January’s Full of Opportunities at Valpo HS

January’s Full of Opportunities at Valpo HS

What’s Happened?

Before VHS students even got back to school, The VHS Speech team traveled all the way down to Fishers, Indiana near Indianapolis, to stay a night in a hotel and participate in a speech meet. Welcome to 2019!

VHS students have been settling into their old routines or picking up new ones. The start of the new year has been busy. Students have jumped into studies, started projects, and dove into sports or activities outside of school.

The students of VHS received a great surprise to start their year. During a school-wide convocation on January 13, students learned that Valparaiso High qualifies to be a unified school for “Champions Together.”Champions Together is an organization partnered with the Indiana Special Olympics organization that promotes servant leadership of student-athletes to include students with Intellectual disabilities. During this convocation, students learned what Champions Together was about, what that entails for the school, and how that affects them. Students got to watch a short, informative video, listen to multiple speakers, and at the end, those brave enough to volunteer went up front to do a dance challenge. The winners received a huge box of mac and cheese!

What’s going to happen?

Meanwhile, the VHS Musical students are preparing for the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) district competition happening on February 2. The competition acts as a goal to work up to, and musical students are excited for the big day. The competition features band instruments solo or group, and voice solo or group.

With the new year starting, new clubs and opportunities have popped up, such as the Muslim Student’s Association (MSA). The MSA aims to build a community of Muslim and Non-Muslim students at VHs to help educate the student body about Islam, clear misconceptions, and to empower Muslims within Valpo High.

Also, college opportunities for Juniors and Seniors are being presented. Savannah College of Art and Design is coming to VHS to talk to students, and the Valparaiso Noon Kiwanis will be offering two scholarships to graduating seniors. This year is just starting and it’s already full of exciting opportunities!

Speaking of exciting opportunities, Valparaiso High’s annual Winter Formal is happening February 9, at the Old Town Banquet Center in Valparaiso. Students are getting very excited about it and are starting to plan for the wonderful night! It’ll be a blast!

Student Spotlightvalpohs2

August Nord is a Junior at VHS who is a part of the Speech and Debate team, doing Prose Speaking on the Speech team’s interpretation side. Nord also dabbles in music.

“I’m president of Abstract Horn Playing, which is a club I created that is basically my friends and I playing ensemble music,” Nord said.

Nord’s view toward her future is a little blurry. She wants to go to college, but is still searching for the perfect fit. Nord is a wonderful asset to VHS. She on the Speech, Debate, and Mock-trial team, and is in Band and Choir, too.

Teacher Spotlightvalpohs1

Mr. Aaron Riegle is the main choir teacher at VHS and has been working as a music teacher for almost 18 years. “I had wonderful music teachers growing up and I was blessed to have them as teachers and as mentors, and now as friends. So I was really influenced by the music teachers in my life when I was a student.”

He really enjoys teaching at VHS and is joyful that there are so many highly motivated musically-responsive students.

Mr. Riegle is a strict, but fair teacher, and also cracks a joke or two when needed. He aims to treat each student like a professional but understands that they’re still students who need help fixing things.

Mr. Riegle is an excellent teacher who focuses on the groups and the individual, which is critical in a choir.