Spiritgram DECEMBER 2024 | Sharing The Spirit!

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IgetaskedoftenaboutwhatIlikemostaboutworkingatSt.Edmond. Whileitisimpossibletoanswerinonefellswoop,thequestionalways makesmereflectmoredeeplyonwhatmakesthisbuildingsospecial.

St Edmondhasevolvedtremendouslysincemytimehereasa student,butmanythingshaveremainedconstant Theseconstants include:themissionoffaithformation,passionateteacherswhowork tirelesslytoserveourstudents,diligentstaffwhoarewillingtodo whateverittakestokeepthisshipmovingforward,afamily environmentwithstrongcommunitysupport,andtheopportunity forstudentstobewellroundedindividualswhotakepridein academics,athletics,musicandotheractivities

Imaybebiasedastheactivitiesdirector,butthelastbulletisoneof myfavoriteaspectsofourschool.Ourstudentshavetheopportunity tobeinvolvedineverything.Athletesparticipateinthemusical, musicianscompeteonthequizbowlteam,studentsgofromChess Club,totheirsportspractice,toaSpeechrehearsal,andheadback hometocompletetheirhomeworkforthenight-thisnotionisand alwayswillbetheepitomeofSt.Edmond.

Thevalueofastudentparticipatinginsomanydifferent activitiesisunmatched Theylearnhowtocompeteindifferent ways,howtohandledifferentkindsofconflictandfailure,and howtointeractwithavarietyofpeoplewhomayhavedifferent personalitiesorperspectives.Communicationskills,conflict resolutionskills,teamworkskills,andotherskillsetsthatgofar behindwhatcanbetaughtintheclassroomareexponentially strengthened

Allinall,althoughIamwiredtothinkfirstofschoolactivities, myreflectiontothequestionofwhatIlikemostaboutworking atSt.Edmondalwaysleadsmetothisconclusion:Ilove St EdmondbecauseIgettoexperiencethelove ofChristinsomeway,shapeorformonadaily basis

The PHS 120 Exploring Physical Science class and the Engineering class went to the REC to build cardboard boats. The PHS 120 class had to learn about buoyancy and how to determine mathematically how deep a boat will sink in the water

LEADERSHIP

Msg.KevinMcCoy President

Fr.RossCaniglia

Holy Trinity Parish

Mrs.TabithaAcree Elementary Principal

Mr.MauryRuble Middle/High School Principal

Mr.DavidFlattery Activities Director

Mrs.KateStucky Director of Operations/Finance

Mrs.SusanLaufersweiler Director of Development

Mr.TravisPatterson Director of Technology

Ms.SusanRustvold Marketing/Design

Dear Gael Fans,

As I look back on the blessings of the past year, I must take a moment to express my gratitude for the remarkable support from our Saint Edmond community. Your encouragement, generosity, and prayers have had a great impact on our school Being a part of this Gael community brings me great pride and joy!

We have entered into the season of giving Throughout the year, our St. Edmond community has graciously donated funds for various projects and general needs. We are so lucky to receive each and every gift They help us offer the best possible Catholic education to anyone who wants to attend

As we approach the end of the year, it is the perfect time to give back with a financial gift to our school. First of all, giving is part of the Christmas spirit It is a great example to show your children that giving to charity is an opportunity to help others Secondly, for many, year end giving has tax benefits

Gifts to non-profits will help you to lower the amount of taxes you pay If you receive a bonus, have appreciated stock or property, or if you have a required minimum distribution, it is also a great way to share the wealth. We would appreciate if you would consider St Edmond in your end of the year plans

As we move through these upcoming weeks, I hope you take the time to enjoy the beauty of the season and prepare your hearts to welcome our Lord this Christmas.

Thank you for being such a vital part of our community, and may this season fill you with hope, joy and many more blessings in the new year.

SusanLaufersweiler

Scan QR Code to make a donation to St. Edmond Catholic School. Or Venmo: @StEdmondCatholicSchool

CLASS REUNION INFORMATION AND DATES WITH DETAILS

Please remember to send your class reunion details to Susan Laufersweiler at susanl@st-edmond.com.

