Red Devil Post, Vol. 2, Issue 2

RED DEVIL POST

Jenna O’Connor: The Heart of LMRD

by Brooke Chandler

Jenna O’Connor, senior, is this year’s 2023 Lowell Marching Red Devils senior drum major. O’Connor has been a member of the LMRD since pre-COVID when she was an eighth grader, but things have drastically changed since her beginning years. Throughout the past five years as part of the marching band, four of them have been spent marching, and her senior year has been spent conducting.

This year’s LMRD theme revolves around the Beach Boys, and includes the songs “Good Vibrations,” “In My Room,” and “I Get Around.” In their first competition, they went on to win a silver, but at their latest and last ISSMA competition, they received gold, which O’Connor describes as their biggest

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Masthead

Staff

Hailey Baran

Jonathan Budz

Brooke Chandler

Josh Cornell

Lily Cruz

Hailey Fox

Lily Gleason

Sarah Gygi

Bryson Hebble

Jaidyn Jansma

Trinitie Lintner

Allie Lukasik

Allie Mecha

Brooke Miller

Gabby Morache

Taylor Rothrock

Emma Sampias

Lily Susko

Ava Tippy

Isabelle Udovich

Addi Umfleet Sponsor

IN THIS ISSUE

Jenna O’Connor and the LMRD, p. 1

Homecoming Pep Rally, p. 3

Senior Sunrise, p. 4

Hispanic Heritage Month, p. 5

CNA Program, p. 6

Ceramics, p. 7

Honors Econ Field Trip, p. 8

Barbie and Sound of Freedom, p. 9

Visual Arts Update, p. 10

Mrs. Stoit, p. 11

College Go Week, p. 12

Cancer Awareness, p. 13

Boys Cross Country, p. 14

Joe Gianotti

Boys Soccer, p. 15

Red Devil Pride LHS Rallies all sports and clubs

by Hailey Baran

On Friday, September 15th, LHS students and staff came together in The Pit to kick off the homecoming weekend. Per tradition, LHS band students march along the halls and students join them and march to The Pit. When everyone has finally settled down, lots of fun games and events occur to commence the homecoming football game and dance.

The annual homecoming pep rally is all about showing off LHS' school spirit. The band sets the tone by playing a variety of songs that students and staff cheer along to. The cheerleaders start off the pep rally on a high note by about.

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Red Devil Pride Seniors greet their final year at Sunrise

by Lilly Cruz

On September 14th Lowell High School hosted a Senior Sunrise. The meaning of senior sunrise is to represent the start of their last year attending high school with the sunrise. The sunrise emphasizes the start of the year versus the senior sunset towards the end of the year. Seniors were told to arrive at the high school parking lot at 5:30 a.m. so that the seniors could have time to get their set up, do fun activities, and have a small breakfast. Mr. Hudak and Mr. Mclindon helped set up everything and provided donuts for the seniors. Some activities that seniors did were bean bag toss, gathering together with friends with blankets and chairs, and some people sitting in the trunk of their cars and hanging out with their friends. Two activities that were put together were border signings for the senior sunrise group picture and the border to take pictures with.

Senior Sunrise brought the attending seniors together and they had a good while looking at the sunrise. Although it was cold early in the morning, this was a great event that Lowell High School hosted at the beginning of the year that many seniors enjoyed.

Red Devil Pride Lowell celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

by Emma Sampias

Culture and Diversity Club takes the initiative to celebrate various cultural and diverse months, weeks, days, and celebrations. The club is currently celebrating the significant month of Hispanic Heritage. Hispanic Heritage Month is the celebration of Hispanic and Latino Americans and their specific cultures. This month was originally only celebrated for a week until 1988 when President Ronald Reagen expanded the honorable celebration. The Culture and Diversity Club has created an impressive and artistic bulletin board representing the cultural month. The bulletin board displays famous Hispanic individuals and a description of them and continued on page 18

