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.

Drew is a wonderful example of a true “Ritaman,” someone who works hard to excel in all areas of life, be it the classrooms, athletic fields, or the community around him.

While at St. Rita, Drew was involved in many areas of the school, and was an All-Catholic League football selection in his senior year.  While playing for the Mustangs as a junior, Drew helped guide St. Rita to a Class 7A state championship.  But his accomplishments in the classrooms were even greater, and the hard work and dedication to his studies led Drew to enroll at Cornell University of the Ivy League.

Drew played football all four years, lettering two years as an offensive tackle and guard for the Big Red.  He started six games as a junior before starting every game his senior year.  Drew’s senior leadership enabled the Big Red to improve to a 5-5 record, after posting just four wins combined in the team’s two previous campaigns.

The skills that Drew learned at St. Rita High School allowed for him to have success at Cornell and easily adapt to the rigors of life as a student-athlete at an Ivy League School.

“Time management was one of the things I needed while at Cornell, and I definitely feel I was prepared from my teachers at St. Rita,” McGowan said.

The college life differs greatly from life as a high school student, but the “open-door” policy instituted by St. Rita teachers gave McGowan the confidence to seek out his professors at Cornell and continue to ask questions and seek help, if needed.

“Having that open-door policy at Rita made me feel at ease when I first stepped on campus at Cornell,” McGowan recently remarked.  “I had a great experience with so many teachers in high school, and what I learned from their classes really helped me succeed in the Ivy League.”

After McGowan successfully completes his graduation this May from the Ithaca, New York, campus, he’ll accept a job as a Sales and Trading Analyst with Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.  We are proud of Drew for being able to land a great job so soon after graduation.

About St. Rita High School, Drew stressed the importance of getting involved.

“You need to get involved as much as you can at St. Rita.  It prepares you for college because you learn great time-management skills, among other things.”

Drew comes from a long line of McGowan family members, all with deep roots in the St. Rita Family.

His grandfather, Jack, is an honorary alumnus, while his father, John, is a graduate from the class of 1978.  Drew’s uncles, Steve (1981), and Mark (1984), are joined by Drew’s brother, Ryan, a 2011 alumnus.  Drew has had numerous cousins walk the halls of St. Rita as well, including Steve (2007) and Jake (2013).  The St. Rita connection goes so deep that even Drew’s aunt, Denise McGowan-Rudolph, was a St. Rita cheerleader back in the day.

The family established the Dolores McGowan Scholarship Fund to help aid current Ritamen and their families—a scholarship named in honor of Drew’s grandmother, Dolores.  Like many other families in the St. Rita community, the McGowan’s are an amazing collection of people.

Good luck, Drew, on the next challenging chapters of your life, and congratulations so far on all your accomplishments.  The St. Rita High School Family is very proud of you!

Student members of NSHSS have the opportunity to nominate the educator who made the most significant contribution to their academic career.  The Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction award recognizes teacher role models who have made a lasting difference in their classroom by encouraging students to strive for excellence.

“Dedicated educators who exhibit a commitment to excellence deserve our highest praise and appreciation,” said NSHSS President James Lewis.  “We’re excited to provide an ongoing means to do so, and we encourage our members to nominate teachers who have contributed to their academic success.”

On May 3, 2012, St. Rita Athletic Director and Varsity Head Baseball Coach, Mike Zunica was joined by family, friends and colleagues at the 52nd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Banquet of the Chicago Catholic League. Zunica was one of fifteen men honored by the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association for their contributions to academic and athletic excellence within Chicago Catholic high school athletics

Coach Mike Zunica is currently entering his 16th season as Varsity Head Baseball Coach at St. Rita High School. He has amassed an overall record of 440 – 141. During his tenure, he has lead the Mustangs to 9 regional championships, 4 sectional championships, 4 super-sectional championships, and 9 Elite 8 appearances, including summer state championships in 2005 and 2009, and a 2nd place finish in both the spring of 2009 and 2010.

In addition to their success on the field, the St. Rita Mustangs Baseball team is proud of their comparable achievements in the classroom. This year’s Varsity Mustangs have 17 student members of the National Honor Society. During Mike’s tenure as head baseball coach, he has witnessed four members of his team earn the distinction of Class Valedictorian. Overall, 143 St. Rita Mustang baseball players were named to the National Honor Society and 127 players went on to compete in collegiate athletics – 26 of whom are currently competing at the collegiate level.  St. Rita principal, Brendan Conroy said, “We are fortunate to have a baseball coach and athletic director like Mike, whose passion for St. Rita and commitment to the growth and improvement of his athletes and all our students is truly an inspiration.”

“I believe the greatest gift you can give your kid is a Catholic education,” said Zunica, who gave special thanks to his parents for the sacrifices they made to send him to Catholic schools. Zunica’s wife, Jacqui and three children, Camille, Michael and Mateo were also present at the induction ceremony. During the past four years, Zunica had the opportunity to coach his son, Mike, who will be graduating from St. Rita this month and entering Columbia University in New York to play football in the fall.

Chapel Foyer

May 16, 2012  10:30a to 3:00p

St Rita Book Buyback

Dining Hall

Jun 1, 2012  10:30a to 3:00p

Books have the most value when they will be used again next year at our school or at schools across the country.  This is the best time of year to sell textbooks because demand is highest.

Let the bookstore keep an eye on the calendar for you over the summer!  Sign up for a email reminder when the booklist is posted and available for purchase at:

www.stritahs.bkstr.com/email

Darius Fleming told himself not to stress, but R.E.M. cycles and family wouldn’t allow it. First came the dream that he’d been drafted, which felt real enough until the former St. Rita and Notre Dame linebacker woke up from it Saturday, with no hope of returning to sleep.

So he worked out. He got a massage and some treatment. But then he couldn’t go golfing. Thus he sat watching the NFL Draft with his grandmother, and picks trolled by without his name ever appearing, and people kept you know, TALKING to him.

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Even if he is a St. Rita graduate.

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