Classof1995-30thReunion

Classof1995willholdtheir30thClassreuniononMay9,2025. ReachouttoAaronDavidsonatakjcdavidson@msncomformoreinformation

OF 1984

Consider scheduling your class reunion the same weekend of the St Edmond Ball, it provides a great opportunity for you to attend the Ball and see additional family and friends you may not have had the opportunity to see on another weekend In addition, you can sign up and participate in the annual golf and basketball tournaments!

You can schedule tours of the school with Susan Laufersweiler. Please send your class reunion details and photos to susanl@st-edmond.com.

CLASS

Father Ross Caniglia

Advent Season

“Inthesilence,Godspeaks.”

RecentlyMr Ruble,Mrs Acree,andIwentonan administrator’sretreatinBroomTree,SD Upongetting there,Idecidedtocheckoutthewhitechapelonthe hill.IsatdowninthepewandasIlookeduptowards thetabernaclemyeyesweremetbythatphraseonthe altarcloth,“Inthesilence,Godspeaks”

Inaworldwithsomuchnoise–fromsocialmedia, tocellphones,topolitics,andthebusynessofordinary life–thereseemstobelittletimeforsittinginstillness andsilence However,ifwereallytakeanhonest inventory,wemightsurpriseourselveswithhowmany minutes,hours,orevendayswespendonthingsthat reallyareawasteoftime.

What’sthefirstthingwelookatinthemorning?

Ourcrucifixorourphone?Youtubeorourrosary?Our Facebookorourprayercorner?ThisAdvent,perhapswe mightadoptaspiritofdetachment,sowemightdepend moredeeplyonGod.Perhapswemightmoveourselvesaway fromthenoisinessofourworld,andenterintothesmallness ofsilencewhereGod speaks Then,this Christmas,wewill recognizetheembrace oftheChrist-childwho comestousinthe stillnessandsilence ofthatHolyNight

I challenge you...

ThisAdventandChristmasSeason:

1 Setasideatleast10minutes forquietprayereachday

2.Readandprayoverthe upcomingSunday'sreadings duringtheweek

3 Insteadoflisteningto Christmasmusic,listento"Advent" musicuntilDecember24th.

4 ListentoChristmasmusicduring theChristmasSeason(December25thJanuary8th)

The Catholic Identity Quality Work Team came up with the idea to acknowledge all alumni who have chosen to pursue a Religious Vocation Through the generous donation of Jeremiah and Jenny Condon, a Clergy Board was created showcasing those who graduated from St Edmond and have become Priests, Deacons, Sisters or other Religious Clergy Members Our hope is for many more to join this list
Hank Bacon and Fr Ross

Teachers/StaffTenureMilestones

FORYOURCOMMITMENTANDSERVICE

New Date, New Location, New Co-Chairs

TheDevelopmentOfficeisexcitedtoannouncethatthe42nd AnnualFriendsofSaintEdmondBallwillbeheldonMay10, 2025atthehistoricLaramarBallroominFortDodge.OurCoChairsthisyearareRob&LindsayEhnandPat&JenLeiting. Theyhavechosenthetheme“CreatingourfuturewithGod’s grace.”Thegolfoutingandalumnibasketballtournamentwill beheldincoordinationwiththeeventlikenormal.

DuetoacalendarchangeforProm,thedecisionwasmadeto pushbacktheBallweekend.Afterseeingtherenovationsatthe Laramar,theChairsknewitwouldbetheperfectlocationforthe event.Itwillbeagreateveningoftraditionwithanewtwist.We hopeyouwillmarkyourcalendarandplantoattendforanight ofcelebrationandraisingfundsforourschool.

men and sophomores and eeing how much they are ving intellectually, but more importantly how much fun the students have while representing our school -Coach Derrig

TheSaintEdmondVolleyballteamfinished19-12this year,earningthemostteamwinsinthepast17years.The girlsplaced2ndintheNCCconferencebeti t lik Clarion-Goldfield-Dows,AlgonaandClear firsttimeinmanyyearsTheteamlostto semi-finalstocloseouttheirseason

Volleyball Honors

AllConference1stTeam: SashaHessandMariahMyers

AllConference2ndTeam: ClaireO’Connor AllConference3rdTeam AvaUnderberg

TheSaintEdmondFootballteamearnedDistrictrunner-up honorsandsecuredtheirfirsteverplayoffberthin8-player football.TheGaelsendedtheirseason5-4withalossto Janesville.

