Table Of Content

PICTURED top to bottom Ms. Shonna Siegers, science teacher ► Sara Shah, sophomore Briana Crowe, junior ► Sophomores Mladjan Jankovic (34) and Clay Arnold (44) and juniors Dean Svolos (5) and Stevan Djuric (13) ► Rohan Chatterjee, junior ► Tess Talabay, junior Arturo Landeros, senior everyday routines 14 team no sleep 16 school environment 18 inside the classroom 20 challenging classes 22 competitive clubs 24 leaving school 26 NAMES pg 120 seniors 122 juniors 140 sophomores 150 freshmen 160 faculty 170 group photos 176 sport photos 187 advertisements 193 index 214 RECORDS pg 174 ▲ FLAG DAY With the American flag waving behind him, Paul MORE THAN DtaenRg oFlof o(5tb0a) lrl ubnasn onnerto a tt hthee f oHootbmaellc foiemldin agl tgearm bree. a“kEivnegr ythornoeu wghas t hpeu mMpues¬d up because we wanted to show the alumni what we had going for us,” Paul said. "It was going to be a good game, and we wanted to prove that we had the heart and desire to win. I carried the American flag to show Munster High School Paragon 2014 respect for the veterans. They were protecting us and allowed us to play on that Friday night. Carrying it was my idea, so the guys let me do it. 8808 Columbia Ave Volume 49 I’ve seen it done in college games and I wanted to do it. It was my senior year and it would have be my only opportunity." Munster, IN 46321 219.836.3200 www.munster.k12.in.us Faculty: 91 Enrollment: 1,529 TITLE 1 ] . 5 A /\dding a seventh hour to our school day daunted us at first. Would we have more homework? How crowded would lunches be? And what about a new principal? What changes would that bring? Our school’s structure was evolving, and we found ourselves trying to adjust. But these changes went beyond an empty slot on a schedule or a 15 minute wait in Guidance. They were more than that. Our mornings became a bit more cheerful after receiving a fist bump from Mr. Melby. We found ourselves finally able to fit the classes we were most interested in into our schedule. The chances of sitting with our friends at lunch increased with the number of people. And we raced from Statistics to AP Economics as the countdown clocks grew closer and closer to zero. We found these additions all around us. But it wasn’t just the school. We gained a better perspective of ourselves. We proved that it wasn’t just about what kind of car we drove or what stores we shopped at. We proved that it didn’t matter if we spent seven minutes or seven hours studying for the Chemistry final. We rose beyond the stereotypes others saw on the surface. We were more than that. We rode our bikes to school instead of driving for our AP Environmental Science Eco Challenge to help build a better environment. We stayed at Panera until closing with our We the People study group to look for extra sources. We rose before the sun to swim 1000 yards at morning practice. We doubled up on our layers of clothing as we braved the -35 degree windchill when no other school in the area would. And we came together as we trended hashtags worldwide to raise awareness of our friend’s story. To put it simply, we gained a great deal. We were, and always will be, MORETHA 2 OPENING OUTWITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW New books. New classes. New schedule. A new school year brings many changes. Along with this, an even bigger change took place—a new principal. As students adjusted to this administration change, the transition proved to be a larger adjustment for N I Us, principal. “It was a learning experience every day, but my goal was to soak everything in and learn all of the aspects of being principal,” Mr. Wells said. WHY WAS SIX AFRAID OF SEVEN? Sixth hour comes to a close, and students begin packing up. The bell rings, but instead of going home, students now head to their next class—seventh hour. With many changes taking place, especially a new hour and a new schedule, students and faculty had to adjust to this addition in many ways. “With six hours, after third hour, you were almost done with the day,” \melia (i cor gas, senior, said. “Now there isn’t really a halfway point. Because of this, I’m not a huge fan of having seven hours because it makes the day feel a lot longer.” JUDE'S JOKES NEW SCHEDULE, While saying the announcements every day, NEW CLASSES Jitu bdyi ea dMduinhgre mz, asneyn isoar,y idnegcsi dtoed h etor uhsauvael fsucnr iwpti th