Under the clear blue sky of a June Saturday afternoon, over one hundred people met together to partake in mass, and to celebrate the retirement of 33-year Marist teacher Kathy Yocum. The event, held June 25, attracted people from all over the area, and featured the return of many alumni to campus. Some in attendance were from the graduating class of 2011, but students, staff, family and friends from throughout Kathy's career arrived to pay tribute and wish her well in her coming retirement.

If you were not able to attend, don't worry.. you can still take part! First, watch our video highlights reel below to see the events of the day. Second, we are still accepting donations to the Kathy Yocum Scholarship fund. Just click here to make a donation (ignore the $100 amount that auto-fills the form, you are free to donate whatever you feel appropriate!)

The Marist front office received some great news this week! The Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA) announced that we won the OSAA Oregonian Cup award, in our first year in the 5A division.

The Oregonian Cup, begun in 1999, was created as a way to recognize high school overall excellence in academics, activities and athletics. The award honors a school’s students, teachers, coaches and the entire school community. Schools earn points based on their participation and finish in OSAA State Championships and for Top 10 finishes in the OSAA Academic All-State Program. A sportsmanship component, whereby schools are awarded points each season for having no ejections, is included in the point totals as well.  Marist finished this year’s competition with 5,119 points, with Crescent Valley finishing second with 4,993 points and West Albany High School, Sherwood, Summit and Corvallis High School’s rounding out the top 6. 

“I couldn’t be more excited for our school to win this award,” said Jay Conroy, Marist High School Principal. “This is huge for our students, staff and parents. While athletic success is often measured by wins and losses, at Marist we are saying its more about achieving success in all aspects of academic and activity development.  We’re excited that our school chose to take on the challenge of playing in the 5A division (schools from 850 to 1450 students) and we truly appreciate the opportunity to play schools in the Eugene-Springfield area.  Those schools have been very welcoming and the competition and sportsmanship have been great.”

For information on the award, past winners, how points are totaled and specifics about how the competition is run, please visit http://www.osaa.org/awards/oregoniancup/. The OSAA will formally present the award to the  Marist student body at a ceremony in September.

Upon hearing this weeks news that Marist had won the award, Jay Conroy wanted to share his thanks for the hard work that went into earning this award. Click below to see his comments and learn about this award and what it means for Marist.

Its Wednesday! We are half-way to Friday. So here's a little something to brighten those mid-week blues. Senior Tate McCurdy decided to film a video tribute to his retiring teacher, Kathy Yocum. Although the video is a bit longer than those that we'll typically post here on the Marist Blog, its a fun, light look at the influence one teacher can make, and how difficult it can be to replace such a legend. Enjoy!

Join us to celebrate Mrs. Yocum! One of Marist’s most beloved teachers has announced that this will be her final year in service to Marist Catholic High School.  Kathy Yocum came to Marist in 1978, and but for a short stint when she and her husband, Jim, went to Florida to be closer to family members, she has been working tirelessly to help students become better writers, thinkers and more loving people.

“There will be no yawning in my classroom” was her standard admonition to first time students.  Her insistence on hardwork and focus, coupled with her total commitment to students’ growth and learning made her a huge favorite.   Shakespeare truly ‘came alive’ and her “Great Books” elective was consistently filled with students who had come to enjoy Yocum’s passion for reading and for opening students’ minds to the wonder of the world. 

A devout Catholic, Yocum helped cultivate the ‘fire and spirit’ of our Catholic Marist roots.  “She will be impossible to replace—her masterful teaching, her demonstrative and sincere love for students, her wit and good humor, and most profoundly, her example of deep faith have combined to hugely enrich our whole school community for the last three decades,” said Marist principal, Jay Conroy.

Come to Marist for a special retirement mass and reception, June 25. In her typically humble way, Yocum has asked that in lieu of a “big to-do”, that she would love to see former students and parents at a mass (Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin), June 25th, at the Marist Court Yard, at 1:00 PM, followed by a light reception.  In honor of all that she has given to Marist students and community, the Marist Foundation has created a Kathy Yocum Scholarship for students in financial need.  Please click here to make your donation.

Click the video below to watch a special message from Mrs. Yocum:

Please help us by sending your memories and letters. In addition, Marist would like to put together a special gift, to present to Kathy at the celebration. We would ask that you write a letter to Mrs. Yocum, letting her know some of your memories of her over her 33 years at Marist. All letters or comments made will be included in this book. Short comments can be submitted by writing in the "comments" section below, or by writing on our Facebook page. Letters can be emailed to Terrie Clemens by clicking here. And formal letters can be mailed to Marist High School, In Care of: Kathy Yocum Retirement, 1900 Kinsgley Road, Eugene OR 97401. We look forward to hearing from as many people as we possible, as we really want Kathy to see how special she is and what a difference she has made in the lives of so many. As this event is coming upon us quickly, please get your letters to us ASAP. Also, if you know of other family, friends, or alumni that may not know about this event, or would like to contribute messages or letters, please pass this link on. Thank you!