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DeCarlo: Pre-Engineering class unlikely in near future

by: Andrew Benisek ’17

Every year, hundreds of Saint Ignatius graduates plunge themselves into a semester of rigorous engineering courses at their respective colleges. Why, then, does St. Ignatius not offer any prerequisite courses in engineering?

As it turns out, the answer to the question is not as cut and dry as you may think. It all starts with flaws of the previous science curriculum. Before the class of 2018, biology was not taught until sophomore year. As a result, chemistry was pushed to junior year, and physics to senior year. With this format, there was no room for electives without taking two classes in one year. Now that the administration has moved the classes forward a year, new opportunities have opened up for electives within the science department.

Unfortunately for those interested in engineering, a pre-engineering class is not likely in the near future. According to Dean of Teachers Mr. Ptak, “St. Ignatius High School is a College Prep School, and our science curriculum reflects what colleges want to see. They want the three lab sciences, biology, chemistry, and physics.” In regards to engineering specifically, he said, “The lab sciences we require fit well into engineering disciplines. If you are interested in biomedical engineering you will need a biology background. If you are interested in in chemical engineering you will need chemistry, mechanical requires physics, etc.”

Mr. DeCarlo, an engineer himself and the science department chair, stated his concerns with a high school pre-engineering class. He echoed the comments of Mr. Ptak, stating, “Colleges want to see the biology, chemistry, and physics, and will give credit for those courses. I am not sure that colleges will credit students for a pre-engineering class due to the nature of the course.” In addition, Mr. DeCarlo says, “It is very hard to create a good high school pre-engineering program.” In order to start understanding the concept of engineering, one must have a firm grasp on not only calculus, but statics (properties of materials), chemistry, physics, and business.” This is because in reality, engineers are researching or designing for a business, where there are budgets and constraints, as well as limitations on materials, all of which need to be taken into account. All of this would be very hard to fit into a semester or two semester long high school science course. Mr. DeCarlo said that if Engineering does come to St. Ignatius, it will be down the road.

There is also the issue of how not having an pre-engineering class affects the St. Ignatius Admissions Department (Especially in the context of competing with the St. Edward Pre-Engineering Program). From Mr. DeCarlo’s perspective, St. Ignatius has the same opportunities, but in the form of extracurriculars. While he was not fully sure of what St. Ed’s curriculum entails, he assumes based on the critical principles of engineering that it is more “trial and error based.” Their role is filled here by the Robotics and Science Olympiad clubs. These clubs should be enough to show to colleges an interest in engineering.

So, what should a St. Ignatius student, interested in engineering do instead? Be an ‘and man!’ Get involved, join clubs related to engineering (pre-engineering society, robotics, science olympiad, etc.), get good grades in the science and math classes engineering colleges want to see, and get information on your own. In other words, have a genuine aptitude for engineering. Once colleges see this, and if you’ve done your part to prepare, college engineering courses should be an easy transition to make.

Students expand social justice horizons at Ignatian Family Teach-In

by Gabe Mielke ’16

In what has become a beloved Saint Ignatius tradition, a group of students and faculty members travelled down to Washington D.C. to participate in the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice.  It started on Saturday, November 7 and ran until the following Monday including a number of various faith-based social justice activities and workshops.  These activities culminated in the dialogue sessions that took place between students and legislators on Monday.

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Tim Platten ’16 elaborates on these dialogue sessions and reflects on how he ties the Teach-In into the service he does on campus.  Hear it here in this audio interview:

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Mike Murphy ’16 engages with a legislative assistant.

Final: St. Ignatius wins 7th State Soccer Championship 4-0 over Hilliard Davidson

by Owen Miklos ’16

It’s been a long season.

 

But it all culminated today at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, where the St. Ignatius Wildcats shut out Davidson 4-0 for an emphatic state championship — their second in a row, their seventh overall.

