Class of 2012 Slideshow
St. Rita Students Excel on the National Foreign Language Exams
Pictured: St. Rita of Cascia High School students of Latin with Humanities Division Chair, Mrs. Robyn Kurnat and their teacher, Fr. Philip Cook, O.S.A., students of French with Mrs. Kurnat and their teacher, Ms. Stephanie Saul; and students of Spanish with with Mrs. Kurnat and their teachers, Ms. Socorro Yanez and Mrs. Colleen Earley.
St. Rita of Cascia High School students of Latin, French and Spanish recently took the National Foreign Language exams. The exams, which are sponsored by the American Association of Foreign Language teachers is an annual competition to promote unity among students of foreign languages.
Following are the students who received recognition in Latin:
Cum Laude: Thomas McDermott, Chris Sieradzki, David Kosman, and Jack Regnier.
Magna Cum Laude: Nicholas Goldsmith, Michael O’Donnell, Andrew Gardner, D’Vante Glenn, Matthew O’Neill, Jose Palomo and Jeremy Sinople.
Maxima Cum Laude (Silver Medal): Stephen Gregory and Shea Pender.
Summa Cum Laude (Gold Medal): Kevin Goosherst and Anthony Signorelli.
Following are the students were awarded for their commendable achievement in French:
Michael Lorimer, Gilberto Martinez, Mark Murphy, Ricardo Morales, Jack Dolan, Will Oswald and Sean Reilly.
Following are the students who placed in the National Spanish Exam:
Silver Honors: Dan Maikisch, Jose Hernandez, Saul Pinal and Cesar Zambrano.
Bronze Honors: Jaime Gomez, Esteban Martinez, Carlos Santoyo
Honorable Mention: Jerome Redmond, George Padron, Alejandro Mena Jerry Martinez, Alex Madrigal, Dylan Helstern, Cristian Gomez, Dominick Cavazos, David Garcia, Ryan Barr and Michael Gonzalez.
St. Rita Students Spend Easter Break in Rome, Cascia & Paris
After flying through the night to Paris on Good Friday, 23 St. Rita students of French and Latin, accompanied by two faculty members and three parents, embarked on a Spring tour of Paris, Cascia and Rome. While in Paris, the students enjoyed a cruise on the Seine River, admired the view of Paris from the third floor of the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre and the Arc de Triomphe, discovered famous works of art at the Louvre and Musée D’Orsay as well as visited the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. 
The students also biked through the gardens of Versailles before visiting the palace of Versailles. On Easter Sunday, Mass was celebrated at St.Augustine’s Cathedral. Throughout their stay in Paris, the French and Latin students learned to travel around the city by the metro as Parisians do and enjoyed eating French specialties such as escargots and street vendor crêpes!
After an overnight train ride from France to Italy, the Ritamen arrived in Cascia, where they experienced the tranquility of the lovely town nestled in the Italian mountainside after having visited the beautiful and peaceful St. Rita Monastery and the St. Rita Sanctuary.
Upon arrival in Rome, the group headed to the Colosseum and the Foro Romano before wandering through the main streets and squares of Rome to take in the Piazza Navona, il Pantheon, Piazzadi Spagna, Campo de Fiori. The French and Latin students finished the trip of a lifetime by touring the Vatican, including the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.
Luckily, many students had packed an umbrella for the journey. Despite the rainy weather, everyone maintained a sunny disposition while savoring some pizza and famous Italian gelato.
The French and Latin students as well as their chaperones were, of course, sure to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure their return to Roma!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the St. Rita Mustang Hockey Team – the Illinois State Hockey Champions!!
St. Baldrick’s Day
St. Rita is featured on FoxNews Chicago
Spark Energy, St. Rita Mustangs Support Kids Fighting Cancer: MyFoxCHICAGO.com
This year, St. Rita has chosen to raise funds in honor of Lucy. Lucy is the cousin of Brian Houlihan (’13), Eric Houlihan (’15) and Tim McCarthy (’15). She is also the niece of Bob Houlihan (’85) and Tim McCarthy (’86). Lucy is a fourteen year old girl who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. On March 6, St. Rita students held a spirit day, where students were able to dress out of uniform in St. Rita spirit wear if they made a donation in honor of Lucy to the Make a Wish Foundation. The school raised more than $1200 and presented a check to Lucy’s family.
Friday, March 16, 2012 at St. Rita
St. Baldrick’s Kickoff Photos, March 6, 2012
Senior Zack Wagner, Junior Brendan Galbraith, Sophomore Servando Duran and Freshman Will Oswald named Mustangs of the Month
St. Rita of Cascia High School bestows the “Mustang of the Month” award every month during the academic year to notable students from each class. Faculty and staff nominate students based on the student’s overall achievements and involvement at the school. The award winners are then selected from those nominated by an award committee comprised of members from the Activities Team, Athletic Department, Guidance Office and Dean’s Office. The following students were selected the March 2012 Mustangs of the Month:
As a freshman, Will is a member of the soccer, hockey, and lacrosse teams as well as the ping pong club and student government. During his free time, Will volunteers at local ice rinks.
According to Will, “St. Rita has given me a home away from home. I can be myself here and I’ve made friends here that I will have for a lifetime.”
Sophomore – Servando Duran, Chicago, St. Bede the Venerable Grammar School
Servando currently tutors, assists with the basketball team and volunteers to set up and clean up for parish yard sales at his grammar school and parish, St. Bede. Since coming to St. Rita, Servando has played several sports, including: soccer, football, track and basketball. He is also a member of the Knights of Augustine, the softball club and the Spanish club.
