What’s recently happened?
Michigan City High School (MCHS) is more than a month into its summer vacation. Some students stayed busy in the classroom, like Summer School Student and Rising Sophomore Veronica Barnes.
“Summer school was a really effective way to get my credit for speech without having to sit through a whole semester of it,” Barnes said.
MCHS athletes have stayed busy throughout the summer preparing with conditioning for their upcoming athletic seasons, as well as helping prepare future Wolves and assisting with MCHS youth athletic camps.
Rising Juniors and Fall Athletes Miykha Woodard and Grace Fulford both are at the deep end of their respective athletic conditioning schedules. As a varsity cheerleader, Woodard thinks that summer conditioning is important to success in a fall athlete’s season because it prepares them to perform at their best. Fulford, a defensive specialist on the MCHS girl’s volleyball team, also concurs that it builds a team early on.
Current athletes, while preparing for their own season, also volunteer their time to help out with future Wolves camps in various sports. MCHS tennis, volleyball, and soccer teams all hosted athletic camps for young athletes from all over Michigan City Area Schools (MCAS) this summer. Rising Senior and Varsity Boys Soccer Captain Emilio Munõz enjoyed helping out with the Future Wolves soccer camp.
“It’s always fun being able to share my knowledge of the game with younger kids,” Munõz said.
Decked out in red, white, and MCHS blue, students also attended and participated in the annual Michigan City Patriotic Parade.
“It’s always fun to see all of the hours you spend practicing finally come together,” said Rising Senior Alexandra Reed, a leader of the MCHS Wolfpack Pride Marching Band Color Guard.
June also brought about some exciting announcements. MCHS’ own Ann Sawyer and Keegan Cowgill were selected to the Duneland Athletic Conference’s all-conference team for softball and baseball, respectively. Both Sawyer and Cowgill are seasoned players, both having played for years.
What’s coming up?
With plenty going on in the meantime, MCAS looks forward to the annual city-wide back-to-school Rally. This year it will be held on August 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Elston Gill Field. In preparation for this, MCAS is holding a School Supply Collection Drive, which runs until August 7.
All supplies collected may be brought to the MCAS Administration Building by August 8. All materials collected will be handed out for free to attendees of this event, in addition to free entertainment, school vaccinations, and refreshments. At this annual event, MCAS expects anywhere around 2,000 students.
MCAS also moves forward to the start of the academic school year, looking at a start date of August 14.
Freshmen Orientation will take place on August 9, with the goal of introducing incoming freshman students to the high school.
Michigan City’s Lubeznik Center for the Arts is hosting its 42nd annual Lubeznik Arts Festival on August 17 and 18. The festival, sure to be a good time for all ages, features local artists and exhibitions, artistic demonstrations, and local food vendors.
Community member spotlight:
Before coming to Michigan City. Carol Spreitzer grew up in Ka’a’awa Hawaii on the island of Oahu. She has moved all over the United States with her family, but since finding a home in Michigan City, she has become as engaged in the community as any grown-up local.
Spreitzer has been volunteering with the Tannehill Soup Kitchen since 2016, one of the last soup kitchens open and running in Michigan City. It serves upwards of 80 meals a day, handing out warm meals Sunday through Thursday.
"Carol has been volunteering at the soup kitchen for as long as I've been here," Dominic Yanke, a Tannehill volunteer, said. "Spreitzer is usually the first one to get here in the morning. She's just really great to work with and she's dependable. She makes it fun to work here."
Tannehill, like other soup kitchens in the Region, has struggled to secure funding since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has written and received a few monetary grants, and regularly receives food donations from Panera Bread and Al’s Supermarket, but Tannehill staff and volunteers have recently engaged in a flurry of fundraising to keep the Tannehill Soup Kitchen open and operating in Michigan City.
As a leading volunteer at Tannehill, Spreitzer has spearheaded the fundraising efforts. After a particularly blazing day in the sun, Tannehill’s tag day at Al’s on Karwick was able to bring in more than $1,000. Spreitzer was in attendance for both shifts of the day, collecting donations with a smile despite the sweltering heat.
"Our family always says ‘food is love,’" Spreitzer said. "After being here regularly, you see the same people, and I like to know them. I think it's important to have continuity. It's nice for us to recognize them."
Feeding the community is a theme for Spreitzer’s philanthropy, as she also delivers meals with Meals on Wheels. She enjoys the community that her volunteer work allows her to create.
"Spending time with fellow volunteers and making connections with them is my favorite part of my volunteering work. Having that community is nice," Spreitzer said.
Always staying active, when Spreitzer is not feeding her community, she can be found walking around her neighborhood with her pets and working out at the YMCA.
