What’s recently happened?
Even with summer quickly approaching, Hanover Central High School’s Student Council has been quite active this month for a noble cause: the Riley’s Children's Hospital Fundraiser.
This fundraiser lasted from April 15-19. Participation involved various schools in the Cedar Lake region, namely Hanover Central, Hanover Central Middle School, Lincoln Elementary School, Jane Ball Elementary School, and Red Cedars Elementary School.
Hanover Central hosted a spirited rock, paper, scissors contest to raise money for the hospital. Students participated in exchange for bracelets, intending to accumulate the largest amount.
Of course, there was a prize for all these efforts: the opportunity for a delectable free lunch at Culver’s. This was to include payment for a friend to tag along.
The final showdown occurred during student resource time on Friday, April 19. The top four students with the most bracelets were competing in the finale.
Meanwhile, each of the other schools hosted a penny war. Astoundingly, a total of 35,164 pennies was collected.
Maggie Whelan, one of the Student Council advisors, played a critical role in ensuring smooth operations. Specifically, she was in charge of going to the younger schools and overseeing penny collections so that she could report back to the Student Council.
“Silver coins were the enemies,” said Whelan.
The pennies were the ones that counted for points. Throughout, Whelan remained diligent as she had to leave at 9:30 a.m. and be back at 2 p.m. every day to count the coins.
Organizing this entire event required team building and cooperation among the members of the club. Collaboration was vital; the club members themselves had to volunteer, the officers kept motivation up, and the two head advisors of the club helped to oversee everything through and through.
Granted, some challenges had to be overcome.
“Because this is the first year, some challenges were getting to know how things run. We were learning how to get our feet wet, what deadlines we need to meet, what paperwork we need, what approvals we need to get from the administration because it’s not just what we want to do. It all takes time,” said Whelan.
Despite such challenges, the Student Council is adamant about getting more recognition.
“Right now, we are working towards becoming an Honors Council, and we have to meet the criteria for that. Beyond that is the gold status for the Council to reach,” said Whelan.
This fundraiser is helping the Student Council to meet the necessary criteria alongside events such as the Homecoming and the Blood Drive.
In the end, the Student Council surpassed its goal of $5,000 with a grand total of $12,634.79. The money raised is enough to have the Red Wagon Booster status.
An actual wagon with a commemorative Riley's Red Wagon license plate with Hanover Central's school logo will be attached to the wagon. The wagon will be used to transport sick children throughout the hospital.
With this, Hanover Central’s student body will have forever provided comfort to sick children during their stay at Riley's.
What’s coming up?
The school year is gradually coming to a close. This time is perhaps most momentous for those who are current seniors.
Most excitingly, Prom is scheduled to be on Saturday, May 4, an event classically held for the senior class. Prom is set to occur between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. All will take place at St. Elijah’s Event Center in Merrillville.
Michelle Davlantis, the Medical Terminology and CNA teacher, is the head of organizing the event.
“This is my first year sponsoring. I’m looking forward to increasing school spirit. I enjoy being involved in school activities,” said Davlantis.
The Prom theme is of a serene and magical quality with its title of “Starry Night: A Night to Remember.” In keeping with the theme, the constellation set to occur on that date in Chicago will be displayed during Prom. This will be seen through centerpieces in the form of LED light displays.
Davlantis donated her time to construct the decorations and centerpieces. After all, she has her own laser engraving business.
Eventually, the displays are going to be raffled off for those students who want to keep them as an extra keepsake and memory of the event.
Staff spotlight:
Maggie Whelan is the Media Center Specialist at Hanover Central, though she used to be an English teacher.
“I taught at Wheeler High School in Valparaiso for several years. Then I was at Lake Central for two years. I took some time to be a stay-at-home mom afterward. Now coming back here, I do enjoy this position because I get to see the kids in a different light where I am not just in the classroom teaching and grading papers,” said Whelan.
Whelan’s presence in the school is highly valued by the Hanover Central community.
“Whenever I see her interacting with students, she is smiling. She always goes above and beyond. You can count on her,” said Isabella Polkowski, a Hanover Central student.
More often than not, Whelan assists students with their papers given her English background. She also monitors the kids during student resource time; this is a new opportunity for students to take advantage.
Thanks to Whelan, students have the extra space to collaborate with peers from various classrooms where otherwise such an opportunity might not have been available.
“There was no media teacher here for a while, so I am here to make sure that the kids know that this is open now. I am also in charge of the book orders and making sure kids are checking out the books. I assist kids with any kind of technical needs,” said Whelan.
Whelan is one of the Student Counselor Advisors. Given her involvement, it is quite an astonishment that it is her first year working here.
“I joined because I was going to a new school. I wanted to meet all the students as quickly as I could,” said Whelan.
It seems that Whelan always had the drive to work in a school-based environment. She recognized that her strengths could allow her to help out the youth.
“I always loved reading, and I always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be a part of the high school environment, to be a role model for kids. These are things I always saw myself doing,” said Whelan.
In terms of personal aspirations, Whelan remains especially versatile in her interests and where she applies herself; Whelan finds fulfillment in her role as a parent.
“I have four kids, so whatever they like to do is what I am interested in right now. They do karate, baseball, softball, dance, and gymnastics, so it is me taking them to all their events and being their biggest fan,” said Whelan.
Student spotlight:
Isabella Polkowski is a sophomore at Hanover Central and one of the Student Council members. It is perhaps most striking that she ran in the Student Council’s April elections for an officer position.
“Recently I was elected as treasurer. I am currently learning the duties of my role. Next year, I will get a chance to be more engaged,” said Polkowski.
Polkowski has been active in the Hanover community. Observe this with her involvement in Student Council and Key Club — all this since the start of her freshman year.
“I had people around me that inspired me to take up this position. They really pushed me to be involved,” said Polkowski.
She also has enjoyed being a part of the Student Council.
“Every month we do posters to show appreciation for different groups of staff. I took part in decorating for Homecoming. I also helped set up the blood drive,” said Polkowski.
Polkowski has also ambitiously joined Academic teams this school year. She took part in the Spelling, Science, and English Academic Teams. Challenging herself academically is something that she guarantees she will continue doing.
“It’s about organizing your time well, and I personally like to get things done right away. I think this works out very well with having different commitments,” said Polkowski.
Polkowski remains well-versed in her skill set. Take note of her other involvements.
“I attend Polish School, and I am also practicing piano on the side,” said Polkowski.
Next year is her final year for Polish School in which she anxiously thinks about having to take a final exam. Additionally, she is preparing for her very first piano competition next year. Still, given her hard-working attitude, she can certainly attain it all.
Polkowski also crochets on the side.
“I like to work with different textiles. So that includes sewing, crocheting, and knitting. It was a hobby that was obtained during the pandemic. I had a lot of time to make sweaters, or amigurumi of dragons, and other creatures,” said Polkowski.
In further emphasis, Polkowski is multitalented.