What’s recently happened?
Lowell High School (LHS) recently wrapped up its annual Red Devils Give Back (RDGB) project on December 4.
RDGB is the service project that LHS has been doing for the past three years, and this year the student body raised money for the Angel Tree project, housed at St. Edwards Catholic Church.
LHS raised a total of $6,796.78 which meant the school was able to purchase gifts for 46 children and teens in the Lowell community.
With this, every year LHS holds a contest to see which advisory can raise the most money, and those who come in first and second place get a treat. This year, Welding Teacher Kenneth Roach’s advisory came in first place, having raised $1,100, and Bio-Medical Science Teacher Stephen Hebble’s advisory came in second, raising $839.
Additionally, the Tricreek School Corporation has started construction projects in each of the schools within the district.
Some of these include the creation of Lowell Intermediate School grades five and six within the Lowell Middle School building.
Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, Lowell Intermediate School will educate students in grades five and six and Lowell Middle School will educate students in grades seven and eight. Each school will have its separate drive, main entrances, offices, and academic areas.
There will also be a new athletic complex at LHS that will update facilities to be in line with schools within the same athletic conference.
According to the Tricreek School Corporation, the venue will be more inviting, easily accessible, and friendly to the community at large.
What's coming up?
The LHS student body is overjoyed about the upcoming Christmas break from December 25 to January 9. Not only this, but the first semester is also coming to an end.
The end of the first semester is a very important time for students. The grade received at the end of this second quarter is what averages out with the first quarter for the overall semester grade, which will go on transcripts.
Further, with these last couple of weeks being full of studying and taking finals, the students and staff are more than ready for two weeks to relax, recuperate, and catch up on sleep. This break also gives students a chance to academically reset and step away from the stress of schoolwork.
Not only this, but everyone gets to enjoy spending time with their families and friends.
“I’m excited to be with my family for Christmas and to just take some time to relax,” said Josephine Love, a junior at LHS.
Staff spotlight:
Terry Brandush has been an educator for 19 years and currently teaches the courses English 10, Advanced Placement (AP) Literature, AP Seminar, and AP Research.
Brandush is originally from Griffith, Indiana, and attended Valparaiso University.
“Teaching was my first career choice. In middle school, I made this decision. I remember foolishly thinking, ‘It must be nice to just sit behind your desk and just give out work,’ never taking into account any of the insane amount of planning, grading, and other responsibilities associated with the job,” said Brandush.
From a young age, he knew his calling was to be a teacher. In accomplishing this dream, he discovered the vast amount of layers that come with it.
“I enjoy fostering the growth of my students and getting to know them as people,” said Brandush.
Brandush has a unique personality that engages his students and finds ways to make classes more fun and interesting, which in turn grabs the attention of his students. Because of this, many of the other teachers and students at LHS enjoy his presence.
Brandush takes a lot of pride in the fact that he successfully organized a music festival at LHS for National Library Week in 2016.
“I love taking part in fun activities meant to foster camaraderie. For instance, I love spirit weeks, pep sessions, and any special activity that involves everyone,” said Brandush.
Further, Brandush enjoys the sense of community within not just the high school, but Lowell in general. He finds the most special moments to be when everyone is together and enjoying an event. Many of the members of the student body know that Brandush always goes all out for spirit weeks and makes sure that everyone feels comfortable.
Outside of school, Brandush plays guitar, builds and wears costumes for comic conventions, makes perler bead sprites, and plays video games.
Student spotlight:
Taylor Rothrock is a junior at LHS who is known for her bright and friendly personality.
She is very heavily involved in the school community and puts effort into everything she does.
Rothrock is a peer mentor in the Red Devil Mentor Program where she helps freshmen and gives them advice in weekly groups. Additionally, she is a part of the Deca Club where she contributes ideas to the new coffee shop opening at LHS and she is a writer for the “Red Devil Post” where she develops monthly articles. Not only that, but Rothrock is also a dedicated LHS cheerleader.
“In elementary school, I used to struggle badly at school. I had to work very hard to become better at different subjects. With hard work and dedication, I was able to become a lot better at school. Now school is easy for me and the result of my hard work is a representation of my character,” said Rothrock.
She devotes much of her time to her extracurricular activities while also maintaining proficient grades. While she had a hard time with school growing up, she found ways around that to get to where she is now.
Rothrock prides herself on her devotion to everything she sets her mind to and her subsequent success. Because of this, she describes herself as outgoing, confident, genuine, and strong mentally.
Outside of school, she works at Purple Door Bridal in downtown Lowell and volunteers as a Sunday school helper at her church. Aside from this, she also enjoys spending time with friends and going to the gym.
“The best advice I have ever received would be from my brother. In sixth grade, he told me to be kind to everyone. This advice has always stuck with me and has benefited me tremendously,” said Rothrock.
Her cheery demeanor is apparent to everyone Rothrock meets, and she credits her brother for that.
With that being said, after high school, she would like to study business at Olivet Nazarene University with the hope of owning a hair salon in the future.