Friday, Jan. 17, 2020

Posted on January 17, 2020 | Leave a comment

Freshman to Compete in $10K Math Contest
Freshman Benjamin Chen will compete for $10,000 in the annual Who Wants to Be a Mathematician championship in Denver at 11 a.m. Saturday. The championship will be livestreamed by the American Mathematical Society.

He is one of 13 high school contestants from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Ben qualified by being one of the top scorers on an online test with questions on algebra, geometry, trigonometry and probability.

This is the third time in the past four years that a Stevenson student has qualified for the championship. Ben, the youngest contestant in the 2020 contest, joins Andrew Hwang, who reached the championship in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The championship is being held at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, the largest annual gathering of mathematicians worldwide. The top prize in the contest is $5,000 for the winner and $5,000 for the math department of the winner’s school.

Student Trio Featured on “The Jam”
A group of seniors using music to serve the community was featured on the “Real Chicagoans” segment Thursday morning on WCIU-TV’s “The Jam” morning show. Allen Beckwith, Kiran Mohan and Jon Raymond (shown above, left to right), founders of Crescendo for a Cause, talked about their mission to improve music education in underserved areas, and to use music performance as a vehicle for advocacy and community service. “Real Chicagoans” highlights Chicagoland residents who give back and make an impact in the community. Click here to watch the segment.

Junior Achieves Eagle Scout Rank
Junior Rushil Vora earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America last month, joining a select group. Only 4% of Boy Scouts achieve Eagle Scout rank. For his Eagle Scout project, Rushil and his team made four wooden benches for seniors at the Sikh Religious Society in Palatine. Their work earned honors from a number of community leaders, including U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (shown above to Rushil’s right). Rushil is a member of Troop 100 in Buffalo Grove.

No School Monday
Classes will not be held Monday, Jan. 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Daily Digest will not be published on Monday.

AP Spanish Team Leading the Way in SEL at SHS
Stevenson‘s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Coordinator, Molly Gosline, will share regular reflections during the school year in the Daily Digest. For more information on Molly and SEL at Stevenson, follow her on Twitter @mollygosline.

Teachers on the AP Spanish Language and Culture team in the World Languages Division shared their progress towards building social and emotional learning opportunities in their course with District 125 Board of Education members on Monday. The team, comprised of teachers Petra Sebastian, Manolo Rider, Jen Zizzo, Raquel Antillera and Pat Grady, discussed how they are connecting their WE course content with students’ values, local and global interests, and social awareness. By including student voice, they created an opportunity for more meaningful engagement in course content, including curriculum and instructional practices. Additionally, the team highlighted how the service learning component of the course has impacted students, including gaining insight, developing empathy, and fostering connections outside of the classroom.

Table Tennis Team Sweeps Pair of Matches in St. Charles
Stevenson’s table tennis team defeated Hinsdale Central (5-4) and host St. Charles East (6-3) in its latest competition Thursday evening. The SHS lineup included senior and captain Jason Leong, classmate and assistant captain Sam Wang, and fellow senior Joseph Choi; juniors Doogyul Lee, Conan Pan and David Wallach; sophomores Jean Andre Bondad, Frank Gao, Jasmine Leong, Rithvik Mandumula and Daniel Wilson; and freshmen Zachary Baden, Lance Locker and AJ Stewart. Next up for the Patriots are home matches on Thursday against Evanston and a combined Maine Township squad.

100+ Educators Visiting Stevenson Tuesday
Nearly 110 representatives from 13 educational institutions in seven states will come to campus Tuesday for the next Site Visit for Educators program. Here is a list of Tuesday’s scheduled visitors:

PATRIOT SPORTS

Thursday’s Varsity Results

Boys Swimming and Diving
Stevenson d. Mundelein: The Patriots (3-1) won nine of 12 events in the Patriot Aquatic Center. Leading the way was the 200-yard medley relay team of seniors AJ Carollo and Ari Zaritsky, sophomore Brandon Xiong, and sophomore Josh Song, which recorded the fourth-fastest time in the state this season (1:36.47). AJ and Ari also won individual events. AJ captured the 100 backstroke (52.99) and Ari captured the 100 breaststroke (1:01.08). Other individual winners included senior Jack Zhang in the 200 free (1:48.32), sophomore Jack White in 1-meter diving (277.70), freshman Michael Wywrocki in the 100 butterfly (54.93), and freshman Jonny Farber in the 500 free (4:56.44). Stevenson also captured the 200 free relay (1:29.80) and 400 free relay (3:18.16), and Jack Zhang swam in both. The remainder of the 200 free roster included Josh, senior Jake Kim and freshman Jack Curtin, and the 400 free included Jonny, AJ and junior DIma Kobets.

Boys Bowling
Stevenson 3,741, Glenbrook North 3,356: The Patriots finished the regular season with a 14-1 record with the victory at Bowlero in Mt. Prospect, the location for Saturday’s IHSA Glenbrook North Regional. SHS swept all three games and had five bowlers, all juniors, break the 600-pin mark. Ryan Grabiner rolled a 672 series, followed by Nicholas Sternes (664), Ryan Lerman (637), Luke Snider (624) and Joey Gluck (613). Freshman Ender Starr added a 531. Nicholas shot the highest game of the day for the Patriots (246). Check this link for regional results.

