A "Peace" of Nature

     Just west of our building, adjacent to a staff parking lot, staff and students have the opportunity to commune with nature. Used for prayer, learning, mental health breaks, and soul searching, our Peace Garden is an urban haven. 

     Thanks to the creative minds and hard work of Theology Teachers Christine Nienhaus and Abby Vogt, as well as Polly Partain, Librarian, and former MHS teacher Josh Reiss, the beautiful spot took shape. Students also helped dig and plant, as well as lay paver stones decorated by students during last year's retreats.

      Planters are laid out in the shape of a cross, and many species of vegetation are thriving there. The benches were constructed as part of last year's retreats as well, and picnic tables allow for lunch time serenity.

     Truly a place for a spiritual retreat and a chance to "go green," the Peace Garden lives up to its name. See slide show at right for more photos of Ms. Vogt's Theology class taking full advantage of the space.

SMART Team Underway

     9/23/10. SMART stands for Students Modeling a Research Topic. Messmer's SMART Team 2010/11 is off and running with the biggest team so far in its 4 year history. The team competes in a long season from September to April or May.  Below is a description of what a SMART Team is about.   

      After learning about basic protein structure and how to use the computer modeling program, students are paired with a researcher in the medical field to learn about their research and build a protein of interest to them. Through this process, students are exposed to cutting edge science and get a glimpse of how real research is conducted. The final products that students produce are the physical model of the protein, a written abstract, and a poster that tells the molecular story of the importance of their protein. 

     Students get the chance to present their model and poster at the Medical College of Wisconsin in the spring. This process gives students a chance to meet and network with many professionals in the medical and research field and is a great thing to be able to put on a college application. The team advisor is Science Teacher Carol Johnson.

     The 6 members of last year's team went all the way to California to present their model and protein. Here is a link to the 2009/10 SMART Team presentation:

http://cbm.msoe.edu/stupro/smart/local/presentation/13-messmer.html

Soccer Team Scores a Shut Out

    9/23/10. Living Word's hope for a victory against our soccer team was short-lived yesterday as our Bishop's shut them down in a 4-0 contest. Missael Alba scored 2 goals; Christian Marquez and Diego Montes each racked up 1 with Montes scoring on a penalty kick after getting fouled in the box. The team has another away game tomorrow against Kenosha Christian Life. Stay tuned to hear how our Bishops take the life right out of them as well!