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September 19, 2013 Volume 26, Issue 2

InsideFather Andrew Has Exciting Plans Ahead

Page 2

Opinions

Page 6

Soccer Team Lives the Legacy

Page 7

Homecoming Preview

Page 8

Norwegian Ex-change Students Come to Aquinas

Page 2

Teachers Reflect on Vivid

Memories of 9/11

Page 2

Students never stop on GameDay

Page 3

“If You’re Read-ing This, You’re Probably Pro-crastinating”

Pages 4-5

Random Holidays

Weekend Weather

Countdown

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 21: International Peace Day

September 22: Elephant Appreciation Day

Friday Saturday

Sunday

54

56

5176 79

77

18 days until thenext Monday off

1 day until theHomecoming Game

92 days untilChristmas break

6 days until the Top Dawg soccer game versus Rockhurst

237 days untilgraduation

243 days untilsummer for un-derclassmen

NHS School Supply Drive: two or one (NHS decides)

Homecoming hallway: four, three, two (freshman get automatically get two)

Homecoming skit: four, three, two (freshman get auto-matically two)

Homecoming video: three, two, one (freshman get auto-matically one)

Can Food Drive: eight, six, four, two (bonus point available)

Magazine sale: four, three, two, one (bonus point available)

Basketball doubleheaders class attendance: two, one

Class Honor Roll (for each quar-ter) over 30 percent: two points25 percent-29.99 percent: one point

Class Service (for each semes-ter) 60 plus percent of class attendance: three points 59.99 percent to 40 percent: two points39.99 percent to 20 percent: one point Bonus point available to class with highest percent

Spring Olympics: eight, six, four, two

STUCO DARES GREATLY

The Saint Thomas Aquinas motto for this year is to dare greatly, which means to try some-thing that you previously thought was impossible and give it your all no matter what.

“To dare greatly means to take a step further to make this world a better place--you gotta risk it for the biscuit. I don’t want to look back on high school and have regrets about not doing something that I wanted to and not have even tried,” said Junior Class President AJ Meyers.

Math teacher and Student Council Ad-visor Jim Halling said, “To dare greatly is to do great things that you normally wouldn’t do. It doesn’t have to be some-thing really big, just something good—it can be small.”

StuCo wants every student by the end of the year to dare greatly and do something that they other-wise would not have done. They want to make every student feel that it is not just a school motto but a way to improve themselves while also having fun and growing together with their class. This is what Student Council is hoping every student feels like not only by the end this year but are hoping

that they continue to dare greatly even beyond this year.

“There isn’t really a specif-ic goal for me, just to have the officers set good examples of how to dare greatly and just show what it takes to be a good citizen and a good saint,” Halling said.

Meyers said, “The 28 StuCo officers aren’t just trying to get ourselves to dare greatly. We are trying to spread it to the entire school.”

StuCo is also very excited about class competition this year. Their goal is for each class to

grow closer together during this year, while also getting the entire school to bond more than ever before.

“My goal is for us to break the 2011 school record of 138 thousand cans collected during the can food drive,” senior Executive Officer Chris Ernst said.

StuCo is also very excited for another year of class compe-tition. This year’s activities that points can be earned in are about the same as last year. The biggest addition is points for attendance

at both boys’ and girls’ basketball games. The way the point system works this year is if there are a maximum of four points available for an event, then whoever gets first place gets four, second would get three, third would get two, and fourth would get one.

By offering class completion points for attending basketball doubleheaders, StuCo is hoping to increase school spirit and have bigger crowds at both the boys’ and girls’ basketball games. StuCo is also continuing to put an im-portance on what Aquinas stands for—excellence in academics, ser-vice and faith, and activities. They are giving class competition points for students keeping their grades up, while also they are increasing the amount of points for doing the class service project to help those who are less fortunate. By doing this they are hoping to make the service more year round than just at the end of the year.

“I love class competition. The unity each class shows during competitions is amazing. Some might say that class competition tears the school apart, but I think the exact opposite,” Meyers said. “It brings us together knowing no matter how bitter the rivalries get in the end were all saints.”

This year each class has a point goal that if they meet they will get a day off at the end of the year. The goals have not been set yet for each class but are going to be shortly. g

Class Competition Points

by JORDAN BARTZOpinions Editor

Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The ShieldJunior StuCo class officer Kyle Bollig discusses activities and themes for Homecoming Week. The entire StuCo meets during STA Period and are enthusiastic about getting the entire school to dare greatly this school year.

“The StuCo officers aren’t just trying to get ourselves to dare

greatly. We are trying to spread it to the entire school.”

AJ MEYERSJunior Class President

2 The Shield September 19, 2013

Campus News

From carrying the torch at Spring Olympics or cheering on the team at sports events to mentioning food at least once in nearly every homily, Fa-ther Andrew has been more than just a chaplain at Saint Thomas Aquinas during his past four years.

Although Fr. Andrew was assigned to leave Aquinas before this school year started and then was later reassigned back to Aquinas right in time for the new school year, Fr. An-drew will now officially be leaving his position as chaplain at Aquinas.

