this sea-son,” Purvis said.

“We aren’t planning to do any-thing difficult yet until later in the season because we (took) these first meets as practice meets to see where everyone is.”

Along with the sprint teams, the distance team for Saint Joe went to both the Jackson Acad-emy and Madison Central invita-tional as well. The distance team also posses knowledge of well thought out strategies as well.

The Saint Joe boys overall placed fifth out of eight private schools. Also the girls placed seventh out of nine private schools at the Jackson Academy Invitational on March 19.

At the Madison Central Invi-tational the distance teams and field teams placed fifth over nine schools on Monday, March 31. And the sprinters placed fourth

The track season is over, and the St. Joseph distance and sprints track teams have performed well.

Both teams had been intensely training for the meets including district, regional, South State, and State meets. They also fought harsh weather conditions to prepare for the meet.

The teams trained and prac-ticed after school Monday through Friday after school.

However, each team had very different styles, strategies, and hopes when it came closer to the biggest meets in the track season.

The sprints teams had been practicing on the same sched-ule as the distance team has, but members had been trying to im-prove their running with faster times and shorter distances.

The coach of the sprints team, Coach Purvis, commented on

over seven schools on Friday, April 4.

There were so many members that ran in both of these invita-tionals.

One of the youngest members of the distance track team was Emma Dotson, an eighth grader at St. Joe.

Dotson talked about her prep-

arations for the past meets and the district, regional, and states competition ahead.

“The training I have done to prepare for the meets this sea-son involve the sports that I’ve played this year,” Dotson said.

“I ran cross country in the fall, and during the winter I played on the high school soccer team.

I also play on a select team as well.”

Dotson also ran in the first meets that the distance track ran this year. She talked about how she ran and her improvements she will work on.

By ELISE SHELDRICKThe Bear Facts

See TRACK, B2

St. Joe triumphs in spring track

Members of the St. Joseph Catholic School girls track team.

Story by Jon Dale Dieckman and Jack Hall

After a tough regular season, Bruin baseball players fought hard and became ...

DISTRICT CHAMPS!

The Bruin baseball team has won the 2A District 6 Championship title for the first time in 33 years.

On Monday, April 21, the Bruins competed for the district title against the Pisgah Dragons of Sandhill, Mississippi.

The Dragons were defeated by the Bruins earlier in the season by a score of 7- 4.

In this second game against the Dragons, St. Joe got off to a slow start by allowing a run to be scored in the top of the first inning. It was all uphill from there.

The team was determined to make this the defining game of the season. This district championship would be the ultimate prize for a team in the process of rebuilding its program.

The batting lineup was primed with the careful foresight of Coach Miller Todd. Bruins pitcher Thomas Benson was throwing at the top of his game. This allowed for the perfect balance of brute, offensive strength and keen defensive strategy.

They continued to pound the Dragons by getting into their pitcher’s mind, eventually ending with a Pisgah pitching change. After the change, the Bruins constantly racked up hits until the end of the game with the final score being 10- 1.

In conclusion with this championship game, the Bruins went undefeated in their District 6 2A season with a record of 8-0.

See BASEBALL, B2

St. Joseph Catholic School senior Dymond Jackson signed a scholarship on Friday, April 25, 2014, to play basketball at Tougaloo College next fall. Jackson was a key player on this year's Lady Bruins basketball team. Pictured are from left Mary King, Dymond Jackson's aunt; Marilynn Jackson, Dymond Jackson's mother; Dymond Jackson; Katina Henderson, Dymond Jackson's aunt; and Tina Foust, St. Joe Lady Bruins basketball coach.

Dymond Jackson signs scholarship to play

basketball at Tougaloo

St. Joe Bruin baseball had another successful season this year, winning the District title and heading once again to the playoffs.

Top left photo: Junior Nick Sims readies to take a swing during the Bruin’s April 26 home game against St. Andrew’s.

Top right photo: Senior Charlie LeDoux was honored on Senior Night. LeDoux was the only senior on the team this year.

Bottom left photo: Sophomore Fidel Bello plays catcher during a home game at St. Joe. Bello is also a pitcher and fourth batter for the team.

All photos by Helen Butts/Special to The Bear Facts

Ogden notes her keen ability of intertwining strict discipline into her routine, after-school practice regimen.”

