The Paw

2024 Homecoming Court Named

The 2024 Homecoming Court was announced earlier today after being voted on by the Class of 2025. 

Congratulations to the five girls who were nominated for Homecoming Queen - Megan Joy, Bella Leffel, Julia Oster, Holly Suponcic, and Izzy Trem. 

Congratulations to the five boys who were nominated for Homecoming King - Jayson Cummings, Luke Joy, Cross Nimmo, Ace Peterlin, and Trey Siepka.

The nominees will give speeches to the rest of their senior class, as well as the juniors and sophomores on Friday, October 4, with the winners announced later that day. The Homecoming Dance will be two days later, on Sunday, October 6th.

Christ Child Awards 13 Students with Scholarships

Thirteen Lake Catholic students were honored and awarded scholarships earlier this week by the Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve. 

The award ceremony was held at St. John Vianney, followed by Fr. Tom Johns presiding over a mass for the students, their families, and the Christ Child Society. Fr. Johns reminded the scholarship winners, “Whenever something good is done to you, pay it forward. Find a way to do something good for others.”

Congratulations to those receiving the scholarships for the 2024-25 school year are Kyle Boyd (Sr.), Caden Boyes (Sr.), Carson Gilbert (Sr.), Megan Joy (Sr.), Luke Joy (Sr.), Jimmy Meden (Sr.), Frannie Webber (Sr.), Angelina Capra (Jr.), Kaelyn Nemeth (Jr.), Kiera Nemeth (Jr.), Brayden Mann (Jr.) Cameron Crews (So.), and Robert Vidmar (So.).

Honors Chemistry Students Receive Class Award

Students in Mrs. Deighan’s Honors Chemistry who earned the highest score in the class on the first unit test were each awarded a "beaker of knowledge" with a green ribbon to celebrate their achievement.

Congratulations to Tyler Hribar, Marty Loncar, and Owen Pesek

Students Enjoy Sunday Morning with Grandparents

Lake Catholic celebrated National Grandparents Day on Sunday, September 8. More than 100 students brought their grandparents to the 10:30a mass at St. John Vianney and then came over to school for breakfast, shopping in the Spirit Store, and tours of the building. 

A nice time was had by all, as multiple generations of Cougars were in attendance for this special event.

Faculty and Staff Celebrate Re-Opening of the Lounge

The redesign and renovation project of the faculty and staff lounge is nearly complete. The faculty and staff will celebrate with a small grand re-opening reception next Friday after school.

The space, which has two sides divided by the newly furnished kitchen area, features new carpet, furniture, and amenities.

One side of the lounge has new workspace areas for the faculty to use throughout the day, while the other side has several seating areas with tables for everyone to gather for breakfast and lunch. A new state-of-the-art coffee and espresso machine is the main feature of the break side of the lounge. 

“This is the best thing that we’ve gotten since I started working here,” said Physical Education & Health Department Chair Marty Gibbons about the new coffee machine. 

Once fully completed, the lounge will also have an ice machine and be stocked daily with assorted breakfast items.

This week's Alumni Spotlight highlights Sean Fee (Class of 2012) who is the Director of Mental Performance at The Golf Room.

Why do you support Lake Catholic?

Lake Catholic was such an incredible experience for me as a student-athlete. My time as a wrestler at LC was an invaluable experience for me that I constantly pull from in my daily life. I also felt that along with being a part of a wrestling team with an incredible family atmosphere, I was able to be myself and learn about other interests that helped make me a more well-rounded human being as well.

What specific areas or missions are you drawn to at Lake Catholic?

Since my time as a student-athlete at LC taught me so much about life, it has instilled a passion for me to help others along their athletic journey. Because of that, I love following all the sports teams at LC and am always rooting for their success all while knowing no matter what, they are learning so much from their experience and from their coaches that will help them in life down the road. Sports truly are so much more than just a game!

What do you wish others knew about Lake Catholic?

The family atmosphere no matter your passions or interests. Everyone has each others back and celebrates their differences instead of only spending time around people with similar interests.

What is your favorite memory of Lake Catholic?

I don't think I could pick one favorite memory, but the friends I made during my time at LC mean more to me than I could ever describe, so just looping in all of the memories I made and continue to make with them until this day.

What are you currently up to? What's new and exciting that you have going on now?

