What's Recently Happened?
On September 9, the La Porte High School (LPHS) varsity football team won its first game of the season against Chesterton High School.
LPHS had a toga theme where students came to support their Slicers.
The Slicers had its annual senior night with a commencement ceremony before the game. This included managers, trainers, players, and cheerleaders.
The Slicers were down at the start of the game but by halftime the team was starting its comeback and tied up the game. It was a close match the entire game, but the game ended with a Slicer victory by a winning field goal by Jack Doty.
What's coming up?
LPHS has added a new dance for the 2022-2023 school year. Instead of having a Fall Ball, LPHS will have a homecoming dance. The old Fall Ball will now be a Winter Formal before winter break.
Homecoming will be on October 1 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The theme will be “Surfing to the Win” where students can come dressed in their best luau outfits. Students are also allowed to dress in business casual, so they can dress in semi-formal outfits. Though, the school dress code is still applied.
Student Council decided to do both themes this year, so students don’t feel pressured to buy so many expensive outfits. It is not a requirement to wear any one theme as long as the student feels comfortable.
Tickets will be available for sale in the main office starting on September 19 and ending on September 29. They can be purchased for 10 dollars but are expected to go fast because there are only 400 tickets available.
School ID’s will be mandatory for entry into the dance.
Not only is homecoming a dance but it is a whole week of festivities. Monday, September 26 is College Bowl Day where students wear outfits to support their favorite college.
Tuesday is Bikers versus Surfers. Students compete by wearing either a biker or surfer themed outfit.
Wednesday is the powderpuff football game. Powderpuff football is a LPHS tradition where junior and senior girls faceoff in a flag football game. It is at 7 p.m. at Kiwanis Field. It is three dollars cash only for entrance. All the entrance fees will be donated to breast cancer awareness.
“I wanted to do it because it's fun. We only do it once a year, but we have fun with it. The girls really get into it, and it makes the atmosphere emphasize the culture on homecoming. It’s such a lighthearted event that makes all of us laugh at the end of the day,” Senior Tatum Bumgardner said.
Thursday is a Tacky Tourist Day where students come to school dressed in their best tourist outfit.
To finish off the week is a Slicer Spirit Day where students wear orange and black. At the end of the school day there will be an annual pep rally. There will also be a parade at 5 p.m. before the football game at 7 p.m.
Teacher Spotlight:
LPHS English Teacher Cynthia Toth is one of the newer teachers to the school. Though she is new to La Porte, she has been teaching for 10 years.
She has recently taught at Valparaiso High School, Chesterton Middle School, and Westville High School. She has taught a variety of subjects such as: seventh and eighth grade English, Yearbook, Dramatic Literature, Advanced Placement (AP) Literature, American Literature, and Debate.
Toth decided to move to La Porte in the springtime because she wants to be a part of and feel that sense of community before her 18 month old daughter starts school.
Toth went to college for an English degree at Purdue Northwest and then finished up her education at Valparaiso University for a master's degree in education.
She loves her time in the classroom and especially the people at LPHS.
“I love how supportive everybody is and how sweet the kids are. They make teaching fun,” Toth said.
Outside of school, Toth likes to read, crochet, go hiking, and spending time with her family. Her favorite foods to eat are pizza and tacos.
“I would have to say my favorite book is 'The Hunger Games.' I have read the first one three times and the second one twice. I am currently reading the prequel and I love the storyline. My favorite author though would have to be Kate Chopin,” Toth said.
Student Spotlight:
Senior Jay Pillai is on to greatness at LPHS. Though he is a senior, he is going out with a bang.
Pillai is a 4.0 GPA student who participates in cross country and track. He has found success in each sport, reaching state level competitions in both sports individually and helping the teams immensely in getting sectional and regional titles in track and placing in semi state while going to state as a team in cross country.
“My goals for this year are to win semi state and medal at state. Also keeping a 4.0 while still being social and having fun is important to me,” Pillai said.
Outside of sports, Pillai likes to spend time volunteering in the community. He is often found at Arts in the Park or at concessions through the school. He is also in various organizations to help around in the community such as Key Club and the Presbyterian Youth Group.
“If I could tell one thing to student athletes it is to not stress out about everything. Don’t let the little things control you and stay focused,” Pillai said.