LPHS Parent Newsletter
March 2021
Dear Slicer Families,
February brought back a sense of normalcy at LPHS. We are back to daily in-person learning for Option 1 students and we are pleased to see the COVID-19 positivity rate going down. Here are a few highlights to discuss:
~In honor of Black History Month we are creating a mural in the Main Street hallway celebrating African American achievements. The mural was a collaboration between the students, Art teachers, and myself and we are proud to display it in our hallway. More information is included in this newsletter.
~Congratulations to sophomore Ashton Jackson for winning the State wrestling title at 106 lbs. He is the first wrestler to win State since Matt Graham back in 1994. Congratulations to Coach Kuzdas, Coach Brown, and the entire wrestling program. We are recognizing Ashton at our March 8th School Board meeting. Jamaal Salary qualified for State at 160 lbs in wrestling and swimmer Rebekah Schafer also qualified for State. Congratulations to Ashton, Jamaal, and Rebekah for their accomplishments!
~As we transition to the Spring we have a lot of questions surrounding what events we will be able to participate in due to COVID-19. We are looking at Scholarship Night, Pride Banquet, and Prom on a case-by-case basis. We are monitoring the positivity rate and following the Indiana Department of Health guidelines in the COVID threat level color. I hope to make a final decision regarding Scholarship Night, Pride Banquet, and Prom by the end of the month. Our first priority will always be with the health and safety of our students above all else. I appreciate your patience as we determine the best course of action.
~Additional highlights in this newsletter include: Jill Maudlin advancing as a Finalist for the National Merit Scholarship, Random Acts of Kindness in the hallways of the school, highlights from our FFA Week, information on our 2021-22 scheduling, senior cap and gown details, and much more information concerning all of the great things happening at LPHS.
Best Regards,
Mr. Alber, Principal
News & Notes
Attention Seniors! A reminder to order cap and gowns! We currently have 51% of our seniors competed so we need to increase our numbers. Our contact for Herff-Jones is Doug Kinsely dakingsley@herffjones.com Phone 574-583-3420 and the link to order is: https://highschool.herffjones.com/secom/school/IN/LA%20PORTE%20HIGH%20SCHOOL/13003502000/4241/packages
The deadline to submit entries to the Christopher Iselman Writing Contest is Thursday, March 25th. See any English teacher for details or to submit an entry.
Science Olympiad will be competing at State on March 20. Our team of 10 students compete in groups of 2-3 in 23 science and engineering events. Best of luck to our Science Olympiad team!
All student chromebooks including those of distance learners will be collected at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. A schedule of times for students to return their chromebooks is in the works and will be communicated to parents through email and social media outlets. Please be on the lookout for this in the coming months.
On March 16th please support our girls' track program with a give back day (all day) at Dunkin Donuts in LP!
Congratulations to Jill Maudlin!
We have exciting news to share! Senior Jill Maudlin has been named a National Merit Finalist, finding herself amongst the top 15,000 high school students in the country. Her hard work and dedication continues to pay off. Help us congratulate Jill and her family on another incredible honor.
We are proud of you, Jill!
LP Courthouse decorations!
Finishing up Inspirational murals at the courthouse.
A wonderful job!
Good Friday and Spring Break
Please have a safe and relaxing break.
Daylight Savings Time
Happy St. Patrick's Day on March 17th
March 3rd is an eLearning Day
Random Acts of Kindness
Happy National Random Acts of Kindness Week! Someone snuck in over the weekend after Valentine's Day and left a message and piece of candy on all 2,000 lockers and every classroom at LPHS. We may not know who this kind soul is, but our students and staff will certainly start their day off with a smile when we return to school tomorrow.
This is what it means to be a Slicer!
Bench donation
Congratulations Cedric McCoy!
In honor of Black History Month, the Student Government Association will be highlighting Black students, faculty, staff, inventors, innovators, and change-makers throughout the month.
Cedric McCoy (b. 2000) is a graduate of La Porte High School and current sophomore at Indiana University South Bend. He has appeared with the IUSB Wind Ensemble as both a Trumpeter and Conductor, as well as with the IUSB Philharmonic as the Principal Trumpeter. Locally, he has also performed with the La Porte City Band and La Porte County Symphony Orchestra.
As an educator and musicologist in training, Cedric is interested in presenting and studying the works of BIPOC, female-identifying, and other underrepresented musicians and composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He hopes to design more inclusive music education curricula for public schools and universities in his career.
“As an expressive tool, music is a truly uniting force; it allows us to communicate emotions and ideas too complex for words, and provides a medium to share the joys of living with others. As a musician, my job is to bring that wonderful experience to all around me whenever possible.”
