SCRIP goes digital

Tuition. Who doesn’t want to reduce it?

SCRIP or School Cost Reduction Incentive Program has been helping families do just that without the fuss of fundraising. Families purchase gift cards from the school for places they frequent as customers. While they enjoyed face value of their money, SCRIP takes a percentage of each card. Half goes against the family’s tuition bill and half remains with the school. It is a win-win.

Now families can order SCRIP without the trip to the St. Joseph Parish Center. In fact, they can order SCRIP in their pajamas, in their car, even in line at Target.

It starts with going to www.ShopWithScrip.com. SCRIP Coordinator Joy Finnila recommends creating an account on a computer as opposed to a smartphone. Don’t worry; the cool smartphone-part is coming!

Click “Get Started” and then “Join a SCRIP Program”. Our BCACS Enrollment Code is: 4884793F457.

Once you have an account, you can easily sort through all 813 local and national vendors. When you select a vendor, you get a choice. There is the “Physical Gift Card” that goes in your wallet or a “ScripNow eCard”, which you can access through a phone or computer.

Certain vendors allow you to reload an existing card, provided it was purchased through SCRIP and registered to your account.

When you register a card, you can give it a name. Helen Guzzo, longtime BCACS parent and frequent SCRIP user, designated a Meijer card for each member of her family. It’s a great way to give gas money to teenage drivers.

Reloads take 24 hours to become available after purchase. Some vendors have a “ReloadNow” option, which gives instant access after purchase.

When you finish selecting your cards, you have two options to pay. The “check” option sends the order to Ms. Finnila. Much like traditional SCRIP, you show up at the SCRIP office, drop off your check and pick up your cards.

The “PrestoPay” option sends payment from your checking account, enabling “ReloadNow” to be truly NOW. “PrestoPay” takes a couple of days to set up and requires your bank account and routing number. There is a 15-cent fee per transaction, but you can buy as many cards as you like per transaction.

You can also create a SCRIP wallet for your smartphone. Type www.myscripwallet.com in your phone’s browser, log in, and click “add to home screen”. An icon will appear, which opens your digital SCRIP wallet.

Making SCRIP more accessible makes tuition more affordable. It doesn’t just help one family, but the whole BCACS family.

“The power of SCRIP is in the marginal use,” Mrs. Guzzo said. “The more people who use it, the bigger the impact for our schools.”

That power isn’t limited to school families.

Mrs. Guzzo is a big advocate of “Tuition Angels” – people outside the school who buy SCRIP and designate the rebate for a school family. Mrs. Guzzo is grateful for her family’s “Tuition Angels”.

“My Angels were supporters of the schools and supporters of my children,” Mrs. Guzzo said.

Now that her youngest daughter is set to graduate, Mrs. Guzzo has become an “Angel” for the BCACS band program.

“It’s truly the app that keeps me being a regular user,” Mrs. Guzzo said. “I’m doing social good just by spending my regular money.”

Want to learn more? Contact Joy Finnila at 269-963-3034 or jfinnila@bcacs.org.

It’s a difficult track, but one Coach Minier won’t run alone

St. Philip track coach Jeff Minier built his championship program around a simple philosophy.

“Track is a team sport, not an individual sport.”

Recent health issues have shown Coach Minier he’s a member of the BCACS family, not just a BCACS coach.

Coach Minier began suffering tremors last March. A barrage of doctors ran a barrage of tests, but they had no answers. Meanwhile, the 2017 track season was underway. Since this team included his own children (Tim, Class of 2017, and Gabby, Class of 2020), Coach Minier decided to let everyone know.

“I told them, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but by God, we are here to run track, and we’re not here to worry about this stuff,’” Coach Minier said.

The St. Philip Track Team after winning their fourth west division championship in 2017.

The assistant coaches and team captains took on more responsibility and St. Philip earned their fourth division, third league, and first regional championships. The tremors, however, continued. The Minier family couldn’t help but worry. 

Coach Minier decided to go to the Mayo Clinic over Thanksgiving Break. As his appointment approached, his BCACS family mobilized.

The high school said a Rosary at the Grotto, each class leading a decade for Coach Minier’s health.

“Jeff has done so much for our kids,” St. Philip Principal Vicky Groat said. “He’s always pushing them to be better, not just as athletes but as young men and women.”

St. Philip High School students saying the Rosary at the Grotto for the Minier Family.

“I found it very humbling that anyone would think that highly of me to want to do something,” Coach Minier said. “I will take all the help I can get.”

A group of moms from the Class of 2017 contacted Penna Michele, longtime BCACS teacher, to make a prayer quilt from track t-shirts.

