May Recap:
Prom kicks off May
On Saturday May 2, students gathered at the Halls of St. George to celebrate the last dance of the school year: prom.
“Prom was exciting; I’m ready to graduate, but it was a good way to end the year. [The best part] was going with my best friend and just dancing with everyone there,” Alexis Martinez (12) said.
The theme of the dance was “Across the Universe.” Junior Class Cabinet planned the entire dance, coming up with the theme, decorations and snacks.
“The menu is the best. There is spinach and feta puffs, which [was] really, really good. There [was] baked ravioli, and other really, really good food,” Niji Shah (11) said.
The dance was equipped with a DJ who played a myriad of modern hits. Some of the songs people enjoyed dancing to, some of the hits consisted of “Trap Queen”, “Sandstorm” and “Shut Up and Dance with Me”.
“The ending with Sandstorm was the best part. There was a good group of people on the floor,” Ethan Gomez (12) said.
The dance officially ended at 10 p.m. Many students went out to eat afterward, and others kept the prom spirit throughout the entire weekend.
“It was the perfect way to end my senior year prom because [the day after prom] was a relaxing day at the beach. The weather was just absolutely beautiful and it was spent with beautiful people,” Emily Birlson (12) said.
National Honor Society inducts new members
On May 7, qualified junior and senior students were inducted to National Honor Society, or NHS for short. The club recognizes students who have achieved academically throughout their high school career.
“[National Honor Society] will help me get into a good college; it will look nice on my applications,” Abby Capello (11) said.
National Honor Society requires students to participate in their community by volunteering at numerous events and organizations. Toward the end of the year, NHS members must accumulate a total of 35 service hours.
“[National Honor Society] helps you gain more responsibility because you have to do your service hours and help your community. I think it will make me feel like a good person contributing to the world,” Kristina Skvarek (11) said.
2015-16 Marching Band season begins
Getting a grasp on the 2015-16 school year early, those who participate in the Lake Central Marching Band attended a required meeting on May 16 that officially kicked off the Marching Band season.
“We had a quick hour and a half rehearsal to start the season off right,” Alexa Adams (11) said.
In order to showcase their skills accurately at competitions, students must start practicing as early as possible to tackle any issues they may have. Early practices also take place to ensure incoming Marching Band members understand what they are doing.
“At the meeting, we also got to know all of the freshman that will be in [Marching Band] next year,” Adams said.
Finals week spirit
In order to make finals week a little less daunting, the Lake Central student body participated in a spirit week that assigned certain types of apparel to certain days of the week. Though the event was not required to participate in, those who participated felt it was a nice touch to finals week.
“Spirit week really did take some stress off my shoulders because it was fun to dress up according to all of the themes that were put in place. It was great to see everyone’s creativity,” Rhea Chhokar (11) said.
The first day was coordinated by color. Seniors wore black, juniors blue, sophomores white and freshmen grey. The second day was Concert Day. Students were able to showcase their favorite concert T-shirt or band T-shirt. The third and final day, which was the last day of school, was themed “Dress to Impress.” Students dressed as nice as possible in their fanciest attire.
Class of 2015 begin their lives after graduation
With their caps and gowns ready, the class of 2015 packed into the Star Plaza for the moment they have been waiting for their entire high school career: graduation.
“I'm so happy to be graduating but also sad to be leaving my home away from home for four years. I'm excited to be starting a new chapter in my life,” Christi Raichle (‘15) said.
The night started off with a speech by Mr. Sean Begley, Principal, as he congratulated the class of 2015. Speeches that were focused on looking back and looking forward were given by Karlie VanHouten (‘15) and Alexis Morales (‘15), respectively.
“We have survived the anxiety of failing an exam we studied extremely hard for. We dragged ourselves to school while trying to hold back tears of a first heartbreak. We desperately tried to hold onto friendships that we knew were slowly fading. We have even said goodbye to some of our classmates who were taken from us too soon but deserve to be sitting here with the rest of us today. We have been through it all,” Morales said.
The procession of reading the names began at approximately 7:41 p.m. and ended around 8:26 p.m. After the names were rattled off, the 2015 graduates moved their tassels to the left side of their cap, and in that moment they began their lives after high school.
“[Graduating lifted a] huge weight off my shoulders, but now I have even greater challenges ahead of me. I’m ready to tackle them,” Nicholas Kiepura (‘15) said.
Student Shoutout: Elise Classen (11)
Dedicating a part of her summer vacation to further her education, Elise Classen (11) will be embarking on a trip to France in order to learn more about the French language.
“The trip is a program through [Indiana University]. It is a foreign exchange program that is called [Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages]. I will be studying in France for six weeks and working on linguistics, grammar, reading and culture,” Classen said. Feeling that her knowledge on French culture and language has room for expansion, Classen is excited for the trip she will be going on but knows that there may be some bumps in the road.
“[I am looking forward to] seeing all of the places and leaving the [United States]. I like the whole immersion factor, which means I will be speaking French the entire time with no English. I am nervous about communicating with everybody thoroughly. I want to be able to get my thoughts across as well as I can in English,” Classen said.
Since Classen is focusing on French as her major in college, she feels as if this trip will benefit her greatly.
“The drive to learn the language [made me want to go on the trip]. I hope to become fluent in French, and I want to major in French in college. I just want to have the background knowledge now,” Classen said.
Teacher Shoutout: Mrs. Kathryn Clark, English.
On the last day of school, students from Mrs. Kathryn Clark’s AP English 11 class arrived to school early in order to set up a surprise party to commemorate all Mrs. Clark did for her students throughout the 2014-15 school year.
“I think Mrs. Clark deserved this party because the whole year she has been a fantastic teacher and always listened to our problems, no matter how small or outrageous. She wasn’t only a teacher, but someone you could talk to if you ever needed someone,” Sean Meyer (11) said.
By collaborating with other teachers, students from the class were able to set up the party in time. Students from the class pitched in and bought food, decorations, and even decorated the windows in Mrs. Clark’s classroom with window paint.
“I think showing our appreciation was necessary because she is a fantastic teacher and she definitely deserved a party. She worked just as hard as the student did throughout the year, so she deserved an exciting time just as much as we did,” Meyer said.
Mrs. Clark will continue to teach AP English 11, Composition and World Literature for the 2015-16 school year.