Mr. Weimer receives PHS Guerin Award
Each year at our Catholic Schools Week Mass, we recognize a faculty or staff member who exemplifies Catholic values and the attributes of St. Theodora Guerin, the foundress of the Sisters of Providence. This year's recipient of the PHS St. Theodora Excellence in Education award is Mr. Larry Weimer , who has served PHS as director of finance for 20 years.
Students donate record amount in Penny War
For more than 15 years, students have been raising money for a local charity during Catholic Schools Week while also competing for a class prize. Since 2009, that charity has been WHAS Crusade for Children, and over those 10 years, the students had raised $16,000 through the annual Penny War competition.
  
Last week, the students outdid every year by raising $6,000, double the amount of last year's $3,000 record breaker and bringing our total contributions to $22,000. On Friday morning, it looked like the seniors would win, but the total contributed was just over $1,000. During lunch, the competition between the junior and senior class heated up, with students emptying their wallets and piggy banks - and even asking family members to make donations. Pennies, cash and checks count as positive points, while silver coins can be used to sabotage other classes' donations as negative points. The donations piled up, and the total for the day was nearly $4,708.

The senior class won the competition for the second year in a row, and the junior class came in second. The juniors did win first place in the hallway decorating contest. The Campus Ministry Office planned many other activities to create excitement during the week, including multiple spirit wear days, an all-school liturgy, a teacher/staff appreciation lunch, and faculty members leading the school prayer and Pledge of Allegiance each morning.

More student winners
Students also participated in two other contests, Guess the Song and Learn the School Song. In Guess the Song, faculty and staff submitted their favorite songs to be played over the P.A. during breaks. The first student to find the teacher or staff member who requested the song was given an envelope with either a gift card or ticket for a free spirit wear day.

In the Learn the School Song contest, students had to learn the melody and words to the school song. The first verse is typically chanted at sporting events, but the entire song was largely forgotten by the student body. Students were challenged to represent their class and sing the song to Principal Dr. Mindy (Lankert) Ernstberger '74. Those who sang it correctly received 10 spirit wear days this month, and the one student who could sing it to the student body and encourage their participation would win another 10 days. The students who won were eighth grader Ella Tichy, freshman Beth Wimsatt, sophomore Maria Popson, junior Haylee Hall, and senior Andrew Bittenbender. Maria then sang the song to the students after the liturgy and received the extra 10 days of spirit wear this month.
Student news: Bowling, House Cup
Bowling Club first from region at semi state
The Bowling Club surpassed expectations this season as the boys' team went from third in the local league to becoming the first team from the newly founded Southern Hills Bowling Conference to compete at semi-state in Richmond, Ind., late last month. After having an outstanding performance at regional with a 176 team average to earn second place, the boys got off to a slow start in Richmond. While their scores improved over the course of their 12 games, they could not catch up to the competition. The team graduates nine seniors and looks forward to continued success next season.

Second Quarter House winner named
The House of Truth won the House points for the Second Quarter and will join Faith and Justice as the third team in the House Cup finals this spring. The fourth team will be named after the Third Quarter ends.
STUDENT PROFILE
Students learn about community through NEXGEN
Again this year, four juniors are representing Providence by their participation in NEXGEN, a program of Leadership Southern Indiana that works to engage and develop future regional community leaders who will serve and transform our community. This year's participants are Annie Gettelfinger, Alexandra Henderson, Annmarie Tichy and Tyler Upton.

This year, the group is divided into two teams, with Tyler and Annmarie on one, and Annie and Alex on the other, along with juniors from high schools throughout the region. Last week, Tyler and Annmarie's group took part in the fourth of six sessions for the year, Economy and Enterprise Day. Read more
PIONEER SPORTS NEWS
Welcome to our new Boys Soccer coach
Paul Duckworth, the new Boys Soccer coach, grew up playing soccer and has coached his entire adult life - and still plays competitively. A native of Huddersfield, England, he has coached competitive travel teams for Clark County Soccer Association and Southern Indiana United for more than 30 years.

He said he became interested in the Providence coaching job opening having coached several alumni and with six Providence players on his SIU U18 team. He sees the coaching job here as a new challenge, especially since as a travel team coach he can select his own players.

"It's a different challenge that I look forward to tackling," Coach Duckworth said.

Coach Duckworth also said he wants to build on the recent success of the program and return the team to the state finals. More importantly, he wants to build on the team's reputation.

"My other goal is to be the team in the Southern Indiana area as far as boys' soccer," he said.

