What’s recently happened?
During spring break that lasted from March 25 to April 2, Hobart High School’s (HHS) spring sports were launched, including baseball and softball. Other spring sports are rolling into action as well, such as Track and Field, Unified Track, Girls Tennis, Boys Volleyball, and Boys Golf.
Recently, HHS opened the Brickie Boutique.
The Brickie Boutique is an organization where students can donate their old prom dresses. This is so students who are unable to afford a dress can still feel comfortable and beautiful at one of the most memorable events of high school.
The senior class has also taken initiative to start up a thrift store for students to buy things that interest them. This money also goes towards prom.
The Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (JROTC) program turned the HHS lunchroom, better known as “The Great Hall,” into a mattress store where members of the community could come to buy a new mattress for a much better price compared to the average mattress store.
What’s coming up?
Prom is just a month away, and the junior class cabinet is doing its best for everyone to have an enjoyable and fun time
The group has launched fundraisers to help raise money, and ticket sales begin April 13.
Some of the fundraisers include selling bracelets with the school’s signature colors, purple and gold, for $7.
The juniors have also promoted a “promposal” for a chance of three creative and funny couples to win free tickets. The entry fee is $5, and it's a deal considering tickets are $60.
Its final fundraiser is from Pepe’s, and anyone with a slip from HHS allows the juniors to receive 15% of their purchase.
The JROTC program also has a Color Guard event in just a few weeks which is hosted by HHS.
The JROTC program, the Raiders, is additionally training to compete in a biathlon.
Lastly, The Academic Super Bowl teams compete on April 18 for a chance to compete at State.
Staff spotlight:
Math Teacher Katrina Lucas is a former HHS student-athlete who graduated in 2000. Lucas was also in the Top 15 of her class, and has coached both softball and volleyball for HHS.
She currently teaches Algebra II, Algebra II Honors, Pre-Calculus Honors, and Trigonometry Honors.
She has three kids who are 7, 9, and 11 years old, and she has been married to her husband since 2008.
“I definitely enjoy spending time with my kids; we like being outdoors. My oldest plays softball and I coach her, so I enjoy softball. I’ve played and coached. I also play volleyball. I even play on a women’s team out in Valparaiso. I would say there are three to four competitive teams; we’re one of them. There are some women out there playing in their 50s and I just think, ‘Dang, I hope I’m still playing in my 50s,’” Lucas said.
Lucas has been teaching for 17 years.
“I definitely like helping people and helping kids. I was good at math when I was in school and I had a lot of friends that would come to me asking for help, so I enjoyed the one-on-one tutoring and explaining,” Lucas said. “I liked sports, so I knew I wanted to try and coach when I became a teacher. I coached volleyball for seven years and softball for 10 years when I started teaching.”
Her favorite part about teaching is the interactions with students.
“I enjoy building relationships. I enjoy hearing about students’ lives, their sports, being in the play or whatever competition. I just enjoy teenagers,” she said.
She advises students to find something they’re passionate about while in high school.
“School is important,” Lucas said. “Try and apply yourself to figure out what your interests are, what your strengths are, and definitely try and find a field that you enjoy and that you’re good at. You have to try a little bit of everything in high school, otherwise, you won’t know. Sometimes, students are surprised about what they end up liking.”
Student spotlight:
Rachel Gillins is a junior at HHS. She and her two sisters have been homeschooled for the majority of their life until Gillins decided to go to public school in the ninth grade.
“Growing up, I was homeschooled, and one of the biggest struggles I faced was making friends. I had one or two friends, but they lived 30 minutes away,” she said.
Even before coming to HHS, Gillins was involved in every club or team that one could think of.
Now at HHS, she is on the soccer team, press secretary of the student council, and participates in Youth & Government. She is also auditioning to be a member of Wolffgang, a group of choir members that sing the national anthem and other songs.
Gillins plans to attend her annual visit at her Christian church camp this summer and train for her senior year of soccer.
“My overall goal in high school is to graduate with at least a 4.0 grade point average, and I’m exceeding that so far, so hopefully I don’t fail too much,” Gillins said.
Her favorite part of high school so far has been the social aspect. She enjoys being involved with the commotion in order to get her work done.
After graduating from high school, Gillins plans to become an English teacher.
“I’m terrified of leaving for college, but I’m excited to be my own person and explore,” she said. “I’m really excited about my major. I’ve been writing a lot of papers, and I’m a part of a tutoring program. I presented my latest piece for the tutoring program, and my current English teacher says that it was one of the best works she’s ever read from me.”
Gillins hopes that her love for English will be evident to her future students.
“I’ve always wanted to have an impact on people’s lives. I feel that I can better impact an individual over a crowd. If I’m teaching students about what I love, I’ll have an impact on them. I’ve never had a bad English teacher; they all have made me who I am today. I see the impact of what other English teachers have on people’s lives, and I want to make that impact too,” Gillins said.