What’s recently happened?
On Saturday, February 1, the Whiting High School (WHS) Science Olympiad team competed in the Regional competition at Indiana University Northwest. There were teams from schools all over the area who came to compete. Students competed in topics like forensics, towers, fossils, and many more. The WHS team placed sixth and will be heading to State in April at Purdue University Northwest.
For many students, Regionals can be stressful because the goal at the end of the day is to make it to State, and everyone's placement counts. The WHS team medaled in 13 different events and hopes to continue to improve for the next invite and State. Coach Jeremy Long always encourages the team to keep working hard and says no matter how well someone is doing in their events, there is always room for improvement.
In the Science Olympiad, you learn new things every day – which for many people is their favorite part of the club – but being surrounded by their friends is also the best thing keeping people on the team.
“My favorite part of the Science Olympiad is my friends since they are with you most of the day. They also can make up how you enjoy an event and are the ones you interact with once everything is over,” said Senior Emmanuel Flores.
While the Science Olympiad can be a lot of fun, it also has many difficulties. Many Saturday mornings are spent at invitationals that can make the day up to 10 hours long. This does not include the long hours after school students are putting into learning about their events.
“The hardest part of Science Olympiad is the amount of time put into it. In the end, it is worth it because all our hard work pays off,” said Junior Matie Navarro.
This will be the WHS team’s 32nd year in a row competing at State. A lot of team members have been to State before and are excited to go back. However, there are a lot of new members going to State for the first time as well.
“I’m excited to go to State. I think we’re going to do well, and I can’t wait to get to experience something of this size for only my first year,” said Sophomore Finn Monroe.
What’s coming up?
The Spanish Club will be hosting its annual flower fundraiser soon! February 13, the Spanish Club will also host its annual “Let Love Bloom” fundraiser. They will be selling carnations outside the high school office for $2 along with several baked goods. Students can pre-order flowers through a Google form until February 11, and all money must be dropped off at the office by that date.
This fundraiser was a big hit last year and something the students outside the club request and look forward to.
“We chose these fundraisers as they were big hits from the Spanish Club in the previous years. We had a lot of students requesting these two specific fundraisers,” said Sponsor Katie Sabol.
The goal of the Spanish Club’s fundraisers is to raise money for big events they host and gain support for the club.
“Our goal with these fundraisers is to get people excited with new ways to support the Spanish Club, but more importantly, to help create a sense of community within the school,” said Spanish Club Secretary Isabella Vega.
The money raised from this fundraiser will all go to the club for its soccer tournament at the end of the year. This is a big tradition that club members wanted to make sure continued, even with new sponsors.
“When we took on the new roles as sponsors this year, the officers expressed that the main tradition they wanted to continue is the Spanish Club Soccer Tournament – they explained that this event is something the kids look forward to each year. The money we raise from fundraising will go towards the expenses of this event, plus we’d like to use any extra money on club-bonding experiences,” said Spanish Club Sponsor Juli Bell.
The club will have many other fundraisers this year like bake sales to help fund this year's soccer tournament. Those who have any questions or suggestions on events or fundraisers, reach out to the Spanish Club officers or sponsors.
Staff spotlight:
Claire Bailey is from Chesterton Indiana and is an English teacher at WHS. She teaches English 9 and 10 and Journalism. She did her student teaching at Trinity Lutheran School in Hobart, and this is her first full year of teaching.
After high school, Bailey went to Ivy Tech Community College for her first two years of college and finished her degree at Indiana University Northwest. She knew she wanted to be a teacher after one of her own teachers helped her turn her life around during a hard time at home.
“I was having a hard time at home, dealing with multiple deaths in my family in a very short amount of time. I had a teacher intervene for me and turn my life around. Then at eleven years old, I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” said Bailey.
Coming to WHS, Bailey was excited about her new opportunities. She wanted the chance to teach in a new place with new students and feels good about it. She loves how much she can grow and do at the school and feels lucky to have the opportunity.
Bailey took over the school newspaper this year. She took the chance to sponsor the club this year because she had a newspaper class she loved and it was where she met her friends. She also wants to instill the high quality that she was taught about and hopes to win the school state awards in the club.
“As a 2020 high school graduate, enjoy every single minute of it. I truly wish I would have been more involved and done more because when it was over, I just wished I had done more. I wish I would have been nicer and tried so much more during my time in high school,” said Bailey.
Student spotlight:
Andrea Cabrales is a junior at WHS and has been at the school since freshman year. She is the number one student in her class and hopes to keep her spot by doing her work efficiently and studying extra hard for her exams. Her motivations for this year are her parents and her personal goals. She said these are reasons that she is constantly encouraged to do better.
Her goals for this year are to get straight A’s and get above a three on all her AP exams. She plans to continue to do what works for her to complete her goal and make sure she understands what she is being taught. She also wants to study for big tests ahead of time so she is not in a rush to study at the last minute.
Cabrales is a member of multiple clubs at WHS. She is a member of NHS, a member of Science Olympiad, the junior class vice president, and she also plays volleyball and tennis. She said her favorite club to be a part of is the Science Olympiad.
“My favorite club is the Science Olympiad. Other than my sports, I enjoy this club a lot since I can learn about different science topics that are interesting to me. I also like the Science Olympiad because I have made many new friends and teammates who are willing to help me learn and grow. Of course, winning medals is also one of my favorite parts of this club,” said Cabrales.
After high school, Cabrales is unsure where she’ll go to college but hopes to stay in Indiana. She is thinking about pursuing a career in engineering or science. Fields that have piqued her interest are Chemical and Aerospace Engineering, or Chemistry and general Astronomy.
“Some advice I have for underclassmen is to never slack off and always try your best. Also, if there is a club or sport you want to join, join it. Don’t be afraid to try something outside of your comfort zone,” said Cabrales.
