BUFFSGIVINGBACK

The BeaconWinter, 2013

As we continue to buildone of the country’s great Catholic High Schools, we are happy to announce the launching of our brand new website! The new, user-friendly website has been redesigned to accomodate the technological needs of our students, parents, alumni, and prospective Buffs! The site will be live by March 15, still at www.machebeuf.org

Sa

ve

the Date Wild West

Buffalo BallBaccalaureate

Mass Commencement

2013Saturday, March 23

6:00 pmThursday, May 16

7:00 pmSaturday, May 18

10:00 am

Non-Discrimination Statement: The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Denver, under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop, and at the discretion of the Secretary for Catholic Schools, state that all of their Catholic schools admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at schools. Fur-thermore, Archdiocesan schools admit handicapped students in accord with Archdiocesan Policy No. 2000 concerning student admission. These schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, handicap, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of their educational policies, employment practices, scholarship and loan programs or athletic or other school administered programs.

machebeuf.org

A Look Ahead...February

1 Teacher In-service (No School)10-11 Junior Retreats12 Late Start Schedule13 Ash Wednesday (Mass Schedule)16 Backwards Dance18 President’s Day (No School)25 Parent-Teacher Conf. (No School)26 Late Start Schedule

March 1 Living the Catholic Faith (No School)5 Spring Sports Parent Meeting12 Late Start Schedule17-19 Senior Retreat20 Class of 2017 Welcoming Reception23 Buffalo Ball27 All-School Mass28 Holy Thursday (Early Dismissal)29 Good Friday (No School)

April

1-5 Spring Break8 Classes Resume9 Late Start Schedule10 Shutdown for Service Day17 Parent Appreciation Night24 Academic Awards Night26 Prom (No School)

Denver, CO 80230 www.machebeuf.org

A Look Inside...

458 Uinta Way 303.344.0082

PrincipalMr. Jessie Skipwith

Assistant Principal - Dean of StudentsSr. Helen Marie Glaser, O.P.

Assistant Principal - Dean of AcademicsMrs. Tuyet Nguyen

Machebeuf BeaconEditor

Mr. Eduard Lugo ’01Director of Campus Ministry and Communications

elugo@machebeuf.org

Contributing WritersMr. Jessie Skipwith

PrincipalMs. Laura Henry

Director of Alumni & EventsMs. Monica Everhart ’03

Director of AdmissionsMrs. Kim Jetton

Director of AdvancementMr. Matt Santangelo

Director of AthleticsMr. Mike Augustine

Director of Center for Academic Resources and Head Boys’

Basketball CoachMs. Anna Moran ’13

BMHS Senior

Contributing PhotographersSr. Helen Marie Glaser, O.P.

Dean of Students

BMHS Yearbook ClassMr. Alejandro Molina

Edlio Inc.Lifetouch Inc.

Contributing EditorsBMHS English Department

Mrs. Kim JettonDirector of Advancement

Moments @ Machebeuf

Spotlight Section

Buffs March For Life

Buffs Giving Back

4

5

From the

PrincipalIn the midst of this Year of Faith, we are truly blessed to have so many opportunities to celebrate our commitment to the teach-ings of Jesus Christ. This Year of Faith calls each of us to purpose-fully strive to increase our life in Christ. As you will see in this edition of the Beacon, the stu-dents, faculty and staff at Bishop Machebeuf High School are com-mitted to increasing our lives of faith in Christ through service to others.

This time of year in particular is a very exciting time for members of Catholic school communities to recognize the gift that we have in Catholic education. As we celebrated Catholic Schools Week during the final week of January we were purposefully mindful of why our academic community of faith exists. We are aware that our Catholic schools exist to share the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we recognize one critical component of Christ’s teaching in our call to service to others.

Community members of Bishop Machebeuf High School recog-nize service as working directly with people in need. Last summer our students traveled to Peru to help those in extreme poverty.

Our students have pursued op-portunities this semester to share time with the elderly, the home-less, with the lonely, the impover-ished, they have raised money for those suffering from Hurricane Sandy, collected items for expect-ant mothers in need of help and have worked directly with other marginalized members of the human family.

Most recently, 35 students and faculty shared the opportunity to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C. These members of our community had an oppor-tunity to serve our fellow man by standing up for those who cannot defend themselves: the unborn. This commitment to life, this commitment to love, stands as an example of Christ’s love for us as He himself has willed each one of us into being with a purpose. Our students and faculty joined together with hundreds of thou-sands of other faithful in solidar-ity to protect God’s children.

