Exchange students and transfer students begin second semester

Rewinding 100 years in honor of Sion’s 100th Birthday

February 14th 1912 Arizona becomes the 48th state.

March 12th 1912 Girl Scouts was founded by Juliette Gordon Low.

February 8th 1912 The first eastbound U.S. transcontinental flight lands in Jacksonville, Fla.

March 23rd 1912 The Dixie cup is invented.

March 1st 1912 Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from an airplane.

A New Chapter in Sion’s History

At 100 Year Mass New Head of School is Announced

BY SHANNON LAIRD

Reporter

It’s official. Christina Broderick is our new Head-of-School. The announcement came, as is fitting, on Friday, January 20 at the beginning of our combined campus’ 100th anniversary celebration. Broderick is thrilled for the opportunity to become a part of the close-knit Sion community.

“I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I now have lived in New York City and Dallas as well, so I have had my share of the ‘big city’. I love to visit all of those places, but I think calling Kansas City “home” will be a pleasure,” Broderick said. “I was so thrilled to see the cool architecture of the Plaza area and the older neighborhoods along Wornall Road.”

According to current Head of School Alice Munninghoff, Broderick truly meets all the expectations of the search committee. Her credentials had to meet the accreditation standards and the candidate needed a Masters along with teaching and administrative experience.

“The search committee had one goal,” Munninghoff said. “They wanted to find the most qualified candidate who fit easily into the school environment.”

And a consensus has been reached. Broderick is the woman for the job. She has great aspirations for Sion, but for now she will settle for getting to know the community.

“I think in the first year, my ‘first big project’ will be to learn names! My hope for Sion is for us to get to know each other,” Broderick said. “I think it is really wonderful that I am coming to Sion during the 100th anniversary celebration. I think it is really important to honor the faculty, students, and alums who have already created a great legacy, and continue that well into the 21st century.”

Broderick said she was drawn to Sion from her experiences at an all girls’ Catholic high school and an independent school from grades PreK-8. When she found out Sion was all that rolled up into one, she couldn’t wait for the opportunity. She also has experience of her own in the all-girls’ setting.

“I went to a co-ed Catholic high school and an all-women Catholic college,” Broderick said. “My husband went to catholic elementary school and an all-boys Jesuit high school.”

Broderick received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Women’s Studies from Mount St. Mary’s College, California. She has a Master of Science in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. She has taught in both all girls’ and co-ed settings from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. She is currently dean of students at the Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas. Currently living in Allen, Texas, she is looking forward to living in Kansas City.

Munninghoff also said the search committee looked for someone who creates a great relationship with both the teachers and faculty and the students. Broderick is certainly excited about that. She said she wants to know our own vision for the school and wants to get everyone involved.

“My question back to you and the students of both campuses would be what does your wish list look like?” Broderick said. “Of course, I would really like to get started on a new fine arts center too, but I know that pacing myself and the community will really be important.”

New Semester Brings New Faces

Transfer and Exchange Students Are New Additions to the Student Body

BY LAURA TRAVIS Reporter

This semester, the Sion community welcomed four exchange students from Australia. Mollie McNarma, Georgia Thomas, Caroline Bermingham, and Claire Anderson.

Along with the exchange students, five transfer students joined Sion. Junior, Melanie Martin, sophomores, Molly Donahue, Sydney Popp, and Claire Shafran, and freshman Ali Gregory.

Each of the exchange students from Australia stayed with four juniors, This summer, those juniors will travel to Australia, attend the Our Lady of Sion College in Australia, and stay with the girls that they hosted. In addition to the girls from Australia, exchange students from Chile and Germany will also be coming later in the semester.

“We have a tendency to think of people from other countries as different, but when we get to know each other, we learn people are people. The only way to see aspects of American culture is to be in another culture,” coordinator of the Australian Exchange Program and Academic Dean Kay Walkup said.

Walkup said she believes the Australian girls are fitting right in. Some of their favorite things include meeting new people, taking new classes, the unique twist everyone puts on their uniform, the casual environment of the school, and the amount of school spirit the students and teachers have.

“Everyone has a lot of pride for their school,” Thomas said.

Along with the success of the exchange program, Sion gained five new transfer students. They all came from diocesan or private schools in the Kansas City area. And according to Admissions Director Sharon Radovich, the girls are doing great.

Director of Enrollment Management Emily Taylor said that they try to make the admissions process as easy for girls and their families as possible, but prospective students must be academically prepared and have three years of academic records. Each candidate is thoroughly reviewed as well before being admitted.

“They put their uniform on and just look like a Sion girl,” Radovich said.

The transfer students all came from local, private schools. From left to right: Martin, Popp, Gregory, Shafran, and Donahue. (Photo by Laura Travis)

Seniors Anna Cheek and Betsy King plan the blood drive at an NHS meeting. (Photo by Sarah Holland)

You’re Somebody’s Type

Annual Blood Drive Held This Month

BY SARAH HOLLAND Reporter

There is +O, -O, +A, -A. +B, -B, +AB, -AB. What is your type?

