STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Garrett Mertz
Garrett Mertz is a seventh grader at South Central who has high ambitions for his future.
“I want to be a professional athlete. I have always enjoyed doing sports. It’s something I really love to do," Mertz explained.
He has involved himself with basketball, football and track. He credits his ambition and drive to his role model, his father.
"My dad is my role model. He has always been here for me and he always encourages me to be the best I can be. He is the reason I have been so successful, he is my number one fan," said Mertz.
When it comes to school, his two favorite classes are gym and math.
“Math class is really easy for me, and gym class is really fun," Mertz commented.
He has had a lot of memorable experiences in the past, such as visiting Notre Dame's college campus for a three day long basketball camp where he got to interact with the schools coaches.
“It was really fun to visit the campus, I learned a lot of new skills while I was down there. It was a great learning experience that will help me in the future."
While becoming a professional athlete is the goal, Mertz says he'd join the military if that isn't able to happen.
Lastly, Garrett’s piece of advice to everyone is, “Try your hardest, have confidence in what you do and try to lead your team to become better."
Teacher Spotlight: Donna Hale
Donna Hale is a new teacher at South Central this year. She taught at other schools before South Central, and focused in elementary education, art and now music.
The students at South Central have been wonderful to her, and she's excited to work with each and every one.
”For the students it’s their willingness to learn, they are also well mannered and respectful," Hale explained.
As the music teacher, she listens to a lot of music each day and enjoys teaching the students skills they'll use throughout their lives.
"I love that they are building skills for their future careers, cooperation is a very important part of life. You have to learn to get along with all kinds of people. The students here have very good social skills, it’s a good trait to have. The only thing I would ask more of out of my students is that they would have more confidence, and that they would be able to step a little bit outside of their box."
Her favorite part about teaching is watching the students grow and learn to overcome problems they have. Outside of school her hobbies are riding bikes, fishing, cooking and sewing. Interestingly, she almost chose not to become a teacher.
“When I was 17 I was accepted to become a flight attendant. I didn’t go through with it because I always wanted to help shape young minds. If i wasn’t a teacher, I would be a flight attendant."
Recently At South Central
South Central’s junior high and high school cheer teams recently held a fundraiser at Applebee’s on Morthland Dr. in Valparaiso. The pancake breakfast, which lasted around a few hours, helped raise funding for the teams.
“It was really awesome, lots of people showed up. It was a learning experience for all of us; we got to go back into the kitchen, bus tables, waitress, and seat the people that came in. Everyone was working until the fundraiser ended. It was definitely worth all of the hard work," said Edyn Mertz, one of the cheerleaders on the team.
On the other hand, basketball season has just begun. Kaylee Dunn, a manager for the boys basketball team, is excited to see the games as the teams are getting ready to give it their all.
“Something they said at their last game was that if the other team is gonna play hard and hit us, we are going to do the same thing right back. They try their hardest because they want to see coach proud and the whole team proud as well. They work together and play together. They are truly a team," said Dunn.
Around the Corner
This month at South Central things are becoming quite busy. Coming up next saturday (the 9th), at South Central’s varsity girls/boys doubleheader versus North Judson, there will be pictures with Santa in between the games. It starts promptly at 5:30 and will end around 6:00. The pictures are right before both games start. Pictures with Santa are free!
Within the next week on the 14th, there will be a fifth/sixth grade, junior high/high school band and choir concert. The first concert will begin at 6:00 p.m and the following concert starts at 7:30 p.m.
Ali Snyder, a member of the high school choir said, ”Our group has been progressing greatly. We learn quickly as a group, so it helps us achieve more in a shorter amount of time."