So, it is in the midst of this Year of Faith, during the celebration of Catholic Schools Week, that we are able to share with all of our school’s stakeholders the won-derful work that our community continues to do in the name of

Christ. Thank you to all of the extended members of our Catho-lic school community for your prayerfully discerned, sacrificial investment in the future of the Catholic Church through your continuous support of the voca-tion of Catholic education. It is with this support that our stu-dents and faculty are able to bring the love of Christ to so many through this faith-filled call to service.

Peace and blessings to each of you throughout this Year of Faith!

Yours in Christ,Jessie Skipwith

Scene at Machebeuf

Scene at Machebeuf

8

I’m a little hesitant to admit this, and yes, I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I actually read papal encyclicals… on my own, without someone telling me to, because I want to. I don’t think that much has changed since I was a student at Machebeuf when no one under the age of eighteen would ever read what I saw as a long, boring, theo-logical rambling from the pope; unless one of my teacher’s assigned it. Then, I got older, the world got

bigger and more complicated. I began to realize that people every-where, every day, all the time were proclaiming to the world what truth was (while some of them simultaneously proclaimed it to be true that truth doesn’t exist) and many of these people were making very important decisions about my life and my society based on what they believed to be true. I heard a message proclaimed that presenteda very serious contradiction: truth

doesn’t exist and there is no right or wrong, but at the same time we should all do good things.

This worries me. After all, if there is no right or wrong, then what do we mean by “good things”? Often we hear that it is wrong to kill in-nocent people, but it’s good to take the life of a child if that child will have a poor quality of life. We hear that it is wrong to kill a defense-less person, but it’s good to execute a prisoner if they killed someone else. It’s wrong to kill civilians, but it’s good to kill a terrorist with

keeps American’s from harm, even if some of those bombs kill civil-ians.

Lots of desire to do good, but no real definition of what good is.

Maybe those papal encyclicals aren’t just long, boring, theological ramblings after all.

Caritas In Veritate is the Pope’s response to the flawed idea that we should all do good, but that absolute truth doesn’t exist. The title means, “Charity in Truth” and the ultimate point of the encyclical

drone bombings because it keeps Americans from harm, even if some bombs might kill civilians.

Lots of desire to do good, but no real definition of what “good” is.

Maybe those papal encyclicals aren’t just long, boring, theological ramblings after all.

Caritas In Veritate is the Pope’s response to the flawed idea that we should all do good but that abso-lute truth doesn’t exist. The title means “Char-ity in Truth,” and the ultimate point of the encyclical is that when charity is separated from truth, it falls into subjective emotionalism. The only guid-ing force for charity ultimately becomes, “If it seems good, then do it.” When this happens, charity corrodes into mere emotionalism, and in a world where there is no right or wrong, charity ultimately ends up serving special interests and the personal beliefs of those in positions of power.

This past year our Buffs were chari-table. They raised money, collected items, sung for the elderly, and all under the guiding framework of charity in truth. Here’s some of what our Buffs have been doing.

Caritas In VeritateBuffs Giving ack

Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. Truth is

the light that gives meaning and value to charity.

Without truth, charity degenerates into senti-mentality. In a culture without truth... it falls

prey to contingent subjective emotions

and opinions, the word “love” is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite.

Benedict XVICaritas in Vertitate, 3

Charity In Truth

The generous work of our students guided by the sound

principles of our Catholic faithBy Mr. Eduard Lugo ’01, Director of Campus Ministry and Communications

Buffs Giving Back. Clockwise from top left: Senior Nick Owen on the Peru Mission Trip; The Junior Class raised over $1,000 in donations for Hurricane Sandy victims and had the privilige of shaving the head of science teacher, Mr. Brehm; Senior Elly Usick painting at the Shut Down For Service day; Pro-Life club mem-bers with baby supplies collected for expectant mothers.

Student Body raised $2,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief. The class that raised at least $1,000 had the privilige of shaving the heads of Mr. Brehm, Science Teacher and Mr Lugo, Campus Minister.

Pro Life club collected new supplies for newborn babies and expectant mothers. The club collected 768 diapers, 610 wipes, 30 outfits and other goods and donated the items to a teenager mother in need and to the Lighthouse Pregnancy Center.