This February, find your blood type and save a life by donating. It is estimated by the Community Blood Center that someone needs blood every two seconds and the United States uses 38,000 pints of blood each year.

On February 16, beginning at 8 a.m., the annual blood drive held in the gym is led by the National Honor Society. To donate, you must be at least 16 years old. Girls older than 16 do not need parent permission.

“The donated blood goes to nearly 70 hospitals in over 70 counties in Missouri and Kansas,” Pam Thorp, coordinator of all the blood drives in the Kansas City area, said.

Pam organizes the event and is a main connection for NHS to the blood center.

“She basically gets us all of the materials we need for the blood drive and is our connection for everything at community blood center,” senior Betsy King, blood drive committee co-head, said.

Safety and quality of the blood is important. To ensure the safety of the blood, the donor’s health history is checked, in addition to receiving mini-physicals.

“For girls donating, good nutrition the week before, lots of water, and a good breakfast the morning of are all important,” senior Anna Cheek, blood drive committee co-head, said.

This year consider donating and think of the 4.5 million saved each year due to donations.

Donation Process

registration

Read information sheet about donating blood.

Provide health info. Mini exam to determine if you are able to donate. Give blood drop to determine hemoglobin level.

Mini eXaM

HyDration station

Drink water or other beverage prior to your donation.

Donation

Once needle is in place, it usually takes less than 10 minutes to draw a unit of blood

revitalization

Relax for a few minutes to have a snack and a drink.

after Donation

Avoid strenuous physical activity or heavy lifting for a few hours.

New Elective Variety

Four New Options Offered Next Year

BY MEG COWAN Reporter

only new religion class being offered next year. There will be a combination of two classes: Prayer and Worship

Some students like analyzing and and World Religions for upperclassstudying the history of the Bible, oth- men to take. ers love looking under the skin and In addition, Fashion, Fibers and observing bones and diseases. Then Funk is a completely new course bethere are the girls who express them- ing offered to freshmen. However, if selves through fashion and design. it doesn’t fill up immediately, it may

Next year, Sion will be offering be offered to upperclassmen. This new a class to suit the likings of all these class will be taught by Penny Selle, Fine types of students. Arts Department

There will be “We will look at books Chair. four new courses with fashion illustra- “We will look at offered: Biblical Traditions II, tors, then illustrate books with fashion illustrators, Prayer and our own designs.” then illustrate our Worship in World Religions, -Penny Selle own designs. We will design fashPathophysiology, and Fashion Fibers ion accessories. Then we will create and Funk. fiber pieces using surface design, yarn,

Junior year, students take the knitting, knotting and weaving.” Selle course Biblical Traditions. In this said. class, students study the bible; how- Due to much request, there will ever, they only find time to cover the be Pathophysiology created by science Old Testament. teacher Marilyn Stewart, specifically

“Every year I’ve tried to make it to offered only for upperclassmen with the New Testament, and I never can an Anatomy credit. This class invesdo it.” Kramschuster said. tigates various diseases in the body’s

Thus, he created the course organ systems. Biblical Traditions II, which explores As the curriculum expands, so the New Testament. does the chance for students to look

Biblical Traditions II is not the deeper into their personal interests. “And With Your Spirit”

Modified Mass Gets Mixed Reviews

BY MAURA EVELD Reporter

English-speaking countries began using a modified version of the Mass texts during Advent last year, a change that satisfies some churchgoers but confuses and frustrates many others. The purpose of this version is to provide a more accurate translation of the Latin “Roman Missal,” so it therefore includes more elevated vocabulary and a more formal tone, campus minister and religion teacher Stephanie Pino-Dressman said. In 2002 the third edition of the “Roman Missal” was published in Latin, according to Fr. Paul Turner’s “Understanding the Revised Mass Texts.” Then many organizations helped create the new English translation. The changes affect both the priest’s words and the community’s responses. The most repeated change is the response “And with your spirit,” which appears four times in the Mass, and replaces the response “And also with you.” According to Turner, “And with your spirit” is a better translation of the Latin “Et cum spirituo tuo” and more closely matches the phrase in other major languages.

Pino-Dressman said she has heard more complaints than praise regarding the new Mass responses. Some don’t believe such change is necessary, and others are worried that the Mass will revert to purely Latin, she said.

“If a formal tone and faithfulness to a Latin translation will help us to ‘act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God,’ then so be it,” PinoDressman said.

Fr. Jerry Waris, retired diocesan priest who presides at Sion’s Masses, has his own concerns, as he prefers the previous texts. He said he used to know the Eucharistic prayers by heart, and it is frustrating for him to have to read the “Roman Missal” again.

“The most important thing is that we gather for church and for prayer,” he said. “And we’re still doing that.”