“

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Bruin Sports PAGE B2 THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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St. Joseph sent a team of 12 students to the Ridgeland Tennis Center for the annual MHSAA Tennis State Champi-onship on May 2.

For overall team, St. Joe finished in second as the runner-up State Champion. St. Joe had previously taken first place in the tourney for the past five years.

Varsity Tennis is a constant reminder of the long hours and dedication St. Joe students put into athletics.

Also, the team is a reminder of St. Joe’s athletic successes across the board. The team had only lost two games this season, succumbing to Clinton and St.

Andrew’s. On individual events, St. Joe had

many gifted contenders that advanced to the finals round. A few of the athletes representing St. Joe rose to the occasion and were able to snag a win for them-selves, the team and the school.

This year, the team had quite a few tennis players walk away as state cham-pions.

They competed with the most arduous of opponents, the best in the state at that.

A complete list of finishers and cham-pions follows:

Freshman Stedman Strickland won the state title in Boys Singles.

Senior Nic Hembree and freshman Holt Stockett won the state title in Boys Doubles.

Sophomores Eliza Strickland and Genin Harkey finished strong as runner-up in Girls Doubles.

Junior Lucy Loveless and senior Mat-thew Harkey finished as runner-up in Mixed Doubles.

Other high school students that com-peted are Marion Welsh, Shelby Wil-loughby, Jack Hoffman, and Jamal Holmes-Griffin. They qualified for the state tournament prior to the date of the actual event.

The St. Joe Varsity Tennis team in-cludes events such as singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events. The team in-cludes any of the players for seventh to 12th grades.

The team practices at Ridgeland Ten-nis Courts and travels all around the

state to play the best teams. The seniors of the 2014 team include:

Shelby Willoughby, Jack Hoffman, Nic Hembree, and Matthew Harkey.

“The best part about tennis is really just the people. Tennis is a small sport so you get close to your teammates quickly, and it makes the season overall better,” said sophomore Genin Harkey.

When asked what she thought the hardest things about tennis were, senior Willoughby said: “The hardest thing would definitely be playing teams that don’t have a lot of experience or have a lot of beginners.

“It’s hard to play the way we know we can when they don’t really now how to play. We like a challenge.”

By KATELYN HANNEKEThe Bear Facts

Tennis team takes second in state championship

Winning the district championship surely helped the Bruins with the rest of the season. This win gave the Bruins a first-round bye in the 2A state playoffs. The Bruins made it to the second round this year.

This is the farthest the Bruins have ever managed to get in baseball. Todd said he was happy with the results of hard work and progress.

“With such a young team, I was so impressed by how they matured from Game 1 to Game 25 because they had a prize in front of them and they won it,” Todd said.

After the big win against Pisgah, the Bruins were humbled with a 10-1 loss of their own to rival St. Andrews. They bounced back with a four-hour, eight-inning win in rain versus the Murrah Mustangs. The final score was 20- 19.

The 2014 season was a success. A winning season, undefeated in district play, district champions, and a respect-able playoff bid all contributed to this.

Sophomore designated hitter Jojo Ka-tool summed up the year best.

“We did great this year,” he said. “The first time we won district in 33 years was a great accomplishment.

“We’ll work harder next year and hopefully go farther. We reached the second round of the playoffs, which is the farthest this team has ever gone.”

The Bruins must now turn to the next season. After the loss of many talented seniors from the previous season, Todd relied on freshman athletes.

As they grow in talent and skill, we should see the team as a whole improve. Sophomore Fidel Bello reiterated this.

“Our team is very young, ten fresh-man, five sophomores, four juniors, and a senior. The way we played this season was just great. Just imagine us in a few years when we’re all seniors. We’re go-ing to go far. You all need to watch out.”

BASEBALL, from page B1

With the 2013-2014 Bruins sports season over, the school in many ways met expectations and in some ways fell short of expected goals.

As Bruin football began in September, there were many questions about how the team would fair amid losing more than 20 seniors from the previous year.

Would this season be one of rebuilding, or would the Bruins come out and dominate the competition?

The Bruins got off to a rough start, losing their first two games.

And things would surely get worse before they got better for the Bruins.

