What’s recently happened?
Bishop Noll Institute’s Spring Fling took place these past weeks but the memories are forever to stay. The theme for this year's spring fling was enchanted forest and looked like something from a Disney Movie.
This would not have been possible without the spring fling crew setting up the school cafeteria early in the morning. The spring fling crew consisted of many kids from all grades who volunteered their time and muscles. The volunteers came to school at 9 a.m. and left school at 12 p.m. In those three hours, they accomplished a lot.
They set up the cafeteria in a special way to create a dance floor, put up balloons and decorations, carried the beverages and drinks, set up the tables with all of its decorations, set up fairy lights everywhere, decorated the entryway, and drew on the cafeteria windows.
The spring fling crew used a lot of vines and blues. Their color schemes were light pink, green, and gold.
Everyone was doing something to contribute to the final goal, which was to turn the cafeteria into a garden dance floor. Everyone was talking about how pretty and fun the spring fling was.
One student who really enjoyed it was Sophia Mendez, a senior at Bishop Noll Institute. Mendez's favorite part of the dance was the food and the music that the DJ played throughout the night.
The DJ was able to keep everyone dancing all night long. Mendez’s favorite song that was played was “Dos Locos” by Monchy & Alexandra. Mendez also liked the Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets that were served as appetizers.
Her favorite moments were being able to relax and talking with her friends about the night and what was going on. This spring fling was a special and memorable dance for Mendez.
“What made it memorable were the decorations. It was beautiful, and I loved the flowers and vines,” Mendez said.
What’s coming up?
It is time for Bishop Noll Institute's annual spring musical, and this year it is “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“Little Shop of Horrors” is about a floral assistant named Seymour Krelborn who stumbles across a new plant that he calls Audrey II which is after his co-worker's crush. The plant promises Krelborn fame and fortune as long as he gets fed blood. But over time, Audrey II’s true intention of global domination gets exposed over time.
Kayla Jones, who is in charge of the school's drama department and drama club, picked the musical. This Broadway Musical has been on her bucket list for quite some time. It is a little bit of everything that she loves, which is funny, a little scary, and full of craziness.
What makes this show different from the other shows that have been produced at Bishop Noll Institute is that it features a huge technical element which is the Plant Puppet.
Learning how to use the puppets has been a challenge and something that has never been done at Bishop Noll Institute.
Jones' outcome for the musical is to sell out of tickets. This is a one-of-a-kind show, and she is hoping for a huge turnout each night.
Her favorite part of all of the rehearsals has been watching how much fun the students have been having and hearing everyone singing their hearts out. She is excited to see what the cast and crew will do during their performances.
“They are so talented, and I cannot express in words how proud of each and every one of them. I cannot wait to share this story with everyone,” Jones said.
The cast and crew members are also excited about the upcoming musical.
Alexis Vega, part of the makeup crew and pit band, is excited about what the musical has to offer. Her favorite part of the musical is getting ready for closing night because everyone is always so excited to put on one last show together.
Vega’s goal is to be able to contribute as much as she can, especially for it being the senior's last show. Instead of letting her nerves get the best of her, she uses them as fuel and excitement before performing.
Staff spotlight:
One of Bishop Noll Institute's new teachers this year has been Matthew Pysh, and he is in charge of Campus Ministry.
Pysh was born and raised in Valparaiso, Indiana, and went to Morgan Township High School. He later went to Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona, Minnesota. At Saint Mary’s, he studied theology.
He prayed about becoming a priest for a year and spent a year in the seminary at St. Mary’s, but he felt that God was not calling him to be a priest.
Out of college, he went to St. Paul Catholic Church in Valparaiso, Indiana, and was Director of Youth Ministry. He was in St. Paul’s until he was told about a job opportunity at Bishop Noll Institute.
At Bishop Noll Institute, Pysh does many things. He organizes the masses, retreats, and other prayer devices. While doing this, he also keeps track of all of the students' service hours. Overall, he helps keep the school's focus on its Catholic identity and mission.
Pysh has been loving his time at Bishop Noll Institute. It has been a big transition for him, but the staff and students have been very welcoming toward him.
His favorite memory was his first Kairos Retreat with the seniors, which he led. Ameer Lawrence, a group leader, helped him truly understand what Karios was as a retreat and what it meant to the school.
Pysh thinks that learning about faith is important in many aspects. Overall, his goal is to teach that God is part of people’s everyday life and that no matter what happens, God and His people will always be there for everyone.
Student spotlight:
Bishop Noll Institute's Junior Daisy Gonzalez has been using school as a pathway to her future. School has allowed Gonzalez to be herself and to discover new passions that she did not know she had.
Gonzalez has been more involved in her faith at Bishop Noll while also being able to join new clubs like the drama club.
Her biggest accomplishment has been her position as a student leader. She is the head of the makeup department of the drama club, leads in the Campus Ministry and Service Club, is co-head of the Hispanic Student Union, and helps lead as a student ambassador by being able to translate at school events.
On top of all of these accomplishments, Gonzalez has been able to grow and maintain her GPA above a 4.0.
Gonzalez’s future goal is to attend a good college and have a career doing what she loves. Her plan is to study pre-law as an undergrad and then go to a law school where she is able to become a criminal prosecutor.
She has been doing activities outside of school that help her explore her future. Those activities are attending summer programs at colleges like Stanford University and Yale University.
“I believe these programs will help me in the future by allowing me to become immersed in what life is like as a law student at one of these universities,” Gonzalez said. “Participating in the program at Stanford helped me decide that I really did want to become a criminal prosecution lawyer and that this was something I could do for the rest of my life.”
Something that helped Gonzalez get where she is today is by surrounding herself with people that are goal-oriented. This helped her stay on top of things, but what really drives her to succeed is her family.
“I think my family is really the biggest factor that motivates me to succeed,” she said. “Being the firstborn child of two immigrant parents, everything I do is a first. This means I was born a natural leader. Knowing this helps me remember to stay focused and push for success. I want to be able to take advantage of the opportunities my parents did not have and be a role model for my younger siblings.”