Megaphone

November 6, 2014 - Volume 98, Issue 4 - 5225 E. 56th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46226 - Twitter: @IrishMegaphoneCathedral High School - A Holy Cross School

How are Catheatre Productions Chosen?BY AMANDA KEILMAN

Each year, Catheatre puts on four different plays. Students per-form a children’s play, a fall play, a rookie show and a spring musical. The past few years, a variety of shows has been performed, from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” to “Shrek: the Musical” to “The Glass Slipper.”

According to Ms Jennifer Alexander, director of theatre arts, the process of choosing plays for the next school year starts at the beginning of each year, but it is not until the spring that she and Mr. Michael Moffatt, theatre department chair, start seriously looking at productions for the upcoming year.

The two of them make the final decisions, but they also keep the students in mind while selecting She said, “Sometimes they get narrowed down by cast size. We have to see if they have enough cast members, and if we have enough students to be able to cast it, and also subject matter.”

The Cinderella-themed play, like past plays, was chosen this year by the students who directed it. This year’s fall play is “All in the Timing.” It was chosen because the theatre hasn’t done a comedic fall play in a long time.

They said they try to pick popular and classic productions, which is one of the reasons why this year’s spring musical is “Guys and Dolls.”

About the spring musical, Al-exander said, “’Shrek’ was a more contemporary one, so we wanted to bring more of a classic musical for this year.”

‘All in the Timing’ Brought to Life By New Computer Software, Student DesignersBY AMANDA KEILMAN

Two weeks from now, the au-dience for the fall play, “All in the Timing,” will see the set for the first time. For senior Ben Woida and the stage crew, thanks to a laptop and an advanced computer software, they were able to visual-ize the stage weeks ago.

“All in the Timing” is the fall play chosen for this year by direc-tor of theatre arts, Ms. Jennifer Al-exander, and theatre department chair, Mr. Michael Moffatt. The play is a series of eight short-one act plays that are not related in plot, but all have something to do with time.

Woida is the designer of the fall play this year. This is Woida’s third time being able to design sets for the plays. He was the solo design-er for last year’s children’s play “Alice in Wonderland,” and he served as the assistant set designer of the spring musical, “Shrek.”

He was chosen by Moffatt and his independent study set, light and sound design class to create the concept for this play.

Moffatt said, “We had a meeting at the beginning of the year and I said ‘put up your hand if you want to do this for this show, or this for this show,’ and we decided as a class who could do what the best.”

The theatre is open for work four days a week, Monday through Thursday, as long as there are four full days of school. Each

Beginning of May play

chosen

Oct. 1 the set started being

built

Nov. 13 the set is

finished

3 weeks into school play is

cast

Nov. 17 is the first dress rehearsal

Nov. 21, 22 and 23 are

performances

Seniors Madison Jones and Noah Speckman work on painting part of the set for “All in the Timing,” which senior Ben Woida designed. He said, “Because there was no specific setting, we were allowed to do more of a theme, so we chose the clock theme.” | Photo by Emma Flohr

day, the crew works 90 minutes building the set to make sure it gets done on time.

According to Moffatt, this month has been on and off in reference to being able to work on the set. Building began Oct. 1, and is expected to be finished by next week’s open house.

To create the set, Woida used the theatre’s laptops that include a 3D rendering program. The pro-gram is called Vector works.

Woida said, “It allows us to design sets in scale, design them in 3D exactly how we want them to look.” However, most of his ideas were hand drawn for this show. The crew then takes those images and then starts building the actual set.

This set is different than pre-vious sets because it is more of a theme.

Moffatt said, “The visual aspects are going to be big and broad. We’re going with the idea of time.”

The whole set is made to look like the cogs of a clock. The actors will stand on the different sections of the clock during the play. Also, the black arch that the audience sees around the stage will have gears all along it, with a clock centered at the top.

Woida said, “Because there was no specific setting, we were allowed to do more of a theme, so we chose the clock theme to try to represent that everything going on involves time.”

news2Holy Cross

Core Values Zeal

BY MADDIE LUCIAEditor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles providing information about the Holy Cross core values.

Zeal is making God known, loved and served in a way that in-spires one to go above and beyond in life, paths and relationships.

Making God known is what one would do to preach into the world around him. There is also the way that he would make sure others know that God loves his children.

Serving the Lord occurs when one goes to Mass, helps an elder neighbor take out the trash, and helps in the community soup kitchen for the poor. When one serves God, he is giving up his time and making the world a better place.

Director of campus ministry Mrs. Charlene Witka compared the definition of zeal to connect-ing the dots.

“When one realizes that once you make God known, you make him loved to the other (person), and with love brings the served part,” Witka said, “which then all are connected with helping people build relationships in their faith.”

In the view of Principal Mr. Dave Worland, zeal is something that, as Catholics, people are asked to do and are excited about doing.

However, he also said that it does not always mean merely performing service or teaching about God.

Worland said, “An example of zeal in my life is towards the students and faculty here. At the end of every all-school service or Mass, we come together and sing ‘Hold Us Together.’ When that is happening, I love seeing everyone singing and being excited about it. To me, that is zeal.”

Indiana Announces it Will Add its Seventh Area Code by 2017BY MADDIE LUCIA

GRAPHIC BY CHRISTOPHER BESSLER

By 2017, the south-ern part of Indiana will receive a new area code. The area code of 812 will have yet another coming soon.

For those students and staff that live in Bloomington, Columbus, Terre Haute, and any other southern Indiana cities, the 930 will be added. Not only for landlines but also cellular devices, 930 will cover more new 10-digit numbers.

According the Channel Six News, The Indy Channel, one of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioners Lar-ry Landis said, “At the end of the day, it all comes down to education and mak-ing sure this transi-tion is as smooth as possible.”

news 3

The new test students are taking is called the NWEA (Northwest-ern Evaluation Association) and it was started up again here this year.

Previously, the school had at-tempted this test around 10 years ago. Dr. Aarti Brooks, vice princi-pal for research and curriculum, instituted this test again this year.

The four areas of knowledge that NWEA tests are math, sci-ence, reading and language. Here, all levels of Algebra 1, Algebra 2, geometry, Biology 1, Chemistry 1, earth science, English 9, English 10 and English 11 classes are being assessed.

Teachers administered the tests for their own subjects, except the reading tests. For sophomores and juniors, the reading tests were administered by their theology teachers. For freshmen, the read-

ing tests were given by their world history teachers.

There are 45 teachers who gave NWEA tests last month. The decision of which classes to test was made based on the content level available through the NWEA program.

NWEA tests will be admin-istered twice this year, once in October and the second one will probably be sometime in March,

according to Brooks.This test is one taken on iPads,

and it doesn’t have to be com-pleted all at once. The test can be suspended for up to 14 days, meaning if the student doesn’t have enough time to finish during one class period, an administra-tor can suspend the test, and the student can complete it later.

The major difference between NWEA and other standardized tests is the adaptive nature of NWEA.

Brooks said, “A standardized test doesn’t always provide a true reflection of what you know, but this adaptive test will.” This test is personalized to each student, and no two students are taking the exact same test.

The way the test scores a stu-dent’s ability is different than any other test. Brooks said the test “is going to base questions off your

answers.” The test determines what

questions to ask after seeing the student’s answer to the previ-ous question. The more correct answers a student gives, the more difficult the questions become. If the student misses a question, the test will give a slightly easier next question until it can determine the level of a student’s abilities.

Some teachers and staff are attending a “Train the Trainer” session on November 6 to learn how to read the results and what they mean.

The scores will be released to the parents the week of Nov. 10 and there will be a parent infor-mation meeting about them the week of Nov. 17.

This decision to administer this test came about partially because of the Cathedral 360 program.

