Xavier High SchoolA & E12

Nicole Noonan‘12

Nicole Noonan: senior at Xavier and future Saint Ambrose Fighting Bee! Have you met her yet?

Who’s in the hallway?

Lauren LutgensA&E Writer

Nicole’s favorite food is macaroni and cheese. Her favorite animal is the monkey and her favorite color is purple. One of her favorite movies is Bridesmaids.

She is involved in many clubs and activities including basketball, Key Club, Ambassadors, Kids Against Hunger, and Pep Club. She can also be found keeping busy with her new job at Lowe’s.

When not busy at school, she enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, Jack Boland, or hanging out at Sara Gross’ house. If you haven’t met her yet, make sure you introduce yourself the next time you see her!

iClipart

iClipart

iClipart

The annual Solo/Ensemble Contest was held last Saturday, April 15, at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. Participants ranged from freshmen to seniors in high school from all across the Cedar Rapids Area School District.

Each solo participant was required to sing two songs for a judge while every ensemble (which consists of a group with two to eight people) sang one song in front of a judge. When finished singing, the group or soloist received a rating of I, II, or III, with I being the best. Contestants can also be nominated as “Best of Center.”

There were 28 Xavier students who participated in the contest. 19 received a I rating and nine were awarded a II rating.

“It was a really great experience, and I’m definitely going to do it

On April 13 through 15, the Xavier drama department performed its final production of the year with the renowned Shakespeare comedy, Taming of the Shrew. The play is most widely known from the 1999 modernized adaptation in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.

Mr. Cervantes stated at the beginning of the play that many high schools do not even attempt Shakespeare plays because of their complexity and difficulty for audiences and actors to understand the language. This fortunately was not the case, with lead roles by seniors Jack Daubitz and Allie Dolan playing Petruchio and Katherina, respectively.

“The play was a lot of fun to be a part of. The most challenging part was memorizing all the lines, but I had a great time doing the fight scene with Allie,” Daubitz said. The audience was able to connect with the actors and understand the plot thanks to the professionalism of the entire cast.

The 37th Annual High School Art Exhibit at Mount Mercy University came to a close on Friday, April 13. Mount Mercy welcomed the participating students, teachers, and parents to its newly renovated art building for an awards ceremony, guest speaker, and various workshops for the students to participate in. There was also an informal meeting for the teachers to attend with the guest speaker and Mount Mercy faculty. The speaker this year was Sean Ulmer, curator of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

Students were able to attend workshops included print making, tie-dye, sculpture, police drawing, gizmo drawing, Raku, and encaustic (wax) painting. After the workshops, lunch was provided to all who attended.

Xavier art teacher Stephanie Wendt has taken a group to the show since she started working at Xavier in 2004. The first place winner receives $75 cash and a $1500 scholarship, second place earns $50 and a $1000 scholarship, and third receives $25 and a $500 scholarship. There are also 15 honorable mentions named, and each of those receives a certificate.

This year, two Xavier students, juniors Becca Winders and Lindsey Blair, each received an honorable mention. “It was my first year, and really fun! I got to paint with Legos in one of the workshops, and that was really cool. I also liked meeting

Lauren HunstadA&E Writer

Laura WalkleyA&E Writer

again next year,” junior Allison Pitz said. Pitz participated as a soloist and sang an Italian song named “Chi vud la zingavella” and a German song called “Wie Melodien.”

“Solo contest went very well this year; all of the students did an outstanding job in what can be a very stressful situation,” Mr. Walker said. Mr. Walker and Mr. Bieber worked with students to prepare their pieces for contest. Before going to the contest, participants were given the opportunity to have a mock competition in front of other vocal educators.

The District Large Group Festival will be held May 5. Xavier choral groups will be participating and have the chance to receive a rating of I, II, or III.

Solo/Ensemble Contest

other students from the area,” Winders said. Both art teachers Wendt and Amanda Finley also enjoy the show, just as the students do.

“I like going to this show, because it is a scholarship opportunity and they have workshops for our students to go to and experience different things that we don’t offer here. It often sparks creativity for the students, the art teachers as well, walking among the college student work. It is also nice to see what area schools are having and getting their students to do in art. It shows us where we fit into the community,” Wendt said. Wendt and Finley agreed that the show is a good way to spend the day, and opens up many students’ eyes to a future career in art.

Taming of the Shrew

Mount Mercy Art Show

Cassie BuschOpinion Writer

Above: Sophomore Holly Hazelton shows of her piece at the art show. Below: Junior Rachel Morrow stands by her work. Cassie Busch Photos

Above: Senior Allie Dolan appears angry during her wedding. Below: Senior Josh Dubois and junior Liz Tursi converse during Taming of the Shrew. Hannah Brown Photos

Left: A mask by senior Anna Lessman is displayed at Mount Mercy. Cassie Busch Photo