What’s Recently Happened
Boone Grove High School (BGHS) has officially wrapped up the fall semester that led the students and staff into a much-needed winter break. Before the break started, there was a lot that happened.
Students worked very hard during and even after school hours to prepare for their finals. On top of that, students from the choir department put in many long hours full of hard work to set up, successfully put on three wonderful performances, and take down all of the beautiful decorations for its madrigal performance. The guests could truly see the amount of time and effort that was put into this performance.
The madrigal performance is something that has always been a hit in the community to put everyone in the spirit of the holiday season, and this year was another year of success. This performance was long awaited because COVID-19 didn’t allow for a performance last year, so everyone was overdue waiting for this performance. The community was so excited that when tickets went on sale, all three shows were sold out in about three hours. This was a great way to lead everyone into the break.
What’s Coming Up
On January 5, 2022, students will be returning from winter break, but students will be anything but bored when they return. Starting off the new year, students will be getting adjusted to their new classes for the semester and will even be returning with the ability to be mask-free. Students are very excited for this upcoming opportunity. Seniors are especially elated because they feel as though they will be able to have a somewhat normal last semester of high school.
On top of all of that, students on academic teams are gearing up to start studying this year’s material with the theme of Canada. These students are getting ready to start preparing for the competition that is months away. It is unknown if the competition will be in person or virtual, but no matter what it is, it will be a great experience for the students who are selected to compete.
Even though there are not a whole lot of huge upcoming events, there are still quite a few things that are going to start off 2022.
Staff Spotlight
In the teacher spotlight this month is Athena Welbourne-Swetalla. Welbourne-Swetalla is the choir director at BGHS and truly impacts the lives of her students, which she refers to as “her childrens." Welbourne-Swetalla has been at BGHS for as long as most students and staff can remember and according to them, has built the choir program into something truly incredible. Many say she truly puts her entire heart and soul into her work and students, and they can tell that she really loves what she does.
For years, Welbourne-Swatella has put on many concerts and different performances, but one of the biggest performances that requires the most work is Madrigal. Being a smaller school, BGHS does not have a huge auditorium theatre, but somehow Welbourne-Swatella always manages to make the small school look magical and feel huge.
Welbourne-Swatella spends endless after-school hours to make sure everything is perfect for her students, and the students will never be able to express how grateful they are for everything she does. For Madrigal alone, she orders the food, calculates ticket amounts and prices, makes seating arrangements, decorates, and somehow manages to teach all of her students the music for the show. She has even been compared to a superhero because of the amount of tasks she has to manage.
Student Spotlight
Hayden Neis, a senior at BGHS, is in the spotlight for the month of December. Not only has he won homecoming king, but he is one of the members of the Social Studies Academic Team for two consecutive years, and the Vice President of National Honors Society (NHS). He was also a member of Rainbow Staff, a group of leaders that are specially selected to lead a life-changing retreat. Neis was nominated by students to be on homecoming court this year, and he was thrilled about it.
“I didn’t expect to win, but it was pretty awesome to hear my name announced,” Neis said.
Throughout the annual spirit week, Neis participated every day and went all out. He dressed up as a construction worker with the hard hat, and dressed to the nines for western day. His outfit even included a jacket that was from one of his friend’s grandfathers. It was obvious that Neis put in a lot of effort to make sure he got everyone excited for the upcoming dance.
Neis got the students excited for spirit week in other ways as well. He participated in games night, a night in which each grade level competes against each other in a series of games. The seniors were victorious in the games and Neis played a part in this.
Now, Neis is getting ready to start studying for the upcoming academic team competition. He is a crucial member of the team with his wide range of knowledge and love for history.