Friday, Oct. 6, 2017

102 Named National Commended Students

One hundred and two seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation who are being recognized for exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2018 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last fall. Stevenson’s Commended Students are:

Last names A-F: Matthew Adams, Akhil Aggarwal, Rachel Aranyi, Sonya Ayar, Jessica Bae, Gurasees Bajaj, Alexander Bian, Samantha Burger, Alyssa Chan, Rebecca Chanowitz, Allison Chen, Jerry Chen, Junhao Chen, Hannah Choh, Kaily Chou, Derek Chung, Alexandre Clavel, Callie Coffey, Alivya Dantuluri, Harshnandan Dasika, Charles Day, Alexander Dove, Stephanie Eggers, David Engstrom and Emily Feng.

Last names G-L: Tyler Gordon, Connor Graflund, Elmira Hezarkhani, Eva Holsen, David Hou, Kai Jaeger, Nicholas Jensen, David Kaplin, Haddon Kay, Evan Kiah, Vivek Kodali, Max Kopinsky, Tyler Kouri, Michael Kowalski, Casey Kubow, Grayson Kubow, Allen Kuncheria, Anabelle Lee, Brandon Lee, Daniel Lee, Justin Lee, Luke Lee, Michael Lee, Jennifer Leong, Kevin Li, George Lie, Samuel Litwin, Angelica Lopez and Kenneth Lu.

Last names M-S: Brad Ma, Michael Ma, Karl Maciolek, Basit Malik, Joseph Malter, Aditya Mansharamani, Manar Masood, Ryan McGrogan, Ryan Mitchell, Erica Mostovoy, Natalie Mun, Aaryav Nagpal, Steven O’Reilly, Maya Parekh, Sarah Park, Trisha Patel, Yogin Patel, Lauren Petreanu, Pranathi Posa, Julia Qian, Ojas Rade, Priya Rao, Jessica Shen, Elizabeth Shulman, Karaj Singh, Benjamin Singson, Joel Slaby, Shreya Sriram and Ravi Sunder.

Last names T-Z: John Tan, Zoe Taylor, Vikram Thanigaivelan, Jeremy Tracz, Kevin Tu, Tyler Turk, Bianca Vives, Frank Wiest-Puchala, Daniel Wu, Steven Xia, Xiangcheng Xu, Katherine Yao, Jeremy Yu, Kelly Zhang, Rachael Zhang, Yu Meng Zhao, Jerry Zhou, John Zhou and Wilson Zhu.

Journalism Teacher’s Essay Featured in Daily Herald

The Daily Herald invited journalism teacher and Statesman adviser Dean Bradshaw to write an essay on the topic of “what makes something newsworthy?” In his essay, Bradshaw appealed to the media by returning to its roots. “News must be timely but also timeless,” he wrote. “While news has no friend or foe or agenda, it does have impact.” He also called for journalists (and their readers) to “reach for the highest standards of ethics with balance and thorough research.” His essay, part of the newspaper’s special section for National Newspaper Week, is available on the Daily Herald website.

Freshman Wins International Taekwondo Title

Freshman John “Jack” Arne won the gold medal in his weight class at the Canada Open taekwondo championships Saturday in Montreal. He captured the 61-kilogram (134 pound) bracket in the Cadet Division. In the championship match, Jack defeated a Texas boy who beat him at the USA National Championship semifinals in July. This was the first international competition for Jack, who has been participating in the sport since age 4 and was awarded his black belt in 2013. He has earned two national championship medals and four at the state level. This weekend, Jack will travel to Las Vegas for the World Taekwondo President’s Cup.

Another Chicago Marathon Milestone for SHS Alum

SHS alumnus and Stevenson Foundation board member Al Scaletta (Class of 1979) was the first Stevenson student to run in the Chicago Marathon, which began in the fall of 1977. On Sunday he’ll be running in the marathon again, as it celebrates its 40th year.

No School, No Digest on Monday

Stevenson will not have school on Monday in observance of Columbus Day. The Daily Digest will not be published.

PATRIOT SPORTS

Click here for today’s athletic schedule

Pelka Commits to Tulane Swimming

Senior Iza Pelka announced earlier this week that she plans to continue her swimming career at Tulane University. The four-time state medalist made the announcement on Instagram. Last season, Pelka earned three state medals. She finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and was part of the Patriots’ 400 free relay team that finished fifth. She earned a third medal with her seventh-place showing in the 500 free. Pelka was 12th in the 200 free as a sophomore. She will be joining a Green Wave program that set 13 school records and 26 personal records while finishing fifth in the American Athletic Conference.