Servando says: “St. Rita has been an amazing time for me. These first two years have been very fun and interesting. I love being involved here at St. Rita and I am privileged to be at such an amazing school.”
Junior – Brendan Galbraith, Oak Lawn, St. Catherine of Alexandria Grammar School
Brendan participates in the parish teen club at St. Catherine. Over the past three years at St. Rita, Brendan has been a member of the band and part of both the football and wrestling teams. He was also on the bass fishing team freshman year and joined rugby last year.
About his time at St. Rita, Brendan says: “St. Rita is my second home. I love it here and can’t wait to see what my senior year will bring.”
Senior – Zack Wagner, Mt. Greenwood, St. Christina Grammar School- Zack is a member of the youth group at St. Christina. In his free time, he volunteer coaches the Mount Greenwood little league baseball team. Over the course of his time at St. Rita, Zack has been quite active – he played football his freshman year and varsity soccer during junior and senior year and has been a member of the Knights of Augustine since sophomore year. Zack is also a member of the National Honor Society. Several teachers have said that Zack is a positive person and a wonderful example of what it means to be a Ritaman.
When describing his experience at St. Rita, Zack says: “The past four years have flow by. With only a few months left until graduation, I can look back at my years here at St. Rita and feel confident that this school has created a second home for me.”
The Mustangs of the Month awards were presented at an all-school mass on March 2. Each student was presented with a personally engraved Mustang statue.
St. Rita French Club Visits Alliance Francaise
The St. Rita French Club has had an exciting and eventful year. They attended a performance of Cyrano at the House Theatre, dined at La Sardine, attended a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and hosted Christmas and Mardi Gras celebrations. On March 7th, the French Club visited the Alliance Francaise, Chicago’s French cultural language and learning center. The French Club members partook in a French cooking class conducted in French and then enjoyed the fine meal that they prepared. They then enjoyed watching several prize winning French short films in the Alliance’s theatre and ended their day with a discussion on the themes addressed in the films.
St. Rita Symphonic Band takes 1st Place in Catholic Schools Band Competition
Congratulations to the St. Rita Symphonic Band and its director Ms. Cindy Gradek for their outstanding results in the recent 32nd Annual State of the Art Catholic Band Competition. On Saturday, February, 19, St. Rita made its 32nd appearance at the annual competition sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
St. Rita took first place in the Class “AA” division and Best Woodwinds Award in Class “AA”. They also received the Leo J. Henning Most Improved Band Award overall.
St. Rita finished with a score of 94.17 points, second only to Marian Catholic who performed in the “AAA” class of the competition, which took place at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. Adjudicators for the event were Stacey Larson, Associate Director of Bands at Vandercook College of Music, Dr. Kenneth Dye, Director of Bands at the University of Notre Dame and Judy Grimes, Associate Director of Bands at Elmhurst College.
Senior Tommy McNamara, Junior Kevin Goosherst, Sophomore Michael Vugrin and Freshman Griffin Lunny named Mustangs of the Month
Pictured: left to right, Sophomore, Michael Vugrin, Freshman, Griffin Lunny, Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A., Fr. Joseph Mostardi, O.S.A., Mr. Brendan Conroy, Senior, Tommy McNamara and Junior, Kevin Goosherst.
St. Rita of Cascia High School bestows the “Mustang of the Month” award every month during the academic year to notable students from each class. Faculty and staff nominate students based on the student’s overall achievements and involvement at the school. The award winners are then selected from those nominated by an award committee comprised of members from the Activities Team, Athletic Department, Guidance Office and Dean’s Office. The following students were selected the February 2012 Mustangs of the Month:
Freshman – Griffin Lunny (Oak Lawn, St. Catherine of Alexandria School) As a freshman, Griffin is a member of the Spanish Club, the Knights of Augustine, SADD and Student Government. He also played football and currently plays basketball.
According to Griffin, “So far my time at St. Rita has been great. I’ve enjoyed meeting new people that I will be with for my next four years. I am so excited to start my journey at St. Rita and I will never forget the wonderful things I learn here.”
Sophomore – Michael Vugrin (Oak Lawn, St. Catherine of Alexandria School) Since coming to St. Rita, Mike has been a member of the Knights of Augustine. Mike also volunteers his time at Christ Hospital every Tuesday and is part of the teen club at St. Catherine’s.
Mike says, “Being here is a great experience that I am lucky to have. I look forward to whatever happens every day.”
Junior –Kevin Goosherst (Chicago-Mt. Greenwood, St. John Fisher School) Kevin coaches football and volleyball at his grammar school, St. John Fisher. He is also a member of the parish, where he will be participating in the Parish Leadership Day. While at St. Rita, Kevin has been a part of the Cross Country team, Theater, SADD and the Knights of Augustine for all three years. He was on the track team his freshman and sophomore year; water polo and chess sophomore and junior year. Kevin has also participated in the Exchange Program and the Choir.
About his time at St. Rita, Kevin says, “Coming to St. Rita is the best thing to ever happen to me. If home is where the heart is, St. Rita has truly become my home.”
Senior – Tommy McNamara (Chicago-Mt. Greenwood, St. Christina School) Tommy comes to us from St. Christina Grammar School and Parish, where he has helped with the Bread Program. Tommy also volunteers at the PADS shelter. During his time at St. Rita, Tommy was involved with track his freshman year and has been a football and basketball manager for the past three years.
When describing his experience at St. Rita, Tommy says: “My time at here has been great and St. Rita has given me what I need to be successful”
The Mustangs of the Month awards were presented at an all-school mass on February 3. Each student was presented with a personally engraved Mustang statue.
