Back in 2023, I adopted a cat at the Jane Bernard LaPorte County Animal Shelter. That was the beginning of our long friendship.

It was the morning of August 25, 2023. It was my 8th grade year, and that morning, my mom took me to the animal shelter. We had been eyeing Maxine for a few weeks ever since we were shown her. My mom’s friend Lindsey wanted us to adopt her, and my mom obliged.

We arrived at the shelter, and they brought us Maxine. Maxine is a tortoise mix and has a part of her ear missing. Immediately when we saw her, she was a chatty cat, but that's what made me love her.

Once everything was signed, we were able to take her home. She really didn’t like car rides. During the ride, she took comfort in my presence in the car. It made me feel like we bonded instantly.

Like most cats that are adopted, she wasn’t really fond of the house at the beginning. She hid for the first few weeks and didn't really interact with anybody. As time went on, however, she was more comfortable with everyone in the house.

Fast forward up til now, she's become the staple in the house. We spoil her with everything from food to pets. She can be demanding when she doesn’t get her way.

Nonetheless, we love her anyway. She's made a huge impact on our family. Back when we first moved to LaPorte, we had to get rid of our dog and cat. The house always felt very quiet when someone didn't hear a meow or a bark. But when we adopted Maxine, the whole family lit up. Fun fact, I even used her in the art show!

She’s helped me with my anxiety by just creating a nice presence for me. While she can be annoying at times, she's helped out my mom with her stress and her own issues.

I’m telling you this story because I believe that everyone should have a furry companion. No matter whether someone is a cat person or a dog person, or even if a person has allergies, they should have a friend.

The Jane Bernard Animal Shelter really needs people to adopt animals.  Someone can even foster a pet, which allows animals to grow in a home instead of a shelter. This allows them to stay there until someone is interested in adopting them.

If someone is interested in adopting from the animal shelter, head to their Facebook page or give them a call. They also have a website people can use. Every animal deserves a home, no matter their age.

https://laporteco.in.gov/departments-online/animal-shelter/

Scheduling can be stressful for students, especially with the extensive course offerings at LPHS. For foreign languages, Spanish is a great option. Many students will say that Spanish is really hard, and honestly, I said the same thing when I first started taking it my freshman year. However, as I continued to take the course, I really did start to enjoy it.

Spanish is taught by several different teachers. Senorita Guzman, Senor Jones, Señora Korell, and Señora Krause. Jones and Korell teach Spanish I, and Guzman teaches II and III. Krause also teaches Spanish 2, 3, and 4, as well as AP Spanish.

In Spanish I, students learn some basic grammar concepts and vocabulary. Students will also learn how to count in Spanish. They learn how to form basic sentences and explore different Spanish cultures.

Spanish II goes more in-depth when it comes to different grammar concepts, such as comparatives and superlatives. They branch off into past tense verbs and count much higher numbers.

Spanish III is a dual credit class where students learn advanced grammar concepts and vocab. They are encouraged to speak more with each other and with the teacher. Both classes are taught by Guzman and Krause.

Spanish IV or AP Spanish Language and Culture expands on both the language and culture aspects. Students learn how to understand each other with presenting, interpreting, and interpersonal skills. They learn a wide variety of vocabulary and Spanish culture. This class is taught by Krause.

For the Class of 2029, the Indiana Diploma lets students take a world language as an elective course. For their social studies credit, they need two additional credits. They can take a level three world language to count for that credit.

If a student wants the enrollment seal, then they would need to take two years of a language course. That means they would need Spanish I and II.

Spanish class has allowed me to connect with others and even teachers. I believe that learning a language is important for students, especially when they get older. So that's why I recommend Spanish.

As the scheduling process winds down for the next year, there are many classes available for students to take. One elective students can take is Journalism.

Journalism is a class taught by Ms. Parker, and students learn several different news and law elements.

“I love teaching this class because I feel like the bulk of the information I share with students is applicable to them for the rest of their lives. I am genuinely interested in all the topics, and I hope that excitement passes on to my students. Also, it’s only one semester, so students who don’t enjoy it aren’t stuck with it all year. It’s kind of a win-win for us all,” Parker said.

During the first unit, students learn about the roles of media and news determinants, the 1st Amendment, ethics, libel law, and look at an infamous journalist who completely fooled his magazine by printing fictitious articles, Steven Glass.

The next unit dives into journalistic writing with hard news. Students are given made-up stories by Parker, and they have to use the inverted pyramid to order the piece from most important to least important information. They work closely together for the first few stories and then are on their own for the final one.