The team was plagued by injuries. They had to step up their game if they

planned to make the playoffs.The Bruins, however, bounced back,

making it to the playoffs and finishing off the year as district champions.

Next year, the Bruin football team will see a slight change in the coaching staff with former head Coach Flip Godfrey having resigned.

Miller Todd has stepped up as head coach and is expected to lead the Bruins in a new direction.

Across the net, the Lady Bruins met their expectations reaching well into the playoffs before getting beat by Resurrection High School.

St. Joe’s bowling program improved substantially. The boys and girls teams achieved top honors and placed high in the district tournament.

Head Coach Dennis Dillon looks forward to a successful season in the

By NOAH GREENEThe Bear Facts

next few years to come.In boys basketball, the team went

through a rebuilding year – making it to the semi-final round of the playoffs.

The team ended with a record of 7-15.The girls team fared better, ending

their season on a winning note with an 18-13 record.

The Bruins went about wining tough games such as that against the Canton High School Tigers – a game that many expected the Lady Bruins to lose.

“All odds were against us,” said senior point guard Whitley Pannell.

“Everyone knew we were going to get blown out by 20 to 30 points,” she said. “But it was neck-and-neck the entire game up until the very end.”

In the pool and around the track, swimmers and runners alike had a successful year with the Bruins track

team once more becoming South State champions.

Swimmers also finished on a very successful note, with the girls winning the 200-yard free relay and the 400- yard free relay along with the several individual awards the team won.

On the soccer field, the soccer team competed hard as usual, going to the playoffs.

Lastly, the St. Joe tennis team had a competitive showing at the State championship with freshman Stedman Strickland winning back-to-back sets to become a state champion for the second year in a row.

Bruin sports: The year in review

“At the Jackson Academy meet, I felt good but did not think I ran to the best of my ability. At the Madison Central meet, I thought the relay team that we had was very good, even our replace-ment Maddy Davis did really good.”

Also, both teams had many new members running this year. They all steadily improved this year and contrib-uted to the innumerable successes St. Joe enjoyed this year.

So far, everyone is liking the training and the overall atmosphere of the teams.

Maddy Davis is one of these new members. She is a sophomore at Saint Joe and is enjoying track.

“The overall atmosphere was pretty

chill, and I got to see so many nice and the meet was really fun,:” Davis said.

“Also, I feel like my team and I did really good. We got second in both our races.”

Even though the amount of training can be difficult and stressful at times, all the coaches and runners are very excited to see the training pay off and to see what the meet has in store for them.

Dotson commented on her excite-ment and hopes of improvements for the upcoming season next year.

“Even though I feel like I could be in better shape for this race, I am very excited about running my own race and to get to experience it with my team mates.”

The Bruins finished strong this year.

Riley Reeves defended her titles in the 3200-meter race and the 1600-meter race.

After the loss of Ryan Crandall, for-mer state champion distance runner, many were sceptical on how St. Joseph would fare in the next season.

The Bruins have certainly proved their might this year. The season is over and many Bruins are proud.

Some were able to become runners, more veteran track athletes were able to improve their running capabilities, and a few others were even able to snag a the most coveted award of any trackstar: a state title for their particular event.

TRACK, from page B1

With such a young team, I was so impressed by how they matured from Game 1 to Game 25.”

– Miller Todd,St. Joe athletic director

“

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Students seek summer jobs in the metro-areaDealing with exploding

smoothies and angry customers are just a few things to look for-ward to while working this sum-mer.

Watch out boys and girls, this year is almost over. And with ex-ams just around the corner, a lot of people will be making summer plans.

Most people will be laying out with friends or spending long nights out having fun. But when it comes down to it, we all need one thing this summer: Money.

With nothing fun being free,

most people will be looking for a summer job. Even though sum-mer is less than a few weeks

away, it’s never too late to go on the prowl for a summer posi-tion. Unfortunately, most jobs high school students can get pay around minimum wage. But it’s still a great way to get experience and a little pocket cash.

The most popular and usually the easiest jobs for high school kids to get are jobs like working as life guards or at different small stores.

This summer, Jack Cottingham was able to get a job working at Smoothie King.

“I was looking for a simple job to get some money for sum-mer that would be easy and have pretty flexible hours,” he said.

