Student Shoutout
The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) is a high school exchange program between schools in Germany and the United States. Senior Eddie Young, after studying German for three years, will travel abroad to Germany through the GAPP program.
“After taking a couple years of German,” Young said, “I decided it would be time for me to sign up for the GAPP program.”
Towards the end of the school year in March through April, Lukas Höcher, Young’s German exchange partner, experienced life in America and went to school with Young.
“It was a pretty interesting and enjoyable experience,” Young said. “There was a lot of different culture shocks; I would be driving my partner home from school and he would be asking me a question and I’ll spend the entire ride home explaining one particular thing about American culture to him. It’s so foreign, the concept, and I imagine the same thing is going to happen when I go over [to Germany]. The expressions the Germans have, and the awe and wonderment they get to experience is incredible because you get to see them just blown away by all the different things we have available here. I distinctly remember taking [Höcher] to Five Guys restaurant where he had a burger and a milkshake; he thought it was just the best experience ever because it tasted so good. He told me how he wants to open a Five Guys chain in Germany.”
Young, along with the other students participating in GAPP, headed out to Germany mid-June and will spend a month discovering German culture.
“We spend a week at a youth hostel,” Young said, “which is kind of a small hotel. There we will get to hike up the mountains and then we head to our exchange partners’ homes and we get to live with them for about three weeks and experience their school. It’s an exchange program centered on school, but you also get to experience the culture of the area.”
In addition to trying to learn more about German culture, Young is fascinated with other aspects of Germany.
“Not only do I want to experience the culture,” Young said, “but I want to see some of the advancements done in the infrastructure. Germans have a thriving infrastructure with bullet trains and bus systems. Everything is so much tighter knit and close together; the towns and cities are much more compact than they are here in the States. Also, [I would like] to experience their clean energy sector. They have the most progressive clean energy sector in all of Europe right now, and I wanted to check it out and experience it. I thought it would be cool to look into that, plus it’s something I might like to do in the future.”
Teacher Shoutout
During June and July, the Chesterton students who have signed up for Driver’s Education (Ed) take classes and are given driving time with the Driver’s Ed teachers. Greg Kearney, one of the Driver’s Ed teachers, has been teaching students how to drive for 35 years.
“In the years before I began Drivers Ed,” Kearney said, “I often heard previous teachers exchanging their ‘war stories’. I realized that as they told their stories, they were always smiling as they told them. It dawned on me that they really enjoyed this ‘rite of passage’ of these teens. For someone who enjoyed teaching teens and enjoyed driving, it was a logical extension of my teaching license.”
Kearney says that he teaches his students steering, braking, speed control, and “an appreciation of the complexities of driving in Northwest Indiana.”
“The ability to transfer thoughts from a book or online course to the reality of a moving car is always our goal,” Kearney added.
Although having inexperienced teenagers drive one around may sound like a stressful situation, Kearney says he has taught drivers who have offered a bit of comic relief.
“Humorous events probably occur hourly,” Kearney said, “One young lady (Mary) swerved drastically to avoid a ‘road-kill’, saying she was uncertain if it was dead. The two boys in the car, for the rest of the summer, insisted after that whenever we saw a road -kill that we stop the car, and Mary would go wake the napping animal. “
Brother Steve (also a Driver’s Ed teacher) explained to a bewildered teen the meaning of ‘watch for ice on the bridge’. Immediately afterwards they crossed a bridge where someone had spilled a bag of ice. Remember, this is July; it is always entertaining as well as educational.”
Fourth of July Parade
On Saturday July 4 in Hawthorne Park, Porter, a Family 4th Fest was held. As a part of the Fest, a parade was held from downtown Porter to Hawthorne Park. Chesterton’s marching band participated in the parade and played music for its audience. The band additionally performed in two other parades right after the Porter parade, in Glenview and Northbrook. Sophomore Bryan Pamintuan, a percussionist in the band, was part of the celebration and marched with his fellow band members.
“It was a fun experience,” Pamintuan said. “My favorite part is being surrounded by great musicians and having fun with the music.”
Although Pamintuan has only been in band for three years, he is thinking about pursuing music in his future.
“I might join a band in college,” Pamintuan said.