Faces of Machebeuf club has been volunteering at the Senior Support Services Center bringing and serving dinner to the elderly population in Denver who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.

Global Relief Initiative club raised over $1,000 to help build a park for kids in an urban area of Peru where there is no place for them to run around and play in safety.

Machebeuf Singers club traveled to the Village at Lowry Nursing Home during Christmas to perform Christmas carols for the residents of the nursing home.

Boys Soccer team joined with Christ In The City to provide food, friend-ship and fellowship to individuals experienc-ing homelessness on a rainy Saturday morn-ing in October during their “2nd Saturday” meal served at Civic Center Park.

GEM club (Girls Empowering Mache-beuf) participates in a service project every month. In October, they hosted “Pink Day” at school to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness and raised $250. In De-cember, they hosted a Giving Tree for a few local families.

The Senior Class has donated over $550 to differ-ent organizations including Lighthouse Pregnancy Center, Habitat for Humanity and Gabriel House.

$

It’s hard to measure generosity...but here’s what our Buffs are CHOOSING to do TO GIVE BACK!

4650raised

3279hours

50poundsofitems

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ticipate in the March. There were more than 500 bishops, priests and deacons from around the country to celebrate the Mass and it took them 45 minutes to process into the church!

On January 25, our group of 35 from Machebeuf, joined by our Archbishop, Archbishop Samuel Aquila, gathered with a crowd of more than 500,000 protesters on the National Mall to march through the streets of D.C. The March is a peaceful protest full of Catholics, Christians, Jews, Ortho-dox and secularists alike, all fight-ing for an end to abortion and to remember the 55 million innocent unborn children who have lost their lives to this grave evil. From the National Mall, we marched for 3 hours in a long procession, end-ing at the Supreme Court.

I personally was overjoyed by the turnout and enthusiasm of the marchers, despite the grave reason

for the gathering. With abortion being such an important issue in our society and our future, see-ing so many young people like me gave such hope for the likelihood of change. I was able to talk with people from all over the United States, with many religious (priests, brothers and sisters) and even people from Ireland, Portugal and Canada all gathering to show their support for an end to abortion.

This opportunity was more than words can describe. It was a very solemn event as we contemplated that our modern world is faced with the bloodiest genocide ever. Despite this reality, there was an indescribable sense of joy and hope in the realization that so many people are ready to do whatever it takes to bring an end to abortion in the United States.

Anna Moran is a Senior at Bishop Machebeuf High School

and Co-founder & Co-president of the Pro-Life Club.

From January 23-26, twenty-eight fellow students and myself were blessed with the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to take part in the March For Life. The March For Life is a peaceful pro-test involving a march along the National Mall to the steps of the Supreme Court to call for an end to abortion in the United States. This year, the March For Life remembered the 40th memorial of the passage of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion across the United States.

On our first day in D.C., we visited many of the Smithsonian muse-ums and that evening we attended the opening Mass for the Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass hosted a congregation of 20,000 American Catholics who had come to par-

Buffs March For Lifeby Anna Moran ’13

In January, 29 students and 6 chaperones traveled to Washington D.C. to pray and work for an end to abortion

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“A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope.”

Pope John Paul II

*Source: abort73.com

1973-2013

40Years abortion has

been legal throughout the

entire United States

400,000number of participants in

last year’s March For Life. Early estimates from this

year are 500,000

65%

of women who have an abortion who report

feeling pressured by a boyfriend, husband or

parent to do so

$541,200,000Total cost of abor-tions per year

55Million

Abortions since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade

Decision

4,000Abortions per day in the United States28%

of those obtain-ing abortions

who self-identify as Catholic

By the Numbers

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A Few Moments From An Eventful Fall Semester At MachebeufSeptember 20, 2012

Catholic High School Honor Roll. On September 20, the Cardinal Newman Society (formerly the Acton Institute) again named Bishop Machebeuf High School as one of the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in the United States. The Top 50 Honor Roll was established in 2004 with the mission of helping families and promoting faithful Catholic education by recognizing excellence in Catholic identity, academic excellence and civic education at Catholic high schools across the United States. On Friday, September 21, the entire student body was treated to cake during lunch in recognition for their important role in accomplishing this out-standing achievement. Bishop Machebeuf High School is proud to have the distinction of earning a place on this list for the fourth time.