Wweitrhe ao fnfeerwed s etov ehne lhpo fiullr u dpa ys,c mheadnuyl ense w classes “I’M BAAACK!” u In AP Environmental Science, I learned a lot about national parks and how “GOBBLE GOBBLE” they come about funding and how “I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO difficult it is to raise money to save the THE UNITED STATES...” environment.” "Kinr^Lir “GOOOOD U If you didn’t mind taking notes every I Noon! MORNING!” day and doing some homework, AP “BIG BOOTY JUDIE OUT!” Human Geography wasn’t that hard. All you really needed to do was pay Source: Judie Muhrez, senior attention and do your homework.” U Personal Finance was a lot of notes, but it’ll teach you some really valuable real life skills. We learned a lot about keeping and maintaining a budget, and how to manage your finances.” ON YOUR MARK ► Getting ready for their turn, seniors Kevin Yurasovich and Courtney Zunica play a review game in AP Environmental Science. “I think APES was a great class with a great teacher,” Kevin said. “It made me more aware of the issues of the world ” THEME LEARNING CURVE From a new principal to a loss of a study hall, students and faculty had to adjust in many ways, making every day a learning experience With the new seven period schedule, some students found themselves wishing they still had a study hall. Although students could take a study hall, it would fill up a period on their schedule. “Study halls are a great option for those who need time dur¬ ing the school day to catch up on homework, or to prevent from falling behind,” Leo Ortiz, sophomore, said. “You could also use them to waste time, or talk with friends, which wasn’t always the best thing.” While some students enjoyed having a study hall, some were glad that they don’t have a study hall. “I’m glad that I didn’t have a study hall because I don’t really like school, so I didn’t have to sit there and not do anything,” Andrew Caroselli, sophomore, said. “I’d rather be in class, rather than do nothing.” ◄ TUNE IN TO STUDY Listening to music while studying, Adis Bradaric, senior, uses his time wisely in study hall. “Having a study hall is awesome," Adis said. “I get to finish my homework and study for my tests and quizzes.” MINUTE BY STUDYSTATS As a part of their presidential campaign, seniors MINUTE Eashan Kumar and Calvin Sanders introduced With a full hour of optional countdown clocks into the hallways study hall, students used their time in a variety of ways ► LEAVING LUN: Hayley 5 Kwasniewski, junior, and Luis Domin¬ guez, senior head to their sixth hour class. “The countdown docks had really helped me tell the time so I knew MINUTES how long I had to get to class,” Hayley said. SIXTH HOUR, students take a second to look at the countdown clocks before entering South. ▼ WALK¬ ING TO HIS NEXT CLASS, Nicholas Zawadzki, sophomore, passes the cafeteria. “I liked the new clocks be¬ cause you didn’t have to stop and think ▲ SLEPT: 8% A PLAYED GAMES: 11% A LISTENED TO MUSIC: 25% A WORKED ON HOMEWORK: 63% MINUTE Source: First and sixth hour study hall surveys from Jan. 27 MINUTES CHANGES ON THE SURFACE 5 GETT NG ' LIN E The new period added an additional AP class, such as the first for freshmen With the seventh period students had additional class options, such as the first AP class for freshmen, AP Hu¬ man Geography, taught by Mr. Josh Herold. The under and upperclassmen views of the class varied, according to Alyse Dittrich, senior. “For seniors, we were already exposed to some of the stuff we learned because of other classes,” Alyse said. “The freshmen were suprised by the work load, but once they got used to it they realized it was good preparation for the rest of their high school career.” The opportunity for freshmen to take their first AP class encouraged many to signed up, according to Perima Shah, freshman. “I was slightly overwhelmed by the concept of being in an AP class, because I’d heard how demand¬ ing such classes could be,” Perima said. “The first unit we did made it seem like the class was going to consist of excessive amounts of work, but I had been looking forward to the challenge, and I was really glad I stuck with it. I thought one of the biggest factors that pulled me in, as well as many other freshmen, was the fact that it was the only AP class offered to freshmen. It seemed like a great challenge, and an awesome opportunity.” ► HUGE CHANGE 6 THEME