“I have actually received three assignment letters from the Archbish-op this year,” Fr. Andrew said, “and usually a priest might receive one.”

Fr. Andrew received his most re-cent assignment letter at the beginning of the month, and he will become the first priest to ever hold his new position as Director of Evangelization for the Archdiocese.

“I’m most excited about what’s called a New Evangelization [that Pope Paul VI, John Paul II, and Pope Francis] have talked about,” he said. “What that means is we don’t just talk to people who have never heard about Jesus. We want to reach out to folks who have heard about Jesus yet don’t really follow him as a disciple totally yet.”

Fr. Gary Pennings, vicar general and parochial administrator at Prince

of Peace, said he believes Fr. Andrew is a wonderful evangelizer.

“He has great energy, he loves Jesus and the Church, and is a great preacher,” Fr. Pennings said. “I believe the Archbishop thought that Fr. Andrew could make a significant contribution to the New Evangeliza-tion, which calls the Church to spread the Gospel message with new ardor [and] new methods.”

As Director of Evangelization, he will work with St. Paul’s Outreach, which is a group that works with young adults. He also wants to get campus ministry going at Johnson County Community College, and will work with Maryville MidAmerica which helps offer degrees and certifi-cates for teaching the faith.

With this new position, Fr. An-drew will also direct the beginning of a digital media center.

“We’re going to have all sorts of awesome videos that if you’re teach-ing an SOR class or a religion class or youth night or RCIA or whatever, you can go on there and pull up these videos,” he said. “Or just anyone can go there and learn about their faith.”

Father Pennings said Fr. Andrew will certainly “work to communicate [the Gospel message] in new and exciting ways.”

“He has a great imagination accompanied with great enthusiasm,” Father Pennings said. “I think he will bring a new level of energy and a new level of creativity.”

Fr. Andrew also said it is an exciting time for the church.

“The big thing is we want to change the culture of the church because as Catholics, we are so focused on just doing what I have to do—I have to pray, I have to go to Mass, I need to do what I have to do,” he said. “But we forget that Jesus has a church be-cause he has a mission to proclaim the good news to everybody. And that’s why the church exists.”

Fr. Andrew said it is tough leaving Aquinas but will still stay involved. He still will give daily Mass every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while Fr. Schmitz will give Mass every Monday and Friday. He also hopes to continue to attend some sporting events.

“I know Fr. Andrew loved his ministry at [Aquinas], and I’m sure it has been difficult for him to step aside there,” Fr. Pennings said. “But his work at the Archdiocesan level will be very important in carrying out the great commission that Jesus

has given the Church.”Meanwhile, Fr. Andrew will

be able to share his lively spirit and enthusiastic faith—and hopefully even his signature food-related homilies—with an even larger audience under his new position.

“What’s cool is that evangeli-zation isn’t the job for one office in the Archdiocese; it’s the job of every single disciple of Jesus Christ. And

being here at Aquinas, I’ve been able to see it,” Fr. Andrew said. “When someone gets fired up for their faith, maybe when they go on Kairos or some awesome experience before that, it really inspires me.”

“It’s not supposed to just be priests doing this [evangelization],” he said. “Everybody is supposed to value the faith enough to share it. We want others to share our joy.”g

FR. ANDREW APPOINTED TO DIRECTOR OF EVANGELIZATION

Photo by BRYAN ZACK | The ShieldFr. Andrew (center) and Fr. Schmitz (second from right) get pumped up for the Troop Out soccer game along with some other priests. Father Andrew hopes to still attend some Aquinas sports games. “It’s tough leaving Aquinas. I’m really excited that Fr. Dan is the chaplain, and I’m excited for the community to get to know him, but it’s hard [to leave],” Fr. Andrew said.

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

Fr. Andrew has left his position as chaplain but has moved on toa position that allows him to evangelize to even more people.

Although 12 years have passed, the day remains one that brings back haunting memories.

INITIALS IN THE DUST“When those towers fell, I knew

at that moment that I lost friends. I didn’t know who at the time, but I knew I lost guys—friends,” Guided Studies teacher Charlie Lamont said.

Lamont grew up in a New York neighborhood where many of his friends’ dads were cops and firemen, in-cluding his own dad. Many of Lamont’s friends ended up following in their dads’ footsteps, becoming New York City policemen and firemen as well.

He ended up losing four of friends from his New York neighbor-hood on 9/11.

“They last they heard from one friend of mine, he was on about the 40th floor in the south tower. They have a radio transmission of him about five minutes before the first tower [the South Tower] collapsed,” Lamont said. “I heard the tape a couple years ago, and it puts a lump in your throat when you hear him. And he was just going about business, him and his men. He was a chief.”

“They were doing their job, having no thought that in five minutes the building was going to collapse and they were going to be dead,” he said.

Although Lamont was living in Kansas at the time, his family and many of his friends lived in New York City.

He first heard from his brother on Sept. 12. His brother had been in the tower switching trains at the subway station less than thirty minutes before the first tower was hit. By the time his brother had arrived at his office in New Jersey, the first tower had been hit. The windows of his brother’s office faced Manhattan, so the whole office was wondering what had hap-pened to the World Trade Center; all they could see was black smoke.

