Murals Near Official Unveiling With A Lot Of Student Help

It seems hard to believe, because the transformation has been quick, but by Friday, the murals in the first-floor and second-floor rotundas will be done, and then unveiled as the grand finale to Odyssey Fine Arts Week.

Although the murals (shown above as of last Friday) are being completed by professional, Miami-based artists Nicole Salgar and Chuck Berrett, multiple Stevenson students have also been involved at various stages of the process.

Sophomore Sonika Jalem, via a microscopy photography workshop hosted by the Fine Arts and Science Divisions, is responsible for the design being used in the first-floor rotunda, while junior Subham Mitra is helping on the technical side to develop a program that can be used to add an audio translation to the second-floor rotunda that features “Success For Every Student” scripted in the more than 60 languages spoken at Stevenson.

“These languages are what make up our student body,” said Mitra, a member of the Computer Science Club. “Students can click on the variety of languages on the interactive mural image (via the Stevenson website) to see details about each and listen to an audio pronunciation of the languages.

“The sheer amount of languages that are spoken throughout the school (serves) as a reminder of the diverse backgrounds that each individual student at Stevenson comes from. I was incredibly excited to work with the Odyssey team to use the skills that my team and I gained from (Computer Science) club to create a digitized version of the mural.”

Meanwhile, Jalem has been excited to see her image come to life. It originated in a rather unique way. Jalem participated in a process in which imagery seen under microscopes is turned into abstract art.

“I believe it was a lotus stem sample,” Jalem said of the substance that went under her microscope and led to the winning image. “I was pretty excited to see what it would look like in person and I’ve enjoyed seeing it come together over the last couple of weeks.”

Mitra has been pleasantly surprised about the merging of science and art.

“Working through the process of constructing the website (and audio features) while simultaneously witnessing the progress and changes done to the mural drew a lot of parallels for me,” Mitra said. “A lot of creativity is required in both fields in order to solve the problems that we face, and the process to getting there is largely shared between the fields.

“I have always loved the sciences, but this experience has