In the Classroom LHS’s CNA program second to none

by Trinitie Lintner

The CNA Program is a very important program at Lowell High School, and some can say it is the most difficult. Yes, there is AP Physics and AP Calculus, but this course takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience. These students are in a three-block class learning medical terminology, how to be a CNA, and actually taking their learnings into practice labs. The first goal of the class is to be able to start going to clinics near the start of the second semester. They will go to Lowell Healthcare, and practice all of their newly learned skills on real people. It takes a lot of courage to meet new people and take care of them. They will be helped by the awesome staff of Lowell Healthcare, and their amazing teacher, Mrs. Harmon. She is a great teacher and really loves what she does. She used to be a nurse who worked in surgery and now teaches her students to become great CNAs. She gives everyone equal opportunities to speak out and participate in her classroom. She is very understanding of her students’ schedules, while still keeping the college feel of this course. She has been teaching for about six years and started her teaching journey here at Lowell High School. She makes sure that each of her students is doing their best, and she always stands for what is right. Mrs. Harmon is one of the most approachable teachers in the school, and she makes sure each of her students feels appreciated and welcomed in her class. This program takes in great people and brings out amazing CNAs. It is a great program to be a part of and it is great to see how many students really try their best and perform to their greatest potential.

In the Classroom

Mrs. Blankenship teaches LHS artists the ways of ceramics

by Allie Lukasik

In Mrs. Blankenship's ceramic classes, her students are now getting into making coil pots. Coil pots are little vases made out of coils of clay. Her students have to make at least an 8-inch tall coil pot with 2 different glaze colors that flow into each other seamlessly. The way you make the coil pot is by cutting out a slab of clay in any shape you want. Then you roll out a few coils and build up from the slab. You keep going until you reach the desired height and then you can start to shape it or smooth out the clay wherever. Recently in her class, she has been showing her students how to make different coils and they all just learned how to glaze their projects properly. This project will definitely be difficult but for sure a fun experience for her students. Just last week her students finished up their pumpkins and tea bowls. For their tea bowls, they had to make two of the same. They had to be the same size and shape with a similar design on them. They basically had to be a set. For the student’s pumpkin project, they were able to make as many pumpkins as they wanted, but they had to use the pinch pot method. The pinch pot method is a technique that involves making a ball of clay and then using your fingers to pinch a hole into it and make it wider in order to create a circle shape. After the circle shape is made, you insert a napkin into the area, close up the hole with the excess clay, and then continue on making the ball look like a pumpkin.

In the Classroom

Honors Econ visits the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago

by Jonathan Budz

On the 26th of October, the Honors Economics classes went to the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. Led by Mrs. Hinchy, the classes went to the Federal Reserve which featured tight security and quite the presentation by the representative from the Federal Reserve. It was the representative’s first time actually giving a presentation and speech since the Covid-19 shutdowns in early 2020. After a 45 minute presentation about what the Federal Reserve does, how they function, why they exist, and their history, the classes went into the actual museum within the building to explore. Further exhibits showed more detailed processes the Federal Reserve undergoes such as when old bank notes are dropped off to be taken out of the economy. The Federal Reserve as well has free shredded bills you can take as a souvenir that were old bills taken out of the economy for their poor condition. Overall the classes learned much about the Federal Reserve banks, such as how they function, what their purpose is, and what they do for the economy.

Devils’ Advocate Barbie and Sound of Freedom: Worth the watch despite their flaws

by Taylor Rothrock

Last July both the Barbie Movie and Sound of Freedom came out. Although these movies are very different from each other, it is evident that they competed with each other all summer. The Barbie Movie features Margot Robbie who is the executive producer and also plays the lead. The movie embarks on how Barbie takes a journey to find herself and what she is made for. Sound of Freedom is based on the true story of a federal agent who goes on a mission to rescue children from sex trafficking.

It is interesting to know that when watching Sound of Freedom you know there will be sexual content, language, violence, and references to drugs. Many people come into the theater knowing some of these things will take place. In my opinion with Barbie, a lot of people don't understand the meaning behind the movie. Lots of people take their children to see Barbie although most children will not comprehend the meaning. Children are expected to see the doll they play with, not a woman dealing with serious issues.

Both movies have come with a lot of controversy. According to Time Magazine, “Sound of Freedom itself has been criticized by anti trafficking experts for

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Artistic Endeavors

Visual arts abound at LHS, from painting to drawing to ceramics to art history and more

by Jaidyn Jansma

Students in our art classes are all currently working on projects to kick off the year and learn some fundamentals for later projects. Techniques are being introduced and students are broadening their skills to create a stronger foundation for the future.