 

The first half of the game got off to a slow start. Sloppy play marked the first three minutes of the championship game, where both St. Ignatius and Hilliard Davidson kept the ball around midfield until the Wildcats took control. The next five minutes saw played centered around the Hilliard end of the field, and a few corner kicks engendered opportunities to get on the board early. David Hoyle, the Davidson goalie, made critical saves in that early going to keep the St. Ignatius ‘Cats off the board early and keep his team in the game.

 

Lawrence Karpeh ‘16 of the Wildcats got aggressive in the early going and kept his foot on the gas throughout the first 40 minutes of the game. At around the 13:30 mark, Karpeh was called for two fouls within seconds of one another, and the Ignatius student section made sure to let the officials know what they thought about the calls. Karpeh, for his part, looked unfazed.

 

It was Karpeh who led the offensive drive three minutes later. Stephen Milhoan ‘17, always an offensive threat for the Cleveland ‘Cats, scored the first goal of the game at 10:09, a driving liner to Hoyle’s left side that found the back of the net to give Ignatius the 1-0 advantage.

 

It was a slow-paced, plodding first half of soccer. St. Ignatius, heading to the locker room, knew that if they were to hold on, they’d need to come out with some more fire in the second half.

 

They delivered. It was evident from the first few minutes of the final half of 2015 soccer that they had no intention of letting Davidson back into this game. Adam Haas ‘17, the junior defenseman, was a one-man wrecking crew for Ignatius, applying slide-tackles wherever necessary when Davidson looked like they were shifting momentum. The rest of the team backed up Haas on the defensive end, making sure to keep the ball in the hands of the Cleveland ‘Cats and wind down the clock.

 

The nail in the coffin for the Davidson Wildcats came at the 59’ mark, when Hayden Parente ‘16 delivered a screaming goal past a diving David Hoyle to put St. Ignatius up by two goals. Nobody was more excited than Dylan McKeon and the crew from SIBN, blowing out the ears of headphone users everywhere with an emphatic call, and a relieved St. Ignatius crowd roared in approval as their team broke the close game wide open.

 

With 20 minutes then left in the game, Parente and the Wildcats played keep-away, striking a balance between maintaining the attack and preventing Davidson from getting their foot in the door.

 

Riley Houde ‘17, the hero from the State Semifinal game vs. St. John’s Jesuit, scored Ignatius’s third goal of the game with 5:20 left to go, weaving between a quickly fading Davidson team and casually flicking a goal past Hoyle. Forty seconds later, Lawrence Karpeh got in on the action, scoring in the midst of the confusion brought on by junior Alex Gotsky’s fall in front of the goal. With a bout of applause from the Ignatius student section, Gotsky got back to his feet and walked off the field under his own weight, giving the fans time to celebrate Karpeh’s goal anew.

 

The players rose their fists in victory once the final whistle sounded, and with good reason. They are the 2015 Soccer State Champions.

 

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Game updates will post here. Listen in to the SIBN audio feed here at 11:50 am.

[View the story “2015 Ohio D1 Soccer Final” on Storify]

Preview: Soccer looks to capture the D1 crown in state final

by Carter Spearry ‘16

After a dramatic 2-1 victory of Saint John’s Jesuit in the State Semi-final on Wednesday night, Coach Mike McLaughlin’s soccer ‘Cats look to capture their second consecutive and seventh State Championship in the program’s history. They will face off against No. 10 Hilliard Davidson, who upset  No. 2 Mason 2-1 on Wednesday night. Saint Ignatius, who has not lost a match in over a calendar year, looks to continue their reign of terror against Davidson on Saturday at noon from MAPFRE Stadium.

Players to watch

Stephen Milhoan ‘17 (Attacking Midfielder)

The junior has been in terrific form all year and has put up incredible numbers. He leads the team in both goals (28) and assists (19). Milhoan is an expert free kick taker and makes defenders miss with ease with his terrific foot skills. Look for him to be the maestro of the midfield on Saturday.