Brooks said that with Cathedral

BY KARA WILLIAMSNWEA Testing is Reintroduced in Order to Monitor Student Achievement, Progress

Staff Scheduled to Attend ISACS Convention Tomorrow for Professional DevelopmentBY EMERSON WOLFF

While students will be catching up on sleep or homework tomor-row, the entire faculty and staff will attend the annual Indepen-dent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) conven-tion at Crowne Plaza at Union Station.

ISACS is the accreditation orga-nization for Cathedral, along with its more than 230 membership schools across 13 Midwest states.

“They always have really good professional development and top people from around the country, and so we thought this would be a great opportunity because it is in Indianapolis and that we take time and go as a school to this professional development,” said Mrs. Julie Barthel, vice principal for curriculum and instruction, regarding why every teacher will attend the conference.

The conference rotates loca-tions each year; it has previously

been in Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Louisville and St. Louis. Next year it is scheduled take place in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Program director Mrs. Karen Zeitlin said via phone interview, “Everyone is in it together. There is a real momentum about the practices that they learn at the conference and can take back to implement at their schools.”

New Ways to Teach, New Ways to Learn 2 is the theme for this year’s convention, and will feature more than 100 breakout sessions for teachers to attend.

Teachers chose which sessions they go to, so in this way, there will be a mixture of sessions attended in each department.

Breakout session topics range from instruction about utilizing technology to examining the dif-ferences in how males and females learn.

At their next department meet-ing and at the November faculty

really positive experience for our teachers and hopefully the most important part, for our students,” Barthel said.

Spanish teacher Mrs. Rose Egan is the teacher representative and main communicator for the teach-ers about ISACS.

“Throughout the year, I will send out and forward information to the faculty and staff about dif-ferent ISACC news,” said Egan.

This news includes programs offered during the year such as workshops in Chicago at ISACS’ main office.

Tomorrow will allow for the staff to learn and develop new teaching methods that can be brought back to school to be implemented into their classroom and daily activities.

Barthel said, “Professional growth is expected every year from every teacher and so we like teachers to take time to read arti-cles and books and take time to do professional development.”

meeting, teachers will share what they learn.

At the faculty meeting, the teachers will create Padlets where they will post what sessions they attended and their main take-

aways from the day.“We’re not just going (to the

conference), we are trying to be very intentional. We have a plan about how to follow up and how to share. We think that it will be a

Above is the logo for this year’s ISACS convention. “Everyone is in it together. There is a real momentum about the practices that they learn at the confer-ence and can take back to implement at their schools,” said program director Mrs. Karen Zeitlin.

“A standardized test doesn’t always provide a true

reflection of what you know, but this adaptive test will.”

Dr. Aarti Brooks

360, “We’re really emphasizing that we want to know who you are, where your strengths are, where your weaknesses are and we want to be more intentional in helping students and getting to know them.”

When the school instituted the NWEA pilot program here 10 years ago, English teacher Mrs.

Nancy Wheeler supported the program. She said that she liked the test because it tells her more about specific abilities of students individually and about the class as a whole.

Wheeler also said she thinks that the NWEA test fits well with what Cathedral hopes to achieve academically. “My goal is to move students up to the highest level where they can be successful,” Wheeler said. “We should be pushing kids to achieve as much as they can.”

culture4

First, layer about three fruit roll up sheets, and cut into a circle using a glass or cookie cutter.

The bargain bonanza begins earlier and earlier each year. Nearly every store, big or small offers some sort of sales on this crazy day.

Some consumers have gotten smart with their bargain hunting.For example, the Apple Store dis-counts it’s products only 5-10%, but Walmart and Best Buy

offer the same products at much lower prices.

Department stores, such as Nordstrom Rack, are often packed with crazed women, and some-times the smaller clothing stores offer better shopping expereicnes.

For instance, Urban Outfit-ters is known for having their Red Line sales on Black Friday. This means that certain items are marked with red stickers to symbolize an extra 50% is taken off the current sale price.

Participating in Black Friday is an activity beloved by millions of people in our country.

Black Friday is one of the only times of the year when shoppers can purchase goods at high-priced stores and not be plagued by buyer’s remorse.

What’s Happening This Month? Photo Poll

What’s your favorite Starbucks drink?1

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

2Enjoy Indi-ana’s state parks

3National Sandwich day

4Fitz and the Tantrums @ Egyptian Room

5Shamrauc-tion begins online

6“Follow the North Star” @ Conner Prairie

7Moscow State Symphony Orchestra

8ISSMA marhcing band finals @ Lucas Oil

9“An Irish Christmas” @ the Murat

10Utah Jazz vs. Pacers @ Banker’s Life

11Veteran’s Day

12Starbucks Unveils The Chestnut Pra-line Latte

13Open House

14Dumb and Dumber To comes out

15Indy Fuel ECHL Ice Hockey @ Fairgrounds

16Patriots vs. Colts @ Lucas Oil

17One Direc-tion Album comes out

18College bas-ketball games @ Banker’s Life

19Hornet vs. Pacers @ Bankers Life

20Pilates/Yoga @ Northview Church-$4

21Food Truck Friday @ Georgia St.

22Fall Show @ 7:30

23Fall Show @ 3

24Mass Ave. Walking Tour-$15

25Hoodie Allen concert @ Egyptian Room

26Fast

27Drumstick Dash

28Stewart’s Indiana Flea Market @ Fairgrounds

29Turkey Trail run @ Eagle Creek

30It’s now acceptable to play Christ-mas music

November 2014

Senior Marlee Kane

Senior Jimmy Kacius

Junior Miranda Bridges

“Pumpkin Spice Latte.”

“Depends on the weather.”

“Peppermint Hot Chocolate.”

Freshman Kelsey Carnes

“Cotton Candy Frappuccino.”

Secondly, write a note on a small strip of white paper and make a heart or cute symbol on the end.

Then fold over the circle, making sure only the end with the heart is hanging out. Seal the edges.

DIY: Fruit Roll Up Fortune CookiesLastly, fold the halved circle back until the lower two edges touch. Give to someone to get a smile!

Black Friday: When the Prices Go Down, the Claws Come Out

BY NORA MACANALLY

Students Travel from All Over; These Two Take it to the Extreme

Since it was founded in 1918, teenagers have come to this school from all over Indiana. Sophomore Gaven Johnson took this to the next step. Johnson’s entire family – Gaven, his younger brother, his parents and his grandparents – moved from Yorktown to the Fishers area so he could attend Cathedral.

Gaven first heard about the school through his travel baseball teammates. In regards to his old school, Gaven said Cathedral is “better helping and more one on one. At my old school, the majori-ty was what they went by.”

Johnson’s younger brother, Grif-fin, now attends St. Simon, while his father commutes to Muncie every day. Johnson’s mother, Mrs. Kresta Cleland-Johnson, said the commute and Griffin’s schooling were not factors in the move. She said that getting Griffin into St. Simon was a difficult process; they would not have bothered if they didn’t plan on sending him here for high school.

Moving to Fishers may have forced Mr. Marc Johnson to commute daily, but the pros out-weighed the cons. Gaven’s various extracurriculars, along with the one to one and a half-hour drive from Yorktown to the school, con-vinced them that their best option was to move closer.

Since the move, Gaven re-marked the hardest part of his new area is finding everything.

Mrs. Cleland-Johnson found the distance from the school one of the most difficult changes to adjust to. In Yorktown “we were literally three stop signs away from the school, so if you forgot something or practice ran over, it was no big deal to run back and get something on a moment’s no-tice,” Mrs. Cleland-Johnson wrote in an email.

Living close to Hamilton Town Center has its convenience, but the traffic added its own learning curve. “We are fortunate that we have the option of carpooling. People have been great in the Cathedral community about help-ing,” Mrs. Cleland-Johnson said.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have nev-er moved before. The high school sweethearts and their parents had

Yorktown to Fishers: Sophomore Gaven JohnsonBY NICOLE SHOAF

lived in Yorktown their whole lives. The family never would’ve considered moving without a temptation too good to pass up. The school provided just that.

