Glasscock places at Baylor Nike Invitational Swim Meet

Congratulations to Bennett Glasscock on his impressive finish at the Baylor Nike USA Swim Meet. He finished 2nd in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and 3rd in the 100 Backstroke and Butterfly.

St. Bernard Middle School advances to State

St. Bernard Middle School qualified for the third year in a row to participate in the Alabama Scholastic Competition Associations State Tournament recently at Austin High School in Decatur. ASCA sponsors the Alabama Scholastic Challenge for Alabama's middle schools in which academic quiz bowl teams comprised of 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders compete for the State championship.

St. Bernard is among thirty-two teams from Alabama competing. The team travels to Hoover High School on March 6 to participate in the State Competition.

Members of the team are: Seated: Arabella Holsonback, Mackenzie Bockhold, Co-Captain; and Michayla Brown (Arab) Co-Captain. Back Row: Alex Anderson, Daniel Coccia, and Jake Sweeney (Arab).

St. Bernard Freshman to compete for State Crown

By Mike Cummings The Cullman Times
CULLMAN — Meet Ty Sissom.

Sissom is a freshman at St. Bernard Prep. He stands 5-foot-3 and might pass for 103 pounds soaking wet.

He’s also the favorite to win a state wrestling championship this weekend in Huntsville.

When the Alabama High School Athletic Association holds its annual wrestling championships Friday and Saturday at the Von Braun Center, St. Bernard will be represented by a team for the first time in decades.

That team includes freshman Andy Woods and sophomores Jade Bradford and Jake Lewis. But the breakout star of the group is Sissom, who has a 32-2 record in the 103-pound weight class this season.

He’ll take that near-perfect mark into the eight-strong 103-pound 1A-4A state championship bracket this weekend in Huntsville.

The opening rounds begin early Friday morning, with the championship scheduled for Saturday.

So with seven other wrestlers from more established programs also going for the title, what makes Sissom the favorite?

Easy — he’s already beaten everybody in the bracket this year.

Plus, he has detailed scouting reports thanks to videos recorded by his father.

“I’ve watched them over and over, so I already know what they’re (his opponents) are going to do,” said Sissom. “I’ve already planned what I’m going to do at state and everything.”

Sissom isn’t kidding.

Inside the athletic complex at St. Bernard, Sissom and Coach Marcus Luna have drawn up a detailed scouting report on the freshman’s opponents this weekend. The pair spent Wednesday’s practice going over holds and throws.

But Sissom also has another advantage. Last year as an eighth-grader at Ashville High, he finished second in the state.

He also wrestled as a seventh-grader, but that was an experience the St. Bernard freshman wants to forget.

“I was horrible as a seventh-grader,” he said. “I didn’t know anything.”

But that all changed a year later when Sissom was introduced to Luna, who works with Sissom’s father. The two started training on Sundays after Sissom finished tournaments.

Luna, a 2000 graduate of Arab High, finished fifth in the nation as a senior.

When the two started working together, the results were immediate — as evidenced by Sissom’s second-place finish a year ago at state.

“Plus as a seventh-grader, I weighed like 84 pounds,” said Sissom, who also plays football, basketball and baseball. “Then as an eighth-grader I gained about 20 pounds.”

Sissom’s first match is scheduled for around 9 a.m. Friday at the VBC arena. If he advances that far, the 1A-4A championship match is scheduled for Saturday morning around the same time.

Show choir attends Disney workshop

The St. Bernard Show Choir recently attended Disney’s Magic Music Days in Orlando, Florida. Show Choir director, Dr. Rebecca Whited said, “We were very excited to participate in this workshop designed especially for our choir.”

Early in the semester, Whited submitted a video to the Disney team to evaluate the show choir’s performance level. After an extensive review, they were invited to attend the workshop. The musical advisors worked with the group on singing, communicating the song, stage presence and choreography.

Elizabeth Schweers, a senior at St. Bernard, said the trip was amazing. “I remember when we were thinking about going to Disney. None of us thought it would happen, but we were pleasantly surprised when we started our fund raising efforts.”

The workshop proved to be beneficial to all students. Disney instructors conveyed to students the importance of having the ability to sing, dance and act. One of the Disney instructors said, “Every performance has to tell a story which can not be done with just a pretty voice and a spiffy dance step. A story must be told using facial features and one’s composure.”