“Penna is amazing,” Jeanine Winkler, one of the moms, said. “She put aside another project she was doing in order to do that.”

The elementary and middle school had an out-of-dress-code fundraiser to give the Miniers some spending money while at the Mayo Clinic. The money arrived with the quilt.

“That really threw [my wife and me] backward,” Coach Minier said. “We were dumbfounded that they would do anything. I don’t really have anything to do with the elementary and middle school.”

Mrs. Doyle’s first-grade class sent an additional gift while the Miniers were at Mayo.

“We made him a Rosary book letting him know that we're thinking of him and offering him and his family up in prayer,” Mrs. Doyle said. “I had [the Minier] children here at school, and I think the world of him and Christy.”

The Rosary book was waiting when the Miniers returned.

“I don’t know who [the first-graders] are, and they probably don’t know who I am, but they took time out of their day to do something,” Coach Minier said. “That brought me back to the fact that I’m not just a coach at the high school and my kids aren’t just at a high school.”

“Once you come through our doors, even if you are only there for a year, you are part of the family,” Mrs. Groat said. “We wrap our arms around each other.”

The power of prayer has produced good news. The doctors have diagnosed Coach Minier with a functional movement disorder, a condition that responds well to physical therapy.

It’s a difficult track, but one he won’t run alone.

Mr. Minier (center) with the "dream team" from the Class of 2017. These young men had been running the relay together since their St. Joseph Middle School days when Coach Minier put the team together.

St. Philip's homegrown paleontologists

St. Philip High School students Ellie Stewart, Maggie Hill and Abby Hill were working on a physics project last spring. They spotted two large bones in a bin near their workstation. There was an inscription, “Billy found 1955 Ark.” They asked their science teacher Stephanie Halbert a question.

“What are these?”

The bones predated Ms. Halbert’s time at St. Philip, so she posed a question back.

“Do you want to find out?”

They did.

The students named the bones “J.A.M.E.S.”, using the first initial of each investigative team member: Maggie, Abby, Ellie, then-senior Joshua Klavinski, and Stephanie Halbert. They thought the bones might be from an elephant.

Ms. Halbert contacted Laura Abraczinskas, Michigan State University Museum Vertebrate Collections Manager. The museum had elephant bones on display. On April 14th, J.A.M.E.S. and his team went to East Lansing.

“Ellie went into the elephant exhibit and compared our bones, and they were obviously different,” Maggie said.

Ellie comparing J.A.M.E.S. to African Elephant skeleton at MSU

Ms. Abraczinskas referred the team to the University of Michigan, which had mammoth remains. Ms. Halbert sent pictures to mammoth specialist Dr. Adam Rountrey, Research Museum Collections Manager at U of M’s Museum of Paleontology. Dr. Rountrey thought it might be from a cow, but Ms. Halbert, having grown up on a dairy farm, disagreed.

Summer came and went. The team reassembled in September, this time as an official science club. One of the new members, Miklo Hernandez-Mendez, discovered the bones fit together.

“I saw there was a connection,” Miklo said. “One was in, and one was sticking out.”

Miklo fits J.A.M.E.S. back together.

The team sent new pictures to Dr. Rountrey, who wanted to see the bones for himself.

On October 21st, the science club took J.A.M.E.S. to U of M, where it proved bigger than the mammoth bones.

Dr. Rountrey wondered if it could be from the tail of a glyptodont, an ancestor of an armadillo, or a ground sloth. He took 3D scans of J.A.M.E.S., which are now part of the University of Michigan Online Repository of Fossils. He sent the scans to Dr. H. Greg McDonald, an expert on sloths.

St. Philip Science Club members examing J.A.M.E.S. with Dr. Rountrey [l.]

“The coolest part was seeing Dr. Rountrey excited about it,” Ellie said.

A few weeks later, Dr. McDonald confirmed that J.A.M.E.S. is from a Harlan’s Ground Sloth, easily over 11,000 years old.

“This has been one of the most interesting identifications with which I have been involved,” Dr. Rountrey said. “It's the kind of ‘attic discovery’ kids dream of finding.”

The answer led to another question. Where was J.A.M.E.S. found?

If the bones are from Arkansas, it would be the first evidence of ground sloths in that state. If the bones are from Michigan, it would be the first evidence of ground sloths in the Great Lakes region.

Regardless of where he hails from, J.A.M.E.S. will now call Ann Arbor home.

“We do not have a sacrum from any ground sloth, so it would be an important addition to the collection,” Dr. Rountrey said.

