2011 Varsity Wildcat Soccer State Champs

Congratulations to junior Tyler Tagliaferro, who took home the 3rd place trophy in last weekend's US Bagpipe Championships.

Tyler adds this trophy to his championship trophies earned at the 2011 Midwestern US Bagpipe Championships (held in Alma, MI in May), the 2011 Eastern US Bagpipe Championships (held in Ligonier, PA in September), and the 2011 North American Bagpipe Championships (held in Maxville, Canada in July).

Our annual Winter Informational Fair will be held in the Breen Center this year on Tuesday, December 13 from 6-8 p.m.

The Winter Open House is open to students in the 6th through 8th grades. No registration is required; just show up at any time during the two-hour session. There will be a talk given at 7 p.m. by our Student Council President, George Bashour. We hope to see you there!

Stay connected to life at Saint Ignatius High School by following on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SIHSCleveland.

We encourage you to visit the page by using these links or the links on each page of our website. Remember, you can also follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

Here at Saint Ignatius High School, there are at least 23 official service organizations on campus. Each week, we'll highlight a different one.

This week's honorees are the "Men of Regis." Under the guidance of Theology teacher and soccer coach Mr. Jim Brennan '85, Ignatius students who belong to "Men of Regis" visit with folks at the West Side Catholic Center in a weekly program of food and friendship.

Faculty Member of the Week

This week's faculty member of the week is Tom Pasko Hon. '96.

Mr. Pasko arrived at Ignatius in the fall of 1965, and he has never left.

Originally, Mr. Pasko taught World History and a Junior-Senior elective called Far Eastern History. He also taught Mandarin Chinese unofficially (before and after school) for about four years.

After 13 years of being in the Social Studies Department (including a term as chair-person), Tom was asked to begin a reading program for all freshmen. He did this for about five years, and in that period of time earned a second Masters degree (this one in English).

From that time on Mr. Pasko has been in the English Department, including a term as chairperson (thus making him the only person to ever serve as chairperson for two different departments at the school).

Over the years, he has taught freshman English, sophomore English, junior English, and AP English Literature. He has also taught a senior elective with the title of "Faulkner Seminar."

Just this year, Mr. Pasko became the longest tenured teacher in Ignatius history, passing the previous record of 46 years held by Mr. Frank Bitzan, who retired in 1969.

Beyond the classroom, Mr. Pasko also coached varsity tennis for ten years, freshman basketball for three seasons, and served two separate terms as moderator for the school newspaper, The Eye.

He even served as co-athletic director for one year while a permanent replacement was found for the position, and also filled in as interim Vice President for Advancement for less than a year as a replacement was being sought for that position.

It is no surprise that in 1996 this legendary teacher was granted an honorary Ignatius diploma, making him one of only two men to have been so honored.

The other honoree? Fr. William Sullivan, S.J.

The Junior Council on World Affairs, which participates in the Model United Nations with other high schools, is moderated by English teacher extraordinaire Dennis Arko.

Students in JCWA travel to college and university campuses which sponsor, for a weekend, the Model UN.

Participants represent an assigned country at a Model UN to debate, politic, and give speeches before both committees and the General Assembly in an attempt to gain support for resolutions that are in their country's interest.

Prior to the Model UN, student research the position of their assigned country on six issues which have been placed on the agenda for that session, prepare position papers, and meet in strategy sessions with students from neighboring schools who form a geographical "bloc."

JCWA is open to all grade levels, and workshops are offered to students seeking practice or experience.

Public speaking is not required, but an interest in world affairs, government, geography, or politics is helpful.

Congratulations to the varsity football team on their rousing 20-17 victory over Eds on Saturday night.

The Cats, who had defeated the Eagles by the same score two weeks earlier, moved to 10-2 on the season and validated their earlier win with a come-from-behind effort that clinched a berth in the regional finals tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Lakewood Stadium against Mentor.

The old adage holds that it is tough to beat the same team twice, but the Cats persevered and were able to put away their rivals on a last-second field goal by Air Force recruit Tim Shenk (St. Gabriel). Senior quarterback Eric Williams (Portland Jesuit) took a beating all night, but hung in there and completed passes for big chunks to receivers Jake Mooney (St. Paschal Baylon), Tim McCoy (St. Mary Magdalene/St. Justin Martyr), and Conor Hennessey (Sts. Joseph & John), as well as tight end and Ohio State recruit Blake Thomas (St. Bernadette).

Thomas notched a touchdown to make it 17-10 late in the third quarter, then junior tailback Tim McVey (St. Greg) broke free for a TD run down the right sideline to knot the score at 17 and set up the wild finish.

After the teams traded turnovers, the Cats marched the ball into field goal range and trusted the foot of Shenk to deliver them to victory.

With the win, the Wildcats swept the Eagles for the second time in school history (this was only the second meeting between the schools in the playoffs), and in the process, winning their 6th out of the last 7 in the series and moving their overall record vs. Eds to 27-21-1. The Eagles close out the season at 8-4. Click to view game photos

The Saint Ignatius baseball program, under the leadership of Head Coach Brad Ganor, will be sponsoring a Winter Baseball Camp to be held indoors at the Diamond Sports Complex in Westlake for 1st - 8th graders during December 20, 21 and 22 from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.

 Register by November 22 and get $15 off!

For more information and to register CLICK HERE.

This week's Retreat of the Week is the Pilgrimage Retreat.

This year's Pilgrimage Retreat took place from Monday, November 7th to Wednesday, November 9th.

A group of 9 students, led by 2 members of the Theology Department, Mr. Dybicz and Mr. Prokop, left Saint Ignatius High School and hiked 12 miles to the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma.

Just like St. Ignatius, the pilgrim, the students were on a journey to find God within themselves and within their life. They spent two nights at the retreat house.

During the days of the retreat, the activities included talks, honest discussion, private time, Mass, Confession, the rosary, and the Stations of the Cross. After breakfast on Wednesday, the students hiked the 12 miles back to school.

The Pilgrimage Retreat was a great experience truly "walking" in the footsteps of Ignatius of Loyola.

Our “shadow” program, Wildcat for a Day, started on Wednesday, September 7 and runs through December 9.  

Students can walk through a few classes, tour the entire campus, meet teachers and coaches, and enjoy $5 worth of lunch in the cafeteria on us. 

The program is open to 8^th grade boys only.  Call Hedy Dolowy (216-651-0222 ext. 215) in the Admissions Dept. to schedule a visit.