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Annual Report for 2019-20 » Year in Review

Year in Review

Below are the highlights from the 2019-20 school year.

School Academic Highlights

  • Concordia hosted the 21st Annual Middle School Bridge Design Competition on February 15.
  • The drama department held their second 24-hour Theatre Festival for its students on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 where they created, produced and showcased a new show within 24 hours.
  • Concordia transitioned in one day to Remote Learning when schools were closed due to the rising concern with COVID-19.
  • The Class of 2020 graduated 185 students. The class was led by Valedictorian Megan Bordner and Salutatorian Alaina Marks.

Student Academic Highlights

  • The Honors Academy welcomed Matthew Bordner, Cam Cage, Grant Hayworth, Dakota Hitzemann, Amy Liñan, Charlotte Loechner, Eli Mattox, Max Park, Hannah Weber and Keller Whicker. They join the current 8 seniors, 5 juniors and 18 sophomores. Read more. The seniors presented their projects at the end of the year virtually. 
  • Thirty-six Concordia Lutheran High School students were inducted into the National Honor Society. Read more.
  • Concordia had 18 students who are interning with organizations throughout the area, include Parkview Hospital, vet clinics, Chick Fil A, Sweet Aviation, and Walgreens. Read more.
  • CLHS students took top honors at the DECA district competition. Those students are: Business Finance - Izzy Smith - 1st place; Entrepreneurship - Zion Fikes - 2nd place; Jerome Corley - 3rd place; Restaurant and Food Service - Michael Habegger - 1st place; Personal Financial Literacy - Larry Schoenefeld - 2nd place; Buying and Merchandising Team - Celeste Hendry and Brayden Pearson - 1st place; Marketing Management Team - Logan Pape and Andrew Carr - 1st place; Sports and Entertainment Team - Alex Dahnke and Matthew David - 3rd place; and Principles of Marketing - Mariah James - 1st place; Morgan Aldrich - 2nd place; Logan Jackson - 3rd place.
  • CLHS art students were recognized for their work in the Scholastic Art Competition.
  • Junior Sarai Jeronimo won a National Medal for her photography work. Only 3,000 works receive a National Medal, which placed her within the top 1% of all submissions.
  • The CLHS HOSA Club, a competitive medical club, competed at the State Leadership Conference. The physical conference in Indianapolis was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic so Indiana HOSA held the State Conference virtually. Competitive events were completed online. Five Concordia students placed in the Top 10 in the state in their event: Hayley Dubay – Nutrition; Evan Minger - Extemporaneous Writing; Eduardo Tartarella Nascimento - Biomedical Laboratory Science; Taylor Scheer and Mataya James - CPR/First Aid; Taylor Scheer & Mataya James placed 3rd in the CPR/First Aid event and advanced to Nationals; and Joshua Castleman from St. John-Emmanuel also competed in Middle School Medical Reading in which he took 1st place. He also advanced to Nationals.
  • Underclassmen were honored with Department Awards for 2019-2020. Click here to see the full list. 
  • Seniors were honored with Department Awards for the 2019-2020 school year. Click here to see the full list. 
  • Seniors were recognized with the Lutheran Education Lifer Award if they attended a Lutheran School from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Click here to see the full list. 
  • Students were recognized with Honor Roll and Honorable Mention for the Fall and Spring semesters. 
  • The A Cappella Choir received an extended standing ovation as a feature performance at the Indiana Music Educators Association annual conference.
  • The A Cappella Choir was invited to be a demo choir for a master class clinic session with esteemed collegiate conductor Jason Max Ferguson.
  • The A Cappella Choir joined forces with Heartland Sings, Bishop Dwenger, and a chamber orchestra to give a full performance of Handel's “Messiah.”
  • The A Cappella Choir joined Christian musical artists Keith and Kristin Getty for their touring performance of “Sing: An Irish Christmas.”
  • The A Cappella Choir was invited to help lead a conference session at the Good Shepherd Institute on Psalm 98, which was held at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne.
  • Art students created portraits to send to students in Nigeria through The Memory Project. The Memory Project invites high school students to cultivate global kindness by creating portraits as unique gifts for children around the world.
  • Senior Luke Neuhaus was named the recipient of the servant-leader award, the Barnabas Award. 
  • Senior Natalie Asher was named the recipient of the Martin Fischer Memorial Scholarship. 

  • Seniors Mary and Grace Pennekamp were named the recipients of the Carl F. Gallmeier Memorial College Scholarship. 

  • Senior Megan Bordner was named a National Merit Commended Scholar. 

  • Senior Ellie Fritcha completed the mural outside the principal's office that was inspired by suggestions from the student body. 

  • On Jan. 25, 2020, Concordia’s talented thespians competed in a statewide theater competition. The thespian troupe was performing the play “Being Good Places,” an original play written and directed by CLHS teacher Laura Bohnke. The group took 7th place out of 12 teams. Sophomore Michael Slack was recognized as the “Best Actor in a Lead Roll.”

  • The Drama department produced six plays last year - a number unequalled by most other high schools, including an alumni production and a middle school production, both unique to the area. 

  • The Drama Department was able to put together a production during the COVID-19 shutdown, performing their spring show on the back deck of Mr. Chris Murphy's home, while most other schools had to cancel their spring shows.

Mission Highlights

  • 2019-2020 School Theme was "Renewing the Mind…with Christ at the Center."
  • 11 Students and 10 Adults participated in the 75th Anniversary Memorial Ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery at Omaha Beach on June 6, 2019.
  • Concordia installed our new Comfort Dog, Jared, on September 18, 2019. Jared works as a Comfort Dog with students at Concordia as well as at Holy Cross Lutheran Church and School. He was trained through the LCC (Lutheran Church Charities) K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. He interacts with people at churches, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, various events and in disaster response situations.
  • CLHS students built a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary on campus.
  • Concordia’s annual Koinonia Service Day was held on October 4, and Concordia sent 65 separate groups throughout the local community in a variety of service projects.
  • 70 student peer leaders and 15 adult advisors took part in training for Sources of Strength. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by increasing help seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults.
  • In December, through the Christmas Bureau, 30 families (123 individuals in all) benefited from the many donations from students, faculty and staff. Pillowcases were also made by students and volunteers and given to each one of the members of the families.340 boxes of gifts. 17 bikes. 1 pack n play.
  • A group of 75 Concordia Lutheran High School students went to Washington, D.C., in January in support of pro-life in the annual March for Life.
  • Speaker Craig Scott, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School (CO) shooting, spoke February 13 about the value of human life, resilience, and how to turn pain into purpose.
  • On April 28, we hosted a “Cadet Day of Caring” where we asked for your gifts and prayers to support our Emergency Relief Fund. Gifts to this fund provided assistance for tuition, fees, and related Concordia educational expenses to Concordia families in need during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years due to unforeseen circumstances as a result of the pandemic. We raised over $23,000 for families in need.
  • About a dozen students in the FCCLA Club (Family Career and Community Leaders of America) made face masks for Kroger employees at the store on St. Joe Center Road after a student noticed that many customers were wearing them but only a few employees. The goal was to make 100 masks. They surpassed that goal by making 143 masks, and continued to make more.
  • Three CLHS Alumni were recognized for their accomplishments and service: Distinguished Alumnus Award – Honorable Daniel Heath, 1971; Distinguished Service Award – Anthony Hudson, 1992; and Neale M. Shank Award – Rev. Matthew Wietfeldt, 2003.
  • Concordia Lutheran High School inducted five new members and one team into its Athletic Hall of Fame for the 2019 class during a special reception.