Regina Report - October 2022

The Regina Report

NEW FACES AT REGINA: MEET MRS. NEAL

By Sofia Switalski, '25

Mrs. Neal is one of the many new teachers who joined the Regina family this school year. She has impressively taken on the tasks of teaching all levels of French and leading the yearbook committee. She is well equipped to handle these tasks, as Mrs Neal has thirteen years of teaching experience and has taught at various public schools throughout her career. Furthermore, her deep passion for the French language which she has had since high school and her travels to France fueled that fire

We only see Mrs. Neal during school hours and know so little about her interests, such as crafting and being creative. Her favorite animals by far are cats, include her two cats, Minou and Felix, her favorite family members! Yet, one thing remains a mystery to even Mrs. Neal herself: her hair has not been curly for her entire life, it only became curly this year! She has a few suspicions, but this spontaneous formation of ringlets may always remain a mystery to the world

When asked what advice she would pass along to her students she said, “It’s okay to make mistakes, and don’t be too hard on yourself when you do make them ” With her kind, caring, and fun personality, Mrs Neal and her positive attitude will have an amazing impact on her students. We are all lucky to have Mrs. Neal on our team at Regina High School!

PAW-ESOME

Jamieson Dean '23

Our annual Blessing of the Animals gathering here at Regina was a success. With coverage from The Detroit Free Press, we are proud to see Regina making a positive impact on our Franciscan community. We just wanted to share a few cute faces from October 1st.

PARKING SPOT PORTRAITS

By Abby Brooks '23, Julia Dukaj '23, & Alex Rihacek '23

To paint? Or not to paint? That is the question. On September 4th and 5th, the Class of 2023 displayed their artistic talents while painting their parking spots. They all came together with paint cans, brushes, rollers, and trays, to have two afternoons filled with laughter. Despite the seemingly straightforward task, the sprinkling rain and clouds made it difficult for the paint to dry. Though the weather was dreary, it not enough to break the Class of 2023’s spirit. In fact, it led the Saddelites increased dedication to bring their visions to life!

Here’s what some of the Class of 2023 had to say about the experience in these past weeks. Lilly Greenway explained, “I thought overall the parking spot painting was a fun way to bond with classmates and see their creativity. But I think I chose a complex design, which made it stressful.” Many of the seniors struggled with either their design choice or painting the spot itself. Chase Ruzynski believed that her end result outweighed the struggles of the painting process, and affirmed, “The parking spot painting was a great way to kick off the year!” Even those who had a rougher start to the day of painting were able to figure out a solution, like Katie Regnerus who ended up fixing her parking spot with spray paint.

According to a brief survey conducted by the Class of 2023, the best senior parking spots belong to Louise Rozewicz, Brooke Bobowski, and Talyah Beard!

S P I R I T W E E K

Seniors Parker Kern, Brooke Bobowski, and Claire

Johnstone are comfy while working on a STEM project on Pajama Day.

Sophomores Brynn Nida, Sarah Ibrahim, Evonna Karam, and Marissa Jolet pose for a picture on Pajama Day.

Regina Student Council members posed with Ms. Perrino on Hawaiian Day.

Sophomores Briana Scenga and Savannah Cutter dress up on Athlete vs Mathlete Day with Ms. Diamond.

Juniors Kennedy Roskopp and Katelyn Muhlenkamp wearing their grade school uniforms on Throwback Thursday.

RALLY

By Sara Tomas '24

With the school year already started, it also means that it’s Powderpuff season! The Class of 2023 was ready to bring yet another victory for the school. As the time for the game neared, the student body was filled with excitement and energy. Everyone crowded into the gym and began to hype themselves up, including the players. During the rally, we we enjoyed presentations from each class and the fun videos the seniors created. After the presentations, the school watched the iconic defense and offense dance routines, followed Ms. Diamond singing "Party In Saddles Cafe", to the tune of "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus.

“I had so much fun and now understand why everyone talks about the rally,” says Katelyn Tomas, Class of 2026. “My older sister always talks about how the week before Powderpuff is chaotic. Now, I know that she wasn’t exaggerating.” With under 24 hours left till the big game, the rally left us all with a sense of thrill and excitement wondering what will happen next.

Wolves get the 6-peat!

By Sydney Darr '25, Savannah Cutter '25, and Brianna Scenga '25

With this year’s Powderpuff match up between the Wolves and the Mustangs, Regina brought home the trophy for the sixth year in a row. The final score was 28 7. During the week leading up to the game, students were energized with music and dancing in the halls between classes, as well as the opportunity to decorate the halls in Carolina Blue and Black (the Class of 2023 colors). At the game itself, the Saddlelite Student section came alive with custom shirts, posters, decorations, and music to support the Wolves. Powderpuff is not only a great way to get the school excited but also foster unity. We have interviewed some girls on how excited they were, and what Powderpuff meant to them.

