Avery Isuani ’24
Avery says that if she could live anywhere in the world it would be in Argentina, as she has family ties there and seemingly, it would be like a home away from home. Avery’s favorite season is autumn for its colors. Avery would like to become a pediatrician because she likes being around kids and helping them. |
Asher Pellegrini ’24
After hearing quite a bit about how fun it is from other members of the team, Asher is starting out his career at Marist Spartan with a new sport: cross country. So far he says it’s been super fun! He is excited for the upcoming winter break — it’s no wonder since snowy days are his favorite! Comparing Instagram and Snapchat, Asher argues that while Snapchat is better for communicating with friends, Instagram is naturally more preferable since Instagram users are able to follow not just their buddies, but sports teams and celebrities as well. His favorite candy is either M&Ms or any chocolate. |
Martina Susec ’24
If Martina could live anywhere in the world she would choose Croatia because the scenery is beautiful and people are so generous and because she has family there. If a billionaire gave her a credit card and asked her to buy them a Snickers bar and something for herself, Martina admits that while she might be tempted to go “all out,” she’d probably just stick with grabbing a bag of Sour Patch Kids. If she could meet a famous person she would meet Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) who plays her favorite character Troy in her favorite TV show “Community” or she might choose President Obama because he’s pretty “chill.” If Martina could bring back an extinct animal, she would choose the giant sloth because “that would be awesome” and her worst fear is being locked in a car submerged in a deep body of water. |
This week one of our Spotlight Sports is Cross Country, and we hear from head coach Luke Puskedra. We discussed challenges with the COVID restrictions and their goals for optional practices for a season that won’t begin until Apr. 5.
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We also interviewed sophomore Jennifer Tsai and Luke Shah as our Spotlight Athletes to hear players perspectives on how cross country practices have been going.
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Q: What have your workouts been focusing on improving?
Puskedra: ‘’Creating a positive atmosphere, working hard and having fun. Some of the workouts are challenging but our job is to teach the student-athletes that they are able to achieve a lot more than they think they can.’’ Q: How close to in-game situations are you able to practice while social distancing? Puskedra:‘’We are able to do individual time trials while adhering to social distancing protocols. Time trials and hard workouts are not able to replace the feeling of competition, but the students have been very patient during this time. I am very proud of how they have handled all the uncertainties with positive attitudes.’’ Q: When should full practices begin? Puskedra:‘’On Feb. 22 with meets starting on Mar.1. We are having voluntary practices now: Wednesdays for cross country and Fridays for track and field both at Marist from 3:30-5 pm. We are also having optional strength and conditioning on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:15pm at Marist.’’ Q: What will the numbers look like this year? Puskedra:‘’We will continue to invite everybody at all levels. Our potential racing plans seem to change daily, there hasn’t been any definite plans on what racing will look like this year.’’ Q: Do you think that social distancing has an affect on team comradery? Puskedra:‘’Social distancing has been tough but the student-athletes are very mature to know that it is necessary. Normally, a lot of team comradery is built through high fives etc. but the students have done a good job of replacing this with words of encouragement to adhere to social distancing protocols.’’ |
Sophomore Jennifer Tsai
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Jennifer: ‘’It’s been hard to practice with masks especially since running is heavily focused on breathing, but I think it is worth it if it means I am protecting my teammates.’’ Q: What are some of the team’s goals this year? Jennifer: ‘If we get to compete, I would want to win state again this would be the third year and that would be really special.’’ Sophomore Luke Shah
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Luke: ‘At first, wearing masks was a struggle. Running requires a constant flow of fresh air and masks are designed to limit that. Wearing a mask makes running significantly harder overtime. However, our team adapted and we are grateful for the opportunity to practice. Running with masks is better than not running at all. I think wearing masks shows the resilience of our team and has made us all better runners.’’ Q: What are some of the team’s goals this year? Luke: “Our goal has always been to compete with the best in the state; however with unique circumstances of this unprecedented year we would just like the opportunity to compete. A chance to compete would mean a lot to our team, it would give us a sense of normalcy that we haven’t had in so long.’’ Q: If you could give one message to your teammates, what would it be? Luke: “I would tell my teammates to stay strong and to not let up our focus eventually things will return back to normal and when they do we will be stronger than before.’’ |
This week one of our Spotlight Coaches was head boys and girls basketball coach Adam Reeser and Bart Pollard. We discussed challenges with the COVID restrictions and their goals for optional pre-season practices for a season that won’t begin until April 5.
