Kindness All Around
In order to promote student camaraderie and improve compassion within its halls, Portage High School has started its very own “Chain of Kindness.” The rules are simple: faculty members look for students doing good deeds; this can be as simple as holding the door open for someone or helping a teacher retrieve their fallen papers.
That simple act of kindness is written down on a strip of construction paper along with the person’s name. All of the strips are connected in a circular shape to create a chain. The goal is to hang up the chain in the hallways and try to connect the chains of the east side of the building to the west side of the building.
The chain is very close to being completed and is already having a positive effect on the student body.
“The chain is a reminder that no everyone is as bad as they may seem,” junior Juan Guzman said. “Everyone has had something good [happen] to them or they have done something nice. Connecting [the chain], represents that we stand side by side within the school.”
Gymnastics at Ball State
The gymnastics team competed at the State meet on March 21 at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Teams from across the state were in attendance and though Valparaiso stole the show with a first place win, the PHS girls finished strong.
Madison Kurtz placed 18th on vault and 10th all around. Delaney Barcelli placed 26th on vault. The team as whole ended the season with a seventh place finish.
Lights, Camera, Winter Sports!
Roll out the red carpet because it’s time for the winter sports awards! The banquet occurred on March 16th and honored all of the winter athletes, but only eight were named the most valuable players.
Seniors Jordan Collazo and Kaitlin Doud were the MVPs for boys and girls basketball respectively. Senior Alexis Pena was honored for cheer. Shelby Sutphin and Madison Kurtz, both seniors, were named the MVPs for dance and gymnastics respectively. Ricky Delreal and Nancy Michko, seniors, were honored for boys and girls swim, and senior Steve Lawrence was the MVP for wrestling.
All athletes represented Portage well and played a great season.
Student Shout Out
This month’s student shout out goes to sophomore Kaitlyn Shafer who, along with Katie Steers, was chosen as one of the top 100 basketball players in Indiana to compete and play in Indianapolis. Those players will be performing in front of college coaches for a chance to play at the collegiate level.
When Shafer found out that she was chosen for this opportunity, she was honored.
“I felt excited and honored to be chosen,” she said.
According to Shafer, though she is nervous about playing, she is looking forward to challenging herself. The road ahead will not be easy. There will be drills for them to do all while being observed by the college coaches. According to Shafer, they will then be broken up into teams and will play in a scrimmage.
The Underclassmen Showcase will take place on July 7.
Teacher Shout Out
This month’s teacher shout out goes to the Mr. William Timmerman, the band teacher at Portage High School.
Timmerman is currently directing the Northwest Indiana Jazz Educators Big Band along with other jazz educators. The band is made up of several Jazz teachers from across northwest Indiana.
The band will follow Tom “Bones” Malone on Wednesday, April 8 at seven in the evening at Valparaiso University for the 2015 Jazz Fest.
Upcoming Events
• Varsity baseball plays Valparaiso High School at home on April 14th
• Godspell, the musical, will premiere on April 17th and continue with shows on the 18th and 19th as well as the 24th and 25th
• Varsity softball plays Crown Point High School at home on April 20th
• Girls tennis plays Hammond Morton High School at home on April 21st
• Boys golf plays at Munster on April 27th
• Boys track is at Crown Point on April 28th
• Girls track competes against Crown Point at home on April 28th
• The ACES Banquet will occur on April 29th at Woodland Park