Most high school students today look for ways to get involved in national and global topics as much as they can. It seems as if sometimes the only time their voice is heard is when they are standing in the student section during a sporting event.
This past month, however, students’ opinions have been heard very loudly, whether it is simply by wearing a Cubs jersey or by wearing a shirt supporting their presidential candidate. With so much going on in the nation, it can be easy to forget about local events at times, but this November, Lake Central High School looks forward to incorporating all events into their facilities.
Voting
After a long and controversial presidential race, Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary R. Clinton on election day. For most high school students, all they could do was stare at their televisions and wait to see who wins each state, but for some, the age requirement was not an issue, and they were able vote.
Lake Central High School was a voting place, along with other schools in the corporation. For some schools, it can be scary to host voting because of security reasons, but once again this year was successful.
Protsman Elementary School principal Mr. Glenn Brown does not always enjoy hosting the voting, but said the school still takes full action to make sure the students are safe. An extensive background check was done on all those coming into the school, and thanks to the new facilities, voting took place in the community center, which can be locked to prevent entering the rest of the school. For other schools, it was more difficult because voting is held mainly in the gymnasium, but a lot of research was done to make sure students and staff are not in danger.
Winter sports
As the fall sports season comes to a close, winter sports is officially underway. After a head coaching change during the offseason, the new girls varsity basketball coach Joe Huppenthal is off to a good start. On Saturday, November 5th, the team flexed its muscle by defeating Hammond Bishop Noll. The boys basketball team, however, does not tip off their season until Monday, November 21st, when they travel to take on Andrean.
After losing state champion Jake Kleimola, the varsity wrestling team will have a challenge to overcome this season. With so much attention being put onto basketball teams, wrestling may sometimes be an overlooked sport, but last season the success of Kleimola was noted by all in the school. Lake Central hopes that this winter sports season will not just have one individual get recognized for his success, but instead hopes that many teams can bring home titles.
Intramural
For the first time ever, Lake Central High School introduced a new program designed to get students actively involved, even if they are not varsity athletes. Intramural volleyball now takes center stage on Tuesday and Thursday nights each week. The league is compiled of 14 teams split into two divisions, with team sizes range from two to six.
Some teams are much more competitive than others, but that does not take away from the main focus: to have fun. In order to ensure the teams are playing fair, two boys and two girls must be on the court at all times for both teams playing. In certain circumstances, teams do not meet rule requirements, so it is up to the teams to come together and reach an agreement instead of having an adult determine everything for them.
Intramural volleyball has also given students a chance to meet new kids they might not have known until seeing them at the games. Once volleyball season ends, the league will move on to a new sport for the winter and spring, but it is still unknown what that future sport will be.
James and the GIant Peach
Lake Central Theatre Company finished up their final fall show performance of “James and the Giant Peach” on Saturday, November 13th. The play coincided with the “One District, One Book” program in which all elementary schools in the corporation read the story of James written by Roald Dahl.
On October 25th and 26th, students took field trips to the high school to watch a special screening of the play. Some students then came back with their parents to watch the show for a second time during the normal screenings. This year’s fall performance was only about half the length as last year’s performance of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” but nonetheless it brought great excitement to all those that watched it.
Cubs
Most people in the world know by now that the Chicago Cubs took home the World Series title this fall. Lake Central, which is filled with Cubs fans, celebrated the victory by playing “Go, Cubs, Go” over the intercom system the morning following the victory.
The halls were filled with Cubs blue and many classrooms were decorated while flying the famous “W.” Mrs. Cheryl Carniello, a math teacher, filled her classroom with Cubs banners and even brought in cake for students to celebrate with her. Certain students stayed up all night celebrating and came to school running on little to no sleep.
National High School Journalism Convention
On Thursday, November 10th, Lake Central News students took a trip south to Indianapolis to take part in the National High School Journalism Convention. Students attended sessions and listened to keynote speakers in hopes of finding something they could use in their publications.
Along with that, students also took part in write-off contests, a competition of students from all over the nation taking about two hours to do a better job in their assigned aspect of journalism. Some awards for year-long contests were handed out as well. Senior Abigail Hines placed second in the category “News Photo of the Year,” while senior Camryn Wallace placed seventh for “Sports Reaction Photography.” The entire newsmagazine “Scout,” led by senior Editor-in-Chief Sofia Hay, was voted the seventh best newsmag in the nation.
With so much happening at Lake Central, it is hard to not feel excitement while walking through the halls. National and global news are showing direct impact on the school, as well local news such as winter sports or theatre performances. Administration advises all in the community to come out and show their support for the school.