What’s recently happened?
This month, the Valparaiso community celebrated the annual Popcorn Festival in downtown Valparaiso. The streets were filled with food vendors, businesses, and hundreds of people excited to be a part of one of the biggest events of the year. The Washington Township High School (WTHS) Marching Band happily represented its small school in the most awaited event of the day: the Popcorn Parade.
Every year, the marching band, led by Justin Thompson, pulls off an incredible performance in the parade. Popcorn Fest is the biggest performance of the year, and the band ensures they are prepared through summer band camp and many practices.
“I love hearing how impressed people are with our band and making our small school known,” said Senior Baritonist Jacy Schmidgall.
Throughout the parade, the WTHS band was encouraged by the community with spectators proudly yelling how professional they looked and sounded. For a small school, it meant a lot to not just the band but the WTHS community to be able to represent the district in such a large parade and get such a huge amount of positive feedback.
“When I first came in 2004, we didn’t do the Popcorn Parade,” said Thompson, “I think it was 2007 when I decided we needed to be in it. It really bothered me that people didn’t know who we were when we were a school just outside of Valpo. I wanted to make sure the people of Valparaiso knew who we were.”
Since starting the Popcorn Parade, the WTHS band has grown from only 15 students to 50-60. New opportunities such as performing in the Popcorn Parade have been a huge part of that growth, and WTHS is continuing to expand.
What’s coming up?
October is a big month for WTHS. Students love celebrating the spooky season by watching scary movies, attending fall festivals, and participating in school events. There are many opportunities for students to volunteer with October events through Key Club, such as the Great Pumpkin Challenge at the YMCA on October 22, or the Halloween Howl Fest on October 21.
Along with the Key Club events, the WTHS Student Council will be volunteering at one of its most fun events of the year: Spookfest. All Washington Township School (WTS) families can come to Spookfest, held at the elementary school, to play fun games, get candy, and show off Halloween costumes. To volunteer at Spookfest, contact Barbara Peres.
Staff spotlight:
Thompson has been a familiar face at WTHS for all 20 years of his career and is widely known by the community. He is the Chick-Fil-A Superstar Teacher and is a big reason the WTHS band has grown so much. Students love having Thompson as a teacher for his fun personality and dedication to his students.
Thompson, originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, wanted to become a teacher after trying out a class in college and finding that he enjoyed it. He got his bachelor's degree in music education from Ball State University and a master’s in education from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Thompson is involved in a lot at WTHS. While teaching sixth to 12th grade band students, Thompson also coaches the Social Studies Academic Team and leads the drum line, marching band, pep band, and jazz band. His wife, Melissa, coaches the WTHS Color Guard, and they have one son named Remy.
Thompson is the number one supporter of the students at WTHS, bringing a positive attitude to any event he does with the band and ensuring that activities are fun.
“My favorite part of band is probably the spring band season. My favorite things are high school contests and then a lot of trips we take when we get to May,” said Thompson.
The WTHS band has gotten opportunities to perform in Cleveland, Ohio and Orlando, Florida in the past, and it’s something the students look forward to every year. Thompson prioritizes getting to know his students and being able to support them with these fun and unique experiences.
“Always look for the good in the world,” Thompson said. “Students today are so exposed to bad things, and it’s important to take the time to look around in your day-to-day life for the positive things.”
Along with music, Thompson enjoys golfing, swimming, traveling, and spending time with his wife, son, and dog, Freddy.
Student spotlight:
Senior Jason Cahillane has attended Washington Township schools since he was in kindergarten. Over the years, he has participated in soccer, cross country, track and field, and academic team. Currently, he is a clarinet player in the band, a four year member of National Honor Society, and has captained the soccer team for two years.
“I’ll really miss soccer; that’s been a part of my life since kindergarten. Marching band can be tedious, but it is satisfying when we sound good and everyone is marching in step,” said Cahillane.
After high school, Cahillane plans to join a trade union and eventually become an ironworker. If he could live anywhere, Cahillane would like to live in Italy or Germany.
“’I’m hoping that my goal of becoming an ironworker works out. That would make a good living and I could possibly move to a city to make more money. Maybe down the road I’ll get inspired to try something new,” said Cahillane.
Cahillane is known as an extremely hardworking student, which is shown through his dedication on the soccer field and in school, and those around him are confident his success will continue on his road to becoming an ironworker.
Along with sports and school activities, Cahillane enjoys playing video games, building computers, and wants to learn how to ride a motorcycle in the spring.