What’s recently happened
On March 11, the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary Bishop Robert McClory celebrated mass with the Bishop Noll family. During the Mass, McClory addressed how grateful he is to be the new Bishop of this awesome diocese. Senior Felicity Miranda, president of the Bishop Noll Student Council, presented Bishop McClory with “Warrior Wear.” After Mass, the principal of Bishop Noll, Mrs. Lorenza Pastrick, and Superintendent of Diocese of Gary Schools Dr. Majchrowicz, showed Bishop McClory around the Noll building and classrooms. The Bishop’s Mass also was live-streamed because it was one of the first Masses he had done at a school. Bishop Noll students, faculty, staff, and administrators are very excited to see what Bishop McClory does for the faith community of the Diocese of Gary.
What is coming up
Graduation is coming up soon for the class of 2020. However, due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, it is unsure when and if many events are going to occur, including graduation.
Recently, Bishop Noll administration announced the students with top honors. This year’s valedictorian is Giovanni Komyatte. He plans to attend Norte Dame University in the fall. This year’s salutatorian is Elijah Carrasquillo. He is undecided about college. Other students graduating summa cum laude are Karizma Garcia, Jilsuri Hernandez, Litzi Maldonado, Catherine Menge, Felicity Miranda, Alexandra Ortega, John Reardon, Isaiah Rivera, Emily Rokos, Angel Trevino, and Nora Wragg. Those students all maintained a grade point average (GPA) of a 4.0 or higher.
There are 21 seniors that are graduating magna cum laude, having maintained a GPA of 3.5-3.9.
Finally, 20 seniors are graduating with cum laude. These students maintained a GPA of 3.0-3.4.
Teacher Spotlight
Ms. Ashley Comer is one of three amazing Bishop Noll counselors. She has been a licensed school counselor for seven years, and a counselor at Bishop Noll for three of those. As a counselor, she schedules classes, administers NWEA and ISTEP testing, puts together college visits and fairs, and so much more.
“I love interacting with students. I love meeting the needs of students,” Comer said.
Comer is also the adult adviser for the Bishop Noll Gospel Choir. The choir sings at special events and Masses including the Catholic Schools Week Mass. The choir is made up of about 20 Bishop Noll students from freshmen to seniors.
“Right before students minister they are so nervous, but I love to see them transcend through their apprehensiveness and proclaim boldly that Jesus is Lord over everything,” Comer said.
Comer is working toward her doctorate, which allows her to bring back valuable information to her coworkers on education developments.
Student Spotlight
Senior Grace Roach is making the best of her senior year. Even with school being temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, she still accomplished a lot. At Noll, she participated in bowling for four years, track and field for two years, National Honor Society for three years, and Speech and Debate for one year. She was also named one of this year’s track and field captains.
“My favorite part of Bishop Noll is how close everyone is and how much it feels like a family,” Roach said.
Roach recently was named part of the class of 2020 Magna Cum Laude which means she finished her four years of Noll with a GPA of between 3.5-3.9. Roach also takes various honors, Dual Credit (DC), and Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
“My favorite class was theatre my freshman year because we always did some sort of activity or played a game, which was always fun,” Roach said. After graduation, Roach plans to attend college to study pediatric physical therapy. In her free time, she likes to run, hang out with friends and family, and do photoshoots.