“The sisterhood was really strong during Powderpuff, I have a sister who was in the game, so when we dropped her off at practices I got to see all the sisters come together It is a great way to bond the whole school together ”

Cienna Maristela '24

"From a crowd stand point, it was really fun, especially everyone screaming and cheering, it was a great game. It’s important to me because football shows people how to work as a team "

Alexis Byks '25

"It was a lot of fun. The whole student section cheering was probably my favorite part.”

Veronica Gabridge '26

Powderpuff was an exciting week for all the Saddelites. Students look forward to this day all year, and ever since freshman year the Seniors have been anticipating the day they get to play out on the field.

HOMECOMING

By Grace Pannicia '25

After the excitement of Powderpuff, the Regina girls were able to relax the next day and celebrate one of their favorite events, Homecoming.

This year Homecoming took place on Sunday, September 18 from 6 to 10 PM with the dance being held at Marchiory Catering. As always, the Student Council spent a long time planning the dance and selecting a theme which, this year, was Hollywood. Upon entry, guests walked into the dance on a red carpet and were greeted by a photographer who took individual pictures of the guests arriving.

After getting checked in, students went into the dance area and sat with their groups. The centerpieces consisted of clapper boards and award trophies, both of which fit perfectly with the theme. Around 7:00 PM, dinner was served. The menu for the evening consisted of Caesar salad, potatoes, chicken, steamed vegetables, and sausage, with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert.

As soon as dinner was over, the seniors did their offense and defense dances to commemorate their victory and officially open the dance floor to start the “party". Students flooded the dance floor and danced the night away. Some teachers even joined in the fun and danced as well.

At the very end of the night, students were still gathered in their dance circles and having a blast. As they were waiting for their rides, students were able to sit outside and talk with their friends.

After a weekend filled with fun, the Saddlelites were able to rest and relax before returning to school on Tuesday. This was the perfect way for the Wolves to celebrate their six-peat.

Two unlikely parties brought together for a Powderpuff special

By Lizzy Cwiklinski

On September 8, a week ahead of the annual Powderpuff game, Regina and Marian set aside their cleats and were brought together at St. Isidore Church to celebrate mass and complete a service project. Co moderator for the senior class, Mrs. Bruce, extends her delight towards the outcome of the retreat. “It was wonderful to see both schools together and the girls interacting, working together, and getting to know each other.” To commence the retreat, both schools filed into the church for a church service. “We sat every other row so it wasn’t too much of an awkward situation if people were uncomfortable sitting next to someone they didn’t know, but they were still mingling with the opposite school," said Mrs. Bruce.

After Mass, in order to form interaction and unity between the two schools, the girls were asked to join tables with students from the opposing school as they completed their service project. The service project prompted creativity within the students to individually create lunch bags with uplifting messages and drawings for the organization, Kids Food Basket. While the girls worked, the conjoined tables were provided with a list of questions ranging from personal interests, school, and, of course, Powderpuff. This was in an effort to get the conversation flowing. It sparked two different responses from the seniors. Sydney Desjardine saw the positives in the situation “I’m glad it made me realize that you can be friends with rivals and still get a 6 peat! It was fun [to meet them], I really thought it was a good chance to get to know people outside of the Regina community and it was also a fun way to meet the competition.”

Abigail Brooks, however, had a different response. “[It was] not great honestly, it was just kind of awkward. They pried constantly about Powderpuff. I feel like the retreat could've been done junior year, so none of us knew anything about Powderpuff and we weren’t trying to figure anything out about it."

Although the idea of teaming up with the opponent didn’t go without hesitation, especially just a week ahead of the big game, it’s clear that the final product of the retreat, exemplified through sportsmanship, was the blueprint for a hopefully long standing tradition.

CONNECT4CANCER HOSTS OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

By Greta Hellebuyck '24

More than 21,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and this is the second year the Regina Connect4Cancer Club is spreading awareness about the disease to the student body. Because ovarian cancer is a disease that only affects women, Connect4Cancer prides itself on being able to inform fellow students and raise funds for those actively fighting the condition. Throughout September, Connect4Cancer worked with a national ovarian cancer organization called Turn the Towns Teal to decorate the Regina campus with teal ribbons.

