by Matt Koelher ‘15

Mrs. Wilhelm to retire this year

After 23 years of teaching and faithful service, Mrs. Wilhelm will say goodbye to the Saint Ignatius community at the end of this school year. Serving under three different presidents and four principals, Mrs. Wilhelm has helped students thrive and learn at our school while teaching World History, United States History, and a class on civil rights.

Mrs. Wilhelm will be dearly missed by her students and colleagues alike due to the dedication and hard work that she puts into each and every day of teaching. Her compassion towards her coworkers and students has left a profound effect on the Saint Ignatius community. Mr. Ptak, an Honors World History teacher and current Dean of Students, sums up what Mrs. Wilhelm means to Saint Ignatius by saying, “She’s an excellent teacher, she puts a lot of time and thought into what she does, but in particular she’s very compassionate; she really cares about her students as individuals.”

Mrs. Wilhelm will be leaving Saint Ignatius to spend time with her four grandchildren and daughter, who has been away from home for almost sixteen years working for the State Department. Her daughter has worked in many places, including most recently Turkmenistan.

One thing’s for sure, Mrs. Wilhelm will greatly miss her time here teaching. “It’s hard for me to go, it really is,” she says, “because it’s been so special, and a lot of who I’ve become has really been defined by my time here.” Just as Mrs. Wilhelm will never forget the memories made teaching here, the Saint Ignatius community will always remember her many years of dedication and compassion for her students.

Mrs. O’Riordan heads to St. Eds

After the office was thoroughly cleared out and after all the college posters were taken down, only a bulletin board with a quote from Martin Luther King was still hanging on the white walls of Mrs. O’Riordan’s office. It read, ”Peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.” For anyone who had her as a college counselor or who knew her as a friend, this is a fitting quote to leave hanging. Mrs. O’Riordan has a long history with Ignatius and began her career here in 1989 as a history teacher in the Caliguire wing that is named after her grandfather. She left after one year but returned in 2001 as a college counselor. In that position she has helped countless students, including myself get into colleges that they wouldn’t have been able to get into without her constant help and nagging about deadlines.

But Mrs. O’Riordan’s support goes far beyond merely helping with college choices. She has an amazing knack for calming kids down as they worry about deadlines, tuition, and the many other stressors that come with senior year. Her office serves as a mini-counseling department as she willingly listens to any student who wanders through her door with concerns. Miki Szabo, a frequent to her office, said that “No matter what the problem or situation, it always seemed like she cared.” Mrs. O’Riordan will be sorely missed as she leaves Saint Ignatius, and I’m sure students will remember the time they spent with her fondly. Even though you’ll be moving to that other school on Detroit Rd., we all wish you the best, Mrs. O’Riordan.

Brainchild of Dan Hess ‘88 was two years in the making

By Dominic Gideon ‘14

Apprehension spanned the student body when Mr. Hess unveiled the Class Competition Day plan this past August. Accompanied by an unpopular stigma from the first year of the class competition in the 2011-2012 school year, many students were unsure of this ambiguous day that was at that point only an idealized vision in Mr. Hess’s mind. Mixed feelings arose: some students took an optimistic view, while others condemned it without even giving it decent consideration. Some said, “Hey, it’s better than classes and it might actually be fun,” while the doubters said, “This is stupid, I don’t even want to show up that day.”

But no one was stopping Mr. Hess from going through with his plans and making this ambitious fantasy into a fantastic reality.

After endless planning, very meticulous detailing, and countless hours of working, Mr. Hess, with the help of a wide range of people, pulled off what was acclaimed by students, faculty, staff, and administration to be a wild success. He silenced the critics, gave the students a day of blissful fun, and most likely started a tradition to be kept and cherished for decades to come.

The day started off on a wonderful note with mass celebrated by Fr. Pribyl, who’s only been at Ignatius for a semester; yet if someone from outside of the school attended, it would seem Fr. Pribyl was one of the beloved Jesuits who have been trademarks to the school.

Throughout the mass he exuded energy for the day and used the excitement of the day to capture the attention of the students which otherwise might have been wandering off into many thoughts, none of which would involve God. He involved the students, rousing cheers and even receiving an unheard of round of applause after his powerful homily in which he missioned the students to be the face of God to others. Rather than being a dreadful task that the students felt was just a roadblock to the day, Father Pribyl made it a great prelude to the following festivities.

