Stevenson No. 4 in Latest Niche Rankings
Niche’s 2020 Best Public High Schools rankings are out, and Stevenson is listed fourth in Illinois. The only schools ahead of SHS are selective-admission institutions: The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, and Walter Payton Prep and Northside College Prep in Chicago. The remainder of the state’s top 10, according to Niche, are Whitney Young, Hinsdale Central, Jones College Prep, Glenbrook South, University High in Urbana, and Glenbrook North.
Niche rankings are based on a variety of factors, with 60% of a school’s grade based on SAT and ACT scores, and survey responses on academics from students and parents. Other factors include graduation rates, teacher quality, and school culture and diversity. Click here to see Stevenson’s Niche report.
Tips for a Safe Homecoming
Stevenson‘s Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, Dr. Cristina Cortesi, will share regular reflections during the school year in the Daily Digest. For more information on Dr. Cortesi and the substance abuse prevention program, visit her web page.
During this time of year, excitement around Homecoming and Spirit Week fills the air. Unfortunately, these social occasions can also be a time when some teens decide to experiment. In order to promote a safe, drug-free Homecoming weekend, consider the following:
- Talk consequences
- Be just a call or text away
- Communicate with other parents
- Lock up your alcohol
- Be present
Click here to download the Homecoming Party Parent toolkit. Visit this site for more information on the tips above.
Click here for today’s athletic schedule
Monday’s Varsity Results
Girls Field Hockey
Stevenson 5, Homewood-Flossmoor 0: Senior Molly McCoy and freshman Teagan Hendricks each scored two goals, and senior goaltender Olivia Holsen earned the shutout, as the Patriots won their first game of the season. The victory also marked the first career win for head coach Isabella Licciardello. Junior Rebekah Jin also scored. – NFHS Network Replay (subscription required)
Waiting Worthwhile for Amanda Holsen
The biggest story for the SHS girls volleyball team this season has been the emergence of sophomore Amanda Holsen (shown above from 2018, wearing No. 10). After spending most of her freshman year on the varsity bench, Amanda has been the leading attacker for the Patriots this fall. She had 77 kills and 43 digs through the team’s first 16 sets. Coach Tim Crow said he wanted Amanda on the varsity roster last year, so that she could practice against the team’s best players every day, including 2019 graduate Sophie Sorenson. “We wanted to put her in a good mental position of just working hard,” he told Bob Narang of the Pioneer Press. “She could’ve been on the junior varsity and been the show and dominated, but in the long run, we wanted her to adjust to the speed of the (varsity) game.”
STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Homecoming Dance Ticket Deadline Friday
Time is running out to buy Homecoming Dance tickets for $25. Ticket sales end at 3:25 p.m. Friday. Tickets are only available online. (Use this link to order.) Tickets will be sold at the door, but the cost will be $40. Whether you are buying tickets in advance or at the door, students must have their Stevenson ID to be admitted.
Register for Seal of Biliteracy Exams
Stevenson offers students the opportunity for recognition through the state’s Seal of Biliteracy program by demonstrating a high level of proficiency in English and a second language. Testing in various languages will take place from 7:30-10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24, which is a late arrival day. Check-in begins at 7 a.m. The deadline to register is Thursday, Oct. 17. Read this article for more details.
CLUBS
Animal Welfare Club will meet today from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Wood Commons. The focus will be preparing for the collection of donations for local shelters. Contact Ms. Sassan with any questions at ksassan@d125.org.
ILLINOIS EDUCATION NEWS
About 200 Matteson middle school students — approximately one-third of the student body — staged a walkout Monday to demand the return of their former principal, who was reassigned over the summer and replaced by a man accused of sexual misconduct.
A 31-year-old Geneva woman who worked as a Carpentersville middle school teacher and Dundee Crown High School coach has admitted she sexually assaulted two minors who had previously been her students, Kane County officials said.
Full-time faculty members at the College of DuPage are poised to take a strike authorization vote as contract negotiations continue. The Glen Ellyn-based school’s faculty members have been working without a contract since a multiyear pact expired Aug. 14.
A proposal to move sixth-graders out of a Lake Villa elementary school is drawing some opposition from parents. The Lake Villa District 41 school board is set to decide whether to move students from Hooper Elementary School to Palombi Middle School.
Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to deliver a testimony to a House committee about the district’s struggle against forces like poverty and gun violence that affect how students learn and behave in the classroom. Jackson was one of four public officials who spoke before the U.S. House Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee.
NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS
Students learn better in active learning classrooms, even though they think traditional lectures are superior. That’s the takeaway from a new Harvard study published Sept. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Elections for the Utah Board of Education can be partisan, the state’s Supreme Court ruled last week, overturning a lower court’s decision and reinstating a 2016 law that will see education candidates vying for the nominations of political parties beginning next year.
Universities and colleges are sponsoring retirement communities on their grounds, hoping that young and old can enrich each other’s lives while filling the school’s coffers. Many students have mixed feelings about sharing their college years with people who remind them of the parents and grandparents whose orbit they have just escaped.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week turned down The Ohio State University’s request to trademark “the” in conjunction with the university’s name on items marketed for sale such as T-shirts, baseball caps and hats.
David Swensen is a legend at Yale, and its highest-paid employee. But he’s neither the university president nor the football coach. He’s the money manager who for 34 years has been in charge of the university’s endowment.
Stevenson Daily Digest 