'A bird in the hand is worth...bragging rights'

Ursuline is first girls' school to participate in Kiss 108 Turkey Toss

Throwing a bird in the oven may be the conventional start to Thanksgiving, but launching a frozen gobbler across Medford's Meadow Glen Mall parking lot rang in the holiday just fine for the hundreds of local high school students who showed up for Kiss 108's Annual Turkey Toss on November 24.

As the sun rose, so did the frozen turkey. Though the 'tossers' and 'receivers' are required to be members of their school's football team, the 'Matty In the Morning' crew decided to open this year's competition to welcome their first ever female competitors from Ursuline Academy. As strong athletes and member's of UA's unofficial Powder Puff Football Team, seniors Jill Lawler and Cassandra Sadd knew they had the skills to compete with the ten other boy's teams in attendance. "We practiced with a 12 pound turkey," said Cassandra.

The preparation was half the battle, according to Jill Lawler, who admitted that the toss would be her first chance to 'shot put' a turkey. Though students listened each morning as  host Matt Siegel shared his doubts about the team's potential to beat the strong competition, the girls were determined to make their mark in Medford. "It will only make them try harder," said Student Council rep Nicaela Chinnaswamy, who took the bold first step of getting her school into the competition.

"[She's] about to make history here," said Boston sports anchor Mike Lynch, as he introduced Jill just before the throw. A few feet away stood 'catcher' Cassandra, ready to snatch the 22 pound bird from mid-air. On the sidelines, a man dressed as a turkey stood in quiet anticipation. On the radio, we heard Kiss 108's Lisa yelling "Let's go girls," as the crowd roared. And then...the throw!

"Long story short...they beat the Marines," said Ursuline's Principal Mary Jo Keaney, who watched the girls complete a flawless pass to nab 4th place. "The Mighty Bears," as they were called by host Billy Costa, may not have won, but they certainly gobbled up a good chunk of the competition, which included football quarterbacks and military men.

The girls, who will never look at Thanksgiving dinner the same way again, plan to pass their techniques along to Ursuline's next team of talented turkey tossers. 

Click here to see the recap video! [Fast forward to 19:00 for Ursuline's throw]

Or, check out some great photos from the Toss!

 

The wind up...

...the pitch...

...the catch!

Good Form!

Cassandra with the one and only, Billy Costa!

Jill with Mike Lynch...give him a 'high five!'

That turkey looks scared...

Many students came out to cheer!

Good work, team!

Good Sports 
Ursuline athletes recognized for clean play

Grantland Rice, the great sportswriter once said, 'It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Though most players shoot for victory in the face of opposition, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has made a point to recognize those high school teams who are able to keep their cool in the heat of play.

This year, Ursuline Academy's Varsity Soccer Team received the MIAA Sportsmanship Award for their commendable attitude toward opposing teams and officials during the fall 2010 season. The team was the only girls squad chosen from a multi-division pool of nominees, and athletic Director Mike O'Connor was happy to nominate the girls for the honor.

"I think they only got one yellow card this season, and it was debatable," he said, with a smile.

According to the MIAA website, "the awards are presented to those teams who have demonstrated a sincere commitment to the highest ideals and objectives of sportsmanship during their season of play."

Upon investigating statistical information about each team, such as number of cards presented, the MIAA takes into account each team's nomination to determine which group is most deserving of the recognition. Mr. O'Connor says that the most vibrant example of sportsmanship occurred during a game in which Ursuline could have won by many goals, but worked to keep the score low so not to embarrass the opposing team. During the game, one of Ursuline's goalies had a chance to score her first high school goal, but made a decision to play fair and kick the ball away.

Since the team could not attend the state championship final game held this weekend, captains Kiki Shea and Mikaela Prego, as well as Coach Forte, ventured to the MIAA Headquarters in Franklin to receive the honor on behalf of their teammates.

"Congratulations," said MIAA Asst. Director Dick Baker, who presented the plaque. "Your team should be very proud, this is a very important award."

Bears For Life

Ursuline athletes headed to the big leagues

The Ursuline Academy athletic program has significantly evolved over the last three decades, transforming from a “one sport a season” pastime to a competitive program featuring fourteen varsity teams.

Ahead of its time in many ways, the program was up and running long before stipulations of Title IX slipped in to open doors for female athletes. Since Ursuline’s mission is to provide a well-rounded education for young women, a program was put in place shortly after the school opened, offering volleyball, basketball and softball to interested athletes. Over time, as the emphasis on health education for young people grew, so did the number of athletes representing the Bears.

A well-organized athletic program in an academically renowned school often breeds a collection of outstanding and well-rounded athletes. In the past twenty years, we have recognized three students for scoring 1000 points on the basketball court, seen numerous young women honored by the MIAA for balancing sports and school, and have proudly cheered-on a handful of athletic achievers as they embarked on careers as collegiate competitors.

The Class of 2010 is fortunate to have many accomplished athletes, each of whom exhibited leadership and commitment as they moved up the ranks. However, for Dana Weston and Katie Kenney, the journey is only beginning, as they prepare to leave the Bears in June to join Division I collegiate programs next fall.

Katie checks out her time.