Quick Hits
Stevenson’s girls gymnastics team will host the Lake County Invitational at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Field House. The team is joining forces with Students Helping Soldiers to honor members of the current and retired members of the military. The “Tumbling for Troops/Flips for Freedom” ceremony will start at 12:45. … Who will be in the SHS Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020? Nominations are being accepted until March 15. Visit the Athletics Hall of Fame web page to submit a nomination. … Tonight’s varsity wrestling meet against Mundelein is scheduled to be streamed live from the Sports Center, and can be watched on Stevenson’s NFHS Network channel. The livecast begins at 5:30. Head coach Shane Cook will be honored for achieving his 200th career victory on Dec. 28.

INTRAMURALS

The IM climbing club has excursions to Lifetime Fitness in Vernon Hills on six upcoming Wednesdays. The climbing dates are Jan. 22 and 29, Feb. 12, 19 and 26, and March 4. The mini-bus will leave parking lot C at 4 p.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. each time. Students have to register and pay $10 to join. They also need to fill out a waiver to join; the waiver is available in the Student Activities Office. Sign up each week by Wednesday morning and pay $10 for each trip. Contact Mr. Wellington at awellington@d125.org for more information.

Students hoping to throw shot put or discus during the upcoming track season are invited to participate in the “Throws for Track and Field” open gym on Friday mornings from 6-7 a.m. starting Friday, Jan. 24. The other planned dates are Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 and 14. Contact Mr. Wellington at awellington@d125.org for more information.

COLLEGE

Interested seniors can apply for the 2020 HEAR (Health Education And Relief) Scholarship program. Applicants must have an unweighted GPA at or above 3.0, an ACT score of 22 or higher or SAT at or above 1,110, demonstrated financial need, excellent character, impeccable work ethic, and a commitment to service. Applicants must intend to enroll in a four-year college in 2020 and must be a U.S. citizen. Students can learn more about the scholarship at: www.hearfoundation.org. The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 31.

The Rotary Club of Lincolnshire has established a scholarship program in partnership with Dan and Nancy Bruzzini. Two scholarships of $1,500 will be awarded to seniors who are graduating from Stevenson, demonstrate extraordinary service to community, and who uphold the ideals of Rotary. The primary criteria for selection are demonstrated leadership, academic excellence, school service and community service. Dependents of Lincolnshire Rotarians are not eligible. Applications can be picked up in the College Career Center (Room 1123). The application deadline is April 1.

ILLINOIS EDUCATION NEWS

The union representing Waukegan District 60’s teachers has accused the district of unfair labor practices for failing to bargain over an incentive program that rewards teachers financially for getting their students to meet certain academic benchmarks. Established in 2017, the incentive program rewarded teachers who had 80% of their students reach their growth targets in math or reading the year before.

Illinois taxpayers typically spend at least $25 million per year to place hundreds of troubled students in boarding facilities outside the state. In 2018, Illinois paid for at least 344 special needs students to live in private schools in other states. Most were in facilities certified to provide treatment for a range of issues like autism, traumatic brain injury, intellectual and emotional disabilities. Many special education advocates argue that Illinois’ funding structure leaves public facilities starved for resources while incentivizing placement in private facilities.

Chicago Public Schools has almost 90 more social workers on staff compared to last year at this time. The updated number comes just months after the school district committed in its new teachers contract to employ 680 school social workers by June 2023. Currently, it has 508 positions and 428 of them are filled.

Guerin College Prep, a Catholic high school in River Grove, announced it will close in June after educating students for nearly 60 years. The school’s president cited three major factors that led to the decision: a steady decline in enrollment, increasing need for student financial aid, and lower-than-expected fundraising results.

NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS

The average compensation of the 20 highest-paid private college presidents climbed to more than $2.5 million, according to new data from The Chronicle of Higher Education. Sixty-four presidents earned more than $1 million in 2017, and three made more than $5 million.

President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to protect prayer in public schools and took new steps to give religious organizations easier access to federal programs. Speaking at an Oval Office event and joined by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Trump unveiled the federal government’s first updated guidance on school prayer since 2003. It details scenarios in which school officials must permit prayer and clarifies the consequences if they don’t, but overall it makes few major changes to the guidance it replaces.

Dallas school officials are preparing to ask taxpayers for the largest school district bond in Texas history. The district is considering three plans which range from $2.7 billion to $3.7 billion. About half of the final amount will be dedicated to improvements to the district’s existing campuses, addressing roofs, aging systems, Americans With Disabilities Act compliance and aesthetics.

Morgan State University is seeking to open the first new medical school at a historically black institution in nearly 45 years. Officials at the Baltimore-based school say the for-profit College of Osteopathic Medicine would help remedy the country’s growing shortage of physicians, specifically new black doctors.

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