On Friday, November 10, Pacelli Catholic Schools students in grades 5-12 gathered to honor those who have served this country. This special annual ceremony included a memorable slideshow with photos of family members and friends in some way connected to PCS. In addition, the Pacelli Band led the playing of the armed service songs from each military branch, inviting those who served and those representing a loved one who has served to stand and salute when their branch’s song was played. This  year’s service also included some special interviews, both on video and in person, of a few veterans very near and dear to our hearts. To all of the veterans out there, thank you for your service!

If you weren’t able to be at the ceremony or know a veteran who wasn’t able to attend, please check out the full ceremony video below. Click here to checkout the slideshow with photos of veterans connected to PCS.

The Portesi Fund for Catholic Education has awarded grants for four projects across all levels of students enrolled with Pacelli Catholic Schools to enhance their learning in various areas.

Pacelli Catholic Elementary Schools-St. Bronislava & St. Stephen

The elementary schoolsl are receiving funding to purchase sets of guided reading books at a variety of levels, allowing for more individualized reading instruction and making instruction more consistent and less expensive.

Pacelli Catholic Middle School

Fifth grade students will be purchasing up-to-date and user-friendly atlases to learn the skills of identifying places on maps. They will improve their understanding of regions, countries, and cultures through current atlas study. In a second funded project, fifth grade students will also be receiving weekly issues of Current Events-Scholastic News Magazine. As a class, they will read through the articles and make connections to the world while also strengthening their reading comprehension and fluency.

Pacelli Catholic High School

Funding for additional copies of YOUCAT Catechisms will be available for the freshman class. Adding more copies will allow for students to complete reading assignments at home or in their study halls, allowing more class time for instruction and discussion of assigned readings.

Established in 1999, the Portesi Fund for Catholic Education is a designated fund administered by the Community Fund of Central Wisconsin. The fund serves as a resource for Pacelli Catholic Schools’ teachers to fund special projects or equipment specifically aimed at enriching the classroom experience.

The following are news snippets from the October e-Newsletter highlighting the Pacelli Catholic School system, individual students, alumni, staff, and members of the PCS community who have recently been highlighted for their accomplishments.

For 10 weeks this semester, UWSP phy ed teaching students are getting the most hands-on experience they can with St. Steve’s K-3 students coming to campus for class.

Teams of students grabbed their rakes and braved the cold for Make a Difference Day.

Our kids at the early childhood center seem to really be enjoying their new building as you can tell by all the smiles from the Fall Fun Night.

Alum Payton Hintz ’14 was named the Blue Angels Spotlight Player for her work on the volleyball court at Mount Mary University. Read more about Hintz and here volleyball achievements here.

A few PCHS band students traveled to the University of St. Thomas to participate in an honors band concert with about 100 other high school students from WI and MN.

Mark your calendars – you sure won’t want to miss out on the upcoming production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid performed by our very talented middle schoolers!

Each year, our senior students take part in Senior Service Day, giving back to the community in many different ways. There was a team that cleaned up Belke Lumber for alum Jim Belke ’59, groups that cleaned area parishes, and many students that spent their day at St. Bron’s reading and playing with our elementary students.

Kindergarteners at St. Steve’s got to dress up for the day as community helpers, learning what they can to do help others.

PCHS hosted the 2nd Annual Cardinal Career Fair learning from many area businesses and professionals about their career path. Special thanks to all that participated, especially our alumni.

Alum Sami Kay Shafranski ’15 and her Upper Iowa University D3 softball team earned the highest GPA among softball teams of all divisions in the country for the 16-17 school year. Of the team, Shafranski was individually awarded with a spot on the President’s Team for having the highest GPA.

See Pacelli in the news? Send it to pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com for inclusion on our website, social media sites, or e-newsletters.

Community Happenings

Local business Skyward, Inc. recently celebrated earning their 2,000th customer! Congratulations to a great family-run business and we’re proud to partner with you for our school management and student information needs.

The Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau wants to hear from you on what you look for when you travel for leisure. Regardless of where you work or live, you’re eligible to participate in the survey and make the Stevens Point community an even better place to live and visit.