Hunter Gordon ‘16 (Center Back)

The only returning defensive starter from last year’s triumphant team is the heart of this year’s defensive unit. Gordon is fearless when diving into tackles and shows his athleticism by shutting down some of the paciest forwards in the state. The senior is a vocal leader on the pitch and a is a very well-deserved recipient of the heralded #34 Jim Skerl shirt. “Gordon Island” will be in full affect.

Lawrence Karpeh ‘16 (Center Forward)

By far the best athlete in McLaughlin’s program, Karpeh is one of the most dominant players in the state. He is never afraid to take players on with his strength, speed, or skill. Karpeh is lethal in the box – and look for him to be on the score sheet against Davidson.

Safety drill a success

by Matthew Jones ’17

This past Tuesday, November 10th, the Saint Ignatius community had its first combination lockdown/evacuation drill of the year.  The purpose of this drill and future drills is to train students on what to do in the case of a violent intruder.  This is intended to ensure the safety of the students if such a thing were to happen.

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Juniors and Seniors eagerly await dismissal from St. Pat’s Church.

Although students were well aware of the drill beforehand, they were firmly instructed by Mr. Franzinger throughout the event on where to go and what to do. When given the instructions, students barricaded the doors with desks, hiding themselves from the mock intruder.  

After the lockdown drill, students were instructed by Mr. Franzinger through the PA system to begin their march to Saint Patrick’s Church.  Saint Pat’s, usually a house of worship, functioned as a safe haven for the students and staff.  With police vehicles as escorts, the school community made the brief trek over to the evacuation sites.  The general consensus suggested that the drill and routes were well organized and efficiently executed.

When asked about the drill, Chris Calkins ‘17 declared that, “It definitely verifies the safety of this school, to always help the students feel safe and secure.”

Ray Kman ‘18 commented on the roll of the teachers and staff: “It was pretty secure, a lot of teachers held it down for us.  It was well organized and they kept us together.  It was under control and well thought out.”

Although some degree of confusion is to be expected in safety drills of this magnitude, the evacuation drill was deemed a success.  It provided students with a sense of safety by showing them what to do in an emergency.

Students make once-in-a-lifetime trips to see Francis, first Jesuit Pope, in US

by Anthony Ramirez ‘16

Rarely has there ever been a Pope so popular that both Catholics and non-Catholics alike go out of their way to see him speak, but that is what happened last weekend in New York City, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. In the history of the Papacy, Pope Francis has been the only Pope to officially speak with the United States Congress. Such an occurrence did not go unnoticed and hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see him, some traveling as far as 13,000 miles.

Students and faculty from Saint Ignatius also made the journey, traveling from Cleveland to Philadelphia to see and listen to the Holy Father speak and lastly to attend mass on Sunday. The pilgrims included faculty members Mr. Jim Brennan ’85 and Mr. Anthony Fior ’02, as well as students Joe Ertle ’17, Jermaine Leonard ’18, John Ortega ’16, Gabe Ohliger ’17, Sean Neville ’16 and Michael John Raddell ’18.

According to Mr. Brennan, the goal of the trip was to be “in union with fellow Catholics and Jesuits” as well as to “see the Holy Father speak.” The community and connectedness that is felt when Catholics from all over the world come together is a powerful thing.

Our pilgrims, along with many other students from other Jesuit Schools, lodged at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, a Jesuit high school in Philadelphia for the entirety of the visit. Hundreds of crowded students slept on the gym floors of St. Joe’s.

The capacity of St. Joe’s was the main limiting factor for how many Saint Ignatius students could attend. Mr. Fior “reached out to St. Joe’s and originally asked to take 100 students, but many other schools throughout the country also asked, so [he] had to cut down on the number.”

The experience allowed Ignatius to connect with students from Jesuit schools from around the country. “Meeting all the different kids from Jesuits school was surprisingly fulfilling,” said Sean Neville ‘16. “It was cool to see the similarities that you’d expect to only pertain to Ignatius.”

Campus Ministry had the final say on who would be chosen for this privilege and consulted Theology teachers and CAT moderators in question of what students would most benefit from this. It was eventually decided, in the interest of being fair and balanced, that two students from each class should go. The students that were chosen uphold what it means to be an “Ignatius Man” and a Catholic.

