Anthony M. - Athlete of the Week

Written by AD Mike Thomas
May 23 - May 27

After numerous rain outs, and at least one sun out, St Rose finally played the varsity baseball championship game on Saturday against St Bernadette. During the regular season, both teams went 9-1, but with our 7-3 win over St Bernadette, we were the regular season champs. After two wins by each team to start the tournament, and several days off, both teams had all their pitchers fresh. Unfortunately, the Raiders came up just short, 5-3, but there was one individual performance in the game that can’t be overlooked.

Anthony Medina becomes our first two time Athlete of the Week. Anthony started at short, but came in to pitch at the end of the second. He allowed one unearned run in 3 1/3 innings pitched, with 3 strikeouts, and two runners picked off second. At the plate, Anthony was even better. With the unfortunate time limit in effect even in the championship game, St Rose hitters only got two plate appearances, but Anthony made the most of his limited opportunities. He hit a sharp single up the middle in the first on an 0-2 count, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Raiders a brief 1-0 lead. He came up again to lead off the fourth. On a 2-2 count, Anthony got a fastball over the plate, and he destroyed it. St Mary’s had a fence up, and Anthony cleared it in left center by a good 15 feet. This looked like it might be the momentum changer we needed, and sure enough, we got their pitcher out of the game later in the inning, but with the time limit, we still ended up coming just short. Anthony finished the season with a 6-0 record on the mound, with a 2.40 ERA, and 43 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched. He also racked up the following gaudy offensive numbers. 10 hits, 9 walks, 3 triples, 2 homers, 20 runs, 10 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a .556 batting average, a .690 on base percentage, and a 1.222 slugging percentage, for an absurd 1.912 OPS. He led the team in triples, homers, runs, and all the rate stats.

Field Day 2011

St. Rose held our annual field day event on May 20th.  Students participated in numerous team building activities including kickball, tug of war, dodgeball, parachutes, and more.

Extensive web album available on our Google page.

https://picasaweb.google.com/strosedenver

Thank you to Mike Thomas for organizing the event and photographer Cindy Lucero for taking so many photos!

Gabby G. Purchases Mr. O'Connor's Desk!

In a feat that has never been accomplished by another fourth grader at St. Rose, Gabby G. has acquired Mr. O' Connor's desk.

Mr. O'Connor's fourth graders operate under a multidimensional classroom economy all year.  Students apply for jobs at the beginning of the year, earn a monthly paycheck of the class currency "Raider Bucks," pay monthly rent on their student desks, and earn bonuses for academic and behavioral performance.  Students can also be fined for not following the procedures and expectations of the classroom.

Gabby G. set a goal to purchase Mr. O' Connor's desk for $9,000 by the end of the year.  As of May 19th, she had saved enough Raider Bucks to accomplish her goal.  Congratulations Gabby!

Raiders Hold Annual Talent Show

St. Rose students showcased their diverse array of talents Wednesday as the school hosted our annual talent show.  Acts included poetry readings, musical performances, dances, drawings, stand-up comedy routines, and more.

The large number of community members in attendance made this event even more special!

Pictures are now up on our Google page.

https://picasaweb.google.com/strosedenver

Gabriella G. - Athlete of the Week

Written by AD Mike Thomas
May 16 - May 20

This year’s widget girls went a combined 12-1 during the regular season, and entered the tournament at St. Therese as the number 1 seed. I saw the girls improve their skills greatly during the season by watching them each day in P.E. and observing bits and pieces of practice. Coach Val Gonzalez did a great job all year balancing his level of expectations and coaching style appropriately for the widget age group, while also impressing upon the girls the importance of effort and a good attitude. You could see the girls’ confidence grow through the season, and this was expressed best by the look of surprise but then resolve after a girl had a successful hit.

Many of the girls didn’t have much experience before the season started, but luckily a few did. One girl who had volleyball experience before the year started, and who worked hard all year on improving her game and helping her teammates, was Gabriella G. She pursued balls hard, served overhand from the back row to prepare for next year, played the net, and was a consistent performer but also sometimes acted as a second coach on the floor. Gabriella was a pleasure to watch through the year, and she exemplifies the qualities that we stress at St. Rose.  