Mrs. Cleland-Johnson said, “They have always made Gaven and my family feel so welcome from day one.”

Despite the unfamiliarities and shock of a completely new area, she said, “We have never regret-ted to leave everything we knew behind. We knew that this was going to be the best decision for our boys’ future, and to this day, we believe in Cathedral and all for which it stands.”

Two Hour Long Drive from Cincinnati: Freshman Pixie BrockBY GLORIA HERRON

Students travel many minutes and many miles to reach the hill each morning. Some live just ten minutes away, others thirty minutes.

For freshman Pixie Brock, the drive to school is two hours.

Brock drives from Cincinnati every morning and stays at school

Brock’s schedule is concrete and tight; between crossing state borders, practice and school, she hardly has time to take a break.

High school is stressful enough without her additional commit-ments, and her parents make many sacrifices for her to attend a Catholic school and spend hours training in the gym.

“Her dad and I want to provide the best possible opportunities for all of our kids, and this seemed to be a wonderful opportunity for Pixie,” said Mrs. what Brock.

Brock’s two older siblings and two younger siblings attend school in Cincinnati. Once her eldest brother and sister, Gage and Cire, graduate, the family intends to move to Indianapolis.

“I don’t have much time. I don’t have time to spend with my siblings; Sunday is really my only day to rest,” Brock said.

Her two younger siblings, Trin-ity and Colt, welcome her home each night. Mrs. Brock said, “They remember her leaving for days at a time, sometimes weeks, so being home every night is the best.”

Before high school, Brock was homeschooled for a portion of elementary school. Even then she was traveling to Indianapolis for gymnastics.

At that time, things were a bit less complicated. Brock was able to stay with her family in a carriage home for the majority of the week. It was while staying there that her family was referred to Cathedral.

High school was something Brock had been looking forward to after years of being home schooled.

“I’ve always wanted to go to a high school,” she said. “We were well aware of Cathedral’s reputa-tion and community involvement. So we felt comfortable in choos-ing Cathedral.”

until 6th period. After sixth, she leaves for practice at Sharp’s Gym-nastics Academy.

Graduate Samantha Peszek ’10 also went to Sharp’s Gymnastics Academy and was a competitor in the 2008 Olympics.

Sharp’s is a National Team Training Center located in north-west Indianapolis.

Starting at level three gymnas-

tics, Brock skipped level six and has been in level ten for three years. She is now in her ninth year of gymnastics.

The decision to travel to and from Indianapolis each day was made with her future in mind.

“I want to become an elite,” Brock said. To do this, she needs an elite coach, and those aren’t found everywhere.

In fact, there are only fifteen elite coaches in the nation. “There was one in Cincinnati, but I didn’t like their coaching style,” she said. She chose Sharp’s because of their history of producing Olympic athletes.

GRAPHIC BY CHRISTOPHER BESSLER

“I don’t have much time. I

don’t have time to spend with my

siblings; Sunday is really my only day

to rest.”Freshman Pixie

Brock

Feature 5

feature 6

The school plans to introduce a new app that promotes an anti-bullying campaign.

Created by a 17-year-old high school junior at Pendleton Heights High School, a new iP-hone and iPad application called the BullyBøx will allow students and adults in high schools to report a case where they see some kind of bullying happening.

The CEO and developer of the app, Brandon Boynton, created it because he said that he was often bullied in eighth grade.

According to Boynton, he was in his sophomore AP European History class thinking of it, and the idea came to him suddenly. With spring break being the next week, he decided to take the time off and build his empire.

After spending his whole spring break writing codes and creating his software, Boynton finished the app and entered a competi-tion to see where he could take it. Apple noticed the work and was impressed, so the company flew Boynton to the World Wide Developer’s Conference for a week in San Francisco.

While BullyBøx continues to become recognized by schools throughout the United States, its goal is to help educate and make the issue known to students.

According to Boynton, his goal is to help benefit and save lives of others using the application. “I want this system to be a way in which students can end the bully-ing happening currently, and then the data collected through inves-tigations can be used to prevent it in the future,” Boynton said.

Project IRISH, the school’s anti-bullying club, will be teaming up with the school and help promote the use of the BullyBøx. Jackie Mooney, Co-president of Project IRISH and junior class

president, said that she believes that the app will be a useful tool for the students.

“Project IRISH is so excited to have finally found a tool to help put a stop to bullying and help im-prove everyones safety on and off our campus,” Mooney said.

According to Boynton, some of the Indiana schools that have ad-opted the BullyBøx include Mount Vernon Middle and High Schools, as well as Liberty Christian. Other schools are currently considering the app he said.

For the future of the BullyBøx, Boynton plans to keep adding new details to the app and further the education to students through it. He said that he has hopes this will improve society and make a difference in schools.

Mrs. Charlene Witka, director of campus ministry and co-mod-erator of Project IRISH, said she believes that by offering the app, it will enable students to report problems that they witness.

Witka said, “This tool will allow our students to report incidents anonymously, which will hopeful-ly improve the environment of the school.”

BY MADDIE LUCIA

BY MORGAN CARTER

Mr. Duane Emery, vice president for enrollment management, is the eldest child from a poor family. Without the help of scholarships, he would not be a college graduate, he said.

The same holds true for more than one-third of the students here. According to Emery, Cathedral is able to help almost every potential family attend each year, regardless of the tuition.

Emery said, “Don’t let cost up front determine where you look (for high school). If you try and we try to make it work, you never know what could happen.”

The school has the same hardworking attitude when conducting the open house, which is held once a year, two Thursdays before Thanksgiving. Every faculty member and most staff members give tours, show off their classrooms, answer questions and assist the clubs, sports teams and the fine arts program. In past years, Emery predicted that over two-thirds of the student body has also been at the event, giving tours and helping teachers with their many responsibilities.

If one thing gives Emery anxiety, it’s the fact that this year, helping out at the open house does not help students fulfill all of their service hours because of this year’s new requirements.

“If there’s ever a time that you want to show your school pride, it’s at the open house,” said Emery. He wants the students to know the impact they have on which school potential students decide

Annual Open House Hopes to Welcome New Families

The Open House is Nov. 13. The goal of the Open House is to showcase Cathedral and to welcome new families. | Photo by Emma Flohr

to attend. Emery said, “It’s the word of mouth that gets students to come here.”

Because of this, the enrollment management office and many other staff volunteers such as department heads, Dr. Tom Greer, vice president of student affairs and Mrs. Jeanne Malone try to make sure that the families who attend the open house get the full “family feel” that Cathedral conveys. Emery said that once potential students see the relationships between everyone on campus, they know immediately that they want to attend school

Bully Box App Provides Inventive Way to Report Cases of Bullying

“If there’s ever a time to want to show

your school pride, it’s at Open House.”

Mr. Duane Emery

here.Freshman Lauren Walker

said, “It was nice to see all the different clubs and activities. I liked how my tour guide was involved in a lot of clubs and had different interests, while still having time to hang out with her friends.” Walker said that the open house showed her the school’s attitude.

Emery said that the pep rally at the end “really conveys the yay yay raw raw feeling that we are all about here. We try to show everything we have to offer and we have a lot to offer.”

The BullyBøx app will eventually be introduced here. Mrs. Char-lene Witka, director of campus ministry said, “This tool will allow our students to report incidents anonymously, which will hopefully improve the environ-ment of the school.”

feature 7Yellow Balloons Bring Awareness to Mason’s Cause, Serve as a Memorial to his Life

At 11:30 on March 5, 2011, Kari and Bryce Bundy crept in to their four-month old son’s, Mason, room just two hours after putting him to bed. As they began to kiss him goodnight, Kari and Bryce were startled to find him laying in his pack and play, dead.

