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One Down.... Three to Go! As the first quarter wraps up, Mr. Mark Matthews and Mrs. Julie Barthel reflect on the return to the Hill BY CAROLINE SCHILLING
Many would say that this school year is the first “normal school year” that has occured since the impact of Covid. This could be seen in many places, but especially on the Hill, as students and staff are attempting to return to normal. As the first quarter in the 2022/23 school year has come to a close, many are grateful for the many accomplishments that we have had thus far, and will continue to accomplish. This quarter alone, Cathedral was named a Blue Ribbon School for the fourth time, a new four-day rotating schedule has been implemented, Open House and Back to School Night returned, new staff members have joined us, and much more. A notable change this year is the new four-day rotating schedule. This schedule is unlike any of the past, as it allows for students and staff to complete a full rotation during the week. Vice Principal for Academics Mr. Mark Matthews said, “It seems that having more opportunities to meet with individual classes and teachers has been a good thing. I have not had a single teacher or student complain to me about the schedule.” In September, Cathedral was named a Blue Ribbon School. Matthews noted this achievement as a “result of a lot of teachers and students working hard to achieve their goals.” He said, “Everything that we do is designed to continue to make Cathedral a better school. We are super proud of our National Blue Ribbon award.” Another positive from this quarter is the addition of the College and Career Center, led by College and Career Director, Ms. Kathy Pivonka. This addition allows students to get individualized attention in their college application process. Barthel said, “Adding Ms. Pivonka as a college and Career Director is great for her to be able
Freshman friends happy to have succesfully finished up their first quarter as high schoolers.
to focus solely on that process with the juniors and seniors and get individualized attention.” Last school year, the addition of a lab coordinator was implemented. Results from this addition show that this allowed lab usage to rise to 80% more last year. Barthel believes that the “labs are where we should be for our science classes.” This year has also experienced a decline in Covid cases. While there is still a great focus on the issue, it has been much easier to continue without the great worry. They have not caused any major interruption during this quarter, but both Matthews and Barthel are still cautious and aware of the possibilities of the return. Barthel is proud of the success and our ability to thrive during the times of Covid. She said, “We are off to a better start because we don’t have to focus on Covid. Mr. Matthews and I spent so much of our time focusing on that, and I am very proud of the way that we handled it.”
J-Term is returning this year, now with even more opportunities. Many students will be able to travel and have the ability to experience new activities. Some students will have the chance to travel to Florida, Rome, and other places. They received the sign up link in late October to choose their courses. In recent school years, the start time has been adjusted to better help students. This late start time of 8:40 a.m. was implemented into this schedule as well, to allow for office hours and greater success of students. Barthel believes that the later start time is a positive change that has been implemented recently. Research has shown that a later start time allows students more success and flexibility, and she hopes to continue to start at a later time. Barthel, Matthews and others are constantly looking for ways to improve the school. She said, “We are talking about how we can help our kids, how we can put different supports in place, especially our students since we come from over 100 schools here.”