Art Students Turn Service-Learning into Valentines
February 13, 2025
One of the Lake Catholic core values is “a willingness to serve.” The sign that you see when you leave the school parking lot reads “Exit to Serve.” All students must complete 50 hours of service to graduate and have 80 hours to qualify to wear the Service Cord at commencement.
Service is woven throughout the fabric of the Lake Catholic school year – service projects on and off campus, Turkey Day, Meal Ministry, Pallbearer Ministry, and the list goes on and on.
Service-learning, though, is another form of service – one that second-year art teacher Carolina Kane hopes to bring more of to her classes with the hope that it spreads throughout the school.
“I’m trying to bring service-learning into what I do in my classroom,” Kane said. “It’s actually a goal of mine. I want it to be incorporated into my curriculum. It’s what I did when I worked at John Carroll, and I want to bring that type of service here.”
Service-learning is more than just a beach cleanup, raking leaves, or shoveling a driveway – although all of those things are important. Service-learning incorporates the learning aspect of the classroom with the service.
So, although Kane’s Art Foundations class and the Art Club seemingly just made Valentine’s Day cards, there was more to it than that.
“We did these before Thanksgiving, so it was one of the first actual design projects we did,” Kane said. “But it was more than making the cards. It was how they interacted with the card. How did the paper feel in their hands? What colors made sense to use? What font and font sizes made the most sense for this project?”
Although it was a real classroom lesson and project for Kane and her students, the service part of it will have a much broader reach.
As a school, nearly 100 cards were donated to the Lake County Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program to be delivered on Valentine’s Day. In total, from nine schools, more than 1,400 cards were collected for distribution.
“When people receive these cards, most of them are just so excited,” said Kelly Johnson, who helps Meals on Wheels spearhead the Valentine’s Day card initiative. “You can just see on their faces how much it means to them and that it makes their day.”
The cards were made before Thanksgiving because Johnson and her team of volunteers have to inspect each card by hand because there is a list of things that each one can, or can’t, say on it.
“Carolina and her students’ cards were awesome,” Johnson said. “While it usually takes us hours to go through a school's cards, I don’t think we spent more than an hour on the cards from Lake Catholic. They followed the parameters perfectly. Every person that hand-checked the cards from Lake Catholic loved them and came away very impressed.”
While a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Kane worked as a photographer and visual storyteller with John Carroll’s Center for Service and Social Action (now the Center for Service-Learning and Social Action), which is where she was then hired when she graduated from CIA. And she said service-learning is something she’s always been drawn to and wants to bring more of here at Lake Catholic.
“We see it all the time here – the spirit of giving and service,” she said. “It’s right there in the mission of Lake Catholic. I just want to continue to help our students appreciate their important role of service, but while also learning.”
According to the Council on Aging’s website, Meals on Wheels delivers food five days per week, with an option for frozen meals for the weekend. According to a study conducted by Brown University and funded by AARP Foundation, home delivered meals improve overall health, reduce anxiety and depression, decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation, and help seniors feel more safe and confident about living in their own home.
Freshman English Classes Benefit from Cross-Department Collaboration
February 11, 2025
Sometimes a lesson in one of your high school classes was just that, a lesson - something you needed to learn and know, something you had to study for a test, something you would use in future lessons.
Sometimes, though, a lesson is much, much more than that.
Miss Tabitha Halcomb’s freshmen English classes each read Night by Elie Wiesel. The 1960 memoir is based on Wiesel’s Holocaust experiences with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, toward the end of the Second World War in Europe.
According to Halcomb, the text heavily addresses indirect and direct characterizations, symbolism, and themes. So, that might be enough for a freshman English class, especially considering the subject matter itself.
But there’s more to it for these two sections of English 9.
“I also use this memoir to discuss central connections between literature and history through exploring the Holocaust and aftermath through Elie Wiesel’s perspective/life story,” Halcomb said. “Also, this text is central in teaching and discussing Catholic social justice principles and their connections to Elie Wiesel’s life experiences and story throughout his time in Auschwitz as a Holocaust survivor.”
This year, however, Halcomb has added even more to the lesson plan. She has partnered with Visual Arts Department Chair Kelly Wolf and brought her two classes to Wolf’s art room so they could work on their very own Butterfly Projects.
“I truly enjoy doing cross-department collaboration throughout the school year,” Halcomb said. “I think it’s important for the students to learn from me and so many other teachers throughout the school. It really helps all of us build and maintain good relationships with others across campus and connect as the Lake Catholic family. Also, I really love the combination of teaching art and literature together. Anytime I can make that happen, I think it brings my students joy and really makes the content come alive in a meaningful, memorable, and real way for them.”
Wolf said this is not the first time she’s been involved with cross-department collaboration. She’s worked with several teachers from the English, social studies, and science departments in the past.
