Nuntius Californiensis Spring 2017 Nuntius Californiensis-1 | Page 7

Volume XII, Issue 4
7
Nuntius Californiensis, Spring
Convention Stories
(continued from pg. 3)
The UHS JCL also put on the first ever Battle of the Bands. A
Darren Criss!
trio of my students entered the competition as the Pontius
Co-Pilots. During the Friday night auditions, they whipped the
crowd into a frenzy with their covers of Disney tunes and “That
Thing You Do”, and with the original song “Sophomore”,
written by their lead singer. The winners were determined by
acclamation, and the Pontius Co-Pilots won easily. The next
day, the Pontius Co-Pilots had the honor of performing a concert
during lunch. I watched students from other schools screaming
for this band. Oh—small detail—the lead singer was Darren
Criss. Yes, the same Dar r en Cr iss who has star r ed in Glee,
and Hedwig and the A ngry Inch, to name a few, was a JCLer.
Convention 2005 was amazing, but I think my greatest memory
would have to be Convention 2017. After all, SI JCL threw that
party. It was great fun to work with my students to prepare for
this event. Carina Leung was a fantastic leader, both in the
“I watched students from other schools
screaming for this band. Oh—small detail—
the lead singer was Darren Criss.”
planning stages and on stage. My favorite part of Convention
’17 was watching my students team up, work hard, and take full
ownership of every event. I’ll never forget this wonderful team”
— Grace Curcio, St Ignatius College Preparatory Sponsor
From Passionate JCLer to Passionate Sponsor
“My former student, Derek Wilairat, is now a magister optimus
at Harvard Westlake School. Circa 1995 when he was a sixth
grader at Bentley School, he won best overall at State
Convention. Every year he stunned the competition in all
categories. One convention that I particularly remember him in
was when he was the solo member of a Level III Certamen
team. He was amazing and, with a listing of the Five Good
Emperors, he won the event handily. I remember one stunned “My former student, Derek Wilairat, is now a
member of the audience scratch his head while saying, "Who magister optimus at Harvard-Westlake School”
WAS that?"