Summer 2016 a Quarterly Newsletter Celebrating Our Alumni and School Community Mount Carmel Academy • Chaplain Kapaun Memorial • Kapaun Mt
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KAPAUN MT. CARMEL MT. KAPAUN C A T H O L I Summer 2016 A quarterly newsletter celebrating our alumni and school community Mount Carmel Academy • Chaplain Kapaun Memorial • Kapaun Mt. Carmel H I G H S C H O O L H I G S C O L CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Congratulations to the KMC Class of 2016! See class list on page 8. Seniors Jason Searl and Will Knorp receiving recognition for their appointments to West Point Military Academy from a representative of Congressman Mike Pompeo’s office. UCS Jesuit Ordinations: Fr. Andres (Andrew) Vall-Serra ’95 (third from left) was ordained into the Society of Jesus during a Mass at St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis. Read full story on page 6. The 2016 Renee LaFever Scholarship recipients Jenna Rossillon and Natalie Babich. Read full story on page 9. 1 from the President Strategic Planning When one first walks into Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, one instantly sees signs of the school’s long history and dedication to Catholic education. One sees first the beautiful mosaic created by Sr. Mary Fleurette Blameuser, B.V.M., representing Our Lady’s watch over our school on the plains of Kansas. One also sees memorabilia from Mount Carmel Academy dating back to the first few decades of the school, back to the turn of the 20th century. One sees memorabilia from Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School and relics from Fr. Kapaun himself, including the wonderful crucifix, hand carved in memory of Fr. Kapaun by POWs who were held captive in the same prison camp where Fr. Kapaun served his men and died. One sees the banner commemorating Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s designation as a Kansas Building of Excellence and a Governor’s Achievement Award winning high school. We cherish our history. We swell with pride when we refer to the 130-year legacy of Kapaun Mt. Carmel and the excellence that legacy elicits. But, we also know that we cannot simply rest on these laurels by dwelling on how great we have been. We must look to the future to inspire us, to guide us and to build on our legacy so that the generations to come into the halls of Kapaun Mt. Carmel will share and experience an even greater legacy befitting the times and challenges under which they develop. It is because of this realization that the administration of Kapaun Mt. Carmel, in conjunction with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, have embarked on the development of a new Strategic Plan for KMC. This plan, formulated with the assistance of several community members, including alumni, current parents, parents of alumni, faculty, staff and priests of the diocese, all under the guidance of nationally recognized Catholic educational experts, Meitler and Associates, provides a vision, goals and strategies for our school for the next several years. The plan incorporates areas in which our school already excels and links them to areas for further development and improvement. It challenges us to look at our curriculum, organization and campus facilities. It provides a disciplined process for us to determine where further upgrades are needed to handle the demands for education that exist today and those that will face our faculties and students in the future. In short, the Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for us to guide our thinking, planning and dreaming associated with the building of the legacy of greatness that our alumni have left for us. We are very excited about the Strategic Plan and look forward to unveiling its specifics in the fall of 2016. I am confident you will agree with us that this plan is a remarkable tool for the advancement over the next several years of our mission to educate and form the total person in the image of Jesus Christ. We look forward to fully implementing this Strategic Plan and we ask for your prayers and support as we do so. Look for further updates on the Strategic Plan in future editions of the Quest. May God shower his blessings on Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School and its wonderful community. Rob Knapp`82 President Bring Crusader Tennis Home In the fall of 2013, the Kapaun Mt. Carmel Girls Tennis team prevailed as champions of the Greater Wichita Athletic League. That team marched through regional competition and completed its season with a fine showing at the state tournament, finishing 3rd overall. The doubles team of Carmen Mindt and Elizabeth Pringle prevailed as Doubles State Champions in that tournament. Later that school year, in the spring of 2014, the Crusader boys team also won the city league title. That team finished 