What’s Going On: The Holidays
November is an exciting time for the Washington Township Community: the school year is in full swing, basketball season is beginning, and the holidays are approaching. In the days before a much needed Thanksgiving break, the Senators reflected upon who and what they were thankful for this time of year. All student’s answers had a common denominator, family; in such a close knit community many students feel their classmates have similar holiday traditions, but with deeper insight into how the Washington Township community spends their holiday students quickly began to realize how incredibly unique each of their holiday traditions are. With embracing their own holiday traditions, students also gained a greater appreciation for the traditions they shared with their classmates.
Along with their family by blood, the Senators took a moment to be thankful for their Washington Township family.
Brandon Swann said, “Washington Township is different than most schools because of the people. Throughout the years I have made friends that have turned into my family."
The utmost amount of gratitude goes to the Washington Township Administration and Faculty for being the embodiment of what a school should be.
Bobby Walker said, “Our school is incredibly special because of the inclusive atmosphere. The faculty genuinely care about all the students.”
Student Spotlight: Kortney Wilgus, Gavin Funkhouser, Emma Helmbrecht
November 24 was a day filled with smiles, laughter, and memories. Many took to the dinner table surrounded by those they love most.
Kortney Wilgus said, “My favorite Thanksgiving tradition has nothing to do with the food, it actually happens before we eat. My family has an old white tablecloth and each year we write what we are thankful for on it. Over the course of many Thanksgivings the tablecloth has become filled with different reasons to be thankful. The tablecloth tradition is bittersweet, before my uncle passed away he bought all the nieces and nephews their own white table cloth to start with our future families. On each table cloth he wrote what he was thankful for so that he could still be apart of the tradition."
Each holiday season it is humbling to look back on year’s past - the Wilgus tablecloth is a reminder of all things good and puts it into perspective just how much there is to be grateful for.
The Funkhouser Family has become an active variable in the Washington Township Community. They have founded a family photography business, Funkhouser Fotography, and are responsible for taking all of the professional sports photos throughout the Washington Township school year. Along with the picture taking, the Funkhouser Family has two students who attend Washington Township - Gavin and Gracie. When Gavin was asked his family's Thanksgiving traditions, he had an incredible candid response.
Funkhouser said, “We work on our Thanksgiving tradition all year round. Everytime something good happens in our day to day lives we are supposed to write it on a popsicle stick then stick it in a jar. At Thanksgiving dinner we read off all of the good things that happened in the year."
Speaking of Thanksgiving dinner, the Nelson family is all about the food.
Jake Nelson said, “We cook 2 turkeys every Thanksgiving. We deep fry one and the cook one in the oven. It is just enough to feed the entire family - we have Thanksgiving at my house and there are always so many people”.
For some Washington Township families, the real fun starts after the Thanksgiving dinner has been eaten and the dishes have been washed.
Emma Helmbrecht said, “After we eat my family goes through all of the Black Friday ads together and we look for the best deals. While we look through the ads we watch a Christmas movie to get us in the spirit.”
In recent years, Black Friday has become fundamental aspect of the Thanksgiving holiday - customers lining up at retailers doors before 6pm, hunting for deals, and standing in line for what seems like forever. The biggest shopping day of the year providing families with memories they’ll always cherish, that sounds like the best deal of all.
Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Julie Moore, Mrs. Ashley Leighty, Mrs. Michelle Jablonski
Whether students believe it or not, teachers do in fact have lives outside of the classroom. The teachers at Washington Township look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday just as much as the students, and depending on the teacher you ask they might even be more excited than the students.
Washington Township’s Business teacher, Mrs. Julie Moore, was extremely ready to spend time with her family and get the holiday festivities started.
She said, “I really like cooking the Thanksgiving meal, it’s like solving a puzzle. I have to figure out what time to start cooking all of the food in order for it all to be done at the right time for my guests. Like for instance, I have to peel approximately 10 pounds of potatoes Thanksgiving day, it takes a lot time. Cooking the Thanksgiving meal for me entire family is a process.”
Mrs. Moore teaches a variation of business courses to a plethora of students ranging from 6th Grade to 12th Grade - she is beloved by all her students. She makes the business courses fun by challenging her students with virtual and real world applications; she also knows when to take a step back and enjoy the time she has with her students. For example, in her Strategic Marketing class students have “Shark Tank Day” - they will either get to play the Shark Tank board game pretending to be the sharks, or they will watch the show and analyze the deals being made as a class.
For English 10, Speech, and Student Publications teacher, Mrs. Ashley Leighty, Thanksgiving is a large family affair.
She said, “Typically we go to my Grandmother’s house and we have a HUGE Thanksgiving feast with all of my siblings and distant relatives - we have turkey, potatoes, all the basic thanksgiving foods."
Continuing to talk about her holiday traditions, Mrs. Leighty said, “I myself like to shop, but no one else in my family likes to shop so we don’t go Black Friday shopping."
And lastly, having spent many Thanksgiving holidays as a Middle School teacher, Mrs. Michelle Jablonski spent her first Thanksgiving holiday as a High School teacher. Mrs. Jablonski made the move to teaching High School English this year - she teaches English 12 and English 111/112. Making the move to teach the Senior Class was an easy decision for Mrs. Jablonski because she taught the same students when they were 6th and 7th graders.
When Mrs. Jablonski was asked about her favorite holiday traditions she said, “My son has named the turkey for the past 10 years. He names it crazy names like Fernando. He’s done it every since we started getting a 20 pound turkey."
Mrs. Jablonski is highly admired by all of her students, and is the heart of the Washington Township community - you will never catch her without a smile on her face or lending a helping hand.
What’s Coming Up: Basketball Season & Homecoming
With the holidays coming to an end, the next thing the Washington Township Senators have to look forward to is basketball season. The season officially kicked off over the extended holiday weekend, but will continue on throughout the winter months. The Washington Township Varsity Basketball team won their first home game of this season this past weekend with an end score of 97-35.
Along with basketball season comes the long awaited first formal dance of the year, Homecoming. Big things are coming up for these Senators, stay tuned.