Coach Bart Pallard
Q: What have your workouts been focusing on improving? Pollard: “Strength, mostly.” Q: How game-like are you able to practice while social distancing? Pollard: “Not game-like at all. Basketball is considered a full-contact sport by the state. And players are prohibited from contact, so basketball isn’t able to be played.” Q: How many teams will there be this year? Pollard: “Each year we field a Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman team. I expect that to stay the same this year.” Q: Do you think that social distancing has an affect on team comradery? Pollard: “It has been extremely difficult since players aren’t able to play the sport they really enjoy. But, many team members have been continuing to do some workouts to stay connected and social.” Coach Britton Reeser
Q: What have your workouts been focusing on improving? Reeser: “ Because of social distancing and the requirement to wear masks inside, we have tried to focus on shooting technique while consequently getting a lot of shots up. Shooting was an issue for us last year, and the coaching staff feels that if our percentages can increase we will give ourselves a better chance to be successful.” Q: How game-like are you able to practice while social distancing? Reeser: “There is very little that is game-like to what we are doing in our workouts. We try to stress going game speed in the drills, but it does get a bit stale when none of the players can be within six feet of each other.” Q: How many teams will there be this year? Reeser: “The plan is to only have two teams this year. We lack the numbers in the senior and freshman classes to be able to field three teams. Q: Do you think that social distancing has an affect on team comradery? Reeser: “I can’t imagine our team comradery being any better than we it is. Just from watching how quickly our three transfer players were accepted socially into the team made it clear to me that this is an exceptional group when it comes to team comradery. The girls genuinely seem to like each other and enjoy our time together even when a practice is demanding physically.” |
We interviewed senior Luke Eagan and junior Malia Williams as our Spotlight Athletes to hear players perspectives on how basketball practices have been going.
Senior Luke Eagan
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Eagan: “So far during our workouts, the masks haven’t been that big of an issue. They don’t bother me outside, only occasionally in the weight room during a tough set.” Q: What are some of the team’s goals this year? Eagan: “Our team's goals are the same as they were last year. We were the top seed headed into the tournament last year with the goal of winning it all before it got cancelled. Because of this cancellation I think we’re hungry to finish our unfinished business from last year.” Q: If you could give one message to your teammates, what would it be? Eagan: “Obviously this year isn’t what we expected, but I just hope we can stay disciplined and focused throughout. I would just stress to my teammates to take our unfortunate situation and turn it into a positive that we can look back on in the future.” Junior Malia Williams
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Williams: “It makes it harder to breathe, but it is bearable and it is worth it to get to be able to play.” Q: What are some of the team’s goals this year? Williams: “The team's goal is to win league and to move on to the playoffs together. Q: If you could give one message to your teammates, what would it be? Williams: “I would tell my teammates that even though we may not be able to be in the Marist gym, to continue to work on fundamentals on your own, as well as getting stronger.” |
This week one of our Spotlight Coaches was Head Football Coach Frank Geske. We discussed challenges with the COVID restrictions and his thoughts on football practices so far in anticipation of a late February season.
Q: Without games each week, what have practices been focused on? Geske: “Strength, quickness, agility, power, cutting and speed endurance have been the focus in the weight room. We have spent the vast majority of our time in that area.” Q: How close to in-game situations are you able to practice while social distancing? Geske: “The obvious answer … because there is no blocking or tackling means that there is no correlation to games. However, you can work on eyes, feet, hips and hands and make it as close to a game as you can by emphasizing reading of routes and blocks for the defense. Offensively the same thing applies which is footwork to an imaginary point of attack. And all the passing games have been worked on extensively along with the kicking game.” Q: How many teams will there be? Geske: “We have a very good turn out but we will still have just two teams. This is caused by the natural break between the old and young guys.” Q: Do you think that social distancing is having an effect on team comradery? Geske: “There is no doubt that has been the biggest drawback for the guys and all of the coaches.” |
We also interviewed Senior Player Hagen Stephenson as our Spotlight Athlete to hear a player’s perspective on how football practices have been going.