UW System President Ray Cross announced a restructuring of UW Colleges and UW-Extension to make improve student access and success and meet the changing workforce needs of Wisconsin. This will bring some changes to UWSP, UW-Marshfield, and UW-Marathon County.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 9, the Stevens Point area will host the finale event for HATCH, a startup business competition run by Newaukee and Brightstar Foundation in which the winner will receive $10,000! Register to attend the event at the Noel Hangar and watch three Stevens Point residents compete and others from North Central Wisconsin compete for the grand prize.

The sculpture park became home to four new-large scale pieces as part of the “Out of the Woods: A Grand Entrance” residency with help from UWSP students, staff, and artists from across the globe.

Take a sneak peek, behind-the-scenes tour of the new UWSP Chemistry Biology Building, scheduled to open in less than a year.

Spot community updates or events? Share it with pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com to include in the new Community Happenings section of our e-newsletter and website.

Pacelli is having a blood drive for the American Red Cross on Tuesday, October 31. We need your help to make this event a success! Appointments begin at 9:00 am and continue at 15 minutes intervals through 2:00 pm. Sign up online at http://www.redcrossblood.org/give or by emailing mschmitz@pacellicatholicschools.com.

As a direct result of this event, Pacelli students will receive scholarship money! The amount of the scholarship increases with each donation. If you do a double red cell donation, we will get double credit for your donation. Last year Pacelli gave out $500. We would like your help to continue generating scholarships for our students. Thank you for in advance for making this event a success.

Contact Maria Schmitz at mschmitz@pacellicatholicschools.com or call 715-342-2008 with any questions.

Community Happenings

Check out the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of India at the 30th annual Festival of India taking place on Saturday, Oct. 7 at SPASH.

UWSP was recently ranked in the Top 10 public Midwestern universities.

Sentry is home to a new restaurant, Muse, taking over the former home of @1800. SentryWorld is also hosting their Close the Course Run/Walk on Nov. 4 to mark the end of this year’s golf season.

In partnership with Create Portage County, Whitefeather Organics farm in Custer is hosting FIRE WORKS, a fun community art event where they’ll also have farm-to-table brick oven pizzas and fresh-pressed cider available for purchase.

The Portage County Business Council’s Wines of the World event will take place on Friday, Oct. 20 at the Holiday Inn featuring not only wines from around the world but local wines from Sunset Point Winery, local craft spirits from Great Northern Distilling, and local food from Rockman’s and Ski’s Meat Market.

UWSP is working in partnership with aquaponics facilities like Nelson and Pade Inc. to help lure Wisconsin’s youth into farming in a whole new way.

Spot community updates or events? Share it with pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com to include in the new Community Happenings section of our e-newsletter and website.

Pacelli’s Athletic Hall of Fame inducted five new members this past September. This year’s inductees were Dan Herzog ’08, Scott Herzog ’06, Tyrell West  ’99, coach Ann Molski, and special contributor Scott Krueger. 

Hall of Fame induction activities included the Pacelli homecoming parade, tailgate party, and halftime introduction at the football game. A formal induction ceremony and brunch were held Saturday, September 28 at the Holiday Inn & Convention Center. In front of a room full of family and friends each inductee reflected on their memories and lessons learned during their athletic career at Pacelli. They were each presented with a plaque produced in Pacelli Catholic High School’s IDEA Lab to commemorate this achievement.

Notable accomplishments of each inductee appear below.

Tyrell West | Class of 1999 | Football, Basketball, & Track
Ty was a 4-year football letter winner, all-conference running back, and an all-conference and all-state defensive back. He was a member of the 1995 WISSA State Championship team and 1998 WISSA State Runner-Up.

He was 3-year letter winner in basketball and a 4-year letter winner in track & field. Ty was a 1997 state champion in the 400m relay, 1999 state runner-up in the 1600m relay, and 100m dash state qualifier his senior year.

He continued his football career as defensive back at Ripon College (1999-2002). The Red Hawks were MWC champions in 2001 and Ty was an all-conference defensive back in 2002.

