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PROCRASTINATION:TO DO OR NOT TO DO?(Pg. 4 )COUNSELINGCHANGES(Pg. 2)INSIDERISE OFULTIMATE(Pg. 6)LETTERS TOTHE EDITORS(Pg. 8)THESPARTAN SPEARMARIST CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLVOLUME 25, ISSUE 1NOVEMBER 18, 2016'CZECH' IT OUT!Junior Ivonne Perez talks to a Czech studenton Tuesday Nov. 8. Photo by Teresa Molina-Gomez ’18CZECH REPUBLICSTUDENTS VISITMaya DotsonEDITOR“I’m always happy to meet peoplewho are visiting our community,” Eugene mayor Kitty Piercy said whenshe arrived at Marist on Tuesday Nov.8. Piercy was about to meet with the15 visiting students from the CzechRepublic. The students are currentlybeing hosted by Blanchet CatholicHigh School in Salem.When word of their travels reachedMarist, Principal Stacey Baker extended an invitation to the Czech students, which they accepted.When the visitors arrived, Piercy,Baker, Admissions Manager RodrigoHernandez and President SuzanneGraf greeted them, took group photos, and led them into the AcademicResource Center where they had anopportunity to ask Piercy and Grafabout the local government andMarist.They then toured campus, beforebeing paired with a Marist student fortwo class periods.At the request of the Czech schooladministration, who are consideringimplementing Christian service, thestudents listened to a presentationon the required community serviceat Marist, which was given by seniorCLC students Sunny Childers andAndrew Meyers."DO IT FOR MAMA P"The varsity volleyball team and assistant coach Ryan Moser huddle around head coach Shari Pimental before a game at the state tournament. Photo by Toni CooperVOLLEYBALL TEAM FIGHTS FOR THIRD IN STATE, IN HONOR OF COACHMaya Dotson and Livia KokkinoEDITORS“Do it for Mama P,” was the cheer fromthe huddle of the Marist varsity volleyballteam before their state tournament gamesjust two weeks ago at Liberty High Schoolin Hillsboro.Varsity volleyball coach Shari Pimental,or “Ms. P” as she is affectionately known bystudents and faculty on campus, where she isalso a school counselor, was diagnosed withovarian cancer last December, sending theMarist community into a state of shock, fearand most of all, concern for Pimental and herfamily.Marist offered a safe place for studentsand staff to digest the information, be together, and of course, to pray.Faith was a strong and constant component in Pimental’s journey. “You don’t get todecide my time,” Pimental said to her doctors, “that’s for God to decide.” Accompanying her faith was the support of her friendsand family, of whom her volleyball team wasvery much included. “I’m their family, theyfeel like my daughters,” Pimental said.After the completion of her chemotherapytreatments in June, she announced that shewas in remission, just in time to begin preparation for the upcoming volleyball season.“My two goals were to get back to workand to get back to my girls,” Pimental said.The recently concluded volleyball seasonwas Pimental’s 23rd season as head coachand nothing was going to keep her away. Pimental never missed a single game or practice. To show their love and appreciation, Pimental’s family and team surprised her with acake, which said “Mrs. P - kicking volleyballand cancer! 450 and counting” -referring toher 450th win which occurred in mid October.The girls, who often refer to Pimental as‘Mama P,’ knew what it took for her to bepresent this year and were motivated by herstrength. “I think everything that happenedhelped, I think the girls were very resolved inbeing a team together,” Pimental said.FRESHMEN BREAK THE ICEFRESHMEN BREAK DOWN BARRIERSLivia KokkinoEDITORThe freshman class of2020 gathered in the ActivityCenter on Wednesday morningfor the annual Freshman ICEmini-retreat. The event is acontinuation of the Lock-Inexperience, giving the newSpartans an opportunity toform relationships with theupperclassmen as well as eachother. It also encourages them tomake new friends within the firstfew months of the school year.The freshmen joined in manyget-to-know-you games and around of High School Musicalkaraoke, which was led by seniorChristian Leadership Classstudents. They even participatedin a friendly competition for thebest impersonation of a penguin,followed by a talk given bysenior Marcus Lydon likeningthe success of the freshmen classto how well they can imitatepenguins and invite stragglersinto their huddle to keep themsafe and protected.Lydon emphasized the loveand care that penguins have foreach other, describing how theytake turns in the middle of ahuddle to stay warm and invitestragglers into the group.Lydonchallengedthefreshmen to be more likepenguins, encouraging themto breaking down barriers andinvite new people into theirfriend groups because “younever know who might becomeyour best friend in the next twoor