Boys Water Polo Takes 4th in State
Congratulations to the Boys Water Polo team on a 4th place finish at the IHSA State tournament. The Pack defeated Brother Rice in quarterfinal play, but fell to Stevenson and Naperville North. Congratulations to everyone on a great season.
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USCCB’s Secretariat of Education’s Request for Action
Sr. Suzanne Bellenoit, SSJ of the Secretariat of Education of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishop’s has requested support for the effort to re-authorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Following you will find a script and legislator’s contact information which needs to go out now or well before May 29th.
Though the two legislators listed below are not from our area, we are asked, nonetheless, to contact them. Note that they are from two different parties, a minor miracle in itself!
Focus 1:
Senator Tom Hawkins of Iowa, Democrat – Chairman of the Senate committee that includes, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (H.E.L.P.)
National Office in Washington, DC (202) 224-3254 or brian_ahlberg@harkin.senate.gov
(Note: There is an underscore between Brian’s first and last name in his email address)
Focus 2:
Congressman John Kline of Minnesota, District 2, Republican – Chairman of Education and the Workforce Committee
National Office in Washington, DC – (202) 225-2271 or jean.hinz@mail.house.gov
The script follows:
Students and teacher in non-public schools are not receiving their fair share of funding from the elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for Title I-A (tutoring services for academically struggling students) or for Title II-A (professional development opportunities for their teachers).
Only the long overdue re-authorization of ESEA can re-establish the full and fair non-public school share. Please inform (Sen. Harkin or Congressman Kline) that I (called or emailed) to express my strong request that he introduce his bill very soon to address the much needed re-authorization of ESEA worded in a way that will treat all students and teachers fairly.
Thank you so much for either emailing or calling these Legislators. Positive movement only takes place if our legislators believe there is strong grass roots support for an issue.
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Band Plays National Anthem at Wrigley Field
The Saint Ignatius band, led by Don Rescigno, played the National Anthem before the Cubs V. Mets game on May 17 at Wrigley Field. Mr. Rescigno is retiring from Saint Ignatius this year after over 40 years of teaching at the school. CLICK HERE to watch a video of the band’s performance.
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GIRLS WATER POLO - STATE CHAMPS!!!
On Saturday, May 2013, the girls water polo team made school history when they beat Lincoln Way Central 12-9 in the IHSA State Championship game at Stevenson High School. The win marked the first time in the school’s 144 year history a team sport won an IHSA State Title.
Led by Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference Player of the Year Becky Insalaco and All-State Standout Tammy Stelnicki, the Wolfpack put together an overall season record of 22-4-1 heading into the State Tournament were they would familiar foes on their road to destiny.
In the State Quarter-Final game, the Wolfpack faced Suburban powerhouse Naperville Central in a rematch of last year's State Semi-Final. This time the Wolfpack had the Redhawks number with a 15-6 victory. The Wolfpack then matched up with Catholic League rival and the state's top ranked team, Mother McAuley. The game proved to be an epic battle with neither team having more than a one goal lead at any given time. But as time expired, the Wolfpack were the 8-7 victors and earned another trip to the state championship game for the program's third time in the past seven years.
The Title was truly a team effort with offensive contributes from Insalaco, Stelnicki, Juniors Rebecca Martinez, Maggie Maloney, Nikol Lagodzinska, Sophomore Karen Juarez, and Freshman Diana Fernandez. On the defensive end, the Pack lived up to its reputation as one of the stingiest in the state behind Freshman Goalie Jenny Stelnicki who had over two and half dozen saves in the net.
Water Polo received varsity status at Saint Ignatius in the Spring of 2000, since then the program has won nine IHSA sectional championships, one MCAC conference title, earned third in state honors three times, and has been the State runner up twice. The championship is a true testament to the program's motto of "Players Graduate Tradition Continues".
Click below for Chicago Tribune and Sun-TImes coverage.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/waterpolo/ct-spt-0519-prep-g-water-polo-state-final-20130518,0,7969349.story
http://seasonpass.suntimes.com/news_article/show/256819?referrer_id=599124
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Boys Tennis Wins Chicago Catholic League Title
Congratulations to the St. Ignatius Boys Tennis Team! For the first time since 1991, the Boys Team captured the Chicago Catholic League Conference title. The team's number one singles, number one doubles and number two doubles all placed first. Last year, under Susan Markvart's coaching, the Boys Tennis Team won the IHSA Sectional title for the second time in its history and four of its players advanced to State, but the Conference title narrowly eluded them (making Friday's victory especially sweet). This Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, St. Ignatius will host the Sectional Championship as the favorite.
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Market-Based Student Loan Interest Rate Legislation
TO: High School Guidance Counselors (college loans)
FROM: Sr. Suzanne Bellenoit, SSJ USCCB-Catholic Education
Associate Director for Public Policy sbellenoit@usccb.org
Kline, Foxx Introduce Market-Based Student Loan Interest Rate Legislation
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today introduced legislation to tackle the upcoming student loan interest rate cliff by moving to a market-based solution.
The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) would take politicians out of the business of calculating student loan interest rates by moving all federal student loans (except Perkins Loans) to a new interest rate formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note, similar to a proposal put forth in President Obama's Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan.
"As I've said time and again, we've got to stop kicking the can down the road with short-term fixes to this interest rate problem," Chairman Kline said. "The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a lasting solution that will serve the best interests of students and taxpayers. Our proposal ensures millions of subsidized Stafford Loan borrowers will not see their interest rates double this July, and other borrowers will actually have their rates reduced. I hope my colleagues in the House and Senate will join us in supporting this responsible bill, and look forward to continuing to work with the administration as we move this proposal through the legislative process."
"Students need more certainty and less confusion about their federal loan interest rates," said Rep. Foxx. "Republicans have been working to provide stability for a long time and it appears from the President's budget proposal that he also sees the need to remove the whims of Washington from the student loan equation. We hope to build off that common ground through the Smarter Solutions for Students Act and work with Congressional Democrats to return to a simplified, market-based plan before July 1 that work`s for students, families, and taxpayers."
The Smarter Solutions for Students Act:
- Calculates subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 2.5 percent.
- Calculates graduate and parent PLUS loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 4.5 percent.
- Resets student loan interest rates once a year, allowing rates to move with the free market and ensuring borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available.
- Protects borrowers in high interest rate environments by including a 8.5 percent cap on Stafford Loan interest rates and a 10.5 percent cap on PLUS loans.
- Provides stability for low- and middle-income students working to finance their postsecondary education, and prevents future uncertainty about whether Congress is going to act in time to change the interest rate.
To learn more about H.R. 1911, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/smartersolutions
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Textbook Loan Program Needs Support of Schools & Parishes
Please see the revised memo from Zach Wichmann of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. It is an opportunity to promote the restoration of the Textbook Loan program and needs the support of everyone in your school and parish communities. CLICK HERE to read the memo
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