Dear Students, Staff, and Parents,

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Go Panthers!!

Mr. Edwards

The Western Marching Panthers Band and Guard finished second in the Indiana State School Music Association Class C competition, barely missing the top prize grabbed by Edgewood High School in Ellettsville. The Panthers put on another exciting performance. Below, color guard members Natalie Medina and Abby Chester with drum majors Aidan Frazer and Colin Frazer accept their trophy.

Mr. Putt and several students rehearsed for weeks and put on the play Radium Girls on November 22 and 23. The play marked the return of drama performances to WHS.

The Western Panther Drama Club is hosting a breakfast with Santa on December 14 at Western High School. Tickets are on sale at the link below.

The Environmental Club loaded and wrapped gift bags that will be given away to randomly chosen high school students. The activity is meant to encourage and support the students at WHS. Below, Grace Canady, Kayleigh Collins, Aralynn Hughes, and Ella Stranahan work an assembly line, filling goodie bags.

The Padcast Club had the privilege of interviewing the FCA leaders. FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) is a national organization and a club at Western where students gather to grow in faith as a community. The students dive into scripture through messages and devotionals, and play games, make crafts, and enjoy donuts. However, the kids come for more than just the donuts. Gavin Burger noted, “I find something so beautiful and amazing seeing young and older teens coming together to learn about God. Even if you’re not a Christian, come to FCA once or twice. I’d love to meet you and learn more about God with you.” The club meets on Fridays at 6:45 am in the Commons. Everyone is welcome!

Sydney Ousley, 12

On November 6, Mr. Putt and four students from his business class attended the annual Future Business Leaders of America conference in downtown Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The students were placed on teams with students from other schools and competed for prizes. Each team had to come together and create a new mobile dining business, a food truck. Their designs and ideas were then judged. The activity created team-building and networking skills for the students. Braelyn Gamble said, “It was very fun. I learned a lot about teamwork, it’s importance, and how to solve difficult problems quickly.”

As an added bonus, the attendees had the opportunity to meet and speak with the Indiana Pacers front office staff and attend a Pacers game with all conference attendees. According to Nik McMann, "The conference was one of, if not, my favorite school-related trip ever! Getting to hear from the speakers and the activities and getting to walk around was exciting." Below, students Brayden Kline, Braelyn Gamble, Nik McMann, and Jackson Davis enjoy the sites of Indy before the basketball game.

Jack Sullivan, 11

WHS students donated nonperishable goods throughout the month of November to help the National Honor Society collect food for the Kokomo Rescue Mission. Members of NHS spent time November 25 loading the goods onto the Rescue Mission's truck. The club collected nearly 1,000 cans!

MADDOX WILLIAMS Maddox was nominated by Mr. Putt: "I have seen Maddox make a strong turnaround this year. Early in the year, he was struggling academically. However, I noticed he started changing every behavior and is now one of my strongest students in business. He even started raising his hand and participating in classroom discussions. I called his mother a week or two ago to let her know about his improvement and she mentioned she was so used to getting the other phone call and what I had to say was a very welcome surprise."

The SADD club spent the week of November 11 raising awareness about the dangers of driving while sleepy during "Teen in the Driver Seat Week." Members signed a pledge to be vigilant when driving.

Members of the advanced Spanish classes (AP and Spanish IV) spent a day at Purdue University observing their foreign language classes and programs.

The Western Spell Bowl team had the highest score in the Area Competition at Marion on November 4th, qualifying for the statewide Academic Spell Bowl competition held November 16 at Purdue University. The team finished the year as the Class 2 State Champion with a score of 72 and fourth overall in the State competition. Senior Seun Oguntoye and Freshman Tyson McLaughlin had perfect scores at the state event. Junior Katie Tupa, below, logged perfect scores for both the Area and State competitions!

The word list included 2,190 words. The students met once a week to prepare for the competitions and dedicated many hours of their own time to studying the words. Mrs. Smith, the sponsor, noted, "Not only were they diligent workers, but they also supported each other by motivating and encouraging one another. They worked seamlessly as a team. Our season was not only successful, but also so much fun!"

Western High School is excited to continue to partner with IU Kokomo for the Tomorrow’s Teachers program, offering a fantastic opportunity for juniors and seniors! Through this collaboration, students take classes taught by IU Kokomo professors while following the on-campus syllabus, but they remain at Western. These courses cover what freshmen would typically take as part of the teacher preparation program, allowing students to earn 12 college credits before they even graduate high school! In addition to the coursework, students also attend a few events on the IU Kokomo campus, giving them a taste of college life and helping them prepare for their future careers in education. This program is a great way for aspiring teachers to get a head start!

