What’s recently happened?
Bishop Noll Institute (BNI) has recently lost Band Director, Rocco Carioto. Students and staff felt heart break these past few weeks but BNI has found ways to honor his legacy. Mass Media students put together a video of all his funny moments, held a memorial service in the school Chapel, and had a school Mass dedicated to him.
The Mass was held on March 21 in the field house. The band played songs that were dedicated to him, the choir sang songs, speeches were given, and some alumni donated various items such as a handmade bench and rose bushes.
During Catholic Schools Week, the Graduates with Distinction were announced. These students have had a grade point average of 4.0 or above.
Luke Baczkowski, Soriyah Casiano, Soledad Castellanos, Miranda Gaal, Isabella Garcia, Daisy Gonzalez, Mathieu Jadrych, Alessandra Lopez, Arianna Magallanes, Andrea Mendoza, Painalli Patino, Reese Reid, Anthony Rico, Alyssa Schafbuch, Erik Shelton, and Alexis Vega have all received this honor. Grace Shebish was named Salutatorian and Laura Bautista was named Valedictorian.
“Honestly, I did not expect it at all. It has been a hectic last couple of months getting everything prepared to graduate, but I couldn’t be more grateful. I am excited but also nervous to give my speech for graduation. Overall, I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family, teachers, and friends,” said Shebish.
What’s coming up?
Spring has started which comes with the annual musical. This year, the theater department is performing “Matilda” on April 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 2:30 p.m. “Matilda” is about a little girl with psychokinetic powers who is neglected. She creates a bond with her teacher while the school’s headmistress punishes children who don’t follow the rules. There are about 40 people that are involved in the show and they have been working on it since January.
”I am excited for all the audience to see how hard our entire cast and crew has worked. It will be bittersweet since so many talented seniors will be leaving. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as the cast and crew does,” said Freshman Catherine Ralphson.
A beloved tradition of BNI, which started in 2017, is celebrating Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Day on April 25. DNA Day commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and discovery of DNA’s double helix in 1953.
BNI celebrates this day with students and teachers learning about genetics and genomics. Biology Teacher Rebecca Dostatni creates DNA themed shirts, writes lyrics to DNA-themed music videos, and makes cookies decorated with double helices. Students a part of the Biology Club will decorate the halls with science memes and host a school-wide chromosome scavenger hunt to win science-themed prizes.
“My favorite part of the day is seeing students I don’t know and students who don’t necessarily love science still engage in the day and have fun. I really love the DNA-themed songs and music videos the best,” said Dostatni.
Staff spotlight:
Kayla Konkle is BNI’s theater instructor. She graduated from Ball State University in 2018 and started to work at BNI that following semester. When she was younger, she wanted to become a veterinarian until she was in sixth grade and saw a production of “Oliver” and thought it was cool. In high school, she made the decision of wanting to teach theater.
Konkle is a part of the Student Council Dance Decorating Committee and helps with the Multicultural Club while running the theater department. She also works with the rest of the fine arts department to run concerts. Konkle created a Crochet Club as well. An avid crocheter herself, Konkle’s favorite thing she has made was a millipede.
“My favorite part about helping with clubs is seeing the kids succeed. Seeing the audience cheer for them at the end and the actors taking their final bow is the best part of teaching,” said Konkle.
Her favorite show she had directed was “Eurydice” because it was different from all of the other shows. Another one of her favorite shows is the upcoming production of “Matilda.”
In high school, she was involved with a lot of plays and musicals. During her senior year, she was in “Anything Goes” and played a love interest with her husband.
In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and Dungeons & Dragons. Her favorite video game is “Baldur’s Gate 3.” She loves watching World Wrestling Entertainment and horror movies, with her favorite one being “Midsummer.”
Konkle loves BNI because all the students are all different and how it feels like a family.
”I really love working at Bishop Noll. I love my students and I teach them, for them,” said Konkle.
Student spotlight:
Junior Diana Torres-Cruz has been an active member of the BNI community ever since she was a freshman. She was a part of the tennis team during freshman year and she is a member of the bowling team, band, and theater department. Torres-Cruz is a stage and set manager for the theater department which is her favorite after school activity.
Torres-Cruz works with all the actors to make sure their costume and microphones are on and that they have all of their props. She is good at making sure everyone is on task and everything runs smoothly.
During her fourth grade year, she wanted to be in her school band. Her first option was trombone but later switched to clarinet with the guidance of her band director. Torres-Cruz played fourth and fifth grade and later quit. She decided to start playing again at BNI and was a part of growing the band.
“I can’t imagine playing any other instrument,” said Torres-Cruz.
Her favorite show she has ever been a part of was “Little Shop of Horrors” because it was her sister’s last performance and it was sentimental with the other seniors. Since she is the first chair clarinet and head stage and set manager, Torres-Cruz is grateful to be able to help the other students and keep things organized.
“I feel like I am a part of a big family. With leading titles, I am an extension to make sure everything goes right,” said Torres-Cruz.
Torres-Cruz had opportunities to show off her theater and instrument skills. She got to go to the International Thespian Society where she had to do certain activities while being timed. She competed against other schools and it was an amazing experience. Another competition she went to was for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida for band. Torres-Cruz was a part of different events and got to perform at the halftime show. She loved getting to know other bands and to grow relationships with her bandmates.
Torres-Cruz received the mental attitude award for bowling. Her goals for the future are to keep her grades up and to get more involved with school. Her favorite memory from school is getting to play in the pep band for hockey games. Her favorite class is dual credit United States History because she likes learning about history and how her teacher makes the class interactive.
A fun fact about Torres-Cruz is that she works at Wendy’s. She enjoys working there because it gives her experience and opportunities to have more skills.
She likes painting, drawing, roller skating, skateboarding, and playing tennis when she can. If she had to pick what she wanted to do after graduation, she would want to be an occupational therapist because she loves helping people.
“I like helping people anyway I can,” said Torres-Cruz.