Once more, the end of the school year has come. It has been a tough year dealing with COVID-19 at Morgan Township High School, but the students and amazing faculty have made it through. This last month, Morgan Township High School celebrated their accomplishments with a series of events to have some fun during the final weeks.
This month, on May 7 and May 8, the high school drama club got the opportunity to perform their play, 12 Incompetent Jurors. The lead was Senior Johnny Buyer who has been in drama club for six years since he was in sixth grade.
“Being the lead role was a fantastic experience as it helped me grow in my skills for drama club and helped me organize and focus on memorizing lines and learning how to lead the show,” Buyer said.
Another student, Freshman Taryn Hand, also got to participate in the play this year. Hand has also been part of drama club since her sixth grade year, making this year a total of four years. When asked what her favorite part of drama club was, Hand discussed how it was the people around her who make it special.
“My favorite part of drama club is getting to be with such an amazing cast and crew,” said Hand. “There are so many good actors in drama club, and just getting to hang out with them is truly amazing.”
This month, the school had the annual art show to showcase the work students have created throughout the year. Multiple amazing art works were featured and students enjoyed seeing their work on display.
Morgan Township Art Teacher Shelby Braun has been teaching art for 17 years. She loves that art has no boundaries or rules which makes it fun and easy to create and teach.
“I love that I get to have students starting in sixth grade,” said Braun. “It makes it very fun to teach them as they get older. They keep me feeling young since they help me stay with the times.”
Senior Madison McGinley created a beautiful hanging dragon sculpture that was showcased at the art show. McGinley has been in art for four years. When reflecting on what the best part of her was, McGinley noted how she loved seeing her confidence grow throughout the class.
“My favorite part about art this year was coming into ceramics class thinking I was terrible and then actually winning a $250 prize for my clay teapot,” said McGinley.
As the end of the year comes to an end, so do the classes. The last weeks of school are a rush for teachers and students to get in assignments and prep for finals. To ease the anxiety, Morgan Township Principal Chris George came up with karaoke and a dodgeball tournament. At designated lunch periods, a group of three to four students or a solo student was allowed to go up on the stage and perform some karaoke with their song chosen from a playlist of multiple songs. Few students did, but the ones who chose to really enjoyed themselves and the other students and faculty enjoyed the show!
The end of the school year is official when the 2021 graduating seniors attend the ceremony and receive their diplomas for their hard work and dedication. The seniors walked through the halls of the school one last time on May 24 while the other students and teachers applauded and cheered for them. When asked what the graduates were excited about most, many discussed their plans for the future.
Senior Jamen Barker shared how the welcoming friendships he made as a new student at the school made his experience all worth it.
“Graduating is relieving; I am ready to start something new,” said Barker. “My favorite part of high school at Morgan Township was the friends I have made and the friendly atmosphere here are Morgan. I went to school in Virginia for 18 months, and that school was like a sardine can filled with piranhas. Here, I feel like I can belong and be myself and no one will have a problem with it.”
Senior Savannah White touched on how excited, yet reflective she is when thinking about graduation and what is yet to come.
“It's so exciting to step into this new chapter of life, but is also bittersweet to leave the familiarity of high school,” said White. “My favorite part was being able to be a part of a smaller community that cared for each other. In the next few years, I will be attending Olivet Nazarene University.”
Seniors Emma Rakowski and Lauren Moore agree with Barker in their shared sense of relief.
“It feels very relieving and satisfying to be done with high school,” said Rakowski. “My favorite part of high school is having the freedom to be independent, and my favorite part of Morgan Township is the small atmosphere with all the kids. I plan on attending Purdue University to study nursing this fall.”
“To graduate makes me feel relieved, like all my hard work has finally paid off for this moment,” said Moore. “My favorite part is the relationships I found with not only my classmates, but with staff as well. In the next few years, I am going to study psychology at Rollins College in Florida to become a forensic psychologist.”
Senior Tate Ivanyo reflected on how quickly his entire high school career flew by.
“Graduating feels a little crazy and sad that it's already here, but it’s exciting to be starting something new,” said Ivanyo. “My favorite part of Morgan Township was getting to meet people, make friends, and be part of a close community. I plan on attending Anderson University to play basketball and study biology and chemistry.”
Emphasizing how the transition following high school graduation can be overwhelming, Senior Carle Palmer discussed how she has both excited and bittersweet feelings surrounding graduation.
“It feels really weird to be graduating. Everything went by really fast, but I’m glad I got to spend it here,” said Palmer. “My favorite part was probably doing certain projects, pep rallies, and making friendships that I kept from middle school. For the next few years, I will be working in cosmetology by getting my cosmetology license through vocational and working in a salon right out of high school.”
Julia Erdelyi’s excitement for graduation and what’s to come next was clear.
“It feels fantastic to graduate. I will never have to look back,” said Erdelyi. “My favorite part was eLearning – I have never been able to feel comfortable and learn so much until I was able to eLearn. I plan to decompress from all the stresses of high school and then continue my education in the field of psychology.”
Elliott Bland shared a similar perspective as Ivanyo, touching on how quickly everything is moving forward.
“It is really crazy that the whole grade is graduating and soon to move on to their next step in life. It is really hard to believe,” said Bland. “My favorite part of high school was coming here freshman year knowing no one and now having some of the closest friends of my whole life. My upcoming plans are to attend Miami University in Ohio. I will study business and then hopefully graduate to do something in that professional area.”
Taylor Chandler discussed how there are many highs and lows throughout high school, but in the end it’s exciting to be here heading into graduation.
“It feels relieving to graduate. In high school, you learn some of the most important parts of yourself,” said Chandler. “You go through heartbreak, which sucks at the time, but makes you learn so much. You go through failure, which gives you motivation. You go through friendships that will teach you the type of friend you don't want to be. I will be attending Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame to study pre-law.”