Wawasee High School Class of 1993 Reunion will be held from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, July 5, at The Eagles in Syracuse. Tickets will be $25 per person in advance and will include dinner, dessert and entertainment. A Paypal account will be created for everyone to buy tickets online. Please “like” Wawasee Class of …read more.

In some ways, it has been a normal academic year for Wawasee High School. The prom was earlier this month, seniors are anxiously awaiting the moment they walk across the platform to be given their diplomas during graduation June 8 and the choir department performed the annual spring production this past weekend. Many positive things …read more.

Mary Cockburn Bales, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Cockburn, and a 1998 graduate of Wawasee High School, received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Purdue University on Sunday, May 12 during graduation ceremonies. She has been hired to do research at the University of Notre Dame at Mendoza School of Business.

Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne is pleased to announce Alexandria Rairigh, a graduating senior at Wawasee High School, has accepted an IPFW Chancellor’s Distinguished Scholarship. Alexandria plans to study visual communication and design when she begins her college career at IPFW this fall. The scholarship provides full tuition and student fees and is renewable for up to four years.

A box of diplomas of past graduates from Wawasee High School has been found in the school’s guidance department. These diplomas are from students who graduated, but never picked up the document. Diplomas were found for Pamela Colpetzer Lee and Michael Mato, 1972; Filena Grim, 1974; Theresa Hively, 1977; Rebecca Sheppard, 1978; Connie Borders, 1983; …read more.

Wawasee High School was among 313 schools statewide to be named a Four Star School for the 2011-12 academic year. Glenda Ritz, Indiana superintendent of public instruction, announced the Four Star Schools Monday. Each year, the Indiana Department of Education recognizes schools that perform in the upper 25th percentile of schools in performance on ISTEP+ …read more.

During the lunch periods Thursday at Wawasee High School, students couldn’t help but notice the most unusual sight of seeing two WHS seniors duct taped to a cafeteria wall. Jordan Kuhn, left, and Brooke Miller had the honor of being duct taped because they won the “Duct Tape For A Cause” event where the Key …read more.

Glenda Ritz, state superintendent of public education, made it quite clear she does not approve of “high stakes testing” in any way, particularly ISTEP+, and strongly believes such testing could be used more as a growth model assessment instead of only pass or fail. Ritz visited Wawasee High School Friday by invitation from WHS Principal …read more.

Thursday evening in the cafeteria at Wawasee High School, the building trades students were recognized during the annual banquet. Building trades is a hands-on learning experience for juniors and seniors who are given the opportunity to help build a house from the foundation up. After the welcome by Curt Hursey, president of the building trades …read more.

SYRACUSE – To select the new head varsity football coach, Wawasee High School chose to promote from within. During a brief meeting late Monday afternoon in Syracuse, the Wawasee school board unanimously approved the hiring of Josh Ekovich, age 28, to replace Tom Wogoman who resigned earlier this year and is now the head football …read more.

  During his brief remarks at the Wawasee High School Academic Hall of Fame Banquet Saturday evening, WHS Principal Don Harman emphasized the word “outstanding.” The students inducted in the hall of fame are outstanding, their educators are outstanding and their parents are outstanding, he said. A total of 44 WHS students were officially inducted …read more.

Cosmetology students at Fairfield High School have been using their skills and talents since the start of the school year while running their SkillsUSA club and working toward completion. SkillsUSA is an organization where high school students can compete in both leadership and trade skills contests. This year, Fairfield has three competitions the students could …read more.

If there is such a thing, Brett Heinisch, senior at Wawasee High School, would qualify as an Academic Super Bowl “veteran.” Counting three years of middle school and now in his fourth year of high school, he’s participated on an Academic Super Bowl social studies team all seven years. After seven years of preparing for …read more.

A Wawasee High School student was taken to Goshen General Hospital this morning after apparently being struck be a vehicle as he walked to school. According to reporter Tim Ashley, the superintendent’s office of Wawasee School Corporation said the student was walking to WHS when he was hit by a vehicle. It happened near the …read more.

It was a fun-filled, music-filled, sobering morning for Milford Middle School today. Students got to meet with Bill Ballenger, founder of Break the Grey, and his gang of interns for discussions on life, sobriety and friendship at a school assembly unlike any other. Students even got to attempt to perform popular dances like GS Boyz’s …read more.

Wawasee High School entered three super mileage cars in the annual Shell Eco-marathon competition last week in Houston, Texas, and two of the three cars placed in the top 10. The diesel car obtained 907 miles per gallon and placed third out of six competitors. The electric vehicle obtained 140 miles per kilowatt hour and …read more.

