GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Through expression and education, Portage High School learns together

What’s recently happened?

Madness was all-around for Rachel Calderone and Annamaria Dimov’s joint poetry class at Portage High School (PHS). Dimov and Calderone, who co-teach the class, set up a March Madness style ranking of different poems. Each day, students would read two poems and vote on their favorite. This poem would move up the ranking, until the end when they would cast the final vote on the best poem from that month.

The winning poem was “An Almost Made Up Poem” by Charles Bukowski, which was beloved by many students. Senior Hailey Freeman in particular loved how it talked about deeper topics.

“It was such a captivating poem about loss and love. I was hanging off every word when I read it,” Freeman said.

Even those whose favorite poem did not win still enjoyed the activity. Senior Maliah Vaughn enjoyed the poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou because of its positive body message.

“She talks about loving herself from her head to her curves and to her steps. I feel like women and girls today need to hear more of it because of all of these impossible beauty standards,” Vaughn said.

Whether their favorite poem won the tournament or not, each student won a new appreciation for different types of poetry.

What’s coming up?

A cautionary tale of high school struggles and intense drama will be told in the form of this year’s spring musical: “Mean Girls.” The musical tells the story of Cady Heron, a girl who moves to America from Africa.

Throughout the show, Heron questions where she belongs in this new environment. That is until she meets the Plastics, three girls who teach Heron how to function in the system, no matter the cost. As the story progresses, Heron starts to find her own standing in this system.

Behind the scenes, students have been working hard to put on the best performance possible. Junior Bailey Leonar is an actress for the play who has been working alongside her fellow actors to make sure the dance moves are just right.

“My favorite part has definitely been blocking scenes and getting to watch everything come together. Despite the pressure, everyone’s been performing so well,” Leonard said.

Iconic characters such as Regina George and the seemingly fearless Janis Ian will take a new light on the PHS stage this April 24-25.

Staff spotlight:

English teacher, cross country coach, theater sponsor – Tylor Hudson has a lot on his plate. Despite several time-consuming commitments, Hudson gives each one everything he has. His greatest passion, cross country, is something he did when he was in high school. A Portage alumni, Hudson found the transition from cross country student to teacher slightly jarring.

“The biggest shock was honestly being able to call my old coach, who helped me so much, by his first name. It still feels disrespectful, even if he’s my coworker now,” he said.

Hudson coaches cross country at Willowcreek Middle School. At middle school, he tries to be as involved and encouraging as possible, even running alongside students during practice. Hudson has a favorite tradition on the team, one that has passed down from former coaches.

“We give these red, white, and black beads to the students to put on their shoelaces to show the friendship on the team. I still see them on shoes in the halls from students who were in cross country years ago,” Hudson said.

A big emphasis in Hudson’s teaching style is humanity. He tries to connect personally to each of his students, wanting them to know he sees them as more than just another student.

“I want students to see me as a human being. I don’t want them to see me as just a robotic teacher. Yes, I maintain a level of authority and respect, but I like to be more on their level,” Hudson said.

This emphasis on humanity is how Hudson got into the profession in the first place. Initially planning on pursuing other careers, Hudson came into a classroom by chance.

“I never actually planned on becoming a teacher. One day, I took a substituting position for something to do. I was scared because I had heard students were all entitled, but I was shocked to find that they were just misunderstood and needed someone to try to understand,” Hudson said.

Although Hudson may not have originally intended to become a teacher, he excels in the career. His lessons stick with his students for years. Among these lessons, Hudson has one final message he wants to stick with his students the most.

“It comes off like a cliche, but it’s true. Don’t take your youth for granted. I always tell my students that I was their age a couple weeks ago,” Hudson said.

Student spotlight:

Junior Maya Kosovich has done just about everything possible in the theater department. Over her three years in theatre, she has been involved in acting, set building, costumes, props, dressing, run crew, and being an assistant stage manager (ASM). Though Kosovich explains she loved all of her roles, one from her sophomore year stood out as her favorite.

“My favorite thing to do has been being an ASM. I got to experience being in a leadership position. It also gave me a bigger perspective on all the moving parts of being in a show,” Kosovich said.

Through six shows, one shining memory stands out to Kosovich as a prime example of why she keeps coming back to theater.

“During our most recent play, ‘Reunion After the End of the World,’ our elementary school performance was electric and the crowd of kids were so expressive throughout the whole show,” Kosovich said.

The elementary school performance, where the high schoolers give elementary-aged kids a full viewing of the show, is the intersection of Kosovich’s two passions: theatre and teaching. Kosovich is currently in the Early Childhood Education vocational course, where students spend half of their schedule teaching at local preschools. Teaching is something Kosovich has known she’s wanted to do for years.

“I have always known I wanted to be a teacher, and I loved coaching young kids during my first job, so teaching preschool was the perfect opportunity,” Kosovich said.

In teaching preschoolers, there’s no shortage of cute moments. In the vast ocean of memories, Kosovich picks out one in her mind as a shining example of her being in her vocational.

“During Thanksgiving, the kids performed Thanksgiving-themed songs for their parents that we taught them. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen,” Kosovich said.

For anyone who may be considering going into theatre, a vocational, or anything else they may be scared of, Kosovich wants them to know one final thing.

“Do not be afraid. Theatre is something that I remember being nervous to try, but it ended up becoming one of the most important things in my life. It’s totally worth trying something you might be interested in,” Kosovich said.