Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Four Students Place in Top 10 at Brain Bee

Four students placed in the top 10 at the Chicago Brain Bee competition on Saturday hosted by Lake Forest College and sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience’s Chicago chapter. Seniors Fiona Gaffney and Kathryn Novkov finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while junior David Liang was seventh and senior Ryan Millman placed ninth.

The Brain Bee tests students’ knowledge in neuroscience including topics such as cells of the nervous system and how they communicate with one another, neuroanatomy, brain-behavior relationships (e.g., the neural basis of learning and memory, emotion, stress, sleep) and neurological diseases. More than 50 local Brain Bees are held annually throughout the United States, with winners of the local events invited to participate in the U.S. National Brain Bee competition. The winner of the national event will compete in the International Brain Bee.

Junior Wins Archery Tournament

Junior Sami Hartman-Stackhouse won the individual title at the Cupid Classic archery tournament in Armstrong, Illinois last weekend. Hartman-Stackhouse shot a personal-best score of 293, with three perfect rounds at 10 meters and 24 bullseyes. Sophomore Rebecca Azevedo also had a perfect round at 10 meters and was the second-leading scorer for the team with 273 points and 16 bullseyes. Senior captain Go Ogato and junior Desmond Ding each recorded a score of 270, a personal-best for the latter archer. Also achieving career-high scores were senior Jeehyun Sung (263) and freshman Caitlin Goldberg (260).

“Lock Up Your Liquor” Campaign Underway

SHS Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Dr. Cristina Cortesi and the Stand Strong Coalition, of which Stevenson is a partner, are working with a group of approximately 25 sender school students on a “Lock Up Your Liquor” campaign. The postcard campaign will encourage parents to keep containers of alcohol stored safely away from their teenage children. Survey data indicates that parents are the main source of alcohol for their children, Cortesi says, with or without their permission. Late-arrival days can be particularly challenging due to the unmonitored time students have. With a late-arrival day scheduled for Thursday, the Stand Strong Coalition encourages parents to ask their students these four questions: Where will you be? Who will you be with? What will you be doing? and What time will you be leaving home? For more tips, visit standstrongcoalition.org.

PATRIOT SPORTS

Click here for today’s athletic schedule

Girls Basketball Prepares for Regional Semifinal

Stevenson’s varsity girls basketball team will face Grant in the Illinois High School Association Class 4A regional semifinals in the Sports Center at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The 14th-seeded Bulldogs beat No.19 Deerfield, 50-26, in a first-round regional matchup Monday night. The third-seeded Patriots will carry a 22-5 record into the game, marking their eighth straight 20-win season. Senior Ashley Richardson, a four-year starter, has built an impressive resume, but one piece has been missing: a regional title. Motivation won’t be a problem. Two of the unsung heroes of this year’s squad are juniors Isabella “Izzy” Paldrmic and Julia Osuch. The 5-foot-11 Paldrmic is a multifaceted player for head coach Ashley Graham, while Osuch is a defensive specialist who is usually the first off the bench. Pioneer Press talked with both of them after last week’s win over Lake Zurich.

Boys Basketball Seeks Next Step in NSC Title Quest

The varsity boys basketball team will attempt to move closer to its fifth consecutive North Suburban Conference championship when it plays host to Lake Zurich tonight at 7 o‘clock. The Patriots (10-1 in the NSC and 18-4 overall) hold a two-game lead over Waukegan with three league games remaining. Tonight’s game will be streamed live by the Stevenson Broadcast Network at www.d125.org/sbn.

JV Boys Swim Team Wins NSC, Rewrites Record Book

The varsity boys swimming and diving team won the NSC championship in dominating fashion on Saturday, and the JV Patriots followed suit. Stevenson breezed to the league crown, topping runner-up Lake Forest, 446-227. The junior varsity claimed the top three places in 11 of 12 events and broke seven JV records, including two that were nearly 30 years old. Junior Collin Kapecki was involved in four records, winning the 50-yard freestyle (21.92) and 100 free (48.32), and swimming the anchor leg on the 200 free relay (1:29.88) and 400 free relay (3:17.71). His teammates on the 200 free relay were senior Varun Ganesh, freshman Nick Comini and junior Michael Lee, while he was joined in the 400 free relay by Ganesh and freshmen Ethan Batko and Jack Zhang. Batko won the 200 free (1:48.90), while the 200 medley relay unit of Zhang, Lee, Comini and sophomore Beno Maya posted a time of 1:39.29 that was more than two seconds faster than the old record set last season. Zhang and Maya caused the oldest records to fall, both from 1988, with Zhang claiming the 200 individual medley (2:02.50) and Maya winning the 100 butterfly (53.19). Both records were held by Darren Heydanek (Class of 1991). Zhang also won the 100 backstroke. Stevenson’s other JV conference champions on Saturday were freshman A.J. Carollo in the 500 free and freshman Ari Zaritsky in the 100 breaststroke.