The team will deliver J.A.M.E.S. to U of M in a formal ceremony this winter. The exhibit will include a plaque naming St. Philip High School as the donor.

“It started with one thing, and we got to see it evolve into something much bigger,” Maggie said. “It’s nice to know other people will see [these bones] and know St. Philip did this.”

St. Philip's homegrown paleontologists at U of M's Museum of Paleontology. Front row (from left to right): Miklo Hernandez-Mendez, Abby Hill, Lauren McIntyre. Back row (from left to right): Ms. Stephanie Halbert, Faith Scriber, Ellie Stewart, Jon Sonneborn, Maggie Hill, Stacie Sadowski.

Staff Spotlight: St. Philip High School Principal Vicky Groat

St. Philip High School Principal Vicky Groat has a no-nonsense demeanor, but her heart bleeds St. Philip red.

Vicky Groat giving blood at the last NHS blood drive.

“She really loves the school,” Mary Rabbitt, longtime St. Philip High School administrative assistant, said. “She will do anything to make sure it’s vibrant.”

Mrs. Groat graduated from St. Philip in 1985, the youngest child of celebrated St. Philip volleyball coach and teacher Shelia Guerra. She played on three of her mother’s nine state championship volleyball teams, before adding another ten state titles as a coach herself.

Vicky Groat has coached the Lady Tigers to ten state championships.

Although her mother saw her as an educator, Mrs. Groat had other plans. She earned a business degree from Central Michigan University. After staying home with her young son, Mrs. Groat took a job managing a kitchen cabinet shop.

When her mother died in 2006, Mrs. Groat left her job to grieve and think.

“I know my mom didn’t want me to do this,” Mrs. Groat said. “She thought I needed to get in the school. She always thought I should have gone into education. She thought I should be with the kids.”

St. Philip needed a student services director. Mrs. Groat applied for and got the job. Two years later, Terry Newton retired as St. Philip’s athletic director. Mrs. Groat applied for and got that job. Her son, her work, and her community were now under one familiar roof.

Vicky Groat and her son Blake at his St. Philip graduation.

Principal Tim May’s sudden death in 2014 plunged the school into grief and uncertainty. Mrs. Groat told Fr. John Fleckenstein, “Whatever you need me to do, I will do it.” He asked her to be interim principal.

Katie Reed, St. Joseph Elementary and Middle School assistant principal, was St. Philip’s social studies teacher at the time.

“She was a huge source of strength during a difficult time,” Ms. Reed said. “To have our own person – a home person – take the reins and get us through meant a lot.”

Mrs. Rabbitt, who has worked with 15 principals during her tenure, was impressed with Mrs. Groat’s approach.

“She has good instincts,” Mrs. Rabbitt said. “She will let kids know she is disappointed in something they did, but she also lets them know, ‘Okay, we’re done. Let’s move on.’”

"Vicky truly cares about the students and their success,” Fr. Fleckenstein said. “She demonstrates that she wants each graduate to walk out with a solid high school degree, with faith as it's foundation."

“She gets it,” Ms. Reed said. “She knows we are a family. It’s not just a school. It’s a family. You can tell, at the end of the day, every decision she makes comes from the heart.”

Although asked to consider the position permanently, Mrs. Groat declined. Being principal would mean earning her masters in administrative education while running a school, an athletic department, and a team. However, as the principal search stretched into its second year, Mrs. Groat changed her mind.

Why?

“Because it’s St. Phil,” Mrs. Groat said. “This place has a hold on you. My mom taught here for almost 30 years, I graduated from here – it’s a special place, and I want to be a part of it. It’s my family. There is no other place I would rather be.”

In other words, her mother was right.

The voices of Homecoming 2017

Today’s BCACS Blog takes a first-person look at Homecoming Week 2017.

Forget the dress code
Spirit Week was a little like Halloween. Each class was given a decade. Each day was given a theme for which the students dressed according to their decade’s interpretation. Friday, however, was set aside for Spirit Day. The more the red, the better!

“I enjoyed Spirit Day on Friday because I got to see everyone’s school spirit – all the red and all the decorations for the halls.”
~McKenzee Kositzke, freshman

Back in Black?
The students showed up for class on the Monday of Spirit Week only to see most of their teachers had taken up the habit – the religious habit.

“The theme on Monday was school uniform and when we were thinking about what we would wear as teachers right away both Mrs. Janke and myself said – ‘Nuns!’”
~Kyra Rabbitt, director of student services, freshmen class advisor

Lip Sync Battle
The Lip Sync Battle was a 2017 Homecoming premier and it was a hit. Each fall sports team prepared a lip sync routine to perform in front of the school. The staff determined the winner using a rubric of originality, dance moves and “lip-sync-ability”. The cross-country team took the top spot with their joyful interpretation of “His Banner over Me is Love.”