Scott Herzog | Class of 2006 | Football, Basketball, & Baseball
Scott was a 4-year letter winner in football, basketball, and baseball during his years at Pacelli.  Scott is the 2nd all-time leading rusher in Pacelli football history with 4,111 yards and 3rd all-time with 57 career touchdowns. He was a 3-time first team all-conference running back, an all-conference and all-state defensive back his senior year, and helped lead the Cardinals to the WIAA Division 7 state championship in 2005.

In baseball Scott was a member of the 2003 state championship team and was 1st team all-conference during his junior and senior seasons. His 100 career RBIs are 2nd all-time.

Dan Herzog | Class of 2008 | Football, Basketball, & Baseball
Dan was also a 4-year letter winner in football, basketball, and baseball at Pacelli. Dan was a member of the the 2005 state championship football team and the 2006 & 2007 conference championship teams. He was an all-conference quarterback and the 2007 CWC Defensive Player of the Year and all-state defensive back. 

He was all-conference in basketball his junior and senior year.  

Dan was a 3-time all-conference selection in baseball and honorable mention all-state in 2008. During his career Pacelli won three conference championships and were 2007 state tournament qualifiers. Dan ranks in the top-10 all-time for career stats in pitching and hitting at Pacelli.

Ann Molski | Coach | Softball
Ann has been the head coach of the Pacelli Softball team since 2005. In that time Ann has led the Cardinals to 9 conference championships, 2 state titles in 2012 and 2015, along with runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2017, and state tournament appearances in 2013, 2018, and 2019. She is approaching 300 career wins and has winning percentage over .800.  

Ann is entering her 28th year as a teacher for Pacelli Catholic Schools. She currently teaches 2nd grade at Pacelli Catholic Elementary-St. Stephen.

Scott Krueger | Special Contributor
Scott has been the voice of the Pacelli Cardinals since 1977. Over the last 40+ years, Scott has been calling the action of Pacelli football, basketball, baseball, and softball, along with SPASH and UWSP sporting events.

With gratitude, Pacelli Catholic Schools revealed today the identity of the major donor responsible for the $500,000 gift to the Pride in Our Past…Faith in Our Future Capital Campaign. The gift, which was used as a matching gift challenge for maximum impact, was made by philanthropist and alumnus Tim Copps ’60.

“Tim’s gift is a great blessing to us,” said Gregg Hansel, director of education for Pacelli Catholic Schools. “It will help us in so many ways, not just now but well into the future.”

The gift will be used, in part, to fund renovations at the St. Stanislaus school building in preparation for that building to become the new home of the Pacelli Catholic Schools Tim Copps Early Childhood Center.

“Tim’s gift was instrumental in helping us raise an additional $1 million towards our capital campaign,” said Hansel. “Those additional funds are crucial to continuing a strong tradition of Catholic schools in this community.”

The remainder of Copps’ gift will be used to establish the Excellence in Education Fund for teacher salary enhancement created through the Pride in Our Past…Faith in Our Future Capital Campaign.

“That piece really stood out to me,” said Copps. “You need to provide people with a good salary.”

Copps’ identity was revealed after a recent meeting between PCS administrators and Copps, who spends his summers in Stevens Point and winters in Naples, FL.

Tim Copps is a 4th generation member of The Copps Corporation. While serving as president, Copps and his brothers and cousins decided to focus on developing Superstores, the first of which was opened in Oshkosh in 1984. From there they expanded to Manitowoc, Appleton, Green Bay, Stevens Point, and Fond du Lac, opening smaller stores in many other parts of Wisconsin. In 2001, The Copps Corporation sold 22 Copps stores to Milwaukee-based Roundy’s, which was later purchased by Kroger in 2016, allowing Tim Copps to focus more on philanthropy.

Major philanthropic efforts of Copps include supporting other local organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, United Way, and UWSP, among others.

“I’m glad the fund drive was a success,” said Copps of the capital campaign. “I’m glad I was a part of it.”

 Right: Tim Copps (right) admires his senior class photo and those of his classmates while reminiscing about friends and memories made before his graduation in 1960 from Pacelli High School. Pictured with Copps is Gregg Hansel (left) of Pacelli Catholic Schools.

