BY BEN DELHEES ‘17

With an astounding eleven students being sent to the state tournament for the 2016 season, this year’s speech and debate team has thrived with academic excellence. The one-on-one assistance of Mr. Fujimoto and Mr. Buzzelli has allowed these students to continue their development as communicators and debaters throughout the progression of the season. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” This frame of mind represents the connection between the students and the teachers on the speech and debate team.

One may wonder how the Saint Ignatius speech and debate program continues their successes year after year. It is not due to the sheer talent of students, nor the masses of information that they have access to, rather it is a result of the strength in communication and teaching that the teachers share with their students.

Mr. Fujimoto and Mr. Buzzelli do not preach endlessly on topics of discussion and current events. This identity is what makes them special as coaches. They involve the students in the discussions in a liberal arts style of teaching. In addition to performing well in competitions, the speech team has developed a vital skill that they will use their entire lives. “Speaking is such an integral part of life, and the only way to get better at it is to practice,” commented Mark Drozd ’16, a knowledgeable veteran of the speech league When speaker Brian Sabath ‘17 was asked about this bond between the students and the faculty, he responded, “Mr. Fujimoto has never given up on me as a speaker and as a performer and he was always willing to take the extra liberty in making sure that I could always improve and that I would be ready for next week’s competition,” and he then elaborated and said, “He wants what’s best for everyone and the team”.

On top of that, St. Ignatius also hosted the National Qulifying Tournament and sent six people to the final rounds and two qualifed to Nationals, Jarred Meyer ‘18 in Informative Speaking and Phu Duong ‘17 in Program of Oral Intrepretation. A number of speakers finished as alternates (which also have a chance at competiting at the National Tournament), as well.

When asked about how he felt about the team’s chances at the state tournament, Phu duong ‘17 remarked “We are looking forward to making everyone proud this year.”

The Speech and Debate teams will un- doubtedly represent the blue and gold well throughout the approaching state competitions.

BY ANTHONY RAMIREZ ‘16

Every year Saint Ignatius faculty and the president travel around the country to meet with alumni. You may have heard of the Blue and Gold Tour, but few students seem to know much beyond the name.

“The cities we visit are those with large concentrations of Saint Ignatius alumni,” says SIHS President Fr. Raymond Guiao, SJ. The cities with the largest turnout are Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C., because “these cities tend to be those in which our students are drawn to school and where they can land employment.” It is also interesting to note that the alumni that generally come to these events are those “who have graduated in the last thirty to forty years,” though an older alumnus will pop in every so often.

“These Blue and Gold events require a lot of travel and energy. I really enjoy meeting a lot of alumni, especially former students, catching up with them and seeing what’s going on in their lives. I’ve been struck by how sentimental our alumni can be about their years at Ignatius. I have been struck by how deep their love is for St. Ignatius.”, says Fr. Guiao.

Saint Ignatius High School is known for having a tight-knit alumni network and the “primary purpose of the tour is to keep in close contact with the alumni, a way of keeping ties of new days from the old … we are true to the words of our alma mater.” The tour keeps alumni updated on what is happening at the school and Saint Ignatius updated on the lives of its alumni. It is somewhat of a misconception that the tours are to garner donation support, as the invitation and event is designed to bring people together socially.

“The letter says come meet the new president, there will be heavy hors d’oeurves, and you will receive a small gift. Sometimes we even will bring a veteran faculty member like Mr. Pasko or Mr. Healey and that is a big draw for our alumni” says Fr. Guiao.

Mr. Dan Malone ‘00 is in charge of organizing the events and has “designed them in a really good, sound way so that people truly enjoy themselves,” though the one thing Fr. Guiao has added is a brief prayer after the speech portion. He feels that “it has been a small, but very meaningful part of the event and is about giving thanks for our alumni and alma mater.”

BY OWEN HEARNS ‘17

The Ignatius Science Olympiad team has been excelling in competitions across the region this year. Science Olympiad allows students the opportunity to explore fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) not offered through the Saint Ignatius curriculum.

