What's recently happened?
Lake Central High School started off the school year on August 15 with a new policy put in place for the students.
At the beginning of every class period, students are instructed to power down their cell phones and place them in their designated slot number in a caddy hanging on the wall.
This has definitely been a big adjustment for many students within the school.
Over the years, it has become an instinct to pull out a cell phone during class if there is downtime. Cell phones can be distracting and take away from valuable class time. However, LC plans to break this technology cycle in the new school year.
Even though this is something new for the student body to adjust to, many students have mentioned that this new policy has already been incredibly beneficial. They have noticed improvements in their productivity.
Kailey Kosina, a senior at LC, has seen a positive change in the school day.
“I was really skeptical and almost upset when I first heard about the new phone policy. However, I have seen a positive change in my grades as well as how well I’m understanding the material in my classes,” Kosina said.
What's coming up?
LC students are finally getting settled and back into their routines for this new school year. Despite all of the long days and homework, LC students are looking forward to this very exciting time of year: Homecoming.
The week of Homecoming comes packed with many festivities; the pep rally, the dance, and even spirit week!
Spirit week consists of five days with five different themes to dress up. Seniors at LC have different spirit days, one being “Senior Citizen Day.”
Several clubs at LC have been preparing for the events with after-school meetings and planning sessions. Soon, the halls of LC will be decorated with different and fun themes for Spirit Week.
LC’s Homecoming Pep Rally will be taking place during the school day on Friday, September 22. Students will head to the football field to hear from this year’s student section leader, Nick Robinson.
“The pep rally is always so fun. I cannot wait to feel the atmosphere and energy of everyone having a good time,” Robinson said.
Robinson never misses a football game and always leads the student section in chants to cheer on the football team.
LC’s Senior Class Cabinet is in charge of getting all of the activities together for the Pep Rally. This year, there will be tricycle races, powderpuff football, and so much more.
Friday night, students will gather in their western attire for the Homecoming game against Michigan City. Saturday, September 23, students will get all dressed up for the dance. The theme of Homecoming this year is “Club Blue”.
Student Spotlight:
Fall sports are officially in action at LC. The boys cross country team has been practicing hard in preparation for their meets this season. On August 26, the Varsity boys won as a team for the first time this season at the Rudy Skorupa Invite hosted at LC.
Evan Smith, a junior at LC and a Varsity runner, ran a personal record at this invite.
“It’s really been a combination of three seasons of hard work. I run almost every day and it’s been a building process. Running is one of those things where consistency pays off,” Smith said.
Smith considers the LC Cross Country course to be one of the harder ones, so he did not expect to run a personal record.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I knew there was a chance because I have been working down my times in the first two meets of the season,” Smith said.
The LC Varsity boys were just recently ranked as the seventh-best team in the state.
“I am excited for the rest of the season. This is one of the best ranks we’ve had in a very long time. I think we can do really good in the postseason and at the state meet,” Smith said.
Smith has set himself up for a successful season and is ready to keep working hard with his team.
“I run because I enjoy it. I enjoy being around my teammates. It’s one of those things you can do on your own, you don’t need to have a team with you. It’s good for your mental health too, along with your physical health,” Smith said.
Staff Member Spotlight:
LC is a large school with thousands of students and over 100 teachers in the building. Regardless of the amount of teachers and students that are in the building every day, Dawn Combis manages to go above and beyond for her students.
Combis was just recently recognized by Ivy Tech for her excellent ability to teach dual credit classes at the high school. The official title of the award given to Combis was the “Excellence in Dual Credit Instruction President’s Award.”
Combis teaches multiple dual credit entrepreneurship classes in addition to running the Work Based Learning program at LC.
“I like teaching dual credit because students can be in a high school classroom and get college credits without being in a college environment,” Combis said.
Erin Novak, principal of LC, presented her with the award along with a heartfelt speech at a board meeting held at LC.
“I feel really good about being recognized for everything that I’ve done to make my entrepreneurship program a success. It is a really interesting topic to teach, and it’s just nice being recognized,” Combis said.