#1StudentNWI: Hammond Central indulges in spooky festivities

What’s recently happened?

On October 25, Hammond Central (HC) High School along with the Hammond Arts and Performance Academy (HAPA) hosted the HAPA Harvest event, which includes HAPA students from the district’s school participating whether it be an in-school performance, face painting, pumpkin painting, passing out candy at the Trunk or Treat, or just showing some Halloween spirit. 

Students volunteering in this event were mostly from National Honor Society (NHS), student athletes, some Area Career Center students, or HAPA. Jessica Castillo, one of the sponsors of NHS, accounted for the fact last year’s Trunk or Treat had an unexpected upsurge of guests attending. This problem was solved by opening both sides of HC’s hallways with only one exit and entrance which helped with crowding. 

To obtain the candy for the Trunk or Treat, candy was donated from students and staff from HC. An estimated 50 bags of candy were donated, and they were also able to get through all bags of candy. Next time, Castillo hopes to get just a few more bags.     

“We wanted to provide a safe, warm, fun place to go trick-or-treating. We wanted to convey the message that HC looks to be involved in the community and to teach our students to give back to the community. It is important to communicate the need to always return to where you came from and help as much as possible,” said Castillo. 

Castillo hopes in the coming years that HC is able to shift Trunk or Treat’s main focus onto the children. 

“We want to make it more about the little kids for next year. We want to make sure we have enough candy and activities to bring to the little kids who may be first time trick-or-treaters or who may not be able to go out on Halloween. Next year, we will add a few more activities for the younger kids and be mindful of who the event is intended to be for,” said Castillo. 

Junior Talina Cisnero, a member of NHS, volunteered in this year's Trunk or Treat and was excited to get in on the Halloween spirit while being part of a good cause.

“Everyone was in the building to celebrate Halloween and fall in general, have fun, and enjoy the event put together by the students and staff. In the end, we are all just humans trying to make an impact,” said Cisnero. 

What's coming up? 

HC’s in-person Language Arts Side by Side event is coming on November 6 from 8 a.m to 10 a.m. Parents and/or guardians are able to check in on their students' classroom environment and monitor how their children are doing in school. All guardians attending will require a background check. 

The Side by Side events are split into two different portions throughout the school year. One sees teachers discussing English Language Arts, and a mathematics curriculum Side by Side takes place next semester.   

One of HC’s Senior English teachers, Juliet Dukes, is excited that parents have the chance to become more involved with their child’s education while getting the inside look on what happens during class.

“What’s nice about it is that all teachers will be asked to incorporate some type of English lesson, and it can be as simple as having a quick oral language bell ringer where students have to make corrections in the sentences. In English classes, it’s really nice that the parents come in and get to see what it is that their students are learning on a daily basis and how the teachers are working and interacting with the students. It’s really nice to have the parents involved in this because they get to see the behind the scenes of what their kids do in school all day,” said Dukes.  

Staff spotlight:

Jessica Castillo, teaches Dual Credit (DC) Government, DC United States History, and DC Psychology. Besides teaching, she is one of the NHS sponsors and has also arranged the Indiana Court of Appeals Trail at HC.  

NHS is a program which helps scholars give back to their community as long as they maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA. 

“I love being an NHS sponsor. It has provided me the opportunity to give back to the community I came from. I also get to help students find different volunteer activities,” Castillo said. “I am always looking for ways to provide help to the community or to get students more in the community. Being an NHS sponsor is a lot of work but is totally worth it.”

NHS is available to many of the students at HC.

“Sophomores through seniors are invited to join NHS so long as they are willing to volunteer 50 or more hours of service per school year and have a 3.0 GPA. We welcome any students who are willing to give back to their community,” Castillo said.

Besides NHS, Castillo herself has a passion for volleyball; she plays in three volleyball leagues and serves as HC’s head coach. In general, Castillo enjoys watching sports, going to sporting events, reading, puzzles, and being outside. 

Student spotlight: 

Senior and Color Guard Team Captain Maria Cano has been in Color Guard for all two years HC has had the team. Besides Color Guard, Cano’s been in HC’s rock band for three years as a keyboardist and/or guitarist. 

“I like too many things, and they take a lot of my time. I'm a keyboardist/guitarist; it was so fun,” said Cano.

The former sponsor and founder of HC’s flag team, Angela Herrera, had a conflicting personal schedule which led her to step down from the role of the Color Guard team’s sponsor. 

As a result, Cano was passed the responsibility of steering the team in the right direction as the team’s captain. She hopes to have more people join the team since the majority of the members are seniors and she does not want the group to fade away. 

Typical practice for the team consists of going to the swim hallway. When doing a full routine, they split the performance into small 20 second pieces that they master each time they practice until they are able to put it together. Initially, they will work out the routine without any songs and then repeat with music playing. 

As with any team, difficulties arise, such as keeping in tempo, so Cano plans on using counts to keep the team on beat.  

Cano is encouraging students to join the team because of how much fun and tight-knit the team’s dynamic is. She stated that although it may look hard on ‘Instagram reels’, it is really easy to get the hang of and perform in front of your peers. 

“I really hope people join, just because almost all of us are seniors. Color Guard is my baby and I'm just scared, after we all leave it's gonna go away. Don't wait until your last year of high school to join something,” Cano said.