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Hagan: “They haven’t affected my playing much. It gets annoying at times because you have to keep pulling it around your nose and mouth. But it is nice when it is cold outside because it keeps your face warm.” Q: What are some of the team's goals this year? Hagan: “I would say that the team goals haven’t changed even though a lot is out of our hands right now. The team's goals would be to win every game and continue to build stronger relationships with each other.” Q: If you could give one message to your teammates, what would it be? Hagan: “One message I would give to my teammates is to always work hard because hard work can carry you far not only in sports but in life as well. Talent can only carry you so far and work ethic conquers it all.” |
This week one of our Spotlight Coaches, was Head Volleyball Coach Shari Pimental. We discussed challenges with the COVID restrictions and her goals for her optional pre-season practices for a season that won’t begin until
Feb. 22. Q: What have your workouts been focusing on improving? Pimental: “Weight room workouts have been focusing on getting players stronger; however, they have also been a great time for players to be together.’’ Q: How game-like are you able to practice while social distancing? Pimental: “I would say this summer was tougher because we could only practice and do drills while in their same cohort and could not cross paths with others; we could only play short-sided games and not six-on-six. With the most recent change we can now play volleyball, which has been exciting. We still must maintain social distancing, wear masks and wipe down equipment; however, it allows us to move more into teaching the game, not just skills.’’ Q: How many teams will there be this year? Pimental: “We will be having three teams: Varsity, JV1 and JV2 this year. There has only been one year we did not have three teams in my 28 years of coaching at Marist.’’ Q: Do you think that social distancing has an affect on team comradery? Pimental: “We develop team comradery in different ways. Some happens naturally just being together. Other areas, like cheering, with social distancing in effect means no high-fiving, but we still have our rituals; they just might look different. Our players have handled all the changes remarkably well and I am super proud of them. They never complain, work hard and have enjoyed being together on campus while playing a sport they love.’’ |
We also interviewed Senior Setter Ellie Christian as one of our Spotlight Athletes to hear a player’s perspective on how volleyball practices have been going.
Q: How have masks affected your playing? Ellie: “They definitely make it a little more difficult to breathe and communicate with my teammates; you really feel like you have to scream the whole time.’’ Q: What are some of the team’s goals this year? Ellie: “Some of the goals for this year would be building community, taking this year for what it is, and learning from whatever this year throws at us.’’ Q: If you could give one message to your teammates, what would it be? Ellie: “A message I would give to my teammates is keep your head up and try and make the most of this year — even if it's not what we had expected.” |
Día de los Muertos, the Mexican celebration of life and death also known as the Day of the Dead, has had an impact over the years on the experience of many students studying Spanish at Marist.
Each year in late October, Spanish students have the chance to learn about this holiday with their classmates and families and participate in cultural traditions such as building altars (ofrendas) to commemorate their ancestors, making the traditional pan de muertos, and creating colorful animal spirit guides (alebrijes). Below is a reflection by senior Katie Rule on how Día de los Muertos has impacted her experience in Spanish classes at Marist: Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican celebration to honor and remember those who have died. On November 1st and 2nd, families decorate altars (ofrendas) with orange flowers (cempasúchil), pictures of loved ones, and sugar skulls (calaveras), and come together to commemorate those who have died. Despite being close to all Saints Day, Día de Los Muertos is its own distinct, and positive, holiday. On Día de los Muertos, death is honored as part of the natural cycle of life with decorations (papel picado) and traditional foods (including pan de muerto and sweets) that help to accentuate the celebratory nature. Death is not something to regret or fear so much as something to honor. On these two days, it is believed that the dead are able to cross over into the land of the living. Commonly, food and other offerings are placed on the ofrenda as a gift for visiting spirits. These traditions and beliefs display how the family is an integral part of Latin American culture. Even when dead, a family member is not forgotten by the living, nor do their actions and contributions go unnoticed. During the past three years, I have contributed to the ofrenda in my Spanish classes at Marist. Each year I remember my grandparents and commemorate them by sharing their photo, baking a cake, or drawing a picture. Contributing to the ofrenda has enriched my learning in Spanish class and has made my academic experience feel personal. Learning about cultural traditions like Día de los Muertos helps me make meaningful connections between what I am learning in class and my own life in tangible and memorable ways. |
Halloween was my most favored holiday growing up. My younger self was extremely passionate about Halloween. I would decide my costume as if it were a life or death situation and I always fought off the jacket my mom tried to get me to wear over my costume when it got cold.