“I think it was a lot of fun for everybody in the school even the teachers. I think [the cross-country team] won because we just went out and enjoyed ourselves and didn’t worry about embarrassing ourselves.”
~Ben Rutherford, sophomore

Macho Volleyball
St. Philip and volleyball excellence go hand-in-hand. We know our Lady Tigers can handle themselves on the court, but during Homecoming Week, it’s the boys’ turn. Macho Volleyball returned and this year’s competition was fierce.

"It was an awesome display of school spirit. Everyone was engaged and cheering on their classmates and it carried on to the Pink Game Thursday night."
~Vicky Groat, St. Philip High School principal

Pink Game
Thursday of Spirit Week had a special meaning as the volleyball team played its annual Pink Game, which raises money for Borgess’ Tree of Love. This year was personal as two volleyball alums are battling breast cancer. Both served as honorary coaches as our Lady Tigers defeated cross-town rival Climax-Scotts.

“It was an amazing experience. It made us “play for a purpose” and encouraged us to fight harder. The words of motivation that Kelly and Megan said to us, we took to heart and fought back harder. It was great to be a part of something so special and moving. 
~Kirstin Finnila, senior

Decking the Halls
Each class decorated a school hallway on Friday in their “decade”. Over the weekend, alumni and teachers voted for the best one. This year’s winner was the sophomore class, whose 1950’s hallway included a white and black checkered floor and a jukebox.

“I think the sophomores won because we have more to bring to the table in terms of creativity and we work really well as a team.”
~Adam Sprague, sophomore

Bonfire Night
The Friday night bonfire is a school-wide party at Walsh Field. The junior girls squared off against the senior girls in the annual powder puff game, each class squared off against each other in a tug-of-war, the Homecoming Court took a run down the field, and the night finished with a fabulously large bonfire.

“I really enjoyed hanging out with all my friends and watching my grade play in powder puff. It was really entertaining and enjoyable to watch.”
~Joey Janoski, junior

The Spirit Cup Champions
"We are the best class ever.” ~Uriel Gaona, senior
Homecoming Week activities are just about fun, they’re about points. Each class earns points for the competitions they win, resulting in one overall champion. This year, the seniors walked away with the coveted “Spirit Cup”.

"The seniors are really excited about winning the spirit cup during Homecoming week. We were excited to end our last Homecoming together with a bang!"
~Madison Haywood, senior class president

The Homecoming Parade
Wearing their smart uniforms, plumed hats, and black shoes, the St. Philip Marching Band led the high school down VanBuren Street to the C.W. Post Field in style during annual Homecoming Parade.

“My favorite part of parade marching is seeing the reaction of small kiddos who become so fascinated and excited when they see the band marching and playing. Not only does it make my heart happy but it also helps recruitment because many of these excited kids become future marching band members.”
~Laura Bandlow, marching band director, and band teacher

The King & Queen of 2017
The Homecoming Court took their ride down Van Buren street in the annual Homecoming parade and walked onto the field with their parents at halftime. It's the moment we've all been waiting for – the 2017 Homecoming Queen and King are Lili Robinson and Kenny Wojcik.

“I strive to be friends with everyone in our school and relate to them and this proved to me that it worked. I feel a lot closer to my classmates and students throughout the school.”
~Lili Robinson, senior

Time to "reunion"
It is a tradition for the St. Philip Alumni to come home and “reunion” together at the school. This year was extra-special as it marked St. Philip High School Centennial. Over 150 alumni came from all over the country to celebrate together.

“It was great to see alumni of all ages, parents of alumni, and community members reminiscing about St Philip High School, the nuns, and teachers who have taught there over the years.”
~Louanne McIntyre, BCACS Foundation director

"These kids are my vitamins"

St. Joseph preschool teacher Kelly Francisco considers BCACS a family. Her father worked there, she graduated from there, her husband graduated from there, and her children now attend there. But it took breast cancer to reveal the depth of her school family.

“I wouldn’t say [having cancer] is a blessing, but it has definitely shown me why I send my kids here,” Mrs. Francisco said.

When Mrs. Francisco received her diagnosis, she knew she wanted to keep teaching. Her fellow teachers and classroom aides helped her make a plan. Together, they told staff, parents, and students.

“I explained to my students that Miss Kelly has a boo-boo inside of her and I have to take it out,” Mrs. Francisco said. “The kids were really good about it.”

The kids weren’t the only ones.