According to its website, The Butterfly Project is a call to action through education, the arts, and memorial making. They teach social justice through lessons of the Holocaust, educating participants about the dangers of hatred and bigotry to cultivate empathy and social responsibility. By painting ceramic butterflies, which are displayed as symbols of resilience and hope, participants remember the 1.5 million children killed during the Holocaust.
The students have sketched and designed their butterflies, built them with clay, painted them, designed their butterfly boards, and will eventually display them once their projects are completed.
“I thought the project was worthwhile,” Wolf said. “The students had fun creating their butterflies. It was apparent that many of them had never worked with clay before though. They spent a lot of time working on their background and how they were going to incorporate a quote from the story. Many of the students really tried to make their butterflies look real. Others were just having fun experimenting with color.”
The final Butterfly Projects were put out in Main Hall this week, where they will stay as a silent reminder of the project and its larger meaning.
“The students have asked so many questions about this unit and have shown real passion for it,” Halcomb said. “They have been most surprised about the reality of anti-semitism, how it led to the Holocaust, and the outcome of it for the Holocaust survivors’ lives.
“Elie ends up in Auschwitz at the age of 15, so the students connected strongly with many of the questions that he has about his relationship with God, his family, friends, himself, and life. Many of the students shared that they couldn't believe he could “find joy after so much pain and hatred that Elie experienced in his life. We have had good conversations about how to deal with major problems in the world and the importance of our words and sharing our stories.”
The lesson was to include another piece as well – a trip to the Maltz Museum. The goal of experiencing the Maltz Museum was to participate in the “Stop the Hate” writing workshop, discuss and reflect on Jewish influence on social, historical, religious, and economic growth in Cleveland, and hear another story from a Holocaust survivor.
Because of the calamity days in late January, though, the trip was canceled. Halcomb said she would want to incorporate the field trip into next year’s lesson.
Lake Catholic Dreams Big, Releases Strategic Plan for an Extraordinary Future
January 29, 2025
“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” – Gloria Steinem
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that a plan is a document that puts structure around an idea. But without that vision to set the plan in motion, there’s no point in following through. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem understands that before there is a plan, there is a dream. That’s always the first step in any plan.
Lake Catholic High School is excited to announce the completion and release of its new Strategic Plan, Creating Extraordinary Futures, a comprehensive roadmap designed to guide the school’s growth and development over the next several years. This plan, which has received the full support of both the Diocese of Cleveland and the Lake Catholic Advisory Board, sets a clear direction for the future while remaining grounded in the school’s rich traditions and mission.
Creating Extraordinary Futures is the result of a year-and-a-half of collaboration within the Lake Catholic community. Through surveys, interviews, and workshops with a wide range of stakeholders—including students, current and former parents, alumni, community members, faculty, and staff—the school has gathered invaluable insights to shape its vision moving forward. This input was used by a dedicated group of community leaders, in partnership with Partners in Mission, a full-service Catholic Education growth consultancy and professional learning firm, to craft strategic goals and objectives across eight critical domains – Academics, Advancement, Catholic Identity, Enrollment, Facilities, Finance, Governance, and Student Life.
Each domain has been thoughtfully analyzed to ensure that Lake Catholic remains a leading institution for academic excellence, spiritual growth, and community engagement. The Strategic Plan emphasizes the importance of holistic development—nurturing not just the intellectual but also the spiritual, social, and emotional growth of students.
“We are excited to begin the work within the plan as we look to move forward the mission of Lake Catholic High School,” Lake Catholic President John Morabeto said. “This plan will be our guiding light as we chart the future of our vibrant institution.”
The Strategic Plan is not only a vision for growth but also a commitment to excellence in every area of the school. It will focus on enhancing the academic experience, building stronger community connections, expanding enrollment, and ensuring that facilities, finances, and governance structures are well-positioned for future success.
“The unveiling of our new strategic plan is a testament to Lake Catholic’s unwavering commitment to faith, excellence, and service,” said Jeff Fenner, Chairman of the Lake Catholic Advisory Board. “This plan reflects the school’s dedication to preparing students not just for academic success, but for lives rooted in purpose and guided by Catholic values."
As Lake Catholic High School embarks on the next phase of its journey, the new Strategic Plan will serve as a living document, regularly reviewed and updated to respond to the evolving needs of the school community and the broader educational landscape.
To read Lake Catholic High School’s new Strategic Plan, please visit http://8oqm.rrmbaojie.com/about/strategic-plan.cfm.
Young Alum, Ohio State Sophomore Films Buckeyes' Run to National Championship
January 23, 2025
When looking for a new job – whether it’s a summer position as a high schooler or even changing careers 20 years after graduating from college – the old saying goes, it’s not always what you know, but who you know.
In only her second year at Ohio State as a Sports Industry major, Mackenzie Brugh (’23) has heard that many times already. So, when she got an email last winter (as a freshman in her first semester in college) with a job posting for a video assistant role with the Ohio State football team, she applied.
“Video is not my passion,” she said, “but I wanted to get my foot in the door, get experience, and meet as many people as I could.”