Come September, all-scholastic athlete Katie Kenney of Dedham will dive head first into a career with the Boston University Terriers, as a member of the Women’s Swim Team. With a solid finish to her high school career last Saturday, finishing first in all of her races, she is looking forward to being a small fish in a bigger pond at BU.

“I couldn't be happier about my choice to commit to Boston University. It is a great fit for me,” she says. “The school has a very strong program for the area of study that I want to go into - physical therapy, and when I went on my recruiting trip I clicked immediately with the coaches and the team. I'm really looking forward to my next four years as a Terrier!”

As for volleyball captain Dana, whose team wrapped up the season with an impressive 13-4 record and chance at the tournament, a smaller pond with a winning team is worth the trip to Worcester.

Dana, ready to strike back.

“I am so excited to continue my volleyball career at a school I absolutely love,” says Dana, who will join the College of the Holy Cross Crusaders in September. "Volleyball is my passion and I cannot wait to learn more about it and to evolve into a better player at a collegiate level.”

While some athletes pursue college-level careers and others are recruited, it is well known that coach’s ultimately hope to attract dedicated athletes who will be able to stay above water academically as the season heats up. Holy Cross Volleyball Coach Marritt Cafarchia says that she asked Dana to join the team because of her great ability and academic promise.

“I saw Dana play on a couple occasions this summer," says Cafarchia. "She plays with passion and has fantastic athletic ability.  Not only is Dana a great player, she is also a great student and more importantly a great person.  Dana puts her heart into achieving what she wants. We look for players that have enthusiasm, drive and determination to succeed, like Dana.” 

With two seasons still ahead for Ursuline's senior class, it will be interesting to see if any more students decide to pursue dreams of collegiate athletic glory. However, no matter where their paths may lead, it is comforting to know that every UA athlete is a Bear for life.

More Than Ever, Media Matters

 

Remember the days before cable television streamed onto our flat screens—when network news told us what we needed to know, soap operas tugged at our heartstrings and educational programming entertained the kids? Well, it appears that with the turn of the century came a turning point for mass media. These days, we find comedians reading the news, teenage moms with top ratings, and Katy Perry on Sesame Street. Though more channels and less structure provide more options for viewers, the sundry presentation of information which has become the norm is creating a generation unable to differentiate fact from fiction on the airwaves.

In the early ninety’s, media maven Linda Ellerbee recognized that this aggressive influx of diverse content was perhaps dangerous for young minds. “Media literacy is not just important, it's absolutely critical. It's going to make the difference between whether kids are a tool of the mass media or whether the mass media is a tool for kids to use," she said. With this notion, she launched “Nick News” on Nickelodeon to give young viewers an opportunity to evaluate and discuss the news of the day –to weed out those important facts and figures they may have missed between cartons and commercials.

Showing off their project at the seminar.

With the same goal in mind, The Boston Globe and UMASS Boston partnered to provide local students with an opportunity to not only recognize the power of media, but to understand that they can contribute, starting now! On a blustery November day, Ursuline Academy’s senior Communications class joined other local students for the “Media Matters Writing Conference” at UMass, where they attended various workshops hosted by Boston’s most notable communicators. The goal of the program, which is in its sixth year, is to introduce young minds to the importance of journalism and media messaging, and to instill an early interest in communicating.

In one room, Sean P. Murphy of the Boston Globe spoke of our society’s reaction to investigative journalism, while down the hall Rebecca Steinitz of WriteBoston taught students to cleverly construct a food review (using delicious props). Later that day, The Globe’s Derrick Z. Jackson presented colorful photographs narrated by colorful anecdotes, while Dan Rea of WBZ Radio's NightSide discussed the importance of radio as a medium for our nation. Though some aspects of the program appealed to students more than others, many left with a better understanding of how they may one day contribute to the media medium, in one form or another.

 
While students attended mid-day workshops, teachers enjoyed a lively presentation from award-winning media veteran Liz Walker, formerly of WBZ-TV, whose message was one of “love.” In a sermon style speech, she encouraged those educators before her to love the students they teach and to help them to realize their potential in our society. She emphasized great impact of those messages sent by Martin Luther King in response to the political issues of his time.

To integrate this "field-trip" into the Ursuline curriculum is to provide students with an opportunity to explore the channels of communication so that they may begin to recognize the impact of messages and the ways in which they can contribute. Though most students remain undecided about a job in journalism or communications at this point, they have come to recognize that those messages they see on television, online or in the newspaper are shaping their society. It is up to them if they wish to join the conversation.

"Media Matters" to these Communications students.

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Students are talking about the Brescia Ball.

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* The homeroom with the highest dollar value of raffle tickets sold will be given a pizza party after Christmas vacation. The following are the leading homerooms: Mrs Petti’s homeroom, Senora Sivan’s homeroom, Mrs. Tomase’s homeroom, Mrs. Schneider’s homeroom. Good luck!

 

Celebrating Our Seniors this Season!

As our Soccer, Field Hockey,Volleyball, Swimming and Track fall seasons wind down, we congratulate those senior athletes who have shown great leadership and dedication this season, and in years past! Keep in mind that our Track, Soccer, Swimming and Volleyball teams are headed to post-season MIAA competitions, so keep checking in for updates about where those games will be played. We hope that you will join us in supporting the BEARS!

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