Mr. Brennan hopes that with their return, the pilgrim-students will bring back an “enthusiasm for the faith” and strengthen Saint Ignatius High School in the Jesuit community.

New classroom’s coffeehouse vibe sparks creative expression

by Matthew Lindholm ‘18

Workers with drywall saws and paint rollers were a common scene at Saint Ignatius High School this summer. Plant Services decided to take on many renovations, including the college counseling office, senior lounge, Mr. Steward’s art studio, and Mr. Jarc and Mrs. Stire’s classroom.

The renovation that will most impact students occurred in Mr. Jarc and Mrs. Stire’s room, where the school invested $25,000 into the creation of a modern and unique learning space. The concept was a joint effort between the two teachers, who took into account the new Fine Arts curriculum changes. As of the 2015-2016 school year, sophomores now take a class which combines computer literacy and oral interpretation into one subject. While the class is still called Computer Literacy/Applications, it is less focused on SAM Microsoft training and memorizing speeches. Instead, it is the perfect mix between computer concepts, creativity, and presentation. In the class, the students are given problem based projects to solve over a period of time. In the process, they will use creative thinking to inspire an idea, learn the technological skills to complete the task, and then use rhetorical speech elements to present their solution in an appealing and professional manner. The class has been designed around collaborative, self-taught learning with teacher direction. In this layout, the students can be a part of hands-on work every day.

The newly renovated classroom fits this new style of teaching exceptionally well. Gone are the days where a technology literacy student enters into a sea of dull blue and gray tones, with what seems to be endless rows of monitors. Now, students walk into a vibrant space, expressed through the green, blue, and orange paint; wood laminate floor; and open concept layout. As stated before, the room was designed to spark creativity, productivity, and mastery. Every detail has been considered with this goal in mind. Throughout the room there are Big Joe bean bag chairs. This generates a relaxed environment; a perfect place for the inspiration of ideas. On the left side of the room, there will be 6 productivity tables with stools. These tables, due to their height, require either standing or decent posture on the stool to work on them. As suggested by Mr. Jarc: “tables make students want to work, and be genuinely interested in the task at hand because of the inability to slouch on them.” These tables also allow for students to have plenty of space to get things done, especially when making physical models and prototypes. Lastly, there is a three level stage/seating area on the far right wall of the room. This can be used as a place to sit and do work, or as a place to present final ideas. Mr. Jarc. commented on the space, saying, “As a class, it puts you in charge of a lot of your own learning, and also taking ownership of it. It gives the students a better chance to learn from each other, using Mrs. Stires and I as guides to help you along. If you change the physical space and change the way the class operates, the hope is that the students will take ownership and be physically involved more, compared to your typical lecture style class.”

So far, this unique classroom experience has been a success. Jarred Meyer 18’ praised the concepts, commenting, “I feel like I’m learning, but it feels more natural to me since I am in a comfortable setting.” This is truly something St. Ignatius has never seen before, and may be a trailblazer for class formats in the future.

Ignatius community gathers In remembrance of Mr. Jim Skerl

by Peter Nichols ‘18

Last Friday, October 23rd, was the one year anniversary of the beloved Mr. Skerl’s death. To commemorate this, a touching, all-school prayer service was held on the mall. A cross with a white robe, symbolizing resurrection, was placed on the same spot where he gave his final words to the Ignatius community. The students and teachers gathered around the cross and prayed a decade of the Rosary together.

Mr. Brennan, theology teacher and dear friend of Mr. Skerl thought the day hit the right notes. “It started with mass, Mr. Skerl loved Jesus especially in the Eucharist. In Eucharistic adoration he drew his strength, and focused on works of mercy which he promoted and developed.”

The Apostles’ Creed was also said in memory of Mr. Skerl’s praying of the line: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection of the body, and life everlasting,” on his last day at Ignatius.