My older sister and I would go over to my aunt’s house to go trick-or-treating with our cousins. We always had a competition to see how much candy each of us could collect. As soon as we set out for the night we were filled with adrenaline, each of us trying to get the neighbors to sneak us an extra piece of candy or if we were lucky a handful of our favorites. Mine was Almond Joy’s. Once we were home the winner would be able to take one piece of candy from each participant's pile of hard-earned sweets. Everyone wanted first place since the winner usually took the biggest piece of candy from every pile. Although this year is different we can still have an exciting Halloween. This Halloween while getting spooky and keeping the evil spirits away, we need to scare COVID away. Wearing a mask and sanitizing will be key during this candy giving-and-taking holiday. Although trick-or-treating is tempting, try some alternatives for this spooky day, like carving pumpkins at home or a horror movie night with the family. If you’re really wanting an adventure try going to an outdoor, socially-distanced, haunted corn maze or a pumpkin patch. To show off your costume try Facetiming a friend or wearing it during a Zoom call. And if you have little ones in your life, you can give them a taste of old school trick-or-treating by pretending to answer the door for them with a big bowl of candy. Just save the Almond Joy’s for me. |
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The student council decided it was time to celebrate Halloween with a fun activity. About 50-60 kids showed up this afternoon for a Halloween Scavenger Hunt and left with hands full of candy passed out by Marist staff from all over the campus. A raffle for gift cards was held after all clues had been found.
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The Marist Retreat Team officially started off the 2020-21 retreat season last weekend as they gathered for the annual Formation Retreat both in person and on Zoom to prepare to lead retreats for the juniors, sophomores and freshmen in this unusual year for Marist retreats.
According to Dr. Rick Martin, the Director of Campus Ministry and Formation, the goals of the retreat were to build the team, build skills for retreat leadership, build spiritual life personally and as a community and, unique to this year, to explore remote and limited in-person practices. While previous year’s Formation Retreats would have started with a bus ride to Camp Tapawingo, this retreat began with students socially distanced in the gym. The 30 juniors and seniors broke into five small groups with one or two staff members, and spent a couple hours doing icebreakers in their small groups. Throughout the weekend there were many breaks to allow for the participants and leaders to travel home for Zoom meetings or to travel to school back to school for in-person activities and of course time to eat. The Zoom meetings were used for more personal conversations. They were used to get to know each other, which was easier without the required mask wearing in person, to reflect on how COVID-19 is affecting them, and to share their testimonies or “personal faith journeys.” “Zoom worked much better than expected, and resulted in engagement and a successful retreat experience,” Dr. Martin said. On Saturday evening they gathered for an in-person prayer service within small groups. “The prayer circle drew our small group closer together and I think it gave us all a lot of peace and comfort,” senior Laina Chavez said. There was also time for individual prayer. On Sunday morning, each student took a half-hour walk to give them time to focus on their environment and to just breathe. Fr. Theo Lange celebrated Mass for the team before they enjoyed a pizza feast and spent the rest of their time socializing. “The Formation Retreat taught us that retreats can take place meaningfully even in remote or hybrid mode. Knowing this, we will work hard to prepare excellent retreats to take place in January and February,” Dr. Martin said. |
Junior Duncan Yozzo, Eagle Scout of troop 282, has been awarded the highly regarded honor of Scout of the Year in the Greenwood district of the Oregon Trail Council last month for his demonstration of leadership, passion for community service, service to God and Country, as well as adherence to the Scout Law and Scout Oath.
Yozzo, who has been associated with Boy Scouts of America for nearly ten years, is extremely honored to be selected for such a prestigious award. “Once I learned that it [Boy Scouts] was all about exploring the outdoors, building things, and everything under the sun, I realized I had found something that could change my life.” Yozzo's favorite memory of Boy Scouts was when his troop went backpacking for the weekend in 18 inches of snowfall, after estimations of “a light dusting” was predicted. |
The traditional first Mass of the year took place this Wednesday, and it looked a little different than years past.
