Student Spotlight: Claire Lopez
Claire is a sophomore at VHS and is an outstanding student. She is liked a lot by her peers.
“She is one of the nicest people I know, very positive and easy to talk to,” said Mira Carlson, also a sophomore at VHS.
Claire is 15 years old; she plays Volleyball and runs Track on the Track team. She’s also in Fellowship for Christian Youth (FCA), where she has led lessons with the group.
She enjoys High School so far, commenting, “I like high school a lot, it’s been really nice getting to know a lot of different people, and being able to get involved in different clubs and activities.”
Claire also stated, “In five years, I want to be in college somewhere studying and hopefully be in a successful job as soon as possible once out of school.”
Claire said that she plans to go to college to be either a nurse or a physician’s assistant.
“I think that the medical field is something that is so interesting and ever-changing, and I’d love to be able to help people in any way I can,” Claire said.
Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Mckim
Mr. Mckim teaches geography and History of the World at VHS. He is a very funny, kind, honest, and charismatic teacher who makes each and every one of his lessons as interesting as possible. Mr. McKim has taught for over 10 years.
His reason for choosing teaching as his career is sweet and simple: “I had other teachers impact me as a student and I wanted to help other people improve.”
Mr. McKim is always willing to help out a student who is confused on a topic or needs a better explanation of something that was discussed in class.
Mr. McKim is also one of the football coaches for the Valparaiso Vikings. The Varsity team just participated in the regional football competition against the Crown Point Bulldogs on November 9 and in the semi-state finals against the Carmel Greyhounds on November 16. Mr. McKim stated that the Vikings successfully won against The Bulldogs with 23 points against 6 points. Go Valpo Vikings!
Mr. McKim is a great teacher to go to for help with homework. He’s hard-working, kind, and helpful.
What’s Happening?
At VHS, The Drama Club presents the Broadway play “Peter and the Starcatcher”, which is a prequel to “Peter Pan,” on November 16, 17, and 18. This Broadway play has won 5 Tony Awards. The Drama club members have worked very hard on this play. Students at VHS are very excited about seeing it.
The whole school is getting into the swing of the Holidays. The VHS Music Department have all been continuously practicing for their upcoming winter performance, “This is Our Story,” for two nights in December. To help contribute to “This is Our Story”, artists from Art teacher Mrs. Ruiz’s Drawing 1 classes have made covers for the program sheets for the Concerts. The whole school is debating on which two covers are our favorites, which will then go on the programs.
The Valpo High Key Club is an international, student-led organization that provides its members with opportunities to provide service to others and the community, form character, and develop leadership, not to mention make good, strong friendships along the way. This month, Key Club is going to rake leaves on Saturday, November 17 with other organizations like K-Kids, Builder’s Club, and Kiwanis. What fun!
What’s Happened?
At VHS, a lot of the excitement of the past month has worn off and students are looking forward to the month of December. But currently the exciting thing happening this month is the IHSAA Football Regionals against the Crown Point Bulldogs, and the Vikings’ semi-state game against the Carmel Greyhounds.
Our Varsity and Junior Varsity football teams have done a fantastic job this year, beating multiple rival teams and winning games like the Sectionals against Chesterton.
Our football teams have proven themselves to be a great example for our school to look up to, using teamwork, gaining friendships, and pushing themselves to get where they want.
The VHS History Club went to the Valparaiso Nazarene Church on Monday, November 12, to listen to Eva Mozes Kor’s story about how she and her sister, Miriam, survived Auschwitz and the “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele, who tortured Eva and Miriam, plus other twins.
All students in 6th-12th grades from the Valparaiso Community School district recently had an “E-learning Day” on Election Day. This “E-learning Day” included homework assignments from each of their teachers that they had to do on the computer. Each teacher was to assign at least 20 minutes of homework for students to complete.
This month, both Freshmen and Sophomore classes at VHS were visited by the Porter County Career Center for more information as to what vocational classes they could take once they reached Junior year. Students around the Porter County area are lucky with the opportunity to try out the different occupations that they are interested in during their Junior and Senior years, allowing them to understand what they could potentially be signing up for.