#1StudentNWI: Giving Thanks at Washington Township High School

#1StudentNWI: Giving Thanks at Washington Township High School

FCA at Washington Township
This is the first year of FCA at WT. FCA means Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This international non-profit ministry is focused mostly on teens involved in athletics at the school. The whole point of the club is to get athletes more involved with God and his teachings.

FCA is common at other school but has not been introduced to WT until this year. The student sponsor of this group is sophomore Kaitlyn Wilgus. She obtained this idea from John Kilavos from Heartland Christian Center.

“I thought FCA had an amazing concept that our school needed to be involved in. I have also gotten help from Kyle Stowers who is the FCA president at Morgan Township”, says Kaitlyn.

She is not alone with this concept and is appreciative she has had so much help from her friends. She says FCA at WT will be starting off slow, the main reason being that this is their first year.

Kaitlyn says, “By the time I am a senior (in two years) I pray to God that FCA will be the most popular club at our school, and I pray everyone will know about it! I hope for a huge change in our school and I can’t wait to see what God has in mind”.

Kaitlyn really believes FCA can strongly affect WT. She wants to show people how great spreading their faith can actually be.

Student Council and the Thanksgiving Tree
This month is November and that means that the scares of Halloween are over and the next big holiday is Christmas. But before everyone gets too excited about presents and snow, they should first think about the things in life they are most thankful for. Thanksgiving is at the end of November which means it is right around the corner.

When the holidays roll around WT brought out their generous side and put on their first ever Thanksgiving Tree. A Thanksgiving Tree is “an initiative started by the WTHS StuCo to provide the underprivileged community of WT with a means to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner like everyone else”, according to senior StuCo member Shyam Raman.

The idea was brought upon by this year’s StuCo board and sponsor Barbara Rea. The StuCo seeks to make the Thanksgiving Tree a yearly project.

Alicea Martin Dances Her Way into Basketball Season
Basketball season is approaching and junior Alicea Martin is gearing up. No Alicea does not drain threes on the court, she is getting prettied up to perform at halftime of the basketball games with the poms team. She has been a member since freshman year, so this year will be her third season. In middle school, Alicea didn’t ever think she would be a dancer, but when she got into high school something changed.

Alicea says, “I first decided to join poms my freshman year. Entering high school is one of the key milestones of life. So, to enter a new part of my life I decided to do something new”.

Even though is was a decision that put her out of her comfort zone, she still to this day doesn’t regret joining.

The brave decision Alicea made to join has really paid off. This year she was picked to be a team lead, which means taking on the role of being a bigger sister to the younger girls.

“I love being the team lead. Being one of the older girls on the team means I have to set an example. It’s a great feeling to know that I can impact someone’s life by not only leading my team the right way when they dance but also by leading them the right way in life”, says Alicea.

Last year when the team was put on probation she was honestly okay with it. She would rather the team be put on probation and be able to dance then be cut and not be able to dance at WT again. Luckily for her the probation took a right turn back to normal and not the other way.

Unfortunately, Alicea does not plan to continue her dance career in college, but she is treating every day like it is the last with her team. Even though seniors come and go year after year, the end of this season will be the hardest for her because the two seniors she started with will be leaving. Like any group of high school girls, they have their fair share of drama, but they get through it. They are and will always be one big happy family.

Scott Bowersock is Ready for the Season
Since basketball season is here, history teacher Scott Bowersock has never been happier. Mr. Bowersock is the varsity coach of the boys basketball team at WT. He has been a coach for 17 years both middle school and high school. This is his first year teaching history at WT, however, this is his sixth year coaching basketball at the school.

He says, “This year the varsity team hopes to contend a conference and sectional title”. Like in the past years, Coach Bowersock wants to make an impression in the Porter County Conference this year.

“My favorite part about coaching is teaching the players on and off the court. I also like seeing them grow as players and as students”, says Bowersock.

The 2015-16 season officially starts on November 25th and Coach Bowersock can’t wait.