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Montini Catholic President Kevin Beirne and Principal Chris Tiritilli recently attended the 2025 LASSCA (Lasallian Association of Secondary School Chief Administrators) Conference in Anaheim, California, from February 23 to 26. The LASSCA Conference provides a platform for Lasallian school leaders to collaborate, share best practices, and discuss the latest innovations in teaching, technology, and scholarship. This year’s event focused on the Lasallian mission and explored ways to integrate new approaches into education. One of the conference highlights was the keynote address by Dan Fitzpatrick, author of The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education. Fitzpatrick delved into the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance classroom learning, offering valuable insights for educators seeking to incorporate AI into their teaching practices. Tuesday’s keynote session featured Dr. Sarah Wannemuehler, Director of Clinical Practice and Associate Professor at the University of Southern Indiana. Dr. Wannemuehler presented real legal cases and provided crucial resources for school leaders to update and improve their school handbooks. Her session was an essential resource for administrators navigating legal challenges in education. “We are grateful for the opportunity to attend these keynote sessions, which provided invaluable insights on both technology and legal issues in education,” said Beirne. “The information shared will help us adapt to the evolving educational landscape and ensure that Montini Catholic remains at the forefront of academic excellence.” “The LASSCA Conference gave us the chance to connect with other Lasallian leaders and learn from experts in various fields. We’re excited to bring back practical strategies to continue enhancing our school environment and providing the best experience for our students.” Montini Catholic remains committed to fostering academic rigor, embracing innovation, and staying aligned with the values of the Lasallian mission to benefit its students. ​Image Attached: ​L to R: Montini Principal Chris Tiritilli, Brother Michael Fehrenbach, FSC of Christian Brothers of the Midwest District and Montin President Kevin Beirne

Montini Catholic students, faculty and staff gathered on March ​5​th to celebrate Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season​. Lent is a solemn forty day period of fasting and penitence​, ending at sundown on Holy Thursday and observed by Catholics as they prepare for ​the resurrection of Christ on Easter​ Sunday (April ​2​0th). Fr. Larry Dreffein, OFM,​ celebrated Mass with the students. ​After Mass senior Isabel Evenson (Villa Park) gave a beautiful reflection on the three pillars of Lent—prayer, fasting and almsgiving​ - which are expressions of the fundamental purpose of Lent, which is to turn to God in a conversion of heart.

Montini Catholic Principal, Chris Tiritilli, is proud to announce that senior Conor Kaefer (Lombard) is among the National Merit Commended Semifinalists (named in September of 2024) who have met all requirements to advance to the Finalist standing in the competition. Conor is currently being considered for National Merit Scholarship awards. In September of 2024, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) was proud to announce the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors had an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered. To compete for National Merit Scholarships, Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several additional requirements. About half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title. Since its founding, NMSC has recognized over 3.5 million students and provided some 470,000 scholarships worth over $1.8 billion. The honors awarded by NMSC to exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of excellence. United States high school students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as an initial screen of over 1.3 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.Recipients of Merit Scholarship® awards, Achievement Scholarship® awards, and corporate-sponsored Special Scholarships have increased the nation's respect for intellectual accomplishments and have contributed significantly to its talent pool of future leaders.

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Montini Catholic's Robotics Team is looking forward to the end of the month when they will once again compete in the VEX Robotics State Competition (February 28-March 1, 2025). The Broncos qualified for State after their successful finish at the 3rd Great Lakes Tournament on February 15th. "This team dedicated an incredible amount of time and effort to building their robot, and it was amazing to see their hard work pay off with such a strong performance at Great Lakes," said new Head Coach Don Krystof, who succeeds Coach Pete Farina '87 this year. Krystof and his team can't wait to see Montini Robotics compete at State for the 6th year in a row. “With all the challenges we’ve faced this season we have still managed to overcome and improve," raved captain senior Wyatt Prater , who has transformed into a seasoned Robotics mavin during his four years at Montini. (As a sophomore, Wyatt joined brother, William Prater '23 , in 2023 for the Broncos first trip to VEX Worlds.) "This year we have been to three competitions, Great Lakes 2 & 3 as well as the Great Lakes 3 skills only tournament. Our hope for State is to be top five in the skills category and get an award that will qualify us for Worlds. At Worlds, of course, we want to have fun, but we also wish to get far enough into the competition and make the playoffs for the first time in team history." Fellow senior teammate, and another highly skilled roboticist, Matthew Silveyra , shares Wyatt's enthusiasm for State and beyond. Coincidentally, he too, shared the Worlds' spotlight in 2023 with his brother Alex Silveyra '23 . "I think this season has really lived up to our team motto of 'Solve one problem - make two more.' However, despite the challenges we face, we continue to put the time and effort in to do the best we can possibly do." "Our season has been a difficult challenge due to fewer members," added Wyatt. Typically, Montini's State teams have been comprised of ten+ members. This year's team of seven (five of whom are seniors) have worked even harder to make up the numbers. "We also have some new members in the team we are trying to teach so they continue the successful history of the program. Mr. Krystof has been great and has helped us every way he possibly could have. Right now we are all hoping we do well enough to qualify for worlds!" VEX Robotics competitions help students develop STEM skills, like questioning, experimenting and learning in a fun environment. The competitions also help students develop communication, collaboration and time-management skills. IMAGE ABOVE: Montini's 2024-25 Robotics Team Members - l to r: Coach Don Krystof, Andrew Pivoney '28, Josh Brunke '25, Geethan Siram '25, Wyatt Prater '25, Matthew Silveyra '25, Isabel Jaojoco '25 and Franklin Barnes '27