FirstTeamAllDistrict: AdamWalker-Sr QuintinJaeschke-Sr DominicMcClain-Sr GrantGalles-Jr KolemanHanson-Jr JakobKoopman-Jr

SecondTeamAllDistrict: KlayBaker-Sr EthanSwisher-Jr MaxWebster-Jr AaronHindt-Soph

HonorableMentionAllDistrict: SamMyer-Sr

AcademicAllDistrictTeam: AdamWalker SamMyer GrantGalles JakobKoopman MaxWebster KinnickHenning TyMericle GriffinLaufersweiler HadynHarman JacobNieland

Photos taken by Britt Kudla, The Messenger.

ANOTHERSUCCESSFULYEARFORSTATEXC

TheSaintEdmondCrossCountryteamwrappedupanothersuccessfulrunningseason BothGirlsandBoysteamscaptured gold,silverorbronzeinnumerousmeetsthisyear.TheBoysteamqualifiedfortheStatemeetandfinishedin9thplace. AnthonyValles,LiamShannonandLeviOdor-WestrumallqualifiedfortheStatemeetasindividualsthisyearaswell. Vallesfinished6th,Shannonwas29thandOdor-Westrumwas84thinClass1A. Special Congratulations to Anthony Valles on First Team - All State and Liam Shannon on 2nd Team - All State!

DODGERGIRLSSWIMMING O’CONNORDIVESATSTATE

St.Edmondhad3girlsparticipateinGirlsSwimmingwithFort DodgeSr.High.SeniorDelaneyO’Connorhadanimpressiveyea becomingthefirstdivertoqualifyforStateforFDsince1998. O’Connoralsoparticipatedinthe400FreestyleRelayatthe StateSwimmingMeet.

SeniorJosieHarveyparticipatedontheFortDodgeGazelles RugbyTeam.Thisyear’steamfinished8-4andqualifiedto participateintheStateRugbyTeam for the first time in the three year history!

STATECHEER2024|PLACED2ND &2NDINCHEER/DANCE

JOSIEHARVEY

DELANEYO’CONNOR

Lego League

ElementarystudentsatSaintEdmondhavehadtheopportunitytoparticipateinLegoLeagueafterschoolthepast 2years AshtynZinn,SEparent,approachedtheschoolaboutleadingaclubtoinspirecreativityandhigher levelthinkinginourstudents ThroughthegenerosityofZak&SharonClark,legokitshavebeenpurchased forthestudentstolearntobuild,codeandsolveproblems WearegratefultotheClarksandAshtynfor providingthisopportunityforourstudents HereisalittleinformationonhowLegoLeagueworks:

ThekidshaveallformedteamsandarecurrentlyworkingthroughtheLEGOLeagueExplorerscurriculumfortheyear Astheycompletethelessons,theywilldevelopa"toolbox"tobuildandcodetheirowndesigns Eachgroupwilluse theseskillstobuildasolutiontothisseason'schallengepriortothe"LEGOFestival"eventonMay12th Thisseason's challengeistitled"Submerged"andisfocusedonexplorationofthedifferentlevelswithinourocean.Theywill presenttheircreationsonMay12thtofamilyandfriendsandexplainhowtheirbuildcancontributetoincreasingour understandingoftheoceans.Wehopeallourstudentshavefunandlearnvaluableskillswhiletheyparticipate.

and host

The5thAnnualFriendsofSt Edmond CraftandVendorShowwasheldon Saturday,December7thandwasonce againahugesuccess!Thisevent, createdbyKaitlyn(Barrett)Stewart ('10),hasevolv gatheringdurin tournamentint benefitsouren Thisyear'sshow vendors,andan shoppersatten Theproceedsfr feessupportth admissionfees purchasingem supplybagsfor ourclassrooms helpingtofund teacherwishlis

TheAthleticBoostersprovidedconcessions andtheMusicBoostersheldahotcocoa bar/bakesale TheJuniorclassprovided photoswithSantaandtheJuniorclass parentshadaboothtohelpfundraisefor hilefinalnumbers isestimatedthat er$20,000ofnet nizations Thankyou Kaitlyn(Barrett) y(Barrett)McGonegle TCco-chairsLindsay ufersweiler('08) tz-Clark,foralltheir