4th overall in the class 5A State Tournament. Each of these results is remarkable in its own right, however, each is made more remarkable when you consider that these teams did not have a true home venue for practice or competition. These teams, and other Crusader tennis teams before and after them, have had to rely on public courts at Wichita area parks for practice and competition. The reason for this is simple; Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s tennis facilities are not up to the standards necessary for league competition, nor have they been, in recent years, safe for our players to play or practice on. Try as we may, the maintenance of the current, asphalt-based courts has proven to be overwhelming, and the result is courts that have cracked and peeled to the point where they are unplayable. This condition is unacceptable to all involved in Crusader tennis. Our programs deserve better. They are among the most decorated tennis teams in the state of Kansas, with a total of 25 state team titles, 40 city league team titles, and numerous individual medalists and champions at all levels. 2 from the President It is time to return our excellent tennis programs to their rightful place on the campus of KMC. I am very excited to announce a new project for 2016-17 called, “Bring Crusader Tennis Home.” Our goals with this project are to provide to our tennis programs a welcoming and secure place to practice within the safety of their own campus and to be able to host league play matches at home. Bring Crusader Tennis Home requires several pieces. First, we have contracted with Mid-American Courtworks to design and execute our plan. Through Mid- American, we will scrape off the asphalt base of our existing four courts and level out, treat and apply playing surfaces to the post-tensioned concrete base that exists under the asphalt. New nets and fencing will add to the effectiveness and security of these courts and bring them up to the standards we expect on our campus. But that is not all. Our Crusader tennis teams have, over the years, been hampered in their ability to host their colleagues in competition because we have only four courts. League play requires matches between six singles players and two doubles teams from each squad. Trying to fit all that tennis in on four courts, none of which is lighted, makes hosting matches at KMC unfeasible. Bring Crusader Tennis Home includes plans for two new courts to be added to the Crusader Tennis Complex. These courts will also have an accompanying spectator area to accommodate our Crusader fans as they cheer on their favorite Crusader players. We are very excited about the Bring Crusader Tennis Home project. I personally invite you to become a part of this project. If you played tennis at CKM, MCA or KMC, or if you know someone who did, I encourage you to perpetuate the legacy for our future athletes. Our fundraising needs for this project are daunting. Our goal is to raise $250,000 to make the Crusader Tennis Complex one of the best around. I know I can count on your support to Bring Crusader Tennis Home. Contributions of all sizes are encouraged, and all are tax-deductible. To learn more about the project, to see images of our current courts and proposed courts FROM TOP: exisiting courts, close up of existing courts, or to donate online, please visit www.kapaun.org. proposed new courts Bring Crusader Tennis Home Commitment Form o Yes, I commit to contributing to the Bring Crusaser Tennis Home project. Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: Email: The amount of my contribution is: $ I will make _______ payments on my commitment in the amount of $ ____________ each. My payment schedule will be: o Monthly o Quarterly o Semi-Annually o Annually Signature: Date: Clip and mail to: Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic H.S., 8506 East Central, Wichita, KS 67206 3 Fr. Kapaun Birthday CelebrationFr. Kapaun news On Wednesday, April 20, KMC celebrated the 100th birthday of Fr. Emil Kapaun. Joining the student body at the all school Mass were members of the Kapaun family. After Mass, Ray and David Kapaun spoke to the students and presented KMC with two new items for the display cases - the Medal of Honor certificate, and the Hall of Heroes plaque. The students received birthday cupcakes at lunch to further celebrate the birth of our namesake. That evening, KMC and the Father Kapaun Guild hosted an open house at KMC. Guests were welcomed by Rob Knapp and Fr. John Hotze. KMC student ambassadors were on-hand to give tours of the display cases, photos and other Fr. Kapaun memorabilia housed at KMC. The Medal of Honor made a rare appearance in Wichita, brought in from Pilsen, KS, for the event. In honor of the event, a booklet entitled was created. This booklet is a guide to the relics and photos of Father Emil Kapaun housed at KMC.