Montini Catholic senior Bryanna Bell was quite thrilled earlier this year to be able to attend the Illinois High School Theatre Festival (IHSTF) held from January 9th through the 11th at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Bryanna, an aspiring stage manager, was honored to be able to take advantage of a her opportunity to attend. IHSTF, produced by the Illinois Theatre Association, is a non-competitive theater festival for high school students in Illinois. It's the oldest and largest non-competitive festival of its kind in the world with the goals of enriching students' education by helping them realize theatre as a creative outlet while exposing them to different types of theatre. The festival is also credited for bringing students together from diverse communities to help them recognize and share their common interest in theatre. "I had the opportunity to see several shows, attend workshops, and meet people," said Bryanna, who, during her junior year, was chosen as Montini's Bronco Artist of the Month for her work in stage management. "One of the most important aspects of (IHSTF) for me, is the fact that many college theatre programs attend and allow students to audition/interview for them. I was able to interview for many schools' theatre programs, which is a requirement for most college stage management majors. It was a really fun and unique experience to be around so much theatre and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves fine arts." During her senior year, Bryanna has expanded her job skills by serving as the Student Technical Director for Montini's Theatre Department. "I am more in charge of pre-production things, such as props, set building, and preparation of crew members. But, stage management is still my first love. My favorite part of being in both positions is the fact that I get to connect to so many amazing people. Our program has grown exponentially since I first started, meaning that I have gotten the opportunity to meet many talented, smart and kind kids." Bryanna's responsibilities, which are both fun and challenging, can come with a bit of stress. "You’re in charge of the show and responsible for a bunch of people! Things go wrong all the time, and tech week (the days leading up to the show) is always the hardest and slowest week of the year. Because of all the work we put in, everyone kinda feels that stress, however, the product (the show) is so satisfying to see. People always ask me why I choose stage management, it being one of the more stressful and “less rewarding” jobs and my answer is always the same; I love being a part of the process, and seeing everyone and everything come together." "Bryanna has a true passion for theatre, and it is clear that she has quickly become a leader in the performing arts here at Montini," said Montini Theatre Director, Ms. Jackie Martin who has worked with Bryanna now for three years, a relationship that commenced when Bryanna was chosen in 2022-23 school year to be the stage manager for both the fall musical, Newsies, and the spring play, "Clue." "Her responsibilities included attending every rehearsal, leading the crew in painting and construction, and overseeing everything that happens backstage during the performances." According to play sources, Bryanna runs a tight ship and leads by example. "Her leadership abilities will surely take her far in high school theatre and beyond." "I would say that "Clue" was definitely my favorite show at Montini," says Bryanna, looking back on her Montinin theatre career. "There was something about that show, maybe it was the cast, maybe it was the work we put into it, I’m not sure but we all had so much fun and it is regarded as one of the many peaks of our program." Bryanna is looking forward to the fall when she plans to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "I will be majoring in Theatre with a concentration of Stage Management and minoring in Business. I have wanted to go to UIUC for a very long time, they have a very good and competitive program that I feel will prepare me to become a professional stage manager. I feel that it’s very important that if someone really enjoys some form of art and/or theatre, then they should make it a part of their education. There is such a stigma around doing fine arts as a job and I feel that we should end it. There are so many artists who have well-paying jobs that they love and are passionate about." Ms. Martin, who nominated Bryanna for Student of the Month last year, has great respect for Bryanna and the work she has done to ensure successful theatrical productions at Montini. "I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Bryanna, this our last play together will be a bittersweet moment, but I know she will be back to cheer on future Montini productions and to let us know how she's doing!" Bryanna's advice for anyone looking to get into high school theatre, "Just do it! Theatre has been a medium for me to express myself and explore who I really am. Forget everything you think you know about theatre and have an open mind. So many people in our program joined on a whim and have now been there for many years because they love it. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but everyone is welcome to join and see how they like it. In regards to stage management, if you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and you feel you are up to the challenge, you should definitely apply to be stage manager! It’s such a fulfilling job and it has definitely helped me become more connected to our school’s community."

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