#1StudentNWI: Washington Township’s dynamic February

What’s recently happened:

Throughout February, students have invested a lot of time and effort into academics, extracurriculars, and hobbies. 

On February 9, Washington Township combined with Morgan Township and Kouts High Schools to host a blood drive at the Porter County Expo Center. In total, the blood drive had 80 people donate, with Washington Township having the most people donate. Since each donation of blood can go to three people, up to 240 people may receive blood from the East Porter County blood drive. 

On February 12, band students from both middle and high schools participated in the district solo and ensemble. In total, Washington had 28 students receive a gold rating and four students receive a silver rating. 

Seniors Isabella Flores and Brendan Gschwind participated in a class one solo and received a gold rating. Since they were awarded gold, they continued to perform at state. At state, both Flores and Gschwind received a gold award again. 

Choir students also competed in their solo and ensemble competition earlier this month. Senior Kaela Ebeling received a gold award and will continue to compete at state. 

What’s coming up?

The month of March brings endings to basketball, but new beginnings and competitions for softball, baseball, and academic teams. 

The boys basketball team is preparing for the end of their season. They played their last regular-season game on February 25 against Morgan Township. They will compete in their first sectional game against Covenant Christian High School on March 2.

The softball and baseball teams are preparing for the start of their seasons, with their first games occurring in the last week of March. 

Students in the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) will participate in the state competition beginning on March 6. All ten Washington Township members of DECA have advanced to compete within the state competition. 

The high school band will host a chicken noodle dinner on March 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. The band is hoping to utilize the money raised from the tickets to buy new band uniforms. 

Staff spotlight

Jennifer Butler demonstrates her care for students through the many activities she uses to teach her classes about the culture of many Spanish-speaking countries. Butler teaches Spanish 1, 2, and 3 classes. Based on the interest each year, Butler also offers Spanish 4 as an AP class some years. 

On Día de los Muertos, students can find Butler walking through the halls during passing periods with traditional sugar skull makeup. Near holidays, students can walk into class learning an interesting aspect of different cultures’ holidays and their different perspectives. 

In the first years of Spanish, students focus mainly on learning grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure, but Butler keeps students engaged by utilizing various projects and assignments that allow for students to show their creativity.

During Spanish 3, Butler focuses more on culture and aspects of daily life in other countries since students learned the basics in previous years. Additionally, students can apply their knowledge to an interview project where students attempt to do an interview while speaking Spanish. Students also have the opportunity to learn about Hispanic artists of different time periods. 

While teaching Spanish classes, Butler is also supporting students. Within her classes, she achieves learning about different cultures by sometimes relating to students’ experiences. Students feel understood in her classroom because she promotes students expressing their opinions and stories. Butler also coaches the high school spell bowl team. In 2021, the Washington Township Spell Bowl Team won the class IV state-runner-up award at the state finals.

Student spotlight

Whether it be on the soccer field or in academics, Senior Spencer Moore stands out.

Moore has played high school soccer since his freshman year. Playing varsity since his freshman year, he has set many new school records. He set the school record for most goals in a high school career, reaching 90 goals. During his senior season, Moore set a school record for the most goals in a season with 35 goals. 

Additionally, Moore received the Boys Soccer Mental Attitude Award this year, which highlights one soccer player from the Porter County district that illustrates high sportsmanship, academic performance, and athletic ability.

“While playing soccer, I have learned about the importance of hard work and perseverance,” said Moore.

In the future, Moore intends to study engineering at Purdue University.