News from Pius X High School

Reflections and photos from mission trip to Denver
Ten Pius X students (and 4 students from Hastings St. Cecilia) traveled earlier this month to Denver to work with Christ in the City, a ministry serving the homeless. Students participated in Lunch in the Park where they helped in preparing and serving a meal, and spent time with our

Nightstands built by students find home with formerly homeless veterans
These are student-built nightstands with a long-lasting impact, thanks to the work of Machine Woodwork teacher Don McKee, who is pictured with students Dominic Nguyen and Kyle Socha. Working with The Veterans Administration in Lincoln, the class will make and deliver these nightstands to a newer apartment complex to house

Tvrdy earns Merit Scholarship finalist honor
Describe the process of applying for this honor? I believe it involved essay writing, and if so, what did you choose to write about? It’s fairly easy to apply for- there’s just one essay, about 500 words. I chose to write mine about my transition from softball to cross country.

Two student-journalists win state titles
Six Pius X journalists competed in the NSAA State Journalism contest in Norfolk. They finished in 8th place overall as a group and Pius X had 10 individual medalists. Some of the competition is a mix of pre-submitted entries and on-site events. Jeffrey Calhoun – STATE CHAMPION – Sports News

Li receives national honor for artwork
Youyang Li, a junior at Pius X, has been named a 2022 Scholastic Awards National Winner. The award is from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit organization. More than 100,000 students submitted more than 260,000 works of art and writing. Li will be traveling to New York

Spring 2022 Student-Athlete Signing Ceremony
Thunderbolt student-athletes from were honored this year for having committed and signed to play a sport in college. More student-athletes in the Class of 2022 were honored at a similar ceremony last fall. https://vimeo.com/700892901 Mathilda (Mattie) Andreasen Parents – Tim & Janel AndreasenCollegiate Sport – Track & FieldCollege Choice –

Students earn chancellor’s and regents scholarships
Congrats to our seniors who have earned chancellor’s and regents scholarships! #piusproud Chancellor’s Scholarship Lisette Rodriguez – UNL Regents Scholarships Kenton Brass* – UNL Collin Broer* – UNO Gage Campbell – UNL Rachel Downey – UNO Addie Drahota – UNK/UNO Marcus Dustin* – UNO Addie Eskens – UNL/UNO Mary (Bernadette)

Eleven honored for committing to collegiate sport
Congrats to our student-athletes recognized at today’s ceremony for committing to play a sport in college. #piusproud #nebpreps Grant Nottlemann – Baseball at Barton County Community College – Great Bend, Kan. Sam Ojeda – Baseball at Hutchinson Community College – Hutchinson, Kan. Julian Castillo – Football at University of Nebraska-Kearney

Speaker: Don’t define yourself by your failures
Be an active player in your life, Leah Darrow said. The Catholic speaker and author spoke at Pius X High School as part of the school’s Lenten Series. Darrow shared her experiences of growing up without being able to let go of her mistakes. “How you understand mercy, shapes your

Students for Life club receives training; invites all students to upcoming event
The Students for Life club officers invited a Justice For All representative, Mary St. Hilaire, to offer an abbreviated training on how to engage in dialogue about abortion. Students went to Planned Parenthood to pray before coming to Pius X for pizza and the presentation. Sponsor Katerina Jakub said, “We’ve

Exploring and enjoying recipes for grilled cheese sandwiches
The Culinary Class taught by Amy Shonka had an in class competition making “grilled cheese” sandwiches with a variety of ingredients. Pictures are above, with recipes below. Enjoy! Champion: Gooey Nutella Banana Grilled Cheese French Toast with Chocolate Ganache This Gooey Nutella Banana Grilled Cheese Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook

Reed ’09 named new head softball coach
Jamie Reed has been selected as the new head softball coach at Pius X.

Spicka named assistant AD, Brill next head boys basketball coach
Brian Spicka will step aside as Head Boys Basketball coach to become the Assistant Activities Director for Pius X High School, replacing Jake Moore. The new head boys basketball coach will be Adam Brill ’04, former Pius X player and current assistant coach. Spicka has been a basketball coach at

Technology in French and Spanish classes
Two different International Language classes incorporated technology into their Friday lessons.

Ash Wednesday Mass photo gallery
Photos from our annual Ash Wednesday All-School Mass

Winners named in beverage photo contest in Culinary Arts class
Congrats to our top three entries in the WaterWorks competition in the Culinary Arts class taught by Amy Shonka. Students have been studying plating and were assigned to take photos of creatively plating non-alcoholic beverages. Teachers and staff at Pius X voted on their favorites: 1st Place: Olivia Ullman 2nd

Student earns honor for mapmaking skills on a topic close to his heart
Anthony Nguyen won a state-wide competition for a GIS map he created about heart disease in Nebraska, a disease that has impacted his family.

Relaying the lessons of Chemistry class
It’s relay day in Leah Zohner’s Chemistry classes, where students are given a question to answer on a laminated note card. When they are correct, the next person on their team gets a question to solve. This continues in a feverish pace until all teams are done, with the questions

Fall 2021 Student-Athlete Signing Ceremony
Thunderbolt student-athletes from were honored this year for having committed and signed to play a sport in college. More student-athletes in the Class of 2022 will be honored at a similar ceremony next spring. https://vimeo.com/644523848 Cayden Brandner Stanton Parents – Matt Stanton & Jeanne BrandnerCollegiate Sport – TennisCollege Choice –
A story of a triathlon and a teacher, in Latin
Latin I students researched Roman sports for a class assignment in the Latin language. Teacher Mike Katalenich had the students write a story, which happened to include the teacher himself. Here are the students’ reports, in Latin: Est diēs frīgidus in mēnse octōbrī multō cum ventō. Est triathlon. Prīmum

All Souls Mass 2021
Today we had special guests with us as we celebrated our annual All Souls Mass to honor those who have gone before us.