It may be hard to believe for many seniors at Lake Central, but it is here. The phrase “Class of 2017” always seemed so far away, but one look at the calendar will show the time, or year, is now. For students that did not graduate early, second semester brings plenty of excitement, much of which takes place right away in January.
On Saturday, Jan. 21, over 800 students will file their way into the Halls of St. George in Schererville for the first formal dance of the year. The theme for the dance will be “City of Lights,” as created by the N-Teens club. Although most high schoolers seem to forget their theme, those that know the theme at all know it is still a major component in making sure dances are exciting for all those in attendance. Decorations will resemble skyscrapers, stars and other items that bring the city-feel into the banquet hall.
“Right now we’re working on making center pieces and other decorations that can tie in with the theme. I think that if it’s executed really nicely, it’ll make people more excited to be there, and it’ll make it just a little more memorable,” senior formal coordinator said Frances Kornelik.
As the first semester was coming to an end, principal Sean Begley made a breaking news announcement regarding the football team. After over a month of interviewing potential head coaches, the school along with the athletic department decided to hire now former offensive coordinator and current science teacher Tony Bartolomeo. Due to unknown reasons, Bartolomeo took over as interim head coach of the team midway through the 2016 season, however finished the season as offensive coordinator once former head coach Brett St. Germaine returned. The familiarity that returning players will have with Coach Bart will play a major factor in the preparation for the 2017 season. Despite a disappointing 2016 campaign which resulted in a first round loss in Sectionals for the team, Bartolomeo feels there were plenty of positives into next season.
“We’re going to play with a lot of pride. We’re going to play extremely hard. I think one thing that you saw with our team this year was that regardless of the outcome or how the game played out, our team played with a lot of emotion, and they played extremely hard, as far as effort. At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask kids to do,” said Bartolomeo.
As the girls’ swimming season begins to wind down and postseason play is arriving very quickly, the performance of one senior in particular has stood out. Clemson commit Kallie Higgins has shown this season that she is very deserving of the scholarship and recognition she is earning.
“I’ve accomplished most of my goals that I’ve set for myself so far this year, like learning new dives and beating personal bests. With conference, Sectionals, and State coming up, I’m hoping to finish off the season with personal bests once again,” said Higgins.
However, being an athlete in a major conference brings its own obstacles.
“I’m looking forward to the college atmosphere and building relationships with new teammates,” said Higgins. “Being a college athlete, I will be faced with harder challenges and I can’t wait to better myself as a person and an athlete.”
Due to scheduling issues, new additions were made to the Public Relations team. Senior Kaylynn Ward will not be stepping in to help intern for the corporation. It is not for sure determined how the schools will be distributed with a lesser number of students, but the expectations are no less. Still, the Public Relations team shows great trust in their newest addition.
“I think it will be important for her to get to know the principals and teachers on a personal level. It will make her job a lot easier when trying to figure out what’s going on in the classrooms and around the school. Kaylynn is a good fit for the job because she has been in Publications two years now and this year has earned the opportunity to be a team leader to other Publications students. She shows great leadership and provides her team with the knowledge they need in order to complete all of their pages on time. I think her leadership, communication and organizational skills will help her to excel when writing stories and making monthly newsletters,” said team member Oster.
For Ward, it is another step in expanding her journalism background.
“Going into the PR class, I am most looking forward to expanding my interest in journalism. When you go to schools and get to interact with the students and teachers that you are not familiar with, you have to be confident in what you are doing. When covering events that the school partakes in, I will have to do my best to capture moments to allow the readers to feel as if they experienced it first hand. I think that this experience will allow me to meet great people and embark on a great opportunity that will serve me in my future endeavors,” said Ward.
Regardless of grade level, students at Lake Central are in for a lot of excitement in January and 2017. Although for seniors there is plenty of stress mixed with anxiety about going to college, there are still events like formal, prom, senior banquet and graduation to look forward to. As for the underclassmen, sports and extracurriculars give them something to take part in and be proud of. From those at the top of administration, all they way down to the students, 2017 will be a year with a lot of things for Lake Central Indians to enjoy.