October 28, 2012On Sunday, October 28, 2012, Bishop Machebeuf hosted our annual Open House for prospective students. Students, faculty, staff, coaches, and administration welcomed over 320 people seeking to learn more about Machebeuf’s academic, faith formation, and athletic programs. Student Ambassadors led families through the school on tours to see classroom demonstrations and meet with various academic depart-ments and athletic programs. Current Machebeuf parent volunteers also participated, sharing their Machebeuf experience with visitors. Many thanks to the entire Machebeuf community for their hard work and extra efforts to make the 2012 Open House such a wonderful and successful event!

November 4-5, 2012Who Am I? The entire Sophomore class headed up into the mountains for their first overnight retreat as Machebeuf students. The theme for the retreat was “Who Am I?” For many Sophomores, this is a year when they begin to realize that the world is pretty big and they’re pretty small. They aren’t new Freshmen anymore and they have a few more years until they are adults. Self-identity suddenly becomes more important than it has ever been. The Sophomore Retreat is a time set aside at a crucial part of any young person’s journey to identify and to understand that our identity is intimately connected to first being called by God into existence. In addition to plenty of fun, the Sophomores were given the chance to enounter Christ through talks, prayer and the sacraments.Sophomore Retreat

Open House

Named a Top 50 School

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A Few Moments From An Eventful Fall Semester At MachebeufNovember 9-11, 2012

The Mouse That Roared. Seniors Abigail Neirynck and Sebastian Vazquez-Carson led the cast in the performance of this Cold War satire

first written as a novel by Leonard Wibberly. The cast told the story of a tiny imaginary European country named the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, which accidentally finds itself as the winner of a “war” with the United

States. Intent upon receiving the financial aid that the United States bestows upon its vanquished enemies, the country declares war on the

United States, invades with an army of twenty men and unintentionally captures the “Q-bomb” and the scientist who created it. For three nights

the Machebeuf Drama department treated their guests to plenty of laughs as they performed this unique stage adaptation.

November 30, 2012Dance Lessons. For the second year in a row, Bishop Machebeuf’s Stu-dent Council sponsored an informal, “learn-how-to-dance” dance. The Buffalo Snow Dance took place in the Machebeuf Commons on Friday,

November 30. The event included a dinner before the students were treated to dance lessons including the two-step, swing, box step, waltz

and salsa dancing. These informal dances are a great addition to the traditional dances such as Homecoming, Prom and Backwards and they

provide a fun, pressure-free environment where students can learn tradi-tional dance steps. No date is required for these dances, dress is infor-mal and dance partners are routinely switched to provide every person

who attends the chance to dance.

December 4, 2012Celebrating Advent Together. On Tuesday, December 4, Bishop Mache-

beuf High School hosted our 2nd Annual Family Advent Mass. Last year, the Family Advent Mass took the place the St. Nick’s Mass and provides the opportunity for our school to both thank the wonderful families at Machebeuf and to take some time during the busy season of Advent to

come together to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ at Christ-mas. The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Doug Grandon and music was

provided by the Machebeuf Singers. Following the Mass, guests were treated to a dinner, Christmas Carols provided by the Machebeuf Singers and a special photo booth set up for any family that wanted to have their

free Christmas picture taken.

Fall Drama Production

Buffalo Snow Dance

Family Advent Mass

Alumni Coaching Spotlightby Mr. Mike Augustine, Director of Center for Academic Resources and Varsity Boy’s Basketball Coach

Danny Young ’05 Boys’ JV Basketball

This title doesn’t seem like the beg- inning of an article about basketball coaches or even about Machebeuf alumni, but it is. Danny Young and Johnny Everhart; Thunder and Lightning, have been instrumental in the turnaround of the Boys’ Basketball program at Machebeuf.

Danny is the Thunder; smart, resourceful and you can hear him in the distance with the steady stream of fundamentally sound basketball coaching that gets louder as game day approaches. Johnny is the Lightning; just as smart and fundamentally sound but his intensity bursts from him at a moment’s notice. Both of these tremendous young coaches have what it takes to be Head Coaches anywhere, but they are alumni of Machebeuf and they bleed green and gold.

Danny spent a few seasons as an Assistant Coach at Benedictine College in the Men’s Basketball program following his Machebeuf playing days. Johnny played Division II basketball at Regis Univ- ersity here in Denver after playing at Machebeuf. They are a complete package of basketball know- ledge coming back from the college level to bring a wealth of information to the new generation of Buffaloes. They relate to the players in a way that gets the most of the players’ ability out on the court where it is needed but they still garner the respect of their athletes.

