What’s Happening: Boys Basketball Ends 2018 on a 3 Game Win Streak
The first day of break started off on a sour note after the heartbreaking loss to a cross-town rival, Lake Station-Edison. After an intense game in front of a packed house, the team had a couple days to regroup and celebrate the holiday. On December 27, 2018, the men were back in action, traveling to Boone Grove to take on the wolves. After winning by a slim margin of two points, they carried that momentum into their holiday tournament the next day in Hebron.
The team made the long trip to Hebron High School for their first game of the day against South Newton. Coming out with a 71-24 victory, the Ingots advanced to the championship where they would take on Hebron. When game time rolled around that night, the boys came ready to win. The two teams stayed tied for the majority of the first half, fighting back and forth for the lead.
After the buzzer sounded for halftime, the boys left the locker room and exploded during the second half. They took a 5 point lead early in the third quarter and kept the lead for the remainder of the game. Hebron tried to fight back but the Ingots would win the championship game by a score of 54-46.
The boys' basketball team enters 2019 on a three-game win streak and an 8-3 record. Early January will bring a trio of Greater South Shore Conference powerhouse showdowns against Calumet, Bishop Noll, and Griffith. You can keep an eye on live scores and stats on Twitter, @IngotAthletics.
What’s Coming Up: Students Return From Break to Start the New Semester
On January 7, 2019, students will return from winter break and start the second semester of the year. Here is a look ahead to all the things that River Forest has in store for 2019. Graduation is now only five months away, and plenty of other exciting events lay ahead
For Winter athletes, the season is coming to a close. Basketball homecoming week will start the week of January 21st, where a new spirit king and queen will be named at the end of the week. Girls Basketball senior night will come on January 24th while the rest of the winter senior athletes will be honored at the last home boys game on February 21st. Besides for senior night, the teams have to look forward to sectionals week in hopes of extending their season. Cheerleading and the dance team will also be moving into competition season in hopes of bringing the school home a couple championship titles.
Looking ahead to February, a lot is in store for River Forest students. With National Signing Day on the first Wednesday of the month, River Forest will be hosting a couple signing events to celebrate the few senior athletes that will be continuing their athletic careers in college. Also during the first week of the month, the academic decathlon team will be heading to Purdue University for the state finals and the annual turnabout dance will also be held on the first Saturday of the month. Lastly, to end the month, a group of students will each be presenting a bill at the Indiana Statehouse for the Indiana YMCA Youth and Government Model Government Conference in Indianapolis.
Heading into the spring as the weather starts to warm up, spring athletes will start taking the field for softball, baseball, golf, and track season. April 20th will also bring prom night and the frantic search for the perfect dress will begin long before that date. Looking into May, the senior class will be taking their senior trip to Chicago on the 10th and the marching band will be taking a weekend trip to Cedar point the following week. Lastly, June, of course, brings graduation day for the class of 2019, to be held on June 1st. While the seniors will officially say goodbye and open house season will begin, the preparation for the next school year will also begin shortly after. River Forest has a lot to look forward this semester and the first half of 2019.
Administration Spotlight: Meet the Newest School Board Member
Back in November of 2018, an uprising of youth voters showed up to the polls in record numbers. At River Forest, a bigger and inspiring story was taking place. A group of River Forest students rallied behind long-time community member, Richard Perez, in his campaign journey for school board. That night the results were announced that Perez would take over as the newest member on the River Forest School Board. Coming January 14, 2019, Perez will officially be sworn into his position.
Perez has resided in the community for his entire life and graduated from River Forest in 2010, he then went on to continue his education at Indiana University Northwest. Perez announced in early August that his name would be placed on the ballot in November, and then the election journey began.
“For the past 26 years this small community has become an extended family, and I am, and have always been proud of where I come from. Throughout the years, with honest and open communication, I’ve built trusting relationships with students and their parents, teachers, staff, coaches, and members of the community, and have listened to the changes they’ve wanted to see for River Forest.
“I want to continue to be a voice for the people and students in my community, and will do my best to let them know that they too have a voice, and it’s an important one,” Perez stated when announcing his candidacy to the community.
As the election approached, Perez worked closely with family and friends to get his message out to the community. When election day had finally arrived, a group of students rallied behind Perez, bearing the cold at all of the local election polls. While Perez won the election, the true victory was granted to the students for learning the importance of voting and standing up for change. Perez gave the youth a voice and made them feel valuable in a democracy. Lastly, Perez looks forward to being able to hand many of the students that he has watched grow up throughout the years their diplomas in June.
Student Spotlight: Ariana Nieves
Ariana Nieves is a senior at River Forest who has been an involved member of the community. She has been a part of the cheer program for all four years, three of which she took on the role of captain and head cheerleader for two. She has also been apart of volleyball, student council, and FCCLA.
After graduation, Nieves plans to jump right into college with the ASAP program at Ivy Tech to earn her Associates degree in Business Administration and transferring to University of Indianapolis to work towards a Bachelor’s degree
“High school has had its ups and downs but it has been the best four years of my life so far. I hope to have even better days in college and beyond but I’ll never forget my time at River Forest,” Nieves stated.
Nieves has enjoyed taking part in homecoming week and other school functions. This fall she was named this year’s Homecoming queen and humbly accepted the crown. Nieves loves homecoming because it gives the whole school a chance to show school spirit, participate in fun activities, and come together to support our sports teams.