UC Goes to Boston!

Hey everyone! I have so much to tell you. It's been a busy week here at school, with the first club period on Monday, the Fall Pep Rally on Tuesday, and the PSAT Testing for
Sophomores and Juniors on Wednesday. I'll tell you all about that later, but first I need to fill you in on the Junior/Senior Trip!!

On Sunday night, at around 6:00pm, the three buses with UC students and chaperones returned home from a great weekend. I was so happy that I went, because I had an absolutely
amazing time with all of my friends and classmates. I'm definitely going to go on the trip next year, too!

Juniors, Seniors, and UC Faculty headed to Boston, Massachusetts after school on Thursday. We stopped and ate dinner at Dave and Buster's in the Palisades Mall in New York. I've
never been to a Dave and Buster's - it was so fun to go around and play whatever games we wanted after we ate. We finally arrived at our hotel at 11:00 that night. Rooms were
accomodated with 3 or 4 girls to a room, or 3 or 4 boys to a room. I barely unpacked that night because I was so tired and I knew that we had to get up early the next morning! On
Friday, we all ate breakfast together and then headed to Fenway Park. We got a special tour of the entire stadium. We even went on the Green Monster! Then we had some free time
to eat lunch and shop in downtown Boston. We got these lunch passes and could eat at any place that was on the pass. Later on, we had a dinner dance at our hotel. All the kids (and some of the faculty!) danced the night away. On Saturday, we took tours of Gloucester, Rockport, and Salem. Each bus had a tour guide with them, who gave us 3 cameras to take pictures with. We're all going to receive DVDs of our pictures! I can't wait to get it. (even though I took a million pictures of my own!) Sunday started a little solemn, only because none of us wanted to go home. We visited Boston College, went to mass there, and then headed on our way.

The entire weekend was a great way to bond with our friends. I definitely think it got me closer with my classmates, and even with the seniors on the trip too. Everyone got along and had a great time together.

Well, the week is finally over. I can't wait for the weekend so I can regroup and get myself back on track to finish off the marking period well!

Talk to you soon!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Hey everyone! I can’t believe we’re into our third full week of school. It seems like everyone has settled into their classes and have gotten used to their schedules. Since my first blog, a lot has been happening here at UC. (of course!)

I’m happy to announce that I made the cast for our Fall Play!! Rehearsals have already begun. We meet 4 days a week after school until 5:30. It’s been a lot of fun so far, just getting familiar with the story line and all of our different roles. The set design is going to be very interesting, with revolving bookcases and secret passageways. Yes, the tech crew will certainly have their work cut out for them this time! It’s going to be a funny show, so I hope you’ll all come and see us! Mark your calendars for November 9th and 10th, at 8:00 p.m.

I forgot to tell you in my last blog that I’m a member of UCTV this year. In case you’re wondering, UCTV is our school’s very own television station where students themselves produce and carry out Union Catholic’s morning announcements and presentations. We also meet for class, in which we’re now learning about different filming techniques. There are only 7 of us, so it’s cool to work with a small group instead of being in a normal class with 25 people or so.

Our sports teams are doing great so far. I’ve had a chance to watch a little bit of the girls varsity volleyball team, and several of our varsity boys soccer team. It’s really great to see so many people coming out to cheer our athletes on. Whether we’re on the field or in the stands… we just can’t hide our Viking pride!! =)

The Freshmen received their laptops last week at Out-of-Box Night. As the newest members of the UC community, this is probably one of the most exciting nights of their freshmen year. Now they’ll really know what our motto “Anytime, Anywhere Learning” means - - it isn’t unusual to see UC students doing homework on the bus, in the bleachers, or just while their waiting after school.

The Welcome Back Dance was also last week. I couldn’t go this year, because of a friend’s birthday, but I talked to some other friends who went and they said they had a great time. It was surprising to hear that a lot of the senior class attended. They’re a great group and they have a lot of school spirit… you can tell at the Pep Rallys! I can’t wait until our next dance – the Winter/Christmas Semi-Formal!

This Tuesday, UC hosted an 8th Grade Day of Recollection where students from different grammar schools come to UC and participate in different activities and discuss certain issues. Ambassadors and Big Brothers and Big Sisters assisted in this event, acting as group leaders and speakers. I was one of four students who was asked to prepare a speech about self-acceptance. The three other speakers talked about friendship, building a relationship with God, and decision-making. After each speech, we gathered with our group of 8th graders and talked about those certain topics. The responses were great, and at the end of the day, it seemed like they all had a great time and hopefully learned a little bit more about themselves and our own students here at UC. I had fun too; it was a great experience to talk to the kids and help them with any problems or questions they had.

Mr. Luciano and our student Ambassadors have been very busy visiting grammar schools and attending High School Nights over the past few weeks. I had the opportunity to go with Mr. Luciano to my former school the other night. It was fun to see a lot of familiar faces and speak to parents and students about Union Catholic. Going back there made me realize just how fast high school is going by and how far I’ve come since 8th grade graduation!

Our OPEN HOUSE is next Tuesday night, October 2nd. I’ll see you there!