Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018

Stevenson Finishes 1-2 at Chicago Brain Bee

Stevenson captured the top two spots in the annual Chicago Brain Bee held Saturday at Lake Forest College, and one student earned an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition.

Junior Stuart Lukz won first place in the competition, which tests teenagers in their neuroscience knowledge, and will represent Chicago at the USA Brain Bee Championship March 16-18 at the University of Maryland-Baltimore. Winners of approximately 50 local Brain Bee events will descend on Baltimore to determine who will represent the United States in the 20th annual Brain Bee World Championships in Berlin, Germany in July. All of his expenses will be paid by the Chicago chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Senior David Liang took second place, and he and Stuart received cash prizes. They were among 14 students from SHS who competed. Also taking part in the Chicago Brain Bee were seniors Anabelle Lee and Srikar Rapaka, juniors Siddartha Adatrao, Khushi Agarwal, Akhil Atluri, Soumya Chennupati, Ellie Gurevich, Tajes Khanna, Mitul Kothapalli, Varun Malladi and Kaushik Perkari, and freshman Nikhith Rao. This was Stevenson’s second year at the Chicago Brain Bee. Last year, four students placed in the top 10.

Senior Performs, Leads at Carnegie Hall

Senior Justin Lee, a violinist in the Patriot Orchestra, performed at New York City’s Carnegie Hall on Sunday, Feb. 4 with top young musicians from around the world. He was among nearly 700 performers chosen from more than 18,000 who were nominated for the 2018 High School Honors Performance Series. Justin performed in the Honors Symphony Orchestra, one of five groups in the series.

Not only did he perform, but Justin was selected as concertmaster of his orchestra. The concertmaster, usually filled by the first-chair violin player, is considered the most skilled musician in his section, and is the second-most important member of the orchestra after the conductor. The concertmaster tunes the orchestra before rehearsals and concerts, plays solo passages, provides bowings for the first violin section, and acts as a liaison between the conductor and the musicians. Justin’s conductor was veteran youth orchestra leader Jeffrey Grogan.

Justin’s next major performance comes in June, when he performs a solo with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra in Orchestra Hall, the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Summer Construction Projects Planned

New roofs for the East Building and Field House, changes in fine arts classrooms, and turn lanes into the Port Clinton Road entrance are among the construction projects planned for this summer at Stevenson. Read this Daily Herald article for details.

Choral Guild Fundraiser at MOD Pizza Thursday

The Choral Guild is holding a fundraiser from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at MOD Pizza, 701 N. Milwaukee Ave., in Vernon Hills. Bring in this flyer and MOD Pizza will donate 20 percent of the bill to the Stevenson choir program. The offer is valid for dine-in, takeout or phone orders, but not for online orders.

Senior Selected for Jewish Teen Leadership Honor

Senior Aaron (AJ) Katzenstein has been selected as one of the “18 Under 18“ by Springboard, a division of the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and the Jewish Teen Alliance of Chicago. The honor goes to outstanding Jewish teenagers in the Chicago area who work toward inclusion of Jewish teens of all abilities, prioritize raising money for charity or volunteering, teach their peers, and stand out as leaders and role models. They will be honored April 16 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Tobacco Legislation Puts Catalyst in Spotlight

Members of the Catalyst student club talked with Pioneer Press about their efforts to advance legislation that would raise the state’s minimum age for tobacco-related purchases to 21. Senior Ashleigh Machado is quoted, as is club co-sponsor Jamie Epstein.

PATRIOT SPORTS

Click here for today’s athletic schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 13 Varsity Results

Girls Basketball

Stevenson 39, Libertyville 35: The Patriots survived a late rally to hold off the Wildcats for the third time this season and advance to the IHSA Class 4A Highland Park Regional championship game. SHS (16-12) will play Palatine (22-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday. Against Libertyville (14-14), seniors Klaire Steffens and Kiana Cencula led the Pats with 11 points apiece. Klaire added a career-high 17 rebounds. Her free throw with 4.4 seconds remaining gave Stevenson its final margin of victory and ended Libertyville’s quest to overcome a 12-point deficit in the final quarter. The Patriots’ big lead came in part from a trio of three-pointers Kiana sank during the first three quarters. Sophomore Avery King scored seven of her nine points in the second half. Other key plays down the stretch included a steal by junior Kristin Hill, and a blocked shot by senior Isabella Paldrmic with 7 seconds remaining. – Daily Herald

Boys Basketball

Lake Zurich 44, Stevenson 41: The visiting Patriots had their eight-game winning streak snapped and fell back into a first-place tie with Libertyville in the North Suburban Conference with three league contests remaining. SHS (15-7, 8-3) plays host to Waukegan and Libertyville on Friday and Monday, respectively, then closes its NSC and regular-season schedules at Warren next Wednesday. Senior Nick Bonk led Stevenson with 14 points and six rebounds. Fellow senior Jackson Qualley had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. The Bears (20-6, 7-4) led for most of the game, although their biggest advantage was only six points, which occurred at the end of the third quarter. – Daily Herald

Hockey Trio Contribute to All-Star Game Victory

Stevenson’s three entries in the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois Boys All-State Game had a hand in their team’s victory Monday night. Michael Dowd scored a goal and added an assist, and Jackson Leptich also had an assist, as the White Team won 9-2. Elias Sandholm had a scoreless first period in goal. All three are seniors.

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Click This Link to See More Announcements

CLC Sponsoring STEM Day for Girls Feb. 24

All female students who want to explore careers in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) are invited to the College of Lake County’s seventh annual STEM for Girls event on Saturday, Feb. 24. Admission is free. The day will be packed with hands-on workshops from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pre-registration is required. To register, and for more information, visit this link.

Pot and Your Garage: A Chemical Reaction

What does your garage and marijuana have in common? You might be surprised! Watch the latest video from Catalyst and the Stand Strong Coalition to find out.

INTRAMURALS

Come watch the Intramural Basketball championship games Sunday afternoon in the Sports Center. The freshman championship game between the Bombers and Bucks starts at noon, followed by the sophomore championship (Gamblers vs. Thunderbolts) at 1 p.m., the junior championship (Fusion vs. Centurions) at 2 p.m., and the senior championship (Beach Bums vs. Hoosiers) at 3 p.m.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES

Rauner budget will ask schools to pay more toward teacher pensions

West Chicago High teachers ready to strike Friday if no agreement

Eighth-grade field trip to see “Heathers” at Highland Park High canceled

Small group of protesters disrupt Emanuel speech at UCLA

Round Lake Beach school opens library after July 2017 flood

Glen Ellyn District 89 school board fills vacancy

Huntley High principal promoted to District 158 assistant superintendent

Two principals, one school: A new effort to boost learning at CPS

Monmouth-Roseville High to offer its first AP class in the fall

SIU museum reopens after being forced to close for six months

NATIONAL EDUCATION HEADLINES