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St. Mary's Students Gain Appreciation for Environment Through Fishing Trip

The Environmental Club from St. Mary’s School in Crown Point recently enjoyed a beautiful fall fishing trip. Members of the club and their parents arrived at school at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning and after a prayer from Father Kevin Huber, caravanned to southern Lake County. The fishing pond they arrived at is connected to the Kankakee River via a series of irrigation channels, providing it with a surprisingly diverse population of fish. Students were lucky enough to reel in a fish regardless of previous experience. Bluegill, crappie, catfish, bass, and even a northern pike were caught. Mrs. Brittany LaMere is one of the club’s sponsors and had this to say, “It was so fun to see kids spending quality time with their parents and feeling the excitement of catching fish. Whether it was catching their first fish ever or the big one that snapped the line and got away, everyone walked away with a fishing story and a fun memory.”

The club’s three pillars are education, protection, and appreciation. The entire group strengthened their appreciation of the environment by spending time in the outdoors. More field trips to the Dunes and elsewhere are being planned. The fishing trip was organized by Cedar Lake resident, Mr. Jeff Nelson, with the permission of the landowner.

Reagan had a tough battle on her hands when she hooked a big bass.

Reagan Anderson caught the biggest bass of the day, shortly before it was time to go.

Hailey Baehler has become an accomplished fisher-girl over the years as she has attended St. Mary’s Environmental Club fishing trip numerous times.

Principal Tom Ruiz, Sarah Moreno and mother Sylvia, After some early tangles and equipment failures, Sarah Moreno landed a whopper! A bowfin, also known as dogfish, that weighed several pounds. Bowfin give an excellent fight.

Bradley Januszewski caught his first fish ever.

James Zembillas received his first fishing pole earlier in the week and had luck with it as he caught his first fish.


St. Mary Catholic Community School in Crown Point offers grade levels Junior Pre-Kindergarten (for three-year-olds) through eight. Students are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities such as chess club, Girls on the Run, athletics, academic teams, Spanish club, Science Olympiad, scouts, environmental club, dance team, athletics, and more. To learn more about St. Mary’s School visit school.stmarycp.org.

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