After a long week of homecoming fun and thrilling mystery, our lovable Lion mascot, Tuffy, was finally returned safely to NDCL! Earlier this week, three unknown offenders kidnapped Tuffy! For five days, the high school rallied to try and piece together the mystery of who took our beloved mascot and why. THE MANE provided daily clues along with the morning announcements, and teachers and students alike turned into sleuths for the week-long WHO DUNNIT.
To help plan Tuffy’s “catnapping,” NDCL’s Student Activities Board (SAB) and Mr. Brlecic’s Visual Communication class turned to the classic board game CLUE (1949). The mystery game’s objective is to find out where, who, and how they did away with Mr. Boddy. One goes from room to room, trying to figure out if it is Miss Scarlet with a candlestick in the library or Professor Plum with a rope in the kitchen.
NDCL campus was transformed into the infamous CLUE mansion with the help of SAB and student volunteers. Senior and Sophomore Hallways turned dark, sighted as the location of the crime, complete with caution tape and red lighting. The Lion (a.k.a Band Hall) hallway became home to suspects, walls lined with mugshots of teachers and other staff. The language/English Hallway was filled with mystery novels and movies, while the LC staircase nearby had footprints (and pawprints) of potential perpetrators lining the stairs. Freshman Hallway was complete with pictures of our original inspiration, the CLUE board game, which led into our Cafeteria – the Dining Hall, found within the board game’s mansion. However, the main stairwell would express all our frustrations with a sign exclaiming, “I don’t have a clue, do you?” Only the Main Office was available for our student detectives and affable Mrs. Hurt to operate out of.
As our halls filled with mystery and fun, it was our turn as students to bring our best with our homecoming-themed dress-downs. Monday, NDCL students made a sea of color through the halls, with each class dressing as a character of the original CLUE game. Seniors dressed as Professor Plum in their best purple attire, juniors as Mrs. Peacock in blue, sophomores as Miss Scarlet in red, and freshmen as Mrs. White in, you guessed it, white. Don’t worry; we remembered Colonel Mustard. Monday’s surprise lunch treat was pretzels and cheese. On Tuesday, students and staff could not tell each other apart on “Dress Like Your Favorite Teacher” day. We shared Miss Scarlet’s chocolate-covered strawberries for lunch as our fantastic cafeteria staff created a chocolate fondue bar. Wednesday, we joined as a school community in McGarry Gymnasium to celebrate our annual Homecoming Mass with Fr. Caddy, thanking God for the blessings of our community, the upcoming dance on Saturday, and the ice cream bar at lunch. Thursday, we took the cake (or cookies, our lunch treat) for the week, bringing out our creativity, humor, and English skills in a “Rhyme without Reason” dress down. Students paired up with friends to dress as things that rhymed – for example, one student dressed as a banana, while the other dressed as Hannah Montana.
To prepare for tonight’s football game, we showed our Lion Pride, flooding the halls with blue and gold (even the donuts at lunch were sporting their school spirit!).
Even with all our fun, what would a homecoming week be without prizes? Monday, a few lucky students in every lunch block were chosen to win mystery prize bags – even in my role as an editor, I’m told they can’t tell us what’s inside. On Tuesday, we played Kahoot! as we ate our strawberries, with those most knowledgeable in CLUE trivia winning a prize. Wednesday’s lunch activity was a classic spirit week hit, Card Sharks, and Thursday was CLUE-themed bingo. Today, we ended the week with a photo booth where students could take mugshots (a parent’s dream).
This year’s homecoming week was something special. Unforgettable – like Tuffy. Hey, whatever happened to him, anyway?
But first, a gallery of clues…
Ultimately, it was the least likely individual with the most likely gripe. The staff and faculty still had their reasons. Tuffy’s lousy week was orchestrated by none other than Mrs. Hurt. In a scooby-doian reveal during the pep rally, our NDCL detectives unmasked her as the culprit of the entire crime. Mrs. Hurt would explain that she had to make the cat disappear; he had been running amuck and trashing about campus. Mr. Poulos could not serve him enough detentions. No one seemed able to reign him in. So, she masterminded a plot to see the cat re-located. It is assumed she had help, but Mrs. Hurt merely smiled and proclaimed she would never tell. Mystery solved.
Even a good catnapping couldn’t keep the lions down around campus. NDCL seniors kept their energy alive outside of homecoming activities. They came together and pulled off NDCL’s first-ever senior sunrise ahead of Monday’s late start. At 7 a.m., seniors flooded Lion Stadium, bundled blankets in hand, to watch the sunrise on their senior year. The camaraderie and treats meant a lot to the Class of 2024. Principal Ricci was ecstatic to start this unique NEW tradition at NDCL and was on hand to experience it with them (see our article and gallery).
OUR PEP RALLY GALLERY:
Homecoming week was even more special for the senior student-athletes. The girls’ varsity soccer team celebrated their senior night during a match against Padua on Wednesday night. Senior Katie Keefe was named MaxPreps player of the game. Ten senior leaders in all were recognized for their contributions: Gabriella Garcia, Katie Keefe, Hailey Pray, Kaitlyn Valentic, Kylie Hoeningman, Quincy Johnson, Georgianna Forte, Olivia Morris, Eva Vukovic, and Sofia Wurm. Thursday was home to two senior nights: girls’ varsity volleyball against Walsh Jesuit and boys’ varsity soccer against West Geauga. Volleyball saw six seniors take honors: Emma Blankenship, Reilly Parent, Sophia Purgar, Giuli DiGiannantonio, Elizabeth Alexander, and Brianna DiPasquale. During their match, boys’ Soccer recognized five: Grayson Baird, Joshua Kardum, Cerek Szczyglowski, Alan Vatandoust, and Holden Kajfasz. NDCL fall sports have been in full swing, and we couldn’t be prouder of the seniors and all our athletes – especially our football team, as they take on the Hornets of John Hay tonight for our homecoming football game. We are sending the best of luck as we wrap up a fantastic week and “HOMECOMING” for the entire NDCL community!
Which brings us to tonight – LION FOOTBALL – standing at 3-3, our LIONS are looking for their fourth win!
GO LIONS – WE ARE NDCL!
