Student Standouts and Faculty Feature for October 13, 2023

Student Standouts: Bucci ’28, Moore ’28, Boys Cross Country, Cyclocross, Field Hockey, Girls Golf, HOSA

Faculty Feature: Barker

Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.

Eighth Graders Secure Gold Medal at US Waterpolo Midwest Middle School Championship

Gio Bucci ’28 and Ryan Moore ’28 participated in the US Waterpolo Midwest Middle School Championship held in Chicago. Both Gio and Ryan were instrumental in securing the gold medal for St. Louis Area Polo. The future is bright for MICDS Waterpolo!

Boys Cross Country Shines on Priory Course

The Boys Cross Country team ran some outstanding races on a challenging course at Priory. The varsity team placed third with Shil Penilla ’26 finishing 10th and Wyatt Dickherber ’24 finishing 11th. Will Fendler ’26, Alex Bierling ’25, Heru Bey ’27, Luke McGinness ’26, and Jacob Daus ’25 finished in a pack in 20th-24th places to round out the scoring.

The JV team won first place with Dylan McDonough ’27 taking first as an individual. Top ten JV finishers included Alex McCarter ’25 in fifth, Jason Song ’25 in seventh, Daniel Haas ’27 in eighth, and Hale Foster ’25 in ninth. Way to go, Rams!

Cyclocross Rams Sweep Podium

The Rams Cyclocross team swept the junior podium last Saturday at Queeny Park in the first weekend of the Bubba Memorial Cyclocross Series. First place was Connor Paine ’24, followed by Joe Intagliata ’25 in second and Ash Falk ’26 in third. Way to go!

Field Hockey Takes Second at Huskie Invitational

Last weekend, Varsity Field Hockey headed north and took second in the Huskie Invitational for only the second time in program history! The Rams racked up three wins before falling to Lake Forest in the Championship. Awesome team effort, Rams!

Withington Sets New 18-Hole Record & Girls Golf Takes 3rd at Districts

At the District Girls Golf meet at The Golf Club of Wentzville, Morgan Withington ’25 set a new record burning up the District course! She now holds the lowest 18-hole round record for MICDS. She fired a (-2) 69 finishing in second place and Mac Froedge ’25 finished T-7 with a 78.

The Girls Golf team finished in third place overall with Withington and Froedge advancing to state! The state championship will be held at Crown Pointe Golf Club & Resort in Farmington, Missouri on Monday, October 16, and Tuesday, October 17.

Good luck Morgan and Mac!

HOSA Members Attend Fall Leadership Conference

By HOSA Club Members

Recently, MICDS HOSA attended the 2023 Missouri HOSA Fall Leadership Conference in Columbia, Missouri. We had a great time developing our leadership skills at the various breakout sessions and met many new faces from around the state. Our Missouri HOSA President-Elect was hard at work, not only leading her own breakout session (“What if We Dared to Create the Future Health Professional?”) but also hosting networking and team-building activities! What a wonderful way to kick off the 2023-2024 year for our chapter!

Faculty Feature: Teacher Christopher Barker Doubles as a Teacher AND Magician

Did you know that one of our Spanish teachers here at MICDS is also a magician? That’s right! Upper School Spanish Teacher Christopher Barker is a teacher by day and a magician by night!

“I started doing magic back in college,” Barker shares. “I met a couple of magicians at the Fringe Festival in Scotland and they recommended I check some things out. Those guys have gone on to make a career out of it (Morgan and West) and even fooled Penn and Teller. I took their recommendations and actually ended up working at a pizza parlor for a bit in college doing tricks for customers.”

Barker fell out of magic once he started teaching and only recently got back into it after going to see the show of a local magician. “This time, it’s been a full dive into the deep end of the magic world,” he said. “I didn’t have experience working with other magicians, so it’s been a really interesting and eye-opening experience for me. I joined the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and I have been somewhat active with events and meetings.”

At an upcoming 21+ show this fall on November 9 called Disbelief: Cocktails and Conjuring, Barker will be doing some close-up magic, working the tables, and entertaining guests with magic tricks as they arrive. “I’ve been working with this group of magicians for several months now, and I helped them with their stage show as a stagehand,” he explains. The Disbelief show also will include magicians Jesse Bader, Randy Kalin, and Josh Weidner. “I’ve also done some gigs outside of school.” Barker credits The Old Time Magic Shop in St. Louis as an amazing resource of materials and inspiration for him. “The shop is pretty unique for being a brick-and-mortar that can host lectures, shows, and jam sessions,” he shares. “I’ve learned a lot there and owner Eric Bausworth does an incredible job at helping customers find exactly what they are looking for!”