What’s recently happened?
In early March, Michigan City High School (MCHS) band students performed at the Indiana State School Music Association's Solo and Ensemble State competition. There might have been snow on the ground that day, but at MCHS, it was raining gold.
As a trio on the marimba, Jimmy Biela, Rhianna Fisher, and Makayla Sardon received a distinction gold rating and achieved a perfect score.
Jada McKendree and Josh Pratt on clarinet and Makenna Nowatzke on tenor saxophone all received gold ratings for their respective solos. Biela on the snare drum and Vivian Taylor on the baritone and tenor saxophone also achieved gold with distinction.
This month from the MCHS Esports Team, Varsity Captain Katelyn Ast officially committed to continue her career at Manchester University. She plans to major in art education and minor in esports management.
What’s coming up?
With the winter sports season coming to a close, MCHS is getting ready to vault into the spring season.
Girls Tennis looks at its season opener against South Bend Washington High School on April 14. The Boys Volleyball’s season opens March 18 with a highly anticipated match against the South Central High School Satellites. Girls Softball has its first matchup against South Bend Riley High School on March 25. Track has already opened its season, but the team looks forward to hosting an early April meet against New Prairie High School and South Bend Adams High School.
With the momentum of its fall show still powering them forward, MCHS Drama Club will be putting on a production of “Charley’s Aunt” in early May. Telling the story of a Victorian-era farce, this is a show you won’t want to miss.
Fresh off the High School Leadership Summit the club hosted this past fall, MCHS Student Government is excited for its first ever Future Wolves Leadership Summit on April 11.
“Our Future Wolves Summit is super important in building leadership and confidence for younger kids. High school students are leading the discussions, and it helps to give them relatable role models,” Student Government Treasurer Makenna Nowatzke said.
The American Sign Language (ASL) Club will be observing National Deaf History Month with a very special experience for its members.
“Club members are going to get to wear headphones, or something else, to diminish their hearing for the day and go to all of their classes. It should help to give them the experience of what it is like to be deaf or hard of hearing and to be in classes where you can’t hear all the things that are going on around you,” said Ashley Zahrt, one of ASL Club’s sponsors.
Staff spotlight:
Ashley Zahrt is originally from South Bend, but it is easy to mistake her for a born and raised Michigan City dweller. Zahrt moved out to Valparaiso in 2014 to complete her master's degree in education at Valparaiso University.
“I was getting my master's degree in education to teach because my bachelor’s degree is in biology. That’s how I ended up at MCHS; I was student teaching, and then I got hired to teach here,” Zahrt said.
Zahrt is responsible for teaching a wide variety of science courses at MCHS.
“I teach Project Lead the Way’s (PLTW) Principles of Biomedical Science, PLTW Human Body Systems, and Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) for the first time this year,” Zahrt said.
APES is being offered for the first time at MCHS. It has been a great learning experience for the students, as well as Zahrt for being able to teach it.
“I have learned a lot. I found out that so many things are extremely connected. As I go through the units and the curriculum, I often think we’ve already covered something. Sometimes we have, but if it’s a problem, we’re going to dive really deep into how the problem is caused and how the solution can happen,” Zahrt said.
At the end of last year, one of MCHS’s science-based organizations, Envirothon, was left without a sponsor. Serving as one of the most beloved sponsors of the ASL Club, Zahrt was no stranger to being roped into sponsoring a MCHS club. Being that she juggles so many responsibilities already, Zahrt was hesitant to add another club to the mix.
“When I was first approached by Brooke Lakin, a student in my AP Environmental Science class, about sponsoring Envirothon, I told her I would try to help her find somebody else to sponsor the club. That was my goal, and I did try, but it didn't happen. I wasn’t able to find someone to take it on, so I figured that I’ll do my very best,” Zahrt said.
Somewhat famous for her inability to deny students assistance when called upon, Zahrt committed to sponsoring Envirothon for at least this year.
“Ms. Zahrt is the bomb dot com for taking over Envirothon. She’s super on board to give kids so many opportunities to do stuff, which I think is very admirable of an adult who already has so much going on,” ASL Interpreter Teagin Powers said.
Zahrt and her teams ended their March competition placing third and fifth in the Region. With only two returning members from the previous year, MCHS was represented by two teams at this year’s competition.
One team was made up entirely of seniors. The other team was a mix of underclassmen in their debut year. Zahrt is optimistic for the future of Envirothon at MCHS.
“Our little underclassmen team scored fifth, which is awesome for their first year! We’re going to see some cool things coming from them in the future,” Zahrt said.
Student spotlight:
In the dictionary next to the word phenomenon, there should be a picture of Haley Barnes.
A rising star as a sophomore at MCHS, Barnes is a member of Table-Top Games Club, ASL Club, Envirothon, French Club, Spanish Club, Early College Club, and Retro-Gaming Club. She serves as a Sophomore Class Representative for Student Government. She is also the club editor of the MCHS Alpha Yearbook.
Barnes is a self-described people person. If there is a place at MCHS where people gather, Barnes is there smiling and connecting with people.
“I join so many clubs because I just love them. I think sports are such a commitment and include physical activity, whereas clubs are just about meeting people. I have met so many people through my clubs that I never would have talked to if I just went to my classes. You get to meet every grade, and you can always find a reason to connect with them,” Barnes said.
Barnes was given an opportunity to shine with her participation in the Envirothon Club, who had its yearly competition the first week of March.
“The reason I decided to join Envirothon was because I really love Ms. Zahrt. She was the sponsor, so I just came one day, and then I was in the club. I think it’s really cool that our school has something like that,” Barnes said.
In Barnes’ debut season, she and her team of underclassmen walked away with fifth place.
“I was pretty happy that we got fifth out of about 12 teams. Everyone worked really well together during the test. My favorite part was just sitting at the table with all of them, because you become friends through it. We got to eat food and laugh together. It was a lot of fun,” Barnes said.
With all of her club responsibilities, Barnes is constantly perfecting the craft of time management, but one of her other activities is all about creating the perfect craft.
“I run a crochet account called Haley Yarnes. I make anything people want. My specialty is little plushies like cats and octopuses. Honestly, it’s a struggle to do with all my other commitments, but I make it work,” Barnes said.