What’s recently happened?
This past Sunday, the Griffith High School (GHS) Pantherettes hosted its annual showcase. The showcase began with its football “Game Day Dance” which was dedicated to late coach Teri Calhoun. Following this performance was the LM Premier Dance, which is a separate dance studio where Pantherette Coach Brooke Maglish teaches and current Pantherettes Bella Andriessen and Madi Worosz dance at.
In the week leading up to this showcase, the Pantherettes held a “Little Girls Camp” to teach younger dancers from different groups different routines. After the first LM Premier performance, the first of four “Little Girls Camp” routines was performed. Worosz and Andriessen followed this up with their duet.
“I was very happy with the first performance of the duet with all of our lifts and skills hit," Worosz said. "Me and Bella both felt great as we were walking off the floor.”
Last season, the two had a duet that was good enough to place 10th in the state. The second of four "Little Girls Camp'' routines followed before LM Premier went back onto the floor for another routine. Shortly after, everyone attending the showcase listened as they recognized Calhoun once again before the Pantherette’s Jazz routine.
Junior Catherine Cavazos believed that their routine was good, but has potential to be great.
“I think jazz is truly an amazing routine," she said. "However, for it to look strong, we all need to work as a team and dance to our fullest potential. Using serious facials and making our movements sharp, we can make this a winning routine.”
After another LM Premier performance, Worosz took the floor for her first ever solo. Worosz performed almost constantly at the showcase, having three routines with the Pantherettes as well as her solo, duet, and her LM Premier performances.
“Although basically every change was a quick change, I actually enjoyed the way it kept my adrenaline going. I was able to stay focused and, although it was very fast paced, I was happy I got the opportunity to perform a lot of dances I have been working on so far this season," Worosz said.
After the third "Little Girls Camp" routine, Andriessen performed her solo. Both Worosz and Andriessen are competing with a solo this season as well as their duet. Sophomores Emily DeYoung and Haileymarie Guajardo performed their first ever duet. DeYoung said it was nerve-wracking but due to their long lasting friendship, learning it came somewhat easy.
“Going out on the floor and giving it everything we had for the first time with people watching is a feeling I’ll never forget," DeYoung said. "The crowd, my coach, and my team being so supportive made it a very beautiful and unforgettable moment.”
Next, the seniors Andriessen, Alison Haley, Lily Heneghan, Grace Wolven, and Worosz were recognized at half-court. Following this was “Turns for Teri," a competition to see who can turn the longest, which helps raise money for a special organization. The Pantherettes closed its showcase with its “Competition Pom Performance” and finished off a day of great performances with one more amazing performance.
What’s coming up?
At GHS, there are many students who enjoy reading as an activity. These students tend to be the same students who are high achievers and plan to head to college when their time in high school ends. These two descriptions meet beautifully at GHS’s Book Club. Book Club was founded this school year (2022-2023) by seniors Analisa Fuentes and Dainie Neely.
“Book Club meets once a month to discuss the previous book as well as select the book for the next month.” Fuentes said.
The inspiration for this club was more than just some students who like to read. Fuentes said she got the idea from people on social media who would include creating a club on their college résumés.
“That’s what sparked the idea of starting a club. Book Club just felt right because Dainie and I are avid readers, and we knew others, so we thought it’d be fun. It is used to connect with other students and gain a better understanding of people’s perspectives through books. It’s always fun to connect with people who enjoy the same things,” said Fuentes.
Just as any other club or team, Book Club needed a sponsor to start up. Social Studies Teacher Jenna Berzy is the sponsor for the Book Club.
"We get to use her room for meetings, she oversees the more logistical side of the Book Club, and she also leads the book discussion most of the time," Fuentes said.
Fuentes also mentioned that Berzy has recently applied and received a grant for Book Club in order for everyone to get a copy of the book without renting or buying it. As previously mentioned, Berzy helps with discussion at the meetings. These meetings happen once a month, and both Fuentes and Neely have quite a lot to get through.
“A typical meeting starts off with our voting and discussing potential books we could read for the next month," Neely said. "Analisa typically creates a Powerpoint that has the book's description, genre, rating, and pace, and then we take turns reading about these books. After that, we finish the vote and start the discussion about the book we read the month before. Anyone who hasn't read the book that particular month will leave or stay, and the remainder will talk about the book.”
The club already has a great structure, but being a new club at school is always difficult, as is getting members and people to show up at meetings every month. Despite that, Book Club has had a good start in comparison to others.
“Honestly, I thought a lot of people wouldn't be interested, but I was wrong," Neely said. "The Book Club is really flexible; you come when you have the time to read, and attendance isn't mandatory. It's more about pleasure. A lot of it is upperclassmen, but we had some underclassmen come and join the discussion. We genuinely had a lot of people asking to join for a month or come to a meeting when they had never gone before.”
Fuentes and Neely are both avid readers, and their goal from the creation of this club is to collect the other avid readers at GHS as well as advertise and educate others and themselves on the value of reading.
Staff spotlight:
Kristina Taylor is a teacher and a coach at GHS. She teaches both middle and high school classes, including Student Media, English 7, Honors English 7, and both middle and high school Yearbook. In terms of extracurriculars, Taylor is the head coach of both middle school cross country and high school Girls Track and Field. Separate from school, Taylor has hobbies of both reading and photography. Her biggest hobby, however, is running.
“I have run many races: six half-marathons and three marathons including the Chicago Marathon, Indy Monumental, and the Milwaukee Marathon," Taylor said. "I also do running streaks, my longest being 70 days."
Taylor’s passion for running benefits herself and her athletes greatly as she has produced four state qualifiers at the middle school level and a high school regional qualifier in track during her time coaching both teams. Taylor is also in a unique situation at GHS, one which involves teaching at the same school her daughter attends.
“It’s interesting to have my kids in the same school as me," Taylor said. "I thought it would be difficult trying to keep my job separate from being a parent of a student, but my daughter’s teachers and I have figured out how to navigate this unique situation. I think it has its pros and cons. I like that she’s here and we see each other during the day.”
Taylor has done great things for the yearbook, publications, cross country, and track at GHS and continues to push change to the benefit of her students and athletes.
Student spotlight:
Nathan Visak is a freshman at GHS. Visak’s main passion is sports, as he plays basketball, track, and soccer. His plan for the future is to play basketball in college.
Along with being a great athlete, Visak is the 2026 Class President and is in Booster Club. Outside of school, Visak plays Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball on a team created by NBA Player Glenn Robinson lll who attended Lake Central High School. Robinson created this team to give a platform for Region basketball players of all ages.
Visak credits AAU as an opportunity for one-on-one action and also mentions that, as you get older, more scholarship opportunities appear from playing AAU basketball.
"My team goes to some big tournaments in Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan," he said.
On this team, Visak says his role on the team is all about energy.
“Whether on or off the court, I always make it my sole responsibility to bring energy. When a team has energy, they play well," he said.
Visak is a great athlete and contributes to GHS in many different ways.