Tre’ Walters, senior, was sworn into the US Army yesterday. He said he wanted to “experience the world in a different way and meet people from all over the world.” Walters added that the Army would also allow him to provide “a secured life for my future family.” Walters, who graduated through CG’s Simon Youth Academy, said he had been considering the military for a long time. He also said SYA teacher Angela Orr—whose husband was a Marine—helped him decide. “I definitely had some help along the way,” Walters said. “Mrs. Orr and her husband have helped me tremendously this year. I give a huge shoutout to them for what they’ve done for me and for others as well.”

Jazz Band is a small ensemble of student musicians that focus on jazz music, which is different from other types of music because of its range of styles and the use of improvisation during performances. This winter, the jazz band has been performing in various festivals, including Jazz a La Mode at CGHS. Senior Jessica Marqua is the lead trumpet player in the jazz band. “Jazz a La Mode is different from what would be your normal concert that you would go to. Jazz is different, and our jazz is set in the band room,” Marqua said. “All the lights are down, and you have lights on your stand. It’s a nice, set mood with candlelights. It’s actually super cool to set it up and see it all come together. It’s really relaxing. You can relax and just forget all of your thoughts. It’s a really good time.” The Jazz Ensemble has not only performed at the high school’s Jazz a La Mode but have also performed at the ISSMA Jazz Festival at Whiteland High School, where they earned a gold rating. To read or watch the full story, visit Trojaneer.com. 🖊️ & 🎥: Publications Club 📸: Zdenka Hulak

Swipe to see all the hands-on activities students were doing in the days leading up to Spring Break.

Shouts erupt from all sides of the room as senior Mason Matherly, clasped in a grip with his opponent, uses every muscle in his arm and shoulders to push his opponent’s fist onto the table. His senses became only the feel of his opponent’s fist clutching as hard as possible around his palm. With a final strained push, he firmly planted his opponent’s hand into the table as the cheers became deafening. Matherly competes in arm wrestling tournaments. His interest was sparked by viewing videos on social media. Since starting two years ago, he has not stopped competing. To read the full story, visit Trojaneer.com. 🖊️: Munachi Johnson 📸: Jack Forrest

Senior Sarah Wehrle has been spending her time furthering her skills in the art of ceramics through ceramics classes where she creates mugs, sculptures and vases.         “Right now we are kind of at the point where we do stuff on our own,” Wehrle said. “We are doing our own assignments; we are using different types of clay with lighter and darker values, which we can experiment with on our own. We had to make a character or an object from the media. I chose a demogorgon from ‘Stranger Things,’ which was really fun to make. I like the bigger throwing pieces like vases and I also like making mugs.”         Teacher Nathan Fry aided in progressing Wehrle’s artistic path when she began last year with her choice of doing art classes. “I was in the first ceramics class last year and now I do advanced ceramics and AP art,” Wehrle said. “Mr. Fry has definitely helped me out a lot, and my sister used to help me a lot last year when she was in ceramics. Mr. Fry has helped me discover that I liked ceramics and he helped me grow more as an artist. The experience of the class is what I mostly remember. Mr. Fry is just a very fun person to be around. Being able to experiment and work with him is a great experience.” Wehrle said she has been able to take the fundamentals of art and ceramics and apply it to her everyday life. “I just like that it is a nice creative outlet for me,” Wehrle said. “I like playing with clay, throwing it, and seeing the different ways to use it. I experiment with different glazes, shapes, textures. One important thing I learned: sometimes you are going to mess up and things might break or even explode. I learned how to turn those into something cool or not get shaken up about and start over.” 🖋️Munachi Johnson 📸 contributed

A pan simmers over low heat, lightly bubbling with a smoky, spicy, creamy vodka sauce. Senior Travis Tinsley lifts up the pasta full of boiling noodles and strains them, calling to his family that dinner is ready. He carefully divides the noodles into separate plates and pours the hot sauce on each before garnishing with freshly seared scallops. He delivers the plates in front of each of his family members as they gather around the table. Everyone dives into the perfectly cooked dish and they all have a nice meal as they talk about their day. Tinsley spends his freetime cooking meals for himself and his family. “It’s a good pastime,” Tinsley said. “It takes up plenty of time. It’s productive. [I’m] not sitting around the house bored all day cause I can work with my hands, be up and about actually doing things [and] get a good meal at the end of it.” To read the full story, visit Trojaneer.com. 🖊️ & 📸: Noah Baker

Last weekend, students in BPA went to the state competition downtown. “It was pretty fantastic. I got to see some old friends, and I met a lot of new people. Everyone there was very cordial. It was a great experience,” Senior Benjamin Peters said. Students competed in a variety of different business-related categories. “I only competed in one event at state. It was a video production team, so I had a team of me and three other people. We each wrote, researched and created a video and presented it to a panel of judges, ” Peters said. In addition to being different categories with presentation competitions, there are also different tests that the students could take. “I also did tests as well. I did two of them, I did analytical math concepts and support concepts,” Peters said. Students reported the awards ceremony was a highlight. “Going up to the stage and picking up the plaque and being called out as second place was actually really cool,” Peters said. “Just standing in line on the stage and seing every other team be called up waiting for me to be called up and then the numbers getting smaller as I realize I'm getting closer and closer to a really high place it was just a really exhilarating experience.” 🖊️L. Sendelbach 📸Contributed

Sophomore Regan Dugan steps away from her desk. She looks at her art piece and sets her pencil down. A sense of accomplishment hits her as she looks at the finished creation. Dugan has been drawing and doing art since she was young. This year however, she took her first art class at Center Grove, and it has introduced her to all new forms of art. “When I was little, I was always drawn to art-type things. I would color and doodle all of that. But I never found myself that dedicated to continuing or thinking it was what I wanted to do,” Dugan said. “After staying inside during COVID, art really helped me out and got me inspired to take an art class and try it out.” To read the full story, visit Trojaneer.com. 🖊️ & 📸: Ramona Wright

On Monday, the Indiana High School Press Association named its finalists and winner for the Journalist of the Year award. Senior Jack Forrest was a finalist "To apply for the award, I had to create a website compiling my journalistic work throughout high school in categories like reporting, video production and editorial leadership," Forrest said. "I also asked teachers and some of my peers for references. As a finalist, I receive $250 and am listed on the IHSPA website." The award recognizes high school journalists' hard work over the course of their careers. "This award is something tangible that shows my hard work paying off," Forrest said. "Although I wasn't named the Journalist of the Year, I am proud of this achievement, and it will hopefully help me with scholarship applications." The award not only helps students in high school, but gives them something to show for their hard work. For Forrest, this means using his recognized journalism skills in college. "After high school, I am attending the Media School at IU to pursue a career in journalism or public relations. Everything I've learned in Publications and that I was recognized for through this award will be important for my future in the field," Forrest said. 🖋️: Kate Strunk 📸: Sam Findley