Stevens Point Journal: Tim Copps provides $500,000 gift to Pacelli Catholic Schools campaign

Stevens Point City Times: Pacelli Reveals Identity of $500K Donor

Last Thursday, Stevens Point based Sentry Insurance kickoff construction on a major expansion located across the street from their national headquarters. The new facility will be a seven-story, 270,000-square-foot building.

Local Q Gallery show will feature farms, flowers, and rural America, the work of Portage County artist Mary Lee Reineking.

Downtown Stevens Point continues to thrive and grow with the recent opening of Bria Bella & Co., a women’s boutique shop.

UWSP will be the host of the Great Lakes Analytics in Sports Conference on July 13, showcasing the latest concepts, research, and innovations in the field from featured speakers from professional and college sports organizations, the business sector, and the academic community.

SentryWorld was recently named one of the top public courses in the US, earning the #34 spot in the Golf Digest magazine.

Custer was recently host to the 28th Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) Energy Fair, the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world.

Spot community updates or events? Share it with pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com to include in the new Community Happenings section of our e-newsletter and website.

The following are news snippets from the May e-Newsletter highlighting the Pacelli Catholic School system, individual students, alumni, staff, and members of the PCS community who have recently been highlighted for their accomplishments.

Pacelli Catholic Schools director of education and principal of St. Stan’s/St. Steve’s principal Gregg Hansel was selected as a Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Leadership Award recipient.

Pacelli’s softball is on a roll after knocking out No. 1 Horicon in a 3-0 win. The team, ninth overall, advances to play on June 1 vs. No. 6 Cochrane Fountain City for a berth in the Division 4 state tournament.

Know of kids or teens looking for FREE summer breakfast and lunch? Check out this flyer for more details and send them to Pacelli Catholic High School this summer.

High school track 4×400 teams, both boys and girls, have broken the school records this season.

The 7th Annual Pacelli Catholic Schools Shredding Party, hosted by Schulfer & Associates, LLC Financial Professionals, was a huge success earning more than $3,500 for the new Pacelli Catholic Early Childhood Center to purchase playground equipment. Thanks to the PCHS band for playing, Kohl’s employees for volunteering, and Express Recycling Solutions, Inc. for providing the secure and confidential shredding services.

Students from both St. Bron’s and St. Stan’s celebrated their First Communion, embracing their faith and growing their relationship with the church.

Congrats to PCMS April Students of the Month: Gabriel Hoerter (6th grade), Zoe Sell (7th grade), and Logan Vayder (8th grade).

On May 10, we held a formal grand opening ceremony for the new Berard/Klasinski Clinic Fitness Center in memory of Coach Bob Raczek at Pacelli High School. Special thanks to Dr. Corey Huck, Prof. Nisha Fernando, and other members of UWSP for the ongoing partnership in the center and for these additional photos from the event. Plus, check out this cool 360 degree view of the space.

Many PCHS juniors were inducted into National Honor Society while senior members were decorated, celebrating their first step towards graduation.

Max Firminhac ’16 was recently chosen for the 2017 KIDS from Wisconsin show troupe, which includes a show in Stevens Point on July 20.

Mrs. Okray’s second graders at St. Stan’s had fun celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

3-year-old preschoolers from Pacelli Catholic Early Childhood Center took a walking field trip to the steam engine and stopped to play one one a little more their size.

Pacelli’s Joyce Krusa (below) was recently named Chemistry Teacher of the Year by the American Chemical Society-Central Wisconsin Section.

Pacelli put on a great showing of West Side Story. Special thanks to Mrs. Elaine Jakusz and Wendie Cliver, WCM Photography & Creations for the great snapshots of the performances.

PCHS freshmen and sophomore spanish students worked together with Dr. Olsen’s UWSP spanish students to enhance their learning and understanding of the language.

An annual tradition for PCHS students, they helped throw Senior Citizen Prom at Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, evening crowning a prom king and queen.

Many members of the PCHS track team are headed to state this weekend in La Crosse. Good luck to those athletes!