This year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit was held in the Academic Resource Center and shared with the community on Zoom. Just a few students and staff were present in person. They may not have been in Mass attire, but everyone present sported masks per school and state protocol. Prior to entry, each person took a contact tracing survey and had their temperatures checked. And unlike a “normal” first Mass of the year, the Mass was celebrated in the ARC rather than in the gym. And instead of being scrunched close with friends and classmates, they sat in seats placed 6 feet apart. Rather than having the traditional Ministry of Greeting the participants were simply welcomed with an introduction by Principal Baker and Marist’s new president David Welch. “It felt strange, there wasn’t the comradery of everyone coming together as a school. I wish that we were able to have more people. Mass is such a big part of Marist, and it unites us all. I just hope we can have normal Masses at some point this year, but at least we get to have them at all! It’s better than nothing,” student body president Mo Cavinee said. But while the Mass may have felt very different this year, the Student Council and staff worked to keep one important tradition the same. A letter from last year's graduating class was read by Cavinee to the new freshmen class at the end of Mass. (The complete letter is included below.) |
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This year’s members of Marist’s Model United Nations club, along with moderator Jon Nuxoll, met for the first time in late September via Zoom to plan for the coming year and discuss what country they would like to represent at the 2021 Model United Nations Conference next April. It was decided that Marist will be representing Venezuela next spring. The MUN organizers have yet to decide on an in-person or virtual conference, and are currently working on plans for both possibilities.
Senior Cate Carson was elected by Oregon Model United Nations members from across Oregon, Washington and Idaho as the vice president to the 2021 Secretariat (the governing body) being the first Marist student to serve as a student officer to a MUN conference. Cate is excited for her roll and says she has lots of work to do and meetings to go to but is loving it. MUN is a student-led simulation of the real United Nations, an international governing body of 193 member states dedicated to world peace and global development. At the Model UN Conference, students act as representatives of their assigned country and implement resolutions to unresolved global issues through debate and collaboration. Students prepare by researching their country’s political, economic, environmental and foreign policy issues on selected topics and are required to argue in alignment with their county’s real-life policy positions. Students involved in MUN have a chance to build and exercise their communication and persuasive skills while gaining a strong perspective on policy-making, global issues and international relations. Each student chooses their area of interest and is assigned to a committee. “MUN is a great club to join if you have an interest in foreign relations, politics, humanitarian issues, or even if you just want to try out a new experience!” Carson said. Nuxoll urged students who are interested to sign up on the MUN Schoology page or email him at jnuxoll@marisths.org |
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For the first time as official Marist students, the class of 2024 was introduced to the Marist campus at Freshman Orientation held last Wednesday from 9-11 a.m.
The freshmen, who had been anxiously waiting to meet new friends and teachers, finally got a chance. After being postponed twice due to local wildfires, the mask-clad students spent the two hours listening, touring, playing games and having their photo taken for their Student I.D. card and the yearbook, all within the midst of a global pandemic. While sitting 6 feet apart in the Gale Roberts stadium, the new freshman listened to Principal Stacy Baker and Campus Minister Dr. Martin explain what their high school experience may entail -- as in-person school, athletics and activities are up in the air due to COVID restrictions. Many of the students expressed how great and memorable the speeches were. The 2020-21 Student Council members gave tours of the school and got to see most of the classrooms with their teacher in them. They also wrote letters to there future self that will be opened in four years. They finished the day with games like Simon Says, water balloon tossing and snacks while many of the staff and freshmen teachers looked on. The senior class of 2021 returned to campus after the freshmen were done to have their photos taken by Lifetouch and pick up their 2020 yearbooks. This Wednesday, the sophomores and juniors had their first chance to return to campus, reuniting with old friends and staff while picking up their yearbooks and have their Student I.D. photos taken. For transfer students, it was not as much about meeting old friends as it was getting a feel for being on campus and meeting new people, even while wearing masks and staying socially-distanced. “I am thrilled to finally be a part of the Marist family,” transfer sophomore Paige Doerr said. “I am excited to be at Marist for the next chapter of my life,” added transfer sophomore Kaitlyn Mazur. |
Early this September, senior Jack Thornton was acknowledged as a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship because of his success on the PSAT/NMSQT standardized test taken last fall.
All current Marist seniors took the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall of their junior year along with 1.7 million other American high school juniors, but Thornton was the only Marist student this year to be recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as among the top 50,000 academically talented high school students to be commended for their performance, and just one of 16,000 students nation wide to be honored as a semifinalist. Thornton is now eligible to apply to receive a National Merit Scholarship to help pay for his college education. “I’m deeply honored and humbled, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to apply for the scholarship,” Thornton said. Thornton will have to wait until February to see if he is among the 15,000 students chosen as a National Merit Finalist. Of those, about 7,500 of will receive a Merit Scholarship. |