Robert Hall
Recently, the Governor family lost one of their very own. On January 9th, it was announced that Robert Hall had died after battling cancer. Mr. Robert Hall had been a staff member at Morton for many years. During his time at Morton, Hall served as an educator, mentor, and friend to the students and staff. To some, he was more than that. Robert Hall also coached Freshman Football, Junior Varsity and Varsity Basketball, and Varsity Golf. To his athletes, he was a father figure.
Outside of athletics, Hall sponsored the Committee for Promotion of African American History (CPAAH), where he would write and produce Morton’s annual Black History program. Although Coach Hall is no longer with us, he will always remain a member of the Governor family and will be dearly missed by those whose lives he has influenced.
Honoring Coach Hall
The Governor family is always supportive in times of need. In honor of the late coach Hall, the Morton Girls Basketball Team dedicated their game to him on the night of January 17, 2018. The game against East Chicago Central was dedicated to supporting cancer awareness. Game admission and “#FindACure” shirt proceeds were donated to cancer research.
At the Basketball Cancer Awareness event, there was also a bone marrow drive dedicated to a young Northwest Indiana resident named CJ who is currently battling a rare form of cancer. Throughout the night, the volunteers were able to complete fourteen new bone marrow donor kits.
Girls Basketball In Action
On Saturday, January 20th, the stands filled in the Morton gymnasium as supporters of the Morton girls basketball team united to support this year's Lady Governor Seniors. This year the basketball team is graduating quite a few of their players. The team played against Clark High School. By the end of the first half, the Lady Governors were winning 29 to 9. Then at half-time, the Seniors walked across the court with their escorts as they received flowers from the Morton Athletic department. As the night went on, the governors made shot after shot- successfully increasing the score. To conclude the night, they had a triumph score of 64 to 21- a true victory and the best way to end Senior Night.
The Upcoming:
This weekend, the Hammond Academy for the Performing Arts dance department will be holding their annual fundraiser, Dancing With the Hammond Stars. The event invites a select group of members from the Hammond community to perform with students from the HAPA dance ensemble to compete for a mirror ball trophy.
This year's contestants consist of current and former Morton staff: Mr. Alex Duarte and LeAndrea Rainey; Ms. Ramirez and Artrell Brown; Ms. Turner and Kevin Givens; and Mr. Browning and Lindsey Whitaker.
Prior to the event, members of the Dance Honors Society and HAPA Dance Department will be offering free dance classes. The classes will be on Saturday, January 27th from 12-3 pm. The show will follow at 7 pm. Tickets for the show will be $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.
LeAndrea Rainey
For the past few months, members of the HAPA Dance Ensemble have diligently worked with members of the Hammond community. Among those hard-working students is Morton senior, LeAndrea Rainey.
“Being a contestant in Dancing With the Hammond Stars has definitely been different - I have become the teacher and it’s fun to boss my partner [Mr. Alex Duarte] around. I have enjoyed working with my partner to the fullest extent and we have fun progressing together,” Rainey remarked.
Overall, LeAndrea is a well-rounded student. At Morton, she is involved in numerous extracurricular activities. Currently, she participates in Bible Club, Key Club, Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, and Book Club. Outside of school, she is a member of the Upward Bound program, a college readiness program and is an active member of her church.
“The most stressful thing about balancing everything is making sure that I don’t procrastinate when I do have time for homework,” Leandrea added.
Within HAPA, LeAndrea has been involved in numerous productions. Her most recent performances have been: Cabaret ‘17, Stepping Into Spring ‘17, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Falling Into Dance ‘17. “My favorite part about dancing is the rush of energy I feel while on stage - it encourages me to keep performing. Without the arts, I feel as if my life would be empty of energy and creativity,” she commented.
As a senior, LeAndrea anticipates on majoring in Nursing and minoring in Dance next school year.
“I hope to have many performing arts opportunities in the future because I love to dance and [I love] the arts; the creativity, zest, and energy that I receive from it is amazing.”
In the future, LeAndrea hopes to open a dance studio to teach aspiring dancers hip-hop and many other dance styles.
In Saturday’s performance, LeAndrea is performing her solo from the Fall Dance Show. The solo is called Little Girl Blue.
LeAndrea explained, “It’s about a girl who comes to overthrow her sadness through her powerful dancing.”