What’s recently happened?
The Girls Volleyball season is in full swing at Boone Grove High School.
With so many girls wanting to be involved this year, both the varsity and junior varsity (JV) teams were completely filled.
Volleyball conditioning began during the summer on June 6. They were open to any girls interested in joining.
As school quickly approached, these practices became more about honing skills and working together. Soon enough, JV’s first match was scheduled for August 16. Fortunately, the hard work paid off because the team won that game and all the games that followed.
JV was first up against great high schools like South Central High School, Rensselaer Central High School, Oregon-Davis High School, River Forest High School, Hebron High School, Bishop Noll Institute, Wheeler High School, Hanover Central High School, and Washington Township High School.
"Our JV team has won against all of these teams, making us undefeated right now," said Ella Wilson, a sophomore and JV member.
With a total of 12 girls on this team, their dedication and teamwork are some of the main factors that help them succeed.
Even after all their wins, the JV volleyball team is not quite finished.
"We’re about halfway through the season. Our last game is on October 5," said Wilson.
Boone Grove is placing its full support behind the volleyball team and is hoping for an amazing rest of the season.
What’s coming up?
Boone Grove’s first home football game is a few short weeks away, and the new track and field are almost finished.
Previously, Boone Grove had to have its home games at Valparaiso High School. During track season, the team even had to travel to the middle school to practice.
This new addition is an exciting step forward for Boone Grove, and anticipation grows with each passing day.
The dance team, cheer team, and newly formed marching band and color guard will all be performing during the game.
"We’ve been working on our performance for a while now, so we’re all really looking forward to the game," said Mitchell Saco, a junior and member of the dance team.
Boone Grove hopes to see all the seats filled with supporters on October 14. Whether you’re a student, parent, or friend, there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy.
Staff spotlight:
Troy Janesheski is the new chemistry teacher this year at Boone Grove. After the previous teacher moved away at the end of last year, there was a lot of anticipation regarding the open spot. Luckily, Janesheski has fit right in with the school and its students.
He grew up in Valparaiso and graduated from Valparaiso High School in 2014. Janesheski stayed in his hometown for college, graduating from Valparaiso University (VU) in 2018.
Janesheski did not always want to become a teacher. Rather than knowing from a young age, his passion for teaching began later and grew stronger as time went on.
“I started out as a laboratory tech to become a chemist, but I realized that I was too social for the lab,” said Janesheski.
He was originally a lab coordinator at VU’s chemistry department, and it was through this that he realized he wanted to teach.
“I always enjoyed working with older students, so this was my segue in,” said Janesheski.
Before coming to Boone Grove, he was an adjunct instructor at VU for Core and an introductory science class in the Bloom Scholars program.
Janesheski chose Boone Grove because he wanted to start his teaching career somewhere close to home. He liked how tight-knit the community was.
From teaching a variety of science classes to becoming the captain of the Spell Bowl team, Janesheski has been very busy. The new year has been amazing, and he enjoys getting to know his students.
“I do not think I will ever get tired of teaching because there is always something new happening—very, very few jobs can make this claim,” said Janesheski.
As for the rest of this school year and in the incoming years, his goal is to establish a framework for the physics and chemistry curriculum. Janesheski hopes to learn the ins-and-outs of teaching high school students and is looking forward to the future.
Student spotlight:
Juliana Domiguez is a senior at Boone Grove. She grew up in Crown Point, Indiana, and has lived in Lakes of the Four Seasons her entire life.
Dominguez started at Boone Grove in the fourth grade and has been there ever since. Throughout her eight years at this school, she’s learned a lot and become super involved with activities.
Just this year, Dominguez has been involved in 10 sports and clubs. Color guard, cross country, Key Club, STEM Club, Academic Team, and track are just a few of the many extracurriculars she participates in.
While juggling both honors level classes and her long list of afterschool activities, Dominguez still manages to hold a job outside of school. She has been an employee at El Jimador for about two years now and has loved the experience.
She thrives in school and has received many awards for her hard work.
"Some of my accomplishments include getting Academic All-Conference, receiving Captain and MVP for cross country, and being elected treasurer for both Key Club and STEM Club," said Dominguez.
Tons of memories have been made throughout her school experience, whether they be happy or sad.
"My favorite memory in my four years of high school was going to Regionals for cross country as a team. I was also practicing running hills when a bird flew straight into my face. All I saw were feathers," said Dominguez.
With senior year comes the struggle with all things college. Luckily, Dominguez has known what she wants to do since she was a kid.
"I plan to attend college next fall to study pre-medicine. Some of my future goals would be to attend Harvard University and accomplish my dream of becoming an oncologist,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez is an amazing person, in and out of the classroom, and is sure to accomplish all of her goals.