What’s recently happened?
During the month of January, John Adams High School students were hit with a biting cold. After the long weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the break became even longer with temperatures reaching as low as -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately for students, that meant that they got to miss school for an extra two days, making it a five-day weekend; essentially creating a whole new break.
Coming back from such a long time of rest and relaxation is a little difficult, especially when trying to get back into the swing of things and getting back into the working hard mindset. However, the study tables are back so students who need help focusing or understanding homework are able to get the help they need in the John Adams library.
The Science Olympiad club has come to a close as it participated in Regionals, most of the students' final competition. Unfortunately, the state team is only allowed 20 people, and only seven seniors; so it is quite competitive.
John Adams’ swim team just had its senior night in the month of January, where they swam their best events and did swimmingly!
What’s coming up?
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and people are starting to get antsy about what to get for their partners and friends. Although John Adams won’t have a Valentine’s dance, candy grams are a recurring fundraiser for various clubs. Last year, the John Adams Drama Club even had a flower gram service, where students could order a flower to someone’s class and write a cute little love note to attach to it.
In addition, the John Adams Robotics Team will be going to one of its first competitions of the year next month, which is something to look forward to as well as other clubs like Model UN and Mock Trial.
Coming up in the month of February, music students are finally heading to compete in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) competition. John Adams is cheering them on and hopeful they can make it to State again like last year.
Staff spotlight:
Although well known for his advanced stem classes, John Adams Science Teacher Jeff Kindelan is also well known for bringing his adorable cat, Albert Einstein, into the classroom for all the students to interact with.
Kindelan currently teaches ACP Chemistry and IB Physics. Although in the past, he taught Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Health, Economics, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Biology. He has had quite a wide variety of classes and students. Even though he has worked with a lot of students, he is still kind to every single one he encounters.
“My favorite moments are the same every year,” Kindelan said. “They occur when students ask me questions that I can't answer. It means that students are thinking instead of just trying to get an A. This year, Ruthie Tan asked me how gravitational potential energy could be negative, so we looked up the answer in class.”
This interaction has been Kindelan’s favorite moment of the school year so far as he appreciates students’ genuine interest in his classes.
Other than his classes, Kindelan participates as a coach on the John Adams’ Science Olympiad team. Pure to his study, he helps out with physics and chemistry-based events such as Chemistry Lab, Optics, Wind Power, and many more.
Student spotlight:
Robotics Senior Team Captain Allayna Ramirez is a busy person. In addition to Robotics, she is a part of many clubs including Science Olympiad, International Organization for Standardization, and the Spanish Honor Society.
On top of her after-school activities, Ramirez still performs well at school, taking difficult classes like IB physics HL, IB History of the Americas, IB English HL, IB Spanish SL, and AP Precalculus. Each and every class being AP or IB may be difficult and tedious due to the advanced nature of AP classes, but Ramirez has a talent for keeping up with her classes all while being so involved in the club she started: Robotics.
“Join our Robotics team! We are a very involved club full of different opportunities for students. Even if you have no interest in robots, we likely have something for everyone,” Ramirez said.
After starting the club with very few people last year, she has seen it come so far and would like to see it grow even more.
Ramirez wants to study mechanical engineering at Valparaiso University (VU) after graduating from high school. Even though she faced some trials and tribulations in finding the right college for her, VU seems like the right fit. At VU, she will be able to stay close to home, and although it is a private school, it is quite generous with its programming.