three years.”Freshman EthanSchwartzcompetesfor the bestpenguin atthe Freshman ICEmini-retreat.Photo by JennaJablonski '19The team placed third in the 5A tournament, beating Corvallis 3-0 on Saturdaymorning after suffering a tough, five-set lossto Bend High School in the semi-final gameon Friday evening which could just as wellhave been the state championship game complete with some of the best volleyball seenin years and a rowdy and enthusiastic crowd.After a long season full of practice, teamwork and spirit, ‘Mama P’ couldn’t be moreproud of her girls.The senior players accept their third place trophy atthe state tournament earlier this month. Photo by ToniCooperMARIST ADVENTURESMOAP TAKESTRIP TO THEMcKENZIEMOAP students walk alongside the McKenzie River.Photo courtesy of Chris FudgeNick NeputeSTAFF WRITERThe Marist Outdoor AdventureProgram (MOAP) had their firstevent last Thursday. 11 studentsshowed up for the excursion; threeplanned on hiking, and the othereight brought their mountain bikes.After a brief safety talk, they set offto the McKenzie River. The bikers were dropped off first and thethree remaining were dropped off acouple of miles down the road. Thegroups met up at their destination,Belknap Springs, where they hadlunch. Belknap Springs is a naturalhot spring that feeds into a swimming hole. Some students swamwhile others went off looking fora garden that was modeled afteran ancient Roman courtyard. Aftervisiting Belknap Springs, accordingto freshman Andy Fudge “the funhad to end.” But, the group enjoyedbrownies on the bus back to Marist.
2NOVEMBER 18, 2016briefsBABY COMES HOMEEnglish teacher Sarah Reed’snew baby daughter, Penny Reed,is now home. Penny was bornpremature, but is now doing welland is in her own "crib". Reed andPenny visited Marist last Tuesday.IMPROVEMENTS TO BENEFIT STUDENTSMARIST WORKS TO PROVIDESUPPORT TOSTRUGGLING STUDENTSCole VendettiSTAFF WRITERA student with troubles athome, a learning disorder, orFIVE FOR THE FEASTThe annual Five for the Feastfundraiser for the Eugene Missionbegan on Wednesday. Students areencouraged to donate 5 in theirliterature classes. The proceedswill go to help the EugeneMission put on their Thanksgivingdinner which will feed around500 people. The fundraiserwill run until the beginning ofThanksgiving break.CANS AND BOTTLESCOLLECTEDOn Tuesday, cans and bottleswere collected for Stove TeamInternational. The organizationmakes safe stoves for familiescooking with dangerous open firepits. At the end of the year, allthe money raised through can andbottle collection will be donated."TOOKE"NBY ATLANTAThe sophomore Doug Tookeretreat has been postponed. DougTooke, the leader of the retreatwas stuck in Atlanta due to flightproblems, and could not make itto Eugene in time for the retreaton Tuesday.PARENT TEACHERCONFERENCESLast Wednesday and Thursday,parents had the opportunity tomeet with Marist teachers tocheck in on their child's progressfrom the first quarter. Theconferences took place in Marist'sActivity Center. Due to the twodays of conferences and Veteran’sDay on Friday, students enjoyed afive day weekend.Guest speaker Roy Petitfils speaks toMarist staff and faculty about studentmental health and how to assist strugglingstudents. Photo by Toni Coopergrades that are dropping may findtheir way into the counseling department at Marist. No matter thestruggles of the student, there arecounselors that are ready to help.Changes to the counseling department and an increase in teachers and staff education and timeallotted for collaboration are justsome of the ways that Marist istrying to help struggling students.One of the multiple changesto the counseling department includes counselors being assignedstudents based upon their lastnames, instead of being passedaround as each year progresses.Guidance counselor Shari Pimental is now working with students with last names A-H andguidance counselor Jerry Raganis now working with studentsI-Z. Court Wirth remains as theDirector of Counseling and willcontinue to offer guidance for allseniors and NCAA advising.The change of the counselingdepartment occurred this yearat Marist, with the hope “to seequicker intervention, and morefocused support by senior year,”Assistant Principal of AcademicAffairs Andrew Oldham said.“We want to help students reachtheir potential.”Oldham said that “for the pastfour years there have been conversations amongst administration relating to the organizationof the counseling system to fosteracademic and social success, andcreate a stronger foundation forcollege preparation.”For struggling students, beingable to form relationships overtime with their counselor allowsINVITING EXPERT OPINION2016--17 SPARTAN SPEAR STAFFPRINTED EDITORS: MAYA DOTSON ANDJACK BENDAONLINE EDITOR: EMILY JEWETTPHOTO EDITORS: GLORIA WANG ANDMADI POTTERCOPY EDITOR: IAN SKAGGSBUSINESS EDITOR: LIVIA KOKKINOSTAFF: Liesl Benda, Benny Flores, ClaireHoffman, Nick Nepute, and Cole Vendetticounselors a more holistic viewof their students. Questions suchas, “Will I be able to graduate?”