#1StudentNWI: March at Wheeler High School

#1StudentNWI: March at Wheeler High School

What's Happening
Congratulations to all the Wheeler High School academic teams that competed at the ninth annual Academic Super Bowl Invitational competition. Hosted by Purdue University North Central on March 2, 2016, a total of nine Porter County high schools competed: Boone Grove, Chesterton, Hebron, Kouts, Morgan Township, Portage, Valparaiso, Washington Township, and Wheeler.

In the science round, Chesterton received first place, Washington Township received second place, and Boone Grove received third place. In the English round, Washington Township received first place, Morgan Township received second place, and Portage received third place. In the fine arts round, Washington Township received first place, Boone Grove received second place, and Kouts received third place. In the social studies round, Washington Township received first place, Boone Grove received second place, and Chesterton received third place. In the math round, Valparaiso received first place, Chesterton received second place, and Wheeler received third place.

Finally in the interdisciplinary round, Wheeler received first place, Washington Township received second place, and Chesterton received third place.

This is the first time that Washington Township has taken first place overall in the competition while Chesterton took second place overall and Boone Grove took third place overall. Great job to all the academic teams who competed, and we wish the best of luck to everyone at the next invitational!

What's Coming Up
Wheeler High School students have officially begun their third and final trimester of the 2015 and 2016 school year; it is truly a melancholic feeling to know that the school year went by so quickly. Nevertheless, Wheeler High School has commenced their month of March on a positive note.

In recent news, if anyone is between the ages of 18 to 44, you are able to join the Be The Match bone marrow drive for someone who is fighting a blood cancer such as leukemia. There have been two high school students from Carmel High School and North Montgomery High School who have been diagnosed in the last week with leukemia, and a marrow transplant is their only hope.

On March 15th, Wheeler High School is proud to host the Be The Match marrow drive in honor of Tamara Kenning, Mr. Kenning’s wife. More info will be located with Mrs. Carlson’s office, so please consider this opportunity to join the registry and save someone’s life.

Next, “Dollars for Scholars” scholarship applications are available on the school web page. The due date for all Wheeler High School seniors is April 1, 2016. All students are encouraged to begin their student profile, so please see Guidance if you have any questions. Furthermore, the boy’s golf call-out meeting was held on Thursday, March 10 in Mr. Kenning’s classroom; students who would still like to join the team should see Mr. Kenning as soon as possible.

Teacher Shout Out
I would like to give a teacher shout out to Wheeler High School’s athletic director, Mr. Randy Stelter. He is the Director of Athletics for 21 high school programs and 10 middle school programs, along with overseeing 70 coaching positions and 54 levels of competition at the high school and middle school combined.

Moreover, he is a University of St. Francis (Illinois) graduate with degrees in English and Athletic Administration. Mr. Stelter also has 24 graduate hours in high school counseling from Governors State University and 60 hours in Retreats and Pastoral Ministry from the Retreats International program at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to taking his current position, Mr. Stelter taught and coached at Joliet West High School and Merrillville High School from 1989-1998; he coached football and softball for 20 years and boys’ basketball for 28 years.

In fact, Mr. Stelter had the opportunity of playing college baseball and basketball for legendary Hall of Fame coaches Gordie Gillespie and Pat Sullivan. We are all very thankful for Mr. Stelter’s contributions as Wheeler High School’s athletic director.

Student Shout Out
Lastly, I would like to give a student shout out to senior Andrew Santos. An active member of Student Council, Key Club, National Honor Society, French Club, Choir, Boys’ Soccer, and countless other extracurricular activities, Andrew is known by many students and teachers at Wheeler High School as a leading, courteous, and friendly person.

In addition, Andrew is a senior class officer, National Honor Society officer, and Student Council president. A number of events that Andrew has volunteered in include the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival, Opportunity Enterprises Pack-a-Thon, Special Olympics Bowling, Salvation Army, Homecoming Committee, Union Township Food Drive, tutoring, Union Center Elementary Fun Fair, Porter County Leadership Conference, and the Kiwanis Pancake Day at Valparaiso High School.

We all wish Andrew the best of luck for the future as he completes his last trimester at Wheeler High School and continue on to college; his philanthropic personality is an example that all people should follow.