Friday, Jan. 10, 2020

Posted on January 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

Charges Filed in Murder of Teacher’s Mother
A 41-year-old Waukegan man has been charged with the September murder of Marlyn Cook, the mother of Stevenson physical education teacher and head wrestling coach Shane Cook.

Waukegan police and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said Chad B. Jones broke into Marlyn Cook’s home Sept. 15 and strangled her to death. DNA evidence collected from the scene connected Jones with the murder, police said. Jones was a boyhood friend and neighbor of Shane and his brothers, Patrick and Ryan.

“To learn who had been charged with the murder of our mom was a betrayal and cruel twist to an already overwhelming profound loss,” Cook told the News-Sun. “We’re praying justice will be served.”

Marlyn Cook, 74, was a retired teacher who spent her entire five-decade career in the Waukegan Public Schools, starting in 1968. She served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and since her retirement, had been a substitute teacher. Two of her sons, Shane and Patrick, followed in her footsteps as teachers. Ryan is a police officer in Las Vegas.

“Her positive influence and lasting impact lives on in generations of Waukegan graduates,” Shane told the newspaper. “She was always so proud of her students and would delight in their success in both the classroom and later in their lives.”

Consortium Choral Concert Monday Night
A week of music concerts featuring students from SHS and local junior high and middle schools starts Monday with the Consortium Choral Concert at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.

Students from Aptakisic and Daniel Wright junior high schools, and Fremont, Twin Groves, West Oak and Woodlawn middle schools, will open the night with a combined three-song performance. Then, the youngsters will yield the stage to the Stevenson Chorus, Advanced Chorus and Patriot Singers. Each group will sing a pair of songs, then will combine with the future Stevenson students for a combined chorus in the finale.

Admission is free. The concert also will be streamed live on the Fine Arts Division’s Vimeo channel. The Consortium Orchestra Concert will follow at 7 p.m. Tuesday and the Consortium Band Festival at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Student Musicians Bring Sounds of Joy to Senior Citizens
A group of students brought the joy of music to local senior centers during the holidays. Music for Charity, started by freshman Collin Fan, performed at HarborChase of Long Grove and Springs of Vernon Hills in December. The group also played for Feed My Starving Children’s Hope-Filled Holiday event last month at the Schaumburg Convention Center.

Collin talked about Music for Charity with Eileen O. Daday of the Daily Herald recently. He plays piano for the group. Other Stevenson students on the roster include freshmen Enoch Jung (oboe), Shaurya Khati (trumpet), Eric Liu (viola), Aayush Kashyap (saxophone), and Bill Zhu (violin).

Sophomore Featured for Taekwondo Prowess
The Daily Herald today published a feature on sophomore Humza Qazi, who won a gold medal in the 15- to 17-year-old black belt division at the World Taekwondo Championship of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup in South Korea in November. Qazi began practicing the sport at age 4, and within three years won a national championship. Also featured in the article is SHS journalism teacher Dean Bradshaw, who knows Humza from his work with the Statesman student newspaper. “Humza is generally quiet and lets his actions speak for him,” Bradshaw told the paper. “He always comes across as extremely sincere and authentic.”

PATRIOT SPORTS

Thursday’s Varsity Results

Boys Bowling
Stevenson 3,952, Evanston 3,437: The Patriots (12-1) prepared for Saturday’s North Suburban Conference tournament by posting one of its best performances of the season at Fairhaven Lanes in Mundelein. Junior Ryan Lerman led SHS with a 731 series, which included a high game of 247. Junior Nicholas Sternes shot a 696 series with a high game of 259. Classmate Joey Gluck had the high game of the day, a 267, as part of his 674 series. Freshman Ender Starr contributed a 648 series (235), followed by juniors Ryan Grabiner (602, 224) and Luke Snider (601, 237). After winning the first game by 40 pins, Stevenson captured the final two by 200-plus margins. Each team used six bowlers instead of the usual five. The NSC tournament takes place at Bowlero in Deer Park. Coach Cody Mathias’ squad has a nine-point advantage on its nearest rival heading into the tournament.

Girls Basketball
Stevenson 68, Waubonsie Valley 51: The Patriots improved to 14-6 with a balanced scoring attack during the non-conference victory in Aurora. Junior Nikki Ware and sophomore Ava Bardic each scored 16 points to lead SHS. Sophomore Simone Sawyer had 13 points and senior Avery King added 12 for the Patriots, who play Waukegan on Saturday. Eight players scored for Stevenson, which matched his highest scoring output of the season.

Wrestling
Stevenson 66, Zion-Benton 13: Five Patriots had pins in the Field House: Juniors Michael Crawford (220), Keegan Houlihan (285) and Alex Swidler (106), sophomore Cole Rhemrev (120), and freshman Lorenzo Frezza (113).

