What’s recently happened?
On September 22, Homecoming day, Hammond Central High School (HC) competed with the Californian Eastlake High School Titans. This game made HC the first Indiana team to compete with a team from California in high school football. The game ended with a loss of 21-27.
Leading up to the game, Spirit Week ran from September 18-22 with the Homecoming dance taking place on September 23. On Monday, the students participated in ‘Twin Day,’ matching with a person of their choice. On Tuesday, students wore neon-colored clothing while on Wednesday scholars appeared with their representation of ‘90s fashion. Thursday, students showed up with their HC merchandise and gear. On Friday, there was a color war between the grades; freshmen had to wear white, sophomores wore gray, juniors wore blue, and the seniors wore purple.
Friday was also the Homecoming game day with the theme of “White Lie” for HC’s students, staff, and supporters. HC fans showed up with a white t-shirt with a white lie written on the shirt. The game was at 7 p.m. with pre-game festivities taking place an hour before the game on HC’s field. At the Homecoming dance, the decorative theme was “Beyond the Lights,” with various types of colorful lighting strung throughout the gymnasium. Food at the dance was provided with options of pizza, chicken, strawberries, grapes, brownies, cookies and more.
What’s coming up?
The spooky festivities are coming to a start with one of the oldest holidays, Halloween, being the center of staff and students' spirit. HC’s second annual Trunk or Treat will be taking place, letting people with the Halloween spirit gather, dress up, and receive treats.
The event will be hosted by HC’s Hammond Arts and Performance Academy (HAPA) and the National Honour Society (NHS). Live music will be performed by HAPA students. There will also be pumpkins and apples, games, and other treats.
The Trunk or Treat is on October 25 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. located at HC.
On October 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre in HC, a unique school field trip will be taking place: the Indiana Court of Appeals Trial. An actual appeal trial of a murder case will be taking place at the school for educational purposes.
Instead of watching a video or movie, students are able to watch the behind-the-scenes clips along with the trial itself. This will be a good learning opportunity for those wanting to go into the law or criminal justice field, or simply anyone who is still discovering their career path.
Staff spotlight:
Technical mentor for Robotics as well as Junior engineering student at Purdue University Northwest (PNW), Dikshant Sharma is grateful for his experience from his high school robotics team and hopes to encourage others to give robotics a try.
He joined the Robotics team as a teenager in high school and then later immediately got a job as a machine designer when he graduated. Robotics provided him with a lot of experience so he was able to start going into the work industry.
Sharma believes that Robotics is a great way to prepare students for the workforce. Robotics does not only help with STEM but also marketing design, soft skills, and interpersonal skills as well.
“Essentially, if you're interested in anything, you'll probably find a place here. It's a club with a lot of different clubs and activities inside of it, and it's a great way to apply what you've learned at school, or even if you want to learn how to use a drill, how to fix your own furniture. The other thing that we're actually looking for help with, and would like to see more students involved with, is students that are really interested in sports and scouting,” Sharma said.
Sharma hopes to apply more advanced concepts since he believes that was the reason their season ended prematurely last year; he wants the team to improve on their electrical reliability. He also wants to grow the team and make more students engage in the team. He hopes the team will eventually match the size of his team back when he was in high school.
“My high school team had half the people in the yearbook on the Robotics team; we had 200 people on the team. Our high school had 600 students, but we had 200 people. It was hard to get 200 people involved, but we had a lot of different students kind of working like a corporate organization with a lot of different opportunities and tasks,” said Sharma.
Sharma believes that there is a big misconception when it comes to robotics and what it entails.
“Maybe you hear robotics, and you're like, ‘Oh, they just put bolts together or something. Or it's a super technically advanced thing, something that I couldn't do.’ It's not like that at all; we have students across various backgrounds in all different types of fields with different interests as well,” Sharma said.
Student spotlight:
HC Junior Mirabell Perez is currently the Robotics team’s safety captain. Perez has been in Robotics since she was a freshman in HC and plans to continue incorporating robotics into her future.
“I wanted to learn how to be hands-on and to build something I never thought I'd be able to on my own. I'm glad I joined the team; without it, I wouldn't have the knowledge I have now,” said Perez. “You get to learn the inner workings and mechanics of things. Working hands-on alongside other students and engineers, you get to create an idea and make it come to life.”
Just like many others on the team, Perez plays multiple roles. She helps build the robot together with the mechanics as well as the electrical components. Perez also helps with the essays they have to write, and she is currently the team’s safety captain.
“I honestly wasn't sure what to expect when I first joined the team. I was nervous, that's for sure, but also excited. As I became comfortable, it was nothing but fun. Robotics has led me to be where I am now, helping me stay on track and continue doing what I enjoy. It has built greater ways of thinking as well as friendships,” said Perez.
Perez plans on incorporating concepts of Robotics into her future by planning on working in STEM. She believes this hands-on learning will prepare her for whatever she does in the future.
Besides Robotics, Perez is also in the Art Club, NHS, and the Swimming team. When it comes to interests, she enjoys spending time with her family and reading various books.