At that time, his brother saw a plane flying near the Statue of Liberty, which his brother thought was strange because not only was it flying low, but it was also out of the normal flight path for planes. This plane ended up taking the lives of thousands of people. Out of his office window, his brother watched the second plane hit the tower.

“I had a sense of helpless-ness being out here in the Johnson County safety net. The buddies of mine, I know their families were just devastated, but I couldn’t do anything for them,” Lamont said. “I felt a little guilty being so safe, knowing that they were going through a living hell.”

For Lamont, 9/11 serves as a reminder of the pain that occurred.

“I know it’s a difficult day in New York City, and I think it always will be a difficult day. It’s going to take a long, long time for that hurt—for that pain—to be erased,” Lamont said, “and I don’t think it ever will be.”

He also emphasized how 9/11 is completely different to New York City and Washington, D.C. than it is to the rest of the nation.

“I don’t think the kids in Kansas

could even relate to it. It’s more like a movie to them,” he said. “But if you didn’t live in New York City, if you didn’t live in Washington, D.C., if you didn’t have someone on that plan in Pennsylvania that crashed, it’s an abstract event. Yes, we all know about it, we can see the video tapes, [but] to us in Kansas it’s just something that happened to New York, yet in New York it’s a tragic moment.”

Yet Lamont remembers the World Trade Center and 9/11 through an experience he had when he first went back to New York City the Christmas after 9/11 and visited Ground Zero. He said New York City just did not seem the same.

“There were [Christmas] lights up, there was the Rockefeller Center tree, the skating rink at Rockefeller center, Radio City had the Christmas show, but I can honestly say Christ-mas 2001 in New York City [had] a definite different feel to it,” Lamont said. “You couldn’t see it, but you could definitely sense it. It deeply, profoundly affected the entire city.”

A few days after Christmas, Lam-ont went to the pit—where the tower fell—with some of his friends who were fireman. At the time, everything was a third to a half cleaned up, but

it still smelled like a combination of electrical fire, paper fire, and human decay, and fine dust surrounded the entire area, according to Lamont. Lamont said it was a very emotional experience, knowing it was where four of his friends had died.

Lamont got down on one knee to say a quick prayer. In the dust, he wrote the initials of his wife who had died in May of 2001 and the initials of his friends who had died on 9/11. He dropped to a second knee and a friend of his, the police captain, knelt and prayed with him as well.

When they stood up, there were two New York City firemen who hugged him and his friend.

“And when they hugged us and I hugged them, the dust went flying, and one fireman said to me, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ That’s all he said to me, and that was really emotional. But it was a great moment,” Lamont said.

“There were thousands of those moments down there daily, but that was my little snippet of the Trade Center disaster: the fireman saying ‘it’s going to be okay,’” Lamont said. “And when I left, my wife’s initials were in the dust, my four buddies’ initials were in the dust, and I just put a little cross above the five initials.”

MEMORIES OF A DAILY LANDSCAPE

“The Twin Towers were part of my normal landscape,” said social studies teacher Sean Reilly.

Reilly had many connections to the towers at the time of the tragedy. His uncle was a construction builder who helped construct the towers. Reilly’s cousin was a lawyer, whose office was on the 91st floor of one of the towers. Reilly used to get off the subway at one of the towers to go to

work four blocks away. He would also visit family in New Jersey and take the ferry boat from the back side of the towers.

“Seeing [the towers] collapse was like I was watching a movie,” Reilly said, “but once I was over the shock, I went into full press mode of finding out if family and friends were okay.”

Reilly also spoke of the reaction of his friend John Paul DeVito, who visited Aquinas on the 10th anniver-sary of 9/11. DeVito led his office down from the 87th floor.

“He stared death in the eye and never lost his cool while leading many folks through fire, smoke, debris, and water to safety,” Reilly said. “John relates that he witnessed the best in mankind that day.”

“It does not matter one’s race, re-ligion, or gender—people came togeth-er to help one another,” Reilly said. “In the aftermath of evil, kindness, caring, and brotherhood won out.”

A DAY TO NEVER FORGET“I had a brother-in-law who was

in the navy side of the pentagon. The plane came into the navy side, and a fireball went up and over his office—over him—but he was able to get out, [although] his office was totally

destroyed,” said theology teacher Mary Ann Zande.

9/11, however, was a day of distress for her and her family because they did not know at the time whether he was safe or not. Zande, who is from New Jersey, was teaching at Ascension during the time of the attack.

“I went home at lunch time hoping to get through and of course all of the lines were busy. As I was walking out the door, the phone rang, and it happened to be my brother-in-law, and he just said ‘Maryann, I’m okay. I can’t talk,’ and he hung up,” Zande said. “So we knew he was safe, but we also knew the large loss of life at the point.”

Zande’s father also used to work in the World Trade Center on the 89th floor. The plane hit the 86th floor, so a lot of his friends from his business were killed during the tragedy. He was also the fire marshall during his time there, so he was the person that made sure everybody got out of the floor and down the buildings and was quite familiar with the procedures.

Zande hopes this is a day that will always be remembered and hon-ored. She had her seventh and eighth grade students write journals for the weeks that followed so that they could always remember how they felt after the attacks.

