Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Four Math Students Qualify for USA Math Olympiad Exam

Good news continues to flow out of the SHS Mathematics and Computer Science Division. The latest is that four students have qualified to take the 47th annual United States of America Mathematical Olympiad exam on Wednesday and Thursday: seniors Haoyang Yu and Josh Yoon, junior Joey Rivkin and freshman Ram Potham. They were selected based on their scores on the AMC 10 or AMC 12 (American Mathematics Competitions) tests, and on the American Invitational Math Examination.

The quartet comprises four of the nine high school students from Illinois who will take the exam, which helps to determine our country’s representatives to the International Mathematical Olympiad. The top scorers on this week’s exam will be invited to a summer program from which the United States’ six-member team will be determined.

This is Josh’s third straight year of qualifying for the USA Math Olympiad exam, and the second consecutive year for Haoyang. Multiple qualifiers is becoming the norm for Stevenson: Last year, three earned the opportunity to take the exam, while four did in 2016.

Also, Stevenson has learned that it placed sixth in the annual American Regions Mathematics League’s Power Contest this year. SHS was the highest-scoring Illinois squad among 75 teams in the contest.

Two Seek Spots on U.S. Chemistry Olympiad Team

Senior Zachary Chin and sophomore Allen Ding are two of the 19 students in the metropolitan area who earned spots to compete in the Chicago section of the American Chemical Society’s Chemistry Olympiad national competition, which will be held Friday at Loyola University. The top 20-scoring students from the national exam will spend two weeks at a study camp to undergo rigorous training in preparation for the international competition. Based on performance, four students will be chosen to represent the U.S. at the International Chemistry Olympiad. Zachary was one of the summer camp qualifiers in 2017.

Baroque Concert Wednesday Night

The Baroque Concert will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Recital Hall portion of the Performing Arts Center. Admission is free.

One-Act Plays Take Stage Thursday, Saturday

“I Didn’t Sign Up for This,” a collection of one-act plays written, directed and performed by SHS students, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday in the West Auditorium. Admission is $6. See this article for the list of the plays, and their authors, directors and casts.

Late Arrival on Thursday: What is Your Student Doing?

Stevenson will follow a late-arrival schedule on Thursday. Classes will begin at 10:30 a.m. The Stand Strong Coalition reminds parents that late-start days can provide students with unmonitored time prior to school, and can lead to high-risk behavior for some, such as drinking and smoking marijuana. The coalition recommends that parents 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.

Correction

An item in Monday’s Digest about four award-winners from the Statesman misreported Adam Rosen’s year in school. He is a junior.

PATRIOT SPORTS

Click here for today’s athletic schedule

Monday, April 16 Varsity Results

Girls Badminton

Stevenson 18, Deerfield 0: The Patriots (14-0) continued their undefeated season with a dominant performance in the Field House. SHS recorded straight-set wins in every match. In No. 1 singles, freshman Shibani Ram posted a 21-6, 21-4 victory over Deerfield’s returning state qualifier. Another freshman, Jyotsna Harikrishna, was a 21-4, 21-7 winner at No. 2. In doubles, the No. 1 team of sophomore Jenny Yang and freshman Emily Hu dispatched their opponent by a 21-1, 21-1 score. Emily also recorded a 21-2, 21-2 win at No. 3 singles, while Jenny won her No. 4 singles match, 21-6, 21-4. Jyotsna and fellow freshman Benna Li were 21-6, 21-5 winners at No. 2 doubles, and Benna followed with a 21-3, 21-3 victory at No. 5 singles. Shibani and sophomore Kaitlyn Lu rolled at No. 3 doubles, 21-2, 21-6, and Kaitlyn also won at No. 6 singles, 21-4, 21-8. The remaining singles decisions came from sophomore Megan Wei at No. 7 (21-3, 21-9), senior Harini Shanmugasundaram at No. 8 (21-10, 21-11), junior Julie Zhu at No. 9 (21-4, 21-4), junior Thivya Sivarajah at No. 10 (21-8, 21-11), junior Riya Gyanmote at No. 11 (21-14, 21-6) and senior Amy Nowack at No. 12 (22-20, 21-13). The other doubles wins came from Megan and Thivya at No. 4 (21-4, 21-16), Julie and Riya at No. 5 (21-10, 21-10), and Amy and Harini at No. 6 (21-5, 21-6).