Mason had experienced a respiratory problem a few weeks before, but when the doctors conducted an autopsy they, couldn’t find any causes of death. This is known as SIDS, which stands for sudden infant death syndrome.

Kari and Bryce were shocked to find there was nothing to help them through their loss,

whether it be a support system or a group. This is what inspired their organization, Mason’s Cause, whose goal is to assist families who have lost children and help them through the process of losing a young loved one by planning the funeral and providing emotional and financial support. Mason’s Cause also helps in ways that you wouldn’t imagine until you’re actually experiencing this process.

“The other thing that you don’t think of when you’re going through this, the whole process of your baby dying, is when I got to the hospital (Bryce was there, Kari was at home with their daughters Ella and Lucy), the police were already there,” said Mason’s

grandmother, English teacher Mrs. Melinda Bundy.

Kari and Bryce were immediately questioned by the police that night, but it didn’t stop there. That same night the police went to Kari and Bryce’s house, where Ella and Lucy were with Bryce’s sister and Kari’s father. “The police took pictures of the house and confiscated the area where Mason was sleeping. After he died, they took his clothes, blankets, everything for the investigation,” said Bundy. Thirty minutes after Bryce, Kari and Melinda arrived home from the hospital, child protective services showed up at 5 in the morning to further the investigation and see if Ella and Lucy were still safe

living there. “Most of us aren’t used to

dealing with the police; these things happen to other people, not us,” said Bundy, who personally helps with Mason’s Cause by writing advice on what it’s like to lose your grand baby for the Mason’s Cause website. The website has lots of other resources, whether you’re looking for songs and poems to read at your baby’s funeral or a wedding dress to bury them in. Mason’s cause has reached families as far away as Boston by helping with funerals. If students are interested in learning more they can go to the website masonscause.org or come to Bundy’s room, Loretto 2316.

“More families are affected by

this than you would think. Your best friends parents could have lost a child and you would have no idea,” Bundy said. She said that she’s had many students who have lost a sibling who can relate to the issue of those who die young tragically being forgotten.

After Mason died, Ella and Lucy found yellow balls from their ball pit randomly strewn throughout their house, which led them to believe that Mason’s favorite color was yellow. Bundy chooses to remember Mason by placing yellow balloons around the campus on his birthday. Bundy said, “It’s my way of honoring his life; it’s kind if like a memorial.”

BY MORGAN CARTERPHOTOS BY EMMA FLOHR

Best of Cathedral:

A: Attic Registered as one of the most haunted places in Indiana, Loretto Hall is currently home to all of Cathedral’s English classes. Lo-retto Hall used to serve as the board-inghouse portion of the Ladywood School. It is said that the ghost who haunts the attic is the apparition of a nun who is checking on the girls at night. English teacher Mrs. Melinda Bundy’s room is located closest to the attic, and she has said that a few weird occurrences have happened in her room before. However, Bundy said, “I’ve always thought of it as a benevolent spirit, not as anything that scares me.”

B: Blessing SongCreated by Dr. Tom Greer as a special song for the class of 1997, the blessing song is now sung every time a visitor leaves Cathedral. Originally, the idea was to have a different person sing the blessing each time, but today, Greer is the sole leader of the prayer. All

the students and faculty extend their arms toward the departing visitor and sing along with Greer during the song. The lyrics are as follows: “May the peace of the Lord be with you, with your friends and your family too, let it be, let if grow, and everywhere you go, may the peace of the Lord follow you.”

A-Z

C: Catheatre“The amount of involvement we get from the entire school, especially during the spring musical where people who haven’t taken theaterclasses come out exclusively to do the musical, is what makes Catheatre unique.”Mrs. Jennifer Alexander

D: Dear Old Cathedral

Dear Old Cathedral, here’s to you.Here’s to your colors, gold and blue. We’ll cheer you onward, everyone, whether the battle is lost or won.

So here’s to your sons, your fighting team. Let your banners stream, and

we will proudly wave them to the sky as we cheer for Cathedral High.

E: Exchange Students

“Our own stu-dents are able

to connect with students from

other countries, and lasting

friendships can be made. It is

easy to see how connected we

all are.” Mr. Gary Spurgin

“Our students get a glimpse into another culture, they

get to interact with people from other

countries, and get to share ex-periences with

each other.” Mr. Joshua

Payne

“The biggest benefit is that

we learn to ap-preciate things about our own

school and country, and we learn that

we are all more similar than we are different.”

Mrs. Kim Jamell

F: Fitz Bell

“She epitomized the best qualities of Cathedral High School. She was passionate about her subject matter, and she brought joy to the classroom,” said English teacher

Mrs. Kathy Keyes about Mrs. Barbara Fitzgerald.

G: Dr. Greer“There (are) adults everywhere, there are only kids here. The older I get I know that you will be the future for my grandchildren, and I want you to build a good world and better com-munity. That’s why I come here, to help make you the best person you

can be. This is my little part in that.”

H: Hill

I: Irish 500

J: Jerry“The whole school, there

is nothing bad about Cathedral, I love all of it. I

love the students, staff, and

everybody.”

K: Kelly Hall

“We heard about this type of a race going on at Purdue University and decided to ‘make it our own’ and gave it the name ‘Irish 500.’ I I think we bought the first tricycles that we used at a toy store. They were actual tricycles and at least two of them broke during the race. However, it was a fun day with a lot of laughter and is obviously now a lasting tradi-tion. I’m delighted,” Mr. Patrick Beidelman ’90, founder of the Irish 500 tradition.

L: LeprechaunMatt Renie ’11 said he didn’t intend for the leprechaun mascot to become as important of a tradition as it has been for the past few years. At the beginning of his senior year, Renie was unimpressed with the level of school spirit and thought that dressing up as the leprechaun during the Welcome Week assembly would create some excitement. Five years later, and the tradition stands.

“I don’t think there is a cookie cutter mold of what a leprechaun should be. The best

leprechauns simply love Cathedral with all of their hearts and want to spread that love to

others.” Matt Renie ’11

“The leprechaun allowed me the

opportunity to be a leader for the whole school, not just the

‘cool kids’ or the jocks.”

Jimmy Suess ’13

“Although being the leprechaun entailed much more than I ever guessed, it was an amazing expe-rience. It gave me skills, friends and experiences that I

couldn’t have made any other way.”

Danny Steinmetz ’14

“Being the leprechaun for me is such an hon-or because I get to fill a spirit role as well as a leadership one. Riley Quinn ’15

M: Mission Trips

N: National MeritScholars“You have to be the whole package to get a score like that. You have to understand test taking strategy, the content knowl-edge, and all the things that go along with them.” Mrs. Pivonka on what it takes to be a National Merit Scholar.

O: Coach Tom “Super Sub” O’BrienA member of the Cathedral Class of 1949, “Super Sub,” as he is fondly referred to by the students and faculty, has been subbing here for the past 10 years. When asked why he enjoys subbing, Super Sub said, “I do it because I love Cathedral, and the students are great; they are respectful and well mannered. I like the faculty. I just love Cathedral High School, and I enjoy coming over and substitute teaching.” He said that when he goes to class reunions his friends tell him, “Coach, that’s the greatest thing that you are doing over there, keep doing it.” He said, ““I tell them, I’ve got 1,200 kids that like me, and they say thank you. I emphasize the words thank you. When the kids leave the classroom, they thank me for subbing, and that’s neat for a guy like me.”

CAPTIONS BY EMERSON WOLFFDESIGN BY EMMA FLOHR, KARA WILLIAMS, EMERSON WOLFF

PHOTOS ANNIE BROWNING AND EMMA FLOHR

P: Powderpuff

Q: FAQ’sQ: How many students are enrolled at Cathedral?A: 1,272 students in grades 9 through 12Q: How many faculty members are there?A: There are 96 faculty members that have an average of more than 18 years of teaching experience.

