AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley

 
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AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
BISHOP KELLEY HIGH SCHOOL’S PERIODICAL

            AMBASSADOR              Winter 2016-2017 • VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 1

Technology Curve
   Chromebooks in            PAGE
  the hands of every           8
 BK student for 2017-18

                                                   PAGE 20

                                                   PAGE 26

BishopKelley.org    LIVE, JESUS, IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER!
AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
President’s Letter

   Rev. Brian O’Brien
                             Dear Bishop Kelley
                             Community,
    Welcome to the Winter 2016-17 edition of the Ambassador magazine. Herein
you’ll find a snapshot of what’s going on at the best high school in Oklahoma.
I feel strongly in my heart in saying that because it is evident from the results
we’re producing.
   Here are some of the highlights so far in 2016-17:
   Our students continue to grow in faith
   BK alumni are in the seminary and in religious communities
   ACT scores are at an all-time high
   BK has more National Merit Finalists than any private school in the state
   BK has a 2016-17 State Champion Academic Bowl and Spirit Squad,
    and District Champion football team
   BK continues to excel with outstanding fine arts and drama, speech                The Ambassador Magazine is published
    and debate, yearbook, and athletic programs                                       by the Bishop Kelley Advancement Office

   Experienced and dedicated teachers help prepare our students                      Rev. Brian O’Brien
                                                                                      President
    for higher education opportunities all over the country
                                                                                      Doug Thomas
   These things do not happen by accident. They happen because of your prayers,       Director of Advancement
through committed people working to fulfill the mission of the school, and            Lauren Hillenberg
through many generous benefactors.                                                    Director of Communications
                                                                                      Katherine Devonshire
   I am so proud to serve at Bishop Kelley and to work alongside dedicated            Director of Alumni Relations
administrators, teachers, staff, and volunteers for the betterment of our students.   Margaret Jones
What a joy it is to walk these halls! As you’ll see in this magazine, our alumni,     Advancement Services Coordinator
students, chaplains, and teachers are active in the community and working to          Robin Lewis
change the world for the better.                                                      Advancement Event Coordinator

  Thank you for your continued prayers and support of our efforts!
                                                                                      Special thanks to:
                                                                                      Brother Richard Merkel
   In Christ,                                                                         Russ Hembrey & BK Journalism students

                                                                                      We welcome your submissions and
                                                                                      suggestions. Please direct all updates
                                                                                      to lhillenberg@bishopkelley.org.

   Rev. Brian O’Brien
   President                                                                          Bishop Kelley High School
                                                                                      3905 S. Hudson Ave., Tulsa, OK 74135
AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
CONTENTS
                                                                                                             2 Fantasy Congress 101
                                                                                                             4 Volunteers & Alumnae
                                                                                                                Support Fine Arts
POINTS OF PRIDE
FAITH                                                                                                         7 Students Investing in BK
 Bishop Kelley students volunteered over 39,000 hours of Christian service last year.
 Every class and event begins in prayer. Each day ends in prayer. Each school year,
                                                                                                             8 Technology Curve:
  students attend Mass more than 15 times.                                                                      Chromebooks
 More than half of students participate in religious retreats such as SEARCH, KAIROS, and class retreats.
 Bishop Kelley students volunteer on mission trips within Oklahoma and out-of-state.                        10 New Media Lab Tools
ACADEMICS                                                                                                    11 Service Dogs Trained
   Bishop Kelley has a student-teacher ratio of 11:1. Average class size is 14.
   BK offers 21 Honors and 17 Advanced Placement classes.
                                                                                                                by BK Students
   The iConnect program helps students with test-taking skills, study hours, and learning strategies.       12 Baseball Diamond
   100% of the Class of 2016 took the ACT and the average score for 189 students was 24.9,
    the highest in BK’s history.                                                                                Dedication
   BK’s Academic Bowl Team is five-time State Champions and finished third in Nationals in 2015.
   National Merit recognized 10 semifinalists, and nine finalists in the Class of 2017.
                                                                                                             14 State Champions
   10 National Merit commended, and three National Hispanic Scholars. Bishop Kelley has
    had 49 National Merit Finalists in the past five years.
                                                                                                             15 Science Teacher Explores
   Students receive more than $750,000 in annual tuition assistance, thanks to generous donors.                Energy Resources
    About one-fifth of students receive tuition assistance.
   Summer credit classes are increasingly popular. Options are: Oklahoma History, Social Justice            16 Chaplains on Campus
    in Action, Basic Design, Ecology, Speech I, Personal Financial Literacy, Catholicism and World
    Religions, Computer Science, Painting I, and Life-time Fitness.                                          18 BIK & Staff Milestones
   Bishop Kelley grads attend Air Force Academy, Boston College, Colorado School of Mines,
    Dartmouth, DePaul, University of Dallas, Fordham, Notre Dame, Purdue, Rice, Stanford, USC,               19 Live Animals Up Close
    St. Louis University, Saint Mary’s of Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Texas Christian, West Point, Vanderbilt,
    and area schools such as TU, OSU, OU, and TCC, as well as many others.
                                                                                                             20 In the News
CO-CURRICULARS
 Bishop Kelley offers 13 OSSAA sports at the 5A level.                                                      22 Endowments Assist
 Over 10% of students participated in the all-school Fall 2016 musical, Fiddler on the Roof                    Students & Facilities
  and more than 12% in Beauty and the Beast, the spring musical.
 Bishop Kelley’s “Crest” yearbook received top state honors in 2016 by winning the                          24 GO for Catholic Schools
  Sweepstakes Award at the University of Oklahoma. BK yearbook staff won for best theme,
  best ads and best headline writing.
                                                                                                             26 Alumni News
 Jazz and Concert Choirs performed at school events and the St. John’s Hospital administration
  Christmas ­dinner and Southern Hills Country Club Christmas Dinner. They will perform at
  Southern Nazarene University Jazz Fest in spring 2017.

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FANTASY CONGRESS 101
       BK Government students pick their legislators
       and learn about politics with Fantasy Congress

     Matthew Sanderlin and Mackenzie Lewis, seniors, enjoyed learning about         Ethan Miles and Matthew Edgeller, seniors, conducted a “fantasy draft”
     the U.S. Congress in Christine Tyler’s Political Parties class.                of U.S. legislators and tracked their progress.