We are proud to call him an IUSB Titan!
Creative Designs!
Congratulations to Sophomore Ashton Jackson on a State wrestling title at 106 lbs!
Coach Brown, Ashton, and Coach Kuzdas did a wonderful job!
Time to celebrate!
Mural
The third grading period ends on Friday, March 19th
Advanced Placement Testing Dates
May 3-7
May 10-14
Your student's teacher will provide more information as the testing date gets closer.
Please save the date and thank you for participating in the A.P. College Board program.
FFA Week Highlights
FFA week kicked off with our annual Staff Appreciation Breakfast Monday morning. Teachers and staff could come down for some coffee and a helping of biscuits and gravy to show our appreciation for all their hard work. Our petting zoo was a big hit this year, lots of students saying they were so happy we were still able to do it despite this being the year of COVID. The petting zoo was open to the school and we were even able to Zoom with the 4th grade classrooms throughout the district. Our FFA members were the ones that brought in all of the animals and educated others about how to take care of them and gave interesting facts about each of the animals. Friday we had locally grown popcorn available during all lunches along with agriculture trivia questions. Students were asked a trivia question before getting their bag of popcorn as a way for us to advocate and educate about the agriculture industry as a whole. We also had a variety of spirit days for the whole school to participate in such as America Monday, Blue and Gold Day, Camo Hat Day, and Farmer Flannel Friday.
Overall, this was a very successful FFA week at LPHS and both advisors are proud of all the hard work our FFA members put forth to make sure this week went off without a hitch. We are already looking forward to next year!
Mrs. Lebo's art students used their artistic ability to decorate our snowbanks!
Love
Integrity
F.A.C.E.S.
Mr. Alber named President of the Indiana Association of School Principals for District 2
Spring Play
The Spring Play is called, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME." A young man searches for answers to a mystery only to uncover more intrigue. The story is about overcoming personal challenges and fears. The main character is on the autism spectrum and part of what makes the play extraordinary is a production design that tries to make the audience experience some of what the main character feels with sensory overload and staged chaos. The play won a Tony award for best new play in 2015.
Here is the description the rental company provides:
THE STORY: 15-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain: He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers. Now it is 7 minutes after midnight, and Christopher stands beside his neighbor’s dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington, and he carefully records each fact of the crime. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a thrilling journey that upturns his world.
Show dates:
March 26 & 27 at 7:30 pm
March 28 at 2:00 pm
Tickets are now on sale secure.payk12.com. The online ticketing program will automatically socially distance attendees. That means that if you choose three seats, those seats, plus the ones in front and behind those seats, will be blocked from sale. Also two seats to each side will be blocked. This ensures each group of tickets sold will have ample space between them and other patrons.
All patrons are required to keep their masks on.
All of the performers will wear clear face shields during the show for the actor's safety.
2021-22 Scheduling Information
Overall Scheduling Information for grades 9-11 was released during a special 1 hour SRT on February 24.
Resources for 2021-2022 scheduling can be found here.
Specific timelines and School Counselor assignments for each cohort are listed below.
Information on Option 2 distance learning for the 2021-22 school year will be available in early to mid-March.
**Information for the Class of 2025 will be forthcoming.
Americanism & Government Exam
LPHS is happy to announce 6 district winners on the Americanism & Government Exam ($50 dollar prize each), with each having an opportunity to be a State winner! Each State winner would earn $1000 and be honored at a dinner ceremony later this year.
Seniors: Nathan Surowiec and Aleea Cooley
Juniors: AJ Kentaft and Esperanza Gonzalez
Sophomores: Troy Cannon and Sydney Hill
Best of luck to all six district winners!
Kindness from two National Honor Society Members
Here is an email we wanted to share concerning two of our National Honor Society students. Our thanks to Mrs. Langford for reaching out. Way to go Paige & Kerigan!
I wanted to tell you how wonderful it was for the NewDay Foundation to receive hats for cancer patients today. Paige Conklin and Kerigan Alexander donated 60 cozy fleece handmade hats. They are in different sizes and patterns and will be so appreciated by our clients. Paige and Kerigan met me at Northwest Health Oncology clinic and we gave them to one of the nurse navigators. We will give them to clients in their first day of chemo bags as well as to patients we continue to see through extended treatment.
Thank you for encouraging the National Honor Society students to reach out into the community with a service project. We are thankful that Paige and Kerigan chose NewDay. I'm sure other nonprofit groups in our community will benefit from this initiative by the NHS students.
Sincerely,
Katrina Langford
Executive Director
NewDay Foundation INC