What’s recently happened?
On August 6, the Town of Munster had its annual Night Out Against Crime event where businesses, high school sports and clubs, Mustang emergency responders, and more came out to showcase themselves. The community came together at the event to enjoy food, swimming and many other things such as special guests Bluey and Bingo from the children’s show “Bluey.”
“It brings people together,” Cecilia Ayala, Munster community member, said. “You get to see a lot of people from the community and a lot of businesses and things like that, and it's a good way to support the police officers.”
Whether it's swimming at the pool, watching a cheer routine, bouncing from booth to booth or getting a first experience with lacrosse, there are many enjoyable activities for anyone to try out.
“I like to see the firemen and the policemen out, as well as the K9 unit,” Ayala said.
Along with being a fun activity for community members, it allows Munster High School (MHS) clubs and athletics to show what they are truly like.
“It's important for cheer to come to this event because it allows cheer to spread spirit to the community,” Teodora Svilar, cheerleader and senior at MHS, said.
What’s coming up?
Munster schools start up on Monday, August 12. While students may not be eager about everything that comes with going back to school, they still have a lot to look forward to and are excited to get things started.
“I have a love-hate relationship with school because the actual class work can be boring, but I like going to school because I get to talk to people that I normally wouldn’t, and I get to play school sports,” Jenna Kreig, sophomore, said.
Junior year is stereotypically the hardest year of high school, but the experience is different for everyone.
“I don’t think junior year is going to be a tough year,” Kreig said. “I think that is a common saying because people start taking Advanced Placements (AP) classes this year, along with the SAT. I took APs last year, and I’m not worried about the SAT, so I feel like junior year won’t be significantly harder for me than previous years.”
To some, high school can be a drag, while to others it may turn out to be some of the best times of their life, and mindset can play a part in how that experience turns out.
“For the longest time I didn’t like going to school; I didn’t like the classes I took or having to wake up early,” Avrione Martin, senior, said. “That changed when I started going to clubs and taking classes that interested me around my sophomore year. I think a big part about enjoying school is taking opportunities and finding things that interest you rather than just going through the motions of the day.”
Owen Hoogeveen, sophomore, had a good freshman year.
“My freshman year did not meet my expectations,” Hoogeveen said. “I thought it was going to be difficult and hard to adjust to, but it was easier than I thought. The worst part of freshman year was just being bottom of the totem pole,” Hoogeveen said. “At football and basketball games, we get the way back in the stands.”
As for the freshmen, the rest of high school has some advice:
“Respect the teachers, make connections with them and don’t slack on the assignments,” Hoogeveen said.
“If I could tell my freshman year self one thing it would definitely be to take school seriously,” Martin said. “Blowing off freshman year makes everything much harder than it needs to be in the future.”
“Learn how to balance having fun and doing good in school,” Kreig said.
Community member spotlight:
Rising college freshman Adeline West’s ‘last summer’ will be ending when she packs up and leaves for Indiana University Bloomington (IUB). During her last summer before college, there have been many events that have made this summer extremely special.
“Looking back, I’ve had quite the eventful senior summer,” West said. “I began my time by performing in my last dance recital. After that, I began an internship at Dr. Geissler’s Hearing Center.”
She also had her graduation party, as well as dancing as a Pieroguette in the Pierogi Fest parade.
The first event of her summer was high school graduation, which was on June 9. After that, West continued rehearsal for her last dance recital, where she choreographed her own senior dance.
“My friend, Maria Emilia, helped me choose ‘Million Reasons’ by Lady Gaga as my song,” West said. “There’s so much raw emotion in her voice, and it displays the push and pull feeling that I get when it comes to college.”
West remembers being extremely nervous when she was about to step onto the stage and perform her solo.
“I put my emotions all out on the floor, and all of my skills hit like they should,” West said. “I’ll never forget the applause that I got during and after the routine. Even my boyfriend, who knows nothing about dance, said it moved him greatly. I just felt on top of the world after doing my solo, so that’s one of my favorite memories of the summer.”
After her dance recital, West got to begin her internship at Dr. Geissler’s Hearing Center.
“I am going to IUB to major in speech and hearing sciences, so this was the perfect opportunity to test the waters on what I’m going to school for,” West said. “Education is something that I highly value, and this internship has been extremely important and exciting for me to get a jump-start with.”
Halfway through the summer, on July 8, West had her graduation party.
“It was very nice to interact and spend time with my different friend groups and sides of my family,” West said. “It was a nice hot day, and everyone enjoyed the pierogies that were served at my party.”
The last major event of her summer before leaving for college was being Miss Potato, one of the Pieroguettes, in Whiting’s Pierogi Fest. West has been a Pieroguette for 10 years and was looking forward to this event.
“As the official cheerleaders of the fest, we cheer and chant in the Polka Parade, sing and dance in Mr. Pierogi’s Songfest and appear on several news channels for the Chicago area. Miss Potato will always have a place in my heart, and I am so glad I’ve been able to spend my summers having so much fun because of her.”