The OMEA (Oregon Music Educators Association) holds its annual convention in Eugene, Ore. Jan. 13-16. During that time, choral, band and orchestra demonstrations are held for teachers to observe, learn and get ideas for the future in their elementary, junior high, secondary and college-level classrooms.

Students in the elementary level and the junior high level are selected by a panel: students on the secondary level must audition by tape for acceptance.

Four Valley Catholic Middle School students were selected to represent the school in the All-State Middle School Choir. They are:

1. 7th grade soprano Emily Gfroerer
2. 7th grade tenor Matt Biggi
3. 8th grade alto Sannah Braun
4. 8th grade tenor Ryan Howerton

These students will receive a practice CD with their music on it and will prepare and learn it all before arriving in Eugene. Once there, they will rehearse for at least five hours on January 13 and for at least four hours on January 15. They will then present a concert in the Hult Center.

Also, oboist David Rogers from Valley Catholic High School competed by tape and was accepted into the Symphonic Band.  He, too, will be preparing before going to Eugene, spending many hours in rehearsal and participating in the concert at the end of the convention.

This All-State experience is a wonderful opportunity for our students to meet and work with other fine students and share their love for music. Congratulations to everyone who auditioned as well as to those who were selected for the January event.

Both the boys and girls cross country teams will be racing in the morning in Eugene at the state championship meet. Both teams are among the top three teams in the state. Both teams were awarded their first Lewis and Clark League plaques on Thursday at an all-school pep assembly by Principal Ross Thomas.

On Saturday afternoon, the high school volleyball team, ranked number two in Oregon, hosts Westside Christian in the first round of the state tournament at 5:00 p.m. in the Valiants Gym. Students who attend, keep your tickets! For at 7:00 p.m. our dramatists play Twelfth Night in the auditorium, and all students with tickets from the volleyball match will receive free admission!

For those who decide to attend both might find getting food in between might be difficult, Valley Catholic will throw a free barbeque for all between the volleyball game and the play, at about 6:15 p.m. just outside the doors of the Valiants’ Athletic Center.

We hope to see many of you Saturday in the gym, at the theater, and around the grill.

Dear Valley Catholic Parents,

It almost seems impossible to believe, but the school year is just reaching the end of the first quarter. Maybe it’s the recent nice weather that makes it seem like the first day of school was just last week.

It was another busy week on campus including two all-school events. On Monday, Fr. Kearns celebrated All Saint’s Day Mass for students from Pre-K through 12th grade. The ability for our entire school to come together to celebrate a liturgy is truly a special part of being at Valley Catholic. Later in the week, the same group of students gathered in the Valiants Gym for an all school pep assembly that included “roller coaster cheers,” spirit competitions and general rowdiness. I love watching the little ones get excited when they are included in the events with the older students on campus.
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Valley Catholic Elementary is looking for a Haunted House chairperson for next year! This is one of the most fun events at the VCES Annual Halloween Carnival. We’re looking for someone with creativity, energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to work with others to create an awesome, but not over-the-top scary, haunted house. We want to fill the position now, so that we’re ready to roll on the planning right away for next fall. For more information, please e-mail Laura Schultz.

Valley Catholic High School Senior Lindsay Harmon appeared this week in the “Faces in the Crowd” column of Sports Illustrated.  Lindsay is the 1A-4A state winner for two years in a row, and has made several headlines around town with her golf prowess.

Lindsay signed a national letter of intent with Washington State University at her home Wednesday, Nov. 10 and will be recognized at a school assembly on Monday, Nov. 15.

Read her feature on Sports Illustrated Web site.

Girls Soccer – Valiants try to advance to state with home match vs. OES

Valley Catholic lost a close decision to Catlin Gabel earlier in the week (11-2) 1-0. The loss put Valley in a winner to state loser out match this Friday (11-5) at 3:00 pm against OES. A win would put the Valiants back into the state tournament for the fifth consecutive year. Valley Catholic filled up the all-league teams with several selections. Celia Alvarez was named honorable mention, while Mackenzie Cleveland and Emily Gabourel were named to the second team. Valley Catholic placed Hanna Wright, Meg Rapp, Erin Gibbs, and Linda Nguyen on the league’s first team.
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The Student Council Judges' Favorite pumpkin, "Boo Avenue" by Anna Noll in 4P.