“Teachers from all over, parents from this year and the past started bringing these gifts – anything they thought I would need for recovery,” Mrs. Francisco said.

Retired teacher Penna Maichele made a “Hope” quilt. Every BCACS student, teacher, and administrator signed a board with the words “I am not fighting alone”. St. Joseph staff members Jeanine Winkler and Don Shafer collected student well wishes in a book. Fr. Chris Ankley gave her a special blessing.

Teacher’s aide Riki Albert made pink “wish” bracelets for students and their moms. Ms. Albert and preschool teacher Aimee Downey created a photo collage of the children’s hands in prayer, all wearing this bracelet. The caption read, “God is watching over you. We know because we asked him to.”

St. Philip principal Vicky Groat asked Mrs. Francisco, a former St. Philip volleyball player, to be an honorary coach at the team’s annual “Pink Game”, which raises money for Borgess’ Tree of Life.

“That’s the thing about our schools if something happens to any of the people in our family the whole community comes out and helps,” Mrs. Groat said.

On the day of her mastectomy, administrative assistant Lee Papke organized a rosary before school with Mrs. Francisco. All the staff was there, wearing pink.

“I was supposed to take six weeks off [for the mastectomy], but I took two.” Mrs. Francisco said. “The reason I took two is this is my second family – these kids are my vitamins. They help me get through every day and so does the staff.”

Mrs. Francisco’s prognosis is good and she plans to work through her remaining treatments. Parents and teachers continue to overwhelm her with support and encouragement.

“The outpouring of love and affection I’ve gotten has made going through this a lot easier,” Mrs. Francisco said. “This is why I send my kids to St. Joseph. It’s not just a school – we’re a family.”

Want to join the fight against breast cancer?

October 5th is the St. Philip Volleyball Team's annual "Pink Game" to raise money for Borgess Tree of Love, which offers free mammograms to underinsured women. The JV game starts at 5:30, with the Varsity game to follow. Former team members and current breast cancer fighters Kelly Francisco and Meghan (Downey) Darlington will be honorary coaches. There will be a 50/50 raffle, a prize raffle, a serving contest for free pizza, "pink" treats at the concession stand, and "TIGERS ROAR against Cancer" T-shirts available for purchase. Direct donations can be made for the Tree of Love on site.

A family affair for over 100 years

St. Philip High School’s centennial has inspired alumni to celebrate their history. But what about St. Philip’s future alumni?

“As adults, we’re all talking about this and celebrating it, but the kids who are here need to appreciate it,” Kyra Rabbitt, St. Philip history teacher, said.

The school hosted a centennial party for students on September 8th, which included a walking history tour led by Ms. Rabbitt. She based it on the tour BCACS historians Matt Davis, Class of 1979, and Sheri (Cobb) Robotham, Class of 2003 gave staff this summer.

It started with a video created by St. Joseph assistant-principal, and St. Philip alumni, Katie Reed, Class of 2000.

The seven-minute tribute was laced with testimonials from alumni, all of whom, at some point, referred to St. Philip as “family”.

Ms. Rabbitt took students to the front of the church, explaining that the small Catholic community purchased it from the Quakers in 1867 for $1,200. An elementary school followed in 1911, as well as a high school in 1917 – the very building current students still enter every day.

The tour continued to the school’s original front entrance on Cherry Street, where Ms. Rabbitt talked about the students gathering before class all the way up to 2010. As the tour wove into the Alumni Room, Ms. Rabbitt called attention to historical points of interest before letting students independently explore.

Decades of young faces from black and white photos smiled down on the young faces milling about the room. Students pointed to old band instruments, old football uniforms, even an old photo of English teacher Laura Miller using the school’s first computer.

The air buzzed because teenagers are rarely quiet – not 100 years ago and not now. They asked Ms. Rabbitt if they could paint a bus like the students did in 1995 or make class patches again.

Ms. Rabbitt encouraged them to find out.

At the end, students recorded their reflections for students 100 years from now. Many used the word “family”.

“St. Phil may not be large in numbers, but we are big in heart,” senior Maddy Haywood wrote. “It’s a family connection.”

Senior Trevor Fuller remarked on the many teachers who are St. Philip alumni. “It just shows how much of a sense of family we have here.”

Exchange student Ziije Dong wrote, “People in this school smile a lot. It feels great to study in the school. The building is old, but it’s beautiful.”

“I came here in 9th grade and couldn’t be happier,” senior Morgan Bohannon wrote. “We are one big, happy family!”

At lunchtime, that big, happy family convened on Cherry Street to share cupcakes, hot dogs, games, and the promise of next 100 years.