Battle Creek Wrestling Tournament

 Justin was back on the mat at the Battle Creek Wrestling Tournament.  He weighed in at 49.4 lbs which is his heaviest weight of the season so far.

 Justin pinned his first two kids in the bracket pretty easily.

 But then he came up against a 2nd Grader from Norfolk Public that was a little taller and had a little more experience and Justin lost by points.  He fought hard the whole 3 minutes and was disappointed, but you can't win them all.

Therefore, Justin was happy with a 2nd place medal for the day!

Take care,
Michelle

Pierce Basketball Tournament

 Club basketball for Erica and her 6th Grade team is winding down.  In fact, the last tournament is this weekend.  But, last weekend they played in the Pierce Tournament.  This tournament had to combine 5th & 6th Grade into a bracket to play.

 The girls ended up getting 3rd place.  The won their first game over a Pierce 5th Grade team and then lost a close second game to Crofton.  The loss put them in the losers bracket which meant they had to keep winning and play more games.

They played five games on Sunday and came up just short, losing by two points with less than 30 seconds to play.  If they would have won, they would have been in the championship game against Crofton, but I'm not sure they had the legs to play another game. 

Take care,
Michelle

Staff Appreciation Week

 Last week was Staff Appreciation week at school and the theme for the week was "Camp Appreciate".  Our Home and School organization does a fabulous job and spoils the staff the entire week.  Each day has a new activity planned for the staff and also the students.

 Helen and Kim did a marvelous job again with decorating the Commons Area for the week.

 Every staff member had a grocery bag for the kids to fill with goodies in appreciation.  The staff was treated one day to a "Pie Bar" and another day to a picnic lunch.  It was very delicious!!!  There was also a campfire sing-a-long and students were to look for hidden bears all week for prizes.

 On the last day, a school assembly was held where the staff members competed in fun games.  One game was a smore building contest.

 A human fishing game - one person was the bait, one person was the caster, and one person was the reeler.

 I was a member of a team that competed in a store scavenger hunt for camping supplies.  There were four stores: hardward, bait shop, Target and grocery.  We ran around the gym to find which store had the items on our list, but you could only get one item at a time.  My team won against the other team.

 The afternoon concluded with prayer and the singing of the school song.  Another awesome Staff Appreciation Week!

Take care,
Michelle

Injury Update

Cara has sidelined with her shoulder injury since the beginning of February.  After having an x-ray and an MRI, the doctors determined that she has a partial tear in one of the ligaments in her right shoulder.  This causes Cara to not be able to lift her right arm above her head or move that arm in certain directions without pain.  The best option for treatment would be surgery, but since Cara is only 14 years old, the doctor doesn't think that we will find a surgeon that will operate because of the sports/overuse injury.  Therefore, the doctor is sending Cara to physical therapy three days a week.  They hope that the scar tissue will go over the tear and hold the ligament together.

 

 Last Friday, the physical therapist measured Cara's improvement during certain exercises and there has been some improvement in her range of motion.  Plus, Kelli, the physical therapist, gave Cara the okay to play the back row in volleyball with no overhead activity at all.  It was limited playing time, but at least she was back on the court and smiling.

 At certain times, I could tell that positions hurt and that she would compensate with her left arm to help the right arm out, but she was on the floor and it is progress to the goal of getting back on the court fulltime.  Sunday was the last day of volleyball until the summer so Cara will continue to go to physical therapy, rest the shoulder and hope that it heals.

Take care,
Michelle

Celebrating Nebraska's Birthday

4th Graders all over the State of Nebraska study Nebraska History in Social Studies.  Last week the Norfolk Catholic 4th Graders were invited to the Elkhorn Valley Museum in Norfolk to celebrate the state of Nebraska's birthday. I was asked to accompany the group to help supervise.

 

 One famous person from Norfolk, Nebraska is Johnny Carson.  The museum has a large display on Johnny Carson, his career, his home, his awards, and the large donations that he has made to our community.

 The kids were also treated to a presentation on the workings of a printing press.  They explained how the press works and then each student got to operate it and print on a sheet of paper.

 The students ended their visit answering some Nebraska trivia questions and enjoying birthday cake and Kool-Aid.

Take care,
Michelle

Champion of Champions!

 The Norfolk Catholic Champion of Champions Tournament was on Saturday.  Justin weighed in at 47.6 lbs.  He was pumped up and ready to wrestle.  He had his fan club present:  Grandma Leader, Gayle Brummer and his girls, Sue and Sienna, and of course, Dad, Cara, Erica and Mom.  (Ashlin was missing because she was sick)

 In his bracket was a wrestler from Cody-Kilgore and two wrestlers from Columbus Lakeview.  First up was the wrestler from Cody-Kilgore.  Justin ended up getting the pin.

 Next, Justin won with a technical fall over a wrestler from Columbus Lakeview.

 Here Justin is going for another pin on the second wrestler from Columbus Lakeview.

 Getting ready to do a half-Nelson and getting two points for the takedown.

 After winning his bracket, then he faced a Wisner/Pilger wrestler from the other bracket on his mat to be the Champion of Champions

 Justin got the pin in the first period and won the medal for Champion of Champions!

All smiles atop the podium!!!  Two new medals to add to his stash.

Take care,
Michelle

2nd in Creighton!

 Friday afternoon we headed to Creighton for another little kids wrestling tournament.  Justin had to weigh-in before 5 p.m. and wrestling started at 5:15 p.m.  Justin weighed in at 48.0 lbs.

 Justin wrestled more aggressive in Creighton than he had the previous tournament.  He remembered to keep his head up, spin to get behind to get takedown points, and to grab the legs quicker for a takedown and gain control in the match.

 First up was a wrestler from Elkhorn Valley and Justin won on points.  Coach/Cousin Zac was telling Justin what to do from the edge of the match.

 Then Justin faced a wrestler from Creighton losing 2-6.  He fought hard, but time ran out on a reversal at the end of one period.

 Justin finished in 2nd place and received his medal from Uncle Randy. 

This is a group photo of Keith, Justin, Scott Fritz and Kaden Fritz.  Keith and Scott work together and are both area supervisors for NPPD.  Scott over the linemen and Keith over the substation crew.  Justin is a couple weeks older than Kaden, but definitely smaller in size.  Congrats to Kaden on winning his bracket!

Take care,
Michelle

Happy 10th Birthday Ashlin!

Happy 10th Birthday Ashlin!  As Justin says, "You are two whole hands now"!  Ashlin's birthday was on Friday, and it was extra special because there was No School.  Plus, Grandma Korth took the kids out for lunch on Thursday because there was no school since the Norfolk Catholic girls were playing at state basketball.  Ashlin spent her birthday relaxing, watching "Mockingjay Part I" that came out on video on Friday, watching her brother wrestle and then eating ice cream cake.

Ashlin got a huge smile on her face when one lady at the grocery store told Ashlin that she was now a "pre-teen" since she was double digits.

Take care,
Michelle