As we wrap up January, we want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate the dedication of our students, staff, and families. This month has certainly brought its share of weather-related challenges, but through it all, your commitment to learning and teaching has helped keep the educational experience at Western as smooth and uninterrupted as possible.

A special thank you to our athletic department for their flexibility in adjusting practice and game schedules to ensure our student-athletes could continue to compete and grow in their sports. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.

We are grateful for this incredible community and look forward to a great February ahead. Thank you for all you do!

Go Panthers!

Mr. Edwards

The Western girls bowling team finished second at the Indiana High School Bowling Regional tournament on January 25 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and advanced to the semi-state tournament

to be held Saturday, February 1 at Vigo Lanes in Terre Haute. Team members are Layla Burns, Erin Goley, Kiley Binkerd, Miranda Smith, and Marianna Hunt.

Members of the WHS cheer quad had a special, and warm, Christmas break, as they traveled to Orlando, Florida, to visit Universal Studios.

Three WHS choir students - Isaiah Baker, Aubreyana Hoeppner, and Jacob Boyd (right) - attended events at the Indiana Music Education Association conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 16-18. Isaiah Baker, a Senior, received special recognition as being a four-year member of All State. Only four students in Indiana achieved this during their high school career.

Four Western students advanced to the State Welding Competition held on January 18 at the J. Everett Light Career Center in Indianapolis. Sophomore Luke Barber finished 3rd in his skill test. Other members of the team included Aden Bookmiller, Milan Bennet, and Fender Paul.

The Robotics team / PantherTech Club is in full swing as the students design, assemble, and perfect their robots for the Spring competitions. Seniors Amelia Vanengelenhoven, Jacob Boyd, and Ian Mouser took time to explain the club and everything the students do.

SAVE THE DATE! Western's National Honor Society is sponsoring the Rescue Mission Walk A Mile fundraiser and walk on February 22. The walk starts the 8:30 a.m. in the Kokomo Rescue Mission parking lot (321 W. Mulberry St). Click on the link below for more details, or see Mrs. Pemberton, Room 239, if you have any questions. Family members are welcome!

The Western Student Council hoped to break up the winter blues by hosting a week of fun: Winterfest. Students participated in dress up days, a pep rally, and a dance. Although the weather resulted a few events being nixed, the students enjoyed the fun. At the basketball game, the Winterfest court was presented. Seniors Isabelle Wunderlich and Seun Oguntoye were crowned King and Queen. Below, teams compete in the mattress relay during the pep rally. Junior Katherine DiPaola slides down the court.

Anh Nguyen was nominated by Mr. Harmesen and named the January Student of the Month. Mr. Harmsen stated, "I am really excited to nominate Anh for student of the month because of her high level of academic curiosity and her consideration for others. Since being rather new to Western, she has come on very quietly and has stretched herself in many ways. With plans of being a high school social studies teacher someday, she has decided to challenge herself academically with multiple AP classes her senior year to prepare herself best for her next step in higher education. Her commitment to the challenge has led to straight A's for two semesters straight. As a counselor, I have always been impressed with her quiet self-confidence and her ability to engage in thought provoking conversations. One of my favorite things about Anh is how she blends with many groups and seems to seek out those who need a friend. She is going to be a tremendous teacher someday and I am very proud to nominate her for this award!"

Ms. Anderson is the new Agriculture teacher at WHS. She also will be assuming leadership of FFA. A graduate of Hamilton Heights, Ms. Anderson is familiar with the opportunities 4-H and FFA can provide to high school students. Her involvement in these activities fueled her desire to “share [her] passion for the Agriculture industry with the students so that they learn and understand how much of an impact agriculture not only has on us, but the whole world in many different ways.” She pursued her interest in agriculture at Purdue where she received a Bachelor of Science with a minor in Animal Science. She also enjoys “going to livestock shows, Purdue basketball games, and spending time with [her] family.”

Ladina is finishing her senior year at WHS, coming to the United States from Switzerland. She decided to participate in the foreign exchange program to improve her English and “experience the American dream.” Living in Indiana and experiencing all that the students at Western experience has been like “living in a movie.” She has jumped right in since last fall, participating in girls soccer and basketball, as well as the Spanish and SADD clubs.

The boys swimmers and divers came away with the trophy in the Hoosier Conference Tournament.

The girls swimming and diving team gave their seniors a fitting send off in the final home meet of the season against the Northwestern Tigers. Below, seniors Autumn Harsh, Maddy Shoaff, Amelie Ebers, and Katharina Overzier are happy with the results.

The boys wrestling team participated in their final home meet on January 15 against Wabash. Seniors Troy Tettey, Liam Bumgardner, Brody Burns, Seth Parvin, and Garrett Heady were honored. Below, Brody Burns prepares for a match.

On Friday January 17th it was announced at the first ever IHSAA Inaugural Girls Wrestling State Championship tournament that girls wrestling was officially a sanctioned high school sport. With this, the Western Girls Wrestling team got up to 17 participants! They had an amazing first season and even sent four girls to the state matchups, including seniors Reagan McGuire and Rebeakah McGuire and freshmen Ava Roe and Jade Chloe Johnson. They all had very successful seasons leading up to their state run, and the entire girls wrestling team ended up going down to the Indianapolis Fairgrounds all day to cheer them on! The Western Girls also qualified for Indiana Girls Wrestling Team State Tournament after all of the varsity competitors qualified for regionals as well as winning the home sectional championship as a team! The Lady Panthers ended up finishing 8th in the state out of 16 of the best schools in the state! It is safe to say that they had an excellent first season and set the bar high for the seasons ahead. Any girl interested in wrestling next season is highly encouraged to try it out; there are a lot of open varsity weight classes that need filled for the 2025-2026 roster!

Laney Hamilton, 11

See the link below to order a yearbook.

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.

A gofundme page can be accessed at the link below.

Western will be hosting a Financial Aid presentation on February 19th from 5:50-7:00 pm. The state has mandated that all senior students/parents file a FAFSA or complete a FAFSA Waiver form. We want to assist with the process, so we will have experts here from IUK who will be able to answer questions you have. The presentation will be held in the high school media center. Please enter through Door #1.

Also, on Sunday, February 23, College Goal Sunday will take place at Indiana University – Kokomo (2300 South Washington St, Kokomo, IN 46902). Please join financial aid experts from all across the state who will be available between 2 and 4 p.m. local time to help attendees with filing their FAFSA. Contact Bill Wozniak at wwozniak@investedindiana.org with any questions.

If you are not planning to file the FAFSA and you need to complete the FAFSA Waiver form, please reach out to me or your child’s school counselor, and we will send one home to you. I realize this process can be overwhelming and confusing, so if you have questions or need help, please come on Feb. 19th and talk with the experts. (Your student does not have to be attending IUK to come; the IUK staff are just volunteering their time to assist all of our students and parents.)

Counselors are continuing with scheduling through next month. Kokomo Area Career Center applications are due to Student Services by the end of February. If you are planning to attend the Career Center next year, make sure you turn in your application prior to the deadline.

The scholarship application is now open for the Howard County Community Foundation Scholarships. All required documents, such as letters of recommendations, must also be submitted by March 1, 2025. I have attached the brief overview of scholarships. The link to the application portal is: https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cfhinscholarship.

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/