What’s recently happened?
The Wheeler High School (WHS) cross country season is slowing down, with only a couple more races left. This past Saturday, the athletes raced at New Prairie High School. This meet was so big that there were multiple races based on school size. In the Class A race alone, there were 37 teams.
“The start was filled with so many people. It was honestly a really cool experience,” said Senior Reagan Luedtke.
The girls team won fourth place out of the Class A ranks, with four of our athletes placing in the top 40. These girls included Freshmen Rowan Kruska, Lane Goodrich, and Brooke Lawson, and Senior Alexia Orosz.
“I am so happy I placed in my senior year, and I can’t wait to see what the younger girls do as they progress through the sport,” said Orosz.
What’s coming up?
The week of September 23 to 28 is Homecoming Week for WHS, with Monday being Dress as a Teacher, Tuesday being Rhyme Without Reason, Wednesday being Frat vs Sorority, Thursday being Dress as your Type, and Friday being Class Colors. So far, the best costumes this week have definitely been for Rhyme Without Reason.
“I dressed up as a worker and made a powerwash out of paper to trick my friend into rhyming with me. His name is Josh,” said Jude Richardson, a junior.
Friday is always Class Colors due to the Pep Rally. Each class wants to gain as many points as possible because the most points at the end wins the Spirit Stick.
The classes can buy spirit chains to gain points. The National Honors Society (NHS) sells paper chains for one dollar and all of the proceeds go straight to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The class council for each grade designs and sells shirts based on class color and the Homecoming theme for that year. The grade with the most sold shirts gains points towards its Pep Rally score.
The Pep Rally contains unknown games that classes have to compete in to win more points. Last year, the sophomores, now juniors, won.
“We are definitely going to win again. The seniors might try, but we definitely have more spirit than them,” said Junior Titus Parrish.
WHS’ Homecoming game is usually against Boone Grove High School, but since the game against them was away, it is against Gary West Side High School this year.
The Homecoming dance is Saturday, September 28. The theme is Enchanted Forest.
Staff spotlight:
Byron Faulstich is WHS’ social studies teacher and basketball coach, and he has been a part of WHS since 2022. His favorite class to teach is dual credit government. This is his favorite because he loves helping students understand how the government works. Faulstich believes that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the government and the constitution.
“Working with the kids and seeing how they begin to understand how the government works has to be my favorite part,” said Faulstich.
Faulstich began coaching basketball in 2013. He began as an assistant coach but became a head coach in 2022. He chose this path because it is a good way to build relationships with students outside of school. His favorite part of coaching is seeing the kids grow up and become who they are going to be. He loves seeing how basketball helps them with life outside of the sport.
“I’ll have to say creating relationships with the players and watching them grow up is the best part of coaching,” said Faulstich.
Faulstich believes that students coming into high school should not be afraid to ask questions. He believes that if one student is confused, more than likely multiple other students are confused about the same things.
“There are no stupid questions,” said Faulstich.
He believes students about to graduate shouldn’t think that they’re done learning just because they’re done with high school. He says that students should strive to be lifelong learners and always grow and change into better people.
Student spotlight:
Madisyn Rouch is a junior at WHS. She is part of the track and field team, with her main focus being discus throwing. Rouch is a football manager and assists WHS Athletic Trainer Maggie Long. Not only is Rouch dedicated to her sport, she is also dedicated to school. She is an honors student, part NHS, and participates in the Health and Science Vocational.
“I love track and can’t wait for the season to start in the spring,” said Rouch.
Rouch has been a part of the throwing team since she was a freshman and keeps getting better every year.
She started managing football this year due to the lack of football managers and her brother, Senior Bryce Compton, being the team’s wide receiver. She loves being able to help the athletic trainer out and watch the games from the sidelines.
She was inducted into the NHS as a junior. The requirements are to have a 3.5 GPA or higher, meaning she is dedicated to her grades. The Health and Science Vocational is located at Portage High School. She is able to learn about anatomy and physiology hands-on through this program.
“I decided to join the Health and Science Vocational because I want to be an orthodontist,” said Rouch.
Rouch believes that to do well in the vocational program you need to have integrity, study and work outside of school, and stay ahead of the work to succeed. She loves the program and thinks anyone interested should apply to it.