The job has been fairly inter-esting so far.

“On one occasion,” Cotting-ham said, “the top on the blender wasn’t on tight enough. And while making a smoothie, the lid popped off and smoothie shot ev-erywhere.”

Another story is one of Domi-nic Indest, a sophomore at St. Joe. Indest has had no luck since he began his quest for a job.

He has gone to six different places looking for employment, and hasn’t had even one business call him back for an interview.

“I’ve really learned that no matter how qualified and out-go-ing you are, it’s still impossible

to get even a crummy job,” Ind-est said.

I was looking for a simple job to get some money for summer.”

– Jack Cottingham,a junior

“

I really like my job. It’s pretty chill and the pay isn’t bad. We even get snacks.”

– Christo Hicks,a sophomore

“

Eva Hill is another student who found a job for the summer. She will be working as an assis-tant at a veterinarian.

Another sophomore with a summer occupation is Christo Hicks. He will be a life guard at Briarwood Country Club in Jack-son.

“I really like my job,” he said. “It’s pretty chill and the pay isn’t bad. We even get free snacks.”

Jobs are a great opportunity to get experience in the real world. Your boss might not always be great, and the pay might not be what you want. But it teaches re-sponsibility and gives a taste at what’s to come after school.

State trooper discusses tips for safe driving On Monday, April 14, First

Class State Trooper Eric Henry, from the Mississippi Highway Patrol, came to St. Joseph Catho-lic School to speak to the school about safe driving.

Mr. Henry was invited by Mrs. Dana Caskey to educate students on driver safety. He had visited several schools in the area before coming to speak at St. Joe.

Henry spoke to the ninth- through 12th-grade students on several topics such as driving choices, consequences of bad driving habits, effects of driving under the influence, road rage, and distracted driving such as texting while driving.

He used a slide show presenta-tion with facts and videos about bad driving and its consequences to get his message across.

In 2012, 600 people lost their lives in automobile accidents. Sixty-two of the people killed were teenagers. Two hundred fifty-nine of the accidents were alcohol related.

Forty-three of the 62 teenagers killed weren’t wearing seat belts at the time of their accident. Also

in 2012, Mississippi Law En-forcement officers made 33,152 arrests for DUIs.

Henry taught St. Joe about the do’s and don’ts of driving. He en-forced the thought of making the right choices while driving.

Henry said, “The choices you make can affect the course of your life as well as other lives, so be very precise when making a decision when driving and think about the possible outcomes of your decision.”

He reminded students who

were about to go to prom to think about what they do while driving before and after prom.

He also reminded them of the zero tolerance alcohol policy for those under 21.

The idea of no texting and driv-ing, careful driving, and wearing seat belts were constantly rein-forced throughout the entire as-sembly.

Principal Barnes said some closing remarks after assembly covering some personal family accounts of automobile accidents and reminded students that driv-ing is nothing to joke around with because innocent lives could eas-ily be lost by one simple mistake.

When asked what he could tell every high school student if he could, Mr. Henry responded, “I would want every student to re-member that summer is coming up, and there will be a lot of reck-less behavior while driving.

“All drivers should practice safe driving especially this sum-mer so there won’t be many lives lost for preventable reasons. No drinking and driving, always wear seat belts, and no texting when driving. ”

Photo by Brianna Cry/The Bear FactsMississippi Highway Patrol officer Eric Henry discusses the aspects of being a safe driver on the road.

I would want every student to remember that summer is coming up, and there will be a lot of reckless behavior while driving.”

– Mississippi State Trooper Eric Henry

“

By BRIANNA CRYThe Bear Facts

By BENJAMIN PAYNEThe Bear Facts

EntertainmentTHURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014PAGE B4

Reddix Medical Group Supports

St. Joseph Catholic School

Luckett Land Title Supports

St. Joseph Catholic School

One choice can transform you… One choice decides your friends, your

enemies and your future. Once you make that choice, there’s no turning back.

I’d never read “Divergent,” so I had no idea what the plot was. I just started reading the book now, but it’s hard to read it at school because you don’t have much time before class starts.

I took a trip to Malco Theaters on April 12 and saw “Divergent,” and hon-estly, it wasn’t what I expected.