Early in the morning on Tuesday, January 21, just hours after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 34-23, to win the College Football Playoff National Championship, Brugh was being fitted for a championship ring.
“I don’t know if we are going to get rings, but our boss said he was going to try to make sure we did get one,” she said.
As an athlete her entire life, the Sports Industry major was a perfect fit for Brugh, who was a member of the Lake Catholic cross-country, basketball, flag football, and track teams. So, when she got that email before winter break during her first year, she was happy to apply for the position that would become a full-time job for her starting with the Buckeyes’ spring practices in 2024.
“My interview for the position was right when I got back from winter break. I found out I got it a few weeks later,” said Brugh, who admitted the most she had ever filmed before was a few of her brother’s (Connor, Lake Catholic Class of 2027) games on an iPad. She was one of 15 students who made up the football coaches’ video production team. The team is led by an assistant director of video (Brugh’s direct boss) and the Director of Video Production.
During spring workouts and practices leading up to the annual Scarlet and Gray spring game, Brugh would work in the morning (with practices starting as early as 530a) and take classes in the afternoon. She was trained on her camera, tripod, and backup sources. She was also shown how to import and edit her videos, although she said that wasn’t a main function of her job this season.
After the spring game, she was done working for the team for the summer and returned home.
“I was home for the summer but had to be back at school by the end of July,” she said. “My dorm room wasn’t even ready when I got back, so the team paid for me to stay in a hotel for a week while I worked.”
Unlike in the spring, during the fall, everything is in the afternoon. She would usually work Sunday nights, at least 2-7p Tuesdays through Thursdays, and then be at home games four to five hours before kickoff. But her entire work schedule was dependent upon what the football coaches wanted and how long they would actually practice.
“We don’t get priority scheduling like athletes, so I just had to make sure all my classes were in the morning because there were a lot of days we were there late – plenty of weeks when I worked more than 40 hours,” she said.
Her job became the secondary sideline videographer tasked with filming the defense during practices from the sideline in a tower.
“The tower wasn’t bad until the two weeks when they were practicing for Tennessee (the first round of the College Football Playoff),” she said. “It was about 15 degrees out, but it was 15-20 degrees colder up there. We had to have heaters up there with us.”
Her role was only to film practice. So, she didn’t travel to away games during the regular season. And it only took three of her team members to film the home games, but that doesn’t mean she was without a job.
“I was up with one of our cameras on the concourse by the big scoreboard,” she said. “The camera is so close to the fans that my job was actually to make sure they kept their hands down and out of the way of our shot.”
When Ohio State officially qualified for the playoffs, Brugh knew two things – One, she was going to be able to travel to the bowl games (assuming they kept winning). Because of the playoff schedule, the team traveled several days before each bowl game and practiced, which meant the video team had to be there with them. And two, she wasn’t going to get the holiday breaks that most college students enjoy.
“The Michigan game is Thanksgiving weekend, and we had practice Thanksgiving morning, but I was able to make it home in time for dinner,” she said. “After the loss to Michigan it was an intense two weeks of practices, and we worked a lot. I worked on Christmas Eve but was able to make it home and actually walked into 4 o’clock mass at St. John Vianney during the homily. And then we spent New Year’s Eve in a hotel in Los Angeles.”
It was there that the Buckeyes avenged one of their two regular season losses, beating No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. From there, it was more work than school for Brugh and the rest of her team.
- Ohio State football was excused from classes from January 6-10 (despite its general student population returning to school) because Texas, the Buckeyes' national semifinal opponent, was still on winter break. So, to make things equal, Ohio State didn’t have to attend classes either.
- After the 28-14 win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl, according to Brugh, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said they were there to win a National Championship, not to go to class; so they didn’t go to class the week of January 13-17 either.
- Not to mention when they returned from both the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, Brugh and her team had to wait for the luggage truck at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and then set up all the coaches' laptops. “We’d be at the facility usually from 4-7a when we got back,” she said.
“I definitely have a lot of work to make up,” she said. “I think most of the Sports Industry professors are used to people missing classes for stuff like this, but the (general education) professors aren’t. So, I did have some unexcused absences.”
Although Brugh said she still doesn’t think video is the career she’s going to pursue (her dream would be to work for the Cleveland Browns and the girls high school flag football program they’ve started), she definitely wants to keep this job for next season. She did say though that at her year-end meeting with her bosses she’s going to see what it will take to be a game-filmer next season.
“I learned so much this year, technically as a videographer, and what goes on in the sports industry,” she said. “Regardless of what team we work for and root for, there is a level of respect for each of the teams we played and their staffs because we all have a job to do. We need to maintain professional behavior. The only time all season that we didn’t contain ourselves was when Jack Sawyer scored against Texas.
“It was just very interesting being in that building every day. So much goes into a program like that. So many different operations people doing so many different jobs. And then, of course, the demand for perfection from the coaches and the players. Everyone working together for one goal. And they did it.”
And she might get a National Championship ring for it. Not too bad for a college job.
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