There are other big projects such as a feature podcast, a news broadcast, and sometimes photography, if there is time in the semester.

Parker also teaches Newspaper, Yearbook, and Public Relations. If someone is interested in any of these classes, it is recommended to take Journalism first, but it is not required. The Class of 2029 or anyone who would like to opt into the new diploma must have a communications credit, and Journalism is one option.

I enjoyed this class my freshman year, and it helped me a lot with my writing skills. I’d recommend this class to anyone who enjoys writing.

Weather can be unpredictable in Indiana, often cancelling or delaying school for Hoosier students.

Indiana allows schools to use three posted eLearning days and unlimited amount of live e-learning days. The live e-learning days must take up about 50% of an actual school day, and there must be a certain number of students who join for the day to be counted.

La Porte has been through a wild few weeks of weather. The snow has messed with La Porte’s schedule giving them multiple days of asynchronous and synchronous eLearning days and 2-hour delays.

Asynchronous e-learning is when teachers will post assignments for students to complete that day. Students do the assignments according to what day it would be if they were at school. The assignments have to be posted by 9:00 a.m., turned in the next day, and teachers have online office hours for any students who have any questions.

Synchronous e-learning is when students join their teachers in a video session. Most of the time the teacher explains their assignments and then allows them to complete them during that call. For synchronous eLearning days, students have to be online for half the day for it to be counted. LPHS synchronous schedule starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 11:50 a.m. The students also get ten minute breaks in between each period.

Many students prefer the posted eLearning because they’re able to complete the assignments whenever they want during the day. While I believe that can be beneficial, many students also say that working at home can be difficult. Students are less likely to work at home than they are at school.

“I prefer eLearning because it gives me a chance to take a breather from school. I don’t have to worry about waking up bright and early to make it to school. I can just stay home in the convenience of my own home and not have to start my day off rushing to get to school,” Gabriel Guzman, sophomore LPHS student, said.

These last few weeks have been very overwhelming for me and even other students as well. We’ve had multiple eLearning days, two hour delays, and even one early dismissal. Hopefully the crazy weather is over, and we can go back to the regular routine.

According to IUCN Red, currently, more than 47,000 species have been assessed to be under threat of extinction.

The main cause of the endangerment of animals is humans. Others are habitat loss, climate change, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and disease. It has always been my passion to help endangered animals, but I know that many people aren’t really educated on the subject.

Habitat Loss is described as the destruction of a species habitat, some ways being deforestation. If animals don’t have a home to thrive in, then they’ll have to find other places to live in. That can disturb other species that may live there which can disturb the animals.

Climate change is the warming of the earth that happens over time, mainly because of humans using fossil fuels. Warming temperatures can cause habitats to change, especially the ones located in the tundra. For example, polar bears have been losing their homes because their habitats are melting.

Overexploitation is the abuse of hunting that causes populations to drop. Many laws have been put into place because of people overhunting animals. Rhinos are an example, and hunting of their horns soon became illegal after their population increased dramatically. Overexploitation did bring protection laws such as the AWA (Animal Welfare Act) and the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act.)

Pollution, disease, and invasive species are also examples of the way we are hurting animals. Their habitats are being destroyed by using chemicals such as fossil fuels, which are ruining the environment. Diseases can be brought to animals by humans through direct contact. Invasive species are usually brought by humans, and this can lead to stable ecosystems becoming disrupted.

All of these things are leading up to worldwide consequences. Ecosystems are collapsing due to the lack of animals that are needed. Vital services that animals provide, such as being service animals or medical alert will be lost, and the amount of that resource will decline. Other things include less food security and increased disease transmission. All of these could ultimately threaten human lives as a whole.

We must continue to protect our animals because without them, we wouldn't have much. So here are some ways that regular humans can do daily.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Marine life is extremely vulnerable to the garbage and plastic left in the oceans. According to the NOAA, Scientists think about 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010. If we reduce the amount of plastic, reuse it in several different ways, and recycle, then we can leave a beautiful environment for marine life to thrive in.

Help create wildlife-friendly habitats. A small birdbath or even making small nests can help animals adapt to their environment that may have been altered in some way.

I think one of the most important ways of helping animals is just being educated. If you even have just a small amount of understanding, you can learn about some of your own local endangered animals. Use your voice, tell others, share your opinions on the internet and anything to help spread awareness.

If you're ever looking for any information on the subject then I recommend going to this website - https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/wildlife/endangered-animals ,

I had the opportunity to go see the shortened version of the Nutcracker at the Morris Performing Arts Theater.

