ISBE/IDPH Announcement and Webinar Update on March 16
Yesterday, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced their Revised Public Health Guidance for Schools. In rolling out this new guidance, both ISBE and IDPH jointly support the return to in-person instruction as soon as it is possible to do so. We understand that many students and families may have questions about how this affects our Stevenson community, particularly as it relates to the new guidance on social distancing and indoor capacity limits.
We have always been committed to following the guidance of our public health officials and believe this new guidance is good and welcome news for our students. Prior to yesterday’s announcement, we have been working up plns on a full-day option for students in the weeks following Spring Break and will be presenting our proposal to the board this Monday. We know that many families have also been anxious to hear about senior celebrations, such as graduation, and have been working on building events that adequately honor and celebrate our seniors.
We would like to share an update on this work during a Zoom webinar on March 16 at 7 p.m. The link to that webinar is here. We look forward to sharing these updates with you then.
Get Involved: Attend the Co-Curricular Fair!
A Co-Curricular Fair will be held virtually over a three-day period on Tuesday, March 16 through Thursday, March 18 from 4 – 8:30 p.m.
Students will be able to view a short webinar describing the opportunities available to them and a variety of groups will host introductory meetings where students will hear from and be able to ask questions to advisors, coaches, and student leaders in the groups. A link to the program will be posted on the Student Activities Club page prior to the event.
All incoming freshmen, transfer students and their families are invited to attend to learn about over 35 sports teams, over 145 co-curricular clubs and multiple intramural programs. Take advantage of this opportunity to find out about all that Stevenson has to offer!
STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
S-Factor: Kiva Club’s Annual Benefit Singing Competition
S-Factor, Kiva Club’s annual singing competition, will be held via Zoom on March 19, at 7 p.m. Audience members will select the winner using the poll feature on Zoom. Tickets are $5.00 each and each ticket includes one device login to the show.
When purchasing tickets, please fill out the Google form at the bottom of the purchasing page with information about each attendee. If you purchase more than five tickets, please fill out the form again for the remaining attendees. The deadline to purchase tickets on the online School Store is March 19 at 5 p.m.
This year, the contestants include Astrid Ariana, Rebecca Arvold, Caylie Chattin, Lucy Cunningham, Megan Eisenstein, Anuha Jalasutram, Tvishi Krishnakumar, Stella Tapia López, Amita Nair, Arjun Nair, Ashwini Narayanan, Jo Song and Varsha Vinod. The evening will be hosted by student-emcees Niketh Bynagari, Daksh Guard, Layla Wang and Sophia Zhuang.
This competition is being organized by Stevenson’s Kiva Club and all proceeds will go towards loans for entrepreneurs in economically developing countries. This is a wonderful event to showcase talented Patriots for a great cause!
PATRIOT SPORTS NEWS
Summer Sport Tryout/Practice Information
Please see the Summer Sports Tryout/Practice Information document which is also posted on our Athletics webpage.
Parents and student-athletes should review this document carefully. It has important information regarding registration, population testing, and health screening expectations for students interested in participating or trying out for Allied soccer, baseball, boys lacrosse, boys tennis, boys track and field, boys volleyball, girls lacrosse, girls soccer, girls track and field, softball and wrestling.
Please note, students are required to complete the questions on the Health Screening app on a daily basis. If they answer “yes” to any of these questions, they are not allowed to participate in any in-person activities for that day.
Tryouts will be held for the “cut sports”, starting on April 5. If a student makes a roster, practices will begin the following day. Practices will also begin for “no-cut sports”, starting on April 5. The exception is wrestling, which will begin on April 19.
Athletic Results for Tuesday, March 9
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team beat Lake Forest last night in the North Suburban Conference semifinals 41-34, bringing their overall season record to 12-3. Junior Jaden Evans led all scorers with 10 points, closely followed by classmate Evan Porto who scored nine points and also had five rebounds. Seniors Darius Clemons and Andrew Chieng both contributed six points, leading the Patriots to their victory. Next up, the team is back in action on Friday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Woodlawn Middle School against Libertyville in the North Suburban Conference finals.
Girls Badminton
The girls badminton team had a clean sweep against Warren last night, winning the match 18-0. The doubles team of seniors Shibani Ram and Jyotsna Harikrishna won their match 21-0/21-2. In singles, Junior Meha Krishnareddigari won 21-1/21-2, while Ram only dropped four points, winning her sets 21-1/21-3. Next up, the Patriots will travel to Warren Township for the North Suburban Conference championship on Friday, March 12.
Boys Bowling
The Patriots completed a perfect season, finishing 10-0 in the North Suburban Conference and 13-0 overall, only dropping one game all season, but winning all 13 matches. Yesterday, the team beat Warren by more than 800 points having a total pinfall of 3354 with Warren having a three-game series score of 2541. Senior Nicholas Sternes had the highest pinfall of the night with a 726, followed by classmate Ryan Lerman who shot a 706. Head Coach Cody Mathias recognized the following seniors for their contributions to the bowling program: Joey Gluck, Max Goldstein, Ryan Grabiner, Arata Hirobe, Cameron Hirschaut, Ryan Lerman, Josh Lerner, Benjamin Ries, Tristan Scott, Kaden Soonthornsima and Nicholas Sternes.
Athletics Livestream
Many home and away competitions are live-streamed for spectators to watch from home. If there is a broadcast available, it will be linked to the Athletic Schedules page and can be accessed by clicking on the “LIVE” icon. Sports fans can follow Athletics on YouTube to view upcoming and past live events, and athletic events can also be viewed on the NFHS Network which may require a paid subscription for some events. Go Pats!
EDUCATION NEWS
New In-Person Guidance for Schools Issued by ISBE
The Illinois State Board of Education released new guidelines on Tuesday in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health. The board now defines social distancing for in-person learning as three-to-six feet for students and fully vaccinated staff, although the board says six feet distance remains safest and said capacity limits for in-person learning, and activities like lunch, will be determined by the ability to accommodate social distancing within the space available.
Colleges Aim to Change Campus Culture by Putting Tensions on Stage
Some colleges are using creative solutions to help provide a more inclusive environment for people who feel marginalized at institutes of higher education. Theatre programs at a number of institutions are bringing to life troubles and tensions through original sketches, shows and musical numbers.
Stevenson Daily Digest 