At the beginning of the workshop, students did some warm up vocal work and elementary dance steps. Schweers said, “We ran through the music a few times, and then it was time to learn the dance.” Even though it was the most eagerly anticipated part of the workshop, according to Schweers it was also the most feared. “Thomas, our instructor, told us the best way to remember our dances were through word association,” continued Schweers. “The dance was pretty intense, but everyone loved it.”

At the final dress rehearsal, students had to sing, dance, and let their expressions tell the story. During their performance, the show choir was surprised by an appearance of Minnie Mouse. Whited said, “When she walked in, it was as if everyone stopped dancing. They were so surprised.”

While at Disney the students enjoyed the theme parks as well. Whited, speaking on behalf of the show choir, thanked Fr. Joel Martin , Headmaster at SBP, for the opportunity to attend this workshop. She also conveyed her appreciation for the work done by the chaperones, Dr. Genero Varquez, Dr. James Gauthier, Mrs. Valerie Ginas, Miss Katie Hawkins, and Br. Peter Chi.

St. Bernard participates in Cullman Honor Band

St. Bernard Preparatory School participated in the 27th Annual Cullman County Honor Band held January 16 at Wallace State College in Hanceville. The Honor Band was comprised of two hundred and twenty-five of the county’s top musicians from ten junior high and senior high school bands.

Students arrived at Wallace State on Friday evening and were judged according to several criteria. These included the playing of various types of musical scales, performing a prepared selection, and “sight reading” a piece that was completely new.

On Saturday students met at 8:30 am and rehearsed all day to prepare music for the concert Saturday evening. The Junior High Honor Band under the conduction of Michael Holmes, Mountain Brook School, played The Great Escape by Robert W. Smith; Accidentally in Love by Michael Sweeney; and Joshua by Andrew Balent. St. Bernard Middle School student, Daniel Coccia was first chair in the tenor saxophone competition and his classmate, Jake Sweeney, was seated third chair with his alto saxaphone.

Dr. Sue Samuels, Professor of Music, University of Alabama – Birmingham, conducted the Senior High Honor Band as they played four tunes: Host of Freedom by Karl L. King; Credo by Alabama Native, Robert W. Smith; A Kindred Spirit by Robert Sheldon; and Josef Zawinal’s - Birdland.

Mark McDaniel, a sophomore at SBP, earned the 15th spot of twenty-seven students in the trumpet section.

SBP Band Director, Lester Harris, said, “I am very proud of the progress our students are making. It’s quite an undertaking to play all those pieces in such a short amount of time.”

At the closing of the performance Dr. Samuels said what these students accomplished over the weekend would have taken seven days of class time to complete. “You are to be commended for your hard work and dedication. You learned in one weekend what it would have taken a whole week to accomplish in class.” Dr. Samuels concluded her remarks by encouraging students to participate in as many college honor bands as possible.

The event was sponsored by the Cullman Band Directors Association and Wallace State Community College.

St. Bernard to participate in Honor Band

Students Jacob Sweeney and Dan Coccia work with Band Instructor, Lester Harris on the Cullman County Honor Band music. Students will travel to Wallace State Friday evening and be judged according to the following: playing a scale, playing three scales chromatically adjacent, playing a chromatic scale, and then playing a prepared piece. Finally, the student has to “sight read” a piece that is completely new to them. They will then be awarded a ranking in the competition and get ready to prepare a concert on Saturday evening with more than 250 of Cullman County's finest school musicians.

Bloomin' Festival Grand Prize

Fr. Marcus Voss, President of St. Bernard Preparatory School, takes the keys to the 2010 Ford Focus to be given away at the school's 26th Annual Bloomin' Festival Arts and Crafts Fair on April 17-18 from Mike Eckenrod of Eckenrod Ford. Ticket donations are being accepted now! The car will be on display at Ave Maria Grotto daily until the day of the festival.

Other prizes being awarded are: 2 nights at Zoder's Inn, Gatlinburg, TN; Apple iPod touch; Garmin GPS Navigator; and a Phillips Digital Photoframe.

We ask a donation of $5 for one ticket or $25 for six tickets. Please send a note along with a check made payable to St. Bernard Prep School to 1600 St. Bernard Drive, SE, Cullman, AL 35055.