R: Retreat“I think it is special and

unique because it’s a time for our students to get away from everything

and focus on themselves and others.” Mrs. Char-

lene Witka on the benefit of retreats.

S: Spirit Stick

T: TP Night

U: Uniform Pants

V: In Our Village

“The give and take, the discussion and differ-ent ideas between the

students are my favorite parts about teaching a senior theology class.”

Father John Zahn

W: Winterfest

X: X.C.“My favorite

part of coach-ing is seeing the athletes achieve

things they never thought they could,” Coach Mark Doctor about why he loves coaching

girls’ cross country.

Y: Years of Tradition3 years being re-affiliated as a

Holy Cross School38 years since Cathedral moved

its campus to 56th street

96 years of excellence and tradition

Z: Father John Zahn

Mrs. Liz Browning created the In Our Village class 4 years after she saw the original In Our Village book that was produced out of Baltimore. Her students spend a semester studying Tanzania, Cathedral and Tanzanian literature. By the end of the class, her students create a book about specific Cathedral traditions. What was Browning’s reason for creating the class? “It made sense for us to start

accumulating a series of books in anticipation of our 100th anniversary,” said Browning. Her class will travel to Tanza-nia this summer, Browning’s third trip with her classes, where they will help install solar panels at their partner school.

“It teaches the kids passion; it’s helping give people hope for a better future. I think they feel they get more in return then they actually give,” said Mrs. Shannon Fox ’80.

It has become a tradition that on the night before the first day of school, the senior class TP’s the Hill. Students bring their own rolls of toilet paper, and parents and teachers host a BBQ to kick off the start of senior year.

98

feature10Second Fall Mission Trip to Joplin is a Success

Top left, junior Emma Mourouzis, senior Molly Bolger and senior Imani Rogers paint a swing. Top right, students put tape around win-dows before painting. Bottom left, students scrape paint off a railing of a porch. Bottom center, juniors Cal Graffeo and Steven Econ are shown building a house. Bottom right, juniors Erin Roy and Ellie Fitzgerald work on a house in Joplin. Photos by Annie Browning and Ashley King

Feature 11College Prep, Academic, Honors: Why are Classes Weighted the Way They Are?BY ASHLEY KING

Weighted GPA and class ranks have been topics of debate among students and staff alike. The elimination of class rank and the institution of weighted GPA have affected students.

In 2005, class rank was dropped due to the competitive nature of the school and how someone in a lower rank may still have a far higher GPA than someone who ranked higher at a less competitive school.

In this way, students are more

likely to get into colleges of their choice.

For example, some colleges will only admit students if they are in the top 50 percent of their class.

In eliminating the release of class rank, Cathedral students are not punished for being in a more competitive group of students.

College adviser Ms. Kathy Pivonka said, “You guys come in a step ahead because we are Core 40 by default, whereas other schools are going to have general diploma, or technical diplomas.”

Weighting was instituted when

class rank was still released. Class-es were weighted so that those in more challenging classes received more credit, and, in turn, higher rank.

The weights were still kept even after rank was taken away. Pivon-ka said, “The weights encourage the challenge to push yourself. For some of you guys, the driving force for taking an honors course would be the higher credits.”

As far as college applications are concerned, some schools ac-cept weighted GPAs, while others do not.

Theology Classes Now AcademicBY KATIE SWANTON

For the past several years, the-ology has been a college prep class at every grade level. This year, however, the theology department has decided to change the course to academic, giving students the opportunity to raise their GPA.

By offering this course as academic, students will be more challenged by the criteria and will be working at the same level as their other core classes. “About 50 percent of the school is made up of academic students,” said Dr. Aarti Brooks, vice principal for research and curriculum.

This is the first year theology has changed to an academic class. It will continue to be an academic class to challenge students of all levels. Even though on Power-school theology appears as a college prep class, it is considered academic and will be figured into everyone’s GPA at the end of the semester.

Some students even argue that theology shouldn’t even be taken as a grade at all. “I don’t think we should get graded on theology since it is a class about beliefs,” said senior Emma Vielee

However, the best interest of each student is the department’s

goal. Achieving a good grade in theology will help a student’s GPA at the end of the semester. “Theol-ogy is just as rigorous as the other courses offered here,” Brooks said.

In other courses students are offered different levels of rigor such as college prep, academic and honors.

“Theology is not any easy class and it is viewed as greatly important since we are a Catholic school,” said theology department co-chair Mr. Marc Behringer. He, along with the rest of the theol-ogy department, is still deciding on how to make theology at a level appropriate for all students. Behringer explained that one of the main focal points is to have theology represent the school’s diversity through intellectual teachings.

“I love going to a Catho-lic school but for most people, theology is a challenging subject, especially since we all have dif-ferent beliefs,” said senior Gracie Weaver. “So I feel like making theology an academic credit was a wise decision.”

Although we don’t know if theology will remain an academic credit, we do know that improve-ments are being made to appeal more towards student needs.

Organization Tickets Sold Payment/Ticket Total PaymentFootball 1462 6.25 $9,137.50Band 1088 6.25 $6,800.00Weight Room 1034 6.25 $6,462.50Boys’ Lacrosse 953 6.25 $5,956.25Girls’ Lacrosse 939 6.25 $5,868.75Baseball 903 6.25 $5,643.75Girls’ Volleyball 873 6.25 $5,456.25Thespian Society 860 6.25 $5,375.00Boys’ Soccer 831 6.25 $5,193.75In Our Village 742 6.25 $4,637.50

Raffle Results: Which Clubs Sold the Most Tickets?

Colleges are aware of the weighting when GPAs are sent, and sometimes the weights are not taken into account, or are adjusted (for example one point more for AP credits).

There has also been debate about why honors, AP and IB classes are all weighted the same.

That is because they are all considered honors classes. Also, some subjects do not have AP or IB offered, but are of the same rigor as those classes. The College Board determines what classes qualify as AP.

Pivonka said, “An honors level class is the highest level class that you can take in that area, whether it be AP, IB or just honors.”

As far as languages skipping from academic in the second year to IB in the third year, it is be-cause the IB curriculum matches up so closely to the third year curriculum.

Dr. Aarti Brooks, vice principal for curriculum and development said, “It took hard work to get there, and now you’re getting more credit.”

BY MARY CATE PACHCIARZHowever difficult selling raffle

tickets and asking people for money may be, it literally pays off in the end, and now numerous teams, clubs and programs are reaping the benefits.

Selling raffle tickets began last year as a replacement for the outdated fund raiser of peddling magazines. Ticket sales help to fund the financial aid needs of 32.8% of our students. The goal of sales is $150,000 and any money brought in after that goes towards the school clubs and organizations of the student’s choices.

This year $243,000 was raised, and $6.25 of each $10 ticket was

able to be awarded to the various clubs of students’ choice, said Mr. Howard Fogel, the science teacher who coordinates this annual campaign.

The organization that raised the most money through ticket sales was football. Coach Rick Streiff said they will use the money to buy “extra equipment that we would not have been able to purchase.”

He also stated that if all 150 players sold their tickets, it would make sense that football would receive the most money simply by the number of players.

Streiff said, “Someone could argue that if we raised enough

money through the raffle, each individual group or organiza-tion would not have to have an individual fund raiser. It might actually save parents and peo-ple money in the big picture.”

Overall, more than $100,000 was distributed to the clubs here. According to Streiff, the raffle seems to be a great improvement from magazine sales.

It enables students to directly help their school organization, which motivates students to sell tickets. This motivation to sell tickets for a student’s own club also raises money for financial aid.

For Serious Fans, It’s More Than Just Fantasy

Fall brings many things, includ-ing colorful leaves, Thanksgiving and football season. Football sea-son brings out a competitive edge in just about everyone. Whether it be the players on the field or the chanting fans, football provides the ultimate competition.

