What’s recently happened?
On Saturday, December 7, the Science Olympiad team hosted its 19th annual invitational. There were teams from schools like Carmel High School, Northridge High School, and more who came to compete. Students competed across the middle school and high school in topics like forensics, towers, fossils, and many more.
Teams began arriving at the school around early and spent the rest of the day working to medal in their events. Compared to competing at a different school, Whiting High School (WHS) students found it easier to get around, and competing on their home turf proved to be beneficial for many students.
“Some benefits to competing at WHS is I’m never late to my events because I know where everything is. I don't need to go in circles and ask hundreds of people before I get to my event room. We also get to go home earlier, don’t have a long bus ride back, and have to haul all of the equipment back," Junior Kaliey Kidd said.
“We know our way around the school pretty well and we are comfortable with people working the events. We get to help students who do not know where they are going. It’s also a shorter drive, which is more fun than the rest of the competitions,” Senior Brennen Bannister said.
Even though a lot of events are study events that require students to take long tests, the building events were held in the gyms and available for anyone to see. WHS’ tower constructions, in both junior varsity and varsity, did very well by holding all the weight without breaking while helicopters flew in the air for a decent amount of time.
Building events are enjoyable for everyone to watch and different events prove to be different students' favorite parts of the competition.
“My favorite part of the day was the adrenaline rush I get before the event and taking the exams,” Senior Rhiyana Player said.
“My favorite part of the day was doing the robot tour, and it was interesting. It was my first time seeing it, and I think I’ll be more prepared,” Senior Joaquin Sanchez said.
At the end of the day, awards were hosted in the gym, with placements going all the way to sixth place. Teams work not only all day but all year round to see how they do. When students receive a medal, it makes them feel as if all their hard work has paid off and motivates them to continue.
“My favorite part of the day was definitely during the award ceremony at the end of the day, receiving an award and seeing my improvement since that last invite. I put a lot of work into my events, and it was nice to see all my hard work pay off,” Junior Alejandro Alvarez said.
Many events placed high, and overall WHS got sixth place out of 18. The team hopes to improve its skills and place higher at the next invite in January.
“The Whiting Invite is a learning opportunity for the team. The team members learn a lot and improve for the future. We had success in some events which is great, but if everyone gets better at future competitions, then it is all worth it,” Sponsor and Science Teacher Jeremy Long said.
What’s coming up?
Wrestling Sectionals are coming up on February 1. Wrestlers have been practicing since September and have been attending meets since December. Coach Daniel Hartman has been working to help the team work hard and hopes for as many members as possible to move on to Regionals.
Last year two freshmen, Kaiden Kender and Joshua Flores, were able to make it to Regionals. This year the two are hoping to take their team to State. Flores said Sectionals was a challenge.
“Wrestling at sectionals was the hardest test. Every move mattered and second, and I knew that was my chance to prove all the hard work had paid off,” said Flores
This year the coaches are hoping to take most of the team past Sectionals. This is not just about rankings for the whole team, but a chance to see how each person has grown in the sport.
Staff spotlight:
Hunter Priesol is a world history teacher at WHS. He teaches world history, AP world history, sociology, and topics in history. Priesol taught at St. Casimir School for four years teaching middle school history, then moved over to WHS four years ago.
After high school, Priesol got his bachelor’s in Secondary Education with a specialization in historical perspectives from DePaul University, later adding sociology to his degree. He also got his master’s in curriculum and instruction from Purdue University West Lafayette. Priesol says he likes to teach at WHS because of the support he gets from his co-workers.
“I really enjoy teaching at WHS because my co-workers are fabulous. I’ve been working with them now for basically three years with no changes, and we really have a good camaraderie. I also like working here because I receive a lot of support to teach standards in ways that push our students to go above and beyond,” said Priesol.
By fifth grade, Priesol knew he wanted to be a teacher. He knew he loved history, and teaching was the only thing he wanted to do.
“I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was in fifth grade. I knew very early on what I wanted to do. I loved history, and that’s just about the end of it. When I graduated from college, I didn’t have a backup plan. It was just what I was supposed to be doing, I’ve been inspired by teachers my whole life,” said Priesol.
Advice Priesol would give to his students would be to reach out to somebody whenever they are struggling. No matter who that person is, or what you are struggling with.
Student spotlight:
Madison Mika is a junior at WHS and has been a part of the Whiting School System since sixth grade. She is a top-10 student and has been since her freshman year. She’s been able to keep this spot by trying her best and prioritizing herself.
Her goals for this year are to gain multiple scholarships, keep her class rank, and enjoy the rest of her time in high school. She says she is going to achieve her goals by just being herself and taking life as it comes and appreciating every little thing.
Mika is a member of multiple clubs at WHS. She is the National Honor Society (NHS) President, a part of the Student Council and Spanish Club for a time, and plays softball. She noted her favorite she has been involved in during her time at WHS has been Spanish Club.
“My favorite club was the Spanish Club. Although I’m no longer part of it, my time there was meaningful to me. I loved getting involved with my culture and bonding with others who shared the experiences. It was something different in WHS, and there was nothing like it,” said Mika.
Her motivations for this year are to continue what she is doing and embrace the love around her. She hopes to better herself as a person and see what Whiting has left to offer. Living life to the fullest is her biggest reason for everything.
After high school, Mika hopes to go to Purdue University West Lafayette to study communications and political science. She wants to get involved whether it’s state politics, county politics, or working for “The Chicago Tribune.” Her advice to underclassmen is to not take everything so seriously and have fun.
“I would tell underclassmen to not take everything so seriously. Have fun, make friends, do things, and don’t care so much about what other people think. Be yourself,” Mika said.
