What’s recently happened?
Marching down the halls, Munster High School (MHS) held a “Mustang Stampede” on February 10 to send off the girls swim and dive team and wrestling team to their State competitions this weekend.
The girls swim and dive team went to their State competition on February 11. Zuzu Smith, junior, placed 16th in diving, and Casey McNulty, Angelica Rzeznikowski, Jasmine Wegman, and Jennifer Barajas came in 15th place for the 400 free relay. Senior McNulty, reflects on her last season swimming at MHS.
“My favorite memory this season was winning the 200 IM at Highland Invite because it was a really close race,” McNulty said. “I put in a lot of effort to win.”
What’s coming up?
The Munster Best Buddies Club met up on February 10, after school, to help out the Lasagna Love organization. This organization asks for uncooked, but arranged, lasagna which will be easy for families in need to cook.
Next, the club plans to collaborate with Lake Central’s Best Buddies to go bowling on February 21 at Stardust Bowling in Dyer.
Staff spotlight:
Sparking up heated discussions, Morgan Nolan, MHS head principal, jokingly refers to himself as the “block guy” with the conversations of a block schedule returning next year arise at MHS administration meetings. Nolan voices his advocacy for a rotating block and traditional schedule school week; so, there would be some traditional seven period days and some blocked days during the week.
“Block schedule is hot talk of the town, but we will not know where we are at, in regards to next year’s schedule, until after Spring Break,” Nolan said. “There are lots of pluses on a block schedule, and there are lots of negatives too.” The biggest benefit to blocking is longer class periods allowing students and teachers to engage more deeply in learning.
One change that Nolan has already pushed to focus on this year is ensuring that all teachers have a shared central focus and goal. He found that when he started this school year, which was his first time fulfilling the head principal position at MHS, the staff had several various “initiatives” and “projects” going on which pulled them in different directions. Nolan wanted to steer away from these several different directions and become more collaborative. So, he has empowered the teachers and built their capacity through Professional Learning Communities (PLC) meetings.
“A principal needs to care most about the teaching and learning going in day in and day out in the building,” Nolan said. “Being a great teacher means being a lifelong learner. They should be inspiring students day in and day out to keep learning because they themselves are learning day in and day out. I think our teachers are becoming more reflective, which then translates to the students.”
When carrying out his job as head principal, Nolan utilizes his past education experiences to make decisions and enforce what he thinks is best for MHS. Nolan was an MHS teacher from 2007 to 2012. Then, he became the MHS Dean of Students in the 2012 school year. From 2013 to 2019, Nolan was the MHS Assistant Principal, and from there he went on to be the principal of Wilbur Wright. Finally, this year, Nolan returned to MHS.
“What drew me to teaching was my love of learning,” Nolan said. “During my junior year of college, I decided to start working toward a teaching certificate after the encouragement of some professors, former teachers, and my mother who taught high school Biology for 30 plus years. I enjoyed my experiences as a student, and I have always wanted to help level the playing field for all students.”
Nolan stresses the high regard he puts toward his role as head principal. He wants to ensure that he sets a good example for all the students and the staff.
I hope one day when you have kids and they go to Munster, you think about how important it was to have a caring adult who would run through a brick wall for all his students, and who would tear down barriers to create a better school,” Nolan said. “Maybe work or family takes you far away, and your kids one day ask about your principal and the type of person he was. I know not all the kids know how much I care about them, they all don’t see, but some of my best relationships are with former Munster students, some who are raising families now, and some who are teachers here in this building.”
Student spotlight:
Leaving an empty seat at her cafeteria table during her lunch hour, junior Tea Dimitrijevic’s friends already know that she is sparing her lunchtime to practice violin or piano in MHS’s orchestra room. Dimitrijevic grew up and went to Munster schools with her close friends her whole life. However, during the COVID-19 school year, when she was a freshman, Dimitrijevic felt disconnected from her peers and learning. She decided to go to the Chicago Academy for the Art (CAA) during her sophomore year.
“I felt that the only constant thing in my life, freshman year, was playing piano,” Dimitrijevic said. “That was the only thing that kinda made me happy that year, so I thought why not try to pursue this as a career. Then I found a school that would help me pursue that idea, and then I applied.”
As Dimitrijevic spent her time at the CAA, she started to view music as a hobby rather than something she wanted to dedicate her whole life towards because the expectations there were similar to what they are in a music college. Dimitrijevic still valued her time at the CAA and appreciates the professors and students there.
“You could tell that everyone there was really passionate about their art, both the students and the professors,” Dimitrijevic said. “We would take field trips to symphonies and jazz clubs so that we were exposed to the actual music scene in Chicago. I think this exposure made me grow as a person because I realized that there's a lot more to life than just my teenage issues or worries.”
Returning to MHS this year, Dimitrijevic is glad to be back with her Munster friends. She also can focus more on academics and partake in Advanced Placement (AP) classes. However, she does elaborate that she does not want to overly stress about her high school years.
“I see high school more as a prerequisite to college and a stepping stone to getting into the college I want,” Dimitrijevic said. “I feel like I now know more about myself and what I want to accomplish in my life. High school is just an obstacle in the way of that goal. I know that I can overcome the obstacle by working hard, getting good grades, and being a well rounded person.”
Even though she left the CAA, music is still an important part of Dimitrijevic’s life. She believes that music reflects human emotion in a way that is more profound and lasting. Dimitrijevic enjoys being able to use the piano and violin to convey these emotions to other people.
“For example, if you listen to a “Chopin Nocturne” your mood can change almost immediately from happy and upbeat to being more doleful and solemn,” Dimitrijevic said. “Now imagine being the one to actually play the piece. When you play, you yourself are creating that emotion. It’s really fun to be able to create an emotion yourself and make others feel things just by playing music.”