Last summer a small group of alumni, including Abby Zion Fishel '84, Merry Lou Knuckles '82, Robin Pilarczyk '71, Katie Thomas '66, Shanna…
Cardinal Alumni Search
Last summer a small group of alumni, including Abby Zion Fishel ’84, Merry Lou Knuckles ’82, Robin Pilarczyk ’71, Katie Thomas ’66, Shanna Miller ’91, Terri Fisher ‘ 71 and Phylliss Gedeon ’64, got together and started the groundwork to build the Cardinal Alumni Association. The association is for all graduates from Middlefield, Huntsburg, Parkman and Cardinal high schools who have graduated at least five years ago.
The ground work is done. The association has started an alumni drive and it can use the community’s help. Please send your class list and current addresses to Shanna Miller at shannabear14@yahoo.com.
Do not forget to sign up as a member; the basic membership is only $20. Membership information is on the Cardinal District website www.cardinalschools.org under the Alumni tab on the left hand side.
An Alumni Association Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior whose parent has graduated from Cardinal. The application is on the website and the deadline is April 10. The first scholarship will be presented at the senior awards night in May.
The group is also planning a golf outing for June at Grandview Golf Course. Details and registration will be on the website shortly. Contact the alumni association to sponsor a hole at the outing. Money from the event will be used for future scholarships and alumni events.
In addition, the association is planning a Grand Reunion for July 25. The reunion is for all graduates (members or not) to meet for a night of fellowship and a brief association meeting. The group will need to nominate and vote for association officers to replace the current interim officers and plan events for the next year. A committee is currently shopping locations with a buffet dinner in a casual/semi-formal setting, but names and addresses are needed to make this work.
Help make the first grand reunion a real success. Email Abby Fishel at afishel@aol.com or Merry Lou Knuckles at mlou6382@yahoo.com with any questions or to help out. Look for the association’s informational table at the CardinalBerkshire Alumni Basketball game on March 21 at Cardinal High School. Go Huskies.
CIS Participates In Reading Event
Pillows and blankets were classroom staples at Cardinal Intermediate School on Feb. 27 as students participated in the “Read the Most Coast to Coast” nationwide school one-day reading event that encourages students to read as much as they can. Students spent the afternoon reading books and relaxing, ultimately helping to read 4,176,153 books in a single day.
“Read the Most Coast to Coast is a fun-filled event that enables students at multiple grade levels to join in a shared reading challenge,” says third-grade instructor, Mrs. Cardinal. “Students are engaging in valuable reading practice, all while taking part in an event that joins students across the country in a collaborative effort focused on reading. We’re so proud of our students.”
Students selected their books from those that are a part of Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader K-12 program. The program serves as a platform for teachers to manage independent reading practice. Students read books at the appropriate level and then took a quiz to show they understood what they read.
During the event, Renaissance Learning tracked the national quizzes on its hosted database and shared the progress online. Educators, parents and interested community members were able to see progress toward the national goal as the event was taking place. In Mrs. Cardinal’s class, the running total was projected on the board in the front of the classroom.
Mrs. Cardinal also incorporated a geography lesson on time zones into her class’s reading event. The lesson helped students better understand why the numbers started off small and then increased significantly as the day went on.
SkillsUSA Team Takes Gold
Cardinal High School students Zach, Chad and Cody really nailed it at this year’s SkillsUSA TeamWorks competition. The team, which also attends Auburn Career Center, took home the top prize in the carpentry portion of the competition that was held on Feb. 28 at Auburn Career Center. Fifteen career tech schools from the Northeast region participated competing in 29 events.
SkillsUSA is the showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. It is a multi-million dollar event that occupies a space equivalent to 16 football fields. The philosophy of the championships is to reward students for excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs.
In the carpentry portion of the competition, contestants had to frame walls using wood and/or metal steel studs, cut and install rafters, gable end overhangs, fascia board and soffit installation, install sheathing and or exterior siding and trim and demonstrate knowledge of stair construction. Contestants were judged on accuracy, ability to read and interpret blueprints, workmanship, safety and the proper use of tools, equipment and materials.
The team will now move on to compete in the state competition in April.
Rotary 4-Way Speech Contest
On Feb. 18, six area high school students participated in the Burton-Middlefield Rotary Four-Way Test Speech competition. The students were to present a four to seven minute speech over an ethical issue and support their argument through applying the ideals of the Rotary four-way test. The four-way test asks the following questions: It’s it the truth?, It’s it fair to all concerned?, Will it build goodwill and better friendships? and It’s it beneficial to all concerned?
The six contestants were Cardinal students Brendan W., Doug S., Sidney C. and Makenzie R., Berkshire student Lexi McD. and Newbury student Michael N.
The first through third place winners of the contest received extremely generous cash awards. The first place winner will advance to the district level competition at Aurora High School in April.
Cardinal student Makenzie R. was awarded the third place prize. An unexpected tie occurred between Newbury student Michael N. and Cardinal student Brendan W. The Rotary resolved the dilemma by adding the first and second place prizes together and giving them each an equal share. As for who would advance, a coin toss solved the dispute and Brendan W. will present his speech at the district level competition in April.
Thank you so much to the Burton-Middlefield Rotary members for providing this opportunity to the students of Berkshire, Newbury and Cardinal.
