Photo by Jaime Diaz

The Spanish club took their annual trip to Chicago, Illinois on the 19th and 20th of April. This trip was planned by Spanish teachers, Megan Johnson and Gina Schuetter. “The students had a great trip to Chicago. They were a wonderful group. They were able to experience some of Chicago’s main attractions, authentic Spanish and Mexican cuisine, language, and culture in the big city,” said Johnson. Schuetter and Johnson made sure that students learned more about Spanish and Mexican culture. They attended the National Museum of Mexican Art as well as The Field Museum, which included displays noting the history of the Ancient Americas. “There are other relevant cities that hold a rich Latin-American US History, but Chicago is the closest. Perhaps we can make it to another destination in the future, like San Antonio or St. Augustine. . . who knows” stated Johnson. The club members were also able to visit a historically settled neighborhood, called Pilsen Village. It became a Spanish speaking neighborhood after the migration of many Mexican Americans. Being able to take educational but fun trips such as these is creating more interest in clubs around our school.

Featured image provided by Jaime Diaz.

“The Scratch,” also known as 93.7, has been around since 2014 and has come a long way since then. Students have their own radio shows and get outside experience when learning the ropes of radio stations. This years radio shows are: Mosh Pit, Trap Shack, Throwback Thursday, and Nerdcast. “It’s a lot of work over the course of the year to build and improve the station, so this day is like a day to celebrate what we’ve accomplished,” said Nick Hodell a member of the Radio and TV two class. The students that contribute to the radio station will continue to work hard through the rest of the year and plan to not only improve their station next year but to make important new changes. “I think it’s the talent that has made the station more personable and we have added new members from all different social groups so this day really reflects on all of our accomplishments,” remarked Hodell.

Senior Ashley Whitsitt (L) and junior Olivia Hedinger performed a duet together during the production of Freckleface Strawberry April 22. “It took a new level of dedication because of how many more lines and songs I had,” says Whitsitt, who is used to being part of the supporting cast. “Everyone was so supportive and it made the process easier and fun.”

Theatre students took the stage April 22nd for their production of “Freckleface Strawberry”. A musical about embracing each other for our differences and loving ourselves the way we are, “Freckleface Strawberry”

was a student run musical by seniors Emma Grow (director), Morgan Decker (music director), and Kiara Abelar (choreographer).

“It was a lot of fun working with everyone, but it was challenging for me to transition from the competitive dancing I do to the theatrical dance,” expressed Abelar, whose been competitively dancing for five years. “Overall, I was amazed and proud of how the whole production turned out.”

Grow has been in theatre since middle school and has starred in many musicals since. She plans to continue her love of theatre in college, pursuing a career in musical theatre.

The musical starred senior Ashleigh Kleiman, junior Kylie Krempp, and freshmen Lydia Grow, Ethan Fritch, and Amos Buschkoetter, as well as senior Ashley Whitsitt, who took the main lead as Strawberry.

“In the past, the most I’ve had was a supporting role, so experiencing a new side to performing as a lot of fun,” enthused Whitsitt. “I learned a lot through the process, and I’m grateful for the experience.”

“He’s really the heart and soul of the team,” said Routsen of junior Ryan Woodard. Woodard has been a member of robotics teams for five years, and through robotics he has sharpened his skills as a mechanical engineer.

The robotics team, officially known as the Thundercats competed in three stages, or degrees, of competition throughout the week of Spring Break. Level one was hosted at Mishawaka, level two at Plainfield, and level three at West Lafayette. The purpose of this years robot was to move through obstacles and shoot cubes into different areas on the field.

Robotics is different from many clubs at JHS. The club provides students with the ability to develop interest in engineering and learn technical skills. “Stick with it,” advised senior Carson Vaal to incoming members, “as you learn more it becomes easier and more fun.”