Zande explained that when she previously student-taught history, she would talk about Kennedy’s assassi-nation, which was a vivid memory for her because she experienced it when she was four years old.

“When I would talk to my students about it, they would look at me like I might as well be talking about Abraham Lincoln. That’s my fear with this. The seniors, who were kindergartners [at the time of 9/11], may have memories, but most of it is probably are of what [they] read and saw on T.V. as [they] get older,” Zande said. “So it’s something I hope we don’t forget as a nation.”g

9/11 STILL REMEMBEREDby ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

Junior Karoline Skjevik and Senior Kristiane Westgaard had never experienced a Friday night football game—a primarily American high school tradition—until this month.

“I think the biggest difference [between America and back home] is you have sports and clubs and high school spirit, and we don’t have that,” Westgaard said.

Skjevik and Westgaard are exchange students from Norway and will experience American culture as they attend school at Saint Thomas Aquinas all year. The students did not get to choose where they wanted to stay in America, but rather wrote down interests and were given a place where the interests fit. Skjevik wrote down interests in several sports, and “they chose a place that have the same interests, so Kansas it was.”

Back in Norway, Skjevik and Westgaard speak Norwegian and take English as a second language.

“[English] is a foreign language for us,” Skjevik said, which might come as a surprise to Aquinas students after listening to their near-perfect English speaking skills.

However, Skjevik said the foreign language teaching style is very different in Norway and is more focused on conversational skills. For third lan-guages, Skjevik is learning French, and Westgaard is learning Russian.

“It’s different from how you teach it,” Skjevik said. “[In America] you’re almost obsessed with learning how to write [the language].”

While the length of the school day is nearly the same in both America and Norway, the education system differs.

“For me, school has been kind of easier because all of the tests are multiple choice, and I have never had a single multiple choice test in high school,” Westgaard said. “We have to write out the answers.”

Westgaard also said schoolwork in Norway is more self-directed. Home-work is not mandatory in Norway, and grades are based entirely on test grades. Skjevik said she was not used to having homework. Westgaard said she spends

more time on homework in America, but that it balances out since it counts for her grade.

Another difference the students have noticed between Norway and America is the amount of time they have after school.

“We have more time [back home],” Westgaard said. “When we get home, we have a couple hours to eat and relax before sports, and we don’t have sports every day.”

Skjevik agreed.“We do more stuff on regular

days with our friends because we have more time,” Skjevik said.

Skjevik and Westgaard both play tennis at Aquinas. Skjevik played tennis back in Norway. For Westgaard, this is her first experience playing tennis, but Skjevik said that it’s fun to see that “she is getting really good” at tennis.

Both noticed that food is very different in America and said that there are more fattier foods, fries, and fast foods in America. In Norway, they eat more chicken, vegetables, potatoes, and fish.

“Breakfast for you guys is like a big dinner for us,” Westgaard said.

They are also not accustomed to wearing a uniform because all schools in Norway are public schools.

After their year at Aquinas, both students will return to Norway for one more year in high school. Although Westgaard will be graduating with the senior class this year at Aquinas, Westgaard and Skjevik are actually in the same grade in Norway.

“They put me as a junior because I’m born in December and she’s born in October,” Skjevik said.

After completing high school in Norway, Skjevik is considering coming to America for college. Westgaard is considering starting her college edu-cation in Norway and then studying in different places.

But for now, Skjevik and West-gaard have several months left to experience America and Aquinas.

“I’m really glad everyone is so welcoming and nice to us and help us out,” Westgaard said.

Skjevik agreed.“Even the teachers are under-

standing and take it slow so I can understand,” Skjevik said. g

Photo by ANNIE SCHUGART | The ShieldKaroline Skjevik and Kristiane Westgaard are exchange students from Norway spending the year at Aquinas.

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

STUDENTS TRAVEL FROM NORWAY

“They were just doing their jobs, having no thought that in five minutes

they were going to be dead.”

CHARLIE LAMONTGuided Studies teacher

Teachers with New York City connections reflect on their memories of the tragic day

Two exchange students are adjusting to American traditions, eating habits and homework.

The Shield 3September 19, 2013Features

GAMEDAY AT AQUINASby Bryan ZackCampus News Editor

No matter what time you are at Aquinas on a GameDay, there is always something new and exciting going on.

The day at Saint Thomas Aquinas is about to begin. Yep, you read that right: 4:30 a.m. is when the football coaches and players start to arrive.

4:30 a.m.

6:00 a.m.

More than 100 members of the cross country team sign in to prac-tice. Senior Matt Wilderson stretches. Many of them are still half asleep as they sign-in for practice. The team is going for a run that could range from 3 to ten miles.

7:20 a.m.

The varsity soccer team attends Mass before their big showdown with St. James later that night. Show Choir has practice for 30 minutes before school starts. And Stagecraft is busy building the set for the musical.

The school day officially starts at 8 a.m. sharp.

8:00 a.m.

Mr. Best and Mrs. Flournoy leave Aquinas to attend a meeting at the Archdiocesan office about a world-re-nowned speaker, Father Spitzer, who is coming to Aquinas in October. Se-niors are learning how to make block prints in Senior Arts and Crafts.