Boys Volleyball

Stevenson d. Hersey, 25-20, 29-27: In a matchup of two of the Daily Herald’s top 10 teams, the host and ninth-ranked Patriots (16-4) knocked off the second-ranked Huskies (10-2) in the Sports Center for their seventh straight victory. Junior Will Sorenson was 47-of-50 setting with 22 assists, and he also served a team-high four aces and made four digs. Senior Leo Chen led SHS with 10 kills and also served an ace. Sophomores Gavin Meng and Justin Ross recorded five kills apiece, and senior Matt Cliffer added four. Senior George Lie led Stevenson with eight digs. Junior Thomas Finn made five, and senior Alex Bian had four.

Haas Reaching Rare Air in State Water Polo

USC-bound Claire Haas, the state’s reigning player of the year in girls water polo, has reached a playing level rarely seen in Illinois. “There are still things we’re working on with her, but at this stage of the game with high school players, Claire is on a completely different level than all the other girls in the state,” head coach Jeff Wimer told the Pioneer Press. “Matter of fact, in the entire Midwest. She’s like a college woman against high school girls right now.” Claire talked with reporter Rich Mayor about her plans to study biomedical engineering and her passion to work in prosthetics.

Perseverance Pays Off for Senior Shortstop

Shortstop Jack Housinger wasn’t an instant success for the Patriot baseball team, but he’s become a mainstay through hard work. Jack hit .385 during his junior season in 2017, and this year is off to a strong start. After making a strong impression at a travel tournament in Cincinnati last summer, Xavier University offered Jack a scholarship. He talked with Jon Kerr of the Pioneer Press about his path to college baseball.

Varsity Girls Soccer Game Online Today

Today’s varsity girls soccer game at Lake Forest is scheduled to be broadcast on the NFHS Network beginning at 4:20 p.m. A subscription is required to watch. Use this link to subscribe and to watch the game.

Mandatory Meeting for Freshman, Transfer Student-Athletes

Thursday is the last chance for freshman student-athletes and transfer student-athletes to fulfill their requirement of attending one meeting led by the athletic director during the 2017-18 school year. The final meeting will be held from 9:45-10:15 a.m. Thursday in the Performing Arts Center. (Thursday is a late arrival day.) Topics to be covered include: expectations of and leadership opportunities for student-athletes; the Co-Curricular Code of Conduct; sportsmanship; sports health and nutrition; and Stevenson Athletics’ awards program. Attendance will be taken by scanning student IDs.

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Click This Link to See More Announcements

Advanced Choir Class Auditions Next Week

Do you like to sing? Want to develop your vocal skills and have a great time performing and participating in fun events? Placement auditions for Stevenson’s advanced choir classes (Advanced Choir and Patriot Singers) are happening Wednesday through Saturday, April 25-28. Sign-up sheets and audition information are posted outside the Choir Room (2202). Please contact Mrs. Nuteson at anuteson@d125.org if you have any questions.

CAREER EXPLORATION

Information on nearly 40 summer career camps and internships are now available on the school website. Visit the Career Camps and Internships page for more details.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES

Bill introduced to separate SIU’s Carbondale, Edwardsville campuses

Billionaire donates $10M to University of Chicago Crime Lab, CPD

University of Chicago, CPS partnership pays off in big ways for district

Vernon Hills toy company to help schools

Former Aurora teacher facing child porn charges found dead in field

Teacher balks after controversy stems from classroom flower delivery

Park Ridge-Niles district hires new special ed director

NATIONAL EDUCATION HEADLINES

The future of college looks like the future of retail

After walkouts, teacher eye elections for school funding gains

Who teaches introductory courses in college matters a great deal