FIRST is an organization created in 1989 by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the segway, to“hone teamwork skills, and in a six-week timeframe, build and program a robot from a standard kit of part to perform prescribed tasks against other competitors on a 27’ x 54’ field,” as described by the FIRST website. Jasper High School’s robotics team participates in FIRST Robotics Competition, one of the four categories in the FIRST organization. For more information on FIRST programs visit https://www.firstinspires.org/.

“I feel like theater has this sort of effect that most other things like sports don’t have. Theater allows you to express yourself in a whole new way. It allows someone to escape the stress and struggles of their day and become a character on stage. Rock of Ages was definitely a journey. I loved it, and with an amazing cast and crew the show all came together and it was such an amazing experience,” said Hessler.

Theater is wonderful through its vocal melodies, it’s beautiful plot, and its increasing interest overall. Jasper High School has some amazing actors in its presence. The students began planning Rock of Ages, set in Los Angeles on Sunset Strip, at the beginning of January and have been working on it with a whole lot of passion. They performed the past weekend to the public, selling their tickets online and at the door. The auditorium was packed with students and adults from the community. Hit classic songs were incorporated into the musical, including “Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi, “Every Rose Has its Thorn” by Poison, “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger, “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and numerous others by Styx, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, and Europe.

“To me, theater is a place where you can go and forget everything that’s going on in your life or in school and have fun. Everyone is so welcoming and passionate about theater and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Sample.

Junior Riley Sample and senior Jacob Hessler preformed as the main characters, Sherrie Christian and Drew Boley. The play brought in some great recognition for the theatre’s organization. They believe that theater is a way to relieve your stresses of the day and how everyone is so welcoming in the program. This shows how important it is to the students of Jasper High School. Other students in the play included Ethan Fritch playing Lonny, Conner Fritch playing Dennis Dupree, Amos Buschkoetter playing Stacee Jaxx, Morgan Decker as Anita Bath, Kylie Schweikarth as Hilda, and Jack Greener as Franz. 

Rock of Ages included people seeking fame, waitresses, a big time rocker, a club owner, and many other characters. The spectrum varies widely. The music got everyone in a rocking mood, and overall everyone had an amazing time. The singers sounded amazing and the acting was spot on. Didn’t catch the show? The musical puts on four plays a year, and you can always catch the next one if you couldn’t make it. Interested in joining next year? Theater is a class, but you can do it just after school if you wanted. Talk to Mrs. Luebbehusen if interested. The shows the program puts on are always captivating and make you want to watch them again and again. Rock of Ages did just that, as will the rest of their performances this year and the years to come. Rock on!

Jessica Hurst is the Vice President of the club, with the duties of fundraising, coordinating time for their tourneys and trying to get more members. “People should join next year, it’s a ton of fun,” said Hurst, “ping pong is interesting with lots of surprising turnouts.” If you like playing ping pong and having fun, then this club is for you. They have plenty of opportunities to join, and if you have any questions, see Mrs. Spellmeyer.

On Thursday, April 19th, fifteen Jasper High School students will be venturing on to Chicago, Illinois for Spanish Club. They will be departing that morning and will be traveling through the big city, sightseeing and discovering various museums and cuisines. The group will be touring and visiting Hancock Observation Tower, the Magnificent Mile Navy Pier, and they will be doing Spanish related activities as well, including visiting a Mexican Museum of Art, and they will be going to Pilsen village, which was settled by Mexican immigrants, where students will be able to practice their Spanish in a native setting. They will be visiting and getting a cooking demonstration at Emilio’s restaurant as well. The trip will continue on until Friday evening, and the students are extremely excited to have a great time exploring this beautiful city.

The Spanish club has hosted numerous activities this school year, including a movie night, going to the movie theater, a pumpkin carving, and a few others. Upcoming, shortly after the trip, there will be a party on May fifth for cinco de mayo. The Spanish club always offers various activities for the students to do. The fifteen students paid for their trip with a few short payments and are anticipating their departure. Mrs. Johnson, a Spanish and English teacher at the high school, is one of the teachers who is hosting the trip. It has been two years since they last went, a she is hoping that this will return into being an annual trip like it recently was. Mrs. Johnson stated, “I am excited. I like seeing the kids immersed in the culture and they get to practice their Spanish a little bit when we go to Pilsen village and that’s always fun to watch them in an authentic setting right here in the US.” The students going seem to be highly excited as well.

