What’s recently happened?
On the spooky evening of November 3, Clay High School threw its final Halloween MORP dance. Students and staff decorated the cafeteria with scary decorations and reminisced about their fond memories of the dances in the past. Students the entire school day continuously raved about the dance and expressed their excitement about their costumes.
Everyone attending the event danced the night away to the student-made playlist. Students wearing costumes were evaluated by judges for a chance to win an award. Everyone had a blast throughout the night.
Students and staff took pictures at the frightening photo booth and posed alongside decorations provided by Special Education Teacher Kim Potts. Later in the night, the winners of the costume announcement were announced, and students posed for pictures.
Students danced to many classics, such as the “Cha Cha Slide.” Clay’s student resource officer had a dance solo and made the entire student body laugh. Students lingered as the dance ended, wishing the good times could continue.
What’s coming up?
Throughout the month of December, Clay’s Student Council will be conducting its yearly Season of Service event, where the club collects canned food, along with other non-perishables, from Clay students and staff in order to give back to students in need.
On December 16, Clay will be hosting a car donation drive. At this food drive, the community can come and drop off donations. Donations will be sent to local organizations in order to give the food back out to the community to help.
As this will be Clay’s final Season of Service, the Student Council is hoping that the school and community will come to support and give back to the community once more.
Staff spotlight:
Nathaneal Sudduth is Clay’s band director and has been at Clay for two years. Sudduth currently teaches the Advanced Concert Band and Jazz Band classes along with the Jazz Ensemble class in the morning before school. Previously, Sudduth held the position of band director at John Glenn High School.
One of Sudduth’s fondest memories was the 2023 Spring Swing concert.
“I remember feeling proud of my students after seeing their hard work pay off, as well as seeing how much they had improved throughout the year,” said Sudduth. “Even though there have been some difficult times, last year was still one of my favorite years teaching.”
Sudduth has been working hard with his students for the upcoming band concert in December. He is very excited to show off how well his students are doing and how much they have improved, even though they are a small group this year.
Sudduth has always pushed his students to do the best they can no matter what.
“I believe in a growth mindset and having a positive attitude,” he said. “I realize that students struggle sometimes and have bad days, so I always try to make them feel better and to just have a great time in class.”
Sudduth is going to miss Clay after it closes, but he is still excited to find out where else life is going to take him. Clay, and all his memories there, will always hold a special place in his heart.
Student spotlight:
Matthew Shafer is a senior at Clay. Shafer is involved in many activities at Clay, such as leadership programs and arts programs. Shafer is in Clay’s Student Council as the class treasurer. Shafer is also the vice president of the National Honor Society.
In regards to the arts, Shafer is a four-year member of Clay’s band. He plays three different instruments and is in Clay’s jazz band and concert band. He has earned numerous awards with events such as Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) contests.
Shafer’s favorite Clay memories are generally ones that involve the tight knit community that Clay creates.
“I fondly remember all of the school dances, in which I felt comfortable being myself and dancing my heart out, interacting with a large portion of those who went,” he said. “A more specific memory is when I went to support Clay’s dance program and watch their recital, afterwards going out with a group of friends to eat ice cream and hang out. It isn’t just the big moments that stand out at my time at Clay, it’s all the small interactions that create my mind’s picture of my high school experience.”
To Shafer, Clay is a small but wonderful community of students who have passions that they share with the world.
“Not many other schools share the sheer amount of opportunities that Clay offers. Clay is like a trial of real life in which mistakes are able to be made and learned from. I can absolutely tell that the staff cares about me and every other student, which is something I’ve never experienced in my school career prior to Clay,” he said.