What’s recently happened?
Michigan City High School’s (MCHS) year has finally begun. On Wednesday, August 9, students returned in full force to the building, ready to learn. Since then, the school has been a whirlwind of activity.
The football team has played three games so far this year, culminating in two wins and one loss. The team played most recently against Chesterton High School where the Wolves won 28-6. The team’s next game will be against Valparaiso High School on September 8.
Michigan City Area Schools was also very thrilled to cheer on its middle school football players on Sunday, August 27 as the team played on the state’s biggest stage; the Indianapolis Colts’ very own Lucas Oil Stadium. The team played a scrimmage against Avon Junior High School with the community cheering them on from the stands.
At the most recent football game, the MCHS Wolfpack Pride marching band debuted the second movement of this year’s competition set. The group is working hard to put together its final movement as competition season quickly approaches.
The cross country team had a successful meet on August 29 at the Hobart Invitational, having placed fifth out of eight teams. Maddy Parry led the girls, having placed 13th, and was followed closely by her teammates, Bailey Chavis (21st) and Taylor Wilkins (22nd). The boy’s team leader was Wilson Godfrey, who played 24th, followed by Mike Walker (41st) and James Symons (47th).
What’s coming up?
The most looked-forward-to event of the fall is quickly approaching; Homecoming will take place on Friday, September 29. Students have been abuzz for the big game where the MCHS Wolves will take on Portage High School with the hopes of taking home a special Homecoming win. While the football game will surely be a highlight, there is plenty of other preparation and excitement surrounding Homecoming.
One of the biggest non-athletic traditions of Homecoming, naturally, is the Homecoming Queen competition. At this time, clubs are gathering up willing names and voting to see who will represent them in the parade and on the field. With strict policies on who can run and what they must do during their run, it will be the best of the best to carry the mantle of their club’s name on the big day. Still, the question remains; who will win the crown?
Another exciting start is happening at the school as the Drama Club prepares for auditions on Thursday, September 7 and Friday, September 8. The group was proud to announce its fall production as “Mamma Mia!” and students have been excited at the prospect of performing such a fun and recognizable name on their very own stage. Keep your eyes out for the cast list, and make sure to put a reminder on your calendar to see the show this November.
Staff spotlight:
Tyler Evans is the dual credit English teacher at MCHS, and he is a very familiar face to upperclassmen. He holds another very important position, however.
“I am the head boy’s coach for cross country,” Evans said.
Cross country is one of the many sports that technically begins its season in the fall. The team starts much earlier, however, conditioning often throughout the summer months.
“We’ve been doing conditioning since June, but the season began in August, and we have had four meets since that point,” Evans said.
A huge focus for the team this season, as is the focus for many other sports and activities, is continuing to build up post-pandemic.
“We have higher numbers this year than we have the last couple years, which is great, but we’re essentially still building from those pandemic levels,” Evans said.
The team has been using this building momentum in positive ways, showing great improvement in their meets.
“In the last couple meets, we got fifth out of eight teams, which makes me hopeful. We’re certainly doing better than we have previously; we have more people committed, and we’re conditioning more,” Evans said.
Evans is also head for MCHS’s Boys Track team. While track is currently out of season, there is some overlap between it and cross country.
“A number of the individuals who are doing cross country will end up doing track, and a number of the exercises and activities that we do in cross country are curated from track,” Evans said
There are some significant differences, Evans is quick to note.
“There are some things that are just unique to track. The work that sprinters, jumpers, and pole vaulters do is nothing like cross country,” Evans said.
The track season begins much earlier than one would expect, with the girls team already in conditioning. The group (boys and girls) will condition together starting in January, and the season will begin in the middle of February. Evans finds this early start an important part of improving the team overall.
“We’re trying to get people started sooner so we can end up being strong competitors,” Evans said.
Evans remains an amicable face to all who know him, and his work with the English dual credit classes is an important reason behind that fact.
“I’ve been running that program here for the last seven years,” Evans said. “It’s a job I care about. I think I generally get decent feedback from students. I try to stay involved,” Evans said.
Looking over his time and experiences with MCHS and Michigan City as a whole, Evans had only positive things to say.
“I love all three of the jobs that I do here. I love the school system and the community, and I think I’ll be here for quite some time,” Evans said.
Student spotlight:
Bailey Chavis is a junior at MCHS. She’s involved in a plethora of clubs, including Student Council, where she is vice president, Steering Committee, where she was president last year and is running again this year, as well French Club and Envirathon. She is also a four-sport athlete.
“I play tennis. I love tennis, it's my favorite thing to do. My second love is diving, which is new as of last year. It was a huge learning experience for me because I did not show a lot of aptitude for it to start. Finally, I run cross country, and I’m on the golf team,” Chavis said.
With all of this, Chavis finds herself with little to no free time. However, there is a passion that she finds when she has some.
“I just love to read my books. I’ve very recently gotten into ‘Anne of Green Gables.’ It’s my favorite escape read,” Chavis said.
As one might guess with her impressive resume of activities and sports, Chavis has her mind focused on the future.
“I would love to go to the University of California, Berkeley or the University of Notre Dame. Honestly, I would just like to go somewhere. I’m really excited to go to college,” Chavis said.
Naturally, plenty of forethought has been put into what she’ll do during her time at college.
“I want to do a political science, pre-law track,” Chavis said.
Chavis considers her lengthy resume an essential part in discovering who she wants to become.
“I have these interests, and that’s influenced what I want to go into and what I spend my time doing,” Chavis said.
Chavis no doubt has a highly promising future, but for now, you can find her at any number of sporting events, activities, and clubs – make sure to catch her while you can.