Boys Ice Hockey
Glenbrook North 3, Stevenson 0: Senior goalie Jeremy Riback made 41 saves for the host Patriots at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion. SHS will hold its annual Senior Night ceremony on Saturday prior to its game with New Trier Green. The ceremony starts at 5 p.m., followed by the puck drop at 5:30.

Patriots Aim to Keep Pace in NSC Hoops Race
Stevenson has won the last seven North Suburban Conference boys basketball championships. The quest for an eighth faces a major challenge tonight, when the Patriots play host to Mundelein at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center. The game will be televised live on WCIU-TV, and also will be streamed live on Stevenson’s NFHS Network page. (The sophomore game at 5:30 also will be streamed live.) The Mustangs enter tonight’s contest with a 13-1 record, the only blemish coming in the championship game of a holiday tournament in Collinsville. Stevenson, meanwhile, is 11-3 after a third-place finish at the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. Both teams are unbeaten in the NSC, with MHS 4-0 and SHS 3-0. Mundelein is seeking its first conference title since 1994.

All Juniors Meet With Their Counselor Monday
All juniors will meet with their counselor during the activity period on Monday. Juniors must attend the meeting, even if they are part of a club that meets during the activity period. See the calendar at d125.org for counselor meeting locations.

Wear Black to Tonight’s Basketball Game
If you’re coming to watch tonight’s varsity boys basketball game against Mundelein in the Sports Center, make sure you wear black. The Patriots Student Section has declared tonight’s game a “blackout” for SHS students. Tipoff is set for 7:07 p.m.

CLUBS

Animal Welfare Club will be meeting from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 7064. In an effort to help with the catastrophic loss of animal life in Australia due to the wildfires, the club will be making dog toys for its upcoming March fundraiser.

COLLEGE

Seniors and juniors considering the College of Lake County are invited to take a field trip there on Friday, Jan. 24. The field trip will depart at 8:30 a.m. from parking lot B at SHS, and will return in time for fifth-period lunch. Interested seniors should pick up the required permission slip at the College Career Center (Room 1123). The field trip will be limited to 45 juniors and seniors.

Are you thinking about taking a “gap year” next year? Dozens of gap year programs available throughout the world will be discussed at two upcoming Gap Year Fairs. The fairs will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24 at Oak Park and River Forest High School, and at noon Saturday, Jan. 25 at New Trier High School. For more information and to register, visit these links: OPRF Fair | New Trier Fair

ILLINOIS EDUCATION NEWS

A former Matteson middle school principal hired last year without background and reference checks previously resigned from Chicago Public Schools while under investigation after a teacher accused him of “nonconsensual sex,” according to a CPS inspector general report.

The head coach of a powerhouse Chicago high school basketball program has been suspended over an allegation that a sexual incident happened on the team’s trip to the Motor City Roundball Classic on Detroit in late December. The trip was not a school-sponsored event.

A former Naperville resident pleaded guilty Thursday to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he ran a red light last year, and struck and killed a Downers Grove North High School junior and standout volleyball player as she was walking toward the school.

A 22-year-old man has been charged with selling drugs to students at Lake Forest High School from his nearby home. Sage Lawrence was arrested Wednesday after authorities executed a search warrant at his home in the 300 block of Noble Avenue in Lake Forest and found psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana and 31 containers of THC vape cartridges, according to a statement from Lake Forest police.

The next mascot battleground may be at Hononegah High School in Rockton, where groups have filed dueling petitions on Change.org. Shortly after a group of students filed a petition to change the school’s Indian logo, which features a Native American man in traditional headdress, another group launched a petition drive to keep the mascot.

NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS

A judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking a Texas official from dismantling the elected Houston Independent School District board of trustees and replacing it with a state-appointed one. The judge ruled that the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, who announced plans to replace the board in November, does not have the legal authority to oust board members.

North Carolina high school students will be required to take one less American history course to accommodate the legislature’s new mandated personal finance course. Starting in the 2020-21 school year, high school freshmen will be required to take an economics and personal finance course before they graduate. To accommodate the class, the State Board of Education adopted new graduation requirements Thursday that say high school students will take one U.S. history course, instead of two.

The West Virginia State Board of Education on Wednesday decided it will not require seat belts be added to state school buses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allows states to choose whether buses have restraints in place for students. However, the National Transportation Safety Board and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend them.

The U.S. Department of Education’s push for greater transparency in the role of foreign money at American colleges and universities has led to pushback. In response to pressure from Congress, the department is introducing a new reporting regime that would require colleges to submit contracts for foreign gifts or business arrangements as well as the names of individual donors. College groups warn the proposal goes well beyond what current federal law requires, and say that disclosing donor identities could have a “chilling effect” on new contributions despite promises of confidentiality from the department.

A Babson College professor has been fired for a Facebook post that jokingly suggested that Iran’s supreme leader should make a list of American cultural sites worthy of bombing. The private Massachusetts college announced the termination of the adjunct professor on Thursday, drawing criticism from free speech advocates who said the personal social media post was not serious.

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