Seeing double -- and triple -- at Mater Dei
School has seven sets of twins, two sets of triplets
By Jenny Welp Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, January 19, 2007
Carol Happe would expect maybe one set of twins to be attending Mater Dei School at any given time.
But to the principal's surprise, there are seven sets of twins and two sets of triplets at Mater Dei, which only has about 275 students total in grades K-8.
That's not all.
"We hear there's a possibility we may be getting another set of triplets for kindergarten next year," she said.
Some of them are fraternal. Some of them are identical. Then there are the twins in first grade who look so much alike that a teacher had to double check with their parents to make sure they weren't in fact identical.
In that case, it's especially understandable that she had to double check, considering that the 6-year-olds even lost the same tooth at the same time. But it turned out the girls knew what they were talking about.
Callie and Brooke Doohen are fraternal twins, and they said there are actually a few things about them that are different. For one thing, one of them is a little taller than the other. Callie also said they sometimes wear different color barrettes in their hair.
"Sometimes we like different foods, and sometimes we don't," Callie said. "But there's one thing we both like, and that's cotton candy."
While Callie and Brooke look very much alike, Luann Freidel has a set of triplets in her kindergarten class whom she said are each different in both appearance and personality.
"Everybody talks about the differences between brothers and sisters, and that you really can't compare them," she said. "Then you see them, and you see the differences instantly."
Even though Ashley, Brianna and Bailey Courtney are all different -- and they have their own friends -- Freidel said the sisters really do enjoy being together. She said they seem to have that special connection.
"If one of them is struggling with a paper, another will walk by and help them," Freidel said. "They don't even have to say anything."
Also mentioning a special connection were identical twins Natalie and Nicolette Beeken, who are in the seventh grade at Mater Dei. They said they always seem to be thinking the same thing. Natalie said if she's thinking of a song -- not even making a sound -- all of a sudden Nicolette will start singing that same tune.
The Beekens said it's fun being twins because you always have someone your age around so you never get bored. And Natalie said it's fun to have people try and guess their names.
But she said there is one time when it would nice if people could tell them apart. She said every so often, one of them does something great in soccer or track, and fans will cheer for the wrong sister.
Austin and Autumn Gomez are twins in fifth grade at Mater Dei School. The 11-year-old boy and girl said being twins can be tough because, with them being the same age and doing the same things, they can sometimes get a little competitive. But they said there are nice things about having a twin as well.
"It's kind of cool because if you have homework or something, they can always help you out. And if something goes wrong, they can always cheer you up," Austin said.
As fifth-grader Libby Brower put it when describing her relationship with brother, Sam, "Friends come and go, but you know your twin is always going to be there for you."
But to the principal's surprise, there are seven sets of twins and two sets of triplets at Mater Dei, which only has about 275 students total in grades K-8.
That's not all.
"We hear there's a possibility we may be getting another set of triplets for kindergarten next year," she said.
Some of them are fraternal. Some of them are identical. Then there are the twins in first grade who look so much alike that a teacher had to double check with their parents to make sure they weren't in fact identical.
In that case, it's especially understandable that she had to double check, considering that the 6-year-olds even lost the same tooth at the same time. But it turned out the girls knew what they were talking about.
Callie and Brooke Doohen are fraternal twins, and they said there are actually a few things about them that are different. For one thing, one of them is a little taller than the other. Callie also said they sometimes wear different color barrettes in their hair.
"Sometimes we like different foods, and sometimes we don't," Callie said. "But there's one thing we both like, and that's cotton candy."
While Callie and Brooke look very much alike, Luann Freidel has a set of triplets in her kindergarten class whom she said are each different in both appearance and personality.
"Everybody talks about the differences between brothers and sisters, and that you really can't compare them," she said. "Then you see them, and you see the differences instantly."
Even though Ashley, Brianna and Bailey Courtney are all different -- and they have their own friends -- Freidel said the sisters really do enjoy being together. She said they seem to have that special connection.
"If one of them is struggling with a paper, another will walk by and help them," Freidel said. "They don't even have to say anything."
Also mentioning a special connection were identical twins Natalie and Nicolette Beeken, who are in the seventh grade at Mater Dei. They said they always seem to be thinking the same thing. Natalie said if she's thinking of a song -- not even making a sound -- all of a sudden Nicolette will start singing that same tune.
The Beekens said it's fun being twins because you always have someone your age around so you never get bored. And Natalie said it's fun to have people try and guess their names.
But she said there is one time when it would nice if people could tell them apart. She said every so often, one of them does something great in soccer or track, and fans will cheer for the wrong sister.
Austin and Autumn Gomez are twins in fifth grade at Mater Dei School. The 11-year-old boy and girl said being twins can be tough because, with them being the same age and doing the same things, they can sometimes get a little competitive. But they said there are nice things about having a twin as well.
"It's kind of cool because if you have homework or something, they can always help you out. And if something goes wrong, they can always cheer you up," Austin said.
As fifth-grader Libby Brower put it when describing her relationship with brother, Sam, "Friends come and go, but you know your twin is always going to be there for you."
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Joey wrote on Jan 20, 2007 10:21 AM:
rachel wrote on Jan 19, 2007 5:26 PM: