Spectrum DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Sen
ior
Volume 83, No. 4.8
May 22, 2020
Edi
tion
!
27225 Wixom Road, Novi, MI, 48374
CC to Break Ground on New Entrance Cole Nogawa ‘21 Staff Writer Although decisions to increase the number of speed bumps on campus may have ruffled a few feathers in the past, this year, under new leadership, additional planned improvements are once again coming to CC. “We are improving both the north and south Wixom Road entrances to campus,” said CC President Mr. Edward Turek. “The improvements will address student safety with improved visibility, traffic flow, and pedestrian crossings,” he continued. “Additionally, the improvements reflect our mission to provide the best possible educational environment for our students.” He concluded, “This project is the first step in a long-term effort to ensure our families continue to have access to best-in-class facilities.” The design of these new improvements is the product of great deliberation on the part of the school board. “It is incredibly important for people to understand that the funding for these improvements is a private gift from a donor specifically for this project, and does not involve tuition dollars in any way,” said Mr. Turek. “The details of the plan were approved by the Catholic Central School Board this past December and approved by the City of Novi this Spring.”
Similarly to past projects, the bulk of the construction is slated to take place over the summer. “We hope to break ground on the project in June, conduct most of the work throughout the summer, and complete the project in early fall,” Mr. Turek stated. Unfortunately, it appears that the global pandemic has already taken its toll on the project: Originally, it was scheduled to be competed by August 1. Although no student input was directly taken into consideration for this project, Mr. Turek has stated that he will consider its utilization in the future. “Yes,” he said, “as we move forward with other facility upgrades in the future, we will seek student input when projects more directly involve student life.” “We hope to build out our campus so we can continue to attract top students in all of southeast Michigan,” explained Mr. Turek. “We don’t want to share too many details yet, as many of these projects are still in the planning phases, but I can tell you that our goal is to touch nearly every aspect of student life, including spirituality, academics, co-curricular activities, and athletics.” Although no one can be certain of what the future has in store for the Catholic Central Shamrocks, the myriad improvements mentioned by Mr. Turek will certainly be exciting to witness unfold.
Magni Retires From Teaching Brendan Nordstrom ‘21 Staff Writer Whether you are an athlete accidentally going out the “in” door to the locker room, a freshman who mistakenly said “gym” instead of “physical education,”or a runner who arrived to a meeting at 8:00 instead of 7:59, all of us have encountered the legendary Coach Magni at some point in our Catholic Central career. In 1954, Coach Magni arrived in America from Italy, and seven years later he would start high school at St. Anthony’s, which would have a great impact on the teacher we know today. When entering high school, Coach Magni wanted to play football and baseball; however, an injury during the football season forced him to try out for the track team, where he excelled. Coach Magni was the first runner at St. Anthony to break five minutes in the mile. The St. Anthony football and track coach, Lou Miramonti, would be a driving force in Magni’s decision to pursue teaching. “I knew I wanted to be a teacher as early as my Junior year in high school,” Coach Magni said. “Coach Lou Miramonti was also my History teacher and seeing Coach being happy as a teacher was my inspiration to go on.” Coach went to study at University of Detroit and shortly thereafter held a track coaching position at St. Paul’s high school, where he transformed their track team from a 1-5 record to a promising 13-4 over the next couple years. Following that, Coach taught at Our Lady of Refuge Elementary School and coached cross country and track at St. Mary’s prep across the street. His coaching abilities caught the eye of Catholic Central, where he went to teach in the fall of 1973 and would continue until 2020.
Almost 50 years after beginning his teaching tenure at CC, Mr. Magni has decided that it is time to retire. Throughout his career at Catholic Central, Coach Magni has taught Health, Physical Education, World History, US History, Sociology, and even a brief period in Theology. When asked why he has decided to retire, Mr. Magni said, “There are many reasons -- teaching for over 50 years, 47 at CC, I thought it was time. Also, with this virus and the lower numbers of incoming students -- there were going to be cuts in faculty. In my department there are young teachers with family and they needed the job more than I did. It’s a good time to go.” Having been through three building changes, 47 different graduating classes, and the countless highs and lows of the school, Coach Magni says that the biggest change that he has noticed was the technology. “I’m not the best with computers and that really has frustrated me,” he said. It would be easy to list off the litany of coaching successes that Coach Magni has experienced, such as the astounding 176-19 dual meet record and six state championships; however, rival coaches aren’t lucky enough to escape the coaching legend as he is continuing to lead the Catholic Central Cross Country and Track teams. Mr. Magni will go down as an inimitable, irreplaceable teaching legend of Catholic Central, who has impacted countless lives throughout his 47 year tenure. He says that the thing he will miss most about teaching is, “believe it or not,” the students. “They keep you young,” he said. Coach Magni will forever be remembered and appreciated for everything he has done for the Catholic Central community.
Phobia Looks Into Magic 8-Ball Phobia ‘29 Staff Writer For the first time in Catholic Central history, every senior has done well enough to forgo second semester exams. I, Phobia, used my ghostly abilities to see how such a bright class changed the future. In 2022, after watching Forrest Gump, Gavin Check tried to run nonstop across America. He was found collapsed three miles from his home, as a strange coincidence would have it, by Mr. Ogar. Gavin could have made it farther if he had bought shoes off Mark Christenson, who later starred in a reality TV show about the life of a social media sales magnate. It garnered critical reviews rivaling Breaking Bad. Also inspired by Forrest Gump, Will Orr bought a shrimp boat. Luckily, he sailed far enough into the bayou to have no Internet, or else he would have inevitably subscribed, like millions of others, to hype-beast George Hajjar.
