![Reaching out. Christopher Lesh, student at Central Catholic High School, serves ice cream during the event on March 2, 2025, at the Portland waterfront. Central Catholic was just one of the schools that sent student volunteers out to cook, prepare, dish, and serve food. Interact club’s co-president Rachel Gerber, junior, plated the food during the event. “I like how direct the contact is,” Gerber said. “You’re there [and] you’re just doing something good. It’s simple, it’s easy, you can feel good about it.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/interact-1-edited-1200x744.jpg)
![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
*WEB CONTINUATION: This article originally appeared in Volume 105 Issue 2 of our news magazine the Amplifier.
The staff choir is a tradition originating before COVID-19 and now being continued following their performance during the winter assembly on Dec. 20, 2024. Anne Kubitschek, choir director, led both the staff and the tenor and bass students of Fresh Pitch to sing in harmony.
“I sent an email and then Mr. Menne plugged it at one of our staff meetings. Then I sent some more emails, and was like, ‘Tell your friends to just get people to come. It’s low pressure,’ all these things,” Kubitschek said. “I appreciate those who took the time to do it, too. And even if they could only come once, it was great.”
Almost every school day at around 8 a.m., the staff would come into the Performing Arts Center (PAC) to rehearse for the concert. During these rehearsals, the students would help out the sections.
“I had [Fresh Pitch] help some of the sections and help the teachers, [especially] some of the more nervous teachers gain more confidence. Sometimes if you haven’t sung for a long time, you’re kind of like, ‘I don’t remember how to do this,’ but they did really good,” Kubitschek said.
During their performance, the staff choir sang “Winter Wonderland.” While the staff were singing, Nancy Monson, science teacher, played the piano accompaniment. Allison Kolta, English teacher, was one of the staff members who sang in the concert.
“I used to be in choir but it’s been a really long time since I’d had the opportunity to do so. So I was pretty psyched,” Kolta said. “I did [choir] basically all of middle and high school. I did band and choir. But after that, I haven’t done it, so it’s been a long time.”
Although the Associated Student Body (ASB) hosted almost every event during the winter assembly, the staff choir was run entirely by Kubitschek and Fresh Pitch.
“It’s a good way to have the staff participate in some of the activities. ASB sometimes [has] staff participate in these activities because otherwise we just kind of watch from afar,” Kolta said. “I think that it’s something that appeals to maybe a subset of teachers who aren’t super athletic or outgoing, like ASB usually caters to. But this sounded like something that would be really fun to do.”
Despite there being three assemblies in each school year, the staff choir will only continue to perform during the winter assembly ahead of winter break.
“Just singing in the winter is always a fun thing to do and it’s a good way to build camaraderie and community with people,” Kubitschek said. “I think it’s good for kids to see their teachers participate in stuff that is what they do as well, or that they’re interested in, and like seeing them as full people. Also for the staff to just get out of their regular routine and get to do something that’s fun and really brings people together to connect.”
