#1StudentNWI: Highlighting Talent at Chesterton High School

#1StudentNWI: Highlighting Talent at Chesterton High School

What’s Going On

This year, Chesterton High School’s annual winter play was meant for the whole family, which was a change from past productions such as “The Crucible.” Anne Sharp directed the theatre’s presentation of Della Tazel’s “The Tale of Cinderella,” and theatre held three performances as well as a children’s performance on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

The first all-age performance was Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 pm, followed by another 7 pm show on Saturday, Feb. 24. The show’s run ended on Sunday, Feb. 25 with a 2 pm matinee. “The Tale of Cinderella” retold the classic fairytale, when Cinderella met Prince Cornelius in disguise while they and his best friend Lord Remington hung out at the village Harvest Festival before the ball. Children under age three could get in for free while tickets were $5 for students and seniors at the door and $7 for adults, while families could purchase a $20 pack for two adults and two children.

In light of the recent downpours, Chesterton High School is collecting items to donate to Hilltop Neighborhood House in Valparaiso. Hilltop Neighborhood House was flooded over the past week, and it destroyed their stock of diapers and food, so the main office has a collection box set up for donations.

What’s Coming Up

1Student-Chesterton-Feb-2018-03Natural Helpers will be holding their annual Coffee House on March 7 at 7 pm. Admission is going to be $5 and will cover a cup of tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or water. Baked goods will also be available for purchase and all funds will go to the Natural Helpers program.

The main purpose of the event is not only to raise money for Natural Helpers but also to show off the talented students of Chesterton High School. Students will be singing, playing instruments, and performing routines and skits. Every year, students and staff pack the cafeteria and enjoy the performances while developing a sense of community through the arts.

This year, over forty bands and students are performing, whether it be solo or accompanied. The songs being performed also cover a variety of genres, including hip-hop, alternative, classic rock, and soul, as well as current top forty hits and some original pieces by the students themselves. Besides the obvious reasons to go, such as witnessing the many talented students performing, students also agree that the coffee and baked goods are great too.

Student Spotlight: Gabriella Koonce

1Student-Chesterton-Feb-2018-01The summer between her sophomore and junior years, current senior Gabriella Koonce visited France with the school. She spent time with her host family, absorbing the French culture. This year, Koonce decided that she wanted to be apart of the French exchange student program again, but this time as a host.

“I wanted to host one of the exchange students because I have been to France and stayed with a host family of my own,” Konce explained, “and it was a lot of fun. Because of this, I wanted to see what it was like on the other side.”

One of the biggest differences was that Koonce was now in charge of the agenda and had to find ways to make the stay interesting and fun.

“I was the one that was showing him around and trying to make sure we did a lot of fun stuff,” Koonce noted, “as well as giving him an accurate representation of life in the US.”

After seeing both sides of the story, Koonce decided that she definitely preferred being the exchange student rather than being the host.

“I enjoyed being the exchange student more because I was in a completely different country and I got to be immersed in the French culture,” Koonce said. “Being a host, on the other hand, is just living my normal life.”