    I
             t was a wild and divisive political year      party ranks (10 points). Scandalous activ-              Senior Jacob Regan said he developed
             in 2016, but that helped BK students          ity by a legislator resulted in losing points.      a computer program to more easily track
             learn more about who represents                   Mrs. Tyler said her main goal in govern-        his team’s results. The program checked
             them in the United States Congress.           ment classes, including AP Government, is           whether or not a Congress member voted
         AP Government teacher Christine Tyler             to get her students interested and engaged          with, or against his/her party, for example.
     introduced Fantasy Congress last year, an             in the political process. “If they come to me          “My favorite part of Fantasy Congress
     online fantasy simulation game where play-            and say they cannot wait to vote when they          was incorporating my interest in Computer
     ers (citizens) draft members of the United            turn 18, then I am happy. I have done my job        Science into this project,” Regan said. “I set
     States House and Senate, and keep track of            as a teacher,” she said.                            it up as a program to automatically collect
     their participation.                                                                                      the data, so to my knowledge, the program
         Tyler’s “Political Parties” class is offered     How to play Fantasy Congress                         is still running today.”
     to students only during election years. She’s            Teams of four players each keep track                Point totals for Election 2016 boiled
     had over 140 students take the class since           of their Congressional members’ points               down to summaries of TV ads, soundbites
     2015.                                                weekly.                                              of speeches or town hall meetings, Election
        “I absolutely loved the Fantasy Congress             “Choose your teammates wisely,” advises           Day resulted in 30 points for a congress
     experience,” said senior Matt Sanderlin.             Tyler, who reminds students that there are           member’s re-election and 50 points if he/
    “Mrs. Tyler did a great job of implementing           535 members of Congress, “so no need to              she was elected with more than 60 percent
     a point system that paralleled the United            fight over them!”                                    of the vote.
     States government to my fantasy football                 Selection criteria are based on senators            “I learned so much about our govern-
     team.”                                               with seniority, rookies, etc. Each team picks        ment and the country that we live in,”
         The fall 2016 draft allowed students to          nine legislators and can use gender, politi-         said senior Madi Brook. “Through Fantasy
     research “players” by looking up available           cal party, issues, age, states, etc. There are       Congress, I had the opportunity to learn
     information on U.S. Congress members                 no trades and no subbing a top legislator            about the government in a more detailed
     and ranking them according to preference.            for a rookie.                                        manner than I would have been able to
     Students researched Congress members at                 “Our team’s draft strategy was to take            otherwise.”
     congress.org; Thomas.loc.gov; Govtrack.us;           the senators and representatives who pro-                Madi said she learned more about the
     Opencongress.org; House.gov; and Senate.             posed the most legislation and worked on             inner workings of the U.S. political process
     gov.                                                 bipartisan agreements to gain extra points,”         up close.
         Teams gained points based on how                 Sanderlin said.                                         “As a first time voter,” she said. “I now
     many bills got sponsored, passed or were                 Each team’s goal was to have the most            have a better understanding of how our
     made law (80 points if signed by the                 points on the final date of the competition,         Congress works because I was able to take
     President) or how many times they break              which was December 19, 2016.                         part in Fantasy Congress.”

2            BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
BK student gets inside
                                                                                       political perspective
                                                                                       from Speaker of the
                                                                                       U.S. House Internship

                                                                                       Bishop Kelley Senior Elizabeth Whelan, a National Merit
                                                                                       Finalist, spent last summer interning in Washington, D.C.,
                                                                                       with Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Speaker of the
                                                                                       U.S. House of Representatives.

                                                                                       W
                                                                                                    hile most teens spend their sum-
                                                                                                    mer traveling and spending time

   FANTASY                                                                                          with friends, Bishop Kelley Senior
                                                                                       Elizabeth Whelan did something different. She

CONGRESS RULES
                                                                                       spent two weeks interning with Paul Ryan,
                                                                                       the United States Speaker of The House of
                                                                                       Representatives, in Washington, D.C.
LEGISLATION All sponsored pieces of legislation (including amendments)                     Whelan wrote short biographies about the
receive a higher score as they move further through the legislative process.           donors who contributed to Ryan’s team. These
       Congress member introduces a bill — 10 points                                  biographies gave Ryan good information about
       Bill is passed by one chamber of Congress — 25 points                          his campaign donors.
       Bill travels to the other house and is referred to committee — 30 points           When she wasn’t writing, Whelan sorted and
       Bill is debated on floor of House OR Senate — 40 points                        read mail where she learned more about the
       Bill is passed in 2nd chamber of Congress — 50 points                          problems people have with the government,
       Bill goes to Conference committee — 60 points                                  especially how veterans are treated.
       Bill passed both House and Senate — 70 points                                     “I was with Speaker Ryan’s financial team
       Bill signed by President — 80 points                                           and worked a 9-to-5 job in a cubicle with two
                                                                                       other interns,” said Whelan, who also summa-
CO-SPONSORSHIP All co-sponsored pieces of legislation (including amend-                rized returned donor mail that usually consisted
ments) receive a higher score as they move through the legislative process. You        of complaints toward the Speaker and the
will receive ½ of the total points earned if the co-sponsorship is known on the        Republican Party.
date of the bill’s introduction. Any co-sponsor added after that date will receive 5      “I saw everything from vulgar words and
points and no additional points as the legislation moves through the process.          drawings to five-paged, formatted papers. This
                                                                                       job of organizing the mail gave me perspective
VOTING METRICS Team receives 5 points for each vote taken by each of your
                                                                                       on what different constituents want from their
members. Team loses 3 points per vote not taken by each of your players.
                                                                                       government.”
MAVERICK Team receives 10 points for each vote that breaks from party ranks.
                                                                                           Whelan is a National Merit Finalist at BK.
                                                                                       She also took some time this summer to tour
SCANDALS Team loses 40 points for each member that becomes involved in a               east coast colleges including Princeton, Yale,
scandal. Mrs. Tyler reserves the right to define what is and what is not a scandal.    Columbia, Georgetown, and Villanova.
                                                                                           Whelan’s favorite part of her summer was
TV APPEARANCES Team receives 2 points for each appearance that your                    being able to experience the 2016 presidential
Congressman makes on a national news broadcast. No points will be given for            election first hand. “I had an exciting and edu-
radio or newspaper.                                                                    cational experience that taught me about the
                                                                                       inner workings of political parties,” she said.

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AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
Pam St. Clair volunteers for musical choreography. RIGHT: Kelsey Griffin (left) and Miriam Hanisch are among the students who have learned from Pam’s expertise in dance.

    Volunteer brings professionalism
    and talent to musicals, dance

    S
                urgery on both knees last year                    Working with Mrs. Junger and Drama            public recognition of BK drama students,
                may have slowed her down, but                 Teacher Dana Hoagland “has been a wonder-         who only keep improving.
                Pam St. Clair is back doing what              ful experience and they deserve the credit            Competition makes people better. “Years
                she loves — teaching students                 for the increasing interest and quality of the    ago we used to take anybody in the play,”
    how to dance for the upcoming 2017 spring                 musicals each year,” Pam said. ”What they do      Pam said. “But over the years, I’ve seen kids
    musical at Bishop Kelley.                                 is amazing and the time they put in is about      come back and try out again. They are a lit-
        Pam (mother of Spanish teacher Maggie                 the same as being an athletic coach. I am         tle bit more confident and they make it.” Not
    Gabel) teaches ballet and dance to elemen-                amazed at what they do.”                          many boys participated years ago, “but now
    tary school students during the day. When                                                                   we have a huge crop of boys who are willing
    asked eight years ago to coach and teach                   “Pam works extremely                             to get up there to dance. A couple of boys
    high school kids in a high school musical,                  well with the students                          have been dancing with me for three years
    she jumped at the chance.                                                                                   and it’s fun to see their progression.”
       “It’s an entirely different and rewarding
                                                                   … [she] spends over                             “Today, it has become the norm for male
    experience than working with second and                        100 hours per show                           students to participate in musicals, whether
    third graders,” said Pam, whose day job is                        rehearsing with                           on stage or behind the scenes.”
    teaching in the Tulsa Public School Leaps                                                                       Shows can include as many as 110 cast
    Program. It’s a partner outreach program
                                                                          the students.”                        and crew members.
    with Tulsa Ballet and TPS to introduce kids                  “Pam works extremely well with the stu-           “I think a lot of people don’t realize all the
    in high-risk, low income schools to ballet.               dents and is able to bring out the best in their  opportunities out there, but students can
        She’s able to volunteer at BK because it              movement,” Mrs. Junger said. “She is abso- get involved in the theater as well as chorus,
    doesn’t conflict with her work schedule.                  lutely brilliant in her choreography and our      drama and choir,” Pam said. “Students who
        Pam got started in 2008 when Megan                    shows would not be as outstanding as they         participate in a play or musical will have so
    Schaunaman Neely ‘01 choreographed                        are without her talents. She creates beauti- many great memories.”
    Oklahoma and asked her to help with a                     ful dance and movements for each show and             After left ACL surgery in March and right
    dream scene. That was Choir Director Amy                  spends over 100 hours per show rehearsing         knee surgery in October, she admitted being
    Junger’s first year, too. Pam got her feet wet.           with the students.”                              “stir crazy” for a while. Today, Pam and her
    Since then, she’s choreographed high school                   Pam has seen a greater interest and a         students are glad she’s back in good form,
    musicals and become an integral part of the               better production of BK musicals since she        teaching, volunteering and being an invalu-
    creative team.                                            began volunteering. She’d like to see more        able part of the BK fine arts program.

