#1StudentNWI: Back to School at Wheeler High School

On August 19, 2015, Wheeler High School students kicked off their 2015-16 year. We hope all students, teachers, and faculty members had a fantastic summer and welcome another fun-filled year at Wheeler. The beginning of this school year, as ones in the past, can be both an exciting and hectic time for all, as there is much to be done before the first bell rings.

To begin, new student drivers must obtain a parking sticker at the latest by Friday, August 21st, in order to be able to utilize the School’s parking areas. Please see Mrs. Bogs in the School’s office for the forms that must be signed by both the student and parents. The cost of the parking sticker is $5.00. Cars will be checked weekly this year so get your stickers this week!

Next, any student interested in joining the Spell Bowl Team should talk to Mr. Boruff in room 506. Last year, Wheeler High School received a 1st place ribbon in their division, and we look forward to continuing our winning streak. Additionally, junior class officers had a meeting in Mrs. Lucas’ room on Thursday, August 20th. We discussed future fundraisers, prom committee, and class shirts. The next prom committee meeting will be September 10th, in the high school library; all students are welcome to participate.

Moreover, Wheeler High School students can pick up their 2015 yearbook next week during lunch recess. The yearbook staff will have a table set up on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the week of August 24th. Plus, you can also save $5.00 with our back to school special on the 2016 yearbook, which costs only $60.00 until September 18th. For any questions, see Miss DeVries in room 511 for details.

Wheeler High School athletics started their year off with excellent results. First, the Girls Soccer Team beat the Hobart Brickies 4-1 on August 17th; congratulations to a great start to the season!

Furthermore, Varsity Girls Volleyball lost two close matches on August 17th and August 18th; Morgan Township won with a score of 3-2 and New Prairie won with a score of 3-1. However, Wheeler won both of their next two games against Hobart and North Judson with a score of 3-0, on August 19th and August 20th. Likewise, Varsity Boys Tennis lost 5-0 to Griffith but won against Andrean 3-2.

Wheeler High School’s Varsity Football launched their season opener against River Forest on August 21st and won by a score of 40-14. Quarterback Jake LaFever opened the scoring with a 26-yard throw late in the first quarter. As time expired in the period, he scrambled again into the end zone, this time from 28 yards out.

He finished the game with 83 yards rushing on eight carries, including three runs of more than 25 yards. Classmate Jacob Wasz got in on the act in the third quarter, rushing for touchdowns from 19 and 47 yards as the Bearcats began to put the game away.

“Jacob Wasz is the leader of our football team,” Bearcat Coach Klimczak said. “I think a lot of our guys really weren’t happy with the way that we played and Jacob, being the leader he is, wanted to lead by example. He got those guys motivated. They blocked for him and he showed them that when they do that he can finish.”

Wasz racked up 107 yards on eight rushes. He also caught all but one of LaFever’s completed passes, totaling 69 yards on six catches. LaFever was 7 of 14 through the air with one interception. Clay Turpin scored the final Wheeler touchdown on a 12-yard run in the third.

I would like to give a student shout out to Wheeler High School senior Jenna Giorgi. Jenna recently introduced to Wheeler High School students and teachers a brand new concept for getting classmates involved in extracurricular activities called WHS Score. With this new program, students can get live updates through the twitter page @WHSSCORE.

For example, some of the events that are posted include upcoming sports games, score results, pep block themes, and high school class competitions. Additionally, at Wheeler sports events, students have ways to earn their grades “Score Points” that will be tallied at the end of the year for a grand prize. As of August 22nd, the Score Standings are seniors, juniors, and sophomores tied with 5, and freshmen with 0. We are thankful to Jenna for presenting a way for students to get involved with their school and appreciate her hard work of arranging WHS Score.

In addition, I would like to give another teacher shout out to Wheeler High School’s Chemistry I and AP Chemistry teacher, Ms. Makarauskas, often referred to as Ms. Mak. Her position at Wheeler has been her first teaching position after completing her undergraduate studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. She has a B.S. Degree in Chemistry Education, minor in both Spanish and Psychology and is currently working towards her Masters in Chemical and Life Sciences through the University of Maryland’s continuing education program.

Ms. Makarauskas says, “As a class, we will use strong conceptual understanding, sound scientific reasoning, and clever chemistry-related pun creation in order to reach a mastery level of comprehension.”

We are grateful to have Ms. Makarauskas teaching at Wheeler High School, as she strives to create an inclusive and engaging learning environment for students.