#1StudentNWI: Things Heat Up at Andrean High School

#1StudentNWI: Things Heat Up at Andrean High School

What’s Happening?
As the weather gets colder, winter sports at Andrean High School are heating up. The main winter sports are basketball and wrestling.

Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams have had rough beginnings, but the tide may be beginning to turn. After suffering losses against Merrillville and Crown Point, the varsity girls’ basketball team turned it around with a win against Munster in their first conference game. The final score was 59-24. They have also won games against schools like Highland and Griffith. The team’s goal is to go undefeated in the conference.

Wednesday, January 6, boys’ basketball had a triple-headed game against Gary Roosevelt. The game was at home. As is customary, the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams played right after another, in that order. The Andrean Fifty-Niners won all three games that night.

January 6 must have been a good day for Fifty-Niners because the wrestling team had two matches that same night. The matches were against Hammond and Hanover Central, and Andrean won them both.

In other news, the Andrean theater company held auditions last month for its spring musical, Beauty and the Beast. Read-throughs of the script began this week. The musical will be performed for audiences at the end of April.

What’s Coming Up?
On Tuesday, January 12, Andrean will be holding its second open house of the school year. Andrean ambassadors will escort visitors (usually prospective students and parents) through the Andrean hallways and into the classrooms to see what we’re all about. The open house will take place after school, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The same night, Andrean’s 2015-2016 Quiz Bowl team will have its second meet. The meet will be held at home. The team has been preparing for its upcoming meets at practices held after school on Mondays. Varsity’s record is currently 1-1 and JV’s is 1-0.

On January 16, the entrance exam for potential Andrean students will be held at 8:00 a.m. There is no exam fee.

Academic Decathlon, Andrean’s most intensive academic team, is preparing for the regional competition. Decathlon is a team in which students are tested on their knowledge in science, math, English, history, economics, art, music, essay, speech, and interview. The regional competition is scheduled for January 23. The results of regionals determine the team’s advancement to state.

Students at Andrean are looking forward to winter formal, held at the end of the month on January 30. While it is not officially turnabout, this is the dance in which most often girls ask guys. The theme of the dance is a masquerade.

Teacher Shout-Out
Ms. Fowler is one of the several new teachers at Andrean this year. After graduating from St. Mary’s College, she returned to the area where she grew up.

“I felt a desire to serve my community,” she said. Ms. Fowler helped out at her church, Our Lady of Grace in Highland. Working where she went to grade school had a big impact on her and she decided to work for the diocese. A theology position was open at Andrean, so she applied.

Ms. Fowler was hired, and she now teaches theology classes and honors philosophy.

“I loved the Catholic school, the Catholic atmosphere, it was very welcoming. So I guess I chose Andrean for the community,” she recalled.

One of her favorite memories is the homecoming parade because it was an experience of Andrean’s culture and community. The family atmosphere and support system exist outside of the classroom as well as within it.

She was originally a social work major but switched to religious studies.

“I loved how the social work field helped you create change, but I realized that the religious studies were making a change in me.”

She is passionate about helping individuals develop themselves through education. One of her primary goals is to help students learn to use their gifts to serve the world.

Student Shout-Out
Sophomore Kathryn Strimbu is a genius. She excels at senior-level classes, in part because she is so passionate about learning. Academic success is a part of who she is.

“I have a personal philosophy that you have to be the best you can be even when it doesn’t count,” Kathryn said. This mentality leads to her success.

She chose Andrean because she is interested in the field of science, and Andrean’s curriculum offers advanced math and science courses. Additionally, she likes the smaller class sizes of Andrean versus a public school.

“I feel like I can be myself because I know almost everyone on a personal level,” she said.

Kathryn is involved in newspaper, yearbook, quiz bowl, academic spell bowl, academic super bowl, academic decathlon, YARC, and band. As a sophomore, she is the editor of the yearbook.

“The opportunity to learn leadership and design through this activity has been a great experience,” said Kathryn. Her favorite activity of the eight is yearbook because it allows for creativity. She likes drawing but is often too busy to draw much. Yearbook lets her have a creative outlet.

When asked about the future, she explained that she plans to pursue a career in epidemiology. We are sure she’ll succeed because, in her own words, “I know that I can succeed, so I do.”