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“I loved coming back on the mall where this time it was a celebration.” -Mr. Brennan

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To further explain the various segments of the prayer service Mr. Brennan said, “He also had a great love for Our Lady. These is where he got his three strengths, that is why we had mass, Eucharistic adoration, and prayed the rosary. I loved coming back on the mall where this time it was a celebration. He is still with us in special way, we had a great opportunity to share old stories and also a couple tears. Overall this was well planned.”

Football beats Saint Xavier in a must win

by Matt MacKenzie ’18

The Saint Ignatius Wildcats faced a must win game, on Saturday afternoon from Byers Field. In order to clinch a playoff berth, the ‘Cats needed to beat Saint Xavier and Saint Edward. The Bombers were their first task, and the Wildcats completed that task to perfection. Led by a resilient defense, the Wildcats defeated the Saint Xavier Bombers by a score of 34-20 and brought the Cannon Bell back to Saint Ignatius.

The game started off with special teams leaving their mark. The Wildcats were forced to punt on their first possession, which led to a blocked punt by the Saint Xavier special teams core. On the first play from scrimmage, Pete Rumpke ran it in for a 23 yard touchdown to make it 7-0. The Bombers weren’t done there. Nick Arcuri nailed a 51 yard field goal, to make it 10-0. Saint Xavier dominated the first quarter and would be threatening to score again, as we headed to the second quarter trailing 10-0.

The second quarter appeared to be more of the same at first sight. Connor Marciag connected on a field goal to make it 13-0 in favor of Saint Xavier. The Wildcat offense would soon come alive, in the later moments of the quarter. Ben Cray sacked Notre Dame commit Sean Clifford, forcing the Bombers to punt. The punt was downed at the Saint Xavier 40 yard line. Dennis Grosel would take advantage of the short distance between the ‘Cats and the end zone.

Grosel found Tyler Musbach near the sideline, who then broke a tackle and ran the ball to the three yard line. Elijah Wahib would do the rest on the next play, as he scored from three yards out making it 13-7. Following another fourth down stop, the offense led a drive down the field. It appeared that Jack Cook got a foot in for a touchdown, but the referees ruled it incomplete. Depending on the PAT, the Wildcats could have been leading going into the half. Instead, Matt Trickett capped it off with a field goal making it 13-10 with 1:04 to go before the half. This score would take us to halftime.

Saint Xavier would receive to start the half, but found themselves punting after just three plays. The offense took over at the Bomber 42 yard line and made the most of it. After narrowly missing a touchdown pass to Jack Cook, Dennis Grosel found Cal Grbac for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 17-13 lead. This would be their first lead of the afternoon. Saint Ignatius would build on this, as another stellar offensive drive led to a Matt Trickett field goal. That would make it 20-13 in favor of the ‘Cats.

The Bombers faced a short third down, when Pete Rumpke escaped from the pile and ran it all the way to the Wildcats’ 35 yard line. Ben Cray made a touchdown saving tackle. That tackle would prove to be significant, as Nate Keirn sacked Clifford, for the third time. This sack pushed the Bombers out of field goal range and gave the Wildcats the ball off of a punt. Saint Ignatius’ offensive possession was capitalized by a Jimmy Andrews long run into opposing territory. Dennis Grosel would extend the lead on a short touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 27-13 lead with 0:28 seconds to go in the third quarter. That would be the score heading into the final quarter of play.

The way that the fourth quarter would play out, would decide the Wildcats’ playoff hopes. Let’s just say that Wildcat fans left with a smile on their face. A strange turn of events occurred following Keirn’s sack of Sean Clifford. A punt muffed by Jack Cook bounced into the end zone. Saint Xavier jumped on it and thought they had scored a touchdown. The referees conferred and ruled it a touchback instead, and the Wildcats would take over on their own 20 yard line.

The Wildcats were in business on the possession, but an Andrew Homer sack pushed the ‘Cats back and eventually forced them to punt. Fast forward in the quarter, the Bombers were threatening near midfield but had to go for it on 4th down. Clifford threw to his tight end, and Jack Cook made a big tackle, creating a turnover on downs. This gave Saint Ignatius the ball back with the clock on their side. After a punt with a little under three minutes to play, Jack Cook came up with the game clinching play. He intercepted Clifford’s pass taking it the distance for a pick six, extending the Wildcats’ lead to 34-13. At this point, the Wildcats had scored 34 unanswered points against the Bombers.

