GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Volleyball seniors celebrate the end of their season!

What’s recently happened?

The Whiting High School (WHS) volleyball team celebrated its seniors on October 8 with a perfect game to end the season. The players hosted a game against Griffith High School and ended their season record at 16-7.

This year, the team had five senior volleyball players and one team manager. Everyone went all out for these girls and their manager to make sure it was a night to remember. Parents and teammates came early to decorate the gym and halls with pictures, balloons, and streamers. They also decorated tables for each senior to showcase their achievements throughout their volleyball career. 

“Senior Night was amazing, everything was perfect, and as I walked down the court, I realized the support, memories, and the friendships that I’ve had within my time at Whiting. The pictures posted on the wall represented my growth, and the team that surprised us as we walked to our tables. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to go through this journey with,” said Senior Alexis Perez.

To the girls, this night was extra special, as many of them have been playing since they were very young. Many also hope to continue to play in college. This is something the seniors will take with them forever. 

“Senior Night was very special to me because I have played volleyball since I was about 5 years old. While I was sad that it was all ending, I still felt very happy for my team and for the season. It was our best one yet, and I’m just so grateful to my fellow seniors as well as my amazing underclassmen who made the year so memorable,” said Senior Andrea Cabrales. 

While this might have been the end for the Class of 2026, the school can’t wait to see how far the team will go next year. 

What’s coming up? 

This year, Student Council started something new within the school: Socktober. A national event during October for people to donate socks to those in need, Student Council started this drive on October 1 and will end it on October 28.

Student Council started it with the goal of getting 350 pairs of socks donated. Not only is the high school doing this but the entire school district is participating, meaning whatever school building brings the most socks will also earn cookies. 

This is a way to get students involved and give back to their community. The Student Council hopes to continue this for the next few years. Those interested in donating can find a local school or participating store near you. 

Staff spotlight:

Nicholas Sanfratello is a history teacher at WHS. He teaches World History, Psychology, and AP Psychology. This will be Sanfratello’s fourth year of teaching, all here at WHS. He is the sponsor of the booster club and the cross country coach. Being a coach is a way he helps students achieve their goals. 

“I chose to coach cross country because a student asked me if I could. That student ended up not doing cross country anyway, but I stayed. I ran when I was in school and felt that I had things that I could use to help the students achieve their goals. Not only that, but cross country is a family, and that family dynamic is why I stayed,” said Sanfratello.

He has taught many different courses over the past three years, but he says his Psychology courses are his favorite to teach. 

“My Psychology courses are my favorite courses. I went to school to be a history and government teacher. Then I got to Whiting and learned that I am teaching Psychology, a course I never thought I would teach. Now, it is the course I look forward to teaching the most,” said Sanfratello.

After graduating from Lake Central High School, he attended Indiana University Northwest. After his student teaching at Munster was over and he graduated, he started teaching in Whiting. He says his favorite part about WHS is the students. 

“Since being here, I can confidently say that my favorite part of Whiting is the students. Yes, they have their days of driving me crazy, but in the end, their hearts are pure. They have great spirit and genuinely make my day better,” said Sanfratello. 

It was not his original plan to become a history teacher. He knew he wanted to become a teacher, but doubted himself and took a two-year gap to work after high school before going back to college. When he went back, he says he chose the wrong subject before switching to history. 

“I knew that I wanted to be a teacher; I just chose the wrong subject. My first subject was music, and I made the choice that I didn’t want my hobby to become my job. After that, I chose social studies. I was fascinated with the subject when I was in school and wanted to be the teacher I had to the students that I would teach,” said Sanfratello.

Sanfratello always tells his students to never stop learning, to set goals and never limit themselves. His strategy is to set a 10-year plan, to think about where students want to be in 10 years. 

“Set goals for yourself, make a plan to achieve them, and embrace the changes that happen along the way. My goals are always 10-year goals – what I want my life to look like in 10 years, who I want to be in 10 years. My next goal date is when I hit 35 years old, and my goals are to be married, have my first child, achieve my master’s degree, and move to Florida. Two down, two to go,” Sanfatello said. 

Student spotlight:

Maite Navarro is a senior at WHS and has been attending Whiting schools since middle school. She is the class treasurer, National Honor Society (NHS) treasurer, cross country captain, and a Top Ten student. 

Navarro’s goal this year is to graduate with her technical and honors diploma and remain in the Top Ten. She has stayed on track for both of these goals throughout all of high school with good grades and advanced classes.

“I plan to make my goals happen by staying on track with my grades,” said Navarro. 

She is a member of the NHS, Science Olympiad, class officers, the cross country team, the tennis team, and Spanish Club. Her favorite extracurricular is Science Olympiad because of everything she gets to learn. It is a time-consuming activity, but it teaches people a lot about science. 

“My favorite club is Science Olympiad because I enjoy learning new things about science topics,” said Navarro. 

Navarro is an amazing student not only academically but in athletics as well. This year, she was the team captain for the Girls Cross Country team. She has been running since she was in middle school for Whiting and watched it all come to an end this year while leading the team. 

While Navarro isn’t sure where she’ll be going to college, she plans to major in criminology.