Patriot Defense Travels the Middle Way

Being “strong up the middle” is a term usually associated with baseball, but it also applies to Stevenson’s football team. Coach Josh Hjorth employs a 3-5 defensive alignment that has received strong production from nose guard Ryan Walsh, middle linebacker Sam Marks and free safety Travis Bronstein, all seniors. “They’re a unique mixture of kids,” Hjorth told Pioneer Press. “They may not be what you’re looking for size-wise, but they make plays all over the field and they’re always striving to get better.” The trio will face a stiff test tonight when the Patriots play host to undefeated Lake Zurich in a contest that may determine the North Suburban Conference champion. Stevenson is ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press Class 8A rankings, while the Bears are No. 2 in Class 7A. Here is the Daily Herald scouting report on tonight’s game.

Schawel Nominated for Athlete of the Month

Senior golfer Matt Schawel is one of two candidates for Chicago Tribune Lake Shore Area Athlete of the Month for October. He was selected after winning medalist honors at last week’s North Suburban Conference meet. Online voting is underway.

Volleyball Alum Making Impact at NIU

Northern Illinois University’s women’s volleyball team hasn’t had much success this season, but the same can’t be said for Jori Radtke (Class of 2017). The freshman, who is Stevenson’s all-time leader in kills, had a career-high 11 kills in NIU’s 3-1 win over Central Michigan on Sept. 30. The victory was the second in 19 matches for the Huskies. Heading into a four-match road trip that begins tonight in Toledo, Radtke is third on the team in kills and points per set. She is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Jenna (Class of 2013), who was one of the elite players in Northern’s history and led the Huskies to the NCAA tournament last fall.

Athletic Trainers Appear on Fantasy Sports Show

Stevenson athletic trainers Tom Loew and Tyler Kollmann appeared on the FNTSY Sports Radio Network’s “Fantasy Freestyle” program with Dane Martinez Tuesday night. Their 11-minute appearance covered a broad range of topics. They talked about the use of tents along NFL sidelines to shield from view injured players receiving treatment, and why the New England Patriots have outfitted their team airplanes to monitor players’ urine. The interview is available at this link, starting at the 37:19 mark.

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Testing Center Closed Wednesday

The Testing Center will be closed on Wednesday due to the special schedule in effect for the day.

Volunteer at Woodlawn’s Haunted House

Woodlawn Middle School’s Fall Fest Halloween Party is from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. The school is looking for student volunteers to help with haunted house props, and to be actors in the haunted house. This is a great opportunity for students who enjoy acting, drama or stage-crafting. You can sign up through SHS’s InnerView for this opportunity.

Theatre Costume Sale Oct. 12-13 During Lunch

Need an idea for a Halloween costume? Looking for something to add to your wardrobe? Stop by the Theatre Costume Sale, a fundraiser for SHS Thespians, during all lunch periods next Thursday and Friday in front of the Performing Arts Center. The sale is open to all students.

Students Invited to Enter Art for Calendar Contest

All students are invited to enter the 2018 YouthArt Calendar Competition sponsored by the Village of Buffalo Grove Arts Commission and American Enterprise Bank. Students may submit artwork in a variety of visual media. Winning images will be included in the 2018 Community YouthArt Calendar, and will be displayed at American Enterprise Bank. Winning artists also will receive $50 from the bank, with two grand prize winners getting $100 each. The deadline to submit artwork is Saturday, Oct. 14. Read this document for more details.

COLLEGE NEWS

Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Bowling Green, Florida State, Pepperdine and Wisconsin-Whitewater are just some of the colleges coming to visit Stevenson next week. To see the complete list of college rep visits, and to find out how to sign up for one, visit www.d125.org/RepVisits.

Have you done something to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness? If so, consider applying for a Rebecca’s Dream Scholarship. The scholarship is sponsored by Rebecca’s Dream, a nonprofit organization committed to serving the community by promoting awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder. The application deadline is Dec. 31. For more information, visit http://www.rebeccasdream.org/scholarships/.

ATHLETICS

The girls gymnastics team will have a pre-season meeting after school Friday, Oct. 13 in Room 2002. Anyone interested in joining the team is welcome. No experience is necessary.

The sophomore boys basketball team is seeking a manager. You can earn volunteer credit for the experience. Contact Coach Hess for details at dahess@d125.org.

ESPPA award nominations for the fall season are now being accepted through Oct. 30. To make a nomination, fill out the form at this link. Any questions can be directed to Mr. Hodge at mhodge@d125.org.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES

Rauner boasts of education reform law; draws Dem complaints

After shooting, Wheaton school forfeits football game in Chicago

Student arrested in Springfield schools’ bomb threats

Study: Bomb threats becoming more frequent at schools

Lincoln-Way schools chief responds to criticism of district finances

U46 schools raise more than $10K for earthquake, hurricane victims

Danville district’s ex-food director faces seven felony charges

UIC investigating suspected case of bed bugs in dorm

CPS revises budget, owes its charter schools another $37M

Bartlett High officials hope new stadium will be ready for next school year

Barrington High surprises first student selected for U.S. Special Olympics