Six Share Prominent Patriot Award
Six students in the FIRE (Fostering Intercultural Respect and Empowerment) group were selected for the first-semester Prominent Patriot Award during a ceremony before school today. Seniors Michelle Cai, Dora Guo, Maema Njongmeta and Hunter Tam, junior Akshita Singh, and sophomore Jordan Tollison were honored for their work in making Stevenson a place where diverse people and perspectives are honored and respected.
As leaders of FIRE, the six students have created and delivered a “Hate Has No Home Here” message that has been given at this year’s mandatory student-athlete meetings. They also have spoken to the Illinois Conference of Equity Educational Leaders and to Stevenson’s Equity, Race and Diversity learning cadre, sharing their background stories and offering suggestions on how adults can create inclusive and empathetic learning environments.
They were among 56 students nominated for actions reflecting good character and citizenship. The following students also were nominated: Jackson Adorjan, Taylor Belgrade, Sravani Bhamidipaty, Juan Bondad, Rea Chatterjee, Mahitha Chaturvedula, Aashish Chaubal, Angelia Cheren, Deevena Damera, Andrew Ding, Julia Ellis, Emery Etzel, Aleksandra Fedorov, Connor Friedman, Yashwanth Gangavarapu, Trisha Gannu, Blake Gitler, Alexander Grace, Leonardo Guenther, Erika Huelsman, Matthew Jalnos, Evelyn Jiang, Tvishi Krishnakumar, Rehina Lapytska, Kavin Lavari, Adele Lee, Jasmine Lin, Emily Liu, Aidan Loch, Bradley Locker, Jonathan Mann, Dylan Mendez, Stephanie Moreno, Elena Murphy, Abhinav Pappu, Unnathi Pasupuleti, Trisha Patel, Lily Pegg, Rohan Pemmasani, Jolie Ring, Keanu Rios, Marissa Schwarz, Sibi Shanmugapandian, Syuzanna-Sofiya Syuhanova, Mifuyu Tani, Caroline Trecartin, Saul Varshavsky, Rachel Varshavsky, Steven Wetle and Michael Zaslavskiy.
Junior Honored by YoungArts Foundation
Junior Samhita Madduru has been selected to receive an award in the annual National YoungArts Foundation competition, which recognizes some of the country’s most promising talents in literary, visual, design and performing arts. Samhita, who earlier this week was named to the Illinois Music Education Association All-State Choir, was chosen for an Honorable Mention award in the Popular Voice category. Overall, 710 students from 44 states were named winners in the competition, receiving finalist, honorable mention or merit awards.
Sophomore Added to All-State Band Roster
One more Stevenson student has been selected for the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Band. Sophomore clarinetist Jun Ha Paik was added to the roster Thursday after another school’s student dropped out. This will be his first trip to the All-State Festival.
Student Plays Chosen for Eureka College Festival
Plays written by three seniors have been selected for Eureka College’s sixth annual Illinois High School 10-Minute Play Festival next month. “Murphy’s Law” by Elliott Koriath, “The Strange Case of Michael Bubblé” by Ananya Shah, and “Unpaired Socks” by Angela Spilotro authored three of the seven plays picked for the event. Their plays will be performed by Eureka students Jan. 25-26 at the college’s Pritchard Theater.
Senior Brothers Earn Eagle Scout Status
Seniors Jack and Cameron Grisamore capped 12 years of work last weekend by officially earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Their Eagle Scout projects brought new life to two baseball fields at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Mundelein. Cameron secured a donation of 18 tons of gravel from Schwake Stone in Mundelein, while Jack received 30 gallons of chain link fence paint from Rust-Oleum in Vernon Hills. Using the donations, the brothers fixed chain link fences surrounding the fields that had become rusted and bent out of shape, built up the dugouts and backstops that were constantly flooding, and added fresh coats of paint to equipment storage boxes. In recognition of their work, the brothers were honored by the Mundelein Elementary School District 75 Board of Education in September.
eSports Teams Head Into National Playoffs
Two of the school’s eSports teams will participate in national playoffs this weekend and next. Both contests can be seen on Twitch; look for AESHSeSports. The varsity League of Legends team heads into the 16-team Varsity eSports National Championship, and will face Diamond Bar High School from Diamond Bar, Calif., in the first round on Saturday. SHS entered the playoffs with a one-point lead in the Warren eSports League, over its conference rival from Gurnee. The League of Legends team captain is junior Ethan Shaw, and he will be joined by seniors Nathan Pratt and Ed Salgado, junior Chris Yang, and freshmen Greycen Ren and Fred Yuan.