I work with athletes on an individual and team level to help turn their mental struggles into strengths. My purpose is to build peak performance from the ground up while giving athletes the mental tools to also help them enjoy the process more along the way. I also host The WellSport Podcast where I've interviewed Olympians, National Champions, Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant's Mental Coach, Sport Psychologists, PGA Golf Coaches, Dietitians and more!

If you're interested in being a part of our Alumni Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone, please reach out to our Director of Alumni Relations Bill Weaver.

Welcome back to Lake Catholic! Welcome back to The Paw! The summer is over, and we've kicked off the 2024-25 school year!

We are excited to welcome the Class of 2028, which will be our largest current class in the school, along with 19 transfer students, and six international students from Spain and Brazil.

The Class of 2025 began a new tradition as the seniors were allowed to purchase and paint a personalized parking spot in the school's parking lot. 

The entire school celebrated the first all-school Mass yesterday, presided by Lake Catholic Chaplain Fr. Joshua Trefney. During the mass, two students and a staff member were commissioned as Eucharistic Ministers and Fr. Joshua said a special prayer over our senior Spiritual Life leaders.

We welcomed 13 new faculty and staff members to our community.

• Kevin Bergdorf, World Languages teacher
• Terry Clark, Visual Arts teacher
• Tess Connolly-Alcantara ('16), Student Services and Volleyball Coach
• Joe Costello, Theology teacher, was hired full-time after serving as a long-term substitute last year
• Chris Deighan, Science teacher, was hired full-time after serving as a tutor last year
• Cari Foster, Director of Faith & Formation
• Marty Hyland, English teacher
• Tammy Konte ('86), Administrative Assistant
• Gavin Lacher, Math teacher
• Bob Moffett ('84), Director of Technology Services
• Luci Pattison, Math teacher
• Kyle Shockey, Social Studies teacher
• Denise Timms - Attendance Secretary & Registrar

We've updated the curriculum with a few new class offerings, including but not limited to:

• Food and Nutrition
• Motogo (where students take apart and rebuild parts of a motorcycle)
• Yearbook
• Coaching
• Mental and Behavioral Health

Lastly, many facility enhancements have taken place over the past few months, and we'd love for you to come back to Lake Catholic and see what we've been up to!

• The chapel received several upgrades - a new carpet was laid, the lighting was improved, a new sound system was brought in, and a grand piano was donated.
• The teacher's lounge was modernized with new carpet, furniture, and appliances. The area will now feature daily breakfast and snack items.
• New tables, chairs, and study spaces were brought into some classrooms (we'll phase in more classrooms over the coming years), and the vivarium.
• New wayfinding signage has been hung throughout the school, replacing the vinyl signs that hung from the ceiling.

We're looking forward to a great year. We would love for you to stop by and see all the wonderful things happening at Lake Catholic and thank you for your continued support.

This week's Alumni Spotlight highlights Tammy Konte (Class of 1986) who is the Administrative Assistant to the President and Advancement at Lake Catholic.

Why do you support Lake Catholic?

Lake Catholic is not only my alma mater but also my Catholic community of family and friends. We are all connected in faith and committed to the importance of a Catholic education. I strongly support the mission and the spirit of Lake Catholic High School.

What specific areas or missions are you drawn to at Lake Catholic?

Honestly, every area appeals to me! I love sports! I love the music of the marching band! I especially love the importance of our Catholic faith in every aspect of the day-to-day activities at the school!

What do you wish others knew about Lake Catholic?

Everyone at Lake Catholic is strongly committed to the success of the students every step of the way!

What is your favorite memory of Lake Catholic?

I have so many wonderful memories at Lake Catholic I'm not sure I can pick just one favorite memory! The friendships, the football games, the traditions, the school spirit, the school dances! The 80's was a great time to be in high school!

Why did you choose Lake Catholic for your children?

My husband, Tony ('88), and I both went to Lake Catholic. It's where our story begins! We always knew that our daughter, Kasey ('16), would also go to Lake Catholic. We wanted her to have the same exceptional education and experience as we had in high school.

What are you currently up to? What's new and exciting that you have going on now?

After 35 years at Lakeland Community College, I decided it was time for a career change! I'm excited to be at Lake Catholic High School in the Administration Office! Everyone is so nice and welcoming!

If you're interested in being a part of our Alumni Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone, please reach out to our Director of Alumni Relations Bill Weaver.