The Nutcracker tells a story of a young girl named Clara, who receives a nutcracker doll for Christmas. On the day of Christmas Eve, after her brother breaks the doll, she dreams that her nutcracker comes to life and defeats the mouse king. At the end of the story, he is transformed into a prince and leads Clara to the Land of Sweets where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy.`

One of my favorite parts was definitely when Clara was dancing with the Nutcracker Prince. It is such a beautiful moment and brings so much emotion to the story even without the words.

That was my first time ever seeing a ballet performance in person. I loved every second of it. Dance has always been something I enjoyed. I used to even take dance classes when I was younger, so seeing The Nutcracker was such an amazing experience.

I recommend anyone to see The Nutcracker if given the chance. If someone is

interested in seeing the show, tickets can be purchased online at morriscenter.org. They also have other events available that may be of interest.

Wherever you sit, it always makes someone feel like they are a part of the show. You can get great views in almost every spot in the theater. Compared to theaters in Chicago, the prices are better. It is also a better place locally since it usually takes around 45 to 50 minutes to get to South Bend, while it takes over two hours to get to Chicago.

I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to see this show in person. I hope that next year I can go again.

In honor of Winter Guard International's 2026 beginning, let’s recap some of my favorite shows from last year.

WGI is a non-profit organization that introduces indoor marching arts. It is mostly famous for its Winter Guard competitions. Several different high schools and groups from all around the US compete against one another to determine in regional competitions whether or not they move onto the finals.

There are several different classes that compete in WGI: Regional A, A Class, Open Class, and World Class. Regional A is more of a beginning program, the ones just getting back into guard or are not able to compete yet. Open classes are World Class competition levels, with world class being the highest. There is two divisions that compete, open Scholastic, which is only for high schools, and Independent Class, which is non-affiliated high schools.

Scoring is covered by different sections, equipment, movement, design, general effect, and timing. Though they are all judge and scored under the same categories, the different classes are differently scored.

My overall favorite show was an Independent World Class show. The show is called “To the Fullest” by the Pride of Cincinnati. Their show was beautiful: the flags, the dancing, and even the costumes. They earned first place with a score of 94.900 in their division.

In the Scholastic World finals, the first was a score of 98.000. Woodland High School's show was titled “Departure.”  The show featured beautiful airport themed props and tarps. They had gorgeous costumes and flags. It was the first ever gold medal that Woodland had ever earned.

Some other shows from last year were “Wild Geese.” “Disco Forever.” and “Hope.” Hope had a spectacular double-time rifle feature and an amazing flag feature. Wild Geese placed fourth overall in the Independent World Class. Disco Forever really captured the name of their show, all of the peppy energy really captivated me.

The program doesn’t just feature Guard shows. They also do percussion and wind. I recommend watching them because they don’t get as much recognition as guards do. Plus their shows are amazing and the music is phenomenal.

If someone is interested in watching any past shows or watching WGI live this year, here are some links:

Pride of Cincinnati 2025- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su2NQdBO_QE&list=RDSu2NQdBO_QE&start_radio=1

Woodland High School 2025- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgecilNdWhc

Where to watch live- https://www.flomarching.com/signup?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=wgi.org&utm_content=signup&utm_term=partnerwebsite&contract_id=0063m00000hett9aaa

Slicers interested in Winter Guard should attend tryouts on 11/17 and 11/18 from 5:30-8 at LPHS. Here are some things that potential team members can do to prepare.

If guard members have access to guard equipment after school, get someone who is interested to help go over anything they may be struggling with. This can go the same with even other things besides flag. Rifle and even dance technique can be something to go over with a friend.

If someone does get into Winter Guard, I recommend recording the guard work that is given to practice with when at home. Speaking of, practicing at home helps members remember the work before a competition or a practice.

If a member has work or has any events going on that interfere with certain days of the week that you may have practice, make sure you let someone know to move your schedule to your available days. Competitions and practices will take up most of the time during the school year. Most competitions will take place on the weekend, which can take all day.

Get materials that may be needed throughout the season now. Take a weekend to head to a local store to get materials for your flag, rifle, and even just for guard. I would recommend getting electrical tape for flag and rifle, makeup, thick pads to put on a rifle, and deodorant. I would get black and white electrical tape since it is unlikely to use colored tape.

With all of these in mind, I hope this helps Slicers prepare for the upcoming winter season. I really hope that if anyone does try out for it that you enjoy it as much as I will.

If a Slicer comes to the tryouts, go into the high school at door 19. The tryouts will begin in the band room. See you there!