News from around the archdiocese: May 2

SCHOOLS

Trivia night supports tuition assistance

On April 6, more than 350 people turned out for V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School’s Trivia Night fundraiser to support tuition assistance, nearly doubling last year’s attendance of 200 people. The event helped kick off the Omaha school’s monthlong fundraising efforts to support financial aid, which benefits a third of the school’s 732 students.

Hosted by Skutt Catholic and the SkyHawk Association, the night’s trivia categories ranged from nursery rhymes and “name that tune” to more traditional topics such as art and science. 

Following eight rounds with 10 questions each, two teams tied for the win – a team of current parents, Get Wiggy With It, and an alumni team, Coyote Crew.

Mark Narke, a current parent, and Tim Bloomingdale, Skutt’s director of admissions, served as emcees.

Roncalli celebrates 30th Festa del Leone

Roncalli Catholic High School in Omaha raised more than $204,000 for tuition assistance during its 30th annual Festa del Leone, the school’s largest fundraising event.

The April 13 event drew 380 attendees with proceeds supporting tuition assistance for over 89% of students at Roncalli. 

The evening’s events, emceed by Omaha Police Chief and Roncalli alum Todd Schmaderer, included silent and live auctions, a $5,000 lottery drawing, and the presentation of the Pope Saint John XXIII Award to Maryanne Stevens, president of the College of Saint Mary in Omaha.

St. James/Seton wins engineering competition

The St. James/Seton Catholic School engineering/architecture club took first place April 12 in the middle school division of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) citywide competition at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. 

Twelve schools and 18 teams participated in the event, where students were asked to solve the problem of a fresh water shortage during a natural disaster. St. James/ Seton’s project, “H2.0 Filtration Backpack,” developed a backpack containing a water filter and optional first aid kit in case of emergency. 

The team of sixth and eighth graders met once a week with mentors Dave and Patricia Rohan, engineers at HDR, a company that specializes in architecture, environmental, construction and engineering services, and school staff members Marlena Laney and Doug Goebel. 

Life insurance agent donates winnings

A $500 donation from Tyson Owens, an agent with Catholic Order of Foresters, a nonprofit Catholic life insurance society, will further the faith and education of students at St. Bonaventure Catholic School in Columbus.

Owens, a parishioner of St. Bonaventure Parish, was one of Catholic Order of Foresters’ top 20 agents to receive a Richard Tobin Benevolence award this year based on his production with the Foresters’ Single Premium Universal Life product. Each agent designates the award’s proceeds to a church, school or community organization of their choice. 

High schools fundraise for Project Rachel

Students at 10 high schools in the archdiocese held dress down days and school mission collections to raise nearly $4,450 for Project Rachel, a nationwide healing ministry for women and men wounded spiritually and emotionally by abortion. The money will be used to advertise services offered by Project Rachel and help underwrite counseling costs.

Participating high schools were Creighton Preparatory, Daniel J. Gross Catholic, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Marian, Mercy, Mount Michael Benedictine, Norfolk Catholic, Pope John XXIII, Roncalli Catholic, and V.J. and Angela Skutt Catholic.

Students presented checks April 25 to Archbishop George J. Lucas, who praised them for their generosity.  Marion Miner and Rachael Tvrdy from the Nebraska Catholic Conference spoke during the presentation event on the healing that Project Rachel provides and the abortion pill reversal legislation that will be voted on in the Nebraska Legislature this session.