4            BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
works at the theater.
                                                                                                            “We started directing for other compa-
                                                                                                        nies at first, but we wanted to produce our
                                                                                                        own shows,” Mindy said. “Running a theatre
                                                                                                        company together has brought us so much
                                                                                                        joy, and we love watching actors of all ages
                                                                                                        learn and grow through the arts.”
                                                                                                            BK science teacher Katie Thomas starred
                                                                                                        as Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas, her
                                                                                                        fourth show at Encore Theater. Her favorite
                                                                                                        role was Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard
                                                                                                        of Oz.
                                                                                                            “What I enjoy most about performing
                                                                                                        there is how much I grow in confidence
                                                                                                        after each rehearsal and performance,” Mrs.
                                                                                                        Thomas said. “I took a huge leap of faith two
                                                                                                        and a half years ago when I first auditioned. I
                                                                                                        had never stepped foot on a stage and didn’t
                                                                                                        even know what callbacks were. I’m so glad
                                                                                                        I took that leap because I discovered a love
                                             Mindy (Robertson) Barker ‘06 (shown left) with Erin Kane
                                                                                                        for theater that I never world have found if I
                                                                                                        didn’t get out of my comfort zone. It’s made

    BK GRAD RUNS                                                                                        me a better teacher and coach,”
                                                                                                            Encore Theater also offers learning oppor-
                                                                                                        tunities to budding actors of all ages through
 LOCAL THEATER AND                                                                                      acting classes and scholarships to underpriv-
                                                                                                        ileged children who cannot afford the cost.

   TEACHES ACTING                                                                                       Through the classes, young actors learn skills
                                                                                                        that help them in performing.

  SKILLS TO ALUMNI                                                                                          Encore Theater offers professional classes,
                                                                                                        “so our students not only learn the joy of the-
                                                                                                        atre, but they learn valuable skills and proper
    AND TEACHERS                                                                                        technique,” Mindy said. “This way, they’re
                                                                                                        prepared to pursue theatre professionally, if

F
                                                                                                        they so desire.”
             or many students, their involve-            Mindy attributes her inspiration and love
                                                                                                            With every show at Encore, actors learn
             ment with the theater happily           of acting to BK Speech teacher Erin Clark,
                                                                                                        new skills to help them to grow as perform-
             extends beyond their final cur-         who was BK theater director from 2004-08.
                                                                                                        ers. By running a local theatre in Tulsa, Mindy
             tain call at Bishop Kelley.             Mrs. Clark asked Mindy to play the piano in
                                                                                                        Barker and her family plan to inspire younger
    Today, BK alumni and teachers can stay           The Fantastics, the first musical in 13 years
                                                                                                        generations to chase their dreams as per-
active in drama by practicing and performing         at BK in 2004.
                                                                                                        formers with every show that they host.
at a Tulsa theater run by Mindy (Robertson)              “Mindy was in my speech class and she
Barker ‘06.                                          said she could play the piano. She auditioned
    Mindy and her husband, Joshua, run               and played phenomenally,” Mrs. Clark said.
Encore Theater, which produces shows that            “She kept saying ‘Yes’, when I asked her to
touch the hearts of the entire Tulsa com-            try something and get involved… I think
munity. Mindy and Joshua grew up doing               she kept finding her gifts and tried some-
theater, met at a community theatre, and             thing even if it was difficult. She also doesn’t
were married there. The couple shares a pas-         take ‘No’ for an answer which makes her so
sion for the arts.                                   successful.”
    Her enthusiasm for learning carried over             Last winter, Mindy graciously offered BK
upon graduation when Mindy performed in              students and teachers free tickets to A Charlie
many TV shows, including Jersey Boys, Pretty         Brown Christmas production at her theater.
Little Liars, and Scandal. In less than a decade,    She taps cast members from the BK family.
she’s already directed over 50 productions               Mindy has donated summer acting les-           Mindy (Robertson) Barker ‘06 and her husband
and acted in 60 plays.                               sons for the BK Auction. Junior Erin Kane also     Joshua Barker operate Encore Theater, Tulsa.

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ACADEMIC/ATHLETIC
    EXCELLENCE
                                                                                                                       Bishop Kelley High
                                                                                                                       School OSSAA
                                                                                                                       Academic Team
                                                                                                                       State Champions
                                                                                                                       BK has won    26
                                                                                                                                     Academic State
                                                                                                                       Championships since joining the OSSA
                                                                                                                       2015-16     Wrestling, Girls Soccer
                                                                                                                       2014-15     Wrestling, Girls Soccer
                                                                                                                       2013-14     Girls Basketball
                                                                                                                       2012-13     Girls Basketball, Girls Golf, Girls Soccer
                                                                                                                       2011-12     Volleyball, Girls Basketball, Boys Track
    The BK Mock Trial team won the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Mock Trial Competition on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
                                                                                                                       2010-11     Wrestling
                                                                                                                       2008-09     Girls Basketball, Girls Track
                                                                                                                       2005-06     Volleyball
                                                                                                                       2004-05     Boys Cross Country
                                                                                                                       2002-03     Girls Basketball
                                                                                                                       2001-02     Boys Golf
                                                                                                                       1999-00     Boys Cross Country
                                                                                                                       1997-98     Boys Basketball, Girls Golf
                                                                                                                       1996-97     Girls Golf
                                                                                                                       1995-96     Girls Golf
                                                                                                                       1992-93     Volleyball, Boys Tennis
                                                                                                                       1990-91     Girls Basketball

                                                                                                                       Number of Academic State Titles
                                                                                                                       Won by Sport
                                                                                                                       Girls Basketball   1991, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
    BK won a state Yearbook competition for Best Design and Best Yearbook.                                             Girls Golf		       1996, 1997, 1998, 2013
                                                                                                                       Wrestling		        2011, 2015, 2016
                                                                                                                       Girls Soccer       2013, 2015, 2016
                                                                                                                       Boys Cross Country 1999, 2004, 2005
                                                                                                                       Volleyball		       1992, 2005, 2011
                                                                                                                       Boys Track		       2012
                                                                                                                       Girls Track		      2009
                                                                                                                       Boys Basketball 1998
                                                                                                                       Boys Tennis        1993
                                                                                                                       Boys Golf		        1992

                                                                                                                       Number of Consecutive
                                                                                                                       Academic State Titles
                                                                                                                       Girls Basketball   3 2012, 2013, 2014
                                                                                                                       Girls Golf		       3 1996, 1997, 1998
                                                                                                                       Wrestling		        2 2015, 2016
                                                                                                                       Girls Soccer       2 2015, 2016
                                                                                                                       Boys Cross Country 2 2004, 2005
    BK Boys Cross Country received the 2016 Distinguished Academic Achievement Award from the Oklahoma
    State Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA). The top seven boys achieved above a 3.75 grade point        Totals updated through the
    average to be eligible for the award. Pictured (left to right) is junior Manny Montanez, senior Josh Ward,         2015-2016 school year
    junior Bridger Rives, senior Ryan Evans and junior Nich Barone. Not pictured are junior Matthew Gibson and
    sophomore Carson Been.