9:00 a.m.

Junior Matt Brown paints his project in Mrs. Marstall’s Ceramics class.

11:00 a.m.

Mrs. Waters’ class does peer review and eats some food. Mr. Ewings’ class takes a vocabulary test with the Apple TV. Honors College Biology takes a test.

1:00 p.m.

Football practice begins with the stadium lights on and the sun below the horizon. Coach Mike McGraw instructs sophomore Alex Speckin. Players are working hard to prepare for their season opener in one week.

5:00 a.m.

The assembly begins for the Girls’ state soccer team. The girls cel-ebrate their fourth straight state title and their thirteenth overall.

2:00 p.m.12:00 p.m.

Students Tony Schiltz, Natalie Hickman, Nick Hagenkord, and Derek En-gel file into the lunchroom to eat and talk with friends. Students also get to check out the Spirit Shop to get the latest Saints gear.

4:00 P.m.

School supplies that were collected throughout the week are delivered to Resurrection Cath-olic (pictured are Megan Connor, Gabrielle VanHoet, and John Hartung). The boys’ soccer C-team kick off their game against St. James.

3:00 p.m.

Seniors in NHS are counting the supplies to see who gets points, then loading up the suburbans. Dance team is having practice after school, and Key Club is going to Ronald McDonald house.

The JV boys kick off their season against St. James. The Saints end the game with a thrilling game-win-ning volley by sophomore Cole Younger to win 2-1.

6:00 p.M.

5:00 P.m.

The tailgates are in full swing in the Aquinas parking lot. The Saints are get-ting hyped for the big game. The JV team is warming up for their season-opener, which starts at a later time today.“The heat wave is a concern for my office, so when I got to school in the morning I made a decision to push the games back and required water breaks,” Activities Director Sarah Burgess said.

7:00 P.m.

The main event of the night begins: TROOP OUT. Saints show up in their best camouflage gear to cheer on their Saints and support troops by sending letters to the deployed. The 3,000 plus people created the largest soccer crowd for an Aquinas home match, ever. Add to that a Grammy-award winning singer for the national anthem and a flag that took up all of the Shield. Saint James scored the first goal but then Aquinas junior Kevin Feuerborn scores off the throw in.

The varsity teams tie Saint James after a double overtime game. “But both teams left nothing on the field. It would be hard for me to recall when two high school soccer teams played harder than those two teams tonight. It certainly wasn't always great soccer, but this was one heck of an entertaining match to watch with kids just competing, giving it everything they had for 100 minutes, 100 minutes,” head coach Craig Ewing said.

10:03 P.m.

10:05 p.m.

After the game ends, the Saints are ready to dance. The first mixer of the year gets underway and Saints show off their moves.

The day that started nearly 19 hours ago finally comes to a close.

11:00 P.m.

Jordan Barmby Angie Leek

Grace Geist Angie Leek Julie Tompkins

Molly Herbic Julie Tompkins Lindsey Perz

I F R

N G T IH ,SBI TE O

GT NITANISARCOY RU E

RP

IDAEREUOY

by ANNIE SCHUGARTEditor-in-Chief

Proc

rastination Playlist

9:45 p.m. - Stronger by

Kelly Clarkson (gotta get in the zone!)

10:10 p.m. - Don’t Stop

Believing by Journey (seri-

ously, you can make it!)

1:12 a.m. - Some Nights

by Fun (although this

night isn’t too

fun)

10:52 p.m. - Anything

Could Happen by Ellie

Goulding (really)

11:59 p.m. - Right

Now by Rihanna

(“tomorrow way

too far away...”)

12:19 a.m. - Keep

Breathing by Ingrid

Michaelson (because

all we can do is keep

breathing)

2:52 a.m. - Daylight

by Maroon 5 (How did it

come so fast? Has

the sun came out yet?)

Warning: We do not recommend this strategy. In fact,

we strongly advise against it. For use only in emergencies

(which is hopefully never).

my life is procrastination

How to Survive on Two Hours of

Sleep: Tips from the Pros

1. If you’re already addicted to caffeine, drink

caffeine. But if you’re not, DON’T. Drink water.

2. Fake yourself into thinking you slept way

longer than you actually did. Those two hours of

sleep were actually 12 hours! Pretty soon you’ll

be a master at lying to yourself.

3. Exercise! And exercise right when you wake

up, if possible; it’ll get your blood pumping.

4. Don’t put your head down in class... or you

will be out.

5. Go outside if it’s sunny! The lovely sunshine

will undoubtedly rejunivate your dark, helpless,

and sleep-deprived soul.

6. Take a power nap: exactly 18 minutes.

Are phones the greatest method of

procrastina-tion ever invented?

NOTE TO SELF: How to Stop

Procrastinating1. Prioritize2. Turn off Twitter,

phone, etc.3. Make a plan and stick

with it

4. Make a to-do list5. Eliminate unneces-sary tasks6. Take occasional breaks7. Go some place quieter

8. GET MY LIFE TOGETHER

4 The Shield

Ce

nt

er

spr

ea

dSeptember 19, 2013 5

“Where words fail, music speaks,” said Hans Christian An-dersen. I can’t stress just how true this is. If you’ve ever felt com-pelled to turn your radio up on

full blast, roll the windows down, and sing as loud as you possibly can, then you understand what I’m saying.

