Math Team Wins Ninth Straight Regional
Stevenson won its ninth straight Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics 4AA Regional on Saturday. Serving as host school for the Region 12 competition, Stevenson edged Glenbrook North, 934-910, for the title. Stevenson’s score was the second-highest in the state, topped only by four-time defending state champion Naperville North (985).
By winning the regional, the Patriots earned an automatic bid to the ICTM state finals May 2 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. SHS has finished second for four consecutive years after winning the state title in 2015, and has not placed lower than fourth at state in more than 25 years.
Stevenson earned first place in three of the four individual grade-level competitions. Philena Liu posted the top score in Pre-Calculus for seniors, Lillian You led all test-takers in Geometry (sophomores), and Ben Chen and Collin Fan tied three other students for first in Algebra 1 (freshmen). As a team, SHS was first in Algebra 1 and Geometry, and second in Pre-Calculus. The Patriots also won the freshman-sophomore eight-person, freshman-sophomore two-person, and calculator events. Stevenson’s Algebra 1 score of 148 was the highest in the state, while the Geometry score of 102 tied for first. The freshman-sophomore eight-person score (95) also led all regional participants.
Other individual medal winners included sophomores Spandan Goel (second in Geometry), Andrew Liu (third in Geometry), and Joy Qu and Sayuj Choudhari (tied for fourth in Geometry); junior Ram Potham (third place, Algebra 2), and senior Andrew Zhuang (fifth place, Pre-Calculus).
Stevenson’s next competition is the North Suburban Math League conference meet on March 5.
Science Olympiad Team Third at Penn Invite
Stevenson finished third Saturday at the fourth annual University of Pennsylvania Science Olympiad Invitational in Philadelphia. The event featured 57 of the country’s top teams, many of which, like Stevenson, competed in the National Science Olympiad last spring. Boca Raton (Fla.) High School won the team championship, with the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy from Austin, Texas, placing second.
SHS won two events, and junior Jared Machtinger was involved in both. He paired with senior Roy Zhou in Astronomy, and junior Richard Bi in Machines. Richard added a second-place finish in Circuit Lab with senior Andrew Lee. Also placing second were senior Radha Patel and sophomore Greycen Ren in Disease Detectives. Stevenson received a trio of third-place efforts, with junior Emily Liu part of two. She joined senior Anna Wang in Fossils, and junior Sneha Mohan in Wright Stuff. The other third-place entry was freshman Kevin Qian and senior Josh Tsai in Machines.
Emily added a fourth-place performance in Boomilever with junior Phyllis Wang, while Greycen and Radha were fourth in Anatomy and Physiology. Radha and junior Krishna Patel were fifth in Gravity Vehicle, while Roy, Andrew and senior Eric Gan placed fifth in Codebusters. Rounding out the Patriots’ place-winners were sixth-place showings from Emily, Phyllis and Sneha in Experimental Design, Jared and Anna in GeoLogic Mapping, and Roy and senior Erin Yuan in Write It Do It.
Stevenson, the defending state champion, will begin defense of its title March 7 at the College of Lake County regional competition. The state finals are in April.
Marijuana Laws Change, But Science Doesn’t
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.
Research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse shows that teen use of marijuana can negatively impact learning ability, attention, memory, coordination, balance, judgment and decision-making. Since the teenage brain is not fully mature, it is more vulnerable to the effects of drug exposure. (Click here for more information.)
With the new laws on marijuana use in Illinois, it is important to be informed. Did you know that possession of marijuana is illegal under 21? It is also important to know that despite the changes to the state law, individual towns will be implementing ordinances with fines. The Lincolnshire ordinance includes a $500 fine for possession or consumption of marijuana. For further questions on the Lincolnshire ordinance, contact Officer Bethany Brown at 847-415-4023.
Quick Hits
Voting ends at noon Wednesday in the second round of the American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk Championship. Senior RJ Holmes is in a tight contest with his opponent from South Dakota, Zech Clemens. Vote at www.highschoolslam.com. … The varsity boys ice hockey team will take on Loyola Academy in the quarterfinals of the Blackhawk Cup state tournament at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. Stevenson is the No. 7 seed in the tourney, while the Ramblers are No. 10. The two teams faced each other three times during the regular season, with the Patriots winning all three.
Stevenson Daily Digest 