Mustang Monthly
Brave Engineers
Immaculate’s Brave Engineers team participated in the Real World Design Challenge (RWDC), receiving second place in the State Finals. This incredible performance qualified the Brave Engineers for the RWDC National/International competition in April. The team will also have the opportunity to compete for merit awards at the National/International Competition.
The Brave Engineers, coached by Mrs. Jeanine Antonios, includes members Mario Perez ‘22, Carolyn Jandura ‘22, Nikolas Badinelli ‘22, Meryl McKenna ‘21, Shaun McKenna ‘23 and Zifeng Zhan ’22.
Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards
Regional Art Awards were presented to Brooke Squitieri ‘21 who received an honorable mention in the drawing and illustration category for her piece “Discriminating Digits”; Anna Kopec ‘23 who received a Silver Key in the drawing and illustration category for her piece “Tiger King”; and Olivia Esposito ‘23 who received an Honorable Mention in the design category for her piece “Trivia Tile Game”. Student artwork is juried by professional artists and university art faculty and is selected on merit for inclusion in a state-wide art exhibition that is traditionally held at the Hartford Art School. Beyond the honor of being selected for this high quality exhibit, students may be awarded Gold or Silver keys and Honorable Mention Awards in each of 18 media categories. Students whose art pieces were recognized in the 2021 Regional Art Awards will be honored at a virtual celebration with winners from other schools on February 26. A virtual gallery of all the entries can be viewed at https://www.ctartawardsexhibit.net/.
In the Regional Writing Awards, Spencer Squitieri ‘21 with his essay “Finding the Words for Why,” Zachary Meyerson ‘21 with his essay “More In Common” and Caitlin Doherty ‘21 with her essay “Unspoken” all received Silver Keys in the personal essay & memoir category. Annually, over 1,500 students from across Connecticut submit entries vividly demonstrating their passion for the craft of writing. From this large pool of poetry, essays, stories, and drama, submissions in Poetry and Prose are awarded to be published or honored at each grade level. Students who were awarded for their pieces will be celebrated at a virtual celebration on March 7. To view the full list of award recipients, visit writopialab.org/programs/specialty-programs/scholastic-awards/h2h-awards/h2h-2021-recipients.
Mock Trial
Immaculate High School’s Mock Trial Team had its first competition on Friday, January 29. The competition was hosted virtually but it was still a great opportunity for the students of Immaculate to face off against the students from other schools in the state. The Immaculate defense team competed in the morning and lost a very close round against the prosecution team from Fairfield Ludlowe High School, one of the top ranked teams in the state. In the afternoon, the Immaculate prosecution, with students Ernst Koch ‘22, Carolyn Jandura ‘22, Nikolas Badinelli ‘22, Calista Dudas ‘22, Allie Bellone ‘22 and Jude Vail ‘23 won their round against the defense team from Mercy High School, bringing Immaculate to 1-1 on the day.
Individual honors were presented to Grace Garvey ‘21, who was awarded Second Best Attorney for the morning round; Allie Belone ‘22, who was awarded Best Attorney in the afternoon round; and Ernst Koch ‘22, who was awarded Best Witness in the afternoon round. The high scores in both competitions leave Immaculate in a very good position as they enter the next level of competition on February 26. This competition season may not be like other years, but the Immaculate Mock Trial Team has remained invested and has been working hard under the guidance of their Mock Trial coach Mr. Chris Houser as they prepare for the next level of competition.
CyberPatriots Compete Nationally
Immaculate High School’s CyberPatriots team has been competing in the CyberPatriots XII National Tournament. There are three qualifying rounds in order to be considered for a spot in the National Finals, Immaculate placed fifth and first in the opening two rounds and finished the third round strong with a first place win for the gold tier and third overall for the state of Connecticut.
Immaculate’s CyberPatriots team, coached by Mr. Dave Cirella, includes members Perry Ghosh ‘21, Kolbe Mosher ‘21, Anish Nanda ‘22, Ethan Goodman ‘21, Aidan Doolabh ‘23, and Logan McAloon ‘21.
First Semester Honor Roll
Congratulations to all of our students who earned a place on our first semester honor roll! A virtual prayer service to celebrate their achievement was held. To view this service, click the link below.
Student of the Month - Fine Arts
Anna Kopec ‘23 has been named Student of the Month for Fine Arts! Anna was chosen for being creative and industrious in her art classes. Her teacher says “Anna started the school year in person and had to switch to virtual which she did seamlessly. Working in 3D/Sculpture without the usual materials, she dug deep to find unusual materials and techniques for all her projects. She entered competitions over the summer and during the school year and was accepted into the Scholastic Art Awards.” When asked how she felt about being named Student of the Month, Anna said she was honored, as art is one of her biggest interests. While art is her favorite subject, she says she also enjoys government, as both subjects allow her to develop her own ideas and interpretations of things. When she is not being creative in the art room, Anna is involved in the speech and debate team, as well as the Writing Club and Campus Ministry. Congratulations Anna!