Eddie Jania, junior at Highland High School, is wrapping up this year with lots of hard work for the Highland Theater Company. Within the past few months, Jania has directed Highland’s fall theater production, “Out of Sight, Out of Murder” alongside fellow Highland junior Jack Banasiak, and has also starred in the Highland Theater Company’s musical adaptation of “Little Women.”
Directing the play alongside Banasiak was a great learning opportunity for Jania.
“Seeing all of the little things come together into an end product was the most rewarding part. It’s truly something amazing,” Jania said. “Having these two experiences has been wonderful. Watching the show come to life was breathtaking, and I realized it takes incredible trust and faith in your actors to be a director.”
Jania’s work in the musical was also something he can be proud of.
“It was pretty amazing, I loved everything about it,” Jania said.
Being able to work extensively on and off stage has furthered Jania’s passion for performing arts.
“I want to pursue other forms of performing arts, too, such as improv, stand-up, and sketch comedy. Plays and musicals have held a special place in my heart and it’s something I’m willing to pursue,” he said.
These experiences have helped him in other areas as well. “Thanks to theater, I’ve been able to open up socially, learn time management skills, and gain some lifelong friends.”
What’s Happened Recently: Holiday Cheer in Highland
Highland High School’s student body has embraced the holiday season.
A fun way for students to celebrate the festive season is by dressing up for spirit week according to a different theme each day. One popular spirit day theme was Christmas in July, which gave students the opportunity to wear beach and travel-ready apparel. Some other spirit days included Pajama Day and Ugly Christmas Sweater day.
What’s Coming Up: Holiday Concerts and Final Exams
Another way the school is celebrating the season is with holiday-themed band, orchestra, and choir concerts. The holiday choir concert will take place in the HHS Auditorium Dec. 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The band and orchestra will put on a holiday concert the following week on Dec. 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Finals week for Highland students is just around the corner as well. Exam days are Dec. 18, 19, 20. These days will be early release days for students. After finals, students will be on winter recess until Jan. 6.
Teacher Spotlight: Brittney Delariva
Brittney Delariva, German instructor, has been teaching at Highland High School for 14 years and teaching German for 16.
“I wanted to study German because it brings together language, culture, people, history, and politics. Foreign language is where all of those come together,” Delariva said.
As the only German teacher at the High School, Delariva is able to watch the first-year students progress into fluent German speakers by the time they are seniors.
“The most rewarding part of teaching for me is watching the students grow. The first-year students start off with basically a clean slate, and as they move throughout the years, watching them grow up and learn to communicate and talk using the German language is really cool to me.”
Although Delariva enjoys teaching German now, she wasn’t always so sure about what she wanted to do.
“Growing up, I had no idea what I wanted to go to school for, but as you grow up, you learn to forge your own path based on what you know,” she said.
Although looking toward the future can be daunting, you sometimes just have to go for it.
“My advice for young people is to explore as many things as you can and don’t be afraid of your opinions and thoughts on the world-changing as you get older,” Delariva said.
Along with teaching students throughout the day, Delariva also serves as the sponsor for Highland High School’s National Honor Society.
“We are currently in the middle of the NHS food drive. Our first round of baskets went out to veterans and families in our community during the Thanksgiving season, and we will have another round of baskets going out soon for the holidays,” she said.
Delariva also looks forward to the future of NHS for this upcoming year.
“We will have a second service project in the early Springtime as well.” Delariva said.