“Divergent” is set in the future, appar-ently after a huge war, and one of the only places that is safe is Chicago. The city has also been damaged from the war, but not enough to prevent civiliza-tion.

Their population is divided into five groups: Candor (the honest), Abnega-tion (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

Beatrice Prior (the protagonist) is finally old enough to decide on one of these groups. When she finally chooses, she cannot change her mind or even go back to her family.

Before anyone can choose a group, they must undergo a strange test. The test’s results decide what group you will join. You can either follow what the test says or listen to what your heart says and choose what group you think you belong in at the Choosing Ceremony.

For Beatrice, something different happens when she takes the test: her re-sults are inconclusive, which means she is a rare Divergent.

According to society, Divergents are a threat. Beatrice is told not to tell anyone about her test, and to choose what group her heart tells her to be in.

Beatrice had always thought that the Dauntless were cool and mysterious. At the Choosing Ceremony, she picks Dauntless, which marks the beginning of her journey.

I don’t want to give anything else away, so go see the movie and read the book, too. (It’s actually a series.) If you like action and romance, then “Diver-gent” is the movie for you.

By JOHN LEEThe Bear Facts

Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing a wonderful St. Joseph Catholic School spring production of the musical “Guys and Dolls.”

This musical portrays the city of New York during the 1940s and 1950s in a vivid and entertaining way. In this play we meet lovable guys and their beauti-ful dolls.

Nathan Detroit runs the oldest estab-lished permanent floating craps game in New York. He is desperately seeking a place to play while striving to keep his fiancé of 14 years from becoming his wife.

The musical includes gangsters, the famous Hot Box Girls, and a love story between a gambler and a Christian mis-sion worker.

The four main characters are Nathan Detroit, played by Brantley Bariola; Sky Masterson, played by Bailey Brilley; Sarah Brown, played by Maggie Smith; and Miss Adelaid, played by Megan Pat-terson. All were amazing and very tal-ented.

“Guys and Dolls” was directed by Neill Kelly of New Stage Theater due to the pregnancy of the theater teacher

What songs are on your iPod?

Mary Greene7th gradeDemons by Imagine Dragons

Maddie Davis10th gradePretty Hurts by Beyonce

Andrew Morgan 11th gradeBurn Bright by My Chemical Romance

Swayze McDearman 12th gradeFlashback by Calvin Harris

Carrie Ann Loper8th grade2’s My Favorite by Coheed and Cambria

By KATHERINE MANGLALARDIThe Bear Facts

Everyone has their own favorite music. Take a look at a few of the favorites on a St. Joe student’s iPod.

St. Joe’s 2014 spring musical spectacular By BRIANNA CRY

The Bear Fact

Mrs. Kenyon. The assistant director was St. Joseph junior DeZell Lathon.

The transitions from scene to scene were smooth and the background set-tings were creative and well put together by St. Joseph cast members.

The musical numbers were remark-able thanks to the vocal director/choir teacher Mrs. Molly Windham. The band was also amazing led by the orchestra director Mr. Ronnie Russel. The play included some of the best music you’ll ever hear such as “Guys and Dolls” and “Luck Be a Lady.”

The Hot Box Girls never missed a step in the production due to the chore-ography taught by Byron Joseph. Their costumes and high kicks also made the scene something to remember.

In addition, the costume designs of all of the characters enhanced the show in a big way.

The costumes were unique to each group of characters – gangsters, Hot Box Girls, craps shooters, and street walkers. Everything complemented each other from the lights to the extras and background settings.

“It has been an absolute joy for me to have the opportunity to work on a show with so much importance in my life,” Kelly said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with.

These students have worked extremely hard, and I am so grateful and proud of the work they have done on this show.”

Kelly, a graduate of the University of Mississippi, put together an amaz-ing show with smooth scene changes, a clear focus, and stability that is both impressive and unmatched.

No actor was out of place and even the extras were always precise with ev-

erything they did.The musical had an abundance of hu-

mor and gambling but also rich with an appreciation of love.

The sharp cast and interesting scenes made this spring musical excellent. The play wasn’t only quirky and entertaining but it also taught a lesson of the impor-tance of love and romance.

SUBMITTED PHOTOJunior Andrew Morgan performs with the cast of “Guys and Dolls.”