However, the most competitive part of football might come from a slightly unexpected source. Fan-tasy football brings with it a slew of emotions ranging from pride to despair. These emotions are on full display in any resource where students can hear the talking of trades and the gloating of a victor.

Fantasy football allows any av-erage fan of the game to be able to draft his or her own dream team and face off against other fans in their league. Fantasy football gives its participants the ability to draft, trade and drop players from their team as if they were a real general manager.

The scoring in fantasy football is based purely on stats; however, the rules are relaxed allowing for multiple types of leagues. Cathedral is a hot bed for fantasy football leagues.

From freshman to senior, both boys and girls, fantasy football takes over the halls from Septem-ber to January.

Sophomore Marissa Vander Missen participates in two leagues, one with a bunch of her friends and one with her family. “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t know anything about the stats, but I’ve learned a ton,” Vander Missen said. She said, “I really enjoy it and you learn a lot really quick.”

Vander Missen however, isn’t having much luck in the league with her family as she hasn’t

been able to snag a win, but in the league with her friends she’s firmly “in the middle of the pack,” she said.

Senior Ian Rolinson participat-ed in his first season of fantasy football last year and he was the league champion. “I drafted really well,” he said when asked about how he won it all in his first year.

“I drafted Adrian Peterson in the first round with the first pick and he pretty much won it all for me. I lost only once all season. Drafting is the single most important thing,” Rolinson said. About the competitiveness in-volved with fantasy football here, Rolinson only had two words to say, “It’s intense.”

No matter your experience level

or how much you know about fantasy football, or football in general, anyone can go on to have success. “I don’t know too much about football, but I know I hate losing at fantasy football. So I study as much as possible so I can win. Because winning is fun,” said first-year fantasy player and senior Joe Fischer.

“I was hesitant at first, but I think everyone should definitely give Fantasy Football a chance,” Fischer said.

Senior wide receiver Malcolm Dotson, has been playing fantasy football for approximately eight years. This year he is in 10 leagues, three of which he owns.

“I play for the competitiveness and the money. Definitely the

money,” Dotson said. Dotson’s best record so far is in the league with his fellow wide receivers and their coach. “I watch all the pre-season games and look at all the trades going on way before fantasy football even starts,” Dotson said. Dotson’s suggestion for winning as part of a fantasy football league: “My best advice, is to not neces-sarily believe in what the analysts say, but go with your gut.”

Fantasy football is more than a game. It’s more than just some-thing to do in class when the teacher can’t see the screen on your iPad.

Fantasy football is more than just a game or pass time, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle taken very seriously here.

“I drafted Adrian Peterson in the first round with the first pick and he pretty much won it all for me. I lost only once all season. Drafting is the single most important thing.” Senior Ian Rolinson

BY ZAK BATT NFL’s leading fantasy scorersthrough Week 9’s games

Quarterbacks1. Andrew Luck ................221 points 2. Peyton Manning ..........187 3. Ben Roethlisberger .....177 4. Tom Brady ...................1685. Aaron Rodgers ............165

Running backs1. DeMarco Murray .........162 points 2. Arian Foster .................1543. Matt Forte .....................1354. Le’Veon Bell .................1235. Marshawn Lynch ........119

Wide receivers1. Antonio Brown ...........150 points2. Demaryius Thomas .....1243. Jeremy Maclin .............1224. Randall Cobb ..............1095. T.Y. Hilton ....................109

Tight ends1. Rob Gronkowski ..........111 points2. Antonio Gates ..............953. Julius Thomas ...............924. Greg Olsen ....................815. Martellus Bennett ........80

Defense/special teams1. Dolphins .......................98 points2. Eagles ............................823. Patriots ..........................804. Lions ..............................775. Bills ................................76

Kickers1. Stephen Gostkowski ....112 points2. Adam Vinatieri ............1003. Dan Bailey ....................874. Justin Tucker ................875. Cody Parkey .................87

Point totals as posted on the ESPN website through Tuesday morning.

For their fantasy football league, seniors Aidan Catellier and Jon Hay discuss the intricacies of a big trade. Photo by Matthew Meuleman

SPORTS12

Big Weekend for the IrishFootball Team to Host Decatur for Sectional Title; Volleyball Squad to Challenge Carmel for State Championship

After sweeping Roncalli Saturday night at Seymour to capture the Semistate championship, members of the varsity volleyball team and their fans rush the court. | Photo by Zak Batt

Girls’ Cross-Country Team Finishes 17th at State Meet; Other Fall Sports Conclude Successful SeasonsMen’s soccerHead coach: Mr. Paul Schroeder 2014 record: 15-5-1Key players: Nelson Conteh, Brandon Eley, Justin Mitchell, and Dan MooneyCoach’s comments: “(The team was) very good but inconsis-tent. We could not finish or score sometimes when we were dominating a game.”Individual honors: All-City, Eley, Mitchell and Mooney; all-dis-trict, Eley and Mooney

Women’s soccerHead coach: Mr. Marc Behringer 2014 record: 7-9-3Key players: Natalie Jacobson, Sophia Lipka and Nicole ShoafCoach’s comments: “By the sea-son’s end this team may have played closer to its potential than any team I have coached at Cathedral.”Individual honors: Shoaf and Maggie Carter, all-City; Shoaf and Lipka, ISCA All-district team; Jacobson, Shoaf and Lipka Invited to play in ISCA College Showcase for juniors and seniors

Women’s golf Head coach: Mr. Pat Fagan Key players: Juniors Ally Mattingly and Betsy Werner and sophomore Gabi SharpCoach’s comments: “I think we played well most of the season, winning the City and the Sec-tional. We were disappointed that we didn’t play better at Regional.”Individual honors: Werner, Sharp and Mattingly, Sophia Alexander and Maddie Dittoe, all-City; Werner was named all State based on her finish at the State Finals

Men’s tennisHead coach: Mr. Mark Noe 2014 Record: 15-4 Key players: Timmy McNulty, Mark Noe, Gary Schorr and Charlie GomezCoach’s comments: “Good season, 10th straight City title. Finished Top 10 in the state rankings, played well.”Individual honors: McNulty, Gomez, David Kronenberger, Noe, Schorr, Joe Calandro, Jack Lacy, all-City; McNulty, Schorr, Noe, all-district and all-State

The Irish face their biggest challenge of the tournament in Decatur Central Friday at 7 at Tech.

Decatur’s senior quarterback, Tommy Stevens, who heads the Hawks, is a threat to both throw and run the ball. “He is a Division I athlete that plays quarterback. So he’s a good athlete,” Irish Head Coach Mr. Rick Streiff said.

After easy wins in the first two rounds of the Class 5A Sectional (39-13 over Richmond and 70-0 over Anderson), the defending State champions no doubt will face stiffer competition in the Sectional championship game.

“This is hardware week. This is when you start playing for hardware, there shouldn’t be a hangover when you’re playing for hardware,” Streiff said about whether or not the big games would have any negative effect on the players. That hardware, of course, is the Sectional trophy. It is the time of year when the team kicks it into high gear and wins championships.

The Irish offense has been on fire the past two weeks, putting up a total of 109 points and

outscoring opponents by a total of 96 points, and that has been with most of the starters sitting by the time the third quarter comes around. Decatur’s defense should provide more of a challenge for the Irish offense, but the team is ready for that challenge.

Decatur’s offense is efficient through both the air and on the ground, and it is prevalent in the fact that it has turned the ball over only nine times during the season.

The plan to force turnovers is simple but effective. “We need to have multiple people there so that second, third, fourth guy can strip at the ball. We need to make sure that we close quickly on our pass routes. If we do all these things, we can create some turnovers,” Streiff said.