6            BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
AMBASSADOR Technology Curve - Chromebooks in the hands of every BK student for 2017-18 - Bishop Kelley
BK Investment Club originator and organizer Alex

INVESTING IN
                                                                                                     Webber came up with an idea for students to invest in
                                                                                                   the market. BK Alum Tom Flanagan is helping a group of
                                                                                                   15 students understand the ups and downs of investing

BK STUDENTS,
                                                                                                     in publically traded companies. Pictured (left to right)
                                                                                                     Turner Snapp, Alex Webber, Ethan Miles, Nich Barone,
                                                                                                                            Cole Swords and Jaxon Schultz.

LITERALLY
M
                  any alums invest in the          the pros and cons of each. The top choice          diversified portfolio whose proceeds are
                  future of Bishop Kelley stu-     gets a portion of the investment funds.            given back to SMU students as business
                  dents. Tom Flanagan (‘97) is        This approach teaches club members              scholarships.
                  investing, quite literally, in   what to look for in potential investments,             While Mr. Flanagan wants students to
the futures of BK students.                        growth opportunities and threats to their          learn more about investing, he’s also hope-
    The BK Investment Club started in the          investment. Three branches gives the club          ful that they’ll use that knowledge to help
fall of 2016 with a $5,000 grub stake from         a bit of a diversified portfolio.                  them in the future.
Mr. Flanagan, a former financial advisor who
now works in commercial real estate.
    BK senior Alex Webber came up with
the idea while visiting Southern Methodist              “We’ll keep
University, which he plans to attend this fall.
   “The college tour guide mentioned that
                                                   re-investing anything
his friend was involved in an investment club        we make, and we’d
which was Boulevard Investment Group,”
Webber said. “I researched it and called the
                                                      eventually like to
guy, who was a student at SMU. He encour-           build something on
aged me to get one going in high school. I         campus,” Webber said.
came back and told Father O’Brien about it                                                                 Alex Webber with BK Alum Tom Flanagan
and we had a meeting with Mr. Flanagan.”
    Webber recruited several BK students
to get involved, and more signed up during            In the beginning, the Club has set modest          “I would love for people younger than age
club enrollment.                                   goals, but they are looking at the long term.      40, like me, to be able to give back to Bishop
    The BK Investment Club chooses to                “We want to invest wisely and pass along         Kelley,” Flanagan said. “The school really
invest in sectors of the economy such as           the money to next year’s club.” Swords said.       made a difference in my life and it would be
Technology, Healthcare and Energy. Club               The club has philanthropic goals which          great to have more recent alumni participat-
members join one of those three branches           are long term. “We’ll keep re-investing any-       ing. Fewer than 7% of BK alumni gave back
to research promising companies in which           thing we make, and we’d eventually like to         to the school last year. That number ought to
to invest. At meetings, they make presenta-        build something on campus,” Webber said.           be a lot higher. That is our goal and one that
tions about the various options and debate         The SMU group, for example, is a student-run       we can achieve.”

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Chromebooks in
                                                                                  the hands of every
                                                                                 BK student for 2017-18

    T
         hanks to a recent major grant from the Mary K. Chapman Foundations, all 72
         faculty members at BK have Chromebooks and they are learning how to use
         them. The plan is to get students these computers so that digital learning can
    happen seamlessly and with less reliance on paper and copying notes by hand.
        The Mary K. Chapman Foundation grant        Members of the BK faculty                        Erin Clark’s Speech and Debate
    provided enough resources for the school        have been training on how to                     students are collaborating and
    to purchase two mobile labs, one with 40        best utilize Chromebooks for                     conducting research for class
    Chromebooks and the other comprised of 30       instructional purposes.                          projects online.
    Chromebooks. Students were able to begin           “EdTechTeacher is providing three day-           “The students are using the Google
    utilizing the technology now rather than        long sessions, face-to-face, with faculty        platform extensions to work on shared
    starting in August when the school, with the    members,” said BK’s Acting Principal, Judith     documents, making it easier for groups to
    success of its annual auction event, plans to   McMasters. “We had 25 members of the             communicate and work on homework while
    have in place a Chromebook for every stu-       faculty who spent much of their Dr. Martin       in different locations,” Clark said. “Before we
    dent to use, take home, and keep as their       Luther King, Jr. holiday on campus learning      had Chromebooks we had folders and bind-
    own when they graduate.                         more about how to engage students in new         ers which may or may not stay organized and
        Proceeds from the April 22, 2017 Auction    ways of learning. In addition, they provide 12   make it out of the locker and be brought to
    will be used to purchase an additional 850      individual modules that tutor faculty in spe-    class. Now the digital platform is easily orga-
    Chromebooks, so that when added to the          cific Google tools. Our faculty has embraced     nized and always makes it to class. “
    70 Chromebooks already purchased for stu-       the training and is very excited about this          Speech and Debate instructor Linda
    dents, every student will have a Chromebook     new technology.”                                 Shipley said before she started using her
    at the start of the 2017-18 school year.                                                         Chromebook, she scheduled lab/library time

8           BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
“I can now share notes
  directly with students
and utilize more effective
  teaching methods by
 presenting the material
   in a variety of ways.”

for the students to use the computers, which
meant extra time sharing those resources          AUCTION GOAL TO
and traveling back and forth between the          HELP PURCHASE 850
classroom and the Media Center.                   ADDITIONAL CHROMEBOOKS
   “Having the Chromebooks in the class-          FOR BK STUDENTS
room is like having a library in your lap,” she   Kelleywood — Lights, Camera, Auction
said. “My students have used Google to            6 p.m., Saturday, April 22, 2017
research their speeches and debate topics,
and to outline/compose their speeches and                 he goal of this year’s event is to raise $300,000 to generate
debate cases.”
                                                          funds needed to purchase 850 additional Chromebooks,
    Teachers are saying student feedback
                                                          so every BK student will have a device to use during the
has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers
                                                  day, take home evenings and weekends, and keep when they
can provide feedback to students through
Google Classroom and students can reply           graduate.
and ask for additional guidance.                    “The school has set lofty goals this year for the Auction,” said
                                                  Beth Snapp, who is Auction co-chair with Kathy Brainerd. “It’s
English teacher Trevor Parks                      a tradition at BK that a percentage of the Auction proceeds go
says Chromebooks will allow                       toward tuition assistance. We’re pushing hard to net $300,000
his class to create a classroom                   from the Auction so that every student can have a Chromebook
anywhere.                                         this coming school year and we can help more families afford
   “I am excited to move away from the days       a Bishop Kelley education.”
of lecturing in front of the class and hand           Robin Lewis is in her eighth year as Special Events
writing notes on the whiteboard,” Parks
                                                  Coordinator in BK’s Office of Advancement. She said the Auction
said. “With the technology upgrade, I can
                                                  is an opportunity for all families to support a worthy cause.
now share notes directly with students, uti-
                                                     “Whether it’s volunteering to set up, providing in-kind or cash
lize more effective teaching methods by
presenting the material in a variety of ways,     gifts to help us raise more funds for our students, or attending
and engage with students outside the class-       the Auction and bidding on items, there are a number of ways
room. I also believe that the student of today    current and past parents as well as alumni can help us be
is more comfortable operating a device            successful,” Lewis said.
such as the Chromebook than a traditional             The cost of attending the Auction is $80 per person. Purchase
textbook.                                         tickets online at BishopKelley.org/auction.
    Before Chromebooks, teachers like Parks
had to escort students to the computer lab.       ONLINE AND LIVE AUCTIONS
Today, by sharing through the student’s com-      BKbay allows those not attending the Auction to support the
puter, most of the assignments are turned
                                                  event by bidding online. You can buy a $100 raffle ticket online
in digitally.
                                                  to win a chance to choose any live item and you do not have
    Students are very comfortable in front of
                                                  to be present to win. Bidding on those items begins at 8 a.m.,
a computer screen and learning will be eas-
ier for them, Parks said.                         April 10 until 9 p.m. Sunday, April 23.
   “I believe that using a Chromebook is            “If you don’t live in the Tulsa area and can’t attend the Auction,
imperative to prepare students for the            BKbay and the Best of the Best raffle are wonderful ways for the
future,” he said. “Technology is rapidly          Kelley community to support our current and future students,”
changing how people work and interact             said Kathy Brainerd. “BKbay and Best of the Best provides
with one another. In order to be productive       everyone an opportunity to help make the Auction a huge
in the workplace, students must be able to        success.”
share, receive, and create information on a          Silent Auction and the Live Auction take place at the event.
digital device.”

