What’s recently happened?
Whiting High School’s (WHS) Student Council hosted its annual toy drive. From November 18 to December 6, WHS students brought in toys to their homeroom to be delivered to city hall for children in need.
The goal of the toy drive is to have 200 toys donated by students. However, that is not the only goal. A goal for Student Council President Alfredo Ornelas with this drive is to boost student involvement.
“My goal for the toy drive is to spur student involvement, especially to get people motivated and excited to actually do something in the school,” said Ornelas.
The Student Council has tried to boost promoting the toy drive this year by sending members to homerooms to talk about the toy and offering rewards to the homeroom with the most toys. Ornelas says it's important to donate to the toy drive for younger children who are getting the toys because if they see kindness given to them, they are more likely to give back as they get older. Sponsor Nicholas Belyayev says how important it is to give back to your community by donating.
“It is important to give back to give back to your community. Ultimately, despite the positive incentives we offer, the toy drive isn't about you, it's about your community. When you give back, you also give back to yourself. You feel better about yourself when you do things that are good for other people. You shouldn't want to give to others just because you get rewarded. You should do it because it's just a positive good thing to do,” said Belyayev.
What’s coming up?
WHS Band is getting ready for a month full of holiday events, and will be performing at the Christmas parade, Kris Kringle market, and the winter concert.
The parade will be on December 6 with the band leading the way through the streets of Whiting. The band will perform many holiday songs in hopes of lifting Christmas spirits and kick off the holiday events.
“I feel very excited. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and performing with the band will always be fun,” said Senior Briseida Lopez.
The band then performs at the Kris Kringle market for two days and at different times. Buyers love to hear music from the band while shopping for holiday goods. Band members also enjoy getting to perform for them and have a lot of fun.
Lastly, the band will perform at their winter concert on December 16. The band has been practicing for this since its last concert in October. Many of the band members enjoy this the most in December along with the multiple basketball games they play at.
“I like the Winter concert since the songs are very good, some are very loud and energetic and some are soft and calming, I really enjoy playing songs for this specific holiday,” said Junior Fatima Torres
Staff spotlight:
Mark Lambert is a U.S. history teacher at WHS. He also teaches dual credit U.S. history through Indiana University, current events, and a movie history class. Lambert has been teaching for 14 years - he started in Gary and has worked at WHS for the past eight years.
With teaching many classes, and with some changing each year, Lambert says his favorite class to teach was dual credit.
“I think the film class was exciting to teach last year as it was something that was different for the students as well as myself. Ultimately, the college class is my favorite as I know that students are receiving higher education credits and are asked to step out of their academic comfort zones,” said Lambert.
Growing up in Schererville, Lambert went to Lake Central High School. After high school, he went to Indiana University where he got his bachelor's and master's degrees. He taught for six years before coming to WHS. Lambert says his favorite part about Whiting is the small size.
“I love the small, tight-knit feel of WHS. I know the vast majority of students and can make an outsized impact here,” said Lambert.
Lambert knew he wanted to be a teacher by his junior year of high school. He had a love of travel and a teacher, Chuck Pollen, who was very inspirational and an enjoyable teacher with a passion. He says his favorite part about being a teacher is seeing the student's academic and personal growth.
Advice Lambert likes to give his students is to set a goal, find someone who has done something similar, talk with them, set a plan, track your progress, and adjust. He also says to invest your time and money wisely and as soon as possible.
Lambert also likes to quote Malcolm X who says,
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."
Student spotlight:
Finn Monroe is a sophomore at WHS and has been at the school since sixth grade. Monroe is a top 10 student in her class and hopes to move to the top three by the end of the year.
His goals for this year are to be himself and work hard. Monroe plans to make these goals happen by keeping up with his work and not letting anyone bring him down. Along with goals Monroe also has a lot of motivations this year in academics and personal life.
“Some of my motivations for this year are to get my license, get all a’s, help my friends, and just enjoy life to the best of my ability,” said Monroe.
Monroe is a member of multiple clubs at WHS. He is a part of the Student Council and Science Olympiad, and is a manager for wrestling. Monroe says his favorite to be a part of is the Science Olympiad and the challenges he gets to solve.
“My favorite club has to be the Science Olympiad. I started this year and I've had so much fun learning and adapting to challenges and figuring out how to do it all,” said Monroe.
After high school, Monroe plans to go to college to study both paleontology and archaeology. He hopes to learn and understand the histories of the world and help others to learn them as well.
“The past is so often overlooked. It has been a lifelong dream to study specifically fossils and ancient cultures,” said Monroe.