Looking Ahead – May 8, 2020

This weekend, in a special way, we wish to honor all of the mothers and motherly figures in our lives. We recognize how hard you work to love and support us unconditionally and appreciate the sacrifices you have made on our behalf. Know how much we love you in return and how words cannot express our gratitude for your presence. From all of us at DeLaSalle, we wish you and all mothers the happiest Mother’s Day.

DeLaSalle congratulates 39 members of its graduating Class of 2020 who have achieved the honor of “Distinguished Scholar.”  These 39 students have earned a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 or better through the first semester of their senior year. Continue reading 

Congratulations to three seniors who have been named finalists for prestigious awards through the Hennepin Theatre Trust Spotlight Education program. The program announced this week that, for the first time in the history of DeLaSalle Theatre, two Islanders have been named as finalists for Triple Threat awards, which honors students who excel in singing, dancing, and acting. Congratulations to Gabe Goeddeke and Nick Ericksen for earning these honors; the two will continue to compete for the opportunity to earn an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to hone their skills on Broadway. The news follows an announcement April 27 that Ainsley Cox ‘20 had been honored as a Technical Theatre Excellence finalist.

Congratulations to three DeLaSalle projects which qualified for nationals in the Minnesota History Day state competition. Seven other projects were also recognized as State Top Five medalists, just missing the top two finish in their category which would have qualified them to go to Nationals: Furthermore, ten other DeLaSalle projects earned Honorable Mention in their categories, and three projects earned Topical Prizes as the best projects in specific categories. Continue reading

On Friday, May 15, DeLaSalle will celebrate the annual Founder’s Day Mass, which celebrates the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the namesake of our school and the Founder of the Christian Brothers. Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate this event in person as we have historically done because our campus is closed. Instead, we will present a virtual Mass at 11:00am on May 15, celebrated by Father Kevin Kenney ‘78, the pastor of St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis and a DeLaSalle Trustee. You can view the Mass on the DeLaSalle website.

The ACT test that is scheduled on June 13 at DeLaSalle has been cancelled. There is still summer testing at alternate test centers around the metro, however, every day test centers are cancelling. Test centers that do stay open may have less seats due to social distancing rules. Students who were registered for the June 13th test at DeLaSalle will receive information from ACT about changing test center locations or rescheduling.

Students who still want to test this summer should plan for the possibility of multiple test center changes due to the ongoing closure of test centers. This means that communications from ACT should be monitored closely, emails opened and read for detail, and action taken in a timely manner to follow up on the directives given to you by ACT.

As you know, Barry Lieske will retire at the end of June following a 41-year career at DeLaSalle. We had made plans to honor and celebrate Barry with a farewell reception on Saturday, May 16, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to cancel those plans. Please join us in celebrating and honoring Barry’s legacy by sharing a memory or tribute message, and/or by joining the many others who are contributing to the Barb and Barry Lieske Opportunity Scholarship Fund which will honor Barry in perpetuity. Click here to learn more about how you can honor Barry.

You still have time to order a 2019-20 DeLaSalle yearbook to remember all that took place this school year. The yearbook publisher in Pennsylvania will be delayed in printing and sending us the yearbook because of stay-at-home restrictions imposed in that state in the wake of the novel coronavirus. Yearbooks cost $60, will likely arrive in the summer, and you can order yours here.