‘Divergent’worth seeing

Within the past five years, the use of social media has skyrocketed. One

of the most popular social me-dia sites known today is Twitter. Twitter: a social media site where one sums up their thoughts in 140 characters or less. So what makes this social media site so popular? The answer: it is a way to interact with celebrities.

Everyone has a particular ce-lebrity that they favor, but now there is a social media site in which they can keep up to date on their “interesting lives.” It has been proven that our generation idolizes celebrities much more than they were 10 or 20 years ago.

Many people like Twitter be-cause they can even interact with their favorite celebrities. If someone tweets a celebrity, ev-ery so often that celebrity replies or follows back. Viner Brandon Castillo has made fun of this in one of his latest Vines. He acts like a teenage girl as he sits in front of his computer screaming, “Marry me Harry Styles! If you don’t, I’ll die!” Now, I do admit that I did have an extreme obses-

EntertainmentTHURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 PAGE B5

I’m not a very good multi-tasker. No music helps me get into the right mindset I need to grade.”

– Tyler O’Hara, an English teacher at

St. Joe

“

 

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Music. It can dictate our

emotions and influence our mood. Some use music’s powers when working out, while others treat it like a metronome, helping them fall asleep.

Whatever the reason, music helps lots of people ac-complish tasks in their everyday lives.

Even though it’s filled with excitement, homework isn’t done in silence by many members of the student body. Righteous riffs from David Gilmour can numb rigorous hours of writing a research paper about fungus and its characteristics. This secret ingredient comes in multiple

Music can help teachers grade papers fasterflavors to fit any situation. Mozart for crafting an English essay or upbeat Sublime for knocking out algebra problems. But it’s not only students who use music’s inspiration to get stuff done; some of the St. Joe staff is among the admirers.

“Peaceful music helps me keep enter-tained and grade more effectively,” Mr. Brad Biard said. “Sitting there without some sort of ambiance is boring; it relaxes me.”

The sounds of Passenger, Damien Rice, and the Civil Wars play in the background to soothe the young soccer coach while he’s busy at work.

Go two doors down the hall and you’ll hear just the opposite: melody with revved up tempo plays along aside English teacher Mrs. Rachel Hill while she finds comma splices and dangling modifiers.

“If I listen to faster music, I focus

more when I’m grading,” Mrs. Hill said. “Without music, I take a lot longer to get through a stack of essays.”

These teachers hit play, sit back, and get in the zone, grading work like nobody’s business. Whether it’s tranquil or loud, music gives them the perfect state of mind.

After all, these teachers are the peo-ple who have been deemed worthy to put a grade on students’ work. They de-cide wherever students get an A or a B, pass or fail. What happens when they’re in a bad mood? They find a dent on their car and students’ grades become victims from the onslaught. Grade rage is just as serious as road rage, and other teachers have found their own cure to this major epidemic.

“What really gets me pumped while grading stuff are songs that my band works,” said St. Joe’s Latin profes-sor Matt Hosler. Without some sort of musical accompaniment like his band’s rendition of “Supersonic” by Oasis, Ho-sler is missing that spark of motivation to get on his work grind. “Songs that get me pumped make me get pumped to grade, too.”

Besides music, Hosler also listens to podcasts and even turns on his TV to

JACK OLSTADFeatures Editor

have “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” as backdrop to his grading environment at home.

If it’s not music, a few teachers have found other modes of inspiration while critiquing students’ work. Mr. Tyler O’Hara can’t have music while he’s grading: never have and not going to try anytime soon.

“I’m not a very good multi-tasker,” O’Hara admitted. “ No music helps me get into a right mindset I need to grade.”

If anything has to be in the back-ground, O’Hara finds an episode from one of his favorite shows “Seinfeld.”

“When an episode of Seinfeld is on, I know it’s funny, so it won’t distract me.”

So before you hand in your next lab report, make sure your teacher isn’t under the influence of a bad mood or bad music.