Deaths

CALLED HOME BY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

SusanWorley,Classof1961,passedawayonMay2,2024

MaryAnnJohnson,motherofAnnette('77),Angela('78), Joyce('80),Janet('81),Kathleen('82),Carol('85)andMike ('88)passedawaySeptember11,2024

AlbertJr.Rettenmaier,Classof1961,passedaway September9,2024

PaulAdams,Classof1961,passedawaySeptember14,2024.

Dr.ThomasLee,Classof1967,passedawayAugust26,2024. Hiswife,KarenCornellLeeisa1969graduate.Hissiblings William('63),James('66),Mary('69),Marcia('71),Laura('75) andChristine('76)alsograduatedfromSt Edmond

TomSimmons,Classof'57,passedawayApril2,2024

Dr.DanCole,Classof1964,passedawayOctober12,2024.

ArleenLindquist,motherofMichelle('91)andCarmen('94), passedawayOctober28,2024.

TarynO’ToolMenning,Classof2011,passedawayOctober 29,2024.

MikeSells,Classof1975,passedawayOctober30,2024

MarkCroonquist,fatherofJenny('03)andNick('05),passed awayNovember12,2024

DanielHickey,Classof1974,passedawayNovember17, 2024.

ColletteCoughlon,MotherofTim('69),Joni('71)andJane ('78)passedawayNovember30,2024.

ShawnAnderson,husbandofJoAnnLentschAnderson('79) passedawayDecember1,2024.

Births

BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN

JeffandMeredithMulholland('06)Perrsonwelcomedababy boy,CohenJames,onMarch24,2024.

Dillon&Milena('20)NaughtonGrauwelcomedababyboy,Ezra, onJuly22,2024.

Nate&AlisonCondon('02)Meierwelcomedababyboy,Charlie Thomas,onOctober11,2024.

Jon('09)&LizCrimmins('09)Flatterywelcomedababyboy, CollinTerrence,onNovember5,2024

St EdmondteachersLucasandJosieDanielswelcomedababy boy,KlayAlan,onSeptember24,2024

Joseph('12)andHopeWingewelcomedababyboy,Owen Michael,onOctober7,2024

Ben('06)andMariaDrzycimski('08)Beckerwelcomedababy girl,OnaMae,onNovember15,2024

Jacob('12)andKaitlynRubel('12)Wingewelcomedababyboy, BriggsGene,onNovember19,2024

Weddings

UNIONS BLESSED BY GOD

ColinFlattery('16)marriedKatelynnAndersononSeptember 28,2024.

LizGriffin('10)marriedJohnSchaenzeronOctober12,2024

EmilyDencklau('99)marriedBenJohnsononOctober26,2024. DanielleHuss('06)marriedGregJacobsonNovember8,2024.

"And behold, I am always with you, until the

GrantHeddinger('10)marriedAmandaHoranonNovember16, 2024.

Anniversaries

Mike('62)andSue(Quarles)PowersPorter('62)celebrated26 yearsofmarriageonSeptember26th,2024.

Please email susanl@st-edmond.com with any alumni announcements.

ST. EDMOND CATHOLIC SCHOOL

22204THAVENUENORTH

FORTDODGE,IA50501

CURRENTRESIDENTOR

DesMoinesAlumni: Youhaveanopportunity towatchthegirls &boysbasketballteamsat WellsFargoonJan.2.

IowaWolvesHighSchool HOOPSSERIES

Thursday,January2nd @WellsFargoArena inDesMoines St.EdmondCatholicvs SouthHamilton

Schedule 6:15pm-VarsityGirls 7:30pm-VarsityBoys ALLTICKETSARE GENERALADMISSION!

ATicketsforthiseventare$10. getwoandunderdonotneeda tickettoenter.WellsFargoArena hasaclearbagpolicy.

TicketLink-https://fevoenterprisecom/event/Highschool282

DayMass

7:30AM & 10:00AM 7:30 AM will be broadcasted on KVFD 1400 Radio

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