Central Market
About two years ago, the town of Griffith came together to create the Central Market. Held every Friday during the summer and fall, the market is located at Central Park in Griffith. At the market you can find local businesses selling food and people fundraising for things such as charities, clubs, and sports. You will also find people playing live music which gives these bands a chance for some publicity and allows the people at the market to relax and enjoy.
Not only does it benefit the town, but it also benefits the students at GHS. In the past, Best Buddies, a club that focuses on special needs students, set up a booth and sold Smelly pencils and pens to raise money for their club. Sports will also frequently go to the market to sell things such as candy and raffle tickets to help out their team.
“The Central Market is a great benefit for the town of Griffith. Not only is it a great place for hanging out with friends, but also a place where a lot of businesses can advertise. I’ve seen a lot of students advertising for their clubs and sports teams at the Central Market. Plus, the market gives you a chance to enjoy some incredible food that is not always in Griffith,” said incoming junior Skylar Davenport.
Not only does the market give students an opportunity to fundraise for their sports and clubs, but it also allows students to raise money for themselves by opening up job opportunities. On the other hand, some students just volunteer at the market for many reasons including National Honors Society and student council hours or just because they want to help out the community.
Most of the students will go to the market on a Friday to catch up with their friends and eat some delicious and fresh food during the summer or even get some cold ice cream on a hot summer day. It is also a popular place to be during the school year, especially since the park is so close to the school. Students often walk down to Central Market after school to relax after a long day. Central Market is still very popular to the town of Griffith and especially the students.
“Many people overlook the fact that Griffith is a lovely community,” said incoming senior Evan Queen, an employee of Sizzle Box, a food truck often found at the market.
“There are plenty of things to do here for people of all ages and one of the biggest events, in my opinion, is the Central Market. Everyone loves going to the market! Adults have their chance to shop and look for crafty home decor, children like to go play on the playground, and students of GHS go for a variety of different reasons. For as long as the market has been going on, it has benefited students. The market gives me and my fellow students a reason to get out of the house and socialize and take away some of the everyday stress we face as teenagers.”
If you have not been to Central Market yet, make sure to come out on a Friday to enjoy some good music, find some handmade crafts, and eat some food.
Student Shout-out
In high school, everyone has something that they are every passionate about and that passion never really goes away. For incoming senior Heather Steele, golf and her dream of becoming a teacher are her passions.
When Steele was in the second grade, she decided that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. Her mind has not changed ever since. Since she was so set on becoming a teacher, she decided to sign up for the Hammond Career Center for her junior and senior year, specialising in early childhood education. Steele is at the career center in the morning and returns to GHS for 5th through last hour. Early childhood education focuses on head-start kids, which are kids with low-income parents or kids with disabilities ages three to five years old.
During her first year, Steele learned all of the basics of teaching such as how to reinforce and make rules, making lesson plans, coming up with arts and crafts ideas, and making lessons seem more like a game. Steele also got to intern two days a week so that she could interact with kids. This prepared her for her second year when she has to intern four days a week. For the second year, Steele gets to pick a place of her choosing to intern at. Steele will be interning at Lake Ridge Head-start.
“I love being able to work with kids. Being able to make them happy and brighten their day makes me happy. I especially enjoy working with the kids who struggle and I want to make an impact on their lives,” said Steele.
After high school, Steele plans to further her teaching education by attending Purdue West Lafayette and majoring in early childhood education.
“I am very interested in Purdue West Lafayette because they offer a Riley Head-Start class where I have the opportunity of with working with kids while getting my education,” Steele added.
Even though she is very passionate about becoming a teacher, Steele still makes room for her passion of golf. Golf was something Steele never even thought of doing in her life, but at the end of her eighth grade year the golf coach talked her into joining.
“It’s not a very competitive sport and everyone is super kind and supportive of each other even on the opposing teams,” said Steele.
Her freshman year she was played as number four or five on her team throughout the season, sophomore year she was number one or two, and she stayed at number one for her whole junior year. Steele is excited for her senior year, but is also very sad that this is her last year playing on the Griffith High School team. Ever since her freshman year, there has always been about five or six girls on the team. This year there will be 12.
“This is our biggest team in a long time and that excites me! We have a good combination of experienced and inexperienced girls on the team so everyone can help each other out and learn from one another. I am going to miss the team so much, but I might come back to assist the coach after I graduate,” says Steele. Steele also added that she might even try to golf in college.