Members of Connect4Cancer helped by making informative posters with statistics about ovarian cancer to hang throughout the school hallways. During the last week of the month, Connect4Cancer shared daily announcements to Regina students about the warning signs of the disease. On September 29th, Connect4Cancer hosted a $2 dress down day in teal for ovarian cancer; this event was able to raise $302.51 to donate to Turn the Towns Teal. Connect4Cancer takes great pleasure in kicking off the club’s 2022-2023 school year with this event and hopes to do bigger and better things in the future. Connect4Cancer is always looking for new and eager members, so feel free to reach out to Miss Ackerman, the Connect4Cancer moderator, for more information.

REGINA CROSS COUNTRY JOINS MARIAN CROSS COUNTRY

By Sofia Switalski '25 and Bella Farah

With Regina’s 6th consecutive Powderpuff win so fresh, this practice didn’t seem like a smart idea to the runners, but the coaches thought otherwise.

Regina’s cross country team

combined with Marian’s team for a hills practice on Tuesday, September 20th. Although you’d expect some hard feelings, both teams were very civil. They were more friendly than not, and it’s safe to say that each Regina runner has a friend on their biggest rival's cross country team.

Together, the two teams ran up and down treacherous hills, completed 15 second uphill sprints, and did warm up and cool down runs as if they were one team The Marian coaches even shared a tradition with Regina as an encouragement to keep pushing until the last moment of each race. They call it “lunch money” because you don’t want someone to beat you at the end of a race and take your lunch money! During that practice, each girl made sure to run like her lunch money was on the line. Although the girls were hesitant to participate in this practice, it ended with smiles on their faces and the start of a new tradition.

By Audrey Pearsall '23

“Powderpuff was an experience I will never forget and I am so glad I got to beat Marian with my sisters. We got the 6 Peat and won for Coach Bill!”

Adrianna Lucido '23

“I am so sad that Powderpuff is over because it was one of the best moments in my life. Finally being able to play football and beat Marian is bittersweet now It is one memory I will cherish forever.”

Olivia Dobbs

“Powderpuff was an unforgettable experience I finally got to play my favorite sport and grow closer to my classmates After all the blood sweat and tears put in during practice, beating Marian for the 6 peat was the best feeling ever ”

“Even though I didn’t play in the game, I felt so included by both the coaches and my sisters and had the opportunity to experience this great tradition I have 3 sisters but I just gained 63 more ” Eva Faddoul '23

Ava Marzolf '23

“I’m excited to come together and work toward one common goal with all of my classmates.”

Mia Gentry '24

d, seniors have now ny have learned ver. Here are a few m the Class of 2024

“I am happy that Powderpuff taught me how to have the motivation and dedication to go to practice every day to get the trophy and the 6 Peat ”

Melissa Kolpasky'23

“Even through the bumps and bruises, I would not change one thing about my experience with Powderpuff It gave me so many memories I will never forget.” Claire Johnstone '23

“I’m looking forward to the 7 PEAT! Seeing the women before me win has inspired me to do the same Let’s carry on the tradition!” Megan Renaud '24

“Watching them play reminded me of how strong Regina's sisterhood is ” Kymara Lewis '24

We are so grateful to have experienced this amazing tradition, and we are so excited for the Class of 2024 Bulldogs as they go for the 7 peat in 2023.

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

By Jamieson Dean '23

The Regina Players are setting sail to Greece in their production of Mamma Mia! With a very skilled cast showcasing their talents, Junior Sydney Upton and Sophomore Marissa Jolet lead the way. Sydney Upton plays Donna, the mother of Sophie who is played by Marissa Jolet. Marissa expressed her excitement as the show's opening night creeps near, “I auditioned for Sophie because her character is a really fun role, and I feel that our personalities match pretty well at times.” Jolet has been doing theater for three years and says she enjoys performing in the shows because of the “amazing acting experience” and the bonds with her sisters here at Regina. They both are excited for the show to begin, and here at Regina, we are excited to see them succeed.

Behind the scenes of this magnificent show is a tech crew led by senior Katie Krass. Katie has been a part of the musical theater since fourth grade (8 years), and keeps this show afloat. Most people don’t recognize what Katie does because it happens behind the scenes. She handles props, lighting, and sound while also helping to move, paint and build set pieces. Katie Krass has been the right-hand man of director Mrs. Ellero the past three years; with a younger sister and fellow Reginite Allison Krass in the production playing Rosie, Katie says, “I do the play for everyone else, to make their experience the best it can be, no matter how hard it is for me.” With heart and dedication, Katie is a “main character” that the crowd doesn’t see on stage.

Tic t forget to get yours! We hope to see you there!