What’s recently happened?
Wheeler High School and Union Township Middle School (UTMS) Choir Director Pamela “Pam” Hardesty is retiring this year after 34 years of hard work and dedication. Wheeler and UTMS choir students were having their final concert of the year and to honor her, alumni of all ages showed up to sing. The alumni choir sang “Lean on Me” for this big surprise.
“I went up with the alumni to sing, which was special. It’s been so long since I’ve sang on stage,” said Senior Mallory Barnes.
Seniors Cheyenne Bouma and Kristina Lubbock were able to conduct one song each. They have both been part of the choir for their high school years. At the end of the concert, all of the choir seniors were able to give a small speech about their appreciation to Hardesty and how much they loved having her as their choir director.
“It was incredible to get to see all of these past students of Hardesty! It really puts into perspective just how many lives she’s impacted in her decades of teaching,” said Sophomore Luke Richardson.
What’s coming up?
Senior Elise Byers has been Wheeler’s best girl distance runner for a couple years now. She continues to improve year after year, and this is her best yet. Byers went into Sectionals hoping to make it to Regionals with a previous personal record (PR) of 11:36 in the 3200 meter race. She went out to run the race in 11:09, taking first place and securing her spot in Regionals.
“She is genuinely one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. Watching her run the 3200 meter run at Regionals and winning by .03 seconds was insane. The dedication and work she puts into the sport is incredible,” said Senior Grace Markle.
A week later, Byers went to run her 3200 meter race in windy weather. Byers had been in third the whole race, but just as she was finishing, the runner in fourth decided to kick into high gear. Byers was able to secure third place by barely a second. This matters because the top three runners make it to the State meet. On Friday May 31, Byers will be on the line ready to run the 3200 meter at the State meet.
“I had a great PR at Sectionals, making me quite excited going into Regionals. However, I knew going into it that it would be a hot and humid day. I lowered my expectations and before the race stated that my only goal was to qualify. I did that by three-hundredths of a second,” Byers said.
Staff spotlight:
English Teacher Peter Martin has been teaching at Wheeler for seven years. Martin currently teaches Honors English for seniors, as well as Advanced Speech and Introduction to Public Speaking.
His favorite part about teaching Honors English to seniors is that he loves working with students who are willing to put in effort towards their education. Martin loves working at the high level that the seniors are working at and getting them there.
“I love reading the interesting topics that often teach me things about the world I may not know,” Martin said.
As much as Matin enjoys teaching English, Advanced Speech is his favorite class, ironically because most people are at least a little bit afraid of public speaking. He enjoys working with his students over the course of the trimester to conquer this fear and become pros by the end of the term.
“Most people are, if not over their fear, at least better at public speaking at the end of the trimester,” Martin said.
There are a lot of moving parts. No class is ever the same, and it is fun to do different exercises, sometimes with student input. Martin had students suggest planned interruptions during a speech. Martin had them come back and talk to them and put questions together a “smash hit”
“It was cool to develop a new activity with the students,” Martin said.
He hopes that incoming students will learn how to “high school” as, if they can figure out how, it will get easier quickly. For graduates, he wants them to follow their interests and find a way to incorporate them into their lives, even if it isn’t their career.
Martin’s pitch for why people should take Speech is that most people can get better at public speaking, and if they’re afraid of it, that's a good reason to take it.
“Come make mistakes!” Martin said.
Student spotlight:
Senior Grace Markle has been a part of the Wheeler community since eighth grade. Markle is a student athlete with many other activities as well.
During Track and Field, Markle participates in the throwing aspect of the sport. She specializes in shot put. In Sectionals this year, Markle was able to make it to finals with a throw of 30 feet and a quarter inch. However, her PR is 30 feet 4 ¾ inches. Previously, Markle made it to Sectional finals her sophomore year.
“I am most excited next year when I come back as an assistant coach to see one of my best friends who is a sophomore, Madisyn, learn and grow as a thrower and excel as we all know she is capable of doing,” Markle said.
Markle has enjoyed throwing so much throughout her high school career that she has decided to come back to coach. Markle handed off her pink discus to Madisyn after the conference meet, the last time Markle ever threw a discus.
Markle has been involved with National Honor Society (NHS) since her junior year, Key Club for her first two years of high school, and recently was inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame for her outstanding grades.
Within the school, Markle has the gym class record for deadlift at 330 pounds. She is also in the top five for bench press with a lift of 130 pounds, which she has recently broken outside of school.
“After being injured for the weeks leading up to our end-of-the-year max outs, I was really excited to break a record I wasn't going to have the opportunity to break,” Markle said.