In 2d Art, students are practicing creating value in their art by using gradients, which they are able to apply and make the illusion of depth. This will be helpful later on, as mastering depth helps art appear more realistic. Objects that are darker or smaller appear to be further away from the viewer, which can trick the eye. Learning about values and shadows can be applied to almost any type of drawing.

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Counselor’s Corner

New counselor, Mrs. Stoit, enjoys Lowell’s tight knit community

by Hailey Fox

Here at LHS, our school has a new school counselor, Mrs. Stoit. Although you may not know who she is yet, she will start to become a familiar face as the school year progresses. Mrs. Stoit is originally from Thornton, Illinois but has been an Indiana resident for nine years now making her a Hoosier through and through. She originally taught middle school in Illinois. Once becoming a school counselor, she worked at Crown Point and Lake Central. Mrs. Stoit is a middle child with an older sister and a younger sister. She now has a husband and a 4-year-old son, along with a mutt named Chelsea. She loves to bake, especially banana bread and homemade brownies, along with her love for her house plants. To her, the most important part and rewarding part of her job is and

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Counselor’s Corner College Go Week offers seniors unique opportunities

by Josh Cornell

At the end of September, from the 25th-29th, the seniors had College Go Week, a week when multiple universities in the state waive application fees. To celebrate this important week, the school did its second Spirit Week of the school year, including a camouflage day, athletic clothes/sweats, neon, university wear day, and RDP day. During this week, many seniors applied to any colleges they want to go to, especially ones with waived fees. The schools with waived fees included both private and public colleges, religious and non-religious, and all types of different schools. Some of these universities also required a code for waived fees, but still had waived application fees. Some of the universities that participated included UIndy, IUN, Anderson University, and many other universities throughout Indiana. College Go Week is something that is actually quite beneficial for seniors, especially ones who have worries about finances. It helps relieve a bit of the stress. Many of the seniors who applied have already started hearing back from schools they applied to, so College Go Week is something quite

Courts and Fields

Volleyball, girls soccer bring cancer awareness to LHS

by Brooke Miller

Over the course of these past few weeks, two of our fall sports teams have had games dedicated to raising money for cancer awareness. On September 19th, the girls junior varsity and varsity soccer teams faced Andrean

High School and throughout those tough games, many fans came out to support the team. They helped the girls raise money for the nonprofit organization, Phil’s Friends. The girls volunteered at this organization just a week before the game and helped to make packages to brighten up a cancer patient’s day. Only two days later on September 21st the girls freshman, junior varsity, and varsity volleyball teams also had their cancer game of the season. They raised a lot of money to help support the Side-out Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation and the Lung Cancer Foundation of America. Overall, there was a great turnout for both teams at their cancer games this year. We appreciate everyone for coming out and supporting both of these teams and they can’t wait for next year to support these causes once again.

Courts and Fields

Boys x-country goes back to back as conference champs

The boys cross team did it again this past weekend after winning conference for the 2nd straight year in a row, this time on their home course.

Sophomore Danny Frevert makes a statement taking 2nd place overall behind top region runner Jalen Strietelmeier of Highland. Ethan Wulitich (11) and Zak Hudak (10) take an 8th and 9th place finish to put three Devils in the top ten. Seth Bakker (12), Camden Mikulich (10), and Dylan Hochbaum (12) all also place within the top 20.

The Devils have a very strong top 7 going into the post season as they take on some of the toughest competition in the region in two weeks at the sectional race, where top five teams advance to the regional competition in hopes to get one step closer to a state championship. Sectionals being on a very fast course at Highland High School this year, the Devils will face tough competition from powerhouses Lake Central and Crown Point, as well as small but mighty Illiana Christian.

Courts and Fields

Boys soccer celebrates senior night

by Bryson Hebble

On September 25, the Boys Soccer team celebrated their Senior night.

The 2024 Seniors for the boys' team are Cole Shuler, Trever Shirley, Adam Colon, Justin Petit, and, the 2023 captain, Logan Woodworth. The boys’ senior night was played against Boone Grove High School. The game was close; the Red Devils fought hard for their seniors. Boone Grove scored 2 goals in the first half and the Red Devils scored one by Jesus Sanchez.