Many of you are not familiar with the 3A Metro League and the challenges faced by the teams competing in it. The past two title games have been matchups of 3A Metro League teams and the past five years, the title has been won by a Metro League team. The past four State Tournaments hosted thirty-two teams from around the state and of those teams sixteen were Metro League teams, more than any other conference. The reality is, if you can get out of our district, you could win the state title.

Danny and Johnny want a State Championship banner in our gym. They spend tireless hours working in the leagues and camps for free because they love the game. Their futures are full of possibilities for many championships to come; I’m just glad I asked them to coach because they are a blessing to me as well as the players.

Fall Sports Recapby Mr. Matt Santangelo, Athletics Director

Boys’ SoccerFinished 8-5-2, placed 5th in Metro League, Finished 12th in State1st team All-Conference Senior, Joe Lemming

2nd team All-Conference Soph., Jair HernandezAll-Conference Honorable Mention Junior, Nic McDonald; Junior, Connor Lang; Junior, Robin RochaAll-Conference Senior of the Year Joe LemmingBoys’ Cross

CountryFinished 3rd in Regionals and qualified for state

Girls’ Cross CountryFinished 11th in Regionals

FootballFinished 5-4, missing the playoffs by one game

SoftballFinished 5-12, best record in 6 years

Boys’ TennisSeniors

Luis Ortiz and Sebastian Vazquez-Carson qualified for Regional Tournament

VolleyballFinished 17-7, placed 4th in Metro League, Finished 12th in State1st team All-Conference Junior, Opal Drapeau2nd team All-Conference Senior, Lucy Rodgers

All-Conference Honorable Mention Senior, Sydney Moser3A Coach of the Year Head Coach, Lauren Rosenthal

John Everhart ’08Boys’ Varsity Assist.

Thunder and Lightning

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Our donor spotlight for this edition is not just one donor, but the many who chose to support BMHS on Colorado Gives Day on Dec- ember 4, 2012. This special day was sponsored by Com- munity First Foundation as a way to showcase all the amazing nonprofits in Colorado, and to inspire collective giving. Together, the following generous donors gave $7,289.25! They also helped us receive an additional $122.59 from the FirstBank Incentive Fund. We thank you for supporting the Machebeuf Fund on this special day!

Donor Spotlightby Mrs. Kim Jetton, Director of Advancement

Colorado Gives Day

Anonymous Viva Burrito Maryann ’68 & Lloyd Ballard Margaret ’63 & John Beacom Kenneth & Barbara Boldt Rob & Stephanie Chaney Peter & Roseann Cronan ’75 Allen Dreher ’63 Kelly Eakins ’86

Kathy & John MurzynMark & Lana Overturf Susan ’92 & Todd PittsDennis & Gail RichardsFranklin & Jennifer RiosThomas & Susan RoganMiguel & Marisela SanchezJennifer Sass ’98Margaret Summers ’66Janice ’79 & Frank TurnerDiana & Ray Weinmann

Garry ’82 & Shannon GarciaCherryl ’68 & George LeoneKathi ’66 & Mickey LerschJulie & George MannionEfren & Florina Mata Joel & Dan McCabeRaymond & Sarah McGrathEugene McGuire ’65Kim & Harry McKenzieJohn Medford ’92Dale ’81 & Teri Mingilton

Alumni Notesby Ms. Laura Henry, Director of Alumni and Events

1964Mary Pat Kane ’64, was blessed

with the birth of grandson Logan James Cunningham,

this summer.

2001Eduard Lugo ’01 was married to Sara Figoni on August 11, 2012

in Overland Park, Kansas.

2003Amy Pavlokovich Mengert ’03 and her husband Rob Mengert,

celebrated the birth of their twin daughters Abigail Josephine and

Sarah Louise on August 22, 2012.

John Hegarty ’03 and his wife Cassie Hegarty, celebrated the

birth of their daughter, Ava Marie on November 26, 2012.

2005Danny Young ’05 was married to Alex Hercules on June 30, 2012

in Lenexa, Kansas.

We want to know about it!

Please share information about your important events with us.

Send to:lhenry@machebeuf .org

Reunions in 2013

Classes of ’63, ’68, ’73, ’78, ’83, ’88, ’93,

’98, ’03 and ’08. Your reunions will

be in 2013!

For reunion information, visit

www.machebeuf.org