What's recently happened?
Recently, Lake Central High School’s (LC) two-week-long winter break came to an end, and students were welcomed back to school bright and early on Monday, January 8.
Winter break was a great and much-needed time for a lot of students and staff at LC.
From sleeping in to going on vacation with family and friends to celebrating the holidays, there was a range of various activities that students and staff did over their winter break.
Kayla Rodriguez, a sophomore at LC, spent her break spending quality time with her family. Like many students, Rodriguez took time to relax before the second semester started.
“Over break, my family and I went to San Antonio, Texas. It was a great way to unwind after a stressful first semester,” Rodriguez said.
Winter break also was an opportunity for Rodriguez to go somewhere she’d never been before.
“We visited the Riverwalk and saw the beautiful lights. It was a great trip and a great way to end my winter break,” Rodriguez said.
Now, students are back to school and hard at work to finish the school year off strong.
What's coming up?
LC students are eager to attend this year’s Winter Formal. The dance, located at the Halls of St. George in Schererville, will be “Roaring 20s” themed. The venue will be decorated with flappers and feathers everywhere.
LC’s N-Teens club has been preparing for this dance for months, working hard on the decorations and party favors.
Sophomores, juniors and seniors attending the dance will arrive at 6 p.m. on January 20 to dance the night away.
The dance will offer several great things for the students attending.
Formal pictures will be available for students at the check in area, as well as boneless wings, fries, and a selection of sodas to drink.
Bri Berlongieri, a senior, is ready to enjoy her last formal dance at LC.
“I’m so excited to see all my friends in their dresses and to get ready because that’s always been my favorite part of dances,” Berlongieri said.
Staff spotlight:
As the LC Robotics team continues to make school history this year, Computer Science Teacher Danielle Carr leads the club members to continue to succeed. Carr took over the sponsor position for Robotics Club last year at LC and has not looked back.
Carr grew up moving around a lot and attended six different elementary schools, which was tough for her at such a young age.
“My family traveled a lot, and I lived in three different states. Growing up, the majority of my elementary school was in Georgia. Then we moved to Illinois and finally settled in Indiana,” Carr said.
It was rough always being the new kid, but Carr’s teachers had always been there for her. Her motivation for working to become a teacher stemmed from the impact her own teachers had on her life while growing up.
“I was bullied a lot, always being the new kid, but I absolutely loved all of my teachers. They always made me feel included and welcomed,” Carr said.
Carr moved on to study a concentration in science at Indiana University (IU) in Bloomington.
“When I was in school, it was the first year they were going to pilot a new license addition for computers. I got to work with IU developing that program,” Carr said.
Schools were just starting to bring more technology into the classroom at the time, so Carr was one of the few people to be able to teach teachers how to use that technology.
“I’m one of the few people in Indiana who have a license to teach computer science,” Carr said.
Carr has gone through a lot of school and is currently enrolled online at Indiana Wesleyan University for her Principal Licensure. Her ultimate goal is to be a curriculum director.
The classes Carr teaches at LC include Principles of Computing, Topics in Computer Science, and Computer Science.
In addition to co-sponsoring LC’s Business Professionals of America club, Carr proudly sponsors the Robotics team.
“I went to my first competition, and it lit up this competitive side of me,” Carr said.
Carr started to host multiple fundraisers to raise money for equipment. She also coordinated summer camps for young students to come learn from the club members. The camps also helped the club raise tons of money.
“Our club started to make a name for itself, and two of our teams qualified for state for the first time in Lake Central history,” Carr said.
Carr and the club are now preparing for LC’s first ever Robotics competition that will be held in the main gym.
Student spotlight:
In the midst of LC’s hockey season, the team’s social media manager Emma Bower continues to excel in her position and market for the team.
Bower is a busy student with several interesting hobbies in addition to attending the games and taking photos and videos.
“Beyond taking photos, some of my hobbies consist of reading, art, drawing, and writing. I love taking pictures of other things besides hockey, too. I am also in a student media broadcasting class, so I like filming as well,” Bower said.
After high school, Bower plans to pursue a degree in journalism.
“My current two top choices for school are IU Bloomington and DePaul University. Right now, my major I have selected is journalism, but I want to venture out more and see what else there is. I want to explore writing, photography, broadcasting and film,” Bower said.
While working to produce news episodes for Lake Central students and staff to view, Bower runs the hockey team’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
“Running the social media consists of posting game times, any updates there are for events, and I also post things the team does for activities. They did a food drive not too long ago, so I got to cover that,” Bower said.
Being in such an important position for the team has impacted Bower’s life in several ways. She stays busy but has made great relationships with players and parents because of it.
It has also given her an inside look at a potential career in her future.
“It’s giving me exposure to what it’s like being in media. It is a lot of work, and I don’t think people realize how much work goes into it,” Bower said.
Bower has grown to have a love for the sport.
“Overall, I just love the sport. I think it’s a very aggressive sport, and it's very fun to watch even though it's scary sometimes. I love how close I’ve gotten with parents and players as well, it’s like a family,” Bower said.