Pope John Music Students Receive Honors

jh-quartet The Nebraska Music Educator’s Association is preparing for their annual conference in Lincoln, which includes some of the top honor ensembles in the state.  Pope John junior high boys, Layne Bullock, Matthew Starman, and Kane VonBonn, will be participating in the Barbershop Chorus Clinic on Wednesday, November 16.  The students will rehearse five songs throughout the day with conductor Don Rose of Tacoma, Washington, Director of Harmony University.  The clinic will conclude with a 4:00 p.m. concert at thjordan-mescher-allstatee Lied Center.  The clinic is open to boys in grades six through nine.

Jordan Mescher, a senior at Pope John XXIII Central Catholic and daughter of Bill and Teri Mescher of Elgin, was chosen to be a member of the Nebraska All-State Chorus.  Thousands of students from schools in all classes audition for the chorus every year, with just several hundred being selected to participate.  Jordan will attend rehearsals on Nov. 16 through 18, and the All-State Chorus and Jazz Band will perform a concert at the Lied Center on Friday, Nov. 18 at 4:30 p.m.

Sophomores Explore Career Options

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The sophomores are shown taking the ASVAB test this morning. The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) show where a students interests and abilities lie and if a student is interested in the military, it shows how qualified they are for certain occupational specialties. At Pope John, we require our sophomores to take this, as it is also a great career exploration tool. In a couple of weeks, a representative from the National Guard will interpret and discuss the results with the sophomores.

2016 District X FFA Livestock Judging Contest Results

Livestock Judging

Congratulations to the Jr. Team of FFA livestock judgers on placing 3rd at the district contest and qualifying for State next April!

There were 38 Jr. Teams at district and 140 Individuals.

Kyle Schumacher (5th place Jr. Ind.)(PJCC)

Allyson Wemhoff (22nd Place Jr. Ind)

Faith Kinney (11th Place Jr. Ind.)(PJCC)

Cory Romej (36 place Jr. Ind.)

 

Breakdown by species: (just in the top 10)

Beef: Faith Kinney – 6th (PJCC), Haley Zegers – 8th(PJCC)

Swine: Allyson Wemhoff – 9th

Sheep/Goats: Kyle Schumacher – 3rd (PJCC)

 

In the Senior Division, the FFA livestock judgers also did well. The team of Marie Meis, Chad Bode, Lizzy Mlnarik and Nicki Payne were the 5th place team and alternates to State.

There were 27 senior teams and 103 individuals.

Breakdown by species & reasons: (just in the top 10)

Beef: Miles Schrage- 5th(PJCC)

Sheep/Goats: Chad Bode – 8th (PJCC)

Reasons: Nicki Payne – 9th(PJCC)

Robots are Roaming the PJ Halls

Sphere Robots

The Pope John Environmental Science class recently completed a macrolab using Sphero Robots.  They used their Spheros to create a coding program to complete different tasks.  The students then calculated their time, speed, and distance.  Spheros are app-enabled robotic balls.  The class will be using them throughout the year to work on coding challenges and physics related labs. The equipment was purchased through a grant from Cargill Inc. and matching donations received from supporters at the school’s annual  “Evening with Friends” fundraising event.

 
Pictured are Pope John seniors, Justin Funk and Miles Schrage.