GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Chesterton sets off September with dashing dance moves and musical melodies

What’s recently happened?

This past week, Chesterton High School (CHS) celebrated an eventful week promoting its 2026 homecoming dance, held Saturday, September 26. The week-long hype session prepared students for the highly anticipated dance, whether it was the daily spirit week themes, the yearly Chesterton homecoming parade, or the Friday night football game: there was lots of excitement revolving around the dance.

Some of the school themes this year included: Adam Sandler day, monochrome day, and class color day, encouraging students to engage in school spirit. This year’s homecoming parade was a dazzling success, followed by a clean sweep victory against Portage High School (41-12). The meticulous planning put into the week, done by the school’s Gold Standard Club, helped bring students more enthusiasm than ever.

A unique theme, “A Walk on the Beach,” had students excited to dance the night away. With dresses and suits perfectly tailored, the school-wide dance was full of music and nostalgia. Held in the Chesterton Cafeteria, the dance was a staple that kicked off the school year.

A traditional aspect of homecoming week is nominating and voting for homecoming king and queen. This year, the homecoming court consisted of Emma Dobson, Mia Gonzalez, Addison Lane, Finn Duffie, Mace Redman, and Colin McCoy, including the 2026 homecoming king and queen, Jackson Vann and Claire Sutter.

Students across all grades came together to take in the fabulous night. Once again, Chesterton put together a homecoming dance worth remembering.

What’s coming up?

The Chesterton Choirs are gearing up to perform their annual fall concert on October 8. This performance is the heart of the choir department, bringing together all the best voices. CHS’s showchoir drifters and sandpipers, along with choir classes bell canto, concert choir, and camerator, all have a feature in this production. One freshman drifter, Paisley Cherkins, gave an insight into the upcoming production.

“It will definitely be inspirational,” said Cherkins. “All the songs we’re singing are very uplifting, and I think that’s what everyone is going to bring to the table.”

This year’s songs illuminate themes of stars and bright lights, soaring the audience through the skies limitlessly. A CHS rendition of “I See Stars,” from the popular musical version of “Mean Girls,” is expected to steal the show.

“Even though we’re just standing and singing, you can still convey so much emotion through the songs, and that’s our main goal,” Cherkins said.

This upcoming concert also marks the beginning of practices for their January competition show performances. Cherkins shares that this year’s show choir theme is “Thanksgiving,” which will include many food-themed songs, along with singers dressed as classic Thanksgiving food dishes.

With these exciting productions up ahead, the Chesterton choirs are ready to bring their best performances to the stage.

Staff spotlight:

Tom Biel has been a computer science teacher at CHS for five years. He received his bachelor of science degree from the United States Military Academy, where he majored in computer science. After college, Biel served in the U.S Army for five years. He served as a tank platoon leader in west Germany, taking the lead on various maintenance and surveillance missions.

After his years of combat, Biel returned to his hometown, commuting to Chicago to work for a consulting firm for United Healthcare. It wasn’t until a Junior Varsity (JV) soccer position opened up in 2018 that his feet were permanently planted back in Chesterton.

An assistant soccer position later turned into a teaching opportunity for Biel. After their former Computer Science teacher quit, Biel stepped into the position. One teaching license later, Biel was here set as Chesterton’s new permanent replacement. Although, Biel didn’t get there right away.

“I actually applied to be a teacher at Chesterton High School when I first moved back and they rejected me, because I did not have a teaching license,” Biel said.

Biel said one of his favorite things about teaching is being able to help kids grow in a field he is so passionate about. He came from a family of teachers and is following in his parents’ footsteps. He loves being able to be that source of assistance for students, and he credits a lot of his teaching principles being instilled in him in the Army.

“It’s fun watching the light go on for students who are struggling, working with them to get over that event horizon, then all of a sudden it clicks. That’s a powerful feeling to be able to help someone get over whatever their challenges are,” Biel said.

Aside from coaching soccer at CHS for five years, 2026 is the first year Biel is sponsoring different after-school clubs. He’s been a part of creating a new CHS club, NACLO (North American Computerized Linguistics Open Competition), along with another exciting after-school program starting this year, the Rescue Initiative Club. This club hosts fundraisers and collects donations for local rescue facilities.

Biel and his wife have six rescue cats at home, so this was a project he knew he wanted to be a part of. While Biel has a busy day-to-day life, he still finds joy in keeping his passions incorporated into work.

Student spotlight:

Jesse Arevalo is a big personality with an even bigger heart. The sophomore student has quite the hectic schedule, but he’s set on filling his time with things that help him serve others.

Arevalo is involved in the boys’ swim and dive team, United Track and Bocce Ball, Baking Club, World Culture Club, Red Cross Club, and Unified Buddies. He also works as a lifeguard at the Duneland YMCA.

Arevalo has a genuine love for helping others. This love was ignited by his family who are heavily involved in the healthcare industry, inspiring him to want to work as a physician assistant. He has goals to attend Valparaiso University in the future to receive his master’s.

One thing about Arevalo is that he is a force to be reckoned with. With Dolly Parton as one of his biggest inspirations, he sets out to live a life free of judgment while embracing his authentic self.

“Don’t care what people think, just be weird,” Arevalo said. “Everyone’s doing their own thing, it doesn’t really matter what others think or say about you, because they’re gonna say it anyways, so let them say it.”

His enthusiastic persona reflects a sincere integrity in showing others that they shouldn’t be afraid to show the world who they are. Wear the clothes you want to wear, and do the things you want to do. No one really cares at the end of the day.

This mindset follows the standards that he holds for himself in his everyday life, and the advice that he would give to other students.

“Invest in your life, because not everything is going to happen quickly. It’s gonna be a long process, so take it day by day,” Arevalo said. “I’ve always invested in the good things, because you could be chasing little things over and over, but they’re never gonna last.”

Investing in yourself and the life you want to build is exactly what Arevalo does in his day-to-day life. He is focused on pursuing the things that make him happy, and living a life that is purely his own. He is able to find joy in his everyday life, because he’s conquered the key concept that life is what you make of it.