The club loves to see new faces each year, as well as the teachers. Spanish club allows you to be immersed in a different culture and you get to have fun with all of your friends. The Chicago trip is always a great experience. Next year there may be another Chicago trip, so if you missed this one, don’t fret. Join Spanish club next year and be included in on all of the fun. Jasper gives us various experiences, and this is just one the high school has to offer. To all of the students going, have a good time, and adiós!

All photos used were sourced from Google.

Thursday and Friday of this past week, covering the girls senior night game against Boonville and the boys homecoming battle with county rival Northeast Dubois, some of the program’s leading contributors have been working hard to try and produce the best live sporting event that they could without the program only doing one previous game in its history…earlier this past basketball season.  With the direction of Mr. Evan Elrod, the program advisor, the students included a three camera setup along with the usual audio feed of The Scratch to compliment the visuals.  What is even more impressive about this latest ambition is that the program has had a lot fewer members to work with than the impressive Radio/TV 2 class of the 2016-2017 school year.  It has certainly been a struggle, as with nearly no example to go off of in past years for this particular program, they could only look at what other schools have been doing.  There have also been some technical issues to work with as the setup used over those two games has never been done inside of Jasper High School’s gym.  With time, though, the program is getting things together on the setup and the improvement has been imminent in the improving quality of work as an increase of experience has led to a somewhat better quality of a production.

From here, there are certainly a number of paths to take for the radio and TV program at Jasper High School that may lead to more games being produced and streamed and perhaps even a consistent schedule.  However, one thing is clear.  With Mr. Elrod advising and the students producing, there is no looking back from the days of the past.  This program seems ready to tackle more challenges in the future days and years ahead that may send shockwaves to the bigger schools competing in the IASB state competition and send a message that Jasper is one to remember in the broadcasting field.

On left Ashley Ortiz, freshman, is next to Lexi Matute, junior, both on the USI trip. Both enjoyed the trip and thought that it was very helpful and motivating experience

The Youth Latinos Unidos, the first of its kind at JHS, is a new program created to help Latino students and parents to get more informed with the school and their children’s education. “Helping out our parents and helping ourselves, I feel like we are really misunderstood and we get placed in the back burner compared to other people,” says Viviana Ramos about the purpose of the new club. On Wednesday November 15 the YLU club  went on a trip to the University of Southern Indiana in hopes of motivating them to continue their education after graduation in high school.

The USI trip made most of the students realize how college really is, and even though the beginning can be a little scary, it all pays off for your future. They saw the inside of dorms, how a day is at USI, and what each building had to do with the college. This trip showed the YLU students that they can have a future and that they can go to college without following the stereotypes of after graduating high school, you have to go straight to a factory to start working.

Hannah Pardo, freshman, nocks an arrow at the second archery club practice of the year. Photo by Mila Vernon

This year Archery Club is aiming for a great year as club members get excited for this years archery season, so if you’re looking for a club to join and you like archery look no further!

Archery is about learning balance and aiming to shoot, you learn how to shoot different ranges of distance with different bows and arrows. You may also learn what type of archery you’re interested in, and which bow will work best for you. On the side lines, you also learn how to how to create a bond with other club members, and instructors.

The club meets every Monday at 5:30 for shooting practice, and every Wednesday during homeroom in Mr. Polen’s room for updates on the club. The young clubs first competition will be on December 16. You do not have to have experience to join, you can you be a beginner and know nothing about archery and you will still be able to join the club because that is what it’s for, so you can learn. So if you are looking to join this club, hurry and look for Mr. Polen, the sponsor and coach of the club, and ask about how you can join and get ready to shoot, aim and fire!