As Streiff ’s team prepares for the Sectional title game, Coach Jean Kesterson’s volleyball squad seeks the school’s seventh State title in the sport.

And speaking of hardware, the Irish will take on Carmel Saturday at approximately 5 p.m. to determine the Class 4A State volleyball champion. Coach Ms. Jean Kesterson said that the main focus is not winning State, but beating Carmel, something that

her team achieved during the regular season in the Greyhounds’ gym, winning 26-24, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-10.

Kesterson said Carmel’s Carly Skjodt will provide the main threat to the Irish. The Grey-

Men’s cross-countryHead coach: Mr. Jim Nohl Season summary: “The atmosphere at the State meet is really cool. Everyone there knowshow big the race is. The entire season builds up to this day. All your friends and rivals are there to battle out five kilo-meters, and at the end of the day, champions are crowned,” said senior Patrick O’Neil, who qualified for the State meet in Terre Haute last Saturday and finished 60th.

Women’s cross-countryHead coach: Mr. Mark Doctor Season summary: “Running in State was one of the hardest races I have ever run and itwas really cold, but it was such a great experience to be able to run in the meet not only as an individual but also with my team,” said junior Katherine Free, who finished 10th, which results in her being named to the all-State cross-country squad, and who led the team’s 17th place finish overall.

hounds bring recent experience to the State title game. Carmel is the two-time State runner-up the past two years, losing to Avon both times. However, Kesterson also said, “If we play a clean game, then it should be a great day for

BY MATTHEW MEULEMAN

the Irish.” The game will be a green out

and Kesterson said she wants every student to pack the stands. The State championship match will take place at Ball State’s Worthen Arena.

SPORTS 13

columns14Taylor Swift ‘1989’ Album Review: Best One Yet?BY AMANDA KEILMAN

Restaurant Review: La Piedad, The Whole EnchiladaBY ERIN COLLINS

BY KARA WILLIAMSBY EMERSON WOLFF

La Piedad is a cute Mexican restaurant that fits perfectly into Broad Ripple. It had the fam-ily-owned-restaurant feel that most restaurants in this part of Indy have.

It had excellent service. The food was prepared quickly and the workers were friendly. They were attentive to the needs of their customers and made sure the food met their standards. De-spite the busyness of the restau-rant, it didn’t feel as if the workers were trying to hurry us out.

Taylor Swift’s newest album, “1989,” is the start of a new era for the pop star. Stepping away entire-ly from her country roots, Swift has created a new way to share her stories with her fans.

This album is completely different from anything Swift has previously done with sound, but continues her tradition of can-didly sharing about her previous relationships.

Starting her album with the upbeat song with catchy lyrics that will stay in your head all day, “Welcome to New York,” she shares her newfound love of the city with lyrics such as “like any real love it’s ever changing.”

With the next song, Swift jumps right into her favorite topics to sing about, falling in and out of love.

“Blank Space” shows the very beginning stages of one of her more recent relationships. The third song on the album is “Style,” where Swift conveys how certain loves will never go out of style.

“Out of the Woods” is the album’s first break up song. Unlike her usual songs, there is no one to blame. She sings, “We decid-ed to move the furniture so we

could dance, baby like we stood a chance.”

Her fifth song titled, “All You Had to Do Was Stay,” made it very clear that these two were never ever ever getting back together.

The next song not only was the first single on the album, but has been on the Billboard Top 100 for 10 weeks, with its lowest spot being Number 2. “Shake it Off ” was Swift’s song to all her critics about her personal life. She made it very clear that she wasn’t about to let them keep her from living her life.

“I Wish You Would” is next on the list, showing her regrets and missing someone.

Next is “Bad Blood,” a drastic switch from wanting someone back to being completely done with a person.

“Wildest Dreams” is a softer song about not wanting to be for-gotten, even when a relationship is over.

“How You Get the Girl” is a song where Swift tells you how to get back together with someone.

“This Love” is a slow song where she talks about regaining love. She refers to being changed forever and the hurt of this par-ticular love. “This love is good.

I spend more time at (or on my way to) Cathedral than I do at any other single place, including my own house. I find myself driving up the Hill at least once every weekend and countless other times throughout the regular school week. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Those few minutes it takes to make the right turn off of 56th Street and up the Hill until finally parking in the chaotic junior lot are just the first of many great moments spent at Cathedral every day.

Driving up the Hill knowing what people, places and experi-ences are waiting for me when I arrive make the daily commute from Brownsburg completely worth it.

It’s worth it because, to me, Cathedral is more than simply a great school.

Beyond the exemplary academ-ics and state-ranked sports teams, Cathedral embodies a sense of community that sets it apart from other high schools. This sense of togetherness creates an atmo-sphere that’s more like a family than a school.

The people I’ve met and grown closer to here are the main reason I’ve fallen in love with Cathedral so whole-heartedly. I know that the minute I walk in the door here, I am safe.

Here, there are people, teachers and students, who care about me and want me to succeed. Here, I have teachers who want to build personal relationships with me and who genuinely care about my well being, academically and otherwise. Here, I have fellow students who I know I can come to about anything. Here, I am surrounded by people who truly understand what it’s like to be a member of the Cathedral family, and that’s an experience you just can’t replace.

What Does Cathedral Mean to Me?Editors’ Columns

If you told me freshman year that I would be the editor of the newspaper as a junior, I wouldn’t have believed you.

I decided to take Intro to Jour-nalism because I discovered my love of writing in middle school; however, when I signed up to take the class, I didn’t know what to expect or who else was taking it.

As luck would have it, Kara, who I met in summer gym, was taking the intro class, too.

Sophomore year brought the arrival of our new adviser, Mr. Tony Willis, from whom I learned to write engaging articles and to design pages.

Cathedral is committed to the fact that they are “building lead-ers,” but I never stopped to con-sider the truth of this statement.

There are so many opportuni-ties here that foster the need for leadership roles, which I’m con-vinced cannot be found elsewhere.

Here, it is not only encouraged to be a leader, but it is expected.

If you ask around, most people could say that they are a leader in some form, whether it be a club, activity or sport.

Here, students who take a stand for issues they believe to be important is the norm, not the exception.

Cathedral, to me, is embracing this role of leadership to challenge oneself. Cathedral helps you to mature because the teachers encourage their students to try new things, find their passions and help develop those inter-ests.

The friends I’ve made, classes I’ve taken, teachers I’ve had and extra curriculars I’ve partaken in have all contributed to the person I’ve become.

And this is all due to the experiences I’ve had at Cathedral, which have positively influenced my life and shaped the person I am today.

This love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead,” are the lyrics to the chorus of the song.

Changing gears yet again, Swift chose a fast song to be next. “I Know Places” is about how the media judge relation-ships, and the effects it has on each relationship. She com-pares them to hunters while she and the mystery person are foxes.

The 13th and final song on the album is “Clean.” This song is about the stage after heart-break where it doesn’t hurt anymore. You are over that person. You are clean of them.

Swift has done it again. She released an amazing album that is so different yet at the same time is such a Taylor Swift album.

The food tasted delicious. It was speedily cooked and didn’t lack flavor due to the quickness. Though the food was tasty, there wasn’t anything that set it apart from any other Mexican restau-rant.

It offered the same menu items that could be found in other restaurants. The chips and salsa given to us when we arrived did have more flavor than the salsa found in other places.