How today’s teens make pop-culture figures popularsion (which has thus far died down) two years ago with every-one’s favorite British boy-band: One Direction. There would be days when I, along with many other fans, would retweet them or tweet them to follow me a million times a day. Looking back on it, I realize that I wasted days of my life tweeting these ce-lebrities that would probably go on with their lives, never know-ing who I was. Now, it seems ridiculous to me. I could have done something more produc-tive with my life. I also real-ized that I was more interested in celebrities’ lives than my own, and that is because of Twitter. I believe that Twitter should be a site where you only keep up with your friends. When I say friends, I mean real life actual friends, not someone whose picture is hang-ing on your bedroom wall with hearts drawn around it.

I have now realized that we

put celebrities on an unnecessary pedestal, and we are likely to listen to them more than govern-ment officials, or even our own family. A celebrity makes a com-ment about troops in Iraq, and then all of a sudden people are saying, “Oh my gosh! Did you hear what Alec Baldwin said? He’s anti-war. That means that we should be too!”

Whatever Alec Baldwin thinks about military troops is Alec Baldwin’s opinion. He is an ac-tor, not a political official. Plus, everyone should think for them-selves and not have anyone, let alone a celebrity, influence the way that they think.

Plus, going back, I have real-ized that some of the tweets that I have read from celebrities sound extremely ridiculous and unintel-ligent. Yes, I can still be a fan of someone for their music, movies, etc, but I believe we shouldn’t worship a celebrity. Social me-dia has really played a big part in this.

We worship celebrities so much, that entertainers make fun of it. There have been sketches on shows such as “Saturday Night Live” showing how people

are obsessed with celebrities (an example being Paul Rudd’s One Direction sketch). Youtuber Shane Dawson has made a video titled “Celebrity Tweets.” It is a parody of Rihanna’s song “Stay.” In this video, he sings about ri-diculous tweets, Instagrams, and Vines that different celebrities have posted. It makes me ques-tion how celebrities have such a

KATHERINE MANGIALARDI

strong pull in our world today.So, what do you think? Does

our generation worship celebri-ties through sites like Twitter?

Here are some ridiculous ce-lebrity tweets:

Jessica Biel: “I work out ev-eryday – Monday to Saturday.”

Paris Hilton: “No, no I didn’t go to England; I went to Lon-don.”

Kim Kardashian: “I’m on the airplane... love wifi! I am sitting next to an Air Marshall! Jim the air marshall makes me feel safe!”

Charlie Sheen: “Why my bday’s better than yours; 1 I have 10 mil epic followers. 2 I’m me. 3 i can wear combat pj’s to work”

Snoop Dogg: “Flip flops n socks N a bucket full of tater tots”

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Nixon, Logue to lead Spirit Steppersfrom staff reports

St. Joe juniors Jean-Nicolette Nixon and Mary Claire Logue will lead the 2014 edition of the Spirit Steppers as captains of the popular dance team.

Dancers attended a clinic held at the school to learn three routines taught by the out-going captains.

Judges were non-St. Joe affiliated professionals from all across the state. The girls with the highest scores and highest kicks were selected for the team.

St. Joe revived the Spirit Steppers dance team in fall 2012. St. Joe teach-ers Natalie Case, an eighth grade Eng-lish teacher, and Cathy Thomas, a high school geography teacher, took over as sponsors last year.

Spirit Steppers perform at home foot-ball games, pep rallies, and other events during the year.

Anna Claire Chastain and Mary Jo Thomas served as captains of the dance squad last year; they both will graduate this year. Other seniors who will leave the team include Mary Zuniga and Shel-by Willoughby.

Nineteen people tried out for the dance team, but only 16 made the team. Of the 16, six are returnees from the cur-rent squad and 10 are new members,

Returning members include Nixon, Logue, sophomore Frances Huff, sopho-more Eliza Strickland, freshman Jackye Gregory and freshman Tori Cobb.

Right after warm ups on the final day, tryouts were held in the gym.

New members of the team include junior London Hatten, freshman Olivia Sims, sophomore Hope Engle, sopho-more Alannah Frierson, sophomore Emile Ursin, sophomore Marion Welsh, eighth-grader Helen Mary Katool, eighth-grader Hannah Toombs, junior Whitney Willoughby, and freshman Lucy Hamil.

“I was so excited when I found out I made the Spirit Steppers team,” Hamil said. “And I’m looking forward to grow-ing together with my teammates.”

I was so excited when I found out I made the Spirit Steppers team. And I’m looking forward to growing together with my teammates.”

