By Meredith Zendarski '25

On March 18, the eve of our patron's feast day, Greensburg Diocese Bishop Larry Kulick '84 visited us for the day.  

The visit began in the kitchen.  Kulick and the Catholic Faith Club helped prepare lunch for the students. Bishop Kulick shared and prepared his recipe for cranberry mango chutney to go along with Chef Julie's chicken wraps. 

During lunch, Kulick visited with the Catholic Faith Club and joined in on a round of Catholic charades.  After lunch, the theology department held a game of “Stump the Bishop” as he visited each classroom. 

At the end of the day, the entire student body joined Bishop Kulick for a beautiful mass, honoring our patron saint.  During the homily, Kulick said, "If we follow St. Joseph's example, our hearts can overflow with an abundance of love and justice and mercy."

On March 19, students gathered in the gym to celebrate the feast day of Saint Joseph. After much planning by the seniors, students from each grade level were nominated by their classmates for Joey Awards. Named after our patron saint, there were a total of 17 awards given to different individuals and groups. This has been a tradition for many years.

Seniors, Charlie Ross and Nicholas Sarno emceed the Joey awards. There were many different competitions to determine the winner of each award. A new judge panel was introduced this year.

The senior class proposed that there be one student from each class voted onto the panel, along with Ms. Brock. These five determined the winners for many of the awards. 

The classic “Most like St. Joseph” nominees demonstrated their St. Joseph carpentry skills with legos. Sophomore Domenic Dellemonache built a lily in honor of St. Joseph and won the award. 

Siblings battled as they played the newlywed game. The contest ended in a three way tie so the judges had the sibling pairs link arms and race. The Stickney brothers won the race and took the Joey Award for best sibling pair.   

There was a chariot race that took place to determine the best driver, Montana Geibel, but the person who knocked down the cones, Emma Swierczewski, was awarded the worst driver. 

Another challenge was a 100 piece puzzle to figure out which friend group was the best throughout the different grades. The eight person senior group pulled out on top by completing over half the puzzle in the time allotted.   

The seniors invited former classmate, Noah “Lettie” Lynd, to judge the Joey Award for “Best Lettuce.” Pictures were sent to Lynd to judge who had the best hair.  He sent a video back and deemed Owen Swanson ‘24 as the winner. 

On January 31 the Culture Project visited, during Catholic Schools Week, to present the unhealthy habits and helpful use of social media.

The Culture Project was founded by a group of friends who came together to make their dream come true. Their dream is to make a culture made up of love. They hope they can help people, as they were helped through teachers, to make sense of who they are and what experiences they have in their life. 

When they visited, they discussed who we are and how social media has shaped our perceptions of each other. In reality, high school students are guinea pigs as this is the first generation where social media is easily accessible. Throughout the presentation they discussed the effects social media holds on our happiness and relationships with people and ourselves. 

I personally believe that this group explained what they think is happening and their beliefs, but didn’t force you to think the same. They backed up their information with research and proof, and presented ideas on not just what people are going through but giving a reason why people suffer from mental illness and other issues from social media. 

The two speakers briefly brought up that simply putting your phone down can help you grow and develop social skills among others, and cause others to put their phone down and communicate with you. 

All together I think this was a wonderful experience and I learned many things about who I am and it gave me ideas on what others are thinking and feeling with each post they see. It is helpful to consider how one post can make someone laugh, and it also can mean nothing to another. 

On January 29, students visited Wildlife Lanes Bowling Center in Lower Burrell for Catholic Schools Week.

This is the first time since Covid that SJHS went somewhere for a fun day to kick off Catholic Schools Week.  Student council put this idea into action which started with a lot of brainstorming. 

“I know we were looking for a special idea for fun. Tubing was the main suggestion that went around, but we decided it was too expensive. Other ideas like a movie, skiing, and a giant e-sports competition were brought up too. Eventually we decided bowling was a good idea, and we got Nick Sarno to ask Mrs. Minick. Then we figured out bussing and things like that, and there we were,” said Sean Wolfe ‘27.

Fun was something student council wanted to bring to CSW, and the idea of going out and doing an activity people would enjoy came to mind. Students have ideas about what would be fun while also a learning experience. 

”We should visit a museum or science center,” said Kobe Ball ‘27.

These are both great ways to learn while not being in a school setting. In school learning feels forced, but in a different setting it can be more enjoyable.

“Carnegie History Museum is cool, the science center is always fun, and Andy Warhol is also cool,” said Mary Huth ‘27.

Student council came together and really worked hard to make a fun and memorable Catholic Schools Week. This day brought fun memories and something to look back on for future decisions on where to go. As a school SJHS is small but mighty. It's great that we come together and are able to have days like this.  It's what sets us apart.

By Gio Certa '27

Art students showcased their projects at Penn State New Kensington from the end of February to the middle of March to display their hard work through mediums like acrylic paints, colored pencils, and ceramics. 

Saint Joseph High School, along with Deer Lakes High School, Valley High School, Highlands High School, and Kiski Area High School were all the schools involved in the Alle-Kiski Arts Consortium.

New this year at the art show, guests were able to submit personal notes about art pieces they enjoyed to compliment the artists. Students received the notes from their teacher in class.

“It was nice to know that someone liked my work. It made me feel good about the drawing,” said freshman Annamarie White.