Coach Duckworth said his favorite part of coaching is helping players realize their potential. "It's just great to see the boys grow, to give them the tools to succeed and the will to win, and then see them being able to carry that out," he said.

Coach Duckworth first came to the area at age 22 as a computer programmer for the former Capital Holdings Corp. in Louisville. The six-month stint was extended several times and became permanent when he met and married his wife, Sue, a Jeffersonville native. They have two adult children. He now works at Transamerica, a division of Aegon.
Sports news: Postseason results, coaching milestone
Wrestling sends one to semi-state

By Coach Randy Lynch

The Wrestling team continued to make a mark in the postseason despite having only seven members. At sectional on Jan. 27, senior Jansen Tate wrestled the best tournament of his career, going 3-1 on the day and placing third. Juniors Nathan Grantz and Sam Hudlin also placed third, competing in what were considered the most competitive weight classes. All three wrestlers successfully beat opponents who had previously held wins over them. Sophomore Chase Aldridge, who returned to competition three weeks before sectional after recovery from an injury last season, finished fourth and advanced to sectional.

At regional, Sam pinned opponents from Jennings County and Seymour to make it the championship match before falling to Columbus East in a very close match. Sam advances to the Evansville Semi-State on Saturday along with Chase, who is an alternate after having lost to the champion in his weight class. The competition will be held at the Ford Center, starting at 10:00 EST.

Coach Murawski hits 100 wins
Coach Rob Murawski earned his 100th career win when the Boys Basketball team beat South Central, where he was previously a head coach. Coach Murawski was honored at last night's game vs. Crawford County.
Photo by Steve Jenkins '85
 
 
Girls Swim & Dive team makes a splash

The Swim & Dive team continues to grow and improve after several years of declining numbers. Coach Jim Pfeiffer has focused on recruiting and teaching technique, and the results are obvious. In the regular season, the Girls Swim team improved their times and had some team wins.

At Girls Swim sectional, the team posted a 10-year high in points with 66, almost double its 34 points last year. The team's seven swimmers advanced to the sectional finals in seven events, including sophomore Meg LaMaster, who placed 16th in the 200-yard individual medley and 12th in the 100-yard breaststroke, and junior Abby Glotzbach, who placed 10th in the 100-yard backstroke and advanced to the finals. Sophomore Lauren Stapp placed 18th in the 50-yard freestyle and was second alternate in the finals. All three relay teams advanced.

Unlike other sports that have multiple levels of postseason events, swimming includes sectional preliminaries and finals with the top swimmer in each event advancing to state. Diving does hold a regional competition, and senior Madison Roehrs, in her first year on the team, has broken the school's diving records and placed 14th in last night's regional after placing third at sectional. Read more
 

Girls Basketball ends season as sectional runner-up
By Coach Brad Burden

The Girls Basketball team surpassed all outside expectations this year to achieve its fifth winning season in a row and its fourth consecutive sectional final appearance. The girls finished the season 13-12 and ranked in the top 15. They defeated the defending state champs Eastern Pekin 48-30 in the sectional semifinals before falling short 47-44 to top-10 ranked Paoli. 

During the season, the girls defeated Triton Central, another top 10 team, on the team's home court and beat Floyd Central for the fourth straight year.  The team graduates five seniors: Hannah Wolford, Sierra Brooks, Brinley Prather, Alaina Banet, and Bailey Brown
  • Hannah ended her career as one of the most decorated players in the program's history. Her school records include points in a game, free throws,  two-point field goals in a season and career, and most postseason victories -- of any Pioneer basketball player, boy or girl. She also is second in school history in points, rebounds, assists and steals in a career.
  • Sierra was a four-year player and this year started in every game. She finished first on the team in steals and third in scoring and led the Pioneers to victory on the road at Triton Central.
  • Brinley Prather was a starter this season and led the team in 3-point percentage all while also balancing school and being in many theatre productions.
  • Alaina Banet completed her four years of playing and was a starter against New Albany and Floyd Central.
  • Bailey Brown joined the team just this year and was a huge contributor.
Hannah was voted the Courier Journal Southern Indiana Athlete of the Week for the week of Jan. 29. The News & Tribune named her its Player of the Week for the same week for scoring 56 points during the sectional tournament.

Cheer places in top 10 at nationals
The Cheerleading team traveled to Dallas at the end of January to compete in the NCA Senior & Junior High School National Championship. The team placed eighth in the intermediate varsity division competing against teams from all over the nation.

