What's recently happened?
Saturday, January 6 was Heritage Night for Michigan City High School (MCHS). During the Boys Basketball game against Kankakee Valley High School, the den was spending time celebrating the successful and vibrant history of MCHS.
Alumni who graduated as recently as last year to more than 40 years ago were in attendance and recognized during half-time. Past team members, cheerleaders, and pep band players gathered together to cheer the current varsity team on.
"It is very exciting to see an event like this taking on a life of its own. To see the unity of all of our alumni all coming back together for a night to celebrate our rich basketball history is always powerful,” Michael Gresham, school board member and 1992 graduate of Elston High School, said.
Out of the many special guests, members of the historic 1984 girls and boys basketball teams were recognized, as well as MCHS' own Mr. Basketball, Delray Brooks. The love and excitement from the community and alumni helped the team to win.
MCHS' Den Delirium hosted a talent show in December to help raise money for their future plans. Two standouts were chosen from the event; Janelys Fonseca as the winner chosen by those in attendance, and the American Sign Language (ASL) club as the school pick. Many students gave performances, and the night was enjoyable to all who attended.
A select group of MCHS upperclassmen met with Indiana Senator Rodney Pol and Representative Pat Boy on December 20 to discuss a new idea the two wanted to initiate. The two are hoping to bring a student legislation committee to the district, which would focus on attempting to pass laws in the Indiana House of Representatives and Senate that students in the district feel passionately about. This would include students in several steps of the legislative process, including devising, writing, and attempting to convince others of their bills, as well as, hopefully, seeing them passed.
What’s coming up?
MCHS choirs and bands are preparing for Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) District events. Choir students will perform their hard-practiced solos and ensembles on January 27 at Valparaiso High School, where they will be judged and scored. On February 3, band students will do the same at Kankakee Valley Middle School.
Students in certain categories for both groups can even earn the chance to go to State if their performance is scored highly enough. This event is far more harshly-judged, but a rewarding learning experience for students who are passionate about music.
MCHS' Den Closet is currently having a clothing drive. Items needed include shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, shoes, coats, jackets, undergarments, socks, and belts. Items can be dropped off at MCHS' front office.
MCHS recently announced a 2025 trip to England and Ireland that students can sign up for. It will take place in the summer, and students in anywhere from eighth grade to their junior year can sign up for it. The trip is being organized by English Teacher Christopher McHugh whom students or parents can contact for details.
MCHS is also holding Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) workshops for all graduating students. There are many changes and difficulties that the 2024 graduating class will face with the FAFSA this year, and so the MCHS staff find it important that they offer services to help students where needed.
Staff spotlight:
Teagin Powers is an educational ASL interpreter at MCHS.
“I tried to get ‘Multitasking Language Ninja’ put into my contract, but for some reason, they wouldn’t go for it,” Powers said.
Powers’ job is a more complicated one than most hearing people understand.
“On the surface, I just sign what is said and voice what is signed. However, there is so much more that goes into that. I ensure my students who are deaf or hard of hearing have equal access to everything their hearing peers do. This includes the teacher’s lectures, but also peer-to-peer interactions, hallway utterances, background noise, and so on. I also have to always be listening to what I can hear and provide access to my students. Within that, there is so much more than just listening,” Powers said.
Further complexity lies in the nature of ASL itself, and the way it functions as its own, separate language.
“I have to process the true meaning and intent of what is going on, and I need to be able to process that into a completely different language. ASL is its own language with unique grammar and syntax. I have to listen, understand, deconstruct the message, and then produce the intended meaning in the correct language,” Powers said.
Powers' original intention when she went to school was not to become an educational ASL interpreter, but she has fallen in love with it, nonetheless.
“I graduated from high school with the intention of becoming a teacher. I was able to work as a paraprofessional within special education while I was going to college online and at night. I had picked up some sign language from being in Girl Scouts as a child and also while working with students who utilize a variety of communication styles. I ended up meeting some deaf students and was introduced to the whole new world of interpreting, and I fell in love,” Powers said.