– Lucy Hamil, a freshman

“

Photo by Cathy Thomas/Special to The Bear FactsJean-Nicolette Nixon and Mary Claire Logue will serve as captains of the 2014 edition of the Spirit Steppers dance team.

Photo by Mary Banks/Special to The Bear FactsMembers of the St. Joe Class of 2014 gather for a group picture after lunch during the class retreat March 26 at Camp Braton-Green in Canton. Standing in front are Trey Wright, left, Bailey Hamil, Anna Kathryn Moorehead, Casey Hall, Joseph Edge, Halle Anderson and April Fulgham. Standing in back are Mary Zuniga, left, and Mary Jo Thomas.

Senior Retreat

“Everyone loved this theme,” Mangi-alardi said, “especially that they got to dress up as their favorite superheroes.”

To keep the participants busy, the committee planned different activities to do throughout the night. Some of these included Zumba, video games, a perfor-mance by The Simple Gulls and getting a chance to talk to some of the children that have been at Blair E. Batson.

Andrew Sheldrick is a seventh grader who participated in Dance Marathon this year. This is his first time ever partici-pating in it. He commented on some of his favorite activities that went on dur-ing the eight hours he was on his feet.

“I really liked the rave and the free time that we had throughout the night,” Sheldrick said. “The rave was fun be-cause we could pick our own songs, use glow sticks and dance. The freetime was good, too, because I got a chance to talk to the kids.”

Along with the new seventh grade participants, there were a handful of seniors participating in their last Dance Marathon at St. Joe. One of these seniors

Bruin NewsTHURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014PAGE B8

The fourth year of Dance Marathon was phenomenal in raising money for Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital.

Dance Marathon has been an annual fundraiser to help the only children’s hospital in Mississippi. Participants stand on their feet for eight hours, from 4 p.m. until midnight. However, this year they did not just stand around, but they had a chance to do many other ac-tivities as well.

With around 50 participants this year, a group of people needed to plan what exactly they would be doing over the course of the school year. This particular group is known as the Dance Marathon committee.

This year the committee was made up of Katherine Mangialardi, Mag-gie Smith, Ryan Delmas, Jack Collins, Brantley Bariola, Elise Sheldrick, Jay Newman, Dezell Lathon, Halle Ander-son, Meredith King and Carruth Smith

All year, the committee has been put-ting together all of the fun activities, food and the overall Dance Marathon. Mangialardi was the head of Dance Marathon this year. She was head of co-ordinating the event and helped to give a true face to those in need.

The overall theme for this year’s Dance Marathon was “Fantastic Four” because it was the fourth year of the event. All the different participants were divided into teams and were to dress in certain colors of different superhe-roes.

Dance Marathon dances away with $6,000

was Anna Edge and she comments on her experience with Dance Marathon, and hopes for fundraisers like Dance Marathon in the future.

“I really loved the Zumba and hearing all the stories of the kids during miracle hour,” Edge said. She will also be at-tending Mississippi State next year and

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts Dance Marathon team pictured with children from hospital and the amount of money raised.

she's interested in organizing a 5k for a fundraiser at her college next year.

Not only were there just students par-ticipating in the Dance Marathon, but some St. Joe staff members came as well. These included Mrs. Banks, Mr. Russell, Mr. Hosler and Brother John.

This year’s Dance Marathon raised

$6,248, which will help Blair E. Batson with anything needed in years to come.

St. Joe will have Dance Marathon again next year with a new director, Dezell Lathon.

So come help Blair E. Batson and the children in the hospital, and participate in Dance Marathon.

By ELISE SHELDRICKThe Bear Facts I really loved the

Zumba and hearing all the stories of the kids during miracle hour.”

– Anna Edge, a senior

“

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Photo by Elise Sheldrick/The Bear Facts

Caroline Doherty, Elllie Smith, Natalie Ford and Kamryn Brown play volleyball in the gym.

Katherine Mangialardi and Linda Martinez smiling for the kids.

The Dance Marathon team leaders pictured with the kids.

Dance Marathon’s Captain America team.

Alex Jwainat, Brian Flaherty and friends dance the night away for the kids.

The Simple Gulls members: Gene Loper, Warren Beebe, Loden Snell, Blake Rueff perform for the kids.