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October 8, 2025‘Howdy Week’
With the first few weeks of school under their belts and the dust of the first weeks settled, students kick up the spirit with their cowboy boots during Howdy Week, a fun annual tradition that helps foster school pride.
The students and staff get free dress up days, some of which included Camo Day and USA Day.
“Howdy Week is a tradition that kicks off the school year,” National Honor Society sponsor and science teacher Jessica Thompson said. “It is run by NHS and involves cowboy-inspired themes. As a school, we celebrate Howdy Week to build community, foster a sense of school spirit and to teach and share school traditions, especially for the freshmen.”
Hope Is Alive assembly
Addiction is a prevalent problem in the world and in the lives of youth. Courtney Davis and Ann Sandager from Hope Is Alive, a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to providing recovery for addiction, visited Mount Saint Mary to talk about addiction and how detrimental it can be, particularly for high school students.
Hope Is Alive provides many different programs for individuals and families struggling with addiction, including recovery homes and support groups. The Hope Is Alive School Support Program strives to educate students, teachers and parents on the risks of addiction and steps for prevention.
During the talk, Sandager mentioned how she struggled with substance abuse, beginning at age 12, and how she felt God was calling her to more after she overdosed and was saved by her sister.
Realizing she had hit rock bottom, she sought help in Hope Is Alive. After 18 months in the program, she said she had a sense of who she was again. Five years later, she considers herself fully restored and healed, crediting God's grace.
After the talk, students had a chance to ask the speakers questions one-on-one during lunch. Sandagar and Davis were asked by one student what they hope to accomplish by being a part of Hope Is Alive and speaking at schools.
“I want to be able to take the mask off of addiction and have real, genuine conversations and connections with people,” Sandager said.
Sandager went on to say that she wants to give students a safe space to ask questions and get the resources they need.
“People can get addicted to more than drugs and alcohol,” she said, mentioning phones and social media as issues.
“Phones rob us of human connection and make us less able to create good relationships, both spiritually and with people,” Sandager said. “We’re not on the planet for ourselves. We’re here to make an impact on others.”
The Hope Is Alive School Support Program will continue to visit The Mount throughout the rest of the school year.
Revamping campus ministry
Katie Bertels“Good morning Rockets, morning prayer will begin in the chapel at 7:40 a.m. We hope to see you there.”
The voice of Katie Bertels echoes through the halls early each morning, inviting students and teachers to start their day with Jesus. However, it hasn’t always been like this. Thanks to the efforts of Bertels, communal prayer is offered every day in the Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, located on the first floor of Mount St. Mary, offering an opportunity for students and teachers to spend time with Jesus in the midst of their busy days.
Bertels is helping the Mount St. Mary community live out Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
“I wanted to focus more on giving students the opportunity to encounter Christ,” Bertels said. “Christianity, at its core, is a relationship, a relationship that cannot happen without simply coming face-to-face with the Lord on a daily basis.
“The goal of a Catholic school is to help our students become saints. My hope is that through the different styles of prayer offered each week, our students will get one step closer to Christ.”
Lucy Rosenhamer is a senior at Mount Saint Mary Catholic High School.
Freshmen students during Howdy Week. Photo provided.
Ann Sandagar. Photo Lily Welch.