Picture this. In 1979-80 the new two-story ICS building opened and housed 1st through 8th grades. ICS had its own principal's office. Getting to Monroe from ICS meant walking through the old barracks buildings (known as the “middle section”) which connected ICS and Monroe. Monroe had its own principal’s office and entry. This middle section housed the music room, HIPOW office, accounting office, Director of Schools office, a classroom and, in 1980-81, ICS’s first kindergarten class.
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In 1993-94, junior high classes were moved to the decrepit middle section. These buildings were old. The floors spongy with interesting mushrooms growing in the dirt crawl spaces and icicles forming along walls and windows in the winter. A favorite memory is the summer day when a toilet, in the then HIPOW office, fell off the wall creating quite a fountain of water.

Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to another week at CSF! The weeks are starting to fly by with only 4 weeks left of school! There are a lot of things happening in such a short time, so please review the Happenings to keep up to date with current and future events.
Many Thanks!
CSF Administration

This week's edition of the Full Curl is now ready for your reading pleasure! A huge shout out to Coach Ostanik for his dedication in providing this for us every week!

My Monroe experience began before school even started as I was to coach volleyball. The program was headed into its second season. 

Volleyball season began in August. I walked into the gym on a Monday morning. It smelled like cigarette smoke and there was odd equipment infringing on the gym floor. I was informed Bingo games were played over the summer weekends to raise money for the schools. And, I should realize there would be a garage sale in the gym, too, and then an event called HIPOW the second Saturday of October during which time we’d be out of the gym for at least a week.

I went to meet with Fr. McGuigan, the President of Monroe Foundation, Inc. I likely said something along these lines: “All these events in the gym make it extremely difficult to meet our goals. We need time in the gym to practice. This HIPOW thing is a problem in the middle of the season. It needs to be rescheduled.”   Fr. McGuigan, with a combination of directness and gentleness, began educating me on the critical need of fund-raising for the school. And, in short time I would realize that teaching and coaching at Monroe meant moving stuff off the gym floor, giving up the gym, helping with event set-up and take down, being part of the HIPOW wait-staff or runners-spotters, appreciating the intruding events and saying “thank you” to volunteers and donors.

After volleyball season, it was up to coaches, gym teachers, and others to refinish the floor and have it ready for basketball season. Not only did we take care of the floor, but a group of parents and students came in to clean the walls below and behind the wooden bleachers. 

With volleyball season behind us, basketball season took off. I had an easier coaching assignment than Steve Frank who had been hired to coach the boys. The girls had been 0-22 in ’78-’79.  Winning one game would be a big improvement. The ‘78-‘79 Monroe boys’ team had won state. The expectation for Steve was that they win a second in ’79-’80.

Steve and I were both Lathrop High School graduates, ’72 and ’71 respectively. We were also both UAF alum and UAF basketball players. Both Steve and I had friends assist us including Mike Scanlon, Mike Kelliher, and Mike Fisher amongst others. The girls’ basketball team won four games that year. Mike Scanlon chilled bottles of Apple Cider for us to celebrate. The boys’ team won the state title! It was quite the year.

Since those long-ago days; Mike Kelliher’s son and Mike Fisher’s daughter graduated from Monroe.  Mike Scanlon who lives in Anchorage has been to every state basketball tournament Monroe has played in.  Steve Frank has served on the Board of Directors for the schools, and he has a grandson at Monroe now.

1979-80 team members Hope Hansen, John Hajdukovich and Mike Grahek have had children attend and graduate from ICS and Monroe.

1979-80 was the first year in what has turned out to be 36 years. The students of the '80s, '90s and 2000s, their parents and grandparents, faculty, and donors are knitted into my very being; blessings in so many ways.
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We celebrate Holy Week this week in the Holy Family Chapel. Do you wonder when the chapel was built or how it came to be? I'll write about the groundbreaking next week.

Written by Nancy Cook Hanson for the Spring Matching Fundraiser.

A variety of summer camps will take place at the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks starting in late May. Camps are open to all students in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
Frank Ostanik, CSF Athletic Director and Alaska Basketball Academy Director will offer three weeks of basketball camps for students in grades 3 through 8: 

• May 28-31
• July 15-19
• July 29-August 2

Find the registration form here.
Starting in June, Mr. DiTommaso will offer four science camps for students entering 5th through 8th grades: Intro to Programming, The Science Chef (food science), 3D Design and Printing, and Strategy Games/Escape Rooms. Learn more about these camps and register online.
Mrs. Illingworth, CSF Safety Liasion will offer three camps for students entering 1st through 8th grades in July and August: Junior Police Academy, Spy Camp, and Emergency Preparedness and Wilderness Survival. Finally, Mrs. Bickford, CSF 5th grade teacher, will lead two weeks of Artful Antics - 3D and Outdoor - in late July and early August. To read more about these camps and register, visit our website.