                                                                                              W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17   9
recent events) throughout the school year.
                                                                                                            This year, the athletic department has added
                                                                                                            one more wrinkle to the technology of the
                                                                                                            game.
                                                                                                                Mike and Shelley Dill generously donated
                                                                                                            a video scoreboard located on the north end
                                                                                                            of the stadium. The Digital Media students
                                                                                                            have been training to run the video mes-
                                                                                                            saging on that board. They produce plays of
                                                                                                            the week from the previous game, 30-sec-
                                                                                                            ond video commercials for BK boosters’
                                                                                                            businesses as well as other advertising and
                                                                                                            relevant video content.
                                                                                                               “Now we can reach a wider audience at
                                                                                                            live events held at the stadium -- think of it
                                                                                                            like the projectors and large video screens
                                                                                                            in the main gym,” Blazek said. “Our content
                                                                                                            could even interact with the live event -- we
                                                                                                            could introduce people who then walk out
                                                                                                            onto the field, for example. The uses are
                                                                                                            limitless and we are excited as a class to
                                                                                                            experiment with new venues opened up by
                                                                                                            this new technology.”
                                                                                                                One opportunity for all students has
                          Digital Media students learn how to read news and use video cameras and drones.   come with the video daily bulletin. While the
                                                                                                            BK Media students write, shoot and edit the
                                                                                                            short newscast, the opportunity to be a news
     New Media Digital Lab                                                                                  anchor is open to any interested student.
                                                                                                               “It’s cool being involved in the video daily
     Gives BK Students Access                                                                               bulletin,” Senior Maddi Duke said. “It’s a
                                                                                                            good experience if you want to be involved
     To Modern Tools                                                                                        in media in the future.”
                                                                                                                The bulletin is produced one day a week,
     BY BETH KEANEY ‘17                                                                                     but the goal is to increase the frequency and

     T
                                                                                                            therefore the opportunities for students.
                   he Journalism room has moved             “The important parts of journalism stay
                                                                                                                Students are the beneficiaries of the
                   about 20 feet, but it feels like     the same: accurate, objective reporting, told
                                                                                                            new technology, both in learning and con-
                   miles. By installing a digital       in a way that keeps the audience engaged,”
                                                                                                            suming media. Generous donors who gave
                   media center in the former           Hembrey said. “But now, our audience gets
                                                                                                            to the 2015-16 Believe in Kelley Annual fund
     piano lab, the Journalism Department has           those stories on phones or Chromebooks,
                                                                                                            have moved the Journalism program to the
     migrated from a print-heavy operation to a         and in video rather than print.”
                                                                                                            cutting edge of the new media landscape.
     multi-platform digital environment.                     The curriculum in Journalism has
        “It’s like we’ve been driving a reliable,       changed slightly with some of the software.
     dependable old pickup,” Journalism teacher         Students now have access to modern tools
     Russ Hembrey said. “It’s done what we need,        of the trade.
     but it was old technology. Now, almost over-           “Hopefully some students choose to pur-
     night, we’ve started driving a Tesla. We get       sue Journalism in college, and they’ll have a
     to learn new ways of getting where we need         head start with this new studio,” Hembrey
     to go.”                                            said. “But all Journalism students will bene-
         While still teaching the fundamentals of       fit from understanding how news works and
     journalism, the product of that work shows         appreciating the various platforms where
     up in many different forms through multi-          they can consume news as they grow older.”
     media. Students see the Daily Bulletin in               For several years, Michael Blazek has run
     video form; news articles will now display on      the Digital Media Club and later the Digital
     bkbreezeway.com; regular school updates            Media class. This group has webcast ath-            Media students take advantage of nice weather to
     will start on 94.9 St. Michael’s Radio.            letic events (check out bktv.live for the most      film outdoors on BK’s campus

10           BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
The Ritchie family is invested in
  training service dogs at BK. Gracie
  and Chris Ritchie are cousins who
  have dogs at school. BELOW: Service
  dog Cooper’s BK ID badge.

BK STUDENTS PREPARE                                                                                Therapetics Service

SERVICE DOGS FOR                                                                                    Dogs of Oklahoma

NEEDY OWNERS

S
            enior Catie McCharen cried after      younger yellow Lab handled by Gracie
            her first service dog “gradu-         Ritchie. Her cousin, Chris Ritchie, introduced
            ated” last spring. This winter, she   Justice, an 8-month-old German Shepherd
            trained her second dog, Cooper,       to school a few months ago.
a yellow Lab, for nine weeks. This second             The dogs trained at BK will “graduate”
dog will again become a companion for a           from BK to help physically handicapped
physically challenged person.                     students get around college campuses and
   “I cried a lot because I got close to the      assist a wheelchair bound U.S. military vet
dog,” said Catie, who handled Freedom, a          with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who
German Shepherd, from February through            also has five children.
April. At first her parents wouldn’t let her          Miller said 11 dogs are in his program
keep a dog, but she proved that she could         and a few other schools like Owasso,             Therapetics Service Dogs
take care of one and train him. She con-          Bartlesville and Collinsville have had stu-      of Oklahoma Facebook
                                                                                                   page talks about its dogs,
tinues to be a volunteer with Therapetics         dents train dogs.
                                                                                                   including Cooper, at BK:
Service Dogs of Oklahoma.                              “Having a dog trained in a college or
                                                                                                   Cooper is a goofball! He has
   “It’s amazing to me there are people out       high school is great because the dog has
                                                                                                   been placed as a mobility
there who put themselves second (to the           been there and done that,” Miller said. “It’s    dog but will continue to live
animal) and do what they do,” said Ron            hard to explain what a difference it makes       and work with his trainer
Miller, president and acting director of the      when a service dog comes into the class-         until he is ready. He loves
Therapetics board. “I am impressed and            room and not everyone turns their heads          to travel and go to school
thankful to the BK community and its dog          to stare at you.”                                at Bishop Kelley. He is well
handlers because it’s not easy at all to train        Therapetics now has just nine trainers       behaved and loving at
them and then have to give them up.”              with a client list approaching 300. “It may      school and in public. Cooper
    McCharen and her fellow students take         not be making a dent, but we are focused         is currently learning how to
their dogs to the mall or on walking trails       on putting out quality dogs at no charge to      throw away trash!
to get them used to the real world. JJ is a       the client,” Miller said.

