#1 Student NWI: Andrean High School Celebrates Catholic Schools Week

What’s Happening?
Last week was Catholic Schools Week at Andrean High School. CSW is an important week to Andrean students because it is a time when we reflect on why we chose Andrean and what makes it special.

Students were able to dress up four days out of the school week for CSW. For each day they dressed up, each student paid a dollar. The total amount raised went to La Rabida hospital. There were different themes for each day: Monday was dynamic duos, Wednesday was USA Day, Thursday was Color Day, and Friday was Fifty Niner Wear.

On Thursday, each class wore a different color that represented a different type of cancer they were raising money for. Seniors wore pink for breast cancer, juniors wore gold for children’s cancer, sophomores wore orange for leukemia, and freshmen wore grey for brain cancer.

Along with the money being raised for La Rabida, the classes also engaged in “penny wars.” Each class had a jar, and for each penny in the jar, that class got a point; However, other classes could add other coins (nickels, dimes, quarters) to a different class’s jar. That class’s total is subtracted by the number of cents in a coin.

For example, if a quarter goes in the seniors’ jar, the seniors’ total is subtracted by 25. The money raised from the penny wars are also going toward raising money for cancer. Students wore their uniforms on Tuesday for mass, where they were joined by the bishop of the diocese and students from several Catholic grade schools.

What’s Coming Up?
The girls’ basketball team won the sectional game Saturday night, February 6th. This is the first time girls’ basketball has won sectionals in ten years. The team and their loyal fans in the stands were celebrating this win. This win means that the Fighting Fifty Niners move on to the regional competition. Many of the girls are more determined than ever to have more successes this season.

This upcoming week, the Andrean community through the Interact Club is working with the Gary Urban League to collect as many cases of water as they can. These cases will be sent to Flint, Michigan, where there is currently a state of emergency because the short supply of clean water.

In addition, after sweeping the invitational and regional competitions, Andrean’s decathlon team is preparing for the trip to Lafayette for the state competition Valentine’s Day weekend. The students are concerned because they are missing a member, but they are still hoping to place as a team at the state competition. Many members are also aspiring to earn individual medals.

The annual mother-son dance will take place on February 28th. Every year, sons take their mothers out as a way to showcase their gratitude and appreciation.

Student Shout-Out
Freshman Miranda Price won the student of the month award in December. This recognition came after she entered a drawing contest for the Times. While she did not win the contest, Miranda’s drawing was featured in an issue of the newspaper. She drew a political cartoon with the subject of how the National Rifle Association (NRA) is portrayed in the news.

Art provides an effective creative outlet for Price. “I like doing art because it’s a good way to express myself and my feelings,” she said. Besides art, Miranda also likes foreign language. Spanish is her favorite class because she enjoys learning a new language.

Miranda decided to attend Andrean High because the academics are better there than at the public school system closer to home. However, now that she's here, the thing she most appreciates is the sense of community. “I like how nice people are,” she said.

Price has joined three academic teams (spell bowl, quiz bowl, and academic super bowl) as well as Andrean’s interact club. Her favorite out of the four is quiz bowl, because it is more fun and has minimal studying.

In terms of art, Miranda said that she will continue to take art classes in future academic years, but does not plan on submitting any more pieces to newspapers.

Teacher Shout-Out
Twenty-six years ago, Trainer D arrived at Andrean High School. A physical therapy company contracted her here out of college, and being only 22 years old at the time, she didn’t want a formal title. Because she started out as only the athletic trainer and her maiden name begins with a D, the students began to call her Trainer D. She got married and became Mrs. Marovich, but the name Trainer D stuck, twenty-six years later.

Every Andrean freshman has Trainer for health, and a small percentage of sophomores, juniors, and seniors are in other classes she teaches as well. Because of that, we are all familiar with her teaching style. In order to connect with the students, Trainer makes a lot of jokes. “I talk about things that are relevant to them and allow them to express themselves,” she said.

Most Andrean students are familiar with “circle time,” Trainer’s Friday activity in which the whole class makes a circle and shares things about themselves.

After her contract with the physical therapy company ended, Andrean offered her a job, and Trainer willingly accepted. Her place is an important one in the Andrean community. “Andrean is a phenomenal place to work,” Trainer said. “I think that we all genuinely care about each other. When bad things happen, we rise to the occasion.” Trainer inspires students to be great and to make good decisions.