St. Bede team to compete at science and engineering sectional

Basketball isn’t the only high school activity with a sectional competition. The St. Bede Academy World Youth in Science and Engineering team will be at Illinois Central College Thursday to compete at the sectionals.

They were the highest scoring team at the regional competition last month at Illinois Valley Community College.

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St. Bede Academy graduate speaks at Peru Veteran’s Day service

Rows of school children wearing red, white and blue sat on the Peru Washington School gym floor before a man in army fatigues.

Chris Kerasotes is a sophomore at the University of Illinois where he’s in the ROTC. Though he is closer in age to the students, his heart is in the same place as the Peru Veteran’s Memorial Group at the Veteran’s Day service.

Kerasotes was the keynote speaker at Tuesday morning’s program. He says he joined the ROTC because of his family and patriotism and also so his siblings and friends wouldn’t have to experience war.

Kerasotes graduated from St. Bede Academy in 2012. He’s studying history and geography at U of I and will continue his military service after earning a Bachelor’s degree.

The Peru Veteran’s Memorial Group holds a service at Washington Park every year. The service was moved inside of the school due to the weather. Their next public military program will be for Pearl Harbor Day.1

St. Bede’s Garramone receives theater award

For many St. Bede Academy graduates, being called a “stage rat” is an honor.  Reverend Dominic Garramone has been St. Bede’s drama director and stage manager for 30 years. Saturday he received the Illinois Theatre Association’s 2014 Award of Excellence in Secondary School Theatre.

Garramone says theater teachers students life skills and how to work with others.  He also says studies show that students who participated in theater perform better academically in college.

Garramone says he got his start in theater thanks to his mother. He says he wouldn’t have received the award if it wasn’t for all the support he receives from the school, students, and parents.

Learn more about Garramone’s theater program by listening to an interview that’s available at the WLPO AM and FM news page.