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Project Dance Information Meetings Friday

Information meetings for the 10th annual Project Dance will be held during every half-lunch period Friday in Room 2104. Bring your own lunch and learn about becoming a Project Dance fundraiser. Project Dance supports the Riverside Foundation and the Stevenson Foundation.

National Honor Society Application Deadline Wednesday

National Honor Society application letters were mailed January 19 to all eligible sophomore and junior students with a minimum 3.9 cumulative, weighted grade-point average. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Any student who believes he or she meets the GPA criteria, and did not receive a letter, should email Mr. Erdmann at berdmann@d125.org as soon as possible.

College Essay Writing Workshop This Summer

Juniors can get a head start on their college essays (also called personal statements) by taking part in the College Essay Workshop this summer. The workshop will be offered three times, and will focus on the Common Application essay and various supplemental essays. Get help on your personal statement with Ms. Arias, Mr. Bradshaw, Ms. Cullen, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Lukens or Mrs. Mack. Last year about 200 students enrolled. Sign up for the workshop at www.d125.org/summer.

March 8 Submission Deadline for The Wit

Have you written some a short story, fiction, essay, poetry or a play and would like others to read it? Submit your work to The Wit, Stevenson’s literary magazine. The deadline is March 8. Submit your work to Mr. Barnabee at jbarnabee@d125.org.

Valentine’s Day Candle Sale Ends Today

Stevenson’s Bright Lights Candle Company will have a Valentine’s Day candle sale in front of the Performing Arts Center during all lunch periods today. A votive candle is $4, a small candle is $8, and a three-wick candle is $10.

CLUB NEWS

Spanish Club meets Wednesday after school in Room 2808. The club will be meeting until 5 p.m.. Chips and salsa will be served, as well as some belated Valentine’s Day sweets, and it will be a movie day! New members are always welcome, and no prior Spanish experience is necessary.

Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim will be the featured guest at the Law Club meeting after school Thursday in Room 7066. He’ll talk about running the criminal justice system in Lake County, as well as his successful re-election campaign last year.

ATHLETICS

You can buy spirit wear to celebrate the Patriettes’ first state dance championship. Apparel orders will be taken until Friday. Click here for ordering information.

Wednesday is the last day to buy tickets in advance for the varsity boys basketball team’s game against Morgan Park in the 22nd Annual McDonald’s City-Suburban Showdown. The game will be played at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Robert Morris University Convocation Center in Arlington Heights. Tickets are $10, which includes the 8 p.m. game between Evanston and Simeon. Tickets are on sale at the Patriot Superstore.

An informational meeting for anyone interested in joining the boys tennis team will be held at 3:30 today in Room 1634. If you cannot attend, contact Coach Stanhope at tstanhope@d125.org.

All baseball players are invited to take part in open gym in the Field House Wednesday from 6:15-7:15 a.m. Hitting, defense and throwing will be the focus.

Anyone interested in trying out for baseball this spring should come to an information meeting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. The varsity will meet in Room 7046, sophomores in Room 1204 and freshmen in Room 2206. If you cannot attend the meeting, contact Coach Block at pblock@d125.org for varsity, Coach Sorkin at bsorkin@d125.org for sophomore, and Coach Smith at rysmith@d125.org for freshman.

If you’re on a Patriot sports team and haven’t attended a required 30-minute Student-Athlete Meeting yet, your next chance is Thursday from 9:45-10:15 a.m. in the West Auditorium. (Thursday is a late arrival day). Any fall or winter athlete who has not attended a meeting yet should be there, as well as any potential spring athlete. Attendance will be taken, so make sure you bring your student ID. The last meeting for this school year (also a late arrival day) is March 16, at the same time and location.

If you’re going to the boys basketball games at Waukegan High School on Friday, make sure you bring your Stevenson ID. Waukegan requires all students to display their school ID when attending events at its school. If you have brothers or sisters in middle school who want to attend, they’ll have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES

Golden Apple teacher, leadership finalists announced

Chicago parents blame Rauner for CPS budget cuts

Embattled Northwestern fraternity suspended in wake of reported sex assaults

Champaign Centennial High’s $87M renovation could start in a year

Geneva school district to start own preschool

Woodland District 50 gets pushback to proposed cuts

Waukegan District 60 to hold information session on immigrant rights

New DePaul University president to be announced Thursday

Chatham police still seeking information on false school threats

Tornado funds will be used to repair Peoria-area high school parking lot

Illinois State circus performers preparing for Vegas show