What’s recently happened?
Throughout the week of September 30, Lake Central High School (LC) celebrated Homecoming with six days full of Spirit Days, a Pep Rally, and a Homecoming Dance. Members of class cabinets decorated the halls on September 29 in preparation of the week to come.
Spirit week started off with slumber party attire on Monday, rhyme without a reason on Tuesday, Nerd Day on Wednesday, Decades Day on Thursday, and ended off the week with senior shirts or school colors on Friday. Each day the halls were filled with students, staff, and faculty promoting school spirit.
On Friday October 4, LC packed the stands for the annual Pep Rally held at the football field. Our 90 minute assembly had a wide variety of activities from a powderpuff football game where juniors and seniors battled against each other and tricycle races with a variety of clubs competing on the track. The Pep Assembly was hosted by four seniors: Alec Eggert, Taylor Schafer, Anna Herr, and Anthony Lobue, with the main goal to excite the crowd for the football game later that night and the dance the following day.
The festivities came to a close with LC’s homecoming dance held in the fieldhouse on October 5 at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $39 plus processing fees. Freshman through seniors danced in the fieldhouse with the DJ, ate food in the cafeteria, and took plenty of photos with the various photo opportunities lining the hallways.
Sofia Wermeling, senior who won Homecoming Queen, recalls her reaction to winning the crown.
“Winning homecoming queen was kind of a surprise to me. It was a lot of fun, I got a lot of cheers and it was surreal,” Wermeling said.
Another successful homecoming week has come and gone and it served as a perfect push for students to finish out this grading quarter strong.
What’s coming up?
The LC Theater Company is bringing “12 Angry Jurors” to life in their upcoming fall play. Auditorium doors will be welcoming all guests to come into the “courtroom” with them.
An adaptation of 12 Angry Men, 12 Angry Jurors details 12 members of a jury deliberating the fate of a young man accused of murder.
With 14 cast members and 31 crew members, LC theater hopes to articulate the feeling of sitting in on a passionate jury between the acting and meticulous set. They’ve spent countless hours after school and on the weekends in preparation for the weekend to come.
Milan Alavanjia, senior who plays Juror number eight in the play, urges people to come see the play for a couple different reasons.
“It’s a lot different from all the other plays we have done. In the past, we’ve done a bunch of comedies mixed with a little bit of drama but this one is basically all drama,” Alavanjia said.
Daytona Read, sophomore member of costume and props crew, details her opinion on why this play has been enjoyable to be a part of.
“I think the chemistry on stage is really good for all of the characters and they interact very well. I think everyone would be interested to see this,” Read said.
Performances are on October 17 and 18 at 7 p.m, and October 19 at both 1 p.m and 7 p.m.
Tickets are sold at the door and can be purchased by cash or check only.
Staff spotlight:
English classes are required every year for LC students, with each grade level bringing a new curriculum. Some students still struggle to feel invigorated by it, but not if you have Kelsey Becich as your teacher.
LC was Becich’s first teaching job, and now she is working through her 14th year as an English teacher and head of the English department.
Becich currently teaches World Literature, a senior level literature class and English 11, which is American Literature for juniors, but she has also taught English 10 in the past.
“I really, really love World Literature because I love all of the culture and all the different things we get to do with it. I think the thing that I enjoy the most is the interaction and the discussion that I get to have with students – connecting it with their lives is really fun,” Becich said.
Many say that teaching is an extraordinarily hard job and, now more than ever, a job that less and less are keeping. However, to Becich, the job is effortless.
“I have not lost my passion for it. I love meeting new students and making those relationships with them. I just can’t see myself leaving. There’s something so valuable in a kid’s life when they have people who care about them and who are passionate about what they do,” Becich said.
Originally from Colorado and a graduate from Indiana University-Bloomington, Becich appreciates a diverse working environment and LC has been just that for her. Sometimes larger schools can be intimidating but she has thrived with new and different students every year.
“I love that each class that I have is so different, each year is so different. I’m always meeting new people, which is a lot of fun. I’ve been lucky with the relationships that I’ve had with both my English team and administration,” Becich said.
Despite the fact that teaching can be an all-consuming job, Becich partakes in various activities to get away from the classroom.
“It’s shocking, but I love to read when I have time. I am a mom to two amazing kids and I love to travel, go to sporting events, and all things that we can do with them,” Becich said.
Becich’s dedication to her job is directly shown through her teaching and she has without a doubt transformed the basic curriculum of English into her own.
Student spotlight:
Senior year is all about making those lasting memories and bringing a chapter of one’s life to an end. That is exactly what Samantha Conley has done with her key role in creating this school year’s yearbook.
Conley is “Echo’s” Editor-in-Chief and holds major responsibility in creating a book that encapsulates the life of students and faculty. Her commitment to not only the yearbook but her multiple extracurriculars is more than impressive.
“I really had a passion for designing so I was a staffer for my first year, and then junior year I got to do what I really wanted to do, which was graphic design and designing pages,” said Conley
Conley plays a significant part in planning the theme for the yearbook and translating that theme into the designs throughout every page, as well as gathering material for various pages in an effort to tie it all together.
“I think the most rewarding part is seeing people enjoy the yearbook – them seeing the product and saying, ‘Oh I’m on this page!’ Overall just being proud of what you created,” Conley said.
Yearbooks can definitely be all consuming at times, but Conley also finds time to be the president of the concert choir and a member of a show choir at LC called Trebleaires. Music has always been a significant part of her life and her dedication is apparent.
“I’ve been into music my whole life and I started choir when I was in middle school. I love music, performing, and signing. It’s always been so good in my life, everyone in my family does it so I just really love music,” Conley said.
Conley’s involvement in these programs has had a profound effect on her personal growth throughout high school. Starting out very shy in middle school and blossoming into an effective leader and role model for underclassmen is just one of the many takeaways Conley has from being uber involved.
“I’ve learned to be so much more social, I’ve made so many friends and met so many different people. I think it’s really changed my high school experience for the better. I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t doing all these things,” Conley said.
After high school, Conley hopes to attend Indiana University-Bloomington for business but also exploring potentially minoring in something journalism related. She also would love to be involved in her university’s choir.
