Everyone is jumping back into school and the seniors are selling snacks to raise money for their senior activities, including their Senior Trip to Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells and their Senior Luncheon in April. Tryouts for spring softball and baseball are starting while the boys and girls basketball teams are wrapping up their seasons and preparing for sectionals, changing decorations around the school.
January is the start of Black History Month and West Side Leadership Academy represents it well. The biggest day is January 15th, the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Teachers will be replacing their Christmas stockings to hang their tribal flags and decorative posters. They will assign essays on powerful African Americans that will then be posted all around the school. Starting January 8th, a student will speak of the activist they wrote about over the intercom each day.
West Side will also hold the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation this month. All grades will be sent down to the auditorium, along with the Gary Community School Corporation, to participate in the event. All the schools have been raising money in the past weeks to donate to the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation. The school that collects the most money wins a trophy for appreciation. Students from the different schools will also dance, sing, speak, and more.
During the Convocation, the Indiana Association of School Principals will hold their annual contest. For the contest, 6th through 12th grade-students are to write an essay based on a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., explaining what the quote means to them, how does it make them feel, and how they can use these words to honor Dr. King and the life he lived.
Each student may submit five essays or less, each essay having a maximum of 450 words. Three middle-school and three high-school students will be chosen as the winners. Winners that come in 3rd place will receive a $200 prize, 2nd place will receive $300, and 1st place, $500. For more details visit http://www.iasp.org.
Student Spotlight
Senior Antwanae’ M. Jones has attended West Side since she was in the 7th Grade. Since then, she has kept a status on the Honor Roll and holds a 3.8 GPA, ranking 9th in the top academic 20 seniors of West Side.
At West Side, Jones is part of everything the seniors do. She is the president of the National Honor Society and treasurer of the Senior Student Council. She contributes most of her free time at school, assisting senior sponsor Mrs. Mixon and fellow council members in making sure everything is in place for the seniors for upcoming events. Jones helps by calling hotels and bus companies to get the most affordable quotes for her classmates in order to have a great last year.
Outside of West Side, Jones has attended Indiana University Northwest with her classmates to earn dual credit. She’s received college dual credit for the past 2 college semesters and will be returning in the spring for her third semester. Jones also works at Taco Bell as a cashier. When she isn’t working or earning dual credit, she’s interning at a local hospital and writing articles about West Side, giving her plenty to add to her resume.
Jones plans to continue her education after high school to become an anesthesiologist and become involved in a sport and many clubs at her college of choice.
Jones isn't quite sure of all her future yet, but she knows she will continue to work hard, stand out, and improve herself.
Man Behind the Music
The music department’s band program has been shaking things up with the help of instructor David Appelman. He molded his teaching style to fit the needs of every student that enters his band class. He started by dividing the class into three parts: instrument players, band assistants, and musical history.
Every student chooses which group to join so that each student can be interested in their position. With a background in social work, Appelman feels that he can relate to his students better and create a comfortable atmosphere in his class, making students take more interest in the band program.
Along with running the band program, Appelman is also known for hosting and sponsoring school events such as the Winter Showcase and The Winter Hip-Hop Festival. With his efforts, these programs run smoothly and offer students, teachers, and parents the opportunity to see what they have been learning in the band program.
Appelman also play a key role in the annual West Side talent show. He helps with auditions, the arrangement of the acts, and time management. His involvement in the talent show is what makes the show successful.
His use of modern music from artists, like Bruno Mars, and his teaching style make him stand out as a band teacher. He hopes the school systems will invest more money into middle school “feeder” programs to jumpstart the band program. This way, incoming freshman can have a little more musical experience before entering the program. With the increase of student participation, he’s excited for the new year.
West Side’s Winter
Sounds of cheering could be heard from West Side’s immense surge after a hip-hop concert for the students. Throughout the week leading up to the concert, were students buying and selling tickets for the grand event.
“I think the concert was a great way to get the younger students involved,” said one of the freshman who attended the concert.
The concert featured performances from two students of West Side’s Class of 2016. They described the performance as a success because of how involved the crowd was. As new artists, the show served to gain exposure and demonstrate the talent that West Side has.
The artists that performed had help from Mr. Appelman and NHS sponsor, Mr. Garlin. Mr. Garlin decided to sell raffle tickets for a flat screen tv to increase sales for the concert. The raffle idea took off, selling an additional hundred tickets for the concert.
“I think we should have more concerts like this because it’s not often we get to see the alumni entertaining us,” said another student that attended the concert.
The participation of students was influenced by the fact that the proceeds from tickets went to the band program, which needs new equipment. Overall, the show was a success and students are looking forward to the next one.