Pond Hockey Tournament raises $50,035 for Jablonski February 1, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Students and teachers swap outfits for Catholic Schools Week February 1, 2012 at 7:58 am
Catholic Schools Week kicks off with pjs and honors February 1, 2012 at 7:58 am
One Act play takes second place at sub-sections February 1, 2012 at 7:57 am
Youth In Goverment members lobby for government changes February 1, 2012 at 7:56 am

American Literature teacher Ms. Anne Marie Dominguez teaches The Great Gatsby to her students in the newly developed class, American Studies, alongside U.S. History teacher Ms. Megan Kern. (Chris Bell)
February 3, 2012
Nicole Sarquis, Staff Writer
History teachers tend to ramble off unrelatable facts about flappers, bootlegging, and the ease of life in the “Roaring 20s” during a typical U.S. History class, leaving their students with no real understanding of the subject. At the same time, English teachers’ enthusiasm over F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” can only be understood... Continue Reading
February 6, 2012
Matt Muenzberg, Sports Editor
“We need our Kyle Rau,” said boys’ hockey head coach Mr. Ken Pauly, referencing the former Eden Prairie Eagle who not only led the team in scoring on their way to last year’s state championship, but also consistently showed up when his team needed a goal. BSM’s Kyle Rau is junior forward Grant Besse, who has been on a roll lately, averaging over 2.8 goals a game in his last seven games. He twice found the back of the net and added an assist in a 4-3 win over section rival Wayzata on Monday, Feb. 6. With section seeding on the line, there was a playoff-like atmosphere at the packed Plymouth Ice Center. “I loved it,” said Besse. “I thrive on that stuff.” Head-to-head match-ups... Continue Reading

Junior Shannon Galvin rehearses for the upcoming Les Miserables performance wither her fellow cast members. (Giulia Imholte)
January 27, 2012
Emily Kline, Staff Writer
Blue Water Theatre Company, one of the Twin Cities’ top performing arts groups for youth, is taking on “Les Misérables,” one of musical theatre’s most famous works, for their winter production. Juniors Rachel Hogen and Shannon Galvin, along with sophomore Rachel Wallace, joined the cast in late November and are currently in rehearsals for the... Continue Reading
February 1, 2012
Nick Hillson, Staff Writer
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a bill running through Congress in an attempt to curb the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted information and programs. Unfortunately, due to extremely vague wording and unclear definitions, the censorship proposed could extend to websites such as Facebook, various e-mails, and any other free forum. Not only is SOPA ineffective for all but the technologically impaired, but it violates our rights and benefits only a small handful of elites. SOPA works by requiring websites and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to search through sent information and to censor any infringing material. Not only does this ignore the privacy guaranteed in the Constitution... Continue Reading