                                                                                                        W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17   11
Head Baseball Coach Brian Begnel talks about
                                                                                                                          how the team will benefit from the new turf.

     BK Baseball Diamond Dedicated
     Thanks to Generous Donors

     S
                 chool President Rev. Brian O’Brien
                 blessed BK’s first-ever artificial turf
                 for baseball on January 20. Donors,
                 alumni, parents, student-athletes
     and coaches attended the field dedication
     where artificial turf was installed on about
     32,000 square feet.
         The baseball diamond project began
     November 15, 2016 and was completed
     January 2, 2017. The turf project came in
     slightly under budget and was 100% funded
     by donor gifts as tuition income to the school        LEFT: Donors attend the baseball field dedication. RIGHT: Father Brian O’Brien blesses the field and equipment.
     covers only the operational expenses of
     Bishop Kelley and not special projects.
         Athletic Director Lance Parks and Head
                                                             “The field was nice … but when it rained,
     Baseball Coach Brian Begnel talked about              it soaked. Now the amount of time the field
     how thankful they are for the turf that
     will eliminate many missed practices and
                                                                takes to drain is less than one hour.”
     games due to overnight rains or even rains              “The kids are more excited to play here,”               field a solid defensive team, especially with
     that fall just hours prior to use of the field.       Begnel said. “The field was nice when we                  the expectation of truer hops on the infield,
     The drainage system under the field will              had it, but when it rained, it soaked the field,          Begnel said.
     also save the school on labor and main-               sometimes for three days. Now, when it rains                  The biggest challenge in 2017 will be
     tenance costs. BK thanks its generous                 hard, the amount of time the field takes to               pitching. “If we can find some kids who can
     benefactors for their support and for bring-          drain is less than one hour.”                             get on the mound and throw, we will be
     ing this project to fruition.                            By March 2, the young Comets expect to                 good,” he said.

12            BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
ATHLETIC/EXTRACURRICULAR

Bishop Kelley Drumline wins Competition                               Choir & Strings
Coach Mike Grimes led a youthful Drumline squad to win an October     Strings ensemble and the school choir perform at All School Mass.
competition in Glenpool. The Drumline consists of 17 students who     The choir performs at school events and will perform at Southern
enjoy playing at pep rallies and improving their percussion skills.   Nazarene University Jazz Fest in the spring.

2016 Football team captured the State 5A District Title               Congratulations to the Homecoming Court!
Top players Matt Smith, senior linebacker, and Ryan Patrick, senior   Front row (from left) are Ellie LaGere, Grace Wood, Maggie Ertl
defensive linemen, were named to the All-State East Team by the       and Homecoming Queen Kelley Steichen. Back row (from left) are
Oklahoma Coaches Association. Many of their teammates received        Sebastian Estrada, KaraGrace Mirando, Dalton Hallum, Kira Ziola, Ben
post season honors. Head Coach J.J. Tappana was named Coach of        Sands, Josh Howard, Joe Nemec, Marcus Lyons, Macy Craig, Chris
the Year in District 5A-3.                                            Ritchie, Kaitlin Mercer and Ethan Udrisky.

                                                                                                        W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17          13
STATE CHAMPIONS

     Academic Team Champs
     The Bishop Kelley Academic Bowl team took home the 5A state championship trophy. This marks the fourth consecutive state championship
     for the team as well as the fifth state win in the past six years. Team members are Angela Brown, Joseph Mellor, Devin Raine, Turner Snapp,
     and Joseph Gottes. The team heads to New Orleans in May to compete in the first leg of the national competition.

     2016 5A State Champion Spirit Squad
     Bishop Kelley Spirit Squad members include: Lexie Farmer, Carmen Williams, Hallie Harlan, Grace McCool and CeCe Streif, Jessica Gray,
     Josi Osentowski, Ally Stuckey, Megan Mulder, Maddie Viet, Anna Hanisch, Leah Bilbrey, Emma Sacco, Kaitlyn Mercer, Ava Moon, Julia Mulder,
     Eva Campbell, Lauren Bush, Meredith Ritchie, Taylor Davis, and Meg Grundy.

14          BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
Tiffany Stevens sports a BK shirt
                                                            during a visit to the THUMS Oil
                                                              Islands in Southern California

                                                                                                 encourages her students who show an inter-
                                                                                                 est in engineering “especially because the oil
                                                                                                 and natural gas industries are so prominent
                                                                                                 in the Tulsa area.”
                                                                                                     Stevens attended high school within an
                                                                                                 hour of USC. She moved to Tulsa in 2012
                                                                                                 where she started teaching science at BK.
                                                                                                 She coaches track and cross country and
                                                                                                 served as a mentor teacher for two years.
                                                                                                     She has gained valuable resources for her
                                                                                                 classroom lectures about oil and natural gas
                                                                                                 and the latest techniques for drilling for oil
                                                                                                 and natural gas and other renewable ener-
                                                                                                 gies like solar and hydro-electric. She also has
                                                                                                 a solar panel car which students can study
                                                                                                 and rebuild.

                                                                                                    “Many BK parents
                                                                                                   are involved in the
                                                                                                    oil and natural gas
                                                                                                 industry so kids want
                                                                                                  to come to class and
                                                                                                  ask questions. There
                                                                                                 is a huge market here
                                                                                                    for oil and gas and
                                                                                                 it’s not just petroleum
                                                                                                       engineering.”
BK Teacher Brings                                                                                   “One of the main subjects in class is when
Back Summer of Her                                                                               stories come up in the news and students ask
                                                                                                 me questions,” Stevens said. “Many BK par-

Life To Her Students                                                                             ents are involved in the oil and natural gas
                                                                                                 industry so kids want to come to class and

For Learning
                                                                                                 ask questions. There is a huge market here
                                                                                                 for oil and gas and it’s not just petroleum
                                                                                                 engineering.”
Chemistry and Biology teacher Tiffany Stevens                                                        She brought back samples to her class-
                                                                                                 room from the Tar Seeps in southern
was one of three teachers nationwide to attend                                                   California, where oil oozes out of the earth.
the Chevron/USC sponsored visit to THUMS Oil                                                     Engineers in SoCal are now working on
Islands in southern California                                                                   plans for alternative drilling methods such as
                                                                                                 islands offshore drilling and building wind-

A
             Bishop Kelley science teacher     THUMS Islands in Long Beach, Ca. She was          mills off the coast of California and Hawaii.
             took advantage of a rare          accepted through the National Science                “We have a lot of students interested in
             opportunity last summer to        Teachers Association.                             the fields of engineering and environmental
             explore one of the largest off-       The summer experience helped Stevens          studies so it is important that I am able to talk
shore drilling sites in the U.S.               learn about preserving the environment            with them about the new ideas and cutting
   Chemistry and biology teacher Tiffany       and how petroleum/chemical engineering            edge technologies being used in the field,”
Stevens was one of three teachers in the       is affected by the advances in renewable          she said. “Our state needs more young peo-
U.S. to be part of the 2016 USC/Chevron        energy resources.                                 ple to go into the field of engineering and I
Frontiers of Energy Resources Program at           Currently in her fourth year at BK, Stevens   am here to encourage that.”

