Lakers Shine in Fall Sports Tournaments:
Fall sports are drawing to a close at La Lumiere, and the boys soccer and football team competed in tournaments at the very close of their season. The boys soccer team only lost one game this year and won the Bremen Invitational in September, a feat no La Lumiere team had ever accomplished.
They then qualified for the Boys Soccer State Tournament, and progressed to the Championship game. There they had a stellar showing against Kings Academy, winning five to one. Goals were scored by senior Trent Schermer, freshman Devin Killeen, and a hat trick by senior Keyvan Jalinous. Senior Alex Kuiken left the game in a shutout, but the Kings did manage to score one goal at the last second on the Laker’s upcoming goalie, Thomas Zeedyk. All in all, the six seniors on the team were very proud and encouraged by the prospects for next year’s team, having been glad to see the team grow from losing nearly every game their freshman year to being the state champions. Additionally, an award for the Most Christ-Like Player was awarded to La Lumiere’s Conner Fife.
Boys Football also ended in a tournament, although they came in third in the Great Lakes Christian Athletes Conference. They played Osceola Grace and lost in a heart-breaking thirteen to fourteen contest. They played again last weekend for the consolation game against the Noblesville Lions and won that game twenty to six. After the game, the guys were pleased with their hard work.
Senior and Yale commit Josh De St. Jean said, “These were the best four years of my life. People say I was raised an only child but I tell them I got twenty-four brothers.”
He was extremely proud of how well everyone had played and sentimental about his last game in high school. All of the fall sports have now ended and winter sports are beginning, with much anticipation for the season to come.
Fun with a Different Kind of Ball:
On Saturday, November 11, La Lumiere will be holding it’s annual Fall Ball! Everyone is getting excited and scurrying to find their dates for this dance.
Jack Breitowich and Molly Caplice, along with the rest of the dance committee have been planning this since the start of the school year. It is shaping up to be a great time, with about a hundred and ten students already signed up! The dance will take place at the Village of Michiana Community Room on Saturday night. Students are already planning their extravagant outfits and scheduling hair and nail appointments to get ready for the big night.
Fall Ball is La Lumiere’s version of Homecoming, although it is not tied to a football game. Students get very excited about it and it is the constant topic of lunchtime conversation, especially wondering who is going to be asked and who is going to ask someone. Friend groups often attend this dance together, since it is earlier in the year and some people may not have relationships yet. Nevertheless, Fall Ball is a fun evening for everyone to experience the drama and excitement of a high school dance!
The Flying Math Teacher, Mr. Earles:
Whether he is flying a plane or describing what foiling is, Mr. Earles is one of the most well known faculty members on La Lumiere’s campus. He can often be found goofing off and playing spikeball or hurrying to get another cup of coffee before class. He strives to “combat the 'I hate math!' mentality of high schoolers.”
Recently his Algebra II classes have been exploring real life problems, trying to avoid “mathbook” work so as to keep the students engaged.
He said, “The dislike of math is caused by boring elementary school teachers that don’t teach the fundamentals like addition and division.”
Along with trying to make math fun, Mr. Earles is also working on earning his commercial pilot’s license. He only needs six more hours of flying to be eligible to take the tests to get his license.
In college, he majored in civil engineering, earning him a spot as a Science Olympiad coach. He helps the students who are building towers and is excited since this year they started early. This means they can model their towers before building them, which generally proves more effective. Mr. Earles is also a dorm parent for New Dorm, having just recently moved to campus from their small dorm out at Creekwood. He is very excited to finally be on campus so the dorm students can more fully participate in the community, though he does miss the closeness of the old dorm. Mr. Earles is a well respected teacher and his antics are greatly enjoyed by the students.
The Multifaceted Lily
Athlete, head prefect, faithful, smart, giving: all of these are words that describe Lily Kennedy, a senior at La Lumiere High School. She has lived on campus since 2005, when her father became headmaster. Going on her fourteenth year of residency here and fourth year of school, Lily loves everything about the school but especially the sense of community she has found, having “close relationships with faculty and students of all grades.”
Head Prefect, a position similar to student body President, is another role Lily fills. This is a senior, chosen by the students and faculty to keep the year exciting and improve the school through servant leadership and teamwork. In addition to her duties as a prefect, Lily manages to play soccer and basketball. Last year, during a basketball game, she tore her ACL, yet is back to playing sports this year with just as much vigor.
Lily is also a part of a youth group called Foundations in her hometown, Chicago, that meets twice a month. Through this group, she traveled to a weeklong work tour in Kentucky. She feels called to service and plans to go on the school’s service trip to Nicaragua this year as well. While juggling all of this, Lily is still taking a rigorous academic schedule, including Advanced Latin where she has been working on translating Caesar for fun. As her time at La Lu begins to draw to a close, she is striving to make the most of every day and no matter where she goes next year, she will bring this positive attitude with her.