St. Bernard Prep Hosts Poetry Out Loud Competition

St. Bernard Prep recently held the school-wide Poetry Out Loud Competition for its high school students.  Caitlin Varquez, Lesley O’Donnell, and Sean Moriarty faced off for the St. Bernard finals.

Poetry Out Loud uses a pyramid structure that starts at the classroom level. Winners advance to a school-wide competition, then to a regional and/or state competition, and ultimately to the National Finals.

Headmaster, Mr. John Tekulve said he was proud of each student and their performance.  “All three are exceptional students, and did a fantastic job of entertaining their peers who were watching the competition.”

The competitors were evaluated by four judges and graded individually during two rounds of presentations based on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, level of difficulty, evidence of understanding, and overall performance.

Sean Moriarty won the school Poetry Out Loud competition with Caitlin Varquez the runner up.  Lesley O’Donnell placed third.

Sean will represent St. Bernard Prep at the Regional tournament to be held in November in Huntsville, AL.

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation have partnered with U.S. state arts agencies to support Poetry Out Loud, a contest that encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.

Benefactors Day held at St. Bernard

The monks of St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman recently welcomed hundreds of friends to campus to celebrate Benefactors Day.  Benefactors Day, which is celebrated each year on the fourth Monday in September, honors the many benefactors and supporters of St. Bernard.

Joining the guests for the festivities were the students, parents and faculty of St. Bernard Preparatory School.   The homilist for the celebratory Mass was the Most Rev. David R. Choby, DD., JCL, Bishop of Nashville, who spoke before a capacity crowd.

Bishop Choby said,  “The historical connection between St. Bernard Abbey and the Diocese of Nashville runs long and deep.   Like the monks who founded St. Bernard, so other monks from St. Vincent Archabbey of Latrobe, PA, established parishes thirty years prior in the Nashville Diocese to minister to German immigrants.”  

“St. Bernard is a favorite place of our Nashville Seminarians…perhaps too much,” joked  Bishop Choby as he thanked  Abbot Cletus and the monks for their  hospitality each August when the seminarians from the Diocese of Nashville make their annual retreat at the Abbey.

Quoting from  Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Choby  reminded the congregation that “the Church is forever young…. This place of St. Bernard is a living testimony to the church. Those who have gone before us left a legacy which so many have benefitted from in its missions and in its spirit.  And so it continues today.”

At the end of the service, Abbot Cletus thanked everyone for being a part of the life of St. Bernard.  He reminded them that “without your support and participation, there would be no St. Bernard.  Each day we prayerfully remember you and all our benefactors who make it possible for us to continue the many ministries of this Abbey.”

Concelebrating with Bishop Choby, who was the main celebrant for the Mass, were:  Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Bishop David Foley – Bishop Emeritus of Birmingham, Abbot Cletus E. Meagher, O.S.B., Abbot (ret) Victor Clark, O.S.B., priests  from the Birmingham and Nashville dioceses and priests of St. Bernard Abbey. 

Rebecca Whited was the organist for the Mass.  The monastic schola was directed by Fr. Joel Martin, O.S.B.   Additional music was provided by the St. Bernard Choral Music Department  under the direction of Mr. Rodney Fike.

After the ceremonies, everyone enjoyed the social festivities held on the lawn outside the Church while the St. Bernard Jazz Ensemble provided entertainment.  The day concluded with lunch, prepared by the Flik Independent Dining Service and served in the St. Bernard Dining Hall.

Swim team doubles in size

Swim Team Coach Carson Glasscock was very pleased with the level of participation from students at St. Bernard Prep School in Cullman.  Glasscock, who has coached the team for the past four years, encouraged all students to consider being part of the team especially if they have previously participated in competitive swimming.

“Swimming is one sport where students can compete individually or with a team, and it requires hard work and dedication.  We have an excellent program in place and want to encourage as much participation as possible,” Glasscock said.  

Team members practice three days per week from 3:45 – 5:15 pm, and must be registered with the USA Swimming and Cullman Swim Association. “We have a bus which leaves the quad at 3:30 p.m. after school to transport students across town to the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center (CWAC) for practice,” Glasscock continued.

Members of the SBPS Swim Team pay as much as $120 in fees which include the USA Swimming Association as well as use of the CWAC.

Representing the girls is Sarah Peel, who earned the Alabama State Champion title this past summer in the Age 11-12 girls breaststroke.  She is joined by Torey Badar, and returning team member, Morgan Matz.