La Piedad would be an excel-lent place to have an inexpensive dinner with friends or to just grab a speedy lunch.

megaphoneStaff

Co-editors-in-chief: Kara Williams, Emerson Wolff

Photo editor:Emma Flohr

News editor: Kara Williams

Opinion editor: Katie Swanton

Feature editor: Emerson Wolff

Face-off editor: Maddie Lucia

Culture editor: Ashley King

Sports co-editors: Jack Rocap Matthew Meuleman

Social media director: Annie Browning

Graphic designer: Christopher Bessler

Cartoonist: Rita Millikan

Photographers: Gloria Herron Emma Flohr Annie Browning

Reporters: Morgan Carter Erin Collins Gloria Herron Nora MacAnally Nicole Shoaf Tunie Snyder

Nathan Gray Amanda Keilman Zak Batt Rachel Boler Noelle Luling Mary Cate Pachciarz Adviser: Mr. Tony Willis

Principal: Mr. David Worland

President: Mr. Stephen Helmich

Mission Statement:The Megaphone strives to deliver honest and ac-curate news that informs the readers and allows them to make educated decisions based on the content published. Our goal is to not only report the basic facts, but also to provide in-depth and thorough coverage of all subject matters.

Megaphone is a forum for public expression. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire Megaphone staff or of Cathe-dral High School.

Contact Us At:Twitter @IrishMegaphoneEmail megaphone@gocathe-dral.comRoom Loretto 2214

Megaphone is the student newspaper of Cathedral High School, 5225 E. 56th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46226, (317-542-1481), and is published monthly.

Megaphone is a member of:Indiana High School Press Association

National Scholastic Press Association

Dear Old Cathedral, Here’s to (the Best of) You Dear old Cathedral, here’s

to you. Here’s to all those times you were there. Here’s to the times when the sun burned out and the sky went black. Whenever the light was off, you held our hands and helped us out.

Thank you, Cathedral, for all the dark times that you made light. When a child is having a rough home life, you lifted him up.

When times were tough, there was always the con-stant of math class. There’s always Sr. Mary Ann’s smil-ing face. There are always cookies in the cafeteria.

Cathedral is constant. Cathedral is safe. Cathedral is home.

When a heart is heavy, there’s always a pat on the back. There’s always a “How are you doing?” from a county leader.

There’s always hope. Cathedral is far more than

a school. A school is often portrayed as a jailhouse

filled with sleeping students and stacks of papers. Cathe-dral is far from that.

Cathedral is leaves flow-ing in the wind around a group of students in the courtyard. Cathedral is a gymnasium of smiling kids singing “Love Will Hold us Together.” It’s a girl walking a pet ferret in the hallway. It’s psych students playing with children. It’s a biology class walking the trail.

It’s a cross. It’s a family. When an upperclassman high fives a freshman, God is there. God is there when books are dropped and students help pick them up. God is there when a door is held open. We all have felt the presence of God during a monthly Mass.

God is here. There’s something to be said about a place like this, where students of years past come back with smiling faces to reunite with teachers, where the Cathedral name is worn

proudly upon sweatshirts, license plates and class rings.

It is amazing to see the Irish pride that is displayed atop the hill.

For many high schoolers, school is something that is dreaded, but Cathedral stu-dents experience something very different.

And while Sunday nights and Monday morning are not always met with a chipper attitude, we can’t help but feel an increase in enthusiasm as we pass over each speed bump each morning. Each cheer at a football game and chant at a hockey game give spirit and life to the Irish.

We support our Cathe-dral family members and through that support, gain strength.

We are Irish, we are strong, we are proud and we are Cathedral. So dear old Cathedral, tried and true, here’s to you.

Staff 15

IOP, IA, HL, SL, CAS, TOK.... these are just a few of the confusing acronyms you may hear IB students and teachers using.

The International Bac-calaureate programme was founded in Switzerland in 1968, though it came to Cathedral more recently in 2006, thanks to a grant from the Lilly Foundation and due to the vision of our President, Mr. Steve Helmich.

Today we offer 17 IB courses, all of them aiming to deliver a student-cen-tered, inquiry based curriculum designed to emphasize depth of study, awareness of cultural dif-ferences and a focus on the inter-relatedness of various disciplines.

The big question we are often asked is, “How is IB different from AP?” There are several differences, but four will be of most inter-est to you as you attempt to discern which one, or a combination of both, may be right for you.

First, IB classes can only be taken in the junior and senior years.

Second, IB classes often span two years, rather than one, and they can be taken at either the SL,

or Standard Level, or HL, or Higher Level, both of which are considered honors level courses. The difference is in the amount of material covered and assessed, while each maintain a challenging, rigorous curriculum.

Third, unlike AP courses that assess student achievement in a single test at the end of the year, IB students participate in a variety of assessments that, in combination with a final written exam, determine one’s score in the course.

In almost every case, these exams are essay tests with few multiple-choice questions. Unlike the AP score on a scale of 5, the IB score on a scale of 7 is de-termined by this exam, but it also depends upon proj-ects and papers completed throughout the course, such as oral presentations and experiments.

Fourth, and most nota-bly, while IB classes can be taken individually, like AP classes, and can likewise earn students college credit, students who take six IB courses in various disciplines can choose to pursue the IB Diploma, a globally recognized achievement.

This requires students to serve their community and grow in self-knowledge through CAS – creativity, activity and service – investigate a topic of their choosing in an extended essay, and take theory of knowledge, or TOK.

Mr. Ken Jensen explains TOK this way: “Most high school courses are all about collecting informa-tion, data, skill sets and memorizing. TOK goes way beyond this approach in that it asks the student to pull together all that they have learned in the various disciplines -- often conflicting -- and to try to unite that knowledge into some kind of a logically defensible worldview. We need more global under-standing in this present world; and we need people who can think in a logical and critical way about the world around them: its politics, economics, ethics, religions, culture and theories.”

At its heart, this is what IB is all about. We hope you’ll join us for our annual IB dinner tonight at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria and find out if a course or the full IB Diploma is right for you.

AP courses are col-lege-level courses offered in high school. By taking these rigorous courses, students are preparing and challenging them-selves for college-level coursework and expecta-tions. Currently, Cathe-dral offers 17 Advanced Placement courses across six different disciplines. Students engage in the course material through-out the year and take the corresponding AP Exam in May.

A major benefit from taking AP courses is the potential to earn college credit while still in high school. This can help families save money as college costs are growing each year. Currently, more than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the country offer college credit, advanced placement, or both, for qualifying AP exam scores.

Specifically for those attending an Indiana public college or univer-sity, students will receive college credit for any exam where they score a 3 or higher. For many other colleges and uni-versities, students who

score a 3 or higher on an exam can typically earn college credit.

AP exams are admin-istered in May and all students who are enrolled in an AP class are re-quired to take the exam. Exams are generally two to three hours long and include two portions: multiple choice and free response questions. The free-response items, depending on the course, consist of essays, problem solving questions, doc-ument-based questions and oral response.

Students take the exams on campus and receive their scores in July. Last year, Cathedral administered 726 exams to 325 students.

One of the most valuable aspects of taking an AP course is that it is a direct indication to a college admissions officer that a student has taken the steps to fully prepare for college. AP courses are challenging, but they also help develop the skills and knowledge students will need after high school.

Social studies teach-er Mr. Anthony Ernst said, “AP courses are a

great way for students to challenge themselves to excel at a level not found in other classes. The AP curriculum is designed to deliver a rigor that develops the student’s ability to achieve more in their understanding of the content, their writing skills and their com-prehension of complex themes.”

English teacher Mrs. Kathy Keyes also com-mented on the value of taking AP courses. She said, “The rigor of AP Literature and Compo-sition prepares students well for the expectations they will face in college.  Time and again, my for-mer students tell me that they received an A on their first college paper or that their professor read their paper aloud as an example of how to write an essay.”

As part of our efforts to increase the aware-ness regarding our AP program, Cathedral will be hosting our first AP Showcase in January. We will be communicating information to parents and students about the AP Showcase in the near future.

IB and AP: Which one is better for you?mrs Bradshaw mrs blamey

“Today we offer 17 IB courses, all of

them aiming to deliver a

student-centered, inquiry based curriculum.”

“By taking these rigorous courses,

students are preparing

themselves for college-level courses

and expectations.”

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