Middle School Softball team looking for players
Southern Indiana Catholic Athletics, in coordination with Coach Kenny Janes, is looking to form a girls' middle school softball team this spring. The team will compete against other middle school teams in the Southern Indiana area. Girls in seventh or eighth grade who attend a Deanery school or are a registered member of a Deanery parish are welcome to participate. Pre-registration needs to be complete by Feb. 12 to determine if there is enough interest to form the team. Registration fees will be based on how many girls register. Click here for a registration form.
PARENT CONNECTION
Parent Notes: Honor Roll, Cheer Clinic, and more
Boys Basketball vs. New Albany sold out
The Boys Basketball vs. New Albany game on Friday has sold out. This is a reminder that no passes will be honored for entry to this game, and everyone must have a ticket - no exceptions. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.

Second Quarter Honor Roll posted
Congratulations to all students who were named to the Second Quarter Honor Roll. The full listing can be found here.

Cheer Clinic for grades pre-K to eight
The Providence Cheerleaders will host a Cheer Clinic this Saturday for 
boys and girls grades pre-K through 8 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., at Providence.

Participants will learn sideline cheers and a short dance to perform at halftime of the boys' varsity game on Feb. 13.  Cost is $30 per participant and walk-ins are welcome. The participants will be given a T-shirt to wear during their performance. Shirts will be guaranteed for those who pre-register. Click here for more information.

STEM Career Fair for PHS students
The Science Department will host a career fair for students interested in fields in science, technology, engineering and math on Feb. 19 in the Administrative Corridor from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Companies represented will include Amazon Fulfillment Center, Army Corps of Engineers, Cummins Engines, Humana, Samtec, UPS, and many more.

Spring Break weather make-up days
March 12-16 is reserved for weather make-up days, should Providence have to close for inclement weather and be unable to institute eLearning. The remaining week of Spring Break is March 19-23. Please also reserve May 4 for a weather make-up day, if needed.

Scholarships available to incoming freshmen
Incoming freshmen have the opportunity to apply for two scholarships. The Dale Durham Performing Arts Scholarship 
offers a $1,000 award to an incoming freshman interested in performing arts. Click here for the application. Essay and teacher recommendations required. The deadline is March 9, 2018. 

The Providence Alumni Association Scholarship provides a free iPad to three incoming freshmen. Click here 
for more information. The application also requires an essay and teacher recommendation. Deadline is March 26, 2018.

FAFSA Workshop on Feb. 22
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid should be completed by every senior for the upcoming college school year of 2018-19 using taxes from 2016. This application for financial aid should be completed for each year a student is enrolled in college or graduate school. Providence will offer a free workshop, with Mrs. Emily Losey and the director of financial aid from Ivy Tech. The workshop will be held at Providence on Thursday, Feb. 22, in the Library from 3:15-6:00 p.m. Parents should bring their 2016 tax information and if arriving after 4:00 p.m., enter via the student entrance.
ALUMNI NOTES
Reunion planning for 2018
  • 1968: Save the Date: 50th reunion will be Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. The Golden Graduation Ceremony and Dinner will be Saturday, April 14, 2018, at PHS.
Check out the Summer Camp 2018 info
Looking for summer camp opportunities for your children this summer? Check out the PHS Summer Camp offerings. Click here to view.
BLUE PRIDE ON DISPLAY
Oceanographer spends seven weeks in Antarctica
Susan Howard '88 has spent much of her career building computer models of the polar oceans and ice shelves in order to help scientists better understand their impact on changes in the climate and sea level. So she was thrilled to get the chance to return to the Antarctic to study the Ross Ice Shelf. It was her second research trip to the region but her first one on land. Being able to see the area she maps and works with on a daily basis from her office in Seattle was an inspirational experience. Read more
COMING EVENTS
Feb. 13-16: Third Senior Retreat
Feb. 14: Ash Wednesday
Feb. 19: STEM Career Fair
Feb. 20: Deanery Academic Olympics
Feb. 22:
FAFSA Workshop
Feb. 25: National Honor Society Induction
Feb. 26: ISTEP testing begins
LET US PRAY

Pope Francis' teaching for Lent 2018

As we prepare to enter the season of Lent, let us take note of the message from Pope Francis. Here is a brief summary.
  • Do not let your heart grow cold; devote more time to prayer.
  • Beware of false prophets - momentary pleasures, quick fixes, drugs, living in the "virtual" world; fast from worldly pleasures and from food -- in solidarity with those in need and to remind us "only God is capable of satisfying our hunger."
  • Root out greed; grow compassion and charity. Give alms.
  • "...take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting and prayer. If, at times, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, know that this is never the case in the heart of God! He constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew."



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Christa (Payne) Hoyland '84
Director of Communications
eVision reporter/writer


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