                                                                                                            W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17              15
CHALLENGE & BLESSING
     BK Chaplains Role in Mentoring Students

                                                                                                                                          Fr. Bryan Ketterer (right)
                                                                                                                                                and Fr. Todd Nance
                                                                                                                                          blessed the entire school
                                                                                                                                           at the start of the 2016-
                                                                                                                                                 17 academic year.

     F
          ather Bryan Ketterer was ordained a deacon the same day that Father Todd
          Nance was ordained a priest. “We were deacons together for about 20 minutes,”
          Fr. Ketterer said of him and Fr. Todd. Today, they are together as chaplains at
     Bishop Kelley High School.
         Fr. Todd and Fr. Ketterer spend                    interests. They go through changes and find          classroom or at lunch or on the sidelines of a
     Wednesdays and Thursdays on campus                     their identity and purpose in life. Chaplains        sporting event, for example.
     connecting with students and talking with              can make a difference by helping students                “Those little talks bear fruit, especially if
     them about their lives. They lead Mass when            discover themselves.                                 they are going through a stressful time,” Fr.
     Fr. O’Brien needs someone to fill in.                      Fr. Ketterer said his initial time at BK a few   Ketterer said. “It’s important to establish trust
         Fr. Todd is in his first full year as a chaplain   years ago was difficult at the start because a       and a good relationship in those moments.”
     at Bishop Kelley High School. He is also pas-          chaplain’s role is often self-defined.                    Father Todd said his biggest challenge
     tor at St. Patrick’s Church in Sand Springs and           “It took me a semester to figure out what         is “finding a balance and figuring out how to
     Our Lady of the Lake in Mannford. He was               I was doing, but I worked with Fr. (Kerry)           accomplish the things you need to do and be
     ordained a priest May 25, 2013. About one              Wakulich ’94 (who is now at OSU-Stillwater)          present and available to students and faculty.”
     year later, Fr. Ketterer was ordained a priest         and observed him and followed him around,”                Fr. Ketterer peeks into a classroom and
     May 31, 2014.                                          Fr. Ketterer said.                                   is invited in to be quizzed by a teacher. He
         High school is a transitional time when                The chaplains get to know students               often knows the answers to questions
     students find new friends, activities and              through casual encounters outside the                because he studied math and mechanical

16            BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
engineering at TU from 2004-07.
     “Students like it when I don’t know the
answer,” he said with a smile. He once aced
an AP Physics test in class before anyone else
finished. He likes to check in with the robot-
ics classes.
   “At some point as a teen, students have to
take their faith seriously and take it into their
own hands,” Fr. Ketterer said. “Do they make
it a point to attend Mass? Without their par-
ents? If so, that’s a healthy sign.”
    Fr. Ketterer is also a full-time chaplain
at the University of Tulsa’s Newman Center,
where some 20 percent of students are
Catholic. He ministers day and night and
tends to a flock of about 150 students, but
has his work cut out for him trying to rope in
hundreds of other Catholics on campus who
do not regularly practice their faith.
    Fr. Todd spent three years as associate
pastor at Church of St. Mary where he also
was active in the elementary and middle
schools.
    Coming to BK “is a big difference because
these kids are at another place in their life,
going through high school challenges are
different,” he said.
   “I have wanted to become a priest my
whole life,” Fr. Todd told the student news-
paper, Breezeway, last year. “I always felt
drawn to that. One of the things that con-
tinued to draw me to that as I got older was
a desire to bring God to people and people
to God in ways that they could not do them-
selves. I have always found joy in service
and that is what made me want to become
a priest.”
                                                    Fr. Bryan Ketterer blesses the school at the start of the 2016-17 academic year.

                                                           Fr. Todd (left) and Fr. Ketterer (right) frequently visit with BK students.

                                                                                          W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17                    17
BK Faculty                                         June 30, 2017     $500,000 (Goal)

     & Staff
     Milestones                                           June 7, 2017    In honor of Gary Oberste’s

     Celebrated                                                           40 years at BK

     T
                  hanks to our loyal donors to
                                                         May 26, 2017     In honor of Fr. O’Brien’s
                  Believe in Kelley, we just sur-
                                                                          10 year anniversary as
                  passed (as of January 1, 2017)                          a priest
                  our halfway point of $250,000.
     Below is our plan to achieve the school’s
     highest-ever annual fund goal of $500,000           May 17, 2017     In honor of Brian Arenson’s
     by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2017.                      35 years at BK
         During the final months of this school
     year, help celebrate milestone service dates
     for various long-tenured faculty and admin-          May 1, 2017     $400,000 (Goal)
     istration with a contribution in their names
     on special dates. Of course, we welcome
     your gifts any time as we work on behalf of
     our students for those three F’s: Furniture,                         In honor of Judith
                                                         April 12, 2017
     Frequency (new sound systems and school-                             McMasters’ 25 years at BK
     wide PA) and Financial Aid.
         If you would like to honor a beloved fac-
     ulty member and make a Believe in Kelley
     gift in their name, please go to www.bish-        March 22, 2017     In honor of Eric Roepke’s
                                                                          25 years at BK
     opkelley.org/give or call the Advancement
     Office at (918) 627-3390.

     “Thanks to wonderful                               March 7, 2017     In honor of Jerri “Wads”
      donors to our annual fund,                                          Berna’s 20 years at BK
      we’re able to accomplish
      major projects in the
      summer time so that                               March 1, 2017     $300,000 (Goal)
      when the new school
     year begins in August,
      returning and new
                                                       January 1, 2017    $252,000 (Actual)
      students benefit from the
      generosity of our current
      and alumni parents,
      alumni, grandparents
      and many others.”
                               — GARY OBERSTE

18           BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
Students interact with various live
                                                                                                                       animals in Katie Thomas’ Zoology Class

WOLVES, SNAKES, LIZARDS AND PIGS
Teacher takes Environmental Science to a whole new level

A
               nimals function in ways that best   ‘Hey! I pet a wolf today!’”                   directly benefit our ecosystem and Senior
               fit their environments. Species         “Allie” the wolf helps students to better Sarah Marshall said she enjoyed holding
               positively influence our envi-       understand biodiversity and the affects that the lizard.
               ronment in ways that we don’t        animals have on the ecosystem.                    Finally, Ms. Thomas introduces a pig.
 always understand. These hidden traits are            “We discussed the wolves in Yellowstone “Pigs are at the bottom of the food chain but
 exactly why BK science teacher Katie Thomas        National Park and how the ecosystem was      still have an important role,” Thomas said.
 showcases live animals for her ecology and         affected when wolves were removed from “They are also extremely smart.”
 AP environmental science classes.                  it,” Thomas said. “But what I most love          Thomas incorporates the animals that
      Ms. Thomas’ students learn how to see         about bringing in the wolf is that they are  she brings in with classroom assignments,
 animals in a whole new way in food chains          an extremely misread animal and the mis- tests, and quizzes. Students must show that
 and ecosystems.                                    representation that wolves have is cleared   they grasp the lessons about the animals.
    “What better way for a student to learn         up for all of my students who get the oppor- They learn that every animal is special to our
 about those topics than to interact with           tunity to interact with Allie.”              environment. Katie Thomas demonstrates
 an animal that relates to it!” Thomas said.            She also brings a variety of snakes and  through showing these animals to students,
“Students light up when they see something          lizards in each week. Snakes and lizards     the passion she has for them.
 out of the ordinary in a classroom.”
     By introducing live wolves, snakes, liz-
 ards and pigs, she teaches students a variety
 of subjects that one could not fully compre-
 hend without seeing the animals up close.
    “I love being able to open up my students’
 eyes to how important each organism is in
 the world,” Thomas said.
     The students enjoy being up close and
 personal with the animals.
    “It was really cool interacting with ani-
 mals you don’t get to see up close,” Junior
 Hallie Cole said. “The wolf was probably the
 coolest because you can’t always say that         LEFT: Science teacher Katie Thomas with a class lizard. RIGHT: Josie Korte with Barbie, a Salmon Crested Cockatoo.

