#1StudentNWI: Closing Out an Amazing Year at Washington Township High School

WTHS Academic Teams at State Competition

It is a great honor to say that three of Washington Township High School’s Academic Teams competed in the Academic Super-Bowl on May 9th. The English, Science, and Social Studies Teams qualified to attend this event at Purdue University in Lafayette.

The English team, consisting of Juna Johnson (11), Noah Masson (11), and Nathaniel Steeves (10), was Class 4 State Runner-up. The Social Studies team, which includes; Ean Johnston (10), Noah Masson (11), Sindy Rivera (11), and Nathaniel Steeves (10), was also Class 4 State Runner-up. The Science team, Katie Boyd (12), Ryan McCormack (9), Shyam Raman (11), Nathaniel Vas (11), and Bobby Walker (9), took third place overall.

WT is very proud of all of whom participated in the Academic Super-Bowl at Purdue. This was a great year for all teams.

Teacher Shout out- Mrs. Kwiatkowski 

At the end of this school year, Washington Township High School will be saying goodbye to a much admired English teacher. Her name is Jennifer Kwiatkowski. She has taught at WT for 11 years and is saying goodbye at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

“[When I am teaching] I love feeling like I am spending my time in a useful way. [Teaching] is the only career for me where I feel like I am doing something good and helping students succeed in life”, says Mrs. Kwiatkowski. “I am very happy and excited to start a new chapter in my life but at the same time I am very nervous and sad.”

Everyone at Washington Township will dearly miss Mrs. Kwiatkowski. Every person who knows Jennifer Kwiatkowski are thankful that they met her and everyone that didn’t get a chance to know her truly missed out on a great friendship.

Lucas Soliday Hurdles His Way to Victory

Being a senior at WT, Lucas Soliday (12) has really benefited the track program. His school record of 40.8 seconds in the 300 hurdles has truly set the bar for current and future track runners at Washington Township.

Soliday has been asked to run track at Wabash College in the fall. He will officially sign with them on June 3rd. When asked about his thoughts on a collegiate level track he says, “I am actually nervous about running the 400 meter of hurdles [instead of only 300 meters]. I am also kind of nervous about running against 23-year-old men.” Entering college track is definitely a big leap from high school track.

When asked about his favorite track related memory, his memory of winning the hurdles sticks out in his mind.

“[My favorite memory from high school track] is winning the 110 and 300-meter hurdles junior year in PCC”, Soliday says.

The WT track team will definitely miss Lucas, however they are very proud of him about getting a scholarship. WT wishes him luck in the future.

An “Oriental” Night at Prom

After a long wait, they were ready. Juniors and Seniors were very excited to attend Prom on May 3rd. This big event happened at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton.

Being a senior, Lucas Soliday (12) says, “I am honestly going to miss hanging and dancing with my buddies [at prom].”

Everyone at WT is so close-knit so he says he is going to miss how comfortable it felt.

Each year before prom WT juniors and seniors vote for one Prom King, Queen, Prince and Princess.

Prom Princess, Taylor Adkins (11) says, “People voting me for Prom Princess was an honor, and it was a good feeling knowing that they think highly of you to vote for. It definitely made the night more memorable.”

Overall prom was a success. The juniors made enough money to provide a great prom. Let’s hope the sophomores will do the same next year.

Upcoming Event- Senior Graduation

The day is almost here. Graduation. On June 6th the graduating class of 2015 will be marching up the stage to receive their diploma.

Some seniors decided to graduate early such as Bethany Kingery.

She says, “Early graduation is possible for a high school senior if they have earned all of the credits they need. So because I didn’t need any other credits I chose to graduate midterm rather than staying and taking classes I didn’t need. I graduated early to get a head start on life and start working to earn money to pay for college.”

Some seniors decided to stay in high school until the end of the year such as senior Alicia Hernandez (12).

“[After high school] I want to attend PNC and major in nursing. I want to become a nurse practitioner”, says Hernandez.

All of the seniors are very excited to be done with high school. They want to start their lives as young adults and attend college. Graduation is a huge milestone in life so they should be proud.