Teacher Feature
Morgan is full of smiling faces and bright personalities, but one of the greatest has to be Gary Cauley. Regardless if he has you in class or not, he goes out of his way to say hello and make sure you know you’re important. This year marks the 15th anniversary of teaching special education here at Morgan. His job is special because he teaches a variety of classes, and spends many hours with the same group of students throughout the day.
To some, teaching this way might seem daunting, but Mr. Cauley feels the opposite.
“I don't think teaching students with special needs requires any specific skill other than to have patience and realize that each student has the potential to grow. Many times it is a matter of finding a teaching style that works with individuals and what doesn't work.”
Mr. Cauley has been the golf coach for 10 years as well. He has also chaperoned the Senior Trip (which is only a week away!) for 7 years.
What he enjoys most about teaching and coaching is seeing how students grow over the years.
“My favorite part is that it allows the seniors to relax a bit and have a great time with friends while experiencing many of the things they have only read about in the classroom.”
What Mr. Cauley loves most about teaching and coaching is, “getting to work with students and watching them grow and mature from freshman year to young adults, some with families of their own now.”
Mr. Cauley is known by students as a fun-loving man who puts his all into his teaching and coaching. No matter the circumstance, he never gives up on a student. Everyone who is in his class or simply passes him in the hall knows that they have a place in this world and that they are being recognized for any good they are doing.
Student Feature
Senior year is a crazy time in life. From classwork, to jobs, extracurricular, and college, it’s a wonder anyone can juggle it all. It’s a rarity to see someone who does it quite as well as Sarah Randall.
Sarah is editor of the yearbook, drama club president, class treasurer, and a German club member. Across her high school career, she has also competed in Spell Bowl all four years, DECA and Science academic team during sophomore and junior year, and summer Community Theater. Not to mention her rigorous course work, and title of Valedictorian.
Living through all of these experiences has helped Sarah grow as a person and recognize her inner potential. Yearbook is a prime example.
“Being able to compare myself now, as editor of the yearbook, to myself as a freshman allows me to see the progress and improvements that I've made, which is really eye-opening. I think it goes to show that no matter what you do and no matter the quality of it, you can always work to improve for the future.”
All of these experiences have introduced great new friends too!
“I've met my closest friends from the extracurricular I'm in. I've made so many connections with people I would have otherwise never spoken to.”
Tackling all of this sounds challenging, but Sarah does her best through staying organized. “I keep an agenda and I try to write everything that I need to keep track of in there. Other than that, it's just taking everything a piece at a time and trying my best not to get overwhelmed.”
Sarah is considering studying linguistics at either IU Bloomington or the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before graduating, she leaves underclassmen with this- “Be open-minded. As an underclassman, it's easy to believe that the world is against you and it's hard to believe that things will ever change. It sounds super cheesy, but keeping an open mind can give you so many opportunities to do things and to meet people that will change your life. It's okay to be afraid to try new things, but don't let that stop you from trying them anyway.”
A Bittersweet End to Sectionals Week
Morgan’s boys competed in the sectional games on Friday, March 4th and Saturday, March 5th, and their experience was one for the books!
Earlier in the season, Morgan lost the keg to PCC rivals Washington Township. But on their Friday night game, the boys defeated the Senators 53-45 in a nerve-racking game. Saturday held the neck and neck battle against Gary’s 21st Century school. The boys held strong and even had the lead until about the third quarter. 21st did end up winning 54-48, though. However, 21st scored around 100 points the night before, so it shows that Morgan really gave their all and played better than ever.
Thankfully the boys still have the keg, and will for the whole summer. Varsity player, Kyle Grennes, said the team is excited, because, “we haven’t had the keg over the summer in a long time so [getting] it was nice.”
The team is planning on having our MS/HS art teacher Mrs. Braun paint the keg, because, “she makes it look really nice.” They’re thinking of going with a color scheme that mimics their jerseys from this season.
Eat to the Beat of Your Own Drum
This Saturday, March 12th, the band will be hosting its annual fundraiser dinner from 4-8 p.m. They plan to follow suit in tradition and serve their classic chicken noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, cookie, ice cream, and a drink. Visitors can take it to go, or be served by band members in the cafeteria. The dinner is being held to help raise money for new equipment and music. It also allows students who sold tickets to help earn money to pay for the trip to Disney World next spring!
Tickets will be sold at the door, where adults pay $11 and students/seniors pay $8. There will also be raffles held by various sponsors and parents. Fun prizes like date-night baskets and car kits will be offered up for the lucky winners.