Throughout my life, I’ve witnessed hundreds of music combinations from smooth jazz to metal, and I haven’t found one type of music I haven’t been able to connect with at some level. From first grade to now, I have played instruments that bring some unspeakable happiness to my life. Starting out with piano, I learned scales and songs for five years. I then switched to guitar. I’ve been playing guitar for seven and a half years, and it is defi-

nitely what I look forward to on my down time. I also write music all the time. Writing music and playing guitar gives me a sense of purpose, I believe. I have recently started singing as well.

If I didn’t have music, I wouldn’t have a way to relax and let the stress roll off my shoulders. That is why I am strongly suggesting taking up music to all of you who feel like you are missing something in life. You won’t regret it, I promise. You don’t have to be the best in the world—I know I’m certainly

not—but you just have to relax and let the music consume your worries and troubles. Because in

the words of Kahlil Gibran, “Mu-sic is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”

If these reasons aren’t enough to take up music, how

about I explain how it has touched my life? This may sound cheesy, but I believe the music I write is the way I release my emotions and inspirations at the same time. For instance, I can write a song about the difficulties of a high school student (which isn’t much) and input roots of my favorite pop-punk genres at the same time.

Bottom line is, music is an important—if not one of the most important--things in my life, and I hope—no, I want—it to be a big part of your lives too. As Bono said, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” g

6 The Shield September 19, 2013Opinions

by HUNTER SILVEY BROWNLEEGuest of The Shield

WHERE WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS“If you’ve ever felt compelled to turn your radio up on full blast

[and] roll the windows down, then you understand what I’m saying.

This past summer, I attended a tropical medicine and ethnobi-ology summer program in Costa Rica through Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP). I, along with 25 other high school juniors and seniors from all over the country, had the opportu-nity to travel to Costa Rica to learn about medicine and the Costa Ri-can culture and health care system for two weeks. The typical day in this program was filled with lec-tures, hikes through the rainforests, and field trips to indigenous tribes.

Our instructors were some of the most knowledgeable teachers in their fields. Although we would sometimes sit through three to five hour lectures, there was honestly never a dull moment. Learning about topics like ethnomedicine, nutritional diseases, malaria, chagas, and medical anthropology were so fascinating under their instruction.

However, some of my favor-ite moments in this program were based on the activities outside of

the classroom. One day, we visited the Boruca Tribe, and they showed us how to carve their traditional ceremonial masks and how to make hand-woven bags. Another time, we toured La Selva Biological Station and saw a three-toed sloth and several toucans.

Most importantly, I found some incredible mentors and made many lifelong friends that I still keep in contact with. Everyone in the program was so supportive of me and really pushed me to excel in such a rigorous course. Going to this Duke TIP program has broadened my interests and helped me to decide to continue to pursue medicine when I go off to college.

I absolutely loved the entire experience, and the only thing I regret is waiting until my junior year to do a program like this. I highly encourage anyone to apply to summer programs and to start applying early. Spots fill up fast for competitive programs, some as early as December. Doing something like this is a great way to discover what careers you may be interested in or where your interests lie. And if you don’t want to travel outside of the country, or even the state, there are many great summer programs through colleges in Kansas. It’s never too early to start planning out your summer, so take a chance and look into these programs now! g

Look around. What do you see? On the outside, you may see a lot of happy faces—but in reality, one out of five people will be clinically diagnosed with depression throughout their teenage years. Now that you realize how many of the people that you love may be going through this rough time, we need your help.

Last week, Joe Karlin came to Aquinas and gave us a few pointers on “how to save a life.” He also shared with us his son’s devastating ending to his own life. Tom, Mr. Karlin’s son, was an average senior in high school. He was a part of my (John Viso) sports teams throughout his high school career. Tom was very well liked at school, which made everyone question “why?”

Tom started losing interest in activities and events that he once enjoyed. On Friday nights, when all of the others in his grade were at the football games, Tom would stay at home playing video games alone in his bedroom. You may be thinking that is just what every teenage boy does, but for Tom, that was just the beginning of a very dark ending.

On the night of Nov. 5, Tom Karlin took his life, leaving all devastated and questioning.

Later on, his family found out he was using illegal substances, which was an escape route for his pain. Through Tom’s story, we

came to realize that this is what is happening in today’s society, and we need your help to stop it!

There are three ways the Tom Karlin Foundation is emphasizing to help put an end to this: talk, listen, and act.

Some other ways that we think would be helpful include telling people how important they are to you and how meaningful their own life is. Make known that even though you may be going through a painful dark hole right now, things really do get better.

Lastly, people do care about you and are willing to listen and help. We want to stress that the importance of your life is so over-powering—more than you will ever know. Don’t let what’s happening in your life today affect what will be happening tomorrow. g

DON’T WAIT TO TRAVEL

ABROAD

REACH OUT TO STUDENTS

AT RISK

by NATALIE MAYERGuest of The Shield

by GABRIELLE VESTAL and JOHN VISOGuests of The Shield

“There are three ways the Tom Karlin Foundation is empha-sizing to put an end to this:

talk, listen, and act.”