The Mock Trial team had a succesful season at several competitions due to immense practice and help from professional lawyers. (Photo courtesy of Jim Vogl)
February 3, 2012
Mallory Hoch, Staff Writer
Beginning in October, the Mock Trial team has practiced every night from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in room 121 in preparation for upcoming competitions. Coming to a close on January 31st, the season ended on a strong note, making it to subsections before loosing their last competition. The season commenced with general practices to help initiate new members.... Continue Reading
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Result | W/L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Girls Basketball | Tue, Feb 07 | DeLaSalle | 54-70 | L | |
| Boys Basketball | Tue, Feb 07 | DeLaSalle | 60-59 | W | |
| Boys Hockey | Mon, Feb 06 | Wayzata | 4-3 | Read Story | W |
| Girls Hockey | Sat, Feb 04 | Totino-Grace | 9-0 | Read Story | W |
| Boys Hockey | Sat, Feb 04 | Spring Lake Park | 15-0 | W | |
| Wrestling | Sat, Feb 04 | TBA | 9th Place | ||
| Girls Basketball | Fri, Feb 03 | Spring Lake Park | 57-39 | W | |
| Boys Basketball | Fri, Feb 03 | Spring Lake Park | 67-65 | Read Story | W |
| Girls Hockey | Thu, Feb 02 | Spring Lake Park | 6-0 | Read Story | W |
| Wrestling | Thu, Feb 02 | Dassel-Cokato | 21-58 | L | |
| Girls Basketball | Tue, Jan 31 | Minneapolis Southwest | 70-38 | W | |
| Boys Hockey | Tue, Jan 31 | Jefferson | 7-1 | Read Story | W |
| Sport | Date | Time | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys Hockey | Wed, Feb 08 | 7:30 | Shattuck-St. Mary's | Shattuck-St. Mary's |
| Girls Basketball | Fri, Feb 10 | 7:15 | St. Louis Park | St. Louis Park |
| Wrestling | Fri, Feb 10 | 6:00 | Chisago Lakes | Home |
| Boys Hockey | Sat, Feb 11 | 2:30 | Totino-Grace | St. Louis Park |
| Dance Team | Sat, Feb 11 | 1:00 | Sections | Austin |
| Boys Hockey | Tue, Feb 14 | 7:00 | Chisago Lakes | Chisago Lakes |
| Girls Basketball | Tue, Feb 14 | 7:15 | Columbia Heights | Home |
| Girls Basketball | Thu, Feb 16 | 7:15 | Waconia | Home |
| Girls Basketball | Fri, Feb 17 | 7:15 | Irondale | Home |
| Boys Hockey | Sat, Feb 18 | 2:30 | Stillwater | St. Louis Park |
| Wrestling | Sat, Feb 18 | 8:00 | Section Opponents | Totino-Grace |
| Girls Basketball | Tue, Feb 21 | 7:15 | St. Francis | Home |
Makenzie Henk has reached above the usual duties of the Environmental Club by researching composting options for BSM.
Aimee Brown
April 6, 2009
Filed under Student Life, Top Stories
An avid environmentalist, Makenzie Henk is a junior who has devoted herself to the “Go Green” cause. With high hopes for change, Henk has been independently researching new ways to help save the Earth as well as working with Benilde-St. Margaret’s Environmental Club.
Henk’s main focus is on The Environmental Club, which is currently working with the possibilities of composting. “Composting is basically taking biodegradable products like food and paper and kind of mulching them up and turning them into a product that can be put back into the earth instead of having to be put into landfills,” said Henk.
Henk plans on initiating a transition for BSM to become a composting school. She thinks that it will probably start in the junior high and then eventually assimilate into the high school as well. “Shannon Fasola and I have visited Susan Lindgren Elementary School, which has had a composting program for a couple of years now. We saw how they did it and they have a really simple program that we don’t think will be too hard to get to Benilde,” said Henk.
When Henk talked to Anne Sullivan, the principal of Susan Lindgren, in order to find out more about their composting program. Sullivan informed her of an organic recycling (also known as composting) meeting at the St. Louis Park Jr. High. Henk, along with Mr. Mark Lex, the Environmental Club supervisor, and some other staff members, went to the meeting and met with other schools that have joined the program.
Some changes at BSM that would have to be made include getting better biodegradable silverware, throwing away leftover food or paper waste into a composting can instead of the garbage, and working with Taher to use more eco-friendly containers for foods.
The process for composting the waste is not something BSM would have to worry about. “It gets picked up with the garbage and then the garbage company takes it to a composting facility where they do all of the composting themselves, so we do not have to take care of any of that,” said Henk.
Altogether, the members of the Environmental Club are hoping for this change. Mr. Lex added his efforts by talking to the maintenance staff, Taher, and Mr. Dave Platt (for the possible junior high change), along with going to composting meetings. “We’re still working on some roadblocks, so it may take some time, but we haven’t gotten real far just yet,” said Mr. Lex.
Sparked with a passion for taking action to make all of these changes, what got Henk so interested in the environmental cause was seeing how pollution and landfills have impacted the world, especially animals and third world countries. “Because developed countries have greatly caused global warming, many people around the globe in undeveloped countries will be displaced because their water source, glaciers, will disappear. So because of this their lives are going to be drastically changed,” said Henk.
Some small changes Henk said people can make to help conserve energy and CO2 emissions are unplugging unused electronics such as cell phone chargers and hair straighteners, switching light bulbs to compact florescent light bulbs, and turning down your house’s thermostat in the winter then up during the summer. “These are just some things so your house is not working so hard, and they are easy to do and don’t really affect your life, but it can make a great impact if everyone can do it,” said Henk.
Outside of school and apart from implementing her eco-friendly tips in her own life, Henk is still doing more to make changes. “I send a lot of letters and e-mails to our representatives…they get a handful of things from me,” said Henk. Henk is also a part of the Sierra Club, a deeply rooted environmental organization she was introduced to through an environmental activist camp she went to over the summer. She is always open to new ideas and ways to change her lifestyle to be more eco-friendly.
“I would say she’s probably one of the most loyal and dedicated of the Environmental Club members that we have, she’s been in it longer than any of the current club members, and she works hard at it,” said Mr. Lex.
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