What’s going on...
On March 13, a herd of excited juniors gathered near the stairwell, swarming a display case containing a single yellow sheet of paper. The paper contained the names of over a hundred juniors, and two seniors, who had been inducted into National Honor Society. Now, all the students are looking forward to the induction ceremony taking place March 22 at 7 pm.
After their finish on Saturday, March 18 at Herscher, the high school’s co-ed show choir called the Chesterton Sandpipers placed as grand champions with best choreography and best vocals and will be going to the National competition. The competition is going to be held on April 22, but the fundraising efforts start now. First is the “Movies for Music” fundraiser. The show choir will be hosting a movie night on March 23 with a double feature. The first movie is going to be Moana, and it will begin at 5 and run until 7 pm. The next movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which will begin around 7 and end around 9. The cost for one movie is $5, but for $7 gets you into both films. Concessions will be available for an additional cost.
The sixth annual Foreign Language Club Olympics are going to be held on Tuesday, March 21. Members of Spanish Club, German Club, French Club and Japanese Club will all compete to see who comes out on top. For the past few years, the German Club has been the reigning champions, but Spanish Club is hoping to ruin their streak. Events will include things like root beer chugging competitions for German Club and soccer related games for Spanish club. All events are loosely tied to the languages taught at CHS.
This past Saturday, March 18, members of the CHS Science Olympiad team competed in Bloomington at Indiana University. They medalled in several events, and even took second place with one. Also in exciting Trojan news, the CHS speech team qualified fourteen people for the national competition on March 4. The meet is going to be held in Alabama. They also won their state meet on March 11.
Student Spotlight
Junior Shaye McCarthy has been on the field and in the stands for every single home game, yet many don’t even recognize her. She’s a member of the marching band during the fall and a member of pep band during the winter. During the spring, she’s a member of the back up band for the show choirs. In the marching band, she plays woodwind instruments.
“In band,” McCarthy said, “I play the flute as my main instrument, but I also know how to play the saxophone.”
Her experience goes beyond just high school band.
“I've been playing the flute for about five years now, and I just started the sax this year.”
The camaraderie that comes with being in band is one of her favorite parts.
“My favorite part about band is how it's just one big family,” McCarthy noted.
She enjoys pep band for a similar reason.
“My favorite part about pep band is getting to play really fun songs and getting to hang with my friends and cheer for the basketball team.”
Being in backup band is fun for reasons other than just friendship.
“I really love being in back up band,” McCarthy said, “because I finally got to learn a new instrument. That is something that I have been wanting to do for a while.”
As a junior, McCarthy is no longer one the the “babies” in the band. She know has roles assisting the freshmen and sophomores who join.
“My current role as an upperclassmen is to help mentor the underclassmen,” McCarthy explained, “and to teach them how to march properly.”
One of the most impressive things to happen to the marching band happened last year when they won state and got to play Lucas Oil Stadium. McCarthy described the event as her fondest memory of marching band.
“My favorite memory from band was winning state my sophomore year. They said our name and we all started screaming and crying and hugging.”
Besides all her musical experiences, McCarthy is also a member of the Chesterton School News. Every Friday at the end of second period, classrooms all around the school tune in as CSN gives the weekly video announcements.
“I love doing the video announcements because it's a fun and different experience,” McCarthy said of her time doing CSN.
Although she can usually be found behind a tripod while filming the various segments of the announcements, McCarthy also loves having the camera and stage lights on her as she gives the announcements from behind the news desk.
“I honestly enjoy being both in front and behind the camera,” McCarthy laughed. “I mean, most people don't enjoying being in front of the camera so I’m always willing to do that as well.”