What's recently happened?
Westville High School (WHS) recently had its first Prom Committee meeting. The Prom Committee is a crucial aspect to the planning process of Westville High School’s prom held annually in May.
Robyn Markos is this year’s sponsor of the Prom Committee. Markos is the office secretary for WHS and is an enormous help around the school and in general. Markos’ contributions to WHS are not to be overlooked, and her dedication to WHS is very admirable.
The Prom Committee is made up of juniors. They help plan the prom for the seniors at WHS and for their class as well. The juniors brainstorm possible ideas for themes, arguably one of the most important aspects of prom. Last year’s theme was Starry Night, and it turned out to be extremely successful.
Along with coming up with a theme, the Prom Committee also plans where the prom will be held and the layout of the event space. The group also prepares the food and beverages that will be served at the event.
Without the Prom Committee, WHS would lose out on many opportunities that are available to the students on prom night. WHS can not wait to see the ideas that will make this year’s prom one filled to the brim with excitement and memories that will last a lifetime.
What’s coming up?
WHS’s theater class is putting on a show on December 2. The title of the play is “Little Red and the Hoods.”
The play is an adaptation of the famous story of Little Red Riding Hood with goofy characters and audience participation.
A band of actors, the Raggle-Taggle Players, end up in an unknown town and decide to put on a show with the limited amount of props and actors they have. Of course, the troupe of actors decide to perform “Little Red Riding Hood.” The story then follows the notorious fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood but with some comedy and extra scenes added.
The WHS theater class has a small number of students, but this play is perfect for the class as it only requires five people and a very minimal amount of props and costumes.
Preparation for the play has been ongoing for a while now. The students dedicate themselves to rehearsing their lines, preparing for the play, and creating a character that, when the play is brought to the stage, will be entertaining.
With the date of the play quickly approaching, the theater class continues to prepare in anticipation.
Staff spotlight:
Jessica Bules is an English teacher at WHS. Bules came to Westville in January of 2022. Along with English, she also teaches Yearbook and helps with planning what the yearbook will be like.
In college, Bules studied sculpture and art history. After she graduated from Valparaiso University with a B.S.F.A, (Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts), she went back to school and worked on a master’s degree in Education. Bules then obtained her teaching license.
Before becoming an English teacher, Bules taught art for 10 years.
She is currently in the master’s program for English through Indiana University.
“I chose English because I’ve always loved reading. I think it’s important for kids to know how to communicate,” Bules said.
Bules favorite things to do in her free time are cleaning, birdwatching, reading, camping, and going on walks with her dogs.
“I live on a farm, so I walk the farm. We have a creek that we go to and the dogs swim,” Bules said.
Bules is a fantastic edition to the staff at WHS. She is not only a wonderful English teacher, she is also a friendly person to talk to and have discussions with. Bules always has something interesting to say and can help tremendously with any English assignment.
“I admire the way she gets along with her students and how she has the ability to laugh with them.”
Student spotlight:
Nathyn Lumpp is in his senior year of high school at WHS. Lumpp has been going to Westville schools for a number of years. He looks forward to graduating and working full time at his job.
“I’m looking forward to planning for college and making more plans outside of school,” Lumpp said.
Lumpp is enrolled in dual credit and AP courses like AP Calculus, which is a very hard class with concepts that are difficult to grasp.
“I really like calculus because Mrs. Lancaster makes the class fun," he said.
Even though Lumpp is a part of many difficult classes at WHS, his favorite part of school is hanging out with his friends and making memories with them.
Lumpp’s goal for his senior year is to pass each class with a B or higher for each quarter.
When Lumpp is not preoccupied with school work, he enjoys reading, playing video games, and talking to his friends.
Lumpp offered some words of encouragement and wisdom that anyone can appreciate.
“I believe you can be good at anything if you just try. If you try at something for a long time, you will eventually excel at it," he said.