Volleyball Teams Cap Off Successful Season

Written by AD Mike Thomas
Also found at http://strosedenver.org/gvolleyball.html

St. Rose volleyball had a very successful year at all three levels. Varsity got to the championship game, before losing to a very skilled Guardian Angel squad. JV overcame an early season lack of players, and improved greatly through the season. JV also made it to the championship game, and lost a heartbreaker, 2-1, to St Anne’s.

Widgets probably came the farthest from last year though. Last year’s St Rose widget team didn’t win any games. This year, during the regular season, we fielded two teams, and each team finished 6-1. We combined the teams for the tournament, and the girls got off to a great start at 8 in the morning at St Therese, sweeping their first game over Annunciation. Neither game was particularly close, and all girls contributed. The second match started off well, as we won the first game over Loyola, and led 17-8 in the second game. Unfortunately, Loyola caught fire, and staged a big comeback, eventually winning the match, but all the Raiders should hold their heads high for having a great season and getting the semifinal game. Improvement was easy to see, and next year’s widget team will be led by a strong group of 4^th graders, and next year’s JV team will have a very strong group of 5^th graders to compliment the current 5^th graders.

Our JV Girls were competently and enthusiastically coached by Yolanda and Joseph Handley this year. We had a hard time at the beginning of the season getting the required 8 players, and we played our first game with many of the girls not having practiced together yet. We lost that game 2-1, but then went on a roll, winning 6 of our last 9. The JV team had strong leadership from three sixth graders including stellar play all year from Marla L, but we also got very strong play from 5 5^th graders, so the future continues to look bright for the JV team. Our girls beat Fatima and St. Pius to advance to the championship game at Machebeuf last Saturday morning. We got off to a fast start, and won the first game fairly easily over St Anne’s. St Anne’s bounced back well in game two though, so we went to a decisive third game. We battled early, but St Anne’s pushed the lead to 23-15 before we forced a side out. Alyssa A drew serving duties, and she served 5 consecutive points to bring the Raiders to within two, trailing 23-21. St Anne’s called a timeout, and after a rally, a Raider shot strayed wide left to give St Anne’s a chance to serve for the match, and unfortunately for the Raider faithful present, St Anne’s converted. From the humble beginnings of the first weeks of practice though, the JV team came a very long ways to finish within 4 points of the championship trophy.

Our varsity girls finished fourth last year in the tournament, and had the luxury of having the majority of the 8^th grade girls playing together, and having played together for years before this year. From the beginning of the year, the goal of a championship was set and practice and games were focused on achieving that goal. I had the opportunity to practice with the girls a few times through the year, and they were having lots of fun and were always very supportive of each other. We went 7-3 during the regular season, with a few of the losses occurring during a week when some of our girls were ineligible. We opened the tournament with a home game against Notre Dame. It was the last home game for our 8^th grade girls, and we came out a little flat, perhaps suffering from a little bit of in game nostalgia. After a timeout though, the girls came back on the floor and dominated, winning game 1 and then crushing Notre Dame in game 2. Big contributions were made by all, including Karen P, Valeria B, and Nohely N. We got a rematch against St Mary’s in the semifinal game, having lost to St Mary’s earlier in the regular season. After a close game one win, Raider confidence was high, and we won game two going away, setting up the opportunity to play for the championship. The championship game was played at Machebeuf Saturday morning at the same time as the JVs. Many Raider supporters were switching their heads back and forth watching both teams play simultaneously. When they watched the varsity girls in the first game, they saw the best volleyball from our girls all year. Serves were hit crisply, bumps were bumped with authority, spikes were spiked, and bodies were hitting the floor with abandon. Neither team led game 1 by more than about 3 points at any point, and unfortunately, we ended up two points short, 26-24. Game 2 slipped away a little bit, but every Raider played her heart out, and although we didn’t win the championship, we represented St Rose with great effort, dignity, and grace throughout the game and the season. Next year's 8^th graders will be missed.  

St. Rose Celebrates May Crowning

The St. Rose of Lima school and community had a special mass Wednesday to honor Mary as our queen and mother.  The second grade class, dressed in their First Communion best, were wonderful in their role leading the mass.

Thank you to Mrs. Klebba and other volunteers for your hard work!