FCCLA

Students in Mrs. Hunt's and Mrs. McDonald's functional skills classes made Lego ornaments and Lego themed garland for the Kokomo Area Special Education Tree. In Mrs. Hunt's class, 2nd-year peer facilitator, Lucas Sceggell, upcycled an old mid-century modern end table into a Lego table with storage! Students completely redesigned the table on their own! Mr. Turner and his students 3D printed a large Lego themed wreath to go with the tree as well.

ALISHA BACHMAN Alisha Bachman has been manning the Treasurer desk at the high school for the past couple of months. She has over nine years of experience working in the education field and hopes "to make life easier for staff and parents." Mrs. Bachman is from Frankfort, Indiana, and graduated from Frankfort High School and International Business College. She decided to pursue this line of work because she likes working in finance. In her spare time, Mrs. Bachman enjoys reading, spending time with family, and off-roading in her Jeep!

The Western boys basketball team took to the court against Kokomo in an annual match-up between the two county rivals. Below, Panther Brycen Rucker puts up a shot for two.

The Lady Panthers took it to the Blue Devils, with a decisive 63-26 win. Junior Ellyse Walden, below, had a double-double (her third of the season), scoring 11 points and nabbing 11 rebounds. The girls team is 2-2 through November.

Both boys and girls swim teams hosted Oak Hill High School on Monday, November 25. Mr. Bennett, the coach, is looking forward to this season and is encouraged by the commitment he's seen thus far by the swimmers: "Our girls swim season is off to a great start. The team is split pretty evenly with returning swimmers and freshman and 1st year swimmers. It has been exciting to see our leaders emerge and to see our girls find new roles on the team. While I don't think we currently have the speed we had on the team last year, we definitely more than make up for that in the depth we were lacking last year. In our first meet against Kokomo, in spite of only winning 3 of 12 events, we managed to bring home a pretty lopsided victory (104-76.) We did that by offsetting Kokomo's event wins with our first placing, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in those events. That allowed our girls to earn more points in each event than Kokomo did. One of the highlights of the night was that every girl who swam that night earned points towards our victory. I think that kind of spirit and grit will define the Swimmin' Women this season." Below, the girls cheer on their teammates in a contest against Oak Hill.

With several State qualifiers graduating last year from the boys squad, Mr. Bennett knows this year will include some rebuilding: "There is a large horizon for our boys team this year. Although we had some major contributors graduate, our returning swimmers are eager to fill those roles and improve on what the team accomplished last season. With a trip to the State Meet last year, our boys ended the season on a high note. They saw what it takes to be competitive at that level and have begun this season with that level of competition in mind. As their coach I have no complaints about their work ethic and focus in practice. The attitude of our boys is great, and they are having fun while working exceptionally hard. All the important pieces that bring success are in place. I am excited to see what these swimmers and divers can accomplish. This will definitely be an exciting season."

The Panthers hosted Rochester in their first home meet of the season, beating the Zebras 36-24. Jade Johnson, a freshman, had a winning pin (below #1). In an unscored match against Eastern High School, sophomore Shaylee Walker won by pin (below #2).

The 2024-2025 books are now on sale through December 31, 2024, for the early-bird price of $65.00. Select the link below to order online.

If you ordered a book last year, the 2023-2024 books are available for pick up in Room 202. If you have already graduated, please email Mrs. Kincaid at dkincaid@western.k12.in.us to arrange to pick up the book in the high school office.

If you have pictures from events and activities at the school and would be willing to share, visit yearbookshare.com, enter the school code westernpanthers, and upload the photos. Your pictures will be considered for inclusion in the 2024-2025 yearbook. You also can go directly to the site by clicking the URL below.

Welcome back to Mrs. Stout! She has returned to us after some time spent with her new son. She will have the following students on her caseload for the remainder of this year: 10th grade students last names A-K and 11th grade students last names A-K.

Students will be meeting with counselors over the next few months to complete course selections for next year. Information will be sent home with your student after meeting with his/her counselor. Reach out if you have any questions.

All 9-11 students took the PSAT in October of this year. Scores can be accessed using the information provided on the PDF below.

Students can begin the process of completing the FAFSA form.

Western High School

Principal Steve Edwards

2600 S 600 W

Russiaville, IN 46979

P (765) 883-5541

F (765) 883-7946

https://whs.western.k12.in.us/