#1StudentNWI: Merrillville Teams Up for Safety and Fun

#1StudentNWI: Merrillville Teams Up for Safety and Fun

Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate

Basketball season has come to an end, and it was time to say goodbye to our senior class of basketball players. As they walked across the pirate head on the gym floor, emotions filled the gymnasium. The five seniors were honored as this chapter of their lives came to a close. Johnny Bernard, Braeden Stubbs, Jaylon Holmes, Robert Sanders and Nakia Chinn have all played a great game. With a win against Warsaw, it was a great way to end a great home season with the Pirate seniors at the forefront.

School Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

With the recent school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and in Great Mills, Maryland, the administration, along with student leaders believed that it would be productive to hold a school safety summit. The summit was held during school hours and student leaders from a variety of activities including sports, academic clubs, and music groups all attended. The panel of adults included the head principal, the active superintendent of Merrillville Community Schools, the school’s head of security, the school’s resource officer, the vice president of the Merrillville Community Schools School Board, and the corporation’s diversity director.

Each adult on the panel was asked a series of questions about school safety ranging from lockdown procedures to mental health. Students were allowed to voice their opinions about how well Merrillville High School is handling school safety and how it can be improved and implemented. For instance, a student mentioned how unsafe they felt with the numerous amount of doors that are left open at the beginning of the school day. Immediately the following week, the school addressed the issue and decreased the number of open doors. Each morning Principal Mike Krutz states, “School safety is everyone’s responsibility.” Considering that there are over 2,220 students and over 100 teachers that enter the doors every school day, it is everyone’s responsibility.

Academic Take-Over

1Student-Merrillville-March-2018-02“We’re going to state!” was a phrase often heard in the hallways this year as many of Merrillville High School’s academic teams dominated their competition. The Mock Trial team took its second trip to the State Mock Trial Finals, hoping to improve and raise their scores from last year. They did improve in their overall team scores, moving up six places from their standings last year and also having an overall best witness winner, Danielle LeGrand.

Not only did Mock Trial have success, but Merrillville’s robotics team also made it to state, placing 2nd overall in Indiana. Led by the school’s first female robotics captain, Hailey Karpen, the team used their tech-savvy computer skills to create a robot that could be controlled by a phone connected to two Game-Boy controllers.

Last but certainly not least, Merrillville’s Quiz Bowl team took their first trip down to Indianapolis for the State Quiz Bowl competition. Answering questions ranging from what words start with the letter “Q” to balancing chemical equations, the Quiz Bowl team made Merrillville proud.

Seniors vs. Staff : Who’s better?

1Student-Merrillville-March-2018-03The most anticipated Merrillville basketball game of the year: the student versus faculty basketball game. The gymnasium will be packed full of energetic students hoping that they can finally receive a win against the teachers. There’s a twist, though, none of the players from the boys’ basketball team are allowed the set foot on the court. It is up to their peers to secure a win against the faulty. The student team is made of all seniors who are ready to show their skills against the reigning teacher/faculty team.

The students fought hard, but lost to the teachers 41-52. However, the school spirit was through the roof. With the juniors wearing all black and the seniors wearing all white, Merrillville showed their school spirit.

Student Spotlight : Rob Sanders

1Student-Merrillville-March-2018-04Robert Sanders has spent most of his high school career on the basketball court. As a senior, he has much to look forward to, senior portraits, the homecoming dance, senior breakfast, and so much more. However, basketball took the number one spot on his high school to-do list. He owes a great amount of his success to basketball, as it gave him leadership skills, taught him how to be a mature young adult, and kept him in shape.

“By the grace of God, college basketball programs are showing interest in me because of it, and it has been a great addition to my life and will provide many opportunities in the future,” Sanders said.

Teacher Spotlight: Josh Harvoth

1Student-Merrillville-March-2018-05Mr. Harvoth went from graduating from Merrillville High School in 2002 to coming back to Merrillville and being a very influential teacher. After high school, he attended Columbia College in Chicago and participated in an internship at NBC. Later in life, he came back to Merrillville High School to give back as a teacher in the class that changed his whole life: radio and television.

Pirate News Network (PNN), is the school’s broadcast show televised to all of Merrillville High School every Friday. Mr. Harvoth teaches students how to run live television broadcasts, how to film and edit their own productions, and how to critique films. He also stepped up to be the head coach of the Merrillville Boys and Girls Swimming and Diving team. Being a successful swimmer in high school, becoming the coach was a no-brainer. He has been the coach for two years consecutively, inspiring the lives of future swimmers.