“What steps should I take next?”and “Will I be ready for what isafter Marist?” will hopefully notgo unheard.A personalized counselor allows for a more in-depth coverageof a student's progression throughhigh school. There should be nomore surprises with what a student has done or has yet to do.Issues of needing more credits ortaking a certain class shouldn’tbe discovered once senior yearcomes around and graduation ison the line.“[It was] important to try andfind the best fit for our school,”said Assistant Principal of Student Affairs Christi Nicholson.She has previously worked withstruggling students before inschool districts, and in othercounseling departments.The state wide in-service thattook place in mid October andinformed staff on how studentsstruggle, from academic issues tomental health issues, in order toformally address the problems.Teachers had known of waysto help the students before thein-service, but the in-service provided a more formalized structureto diagnose and help the struggling students that might needhelp with learning disabilities orADHD, or with the rise of anxietyand depression seen in studentstoday.Students also struggle with parental expectations, social stressors, media, and worrying aboutthe future. These concepts can tiein with trying to fit in with othersor trying to be your own person,as discussed by a recent guestspeaker Roy Petitfils brought inby the Campus Ministry Office.Petitfils used his past experiencesof being a struggling teenager toexplain to the student body thestressors that they might be struggling with, and possible ways tohelp deal with that stress.Another component of helping students is the introduction ofa Student Success Team, a committee of teachers and staff thatwill be helping identify studentswho might be falling through thecracks. Part of this process is creating time for teachers to havecollaborative discussions in orderto “share how these strugglingstudents are doing in classes, andthen troubleshooting those problems” Oldham said.Teenage students can strugglewith numerous issues, and thereare no simple answers. The solutions could be as simple as callinghome, moving struggling studentsto the front of the room, engagingin conversations, or as interactiveas putting a student in academicstrategies, an after-school classrun by teachers, increased counselor interaction, or allowing individual accommodations duringthe school day.FR. KEN: HERE TO STAYFR. KEN BECOMES MARISTCAMPUS PRIESTJack BendaEDITORSUICIDE AWARENESSAND PREVENTIONMarist parents met in theAcademic Resource Center onMonday evening for a suicideawareness and preventionworkshop led by theology teacherJulie Ferrari. The goal of the eventwas to raise awareness about teensuicide, to identify the warningsigns of depression or suicidalbehavior, and to prevent suicide.Ferrari was joined by DarleneBaker, who lost her daughterJennifer to suicide and foundedthe Jennifer Baker Fund in 2003to create support programs fordepressed Oregonian youth.The Spartan SpearNEWSFormer diplomat and author Kael Weston speaks to Marist students in the ARC onTuesday. Photo by Amanda Allender '18FORMER DIPLOMAT ANDACCLAIMED AUTHOR KAELWESTON SPEAKS TO MARISTSTUDENTSMaya DotsonEDITOR“We don’t have the luxury ofignoring the world,” said KaelWeston, author of The MirrorTest: America at War in Iraqand Afghanistan. Weston heldsix informational sessions formultiple Marist history andEnglish classes this Tuesday.While the overall theme ofeach session was the past, present and future of the wars inIraq and Afghanistan, he alsoemphasized the importance ofbeing an informed citizen.During his sessions with thestudents, Weston shared his experiences and knowledge fromhis 10 years in the State Department which includes timein Iraq and Afghanistan.He talked about some of hismost memorable experiencesoverseas which included interacting with Afghan collegestudents. Surprisingly, someof the Afghan college studentsWeston worked with expressedconcern about America leavingtheir country.Weston is also concernedabout the future of the twowars; with the current turmoiland dissent in America it is verydifficult to predict what mighthappen.Weston concluded his sessions w
family. Marist offered a safe place for students and staff to digest the information, be togeth-er, and of course, to pray. Faith was a strong and constant compo-nent in Pimental’s journey. “You don’t get to decide my time,” Pimental said to her doc-tors, “that’s for God to decide.” Accompany-ing her faith was the support of her friends and family, of whom her volleyball team was .