Photo by GABRIELLE VESTAL

Photo courtesy of NATALIE MAYERNatalie Mayer (second from left) and her roommates spend a day in the rainforest, where they explored Costa Rican wildlife.

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

hieldSthe

11411 Pflumm RoadOverland Park, KS 66215

913-319-2460www.stasaints.net/shield

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFAnnie Schugart

CAMPUS NEWS EDITORBryan Zack

OPINIONS EDITORJordan Bartz

SPORTS EDITORTroy Hilderhof

LAST LOOK EDITORAnnie Schugart

CENTERSPREAD/FEATURES EDITOR

Annie Schugart

ADVISERMatt Hallauer

MISSION STATEMENTThe Shield is a newspaper sponsored by Saint Thomas Aquinas High School and produced by its students to provide information, enter-tainment, and open forum, as well as a learning experi-ence for its staff members. The goal of The Shield’s staff is to meet professional journalism standards. Staff members are responsible for the content of the news-paper and strive to report news accurately, objectively, and completely. The Shield is an open forum for stu-dent expression and aims to communicate the concerns of the student body as well as the faculty, staff, and Aquinas community.

ADVERTISINGThe Shield sells advertisements to help with publication costs. All ads will be subject to the same scrutiny as stories. The Shield will not print any obscenities or any ads promoting products illegal to those under the age of 18. For advertising, please call (913) 319-2460, send an email to mhallauer@stasaints.net, or visit www.stasaints.net/shield

SUBSCRIPTIONSSubscriptions to The Shield are $2 per issue. Subscriptions can be sent to Saint Thomas Aquinas High School c/o Matt Hallauer.

LETTER POLICYLetters may be accepted by The Shield, provided that they are signed and do not containt libel-ous statements. The Shield re-serves the right to edit the letters for grammar, obscenity, or space consideration, and also reserves the right to not print a letter.

AskTommy Advice ColumnAsk Tommy is a new, anonymous

column that will be in The Shield this year. Ask your own by e-mailing asktommy2014@gmail.com or by

dropping a letter in the box in the li-brary labeled “Ask Tommy the Saint.”

--------------Dear Tommy,Should I tell my parents I’m adopted?- It’s My Job To Tell, Right?IMJTTR-No. Let it be a surprise.Tommy

--------------Dear Tommy,How do I lose 50 pounds in one month?-Help Dear Help (creative name, I must add),Step 1: Go homeStep 2: Turn off all the lightsStep 3: Cry to yourself while eat-ing ice cream.Best of luck! I’ll be interested to see how it works out.

Tommy--------------

Tommy, please help! I don’t know what to do! I don’t want to dress up for Spirit week!

TOO BAD I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. I have the address book.

Tommy

Interested in Writing

an Opinions Article?Please contact

Editor-in-Chief Annie Schugart at

aschugart14@stasaints.net

We would love to have you write for us!

The Shield 7September 19, 2013Sports

SOCCER TEAM LIVING THE LEGACYThe boys’ soccer team is

without a doubt one of the biggest sport legacies St. Thomas Aquinas athletics has to offer. With two national championships and 14 state championships, the boys’ soccer team has come noth-ing short of success. This year, the team is living the legacy.

The year started off with a fierce St. James rivalry game. The young Aquinas team, only returning seven from last year’s team, was pumped for the game. Senior center midfielder Colton Ropson said the St. James game is his favorite memory of the season so far.

“Although it ended in a tie, it was the best soccer environment I have ever played in,” Ropson said. “The Aquinas fan support was great.” After a three-hour, third-overtime grudge match, the final score of the St. James game was 1-1.

With the St. James game behind, the team is look-ing forward to more important tournaments. The Gate-way Classic, which is held in St. Louis Oct. 3 to Oct. 5, is the premier high school soccer tournament, featuring some of

the best teams around the country.

Head Coach Craig Ewing and the team are preparing for the tournament. According to Ewing, this year’s team is

one of the better teams Aquinas

has ever had. “Historically speaking, this is

one of our better teams,” Ewing said. “Since we’re only returning seven from last year’s team, I am expecting us to get better.”

However, each team has its weaknesses. “We have been very good defensively, but struggling offensively,” Ewing said. Senior center midfielder Nick Hagenkord also thinks the soccer team has been struggling offensively.

“One of the things we need to work on is finishing,” Ha-genkord said. “We don’t get a lot of oppor-tunities so we need to make sure we finish the ones we are given.”

Hagenkord also said the team is working on

eliminating the small mistakes. “Little mistakes will be a big key. We can sometimes get away with them playing EKL teams, but the teams in St. Louis will punish us for them,” Hagenkord said. “Minimizing little mistakes and self-made errors is a big key to success.” Hagenkord is on All-American watch and is being recognized as one of the best players in the Midwest.

Alongside Hagenkord is standout junior defensive center midfielder Matthew Brown.

