Winter is coming: Students Dance the Night Away at the Annual Winter Formal
Every year around January or February, Portage High School throws its first dance of the school year: Winter Formal. The girls get dolled up in their dresses and the boys straighten their ties for a night of laughter and dancing.
Winter Formal would not be possible without the Student Council. The students put together a dance worthy of applause every year, without fail. According to Alicia Wood, who is a Student Council officer, the organization had a new sponsor this year, making putting the dance together a bit more challenging.
“Transferring all the knowledge of how to put it together and little tiny details was hard, [but our sponsor], Miss K, was so nice and helpful through it all,” Wood said.
The dance was held at Duneland Falls Banquet Center on Feb. 7 and lasted four hours. Students made sure they made the most of that time.
“I had a great time,” senior Alyssa Rosales said. “If you have the right people it doesn’t matter what you’re doing.”
Though it takes a lot of hard work to make the dance happen, the students still have a good time.
“I will never forget how great it feels to be a part of someone’s special night,” Wood said. “The dance brings all the classes together for a night of good fun!”
Girls Basketball Ends on Good Terms
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Lady Indians basketball team ended their season with a loss to La Porte at the 4A sectional game.
“We [worked] really hard all season and [were] about as prepared as we [could have been],” senior Kaitlin Doud said.
Though the loss was devastating, they had the support of the Portage High School Super Fans to keep their spirits up. Though the girls suffered a 46-41 defeat, they hold no ill feelings toward the opposing team.
“Of course we wish the season would have ended differently, but the memories I share with these girls, I will cherish forever,” Doud said.
Wrestlers Move on to Semi-State
On Saturday, Feb. 7, the Portage wrestlers won the Wrestling Regional at Calumet High School. The team took the win with 186 points, placing eight wrestlers. Tyler Joseph and Braden Majewski were the only members to win regional titles.
“Regionals was just a big bang,” senior Braden Majewski said. “When I won, it was just another step; [it was] not a big deal.”
With regionals out of the way, the team will move on to Semi-State in Merrillville on Feb. 14. Majewski does not have high expectations for the next meet, but hopes he can get, at least, third place. However, the team is excited to be moving on.
“It’s just gonna be a bang,” Majewski said.
Student Shout Out
After winning Distinguished Young Woman last year, Mariah Blackwell is moving on to the statewide competition on Sunday, Feb. 15. The PHS senior will be going to Kokomo to begin the week journey to victory. In addition to living with a host family, Blackwell will also be touring Kokomo and giving a “be your best self” presentations to younger students.
“[It is] to encourage young children to be themselves regardless of what everyone else views as cool,” Blackwell said.
After four days of touring, the real competition will begin. From Feb. 19 through Feb. 21, Blackwell will be competing against 21other girls from across the state. She met the other contestants on a previous occasion.
“You can’t help but love them all,” Blackwell said. “They are so sweet and multi-talented.”
For the talent portion of the competition, Blackwell will be performing a self-written song. Though the competition is fierce, she holds no ill will towards the other girls.
“I know it’s a competition and all, but I feel like by the time the competition comes around, we will all be like sisters,” she said.
Teacher Shout Out
The teacher shout out for this month goes to Mrs. Lynn Wilson. In addition to teaching Health Science and Medical Terminology, she is also the sponsor of HOSA and co-sponsor of Natural Helpers at PHS.
Because she sponsors HOSA, Wilson and her students are always looking for philanthropic things to do. When they heard about a Portage graduate who is sick, they wanted to do something to help.
“This year we have a former Portage grad [who] has been sick with a brain tumor,” Wilson said. “[HOSA] is trying to help raise some money to offset her costs for cancer treatment.”
It started with pretzels. The students began selling chocolate covered pretzels to their peers in order to raise money. Though they did well with the fundraiser, HOSA wanted to do more and decided to raise some more money through the annual Prom Fashion Show that they host with Natural Helpers. The show was supposed to take place on Feb. 12, but, due to the weather, it was cancelled.
“We were hoping to [raise] a couple thousand [dollars],” Wilson said.
Despite the setback, HOSA is still holding out hope. With a little luck, they may be able to reschedule the show and raise the money that they need.