River Rue, in collaboration with Jacob Seabolt, expanded the Majic Windows empire into the world of fashion: amid the trendy craze that followed, even Stunna Boy was seen wearing Majic-Window-brand boots and corduroy jacket. David Asika tried to amass the same riches by suing Dairy Queen for not turning his Butterfingers blizzard upside-down, but he lost, despite choosing Marcello Maccani to defend him. In 2034, the FBI investigated Tyler Jackson as the charismatic leader of a bowling cult in the middle of Alaska. He allegedly lured followers with the promise of a smooth, icy bowling lane miles long, but the pins always froze to the ground. A modern Nacho Libre, Josh Mohlman moved to Tijuana and wrestled as a luchador under the persona “Big Fella.” He was unstoppable. I will miss that eccentric bunch and know they already miss me. Farewell, Phobia
Juniors Have Big Shoes to Fill Nick Dewhirst ‘21 Staff Writer Seniors, when you first walked into Catholic Central on August 14, 2019 for this school year, what were your initial thoughts? This is going to be great! This is going to be epic! This is going to be phenomenal! Hopefully that’s what you were thinking, and if you were, then you thought correctly. So what did you do to make this year so phenomenal? You were seniors. That’s it. It takes nothing more to amaze us, and you never cease to do so. But you truly stood out among previous classes. Your exceptional varsity leadership in the only smashmouth sports in the country led us to unprecedented victories, and your efforts in the classroom kept CC standards high. Your combined efforts significantly helped raise over $600,000 for the DRIVE, smashing the previous record to smithereens. Not only should you be proud for absolutely astounding everyone, but be proud that your efforts will help a brother, one who may not have been able to join the Brotherhood without your successes. Keep that firmly in mind. The end of this school year was not ideal. It was unexpected. It was challenging. It was saddening. Don’t let that bother you. You’re
all officially alumni of the greatest school in the nation. Your brother, Caleb White, said it perfectly: This era “will never define us . . . disappointment and grief have the power to align us. We are stronger than ever, this class that you’ve stolen from. In fact, watch out world because here we come.” It’s not easy to brush off times like these, but you have already done so, finding the Goodness in the situation, having the Discipline to handle it appropriately, and still filling your brains with Knowledge from your teachers outside the classroom. Catholic Central has prepared you for times such as these, and now it’s your time to shine. No matter where you go after this year, what career you take on, or what challenges you will face, you are ready. And now we juniors must fuel the blue flame. Juniors, if you thought you were going to get off easily next year, you were wrong. It won’t be easy. I can assure you that, but what I can say is that we need to have a positive attitude. It’s hard to. I know. And it’s possible next year may look different as well. But we’ll make the best of it: That’s what Shamrocks do. We have huge shoes to fill, so get ready because we’re in for a ride.
Plans for the new North Entrance
From The President’s Desk . . . Dear Shamrocks, Congratulations on a successful completion of a challenging school year! I want to extend a heartfelt “thanks” to the Shamrock Nation. We not only survived, but thrived during this challenging time and it could not have been done without students dedicated to Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge and the support and trust of your families. While none of us had a vision of how this year would unfurl, it is important to remember the incredible successes we shared. From the start of GDK days, a State Championship, to the best DRIVE in history, to the transition to distance learning in the face of a global pandemic, we have met and exceeded expectations for the year. Now, it is time for us to look to the future. We have been hard at work to plan for the fall, and would like to gather family input on how the past few months were for you, as well as some of your preferences as we move forward. We have sent your parents a survey to see what we have learned through this experience and how we can be even better. We ask questions from both the student and parent perspective, so we ask that you find a time to complete the survey together as a family. Seniors Be on the lookout for information regarding when to tune in to WJR 760 sometime in the next few weeks! Summer Reading Books You can find your summer reading assignments here We wish you and your family a safe Memorial Day weekend, and as we move into what we hope is a restful summer, we ask that you remain vigilant for information regarding the upcoming school year. Sincerely, Fr. Patrick W. Fulton, CSB
Quarantine Reflection Diego Cabello ‘22 Staff Writer
In the last two months most Americans and many people around the world have had to confine themselves to their home for their safety and the safety of the vulnerable because of the coronavirus. This unusual, extended period of time is a unique opportunity for us to learn a lot about ourselves by looking back and asking questions on what we have done and how we have changed. This is important because we can find our strengths and weaknesses -knowledge that will help us later in life. Thinking on how you have interacted with friends can help you reconsider if you are surrounded by good friends for you or not. Having friends who take the time to message or call you can make you see how important these relationships are that we might otherwise take for granted. Since most people should be available most of the time now, it might be a good time to reconnect with friends and influences from earlier in your life. Having extended time alone can show some people the importance of it for becoming at peace with themselves and clearing their minds, whereas being cut off from people can show others the importance of some amount of social interaction that they may have taken for granted. This quarantine is an opportunity for you to find a balance between time alone and social interaction, which can be very different depending on the person. Reflecting on how your family has interacted in an extended period of time can help you see clearly what makes your family unique, how valuable it is to you, or what problems there are in your family and how to fix them. Being stuck only with the same set of people could have sparked conflict between them, or it could have been an opportunity to grow closer and do family activities like a game night. How have you spent your free time, since you have had an abundance of it? Doing mindless, pleasurable things and resting can be healthy and not harmful since we have a lot of time, but this extended period of free time and rest may have been the only opportunity to start a project you have always wanted to or learn a new skill you never were able to get around to. Our goal should be to make this quarantine as fruitful and positive as we can.