“He has to be good defen-sively, and he has to frequently get us going in an offensive transi-tion,” Ewing said. “He has made us a better team.”

Other key players include Michael Velasco and Matthew Holland, two junior centerbacks on the team and are cornerstones of a very good defense.

Outside of the Gateway Clas-sic, the soccer team has their eyes on another prize.

“We expect to be playing for a state title in November,” Ewing said.

Hagenkord said the last two seasons have been rough, and doesn’t want to be dis-appointed three years in a row.

“Bringing back a state cham-pionship is vital, Hagenkord said. “We are expecting nothing less.” g

Standings

Upcoming Sport Events

FOOTBALL

SOCCER

VOLLEYBALL

TENNIS

CROSS COUNTRY

GOLF

by TROY HILDERHOFSports Editor

The Aquinas soccer team prepares for the Gateway Classic and the state championship

Photo by MADDY CRUME | The MedallionThe boys’ soccer team huddles up before they play Bishop Miege, 2012 5A State Champion.

“We have been very good defensively, but struggling

offensively.”

CRAIG EWINGHead Coach

“Bringing back the state title is vital. We are ex-

pecting nothing less.”

NICK HAGENKORDSenior center-midfielder

Photos by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldSenior Ryan McNellis (top left) ties the game against BVW. Danten Consentino (top right) runs with the ball. The Spirit Boys (bottom-left) supports the football team. Senior Jordan Barmby (bottom right) wins Fan of the Game.

Photos by MADDY CRUME | The MedallionJunior goalie Derek Engel (left) attempts to block a shot. Senior Nick Ha-genkord (right) runs with the ball, looking for someone to pass to.

Photos by TROY HILDERHOF | The ShieldThe Saints and the Spirit Boys celebrate after a touchdown. Senior A.J. Quick tackles Blue Valley West quarterback Ryan Ralston.

Previous Finishes (Girls): 1st, 1st (Boys): 2nd, 2ndUpdate (Girls): “Our home-opener was the Greg Wilson Classic. The girls swept the meet winning in all classifications.” - Senior runner Bailee CoferUpdate (Boys): “Our workouts are improving, and our times from last year have dropped dramatically. Our main competition is Bishop Carrol for state. As long as no one gets hurt, we should be set up for success.” - Senior runner Matthew

Record: 0 - 2Update: “We are improving every week, and we are planning to win this week.” - Senior Linebacker Jack Casey

Previous Finishes: 1stUpdate: “We’re doing great so far. None of us were too happy about our scores, so that really gives us motivation to really go for it. JV has also had their first tourna-ment, and the returning player along with the new had a good start to the season.”- Senior golfer Ashley Root

Record: 2 - 1 - 1Update: “We are developing well as a team right now, but we still have a lot to work on. I think we will go far this season!” - Senior soccer player Spencer Driscoll

Update: “The team is all putting 110% into our matches, and because of it, we keep getting better and better.” - Senior tennis player Madi Victor

Record: 8 - 1Update: “We’re all used to each other at practice and on the court; we pride ourselves with the fact that we can be a bunch of hooligans and work hard too. It sounds like a simple thing but it’s not something every team can do. So we can feel that it’s gonna be a good year!- Senior volleyball captain Brittany Thomas

Thursday, Sept. 19 V Soccer at Garder-Edgerton (6:00 p.m.)Friday, Sept. 20 V Football vs. Salina Central (7:00 p.m.)Saturday, Sept. 2 CC - Baldwin Invitational (9:00 a.m.) V Tennis - Mill Valley Tournament (9:00 a.m.)Monday, Sept. 23 V Golf - MO KAN Sion Invitational (9:00 a.m.) V Soccer - Top Dawg Tournament starts (5:00 p.m.)Tuesday, Sept. 24 V Tennis - Saints Invitational (9:00 a.m.) Field Hockey - Stadium @ Home (4:00 p.m.) V Volleyball - Tri vs. BVW, BVNW at BVW (5:30 p.m.)Thursday, Sept. 26 V Golf - Washburn Rural Invite (1:00 p.m.)Friday, Sept. 27 V Football vs. BVSW @ BV (7:00 p.m.)Saturday, Sept. 28 V Volleyball - Blue Springs South Tour (8:00 a.m.) CC Rim Rock Classic (9:00 a.m.)

As of September 17th

8 The Shield September 19, 2013

Last Look

HOMECOMING PREVIEW

Photo by BRYAN THRASHER ABOVE: The 2013 Homecoming Court prepares for Homecoming Week. Back row: Nate Fleming, Grant Mayfield, Chris Ernst, Bryan Zack and Jere-my Collier. Front row: Maddie Woolway, Lydia Taylor, Annie Lind, Mary Disidore and Ali Woltering.

Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The Shield

Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The Shield Photo by JORDAN BARTZ | The Shield

BELOW: Junior Abigail Joerger works diligently to cover the lockers to match the beachy theme of Los Angeles. RIGHT: Senior Kelly Sweeney works hard to help out with the senior hallway. The senior class theme is New York City.BELOW RIGHT: Senior Alison Sell is all smiles as she helps out with the New York City-themed hallway.