The CS:GO team, captained by senior Brandon Adduci, takes on John Burroughs High School from Burbank, Calif. on Saturday. SHS entered the playoffs tied for first with Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Ala. The rest of the team features seniors Nick Filerman and Nick Zdrzalka, and juniors Kartikey Singh and Shorya Agarwal, plus substitutes Daylam Tayari, Eric Wu and Gildardo Banuelos, all juniors.
School Leaders Discuss SEL, EBR in Dallas
SEL Coordinator Molly Gosline and Director of Assessment Anthony Reibel gave a presentation on the importance of social emotional learning and student efficacy in high schools at last weekend’s Learning Forward annual conference in Dallas. They described the prosocial learning approach Stevenson uses in instruction and assessment. The Learning Forward conference focuses on sharing best practices in educational leadership and developing effective coaching.
VIP Photos for Clubs, Groups Available Next Week
Visual Image Photography has been on campus several times this week taking pictures of clubs and groups, and at events. Images will be posted and available for purchase within the next week. Here are the links: Club and group photos | Girls gymnastics vs. Lake Forest | Boys swimming and diving vs. Libertyville
Click here for today’s athletic schedule
Thursday’s Varsity Results
Boys Swimming and Diving
Stevenson 137, Libertyville 48: Defending two-time state champion Topher Stensby set a pool record in the 50-yard freestyle for the visiting Patriots in the first dual meet of the season for both schools. The Notre Dame-bound senior posted a time of 21.17 seconds, breaking the Libertyville pool record of 21.54 set in 2015. SHS won 11 of 12 events, with senior Nathan Gates and junior Jack Zhang each claiming two races. Nathan captured the 200 free (1:49.73) and 500 free (5:00.36), while Jack touched first in the 100 free (49.58) and 100 back (55.10). Other individual winners included senior Max Ryaguzov in the 200 individual medley (2:01.72), junior Ari Zaritsky in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.05) and freshman Jack White in 1-meter diving (202.25). Stevenson swept all three relays, and senior Richard Lee swam in each one. He was in the 200 medley relay with Jack, Max and senior Phoom Lertsinsongserm (1:40.38), the 200 free relay with Max, Nathan and junior Nic Comini (1:29.50), and the 400 free relay with Nathan, Topher and junior Jake Kim (3:18.89). – Daily Herald
Boys Bowling
Lake Zurich 3,026, Stevenson 2,976: Sophomore Nicholas Sternes led the Patriots (5-5, 0-5) with a 711 series, and had the best game among all 10 bowlers, a 265, at Lakeside Lanes in Mundelein. He was one pin shy of Lake Zurich’s lead bowler, one of two Bears who broke the 700 barrier. Facing each other for the second time in nine days, the two teams engaged in another tight match. Each game was decided in the 10th frame. Senior Kerry Mueller rolled a 583 series (high game of 212), followed by sophomores Benjamin Ries (575, 237), Ryan Lerman (562, 195) and Joey Gluck (545, 202). SHS competed in its third match in three days.
Baseball Player Commits to Chicago
Senior baseball player Hayden Brotz has committed to the University of Chicago. A three-year varsity player, Hayden has been a mainstay at the corner infield positions and also has done some pitching. He hit .326 last season and batting .308 as a sophomore. On the mound, Hayden has a career earned-run average well below 2.00. As a junior he threw 25 ⅓ innings with a 1.38 ERA, and last spring recorded a 1.68 ERA in 8 ⅓ innings. He joins a Maroon program that has a 48-28 record over the last two seasons, and tied the school record with 26 wins in 2018.
“Swanee” Still Going Strong After 50 Years
Daily Herald writer Patricia Babcock McGraw has a column today about longtime Stevenson coach Paul Swan, who will be honored next week for 50 years of service to the Patriot athletic program. He has coached baseball for all 50 years, and was head coach for seven years early in his career. He is in his 49th season as an assistant boys basketball coach, and also spent 33 seasons coaching football. Swan also taught mathematics at SHS for more than 30 years, retiring in 2002. “Swanee,” as he is affectionately known throughout Lake County, will be honored at three events on Saturday, Dec. 15. The baseball team is holding a pasta dinner fundraiser from 5-6:30 p.m. in the Wood and West Commons. Anyone who attends the dinner will receive free admission to the varsity boys basketball game at 7 p.m. against Prospect. Tickets are $10 for adults under 60, and $8 for adults over 60 and children 10 and under. Click here to order tickets or buy them at the dinner. After the game, Swan will be honored by former players and his current and past coaching colleagues.