                                                                                                                          W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17                   19
Bishop Kelley
                                                                                                                    2016 graduate
                                                                                                                Taylor King. Photo
                                                                                                                   courtesy of the
          Bishop Kelley is                                                                                             Tulsa World

       ranked the top private
        school in Oklahoma,
          according to the
         Tulsa World’s 2016
          Best of the World
               survey.

                                                                                             Reilly and Stacey Roggendorff
                                                                                            participate in KISS YOUR MOM
                                                                                           GOODBYE — an original Bishop
                                                                                           Kelley first day of school tradition.
                                                                                          Tulsa media have covered the event
                                                                                         the last few years, and the “tradition”
                                                                                           has now been adopted by several
                                                                                                  other school districts.

     BK’s hiring of a new strength and conditioning coach, Beau Beathard, (shown left)
     has motivated student-athletes to work out in the new Dill Family Fieldhouse
     weight room. Workouts and attention to healthy habits have helped all athletic
     programs during the 2016-17 school year.
                                                                                                       Photos courtesy Diocese of Tulsa

20           BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
BK Class of 2016 graduates now attend: Air Force Academy, Boston
   College, Colorado School of Mines, Dartmouth, DePaul, University of
    Dallas, Fordham, Notre Dame, Purdue, Rice, Stanford, USC, St. Louis
    University, Saint Mary’s of Notre Dame, Seton Hall, TCU, West Point,
  Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma universities including TU, OSU, OU, and TCC.

2016 was a great year when the Varsity Football team won the        Bishop Kelley Boys’ Jazz Choir performs at a recent pep
5A district title. The stands shown here will be the focus of the   rally. BK offers choir, drama and two musicals per year for
continuing Championship Drive to enhance facilities at BK.          students to get involved.

Bishop David Konderla (left) indicates he enjoyed his first All     Bishop Kelley Robotics team includes front row: Mitchell
School Mass with BK School President Rev. Brian O’Brien and         Bunkers, Dutton Hughes, Megan Ames, Diana Griffin, Valentin
Fr. Todd Nance. The Bishop has been on campus several times         Danescu; back row: Jacob Liechti, Jacob Regan, Gabe Litteer,
this school year.                                                   Celeste McAtee, Erin Kirk, Rachael Landreville

                                                                                                 W I N T E R 2 0 16 - 2 0 17      21
ENDOWMENT GROWTH
     New Funds Continue Bishop Kelley’s Mission

     E
                  ndowment funds are different            Bishop Kelley has about $1.7M in named,                                                        required annual minimum distribution from
                  from Annual Funds in that the       endowed funds for tuition assistance. Over                                                         their Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to
                 endowment fund’s principal is        the past five years, the school has estab-                                                         Bishop Kelley. This is limited to $100,000 per
                  never spent,” said Doug Thomas,     lished an endowed fund for capital needs                                                           year and counsel from a tax or financial advi-
     BK’s Director of Advancement. “It’s always       that’s currently valued at $2.1M.                                                                  sor is recommended.
     invested and churning out earnings that              “Several donors have included Bishop                                                               It may appear that Bishop Kelley has
     are spent for the purposes designated by         Kelley in their estate plans or have estab-                                                        ample endowment funds. However, accord-
     the donor, whether that be for tuition assis-    lished life insurance policies where BK will                                                       ing to Father O’Brien, that’s not the case.
     tance, faculty support, STEM education, or       be the recipient. We have been notified                                                                 “Ideally, Catholic high schools have
     for the upkeep of a facility.”                   by supporters that $2M will eventually be                                                          endowments that are at least twice as large
         Bishop Kelley’s core endowment of            gifted to the school when those plans and                                                          as the school’s annual operating budget.
     $6.8M is the school’s largest, single fund       insurance policies mature,” Thomas said. “If                                                       Our annual budget is approaching $10M as
     and 100% of the earnings from that fund          not restricted, those funds will go into the                                                       costs continue to rise.”
     are used annually to provide tuition assis-
     tance. For example, during a students’ four      “About 20% of our students receive some level
     years at Bishop Kelley, the earnings from this
     endowment will exceed $1M.
                                                      of tuition assistance as determined by FACTS,”
         There is $200,000 in the Dr. Mark A.                     said Rev. Father O’Brien
     Hayes Faculty Development Fund which
     supports continuing education and pro-           Combined, there is $11,000,000 in endowed funds that support Bishop Kelley High School:
     fessional development for BK faculty. Just          Core Endowment Fund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,800,000
     over a year ago, Bishop Kelley was blessed
                                                         Faculty Development Fund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000
     with a $200,000 gift from BK alumni par-
     ents Jay and Fayenelle Helm to begin a new          STEM Endowment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000
     endowment fund to support STEM (Science,            Named, Endowed Funds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,700,000
     Technology, Engineering and Math) educa-            Capital Needs Endowment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,100,000
     tion at Bishop Kelley.
        “We’re working to encourage members
                                                                Total Endowment Funds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,000,000
     of the BK community to give to the school’s
     endowment funds, whether for tuition assis-      Bishop Kelley endowment as well.”                                                                     “It’s vital that Bishop Kelley’s endow-
     tance, faculty development, STEM education          Other donors have given appreciated                                                             ment increase from $11M to $20M,” Father
     or capital expenses for the upkeep of our        stock to Bishop Kelley. They avoid paying                                                          O’Brien said. “I know that’s possible because
     facilities,” said BK President, Father Brian     capital gains tax and receive a deduction                                                          we’ve seen huge endowments established
     O’Brien. “All of these needs are critical to     on their tax returns. For donors age 70½                                                           at other Lasallian high schools in Memphis,
     the long-term success of the school.”            or older, they may direct a portion of their                                                       Minneapolis, and elsewhere.”

     New Endowment Fund for Building Maintenance
       JOHN H. SMITH WRESTLING                                                 In addition to tuition assistance funds, a gift was established for the upkeep
       ROOM ENDOWMENT                                                          of the John H. Smith Wrestling Room. Established by Jeff and Jeanne Smith,
                                                                               this gift marks the first time in BK’s history that an endowment fund has
                                                                               provided for the upkeep and maintenance of a specific facility.
                                                                                   Completed in early 2016, the John H. Smith Wrestling Room and the Liz
                                                                               Ritchie Cheer Gym make up the nearly 11,000 square feet facility adjacent to
                                                                               the Brothers’ Residence.
                                                                                   “Jeff and I feel that Bishop Kelley needs to build its endowment fund so
                                                                               that new facilities don’t put a strain on the budget,” said Jeanne Smith, who
                                                                               currently serves on the Bishop Kelley Advisory Council.

22           BISHOP KELLEY AMBASSADOR
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