GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Girls Flag Football, marching band, theater, and art shine at La Porte High School

What recently happened? 

The new La Porte High School (LPHS) Girls Flag Football team has been tackling its way through the season, recently defeating 21st Century Charter School in Gary. 

This is the first year LPHS has had a Girls Flag Football team, and the school will have it for another year. If this goes well, then it will be an official Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) sport at LPHS.

The main coach is Coach Jeremy Ruff, and he has been working hard teaching the girls everything there is to know. Members are thrilled for this new opportunity, and there is a good outlook for the rest of the season.

What’s coming up?

The LPHS Marching Band (LPMB) is competing in its first competition Saturday, September 14 in Tinley Park, Illinois. 

This year’s show is “Off the Rails” and it features songs such as “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and “Crazy Train.” The director is Joe Clark, and the show is written and designed by Chris Frick. Social Studies Teacher Sarah McGuire is the colorguard instructor, and Erica Petrie is this year’s drum major.

This will be the LPMB’s first year competing in this competition, and the band is very excited to take on this new challenge. Marching band judging consists of six categories: visual effect, general effect, musical effect, visual performance, and musical performance. Many competitions also have a crowd vote, where viewers can vote on the fan favorite band. 

The band will compete in two other competitions before its preliminary competition, and depending on its score, the band will make it to State finals in Indianapolis, which last happened in 2022 when the band finished 10th place.

In previous years, the LPMB has placed well at new competitions. The Elkhart invitational in 2024 brought a new challenge for the group, and it ran with it, so this competition should be no different. The outlook for this season is very positive, and the band is extremely optimistic for the rest of the season.

The LPMB’s next local performance will be at the upcoming football game Friday September 19, which will be Senior Night against Lake Central High School. The student section theme for this game is Senior Citizens.

Staff spotlight:

Candace Watters had been teaching art at Washington Township Middle and High School for three years, and this year she has begun teaching at LPHS. 

Watters came to LPHS looking for a bigger school with more students, and already she is right at home, stating that teachers and students have been very helpful and welcoming. She has a background in drawing and painting at Valparaiso University, and it is her main form of art. At LPHS, she teaches Intro to 3D Art, Sculpture, Jewelry, and AP 3-D Design classes. 

Creativity is crucial in an art class, and Watters emphasized how crucial creativity is, and how important the creation of art is. Art is an outlet for personal expression, and in her AP 3-D design class, she enjoys helping guide students 

“My AP art class has to be my favorite one to teach. Each of my students basically create their own projects, and I really enjoy seeing what everyone creates at the end of the year. Especially with our fashion classes being gone, it gives those students a way to continue their work,” Watters said. 

Outside of LPHS, Watters teaches adult charcoal art classes in the Chesterton Arts Center, and this is one of the many ways she continues to make art outside of the classroom. Charcoal is one of her favorite mediums, and she continues to do this in her free time. 

“Currenly I’m teaching an introduction to charcoal, and it’s almost like drawing backwards. I teach it so the dark values are first, and then the light values. This way is the most beneficial for beginner artists. It can be intimidating for beginners to put the first mark on the page, so when the paper is covered, it eliminates the fear,” Watters said. 

Watters hopes to continue working at LPHS for years to come, and to continue leaving a positive impact on students. She hopes to help inspire others to continue making art, even when it is intimidating or difficult.

Student spotlight:

Camryn Ruiz has been a part of the performing arts for six years, and her passion for this began with her love for singing. Growing up, she was always singing, and when she discovered theater, it was love at first sight. Hamilton kickstarted her love for the stage, and that love never stopped. With these many years in theater, she’s played many different roles.

“My favorite roles have been Cady Heron in ‘Mean Girls,’ Catherine Parr in ‘SIX,’ Lavender in ‘Matilda,’ Jasmine in ‘Aladdin,’ and Fiona from ‘Shrek.’ I loved these because they were my main roles, I wasn’t in the back, and I also loved my casts. Everyone got along really well, and it made it way more fun,” Ruiz said. 

Ruiz has done theater productions at LPHS, La Porte Little Theater, Chicago Street Theater in Valparaiso, and Premier Performance in Chesterton. As for choirs she has been in the LPHS choir as well as the Indiana All State Choir.

“I love choir because it’s given me more confidence in my singing abilities, and I love Mr. Tom Coe, my teacher, him and my friends that I made through choir have truly made my experience special. Its a place where I can really express and be my true self, and its been my favorite class all through high school,” Ruiz said. 

Outside of school, Ruiz works in retail and she takes care of her two younger brothers. She loves digital scrapbooking as well as writing. After high school, she wants to go to college to become a speech therapist and have a minor in musical theater. In the future, Ruiz wants to perform on Broadway in Chicago, and she hopes to continue pursuing musical theater.