What just happened?
The new year has started and students returning and new are already over 3 weeks in for the second semester, and as always, there was no loss of momentum over the time students had off.
The true underdog team of Whiting for years has been the wrestling program. From near extinction, the program has made a great resurgence this year in their numbers and especially in getting their name out through the ranks. Earliest of this year, Nick Kreiger won 3rd place at the county tournament in the 285 class on January 6. Kreiger also went on to be conference champ for his weight class a week later on January 13. Seniors Jose Ramirez and Joey Trombetta have been ranking fairly high, both placing 4th at conference at weights 182 and 195 respectively. Ramirez and Trombetta went on to place 4th at sectionals on January 27, both advancing to regionals for their weight classes. Another student, Matthew Honeycutt, found success in conference taking 3rd place and 4th at sectionals at weight 138, earning a spot at regionals. Sectionals also saw Alex Gomez place 5th and Erick Sacramento and John Bock place 6th. A lot of great things for the program have happened so far this season, but it isn’t over yet, so there is still more to come.
The same day as sectionals for wrestling was also the day for Whiting’s sectional dance. This is nearly a month earlier than the dance is normally held. The dance saw Logan Shade and Tennis star Marissa Baez win king and queen for the event. That morning, choir was also at competition of their own for ISSMA Solo and Ensemble. The event had 13 students win gold and another 4 win silver. The gold medalists are advancing to the upcoming state competitions. Also in January, Whiting hosted another blood drive open to students and the community as they had also done in the fall.
What’s next?
Going forward, there is still much to come. Besides wrestling and Science Olympiad, the season for basketball is still in progress, quickly approaching their own sectional brackets. Girls Basketball has generated some major hype behind them with the last few games played at home. Their most recent game featured a win against cross town rival, Clark High School. The win was a morale booster for the team and some momentum going into sectionals soon. However, the true hype came with the home game before it, against Bishop Noll Institute, a controversial rival in every sport Whiting faces them in. The game had extra stakes added to it for the student section as well. Principal Fregien said if that 150 students were in proven attendance at the game, a school wide dress down day would be earned. That night saw 240 students in the stands for the game, which is over half of the student body at the near 450 student school. That game on January 19 will not be forgotten by anyone in attendance anytime soon.
Science Olympiad is reaching a critical point of the season. There is still much time left in the season as regionals and state competitions are nearly a month off, but the team has spent the last few weekends at more invitational competitions. Recently, Science Olympiad Varsity placed 3rd at the Lake Central invitational. This is their first time at the invite, as in its place for years, the students would attend the invitational at Northridge high school.
Bringing Students from Bored to Board, Whiting’s Freshman Math Teacher Brings New Life to the School
The spotlight teacher of the month is Mr. Don Liles. Like last month with Mr. Ehrlich, Liles is a new teacher to Whiting High School this year, and is coincidentally also a math teacher. While Ehrlich has classes with sophomores and seniors, Liles has spent the year teaching the freshman class Algebra I, or as it is called now, Integrated math I.
Liles is also responsible for supervising SAT training through Khan Academy midday and also opens his hour to students struggling with their math work that wish for tutoring. Liles has not been a silent entry into the school staff, as he has quickly befriended much of the faculty and has been a favorite among the students, too, due to his kind and understanding nature.
Wanting to make positive changes, he not only talked the talk, but walked the walk, and he set up his very own board game club. The club meets after school each Tuesday for around an hour and a half and Liles himself supplies bags full of unique board games you likely haven’t heard of. The club brings students from all grades who wouldn’t likely meet otherwise and unites them under a common interest and a common curiosity. For students uninterested in the sports and academic based teams, this club brought about a fun activity to take part in at school. Despite all the programs offered to students at Whiting, none are like this club he set up, and the sparked interest has opened doors and inspired more to suggest new ideas to bring students together to be social and have fun together.
Student of the Month
Whiting’s student of the month for January is Isabel Gutierrez. Isabel is a junior and has been enrolled at Whiting since the start of her sophomore year, after transferring from George Rogers Clark High School.
Isabel is involved with Science Olympiad, being a strong member on the Varsity team for her events of Hovercraft and Optics, as well as being a captain for the social studies denomination on Whiting’s Academic team. In the past for Science Olympiad, she was best known for the hours she put into crafting wooden towers to support weights at each of the competitions, commonly medaling and helping the team towards their consistently high rankings.
Isabel isn’t your typical junior. Since her arrival, she has been taking higher english classes, setting her in AP Literature this year with the seniors. She is also in the advanced group for math, taking pre-calculus, normally a math meant for seniors at Whiting. She has also excelled in the sciences, taking AP Bio as well as Physics, which any student could tell you is a daunting challenge to endure.
Isabel is one of the most talkative and friendly students you would happen to meet at Whiting, but she does have a shy side. That doesn’t stop her from making new friends in and out of her grade and also did not stop her from making an appearance on stage back in the fall for the Senior Directed One Acts. Someday she wishes to go to college to pursue either law, or follow her passion for animals into veterinary sciences.