Sean Clifford scored a quarterback rush touchdown with two seconds to play, making it 34-20. Dennis Grosel would take the knee and send the Wildcats into a Halloween afternoon battle with their archrival Saint Edward, needing a win to send them to the playoffs.

Once again, the Wildcats defeat the Bombers 34-20 to keep their playoff hopes alive and bring the Cannon Bell back to Saint Ignatius.

Cats fall to Moeller in high scoring heart breaker

by Matt MacKenzie ’18

The offenses scored early and often in this one, as the Saint Ignatius Wildcats fell in a heartbreaking loss to the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders by a final score of 55-52. The Wildcats were led by a fantastic performance from Dennis Grosel, who had six total touchdowns, but came up just shy of the victory, when the Crusaders nailed a field goal with 0:10 to go in the game.

It all started on the first play from scrimmage when Dennis Grosel connected with Cal Grbac on an 80 yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 in favor of the ‘Cats. Moeller quarterback and Pittsburgh commit Thomas MacVittie found his receiver Hausmann for a 57 yard touchdown to make it 7-7. You knew from that moment on, that it was going to be an offensive dominated game. The Wildcats answered on a touchdown run by Jimmy Andrews to give St. Ignatius the lead. MacVittie to Hausmann again made it 14-14 with 4:56 left to go in the first quarter. MacVittie ended up throwing six touchdowns on the night, A Trickett 23 yard field goal and a Grosel four yard touchdown run made it 24-14. This score would take us to the second quarter.

Dennis Grosel proved to be hard to cover yet again when he scored two rushing touchdowns, from four and eleven yards out, to give St. Ignatius a commanding 38-14 lead, with 4:58 to go before the half. Archbishop Moeller clicked as an offense after this, as Dotson reeled in a touchdown catch to trim the deficit. A surprise onside kick gave Moeller the ball back and allowed Butz to run it in for a touchdown. Finally, another MacVittie touchdown pass, this time to Ashmore, brought the Crusaders within three points. It was 38-35, as the ‘Cats were clinging to the lead, heading into the half.

The third quarter saw Archbishop Moeller complete its rally and take the lead momentarily, when Ashmore caught his second touchdown pass on the night to make it 42-38 in favor of Moeller. Dennis Grosel answered with his legs, when he scampered into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown to give St. Ignatius a 45-42 lead. It’s the second straight week, that Grosel has scored three or more touchdowns on the ground. Moeller was quick to answer though. Hausmann was the recipient of a 76 yard touchdown pass from MacVittie to give the Crusaders a 49-45 lead. After both teams traded interceptions on back to back plays, the Wildcats answered with 1:02 to go, as Grosel found James Leyden for a 24 yard touchdown and a 52-49 lead. This would take us to the final quarter of play.

There were answers on offense, as both teams had all night long. Archbishop Moeller controlled possession for most of the quarter, but didn’t break through until Coghlin sank a 36 yard field goal with 3:31 to go. That kick would tie the game. Coghlin would be relied on in the later moments of the game as well. The Wildcats were stumped on 4th down and 1 allowing the Crusaders to take over with time on their side. After running down the clock, Coghlin calmly nailed a 26 yard field goal with 0:10 to go, that gave Moeller a 55-52 lead. When the Wildcats took over, a desperation pass was intercepted and that would ultimately end the game.

The Wildcats will need to win their last two games of the season, against St. Xavier and St. Edward, to have a chance at making the playoffs. Once again, the Wildcats fell to the Crusaders in Dublin by a final score of 55-52.

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About The Eye

The Eye is the student-led publication of Saint Ignatius High School.

Editors-in-Chief: Kelly Coleman '23, Young Kim '23 & Aidan Oliss '23