What happened?
Bishop Noll Institute’s homecoming week took place October 19 - 24. The theme was starlight and the hallways were decorated with brightly colored lights and stars with every student’s name on them.
Monday’s theme was Space Jam or aliens. Tuesday’s theme was age groups. Freshmen dressed up as babies, sophomores dressed up as toddlers, juniors dressed up as middle-aged adults, and seniors dressed up as senior citizens. Wednesday’s theme was in honor of the centennial year of Bishop Noll Institute and virtual classes were cancelled. Thursday’s theme was memes.
Finally, Friday was extreme warrior wear day, in which students dressed in their best Bishop Noll-branded or colored clothing. Each homeroom submitted a picture of their best dressed students and the top students won a prize.
Homecoming week ended with a socially distanced, outdoor pep rally. The band and cheer team performed on the football field. Additionally, there was a field goal kick contest where two students from each grade level and two faculty members participated in.
The senior participants, Fernando Ramos and Miguel Mendoza, tied for first place. During the football game against Calumet High School, seniors Noah Reid and Karissa Hernandez were crowned homecoming king and queen.
The next day, the student council held a homecoming event which featured music, a movie, and Chick-fil-A. Bishop Noll students overall had a great time during this fun-filled week.
What’s coming up?
Fall sports have come to an end, which means winter sports are here. Bishop Noll athletes will participate in the following winter sports this year: bowling, basketball, hockey, and wrestling.
Bishop Noll’s hockey team is the reigning Indiana State High School Hockey Association (ISHSHA) Class 2A state champions. They currently hold three state championship titles since the team’s formation and hope to gain another one this year.
The 2020-2021 hockey team adds a bunch of new athletes to their team this year, including freshmen Logan Stumpf and Erick Shelton.
“My favorite part of the team is the friendships and jokes in the locker room,” said Stumpf.
When asked about what he is looking forward to most this season, Shelton replied, “As a freshman I look forward to getting to know the team, and improving on and off the ice.”
Both hope to have a successful season and receive a championship ring this year.
Next, girls basketball starts in early November and is looking forward to a strong season, featuring ahead powerhouse seniors Courtney Blakely, Isabelli Damacio, and Makayla Fuentes.
This season, the boys basketball team has a new coaching staff including 2012 Bishop Noll graduate, John Dodson III. Their first home game is November 27 against Morton High School.
The Bishop Noll athletic department hopes for great and successful seasons for all teams competing this winter.
Student spotlight: Grace Buksa
Grace Buksa is trying to make the most of her freshman year despite the unfortunate circumstances.
“The hardest parts of being a freshman during the COVID-19 pandemic are getting to know my peers and not having many friends in my classes due to the limited amount of people allowed in a classroom at a time.”
Buksa has known she would attend Bishop Noll since she started grade school. Many of her relatives including her dad, several aunts, uncles, and cousins graduated from Bishop Noll. Her older sister also graduated from Bishop Noll in 2019. She has another sister who is a senior and a brother who is a sophomore at Bishop Noll as well. Bishop Noll is truly a family school for Grace.
“My favorite part about Bishop Noll is the variety of sports and clubs you can join.”
Buksa started her year off strong, making the freshman volleyball team. She has played volleyball since fifth grade, and says that volleyball is her favorite sport because of the competition.
She plans to joining the track team in the spring and hopes to run sprints and mid-distance. She hopes to get involved in the campus ministry. Buksa is also involved with the yearbook, media, and drama clubs.
This year, Buksa is taking a variety of classes including Algebra 1, Spanish 1, Biology, Speech and Intro to Engineering. Her favorite class this semester is Speech.
“My favorite class is Speech because I get to practice my public speaking and my teacher always finds a way to make class fun yet educational,” Buksa said.
In her free time, she likes to play volleyball, run, and hang out with friends and family. Buksa is a great addition to the Bishop Noll community due to her participation in school activities and hard work in academics.