What’s recently happened?
As the holidays are quickly approaching, Lake Central High School (LC) is continuing to give back to the community. LC’s Student Council recently ended its annual toy drive. The club was accepting monetary donations as well as toys to donate to the Salvation Army Angel Tree. The Student Council was accepting donations through December 1.
There were several accessible areas for students to bring in their donations. Students could bring unwrapped toys and presents to their classes where they would be collected by Student Council members. Toys could also be dropped off by LC’s main entrance or by the guidance office.
In addition to the toys, students could bring their monetary donations to their classrooms. This year, students could also Venmo the club’s sponsor, Lisa Groszek, as opposed to bringing in money.
"I love doing the Angel Tree fundraiser daily because it's great to see kids get involved every year in doing something that will make a difference in the lives of others," Groszek said.
Once the donations were done being accepted, it was time for the Student Council to do its part. On December 5, some of the members of Student Council took a field trip to Target in St. John. Groszek and the members used the monetary donations they received to purchase more toys for the Angel Tree.
In order to motivate students and staff to donate to the toy drive this year, the Student Council announced that the homeroom class with the most donations would earn a donut party.
What’s coming up?
The first semester of the school year is finally coming to an end, and students are hard at work preparing for all of their finals.
To prepare for the stressful week ahead of them, Seniors Kailey Kosina and Rylie Pancoast have been studying as much as they can.
“Finals week is really stressful for me because I have a hard time managing everything, whether it comes to studying or getting enough sleep or staying energized. Studying takes a lot of energy out of me and it’s very important to me to manage my time,” Pancoast said.
LC goes the extra mile to have as much fun as possible during such a stressful time for students. The week before finals, LC is having a Holiday Spirit Week. This is a fun way to get the building excited for the holidays, while still preparing for tests ahead.
The spirit days include Flannel Day, Holiday Characters Day, Ski Wear Day, Students Dress Like Staff and Staff Dress Like Students day, and Pajama Day.
As the countdown gets shorter, Kosina and many others are eager for Christmas Break.
“I’m excited because, once finals are over, I will feel like I don’t have anything to stress about and we get to go on break. It’ll be nice to have a fresh start next semester,” Kosina said.
Staff spotlight:
LC is filled with dedicated and hardworking students as well as teachers. The Journalism students have been working day after day on their publications with the help of Advisor Kristina Collard.
Collard has been a teacher for 22 years now. After earning her degree in journalism education at Indiana University in Bloomington, she started off teaching at Griffith High School for 17 years.
“I love learning and teaching. That is why I wanted to go into education,” Collard said.
Collard has always taught a variety of English classes and journalism. However, this school year, her days are filled with strictly journalism classes.
“I was the editor of my high school yearbook, and I worked on the magazine as well. I think journalism is a class where you are learning real life skills,” Collard said.
She has advised numerous publications over the years, and that number has increased significantly since she started at LC. Collard came to LC in 2019 to teach English but also ended up filling in the spot of the advisor for Lake Central Television (LCTV).
LCTV is a very hands-on class that entails a lot of work. Collard enjoys it because students learn interviewing skills, leadership skills and how to interact and communicate with people.
“I feel like I learn from students, and I hope that they learn a lot from me. Technology is constantly changing. When I started with the broadcasting program at LC, I knew very little about broadcasting but I learned from the students,” Collard said.
Collard has been the advisor of LCTV for five years now. This school year, she also became the advisor for LC’s yearbook.
“It’s been more busy, but I am used to it. Not only do I do the Journalism classes, I am the Secretary of the Union, I sponsor a service-based club and I help plan the Winter Formal dance. I am good at balancing chaos, but it has been more chaotic this year than normal,” Collard said.
Even though it may be chaotic, Collard sees her small yearbook staff coming together and working hard. Because it’s a small staff, the students have to work extra hard to get information, and she is helping them manage it by giving encouragement and positivity.
“I am extremely proud of all of my students,” Collard said.
Student spotlight:
The LC Cheer team is thriving this season, and they aren’t stopping anytime soon.
Aislinn Hayes, a sophomore on the varsity team, is recovering from a tough injury and is eager to finish the rest of her second season as an LC cheerleader.
Hayes has been cheering for four years. She started off her high school cheerleading career as a freshman on varsity.
In addition to cheerleading, Hayes has been a gymnast for 14 years.
“My biggest accomplishment inside of cheer is winning nationals last year. Outside of cheer, it is individually winning nationals as a gymnast. I do gymnastics at Element Tumbling and Trampoline in Tinley Park,” Hayes said.
Hayes is a very committed and dedicated athlete with little free time, but she loves to hang out with her friends and family when she can.
She fractured her L5 vertebrae and has been struggling with this injury since January of this year. As a result of this, she had to miss out on some games and competitions, which was upsetting for Hayes. However, she is definitely ready to be back.
“I was cleared on November 13. It has been challenging, but it feels so good to be back,” Hayes said.
LC Cheer won the State title this year in the coed division for the first time in 12 years. Hayes and her team are preparing for their next competition.
“Nationals is our next competition at the ESPN Center in Disney World. It is in February. My team and I are excited and ready to compete,” Hayes said.