August Activities Pave the Way for the Approaching School Year
On Saturday, August 1, from 7am to 2pm, there was an Antiques and Rummage Sale at Andrean. Several sections of the building, including halls, classrooms, and the old priest’s residence were cleaned out by faculty and student volunteers. Decades’ worth of antiques were put on sale to the open public.
Some items that were sold include furniture, art, books, craft supplies, sporting goods, and much more. Andrean High School student volunteers helped set up for the sale and work the sale itself. The clean-out helped create some more room for Andrean students and teachers. All of the proceeds went to the Andrean High School Fund, which helps maintain Andrean’s educational objectives, especially in terms of extracurricular organizations.
In addition to that sale that will help fund educational projects for the 2015-2016 school year, Andrean’s fall sports season official began Monday, August 3. Week 1 included try-outs and practices for tennis, golf, volleyball, cross country, weightlifting, soccer, and cheerleading. On Wednesday, August 12, the Fall Parents’ Meeting took place in Andrean’s cafeteria, for parents of fall athletes.
School is Almost Here!
The 2015-2016 school year at Andrean is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 19, at 7:35 am, with the school day coming to a close at 3:00 pm. Andrean’s unique schedule system of 7 rotating class periods is being changed, in favor for a more traditional 9-period constant scheduling system. Instead of the former three lunch periods, there will be four. These four will take place during the fifth and sixth periods, and will be known as 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B.
Student schedules have already been released, so that textbooks can be bought for the coming year. Many of these textbooks were purchased at the 2015 Andrean Book Swap that took place on Saturday, July 25, from 10am to 2pm.
Along with scheduling changes, Andrean is introducing a school day that has increased by thirty minutes. A typical school day is now from 7:35 am to 3:00 pm, and Andrean is introducing occasional half days, that will begin at the normal time, but dismiss at 11:35 am.
There are many new changes in terms of uniform code, scheduling, and administration that Andrean students will have to get used to, but it is still expected to be a great year. Andrean students, “Niner Nation,” are gearing up for football season, which officially begun August 3. With our Andrean wear and loud school spirit, we hope to make it to the state championships for a third consecutive year.
Coach Pishkur is Recognized for His Contributions
This month’s article is giving a shout out to Coach Dave Pishkur, who won his seventh Times Coach of the Year award and the Post-Tribune 2015 Baseball Coach of the Year award this year.
Coach Pishkur has been coaching baseball since 1979-1980. It appears that the thirty-six years as Andrean’s head baseball coach are paying off. Andrean’s baseball team finished off last season with a 7-2 record, culminating in the second consecutive state championship title.
I think that our baseball team has enjoyed the success it has had partly due to Coach Pishkur’s love for the game. He enjoys practice where the coaches can teach the game, learns more about the game during the off season, and appreciates the talents necessary to be a good ballplayer. “[I] just love to see how we compete and grow as a team during the season,” he said.
Coach Pishkur believes that the team’s success stems from several factors, one of which is a strong coaching team of Joe Plesac, Ryne Pishkur, and Tyler Ochi. Plesac coaches pitching, Pishkur coaches hitting, and Ochi coaches defensive techniques.
In addition to a staff of good coaches, it is also important to have a team full of players with talent who are willing to learn and to work and a competitive schedule. Coach Pishkur thinks that it is important that they are “not content to be where we are as a coach, player or team but the desire to continuously improve and find ways how to get better."
Hannah and Hanna Take on New York City
Shout out to rising juniors Hannah Joy and Hanna Sarosy, who spent part of their summer exploring New York City. They had plenty of fun walking through the High Line, a popular park that was built on a renovated railway system. They visited Columbia University and New York University, two amazing institutions right in the heart of the city.
Hannah and Hanna went shopping in 5th Avenue and SoHo, where they learned that SoHo and TriBeCa are not made up names; they actually mean something. For example, SoHo means “south of Houston Street.”
They discovered that the painting of the constellations on the ceiling in Grand Central Station is backwards. According to the artist, it was intentional, so that the painting was from God’s perspective. “Nice cover up,” Hannah said.
Her advice? Doing non-touristy things is worth it. She much preferred to take a walk around the West Village than to suffer through the crowds in Times Square.
Exploring the Big Apple on their own gave them a boost of confidence in their independence and their ability to discover new things on their own.
“I feel that if I could conquer the Big Apple, I can conquer any city by myself,” said Hannah. Their broadened views of the world will come with them back to Andrean for the academic year.