Cass Hejnowski scored to tie the game at 2-2 with the help of Jesus Sanchez. This was followed by Boone Grove scoring another goal to make it 3-2 for most of the game, but within the last minute of the game, Justin Petit scored a goal with a volley from Jesus Sanchez to tie the game. The Red Devils ended the game with a winning record with one game to go. The Red Devils finished their season with a winning record of 8-7-1, once all their games were played.

Jenna O’Connor, continued from page 1

accomplishment as a band this year.

O’Connor describes her experience as a drum major as very strange and different compared to what she is used to. She explains how different it was to go from being one small part of the band on the field marching to being in front of it all and watching it come together. She does express that sometimes she misses marching and has forgotten what it has felt like to march on the field and be a part of the show. However, she is grateful for her experience as a drum major because it has taught her valuable leadership skills and learning opportunities to see the band from a new perspective.

O’Connor’s initial thoughts about becoming drum major was that she would have less work since she wasn’t marching, but she details how wrong she was. She states that she has an entirely new set of responsibilities that are physically and mentally exhausting sometimes. She had to learn how to manage her personal life whilst still dedicating herself to the band. She describes this feeling as overwhelming and says how it is easy for things to “bleed over.”

Since her initial years as a marching Red Devil, O’Connor’s band experience has significantly changed. She describes how COVID-19 changed the dynamics of the LMRD and how the band director switch her junior year further contributed to that. She often finds herself missing her past marching band years but doesn’t dwell on the past. O’Connor likes to acknowledge what she has now with the LMRD and appreciates how far that they have come. However, her fondest memory of the band still comes from her first marching band year in eighth grade.

One piece of advice that O’Connor would like to leave for her band is to focus on what they enjoy doing most within the band. She asks that they remind themselves why they joined and to motivate themselves with aspects of past years that they enjoyed. O’Connor knows that band can be difficult, but wants the underclassmen to focus on what they enjoy the most in the band and what they get out of it.

Next year, the senior drum major will move on to the current junior drum major, who assists O’Connor with her senior drum major tasks. O’Connor expresses her feelings of sadness that it is her turn to move on from the band. She describes how she will miss the strong friendships that have helped her make her experience less stressful. O’Connor is still questioning her future plans but is considering majoring in music in college and marching on the collegiate level.

Pep Rally, continued from page 3

At every pep rally, Mr. Hudak does a fabulous job speaking and getting the crowd hyped for what the pep rally has in store, such as the games that are planned. When asked about what is his inspiration for the games that are planned, Hudak says that he tries to see what is popular. "For example, the lip sync battle contest was based on Jimmy Fallon's segment that he does and from other late-night shows," Hudak explains. He likes to base the games he does on different game shows and from the Radio and TV class that used to be at the high school.

This year, the game that was played at the pep rally was a game where students had to flip solo cups onto a Coke bottle. Each grade had two people who participated: one person did the flipping and the other held the coke bottle. The game is exciting because students want their grade level to win. The other main attraction was the lip sync battle that was held against the teachers. Each teacher represented a grade level, and they recreated Taylor Swift’s iconic “You Belong With Me” music video. The pep rally ended with each of the football captains’ speeches about the homecoming game, and the contest was held between each grade to see who could chant the phrase “Devils Devils all the way” the loudest.

Hudak was asked what he thinks makes the pep rally such an exciting and engaging time for students. His reply was "Keeping it new is the key." By having fresh captains every year and having new games, the pep rally can capture people’s attentions by giving them something new to enjoy. Having a lot of energy is something else that helps.

Overall, this year’s pep rally was a success. Students and staff had fun and were able to have a good time at the football game and at the homecoming dance. The pep rally is a great way to open up the homecoming weekend and is a great way to showcase Lowell’s Red Devil Pride. Can’t wait for the next pep rally!

Hispanic Heritage, continued from page 5

their accomplishments. The board also displays photos representing Hispanic heritage. By presenting this bulletin board, it gives the school population a greater chance to appreciate and understand Hispanic culture. This month is extremely valuable as it honors the hard work and dedication of the Hispanic community. Without this month of celebration, there would be less appreciation for the Hispanic community as a whole.