Girls Basketball Games on NFHS Network Saturday
Saturday’s varsity and junior varsity games against Waubonsie Valley will be streamed live from the Sports Center through the NFHS Network. The JV game tips off at 1 p.m., followed by the varsity at 2:30. Click here to watch the action.
STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Click This Link to See More Announcements
Free SAT Practice Test for Juniors
All juniors are invited to take a free SAT practice test Saturday, Feb. 2 in the Field House. Registration closes Jan. 14. Space is limited to the first 575 students who sign up. Click here to register. The practice test will help juniors build testing endurance and give them a real-time snapshot of their testing performance. Scores are received the same day and will accessible online. Students who register also will have the opportunity to schedule a virtual meeting to learn more about their score report. Click here for details.
Winter Clothing Drive for Military Families
Students Helping Soldiers will be collecting new or slightly used winter clothing items over the next two weeks for military families in need. Coats, hats, gloves, sweaters, slippers and blankets are requested.Collection bins will be available at the entrances of the Point, Sport Center and Field House starting Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 19. All collected items will be donated to the Veterans Closet in North Chicago.
Were You Named an Illinois State Scholar?
Seniors who were named Illinois State Scholars can pick up their certificates in Green Student Services, Room 2414.
Breakfast with Books will meet from 7:45-8:20 a.m. Tuesday in the upper ILC.
Sled Wars is here! Architecture and Engineering Club is having its second annual sledding competition to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Students can form teams of 2-4 people to decorate and build sleds out of cardboard, and on Jan. 25, teams will bring their finished sleds to Warren Township Sledding Hill to compete. May the fastest and best designed sleds win! A $20 registration fee, which covers transportation, snow hill ticket, T-shirts, and cardboard, is due by Friday, Dec. 15. Students also will need to fundraise $30 for Habitat for Humanity. Sign up and information packets are available to pick up in Student Activities or by using this link: goo.gl/dwB38r. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Rossi at krossi@d125.org.
The eSports club is taking interested players in the following games for the winter and spring seasons: League of Legends, CS:GO (PC only), Rainbow6:Siege (PC only), Hearthstone, Rocket League (PC only), Overwatch (PC only), Smash Brother’s Ultimate (on your own switch), and DOTA II. If you would like to play casually, come any Wednesday after school in Room 7026. If you want to play competitively in the winter season, come to the next session on Wednesday or email jbarnabee@d125.org before Winter Break.
The Chicago North Shore Alumnae Panhellenic Association is offering several $1,000 scholarships to qualified graduating high school women who reside in the North Shore area. Successful applicants will be well-rounded, demonstrating outstanding school and community involvement and academic excellence. The scholarship focuses on a woman’’s individual achievement. The selected candidates must be committed to attend a four-year college or university that recognizes National Panhellenic Conference organizations (sororities) on its campus. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 8. Students will be notified prior to May 31. Applications must be filled out online at http://northshorepanhellenic.net.
ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES
Kankakee parents speak out about school fights, violence
With enrollment at all-time high, Vernon Hills High looks to expand
Lewis U. reschedules commencement due to mumps outbreak
CPS bid-rigging scandal leads to $1M settlement
Ex-Harvey schools chief awarded $400K in lawsuit with district
Woodland District 50 may move to later start times
East St. Louis may bus all students living in high-crime areas
Judge to rule whether District 202 tax-cut question stays on ballot
NIU professor facing trial on third DUI charge
Ex-Wheaton College student who stole from dorms gets probation
Woodstock District 200 board selects new member
NATIONAL EDUCATION HEADLINES
USDA OKs low-fat chocolate milk, refined grains in schools
Teacher fired for referring to transgender student as female
Arizona district bans state representative over remarks
In San Antonio, school integration may not lift all boats
Denver spent more than $160K in superintendent search
No joke: Columbia students boot ex-SNL writer off stage
Dungeons & Dragons making comeback in schools
Ohio State gets bacon vending machine on campus
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The Daily Digest is compiled and edited by Jim Conrey. To subscribe or unsubscribe, contact him at jconrey@d125.org.
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