We were blessed to honor Pacelli alumnus James (Ness) Niespodziani ’59 as this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. A brunch was held for Jim where he was honored surrounded by family and friends and he later gave a keynote address at the PCHS graduation ceremony.

PCHS DI team Alpha Omega competed at Global Finals in Nashville, TN last week. They received their results on Saturday, just in time for graduation, and placed 12th out of over 80 teams in the Improv Challenge. Congrats!

Happy retirement to both Mrs. Bonnie Charles and Mrs. Patti Henning from St. Steve’s who were recently recognized at a school mass. Also retiring this year is Mrs. Mary Okray from St. Stan’s.

Our littlest students enjoyed learning about law enforcement, getting a sneak peek at the back of a police car and talking with local officers.

Congratulations to our newest alumni, the class of 2017! Click on the mini albums below to see their senior photos and future plans. Album 1. Album 2.  Album 3. Album 4. Album 5. Album 6.

4th graders at St. Bron’s read a book, completed a display board on the book, and dressed up as the main character to present to the rest of the school.

Thanks to Mrs. Michele Tippel for sharing photos from the spring PCMS band and choir concerts.

Congratulations to the PCMS softball team for their undefeated season of 14-0!

St. Stan’s kindergarten graduates shared some wonderful thoughts and memories from their year.

St. Steve’s 4th and 5th graders were recognized at their last school mass as they’re on to new things at PCMS next fall.

See Pacelli in the news? Send it to pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com for inclusion on our website, social media sites, or e-newsletters.

Community Happenings

Pacelli high school students have been part of the internship growth in the community, and Stevens Point was recently named one of the top 100 best places for a summer internship.

If you are a local or planning to come back for a reunion before Panacea, check out some of what the fun things happening in the area.

Sustainability is an important part of our community, and UWSP was recently named a US Green Ribbon School for their efforts including something as simple as promoting wellness and student health and the use of water bottle refilling stations, two new initiatives also happening at Pacelli Catholic Schools with the launch of the new fitness center and the installation of new bottle filling stations happening over the summer.

UWSP also unveiled a new video overview of the progress on their new science building, neighbor to St. Stan’s, one year after the groundbreaking. We’ve had our own fun watching our students grow with the building this year.

The Orange Barrel Art tour, brought to you by the Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and CREATE Portage County, is back for yet another year.

The 8th Annual Z Tourney, a memorial fishing tournament, raffle, and family day, will be held on Saturday, July 15 at Lakeside Bar in Stevens Point. The money raised from the event will fund a scholarship of up to $2,000 annually awarded to a graduating Portage County high school senior(s) in honor of Dan Zurawski ’07, a UWSP sophomore who drowned in 2009.

Spot community updates or events? Share it with pacelli@pacellicatholicschools.com to include in the new Community Happenings section of our e-newsletter and website.

Throughout this school year, we’ve had the privilege of featuring one exceptional member of our faculty and staff each month through our Teacher Feature articles. This week, for Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re happy to bring you one Teacher Feature for each day of the week. We hope you enjoy this extra special week full of some of our wonderful teachers, and that it reminds you of some of the special teachers you’ve been blessed with in your life.

Check out our Thank a Teacher Campaign for more details on how we’re thanking our teachers in a BIG way this week.

Name: Danielle Peters

Grade & School You Teach: 10-12th grade science (physical science, ecology, human anatomy and physiology, Principles of Engineering, Medical Interventions) at PCHS

Where did you grow up and go to high school?
Amherst, Amherst High School

Where was your first teaching job?
Here

How long have you been teaching?
3 years

How long have you been teaching at Pacelli Catholic Schools?
3 years

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Pacelli Catholic Schools?
Small class sizes for more one-on-one interaction

What was your favorite class when you were a student? 

English

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Doctor

What are your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time?
Read, watch Dateline

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I want to be able to apparte like in Harry Potter. I hate driving.

What’s something that most people or your students don’t know about you?
Brian Winquist and I are expecting our first child in November.

What is the most important piece of advice you can give to a student?
Trying hard and doing your best is more important than earning an A.

Check out our Thank a Teacher page each day of Teacher Appreciation Week this week for another Teacher Feature highlighting some of our many outstanding educators.