Then after a short stay in homeroom the roughly 75 games commenced and Mr. Hess’s long awaited, exhaustingly planned dream had been fulfilled. Once the competitions began all the doubt among the student body quickly dissolved. One would have a painstakingly difficult time finding someone not having a good time. There was literally something for everyone: sports competitions for the athletes (and the wannabes), trivia for the fact enthusiasts, Batman for the movie lovers, xbox and wii tournaments for the gamers, a jam session for the rockers, even a study hall for the dedicated students, and everything in between. And those not inclined to do any activities enjoyed a day of simple relaxation in the beautiful summer-like weather.

As the games wound down and people were getting ready to check back into homeroom before the rally, students from all grades started to congregate in the mall and reminisce on the day and excitingly recount their highlights. “It was raw!” Greg Miller ‘15 said about the day. And when people thought the day couldn’t get any better, the game closings began.

As students and faculty piled into the gymnasium, people didn’t know what to expect; some grumbled for having to spend two more hours of their day which they could have spent out of school early. But by 2:30 no one would want to take away that final time of the day spent in the gym. The closing ceremonies were laden with amazing memories: David Black ‘14 getting a perfect score after dunking over Steve McDonnell ‘14, Jack O’Brien cracking up the student body with his Mr. Popelka impersonation and almost bringing the real Joe Popelka to tears of laughter, the senior class singing the Alma Mater with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and many more.

This day is the perfect complement for the class competition. “It’s the reason the class competition will exist,” said Mr. Hess, “When freshmen through juniors come back next year and get an M4O, they’ll know what it’s about. I’m hoping it just builds from here.” He said referring to the success of the overall class competition.

At the end of the day, after everyone left the gymnasium, except for some students and a few teachers helping clean up, Mr. Hess stood proudly next to the wildcat trophy, taking in the huge success of a day it was. What was once a figment of his imagination turned into an incredible day of fun and brotherhood which hopefully will become a hallowed tradition for years to come.

“No plans” to build a stadium

By Patrick Millican ‘15

On Wednesday, May 1, Father Murphy convened the faculty and staff in the Breen Center for his annual State of the School speech, which foreshadows the administration’s initiatives for the upcoming school year. Father began his speech with a summary of the state of the endowment, which has increased for yet another year and weathered the recession rather well.

Next, Father concentrated on the school’s “physical space” as he shared the Campus Vision. He highlighted the department-shuffling idea in which the math department will be moved to Loyola to be closer to the sciences and history, and theology will be transferred to the Main Building to be closer to English. As for the recently acquired Foursquare Church property, the thought is to convert the church itself into a visual-arts center exhibiting works of art by Ignatius students. Should that renovation take place, it will be completed by the second semester of the 2014-’15 school year. Named for the family of its main beneficiary Mike Gibbons ’70, Gibbons Hall, a facility for wrestling and Labre with an adult fitness center and storage space, will also be renovated by next year.

One of the most popular campus visions for the students, a new weight room, has been heavily talked about during the Board meetings. The wall between the Murphy Multipurpose Room and the weight room will be knocked down to increase the size of the weight room by eighty per cent to allow more students at a time to get their workout in. Also, new and larger workout equipment will be purchased as soon as the money comes in from generous benefactors. Another popular rumor among the students is the possibility of a new stadium being built, however, Father Murphy stated that there are currently no plans to build one.

Third were highlighted the new benefits for faculty and staff set to kick in in the upcoming years and the new edition of the employee handbook, last revised in 1991. A “Grad-at-Grad for employees,” so to speak, was announced by Father Murphy and consisted of goals for all employees to emphasize integrity in everything they do and be open to growth.

The fourth focus of the speech was the school’s “visual identity”—i.e. the seal, the shield and the wildcat. A video discussing the changes to each of these is currently up on the school website’s homepage.

Father closed his speech by emphasizing his ongoing attempts to improve the job he’s doing as president, and by calling for a renewal of the school’s commitment to faith as its raison d’être. As he put it, “Artistic, academic, and athletic success is a byproduct of focusing on faith,” and in his closing he made sure to remind everyone that faith is at the root of all the school’s endeavors.