Seamus Healy – Providence Academy Word

May 31, 2018

Senior Rock

There is a large rock behind the school next to the senior parking lot and the bonfire pit. This rock is called the Senior rock because each year the senior class gets to paint the rock with a design of their choice and add all of their signatures.

The Senior rock is a great tradition at Providence Academy because it brings the graduating class together and gives them the opportunity to make their mark on Providence Academy (literally).

No one knows when and why the seniors started painting the Senior rock.

“This adds to the mysterious side of the rock,” said Headmaster Dr. Flanders.

Before we had the Senior rock that we see today, there was a much smaller rock in that same place.

AnnMarie Healy ’12 (middle) with two other graduates from 2012.

In the 2011-2012 school year, AnnMarie Healy (’12), a senior at Providence who was also president of the student council, decided along with the vice president Molly Mazza (’12) that in order to boost school spirit, they should do something about that rock.

Coincidentally, she happened to have an uncle, Greg Bruening, who owned a rock quarry in the town of Decorah, Iowa. AnnMarie called her uncle and asked him if he could find a rock that the school could use for this great tradition.

Mr. Bruening started looking, and he found three rocks that were around the right size. He had AnnMarie come out and choose the one that she liked the best. This rock was a limestone sedimentary formation that weighed 24 tons.

In order to transfer a rock that big the three hours from Decorah, Iowa to Providence, they had to use a semi-truck. Mr. Bruening is very generous, and he rented a crane to move the rock from the truck and place it in the position it sits in today. As the large crane did its work, the students were trying to look out the back windows of the school.

Class of 2018 poses in front of the rock.

This Senior rock has been a tradition at Providence Academy ever since. It arrived in the spring of 2012 and has become a symbol of school pride and love that the seniors have for this school.

May 2, 2018

Why Do We Read That Book?

How many students enjoy reading Greek Classics in Classical Literature? In reading Oedipus the King, Antigone, and The Bacchae, many of these stories are indubitably unlike anything we would read in today’s literature.

In the classic work, Oedipus the King, A son kills his father and marries his mother, and at the very end of the story, Oedipus gouges his eyes out. In the book Antigone, she fights for the right for her brother, Polynices, to have a proper burial, but she ends up being put to death by Creon in his rage. In the book, The Bacchae Pentheus, the king, refuses to worship the new god Dionysus. So Dionysus drives Pentheus’ mother into a crazy frenzy and she tears Pentheus to pieces.

Even though these books may seem disturbing, freshman Val Fish offers a good point saying, “It broadens our perspective on the world and helps us see it from a different point of view.”

On the contrary, freshman Tom Heyda says, “This graphic violence and immorality can put unwanted images in the teens head.”

Dr. Biebighauser is the current 9th Grade Classical Literature teacher clarifies these questions saying, “Partially for entertainment value, violent and gory stuff can grab our attention and make us care about characters. Partially it’s an acknowledgment that 14 and 15-year-olds deal with dark and troubling stuff, and we don’t want to shelter them from that, we want them to be able to talk and write about it.”

By reading these Classical works, Providence teens are taking part in the conversations started since the beginning of time. These stories have been teaching people to think and develop virtue and understand character. PA students will be well prepared to carry the literary torch into the future.

April 6, 2018

Robotics

On March 7th the Providence Academy Robotics team Power Amplified drove up to Duluth and spent the weekend testing their robot by competing against other teams.

The competition this year was arcade video game themed. In this game, the team’s robots had to place blocks on scales to weigh their side down and score points. Unfortunately, the Providence robot, which they spent six weeks building, did not get past qualification matches because of many variables.

Students who participate in Robotics learn many useful skills from how to code to how to use power tools in the shop.

Angelina Rossini ’19 said, “The people that are a part of Robotics are kind and welcoming. They make the team fun and enjoyable. When everyone is together, amazing things are accomplished. Everyone at robotics seems to be in a good mood which makes it pleasant. At the beginning of the season, we attempted to create an attendance machine. This was a fascinating experience because I was able to learn how to wire electronics.”

Power Amplified (Back to front, Left to right): Mr. Plucinski, Lucien Tessier, Dylan Drean, William Hemler, Michael Collins, Angelina Rossini, Luke Igel, Steven Fogle, Michael Mahoney, Kelly Rajkowski, Kylie Walgrave, Shane Flanigan, Abigail Rossini, Seamus Healy, John Dunne

March 7, 2018

The Olympics

The Olympics only come around once every two years. They are generally seen as a very exciting time to sit down with your family and enjoy the competition. “Moguls are my favorite winter Olympic event, and I love to watch it with my family and my dog,” said Sophomore Andrew McGurl.

InfoGraphic on Olympic Medal Count (Click to View)

This year the Winter Olympics were held in PyeongChang, South Korea. The United States won nine gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics. These gold medalists include Red Gerard, who, while only 17 years old, won gold in the snowboard slopestyle event and Jessie Diggins, who took home the gold in cross-country skiing. This was the first Olympic medal received by the United States in this event.

Image result for red gerard — Red Gerard after winning Olympic Gold in snowboard slopestyle event.

The US overall did very well in the 2018 Winter Olympics taking home 23 medals. Even though the US didn’t win the most medals, this Olympics was very fun to watch seeing all the different winter sports and the good competition.

The next Olympics will be held in Tokyo in 2020.

February 15, 2018February 15, 2018

Out of Uniform

Students dress out of uniform during Catholic Schools Week. Usually, the out of uniform is a theme. Some of these are patterns, like polka dots or plaid. Other themes are Hawaiian day or career day. No matter what theme or pattern it is, students in the PA community always have fun dressing in something else than the typical uniform.

Val Fish said, “I think the out of uniform days are creative, but the middle school has better ones like career day.” Most students love the opportunity to choose what they get to wear and to be able to wear comfortable clothes.

Controversially the middle school had two full out of uniform days while the upper school only had one. This may seem unfair to high schoolers but the high schoolers got to wear partial out of uniform for the rest of the week, while on Wednesday the middle school had to dress in full uniform due to Mass.

There may be a reason behind this. According to administration, Homecoming Week has more out of uniform days and activities for the high school because it is more focused on the high school, while Catholic Schools Week has more activities and out of uniform days for the middle school because the middle school does not get the opportunity to do as much as the high school over Homecoming Week.