The Lake Area Community Band will kick off its 25th season with a joint concert with Wawasee High School’s concert band 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the Wawasee High School auditorium in Syracuse. Admission is free. Lake Area Community Band is under the direction of Martin Becker. The group performs throughout the summer in …read more.

SYRACUSE — “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything,” Bill Ballenger said of young people today. “There just seems to be this grey area everyone operates in, where nothing really matters anymore.” Break the Grey, Ballenger’s nonprofit faith-based organization, seeks to restore absolutes in the eyes of the youth. Ballenger, founder …read more.

Two sheds at the softball diamonds at Wawasee High School are gone and all of the contents destroyed after an accidental fire sparked by a lawn mower. Turkey Creek Fire Territory was called to the fire at 3:43 p.m. Sunday. Fire chief Mickey Scott said the sheds were totally destroyed by the time firefighters arrived …read more.

On Sunday, March 31, the unthinkable happened at the final game of the Midwest Regional Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kevin Ware, a player for the Louisville Cardinals suffered an injury that officials report is both uncommon and unnerving in the sport of basketball. As the 6-foot-2 basketball player proceeded across the court, …read more.

Kristi Harris, math teacher at Wawasee High School, has been selected to the 2013 LearnZillion Dream Team. More than 3,000 teachers, instructional coaches and administrators from across the country applied and only 200 were chosen to the highly selective Dream Team. These teachers were chosen based on their understanding of the common core state standards …read more.

On Thursday, Wawasee Middle School hosted the North East Lakes Middle School Conference Academic Super Bowl competition. WMS placed third overall out of eight schools. The topic for this year’s competition was “The Glory that was Greece.” WMS will host the state Academic Super Bowl competition April 27. The social studies team, shown here, placed …read more.

Wawasee High School’s Key Club fared well in the Indiana District Convention held last weekend in Bloomington. The convention consisted of workshops and a guest speaker. The club placed first in the video competition and will now compete at the international convention July 3-7 in Washington, D.C. Key Club also placed first in Single Service …read more.

    Wawasee High School will again enter the Shell Eco-marathon Super Mileage car competition in Houston, Texas. This year’s competition is April 4-8. Wawasee will enter three cars — one each of diesel, electric and gas. The goal for the diesel car, which placed first last year, is to break 1,500 miles per gallon …read more.

Wawasee High School’s theater department will be featuring “Thoroughly Modern Millie” beginning tomorrow. The theatrical performance is a thrilling mix of music, dance and a hilarious plot. Set in the early 1920s in New York City, a young country girl arrives to strike it rich with her new ideas and disregard for love, but it …read more.

Eighth-graders, or more specifically middle school aged kids, are starting to consider and enter into stronger boy-girl relationships. Though far less common a generation or two ago, middle school students are involved in dating relationships in today’s world. And with the increasing use of the Internet and cellphones to communicate, it can create numerous concerns …read more.

Wawasee High School hosted the Northern Lakes Conference Academic Super Bowl competition March 11. Wawasee tied for second place with Concord with 20.5 points overall. NorthWood won the competition with 34 points, Northridge took third with 19 points, Warsaw had 18 points and Goshen finished with 14. Wawasee’s English and social studies teams were first …read more.

Wawasee High School will hold their first Pow Wow student activities night 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, March 15, at the school. The Pow Wow, a carnival type event just for Wawasee High School students, will be filled with games and activities designed to interest many types of students. The event is being organized …read more.

Airman Kaely Bame, a 2012 graduate of Wawasee High School, graduated from Air Force Basic Training on Friday at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. Bame is the daughter of Ron and Alecia Bame of Pierceton and Tisha Bame, North Webster. Her grandparents are Ron and Judy Bame, Sue and Mike Moore, and …read more.

There will be a community prayer service beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, at the Wawasee High School Auditorium in response to the recent tragedies in the Syracuse school and community. The whole Wawasee community is invited to come together for the prayer service. “We recognize this is a difficult and sorrowful time for …read more.

[weaver_youtube HU4qj0SFLsQ rel=0] (EDITOR’S NOTE: Mail-Journal Reporter Tim Ashley contributed to this update.) “You can’t help people that don’t want to help themselves. But I’m telling you, if you reach out and ask for help, you have people who want to sit there and listen.” That is the message youth motivational speaker and teen and …read more.

