Student Spotlight - Kayla VanNostran
Chesterton junior Kayla VanNostran is all about the arts. For years, she has loved drawing, and recently she has started to test the waters of painting.
“Painting is something that is relatively new for me this year,” VanNostran said, “so I am not really sure if there is anything super specific that I like to paint.”
As for her preferred style, VanNostran feels that she would still rather draw than paint because of the control she feels she has when drawing.
“I prefer drawing over painting, because I feel like I have more confidence and control when I’m drawing.”
When it comes to inspiration, VanNostran has a wide array of things that influence her work.
“The world around me inspires me,” VanNostran stated.
Like any artist, VanNostran feels that some of her work is meant to be shared, while some of it is more private.
“When it comes to sharing my work, it depends on the overall message behind the piece,” VanNostran said. “There are some pieces that I am totally down to share with other people, and then there are others that are more private because of what they mean.”
Something that began as a hobby is now becoming something that VanNostran feels the need to continue, and she wants to work her love of art into her future job.
“It originally started out as a hobby, but then it evolved into something that I needed to do,” VanNostran said. “I can see myself incorporating art into my future job in some way.”
VanNostran is also concerned because two of her drawings cannot be found, and she thinks someone may have taken them. The two drawings in question are included above.
“I actually lost two pieces of my art,” VanNostran said, “so if anyone has seen them, let me know.”
What’s Happening
This month, Chesterton High School has been both preparing for and experiencing many exciting events. On Friday, Jan. 20, the varsity and JV boys’ basketball teams played Crown Point. In between games, the third annual Alley-Oop for Autism game was played with students from the special education classes. T-shirts were sold for the event and students were encouraged to wear red, yellow, and blue in the student section to support Autism Awareness.
CHSl is currently participating in the Hannah’s Hope Pop Tab War with the rest of the Duneland schools. The competition ends Feb. 3. Besides that, students are encouraged to bring in bottle lids and help the YMCA create recycled benches. Bins are stationed all around the school, just waiting for students to overflow them with water bottle lids.
Tutoring Tuesdays are now being implemented at CHS, as shown in a video played during morning announcements. “Tu.Tu.”, as the tutoring sessions are being called, are after school held from 3 to 4 pm in the CHS library. The meetings are going to be held six times. The meeting dates are the last two Tuesdays of this month, Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, and every other Tuesday for the next two months, so Feb. 7, Feb. 21, Mar. 7, and Mar. 21. All students are welcome to attend, and teachers hope that it will encourage students to seek the help that they might be afraid to ask for in class. They also hope that the tutoring sessions help students feel more comfortable with asking for help.
The self-proclaimed “unorganized” students of CHS will be able to attend an Organizing Workshop held by the school library. Certified Professional Organizer, Wendy Taddeucci, will be in attendance and she will be offering up tips and tricks on how to organize “everything from your locker to your life.” Two different sessions will be held. The first will be Friday, Feb. 3 from 3 to 4 pm in the library. The second session will be held on Monday, Feb. 6 during the first two lunches. The second session will be held in the Large Group Instruction Room.
The library kicked off its Reading Challenge for the year on Jan. 1. The competition this year runs until May 12 and a special prize drawing will occur on May 18. To enter the competition, participants must print out a “#CHSreads2017” bingo board featuring squares such as “A book a friend recommended,” “A book more than 50 years old,” and “A book [the library] has features on Instagram or Twitter.” After each bingo, the reader gets a small prize and an entry into the larger prize drawing. Participants can also get bonus entries by tagging the library in a picture of themselves with the book on Twitter or Instagram and using “#CHSreads2017.”
Finally, the Winter Dance is going to be held on Saturday, Jan. 28. This year’s theme is “To the Moon and Back.” Tickets are $10 and are being sold until the 25th. As usual, the dance is being held in the cafeteria at 7 pm.