Barbie, continued from page 9

providing a “false perception” of child trafficking and promoting “rescue” tactics that may actually put real victims in danger.” Others believe Sound of Freedom exposes the horrors of sex trafficking. An estimated 50,000 women and children are sex trafficked each year, and lots of people don't know of this issue. Meanwhile, with Barbie, some viewers believed the movie to be anti-men while others criticized it for not being feminist enough.

Disney declined the release of Sound of Freedom, and because of this, it wasn't released for five years. The film was only on screen because filmmakers were able to purchase the rights to the movie back. Dexerto.Com claims “Disney, Netflix, and Amazon Prime refused the rights to Sound of Freedom or to promote the film release to prevent the truth about child abuse from spreading to viewers across the globe.” I believe this could be true because Barbie came out right after Sound of Freedom. They could have done this so people are focused on Barbie and not Sound of Freedom. On the other hand, many believe Barbie came out right after Sound of Freedom mainly to compete with each other like all movies try to do. In the end, Barbie has made over five times as much as Sound of Freedom.

I think both movies are great to watch as they provide different inputs on serious topics. You are able to create your own opinion on sex trafficking, feminism, gender roles, the importance of authenticity and more. Something I didn't like about the Barbie movie was although I loved how the movie highlighted woman empowerment and how women can do anything, they made the men seem dumb. When the men ruled over the Barbie world it turned to trash. They made the men seem selfish and entitled. I felt the Barbie Movie elevated women and brought men down. I wish they would have exalted women throughout the movie without bringing men down. Others will say that the movie was intended only for women and that it mainly elevated women because they have not been elevated in the past. The movie was meant to mainly highlight women which it ultimately did. Overall the movies are very different but talk about topics the world needs to hear. Personally, I enjoyed both movies.

visual arts, continued from page 10

In Painting, students are also practicing value by painting a black and white picture in a monochromatic scheme. Practicing value in black and white or monochromatic colors is a very efficient way to become more comfortable with it. It limits the distracting colors and allows you to see only the different shades of the picture. Once value is understood, you can apply it to anything and use multiple colors while having the piece look harmonious. This project is also a way to practice blending paint colors, as students have to mix black and white into a single color to achieve all the shades needed.

In Drawing, students are learning about color theory, control, and blending with gradients using colored pencils. Color theory is an important aspect in art. It allows artists to draw attention to certain parts of their works, and can create a piece that is harmonious or flows well. Color can make you feel emotions, like blue often making someone feel sad or tranquil. Control helps your art turn out how you want it to, as you understand the pressure needed to make certain shades and the stability needed to perfect a work.

In AP Art, students are beginning their Sustained Investigations by doing a small mixed media project to get ideas flowing. An SI is a portfolio that students make throughout the year. They focus on one essential topic or inquiry, and submit 15 works that all correlate to one another and support the overall idea. Along with this, they also submit written examples of their ideas and processes.

In ceramics, students are constructing coil pots. Coil pots have been practiced for thousands of years. You make one by rolling out coils and layering them on top of each other. You can create many different patterns using this method. You can smooth them out to create a flat surface, leave them unblended, twist the coils, braid them, make arches, and many more. This project also practices control, as you need to have the right pressure to make thicker or thinner coils. It is also introducing more glazing techniques, as students are required to create a gradient with 2 different colors.

The art classes are just getting started! Projects will continue to incorporate and teach more foundations of art through the year. Look out for future displays around the school!

Mrs. Stoit, continued from page 11

when her student succeeds and then comes back to let her know. Being a counselor requires her to deal with difficult situations, and this is where she shines. She is comfortable with the uncomfortable and loves to work through these hard times with her students to lead them to success and happiness. Not only does she work through struggles with students throughout her day, she completes a considerable amount of other work; including paperwork, different meetings, and connecting with various people through email and calls. Her most important piece of advice is, while enjoying high school and being young remember to take care of yourself and show yourself kindness and to remember that even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal your feelings are valid and high school is the place to figure those emotions out. Mrs. Stoit’s favorite part about our counseling office compared to the other schools she has worked at is our pride. On her drive to work, she turns off Highway 41 onto Route 2, and she immediately sees all of the businesses supporting and representing Red Devil Pride. She enjoys our tight-knit community and appreciates how we all will come together for a cause. Mrs. Stoit is excited to get to know all of us here at LHS and to continue to spread that Red Devil Pride that is so important to our community.