The group of about 25 members has participated in invitationals at Westlake, Kenston, Solon, Mentor, Cornell, and New Albany, where they won 6th place at Cornell University and 5th place at New Albany High School.

Captains Mitchell Pallaki and John Gibson and coaches Mr. Given, Mr. McGinness, and Mr. Savastano have guided the club to the position they are in today.

The team is currently preparing for regionals and hopes to qualify for the Science Olympiad State Tournament at The Ohio State University.

In addition to this, Northeast Ohio is one of the most competitive areas for Science Olympiad. Senior Matthew Niedoba noted, “The team may not be placing at every invitational, but we are competing against teams like Solon, who finished 1st in the National Science Olympiad Tournament, and Mentor, who finished 15th.”

The team is always looking for new members and meets every Tuesday or Wednesday (whichever you are able to attend) in Room 304.

By OWEN MIKLOS ‘16

The addition of Freshman-level Biology to the school curriculum in 2013 has led to some unexpected impacts on the Physical Education Department.

Current sophomores and juniors are short on P.E. credits. The State of Ohio requires two semesters of Physical Education. Students in the class of 2017 and 2018 have only take one.

While some students will be able to pick their PE credits during their senior year, many students have full schedules of AP courses and electives as they prepare for college. Not every student is ready to trade in the scales and beakers for deadweights and gym shorts.

Students in the Classes of 2017 and 2018 will be the first to have the opportunity to fulfill their phys ed requirement through the completion of interscholastic athletics, two seasons of which would fully account for the missing link.

Bearing these concerns in mind, the school administration is embracing an alternative way for these students to fulfill their PE requirement: credit for participation in interscholastic athletics or Marching Band, or through increased summer PE offerings. The approach is consistent with Ohio law and several local high schools have implemented similar programs with success.

Students in the Classes of 2017 and 2018 will be the first to have the opportunity to fulfill their phys ed requirement through the completion of interscholastic athletics, two seasons of which would fully account for the missing link.

When asked about the new program, Dean of Teachers Mr. Ptak was emphatic in that this was strictly done for the two classes aforementioned, no others . . . for the time being. “We recognized the dilemma that these students were in, and so we took this existing idea and made it a viable option,” he said.

“Given the uniqueness of the situation, it seemed right to allow for those students who have committed themselves to varsity athletics to not have to shoulder an additional burden during the school week.”

To clear up a misconception that’s sure to arise: Credit is not awarded retroactively.

If you played Freshman Blue basketball but never continued, you won’t be eligible for the course credit; only those current sophomores and juniors who will play or have played in a varsity sport between the Fall 2015 sports season and that of Spring 2018 will cover all of their bases.

“For right now,” Ptak went on to say, “it’s just these two classes. If everything works out, we’ll see what options are available for students in future years.”

BY CHRISTOPH CIURLIONIS ‘16

Most clubs at Ignatius don’t participate in national competitions or acquire huge cash prizes, but the Hydroponics Club is currently in the final round of a country-wide contest after beating thousands of teams from schools across the country. “The purpose of the competition is to challenge teams to create an individual action plan that shows potential environmental reach beyond our community,” says Hunter Jarosz ‘16. The group has high aspirations for their final project. “Our goal for the final project is to spread the word about the advantages of collecting water in rain barrels in order to conserve water and help the environment.” says Jarosz.

Prior to the final stage of the competition, each member of the hydroponics club received a generous fourteen hundred dollars, with the club itself receiving a two thousand dollar cash prize. In addition to this, one thousand dollars was awarded to Mr. Emancipator, the club’s moderator. As for what they will do with the prize money, Mitchell Jarosz ‘18 stated, “We wish to expand our current hydroponic systems and possibly invest in a field trip with the money that was designated to the club.”

The recent great accomplishments of our own Hydroponics Club shows that hard work and excellence can be found within any club at Saint Ignatius.