Summer

So as the school year has been ended for a while now, summer is well under way and has been a great amount of fun already! Summer baseball is coming to one of its highest points, as the Junior Legion team I play for is about to enter into the country tournament as the number one seed. We have a very good chance of going all the way in counties this year, as well as an automatic bid into the state tournament. I can't wait to get that underway!

Another great thing about this summer is working. As I just turned 17 a few days ago, I'm going to be taking my drivers test soon and more importantly I can finally get a decent job. I'm very excited to get working and start making money for myself, so I can put it towards a car and college. College visiting has been another high point of my summer. As the school year drew towards a close, I started visiting colleges and have gotten up to 5 right now. It's so cool to go check out the campuses and seeing what the schools are about. This concept will be better understood throughout the junior year of high school. Hope everyone has a good summer!

End of School

Sorry that it has been a while since I last posted! School has been coming to an end but all of my classes are in full force. I just took 3 AP exams in May and only had to take one final in June because I was exempt from the rest of them. Junior Year went by quick, and at the end of the year, we enjoyed our Junior Rite of Passage, our time where my class officially became seniors. I can't believe we have come this far, but at the same time I can because my college search has begun.

So after school had ended, UC hosted the incoming Freshmen barbeque. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves as the incoming freshmen class was socializing and participating in many different activities, ranging from volleyball to dancing. Unfortunately that was the last time I had to be at school all summer, and can't wait to get back there for Senior Year!

Baseball & AP Exams

So our baseball team is doing very well so far! We are 8-3 and ranked number 1 in the New Jersey non-public division for high school baseball. Our team is having so much fun playing and achieving success. Mr. Reagan, our coach (and Vice Principal of the school) has done a great job with the team so far this year. He also earned his doctorate degree a couple weeks ago and he was honored at Mr. UC.

Spring Break is rapidly approaching and everyone can't wait to go on vacation. However, when spring break ends, I will be taking my AP exams and will be very nervous for those! The AP exams start the Monday we come back and go on for the next two weeks. They are three hour exams and the ones I will take are in English, American History, and Chemistry. After those exams, school will be half done for me and I'm very excited for that, and prom will follow soon after!

Events @ UC

Hello Everyone! The Quarters for Cancer was big success and we raised about $900! It was such a great night and everybody enjoyed themselves, as well as the great food. After Quarters, Mr. UC provided the entertainment for the rest of the night. The opening dance performance consisted of all the contestants dancing to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain. As you can imagine, it was quite a sight to see. The night consisted of displaying various talents, having a formal wear viewing, and answering questions about Union Catholic History. After all was said in done, my good friend from homeroom, Danny was crowned Mr. UC. He had a great stand-up comedy routine that had the audience laughing the whole time. Can’t wait for next year because my class will be participating !

Spring Events

Even though the weather might convince you otherwise, the spring sports season is well underway here at Union Catholic. All the teams have been practicing hard and each played a few scrimmages. As a member of the varsity baseball team, I can say that our team has a lot of potential this year. We are no longer the young team in the county and we are ready to play hard this year. The softball team is coming back from a great State Tournament last year and look very good on the field. The lacrosse team has just picked its captains and is coming off a good win in their last scrimmage. As always, the track team is looking strong and Coach McCabe has everyone working hard.

Coming next week is our Spring Pep Rally, Quarters for Cancer dinner, and Mr. UC Pageant. Every day, the candidates for Mr. UC are practicing each morning in preparation for their glory time on stage. Excitement is building around the school as next week will be very eventful. As well as the events mentioned above, all the sports teams are eager for their first game. Come check out some of the home games. Also, stop by for dinner and a show on Tuesday March 29^th, and go to Quarters for Cancer and Mr. UC!!!

Spring

Hello Everyone!

One of the most exciting seasons for Union Catholic is the spring season. So many things are coming up soon such as junior prom, the Mr. UC pageant, and Quarters for Cancer. Polo shirts will be coming out soon and this is a personal favorite time of the year for me.

Another amazing thing about spring is the spring sports tryouts have just ended. Now our baseball, softball, lacrosse, track, golf teams are all under way and practicing. One of the most amazing things is standing in the outfield at baseball practice and watching all the other teams go to work too. Everyone is out on the field at the same time, and it is truly an awesome sight! Now everyone is just waiting for the weather to get warm and the sun to come out and that first game/meet/outing will be fun for everyone. Can't wait for that opening day game for baseball!

Peer Coordinator & SMAC

In my last post, I talked about how I am part of the Peer Coordinator program at UC. I think it is one of the coolest things to do inside school because it allows me to see what it is like to work so closely with the freshmen and incoming freshmen class. Every morning I get to stay in a special homeroom up in the freshmen wing. I help in whatever way possible with the freshmen moderator, Mr. Gresco. The first day of school for freshmen was absolutely silent. I knew this would never last and my beliefs were true. About a month into the school year the freshmen were probably the loudest hallway in the morning. I watched as friendships were made and everyone started playing sports. It was a really awesome transformation.

Another big event happening at school is SMAC's Quarters for Cancer Dinner. The SMAC Executive Board had a meeting about this event last night. We discussed how much of a successful event this was last year, and we are hoping to attain the same achievement this year, if not better. This dinner is one of the biggest fundraisers SMAC hosts and all the proceeds are donated to Relay for Life. What happens is when you walk in, you buy tickets, a quarter per ticket. Each ticket allows you to get one scoop of food from whatever you want. It's a pretty good deal considering the food is all amazing. The personal favorite of mine is all the desserts that are available. We hope this will be a great success again this year!!

Leadership at School

Hello everyone! My name is Jimmy and I am a Junior at UC right now. My junior year has perhaps been the most fun year at UC. The reason I say this is because as you move up in high school, you get the privilege of being in many different leadership positions. I'm about to talk about some of the clubs and other programs I am involved in, but don't worry, I will explain them. I am a peer coordinator, big brother, SMAC (student movement against cancer) executive board member, and another I will mention is National Honor Society.

Being a part of the Peer Coordinator program is probably the most eye-opening experience I have been a part of at UC. The first part of this program is to make sure the Big Brothers and Big Sisters do their job. Big Brothers & Big Sisters are responsible for calling their incoming freshmen over the summer, asking them questions, offering advice, and just being there for them. The next job BB/BS have to do is be there on the big day: Freshmen Orientation Day. Why is this day so important? Well, imagine walking into homeroom, getting a class schedule, and being told to have fun finding your classes for the rest of the day. Fortunately, this is not the case. The freshmen get to go down to the cafeteria, which is filled with all the BB/BS holding up signs and screaming peoples' names. After finding their BB or BS, everybody gets to sit down and get a nice breakfast and talk about where their first class is, what teachers are like, and many other things! I think I will end here for now, and tell everyone more about the Peer Coordinator experience next time I write!