What’s Happening:
GHS juniors and seniors celebrated prom on Friday, May 4, at the Halls of St. George in Schererville. The dance, with the theme of “A Night Under the Stars” included picture hour from 7-8 p.m., followed by dinner at 8:15 p.m., and then dancing until midnight. Halfway through the dance, prom king and queen were announced. This year’s court included junior girls: Christina Ahlquist, Aaryana Cano, Jessica Terzarial, Serena Duran, and Nina Cima de Villa, and boys: Andrew Davenport, AJ Wright, Diego Sanchez, Kyle Iwinski, and Josh Peterson. Seniors Ali Schoon and Alaa Mroueh, who won king and queen last year, crowned this year’s prom royalty: Aaryana Cano and Diego Sanchez.
After the crowning, students resumed dancing to music provided by “The Music Boyz." The crowning song this year was “All of the Stars” by Ed Sheeran, and the theme song was “Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay. Students spent the night dancing and partying with friends, and seniors reminisced on their last prom. Seniors Alaa Mroueh and Jake Dye made an announcement at the end of the night, thanking their fellow classmates for all of the amazing memories during their high school years.
“Senior prom couldn’t have been any more surreal. Nothing beats spending your last prom with friends that you’ve stuck with since middle school,” said Mroueh. “Prom is one of many memories I will reminisce for the rest of my life.”
After the dance, students spent prom weekend hanging out with friends and travelling to Chicago and Monticello.
What’s Coming Up:
As the school year comes to an end, it is time for students to be recognized for their accomplishments throughout the past two semesters, as well as all of their high school years.
Awards night for the Griffith Theatre Company took place on Thursday, May 10, where thespians were awarded for their hours spent on and off stage. Students earn points throughout the season by attending rehearsals, building sets, being part of crew, as well as for seeing other plays and musicals outside of school. National Honor Society hosted induction night on Friday, May 11, where incoming juniors and seniors were inducted to NHS through a pledge. New officers were introduced, and cords and tassels were handed out to graduates. Recognition night will occur on May 23. Students will be recognized by teachers in every department. Academic and outstanding student awards will be given, as well as awards unique to each department. On June 10, the graduation ceremony will be held in the high school main gym.
Student Spotlight:
Senior Cameron Bobos has been involved in soccer for four years, drama club, student council, and class council for three years, Best Buddies for two years, and National Honor Society for one year. He has been on varsity soccer for all four years, and lettered three of those years.
Bobos is heavily involved in drama, and recently played Harold Hill in “The Music Man”. Last season, he had the honor to play Prince Charming in “Cinderella”.
Bobis is also a member of Team USA for sport cup stacking, and had only been stacking for a few months before his first tournament in 2010. He has broken several state records, as well as one age divisional world record. A clip of his relay team even appeared in a Nike commercial.
Bobos has managed to juggle sports, clubs, and private vocal lessons, as well as maintain a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. He finished tenth in his graduating class this year with a 4.18 GPA.
Outside of school and clubs, Bobos and his sister enjoy making music. Cameron plays guitar, ukulele, and sings, and his sister, Jackie Bobos, plays guitar, ukulele, piano, and sings as well. The two have a very close sibling bond, which is part of the reason why Cameron chose to attend Valparaiso University in the fall.
Bobos believes that you should never be afraid to try new things, and never be afraid to get involved in multiple clubs and activities. His advice to others: “Learn to laugh, always push yourself, be humble, be nice, always be looking to help others, be responsible and work hard, and surround yourself with positive people.”
Teacher Spotlight:
Jim Graff has been an art teacher at GHS for 24 years, and is also the set director for the Griffith Theatre Club at the school. Graff attended Ball State University, where he graduated with a degree in Visual Arts Education. When he started teaching at GHS, Graff taught beginning drawing, advanced drawing and painting, jewelry making, printmaking, art history, and 3D art. For the last ten years, he has been teaching ceramics, 3D art, and photography. For classes such as photography and ceramics, students have the option to take 4 semesters of the class, and then can continue the class in an independent research course. Senior Collin Meadows took all four semesters of photography, and now continues taking photos and completing projects during his IR period.
“Graff has taught me a lot about photography. I like his teaching because you start off in photo 1 using film,” said Meadows. “Using a film camera allows you to learn the technical fundamentals of photography, so that by the time you move on to digital photography, you already know how things like auto focus work. Graff understands the ins and outs of photography, which ultimately makes you become a better student.”
Outside of classes, Graff is the technical director for the Griffith Theatre Company at GHS, which he has been involved in for the last 16 years. Graff designs and builds sets with the help of student crew members, and teaches them how to design, build, paint, and more. He also teaches students how to operate the lighting and sound systems for shows and concerts in the auditorium.
In his free time, Graff enjoys travelling with his family and fishing. Before 2002, Graff shot photos for the Indy 500, and even had a featured photo. He still attends the race every year.
“I love what I do. I couldn’t imagine a more rewarding career,” said Graff. “It brings me joy inspiring young adults and seeing that “aha” look on their face when they finally master a step, procedure, or concept. Everyday brings something new. The bonds I have made with both students and staff here at GHS will last a lifetime.”