Powers believes that ASL has uses and meaning to a plethora of communities, hearing or non-hearing, or anywhere in between.
“My neuro-spicy brain really likes that ASL is visual and kinesthetic and that I am able to take two-dimensional linear English, which has always been tough for me to process, and turn it into this big three-dimensional art piece of movement that just makes sense! I like to say, ‘I Englishing not so goodly, so I switched languages.’ ASL just makes more sense to my brain,” Powers said.
Powers also works with the members of MCHS’ ASL club, a group made up of a combination of hearing and non-hearing students.
“Our goal is to bridge the language barrier one sign at a time! We learn the language, but we also learn about d/Deaf culture, history, and oppression and gains. ‘Big D Deaf’ is referring to the Deaf community and culture, while ‘little d deaf’ is referring to hearing loss. We do not say hearing impaired. We’re all about Deaf gain and learning that the only thing a d/Deaf person can’t do is hear!” Powers said.
Powers is very welcoming to all interested in coming to learn.
“Everyone is welcome to come, regardless of signing skills and if you’ve been with us before. We play all kinds of games, watch videos, and learn vocabulary. We accommodate all language levels,” Powers said.
Powers was immensely proud of the ASL club, which won the school pick for the talent show.
“The students who participated worked so hard to learn the song, and I couldn’t have been happier with their performance. Because I interpreted the talent show, I was backstage, and honestly, I got a little teary-eyed,” Powers said.
Outside of her position at MCHS, Powers has accomplished many things with her interpretative skills.
“I own my own business where I do outside interpreting. I have worked business meetings, job interviews, doctor's appointments, and once I even attended a Thanksgiving dinner where my client was the only Deaf person and none of their family signed. I have also done some cool things like interpreting for the ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I also work for a company called SignUp Captions, which is a Chrome extension that provides free interpretation to hundreds of Netflix, Disney+, and Peacock videos. So far, I have had the honor of doing ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’, ‘Goosebumps (2015)’, the live-action ‘Beauty and The Beast,’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’” Powers said.
Powers is a positive, impactful force of joy at MCHS, and she will no doubt continue making that impact for plenty of time to come.
Student spotlight:
Emma Abraham is a junior at MCHS. She is a very involved student, representing a wide range of groups and clubs.
“I participate in Student Council, Steering Committee for Class of 2025, drama club, K-pop club, American Sign Language (ASL) club, and Helping Hands,” Abraham said.
One particular opportunity stood out to Abraham this year.
“This year, I was a student athletic trainer and manager. This means I would fill up coolers, clean coolers, take care of the water bottles, and make ice bags for teams,” Abraham said.
According to Abraham, this was an unexpected development, but she couldn't be more happy with how it turned out.
“I came into this position through our lovely athletic trainer. In my freshman year of high school she was a year-long sub for my biology class. She asked me to help out. I am very glad she did,” Abraham said.
Perhaps if she hadn't, Abraham wouldn't have discovered everything she did.
“When I first started out, it really just gave me a way to pass the time, but this year, I came to the realization that I needed to tie it to my future dreams. There was a junior varsity game that was away, and one of our players got hurt. It really affected me, the way I could at least make him a little more comfortable. It just hit me. Like, that is what I want to do in life,” Abraham said.
The experience allowed Abraham to learn a lot about herself and her dreams. Sometimes, it is truly the unexpected moments in life that matter the most.
“I want to be an athletic trainer. I am still figuring out what kind, but it is definitely something I want. I plan to go to school, get my bachelor's degree, and then get my masters. I don’t have a dream college as of right now, but I’m looking for a school with preferably a nice library and either in-state or in surrounding states,” Abraham said.
Make sure to watch the sidelines of your favorite sports teams, because you may just see Abraham fulfilling her passions there one day.