What's Happening
Semester 2 is a few weeks in, the wildcats are roaring through the halls as usual. Freshmen are finally used to the atmosphere while sophomores are eager to grow and juniors are almost seniors and seniors are almost out of here. There is still the same preparation occurring, the basketball team is getting ready for sectionals as softball, baseball and tennis prepare for their seasons. Spring is on the horizon, the Wildcats are ready to pounce on the ending of the year.
When the warm weather approaches the roar of the wildcats will echo out in the Hammond community, “Bound by none” the Wildcats are ready whenever to prove what they have to offer to the community the best possible way they are able to to do, it’s the of life for the Wildcat nation. Hibernation is not necessary for these Wildcats. Year round they are ready for everything that is thrown their way.
What's Coming
Testing wise, the Wildcats are ready to prove what they have. The ECAs, Mock Exam, as well AP Exams. The underclassmen are receiving preparations for the SATs, to be ahead of the game prior to them taking it. Test are very stressful and anxiety filling but the wildcats are are able to work together to help relieve the pressure to get the best possible outcome and strive for success, it’s part of being “lifelong learners”, the Wildcats will be able to amount to anything, the Wildcats country is a place where dreams are set to come true.
“We’re all in this together”, wise words from very famous Wildcats, it may seem corny but a nation, as the Wildcats are, is where possibilities are created. The future of the community lies in the halls of HHS. Other than testing, the Wildcats are ready to throw on their ballroom dancing shoes to have the 2nd annual Military ball sponsored by JROTC. To present the Elegant attire of the Wildcat nation as well.
Teacher Spotlight
Mr. J Craig, a very profound art teacher, you would just expect to have art and just color and create projects, but to be in Craig’s class is to be astonished by the form of teaching he executes. Art comes alive, as it actually jumps out in your face. When interviewed, Craig gave his background on arts and how he made his way to being a wildcat.
“I have always been in the arts and learned to love with working with metal and using computers to make art. I wanted to teach since college and worked hard to be a college professor, which I was for a time in California and North Carolina. I also worked in the Nonprofit sector as a Programming and Marketing coordinator before I came to HH," said Craig.
Craig also knew that taking this position was the right move from the beginning, crediting this decision as an early indication that he was on the right path.
"When Mr. Glassford called me and said there was an opening for an Art Teacher at HHS I knew it was the right move. I was given a phone interview and hired and flew out a few days later to start at HHS. That was in November of last year.”
It's not everyday you hear of a teacher that drops everything and heads for a school, especially one that it sometimes looked down upon, Mr. Craig has helped prove those wrong. He doesn’t teach just basic art material, but he teaches everything you can apply to the real world, a way to analyze what is around you and what you are able to pull from just a single visual presentation. The students of Craig’s class will leave with very useful information, a brighter and more intense, critique way to view your reality.
Student Spotlight
Paola Pantoja, ranked number in the Junior class is one very unique personality. She will lead herself to extraordinary measures, she walks to hallways and is able to bring her atmosphere in any classroom, she is capable of getting along with anyone. When interviewed she was asked three questions, “Her favorite thing about HHS”, “The positive outcomes she believes comes from HHS” and “What her dreams are?”
She knows where she wants to head and she has no problem pushing herself to those measures: “1. My favorite thing about HHS is that many of my friends go here and I am able to enjoy a lot of time with them. 2. The positive outcome that I think could come out of HHS is perseverance, no matter what the image of the school is or how the students act, I can still end up succeeding in life. I've also had the opportunity to have some amazing teachers and with what I've learned from them I'll always use, even after high school. 3. My dreams after high school are to go to a good university and get a bachelor's in mathematics. I will then became a high school math teacher, hopefully starting my career off at where I'm from, HHS.”
Any university will be lucky and have a well accomplished attribute to their institution. A very specific but adventurous sense of intelligence.