~Written by Victor Agostinelli, Yearbook Staff Writer and Student Council Representative

In late October, the Valley Catholic Elementary Student Council held their second annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest. There were many entries from all grade levels and several different categories for the contest. There was a Trailblazer, a Frankenstein, a pirate, a cowboy, and even a Biggest Loser set! How funny is that! The five categories were:

1. Best Small Pumpkin
2. Most Halloweeny
3. Most Humorous
4. Miscellaneous
5. Judges’ Favorite

After dividing the pumpkins into groups, the Student Council handed in their ballots. The next day during the school announcements, we found out who the winners were!

For the Best Small Pumpkin it was the “Small Mighty” by Stella Bauman in 2B. For the Most Halloweeny category it was “Pumpkin Bat” by Hannah Park in 4P. For the Most Humorous category it was “The Biggest Loser” by Natalie and Madelyn Schur in 6H and 4F. For the Miscellaneous category it was “Pumpkin Penguin” by Kirsten Lovely in 5W. And last, but not least, for the Judges’ Favorite category it was “Boo Avenue” by Anna Noll in 4P.

Monday, November 8
Karen Law

Tuesday, November 9
Laura Schultz and Naveen Buddi

Wednesday, November 10
Bev Bruer and Tina Tran

I want to thank all of our volunteers for the work put into the Halloween Carnival a week ago, especially Steve and Amy Aragon, who co-chaired the event for the first time. Our students love the Halloween Carnival! They were so cute in their costumes and their gleeful enthusiasm was absolutely infectious. I especially loved watching the little ones try all the games. It was also good to see some middle schoolers there, not worrying about being too cool and grown up to come to our Halloween Carnival. That’s one good thing about being a PreK-12 school—most of our students have been here long enough and know so many school staff members and other students at multiple levels, that everyone feels pretty comfortable and welcome at each others’ events. We got a good glimpse of that last year when our Student Council sponsored the first-ever family sock hop—everyone was dancing together and having fun! We’ll probably do that again this year.

The next three weeks of school will be short and quick. November is always chopped up with holidays and parent/teacher conferences. Make sure you study the school calendar thoroughly, so you don’t get mixed up and try to drop off your child on a day there’s no school. That would be embarrassing!

Veterans Day is next week. This holiday sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, because it doesn’t always create a long weekend, and not everybody gets the day off. It’s actually a very serious and special day, meant to honor all men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. My father was a proud veteran of World War II. I always think of him on Veterans Day, participating in the local parade in my little hometown of Dallas, Oregon, marching with his VFW buddies, or serving on the rifle squad for the 21-gun salute. When I was in high school, our band marched and played in those parades. I know all of the service tunes from that experience! Please don’t let the day go by without thinking of the servitude and sacrifice veterans have made for our country.

Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed Saturday evening! Take care and God bless, Susan Friesen

P.S. We learned this week that one of our former parents, Rhonda Greeney, has been very ill with cancer and is going into hospice care. Rhonda and Keith Greeney have three children, Caitlin, Megan, and Ethan, who all attended our school. Our heart goes out to the Greeney’s. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Quote for the Week:

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” [Arthur Ashe]

VCES Calendar Update for the Week of November 8-12:

Monday, November 8

• Playground Monitor – Karen Law

Tuesday, November 9

• Picture Retakes (“dress-up” free dress is allowed today for retakes!)
• Playground Monitors – Laura Schultz and Naveen Buddi
• 2:00 dismissal!
• 6:30-9:00 – VCS Board mtg. – Convent Conference Rm. A/B
• 6:45-8:00 – PTC meeting – Hot Lunch Room

Wednesday, November 10

• 9:35 – Veterans Day Prayer Service led by 6M – Convent Chapel
• Playground Monitors – Bev Bruer and Tina Tran

Thursday, November 11

• NO SCHOOL – Veterans Day!

Friday, November 12

• NO SCHOOL – Teacher Professional Development in the morning and report card preparation in the afternoon.

(From left to right) Mr. Kipp Johnson, Emily Gabourel (10), Jami Cheng (12), Megan Peekema (12), David Barry (12)

Math League is a national math test administered six times per year. The group gives statistics every round. Around 100 Valley students took the test for round one, and the top five scoring students for every round form the school team. The highest possible school score is 30 points. Valley Catholic High School scored a 26. After this first round, Valley students placed in the list of top 25 schools. A special mention, VCHS Student David Barry got a perfect score in round one.

To find out more information, visit the Math League Web site.