Bennett Glasscock, who received All- State honors in the backstroke, and Sean Moriarty will be leading the boys division.  These two AHSAA State qualifiers are joined by returning team member John Paul Stolz, and newcomers Nathan Giffen, Keagan Meagher, and David Schartung.

“I am excited to see the participation, and look forward to competition.  Hopefully we will be showcasing our first relay team in the boys division,” Glasscock said.  

The St. Bernard Swim Team will travel to Madison, Alabama on October 1, 2012 to participate in the James Clemens Invitational. For more information on meet schedules, visit www.stbernardprep.com.

Glasscock participates in LeadAmerica

Bennett Glasscock, a senior at St. Bernard Prep, took a 10-day break from swim training this past summer to take part in LeadAmerica, a youth leadership program at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts.  As part of LeadAmerica, Glasscock was the only student in attendance from Alabama.

LeadAmerica, one of the nation’s educational leaders in personalized experiential learning, offers outstanding, high-achieving high school and middle school students the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and the experience of real college life while they explore their future career path and discover what inspires them most.

Nominated by his teacher, Mr. Randy Hasenbein, Glasscock was happy to take advantage of the opportunity, which offered him a chance to see how his college dream can turn into a career.  LeadAmerica consisted of lectures and hands-on projects that included everything from building robots to websites.  While students enjoyed the classroom projects, they were also introduced to dorm life as Glasscock roomed with five other young men from the United States.

With a bit of a mischievous grin, Glasscock said it was fun getting to know new people.  “It’s funny to mix with others and see how much they remind you of friends and relatives at home,” Glasscock said.  

Glasscock’s interest in engineering comes from his late grandfather, Larry Glasscock.   

“Since my grandfather’s passing a couple of years ago, we have been going through his things, and I enjoy finding his creations and seeing what makes them work,” Glasscock said.

LeadAmerica provided the opportunity to explore an engineering career path.  The ten days consisted of lectures on different kinds of engineering, and then the groups divided into workshops to build robots, circuit boards and even websites.

“One of my groups built an obstacle course out of binders and a robot to go through the obstacle course.  Each group got a motor and it was up to them to figure how to make the gears move it,” continued Glasscock.

LeadAmerica partners and collaborates with some of the top colleges and universities throughout the United States to offer college immersion programs designed to better prepare these students academically and emotionally for the transition to college life and beyond. 

According to Glasscock, the MIT visits and lectures from the professors was a great experience.   Glasscock quickly learned Physics is the recommended basis for engineering.

Glasscock leads St. Bernard’s swim team and hopes to find a good engineering school that provides an opportunity for swimming as well.

Bennett is the son of Carson and Wendy Glasscock of Cullman.

Bockhold and Brown attend National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine

During the summer, two outstanding juniors from St. Bernard Preparatory School in Cullman  attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.    Mackenzie Bockhold and Mikayla Brown joined  high school students from around the globe this summer for a 10-day forum in which they were introduced to a variety of concepts in public health, medical ethics, research and general practice.

The National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine created a virtual classroom with hospitals, clinical facilities and healthcare professionals.  By shadowing key personnel, these  students  had a great opportunity to gain a behind-the-scenes perspective on a medical career.

Brown said she had an amazing experience and was pleased to interact with  people  from a wide variety of medical fields, such as dentists, pediatricians and emergency medical professionals.

“I particularly enjoyed our field trip to the Georgia Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  We  given a tour of the anatomy lab complete with cadavers.  I was even happier when I learned one doesn’t have to be a pre-med major to attend medical school,” Brown said.

Bockhold agreed with Brown by saying she enjoyed all the anatomy lab stations which had been set up with cadaver bones, brains, etc.  

“This forum opened my eyes to different things in the medical field.  We had the opportunity to speak with many different kinds of health care professionals.  It is amazing just how broad the medical field really is.    The  real human bones  and organs gave it a whole new look for me,” Bockhold said.

Brown plans to be a reconstructive surgeon, and hopes to pair that with public rhetoric and communications.

As for Bockhold, she plans to visit Georgia Tech and look into Biomedical Engineering.  “I think I will enjoy the mathematical side of medicine.  I want to help others get better, and stay healthy.”

Both girls were grateful for the invitation and  opportunity to attend this program.

Bockhold is the daughter of  Donald and Sandy Bockhold of Cullman.  Brown is the daughter of Dr. Michael and Susan Brown of Arab.

NLF is an educational organization that brings various professions to life, empowering outstanding young people with the confidence to make well-informed career choices.