A Wawasee High School student was injured in a fall at the school this afternoon and authorities are trying to determine exactly what happened. Scanner traffic indicated the teen boy fell from the ceiling of an unsupervised area and called then called 911 using his cell phone to say he had tried to kill himself. …read more.

For nearly two hours this morning in the spectator gym of Wawasee High School, well known youth motivational speaker Jeff Yalden emptied his heart in an attempt to touch the hearts of WHS students. To do so, he used a combination of plain talking, real life stories, everyday family life, passionate encouragement and humor. Yalden, …read more.

The Wawasee Athletic Department is selling tickets for the girls basketball sectional through Saturday. The tickets, good for admission to all three tourney sessions at NorthWood High School, are $10 each. Tickets at the door will be $6 per session and there are no single-session tickets being pre sold for the sectional. The Class 3-A …read more.

  Wawasee High School seniors Jon Ruiz, left, and Sara Christner model some of the clothes to be shown during the WHS Key Club’s second annual Goodwill Fashion Show. The fashion show is set for 7 p.m. Monday in the high school auditorium. Several students will model clothes designed from items purchased at Goodwill. Staff …read more.

Friday afternoon, North Webster American Legion Post 253 presented an American flag to Wawasee High School. It is now hanging on the wall on the east end of the cafeteria. Presenting the flag from the legion were Ken Wilson, Post 253 commander; and Bob Harding, adjutant for Post 253. Accepting the flag on behalf of …read more.

Casey A.J. “KC” Ochs, 15, of Warsaw, Ind., passed away at 6:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. He was born April 11, 1997, in Sierra Vista, Ariz., to Christopher J. and Dominique (Blancette) Ochs. He moved to the area 8 years ago from Muncie and was a sophomore at Wawasee High School in Syracuse, Ind. …read more.

On Friday evening, the Wawasee community was shocked and saddened by the death of a student. Casey Ochs, 15, of the Barbee Lake area, tragically took his own life. Ochs is the second Wawasee High School student to end his life this school year. The matter sparked WHS to send the following letter and, WHS …read more.

At North Webster Elementary School there are classes and then there is C.L.A.S.S. During Tuesday evening’s regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee school board in Syracuse, the first meeting in 2013, the board heard a presentation from a few North Webster Elementary teachers about Connecting Learning Assures Successful Students, or C.L.A.S.S. Mitch Willaman, fifth grade …read more.

Tearing down and rebuilding have been the norm the last few years at Wawasee High School, which originally opened in the late 1960s. A new cafeteria, kitchen and culinary arts room were formed through renovations earlier in the academic year and more recently a fitness room was created. As of Jan. 7, a new fitness …read more.

There will be an informational meeting for parents of Wawasee High School juniors from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in the Wawasee High School auditorium. The information will cover such topics as: Selecting colleges; applying to colleges; when to take the S.A.T.; scholarships diploma requirements and much more information that will be beneficial to …read more.

The Wawasee High School Guidance Department is sponsoring a college financial aid night for seniors and their parents. This session will provide information about important deadlines, the application process and financial aid programs. The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in the Wawasee High School Lecture Room. Step-by-step instructions for filling out the FAFSA …read more.

Teaching can get in the bloodstream and teachers form strong bonds with students. Year after year, it keeps them motivated to keep coming back in spite of all the challenges, demands and obstacles. But in reality, many teachers are no different than those in other career fields. Eventually the timing is right to retire or …read more.

  Wawasee High School’s Key Club and National Honor Society teamed up last week to sponsor the annual penny pitch drive at the high school. The drive has been held annually for several years to assist needy high school students and their families in a variety of ways such as with medical expenses, clothing, food …read more.

Wawasee High School Instrumental Music Department presents the string orchestra in “No Strings Attached,” a concert of holiday music, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, in the high school auditorium. Under the direction of Joyce Dubach, the orchestra will open with the popular Christmas tune “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The finale will be a medley …read more.

Wawasee High School junior Carli Blosser is serving an early childhood development internship at Teen Parents Succeeding in Syracuse. The internship is through Wawasee High School’s Professional Career Internship Program. Under the supervision of Trish Miller, coordinator of the high school’s Work-Based Programs, and TPS Lead Caregiver Margaret Grady, Carli will focus on Creative Curriculum …read more.

        A typical stereotype of a high school-aged child, sometimes not warranted, is they are self-centered and only concerned about their own needs. A committee of Wawasee High School students, though, seeks to show they really do care about the communities they live in. “The whole basis for this is we really …read more.

Wawasee High School’s music department is presenting a concert of seasonal music at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in the high school auditorium. The high school concert band, under the direction of Joyce Dubach, opens the concert with “Jingle Bell Rhapsody,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Deck the Halls and All That Jazz.” …read more.

A Wawasee FFA soils judging team will be competing in the National Land Judging Contest in Oklahoma in the spring of 2013. The team of Ryan Schlipf, Seth Helfers, Sarah Harden and Aaron Beer qualified by placing fourth in the 4-H division of the 2012 Indiana State Soils Contest. The contest was held near Batesville …read more.

The Wawasee Community School Corporation is hosting an informational session on suicide prevention from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. Christina Bolden from the Bowen Center will be presenting the program. Bowen Center has been working with WHS since last week when the school tragically lost a freshman student. All patrons are welcome …read more.

Wawasee High School is a community gripped by tragedy after the loss of their classmate, Kalee Skaggs. Skaggs died early Tuesday after being struck by a train near Cromwell. (See related story) As students mourn, the school is providing counseling services to aide students in the grieving process. “Guidance and staff spoke with students yesterday …read more.

Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire Department was called to Wawasee High School at about 7:15 a.m. this morning for a general fire alarm. Fire officials arriving on scene initially reported nothing was visible from the outside, but upon further investigation additional personnel and a ladder truck was called to the school. Fire crews were staging on the …read more.

Principal Don Harman of Wawasee High School announced Oct. 23 Alexandria Rairigh has been named a Commended Student in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. A letter of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to the scholastically talented senior. About 34,000 Commended …read more.

When kids begin kindergarten, they aren’t all cut from the same mold. “They come to us at all stages of development,” said Diana Parker, Title I coordinator for the Wawasee Community School Corp. Parker, instrumental in writing a grant that was eventually awarded by the Dekko Foundation, gave a presentation to the Wawasee school board …read more.

ELKHART — One of the perks of the boys and girls cross country state tournaments is a runner doesn’t have to run an ‘A’ race to keep a season alive. Wawasee didn’t light the Ox Bow course on fire, but both of its teams did enough to advance to the regional with top-five finishes. The …read more.

Wawasee High School senior Kourtney Flannery is serving an early childhood development internship at Teen Parents Succeeding in Syracuse. The internship is through Wawasee High School’s Professional Career Internship Program. Under the supervision of Trish Miller, coordinator of the high school’s Work-Based Programs, and TPS Lead Caregiver Margaret Grady, Kourtney will focus on Creative Curriculum …read more.

Brittany Frecker is learning about chiropractic treatments at the Spine & Rehab Center in Syracuse. Jordan Acton is learning about law enforcement at the Syracuse Police Department. And Courtney Flannery is learning about child care at Teen Parents Succeeding in Syracuse. These three Wawasee High School students, and many more, are part of the work-based …read more.

Joergen Jensen seems to have fit in well in the home of Steve and Karyl Hapner near Milford. Jensen spent time in England last summer and speaks the English language well. For the 2012-13 academic year, Jensen, 16 years old and from Denmark, is living with the Hapners as a foreign exchange student through Education …read more.

Those who have lived in the Wawasee school district since the 1970s or later and who saw the Wawasee High School Marching Band perform will recall how large the band was and its positive area reputation, too. It was not uncommon for more than 100 high school students to be in the marching band and …read more.

The results of Union Pacific’s Great Big Rollin’ Railroad Video Remake Contest were announced Tuesday in Omaha, Neb., and the results mean a local man will pursue his dream to become a character animator in Hollywood. Brock Boyts, formerly of Syracuse, and his wife, Nellie, were named the grand prize winners of the Union Pacific 150th …read more.

You are a high school geometry student and wonder how angles and trigonometry and more applies in the real world. “What does this all mean and how can it really help me after I graduate?” you ask yourself. At Wawasee High School, geometry students have an opportunity to put what they learn in books in …read more.

This weekend the public will get a chance to see the many and varied types of artwork completed by art students at Wawasee High School during the 2011-12 school year. Displays are open to the public 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Displays will be set up in the …read more.

Each year, whether through being named to the honor roll or another way, several students at Wawasee High School earn recognition in some form. But many others, despite positive accomplishments, had not been recognized. This year, though, an attempt was made to change that as a student assembly was held during the first period Monday …read more.

Franklin Robert Dush and Sophia Marie Katsaropoulos have been officially named the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Wawasee High School Class of 2012. Dush is the son of Leland and Mary Dush, Milford. Katsaropoulos is the daughter of Stella Zondervan and John and Becky Katsaropoulos, Syracuse. Both students will present the commencement address on June 9, …read more.