Wrapping up 2023

As all years do, 2023 had many ups and downs. In January Waukee wrapped up show choir season when Waukee hosted Starstruck, a weekend-long show choir competition involving multiple other groups statewide. Where Urbandale took home the trophy. In February the Warriors got ready for the State Championship with multiple victories from Urbandale, Lincoln, Dallas Center-Grimes, Johnston, and more. In March, multiple students went to the Finals for basketball at Wells Fargo Center to cheer on our team. Unfortunately, once Waukee got to the semi-finals we lost against Northwest. Even though many students were disappointed at this loss,  Spring Break started and held many adventures. Senior Duke Taylor states “This year for Spring Break I went to Florida, I got to golf and my mom and sister relaxed at the beach”. To kick off April we had prom, where the theme was enchanted forest. Waukee had their production of “Mary Poppins” for their spring musical,  Junior Colin Gach who played a singing, dancing statue in “Mary Poppins” recalls, “I loved doing Mary Poppins because everyone was so dedicated to making something good and we had a lot of fun doing it” 

In May Thespians were acclaimed for their performances in “The Book of Will”, FNL, Speech Team, “Mary Poppins”, “Murder on the 518” and more. There they mingled, took group photos, and got awarded and appreciated for their talents. At the end of May, we ended the school year and said goodbye to the class of 23’ at their graduation ceremony. During summer break many memories were made. In August Spirit and Millenium camp and rehearsal started to prepare for this year’s season. One of Sophomore Ella Well’s best summer memories was “In August I went to LA with my best friend Sydney for the Era’s Tour, and the surprise songs were “I Can See You” from 1989 The Vault and “Maroon” from Midnights. A night I’ll never forget.” 

We started the school year with our football team getting a victory vs. Ames. Once September started everyone got ready for the Battle of the Kee, a football game against our biggest rival Northwest, and where we…gracefully took the loss. Then we all got ready for Homecoming, we all voted for Homecoming king and queen, Kim Sanchez and Nathan Nevenhoven. We had a parade full of lots of school spirit. The night before the dance we played Lincoln where the score was an epic 58-0. The Homecoming dance the next night, where the theme was “All Roads Lead Home” held amazing lifelong memories for all of us. With little to no drama. In October the performing arts put on a remarkable production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” The show was on for 3 nights and starred Wesley Mcpike as Macbeth and Beverly Zheng as Lady Macbeth. Towards the end of the term students crammed for finals right before celebrating Halloween. 

Before Thanksgiving break, our National Honor Society gave out hot cocoa and donuts to our communities, often underappreciated and important bus drivers. To bring wellness to students after our (well-deserved) break, we had the Warrior Wellness Event, featuring many wellness activities, local sponsors, and motivating speakers. December started with a bang due to The Festival of Peace, a concert featuring songs from many choirs including; Bella Voce, Warrior Chor, Cantate, Bass Clef, A Cappella, and Concert Choir. This performance required over a month of learning, memorizing, and rehearsing these pieces. On the 4th Waukee High School hosted a Girls and Boys basketball game against Northwest, collaborating with charities, ToysforTots, and KCCI. Where we finally got our win. Now we all are patiently awaiting winter break and can’t wait for what the rest of the year has in store.