Marist High School  National Honor Society Induction Ceremony of October 22, 2007.

Have you ever seen a happier face!

Caitlin soaks up knowledge like a sponge but won't eat anything green.
Reading, acting, soccer and swimming are her activities. Caitlin graduated with honors from Ridge Academy in Chicago. She is a voracious reader and her quest for knowledge is demonstrated in the 99 percentile score on the entrance exam to Marist High School. She also plays the flute and is in the band at Marist HS.

Also see Caitlin Plefka ... On Prayer

An email from Caitlin - May 2007
 

Hi Grandpa,

It sure was a busy weekend... Saturday I departed with the rest of the Marist Math team for U of I to compete in the annual ITCM State Math Competition. There I competed in three events (or tests) against all teams in the state of Illinois that qualified for the competition in our division (3AA, which I think is determined by size of the school), which came out to be about 30 or 40 schools. The first test I took was a geometry written test, which consisted of 20 questions with a time limit of 50 minutes. This test is the only one taken individually, however the geometry team as a whole came in fifth place. The second test was a five-person calculator team, with 20 questions and a 20-minute time limit; this team also came in fifth place. Finally was the relay event. The way this works requires a bit of explaining. The first person solves a question, and then passes his or her answer to the next person. This person uses the answer of the first person in their problem to answer a new question, yielding a second answer, which is passed to the third, who solves another problem, and then finally passed to a fourth and final person, who solves the final problem. The whole team is scored based on correct answers and an additional time bonus depending on when the answer is submitted. My relay amassed a total of 25 points, making us second in the state of Illinois! Needless to say, my relay-mates and myself were extremely excited. It was a long day in all (three hour bus ride both ways) and some extremely challenging tests, but it was rewarding as far as our accomplishments as a team. Some other notable accomplishments were another second place for the junior-senior relay, a third place for a senior who did an oral presentation, seventh place for the sophomore two-person team, and seventh overall for Marist High School!

As for the Vicariate V Youth Leadership Award, I didn't know much about the award when I had first heard Father Peter (our pastor at St. Walter's) had nominated me, but I had a funny feeling it had to do with youth leadership... But after the award dinner I had a whole new idea about what youth leadership was. After the dinner, four of the award winners read essays they had written about their experiences in faith. One girl that read her essay was so enthused about the topic, she titled her essay, "God ROCKS!" There was also a presentation about the upcoming National Catholic Youth Conference, which just opened up my eyes to how many young people are still involved in their faith, despite the trying times. My actual award was for Prayer and Worship, which included those actively involved in the Liturgy. I’ve really been enjoying my role as a Lector and Commentator during the weekend masses, and I never expected an award for playing this role. The award banquet ended with Bishop Gustavo blessing the crosses that each award winner received. These crosses are a beautiful yet simple reminder of our faith that I will probably wear for a long time.

And don’t worry, there’s no such thing as too many questions. :)

Love, Caitlin