What’s recently happened?
Washington Township High School (WTHS) has a unique tradition of holding its annual Homecoming in the winter instead of fall. The basketball season is huge for WTHS students and families, so WTHS’s Homecoming is marked with the biggest basketball game of the year.
Leading up to the game was Homecoming Week, a week full of fun themes and costumes the students wore to school. The themes are different every year, but this year the dress up days were Adam Sandler Day, Pajama Day, Barbeque Dad and Soccer Mom Day, Rhyme Without Reason Day, and Extreme Spirit Day. This year, the students went all out, and even the teachers dressed up daily.
“My favorite day was Barbeque Dad and Soccer Mom Day. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up.” said Sophomore Layla Reeder.
Throughout the week, everyone was incredibly excited for the Friday night games against Boone Grove High School. The student section was huge and as energetic as anybody could imagine. Both the girls and boys teams played against Boone Grove and won in two very competitive games.
Between the two games, the Homecoming Court was announced.
Six students from each grade were chosen to be on the Court, with the juniors and seniors voting in their Prince, Princess, Queen, and King. This year, the Homecoming Princess was Ava Hart, accompanied by the Homecoming Prince Donovan Jorczak. Cody Johnson was crowned Homecoming King just before Rachel Churchill was crowned Queen.
The next night was the Homecoming dance, held in the WTHS cafeteria. This year, the dance had an emerald theme. Students danced for hours to familiar songs such as “Bad Blood” but also to fun songs like “Cha Cha Slide” and “Cotton Eyed Joe.”
“I enjoyed Homecoming; it was pretty fun,” said Junior Rocco Carden, who was also on Homecoming Court. “The mosh pits are always the best parts of Homecoming in my personal opinion. The Homecoming game was fun as well, and I had fun hanging out with my friends during the game and dance. Even if I didn’t win Homecoming Prince, I had a good time no matter what.”
After another great year, the students are excited for the next Homecoming season.
What’s coming up?
The first semester has finally ended, and students can take a breath after finishing their finals. Currently, WTHS is on Winter Break; school will reconvene January 8.
With the second semester starting comes a lot of exciting moments, especially for the seniors. In their final stretch, they have a lot to look forward to, such as Senior Nights, the Senior Trip, and graduation (though that one is a little further off).
In February, the seniors will be traveling to Orlando, Florida, to visit Universal Studios for three full days. While they are there, the seniors will get the opportunity to learn about the physics of roller coasters, but most are more excited to just spend time together in their last bit of school.
“It’s weird that this is our last semester of school. I’m excited to go to Universal Studios,” Senior Elizabeth Ferjo said.
Along with that, the basketball season continues into January and February. The basketball team is practicing vigorously along with the dance team, cheerleading squad, and band to be able to perform at the games.
Staff spotlight:
Scott Bowersock has taught social studies at WTHS for 10 years and serves as the Boys Basketball coach. Bowersock has the most wins of any WTHS Boys Basketball coach, with 170 under his belt and four conference championships.
“I like coaching basketball because it’s a great avenue for student athletes to learn about adversity, accountability, responsibility, and to accomplish goals as a team,” Bowersock said.
Every year, Bowersock works incredibly hard to balance teaching his students and preparing the basketball team for the season.
Bowersock is originally from Darlington, Indiana, and attended North Montgomery High School. After that, he went to Wabash College and double majored in history and education. Bowersock went on to get his master’s degree in education from Indiana Wesleyan University and taught for 12 years at North Judson High School before coming to WTHS.
“The big reason why I came to Washington is because this is where I was able to get my first head coaching opportunity, but even more so, I wanted to be part of the very high academic culture that we have here at WTHS,” Bowersock said.
Now, Bowersock lives in Washington Township with his wife and four kids. In his free time, Bowersock enjoys watching sports and traveling with his family.
When he retires, Bowersock wants to continue to be a strong role model for students and athletes and find ways to give back to the community.
Student spotlight:
Sarah Boby, a senior at WTHS, has been a student at Washington Township Schools since kindergarten and lived in Washington Township all of her life.
Boby is a committed student, participating in National Honors Society and the American Association of University Women. Boby is also a determined athlete, playing on the basketball team all years of high school and the soccer team her senior year. She even won the Heisman High School Scholarship, which is given to students who perform as outstanding academics, athletes, and community members.
After this year, Boby plans to attend Concordia University in Wisconsin to study pharmaceutical sciences with a minor in business.
“My dream job is to have my own small town pharmacy in Wisconsin,” Boby said. “One of my sisters and my dad are nurses, which influenced my career decision.”
Outside of school, Boby can be found working a lot or spending time with her family, which consists of her, her parents, and her two older sisters. Boby also enjoys reading and trying out new hobbies.
As a senior, Boby has gotten to experience a lot of fun activities with the senior class.
“My favorite high school memory is the senior Chicago trip. It was a ton of fun to get to spend a whole day with the grade and experience a big city like that with everybody,” said Boby.
Boby is very involved in the WTHS community and will be missed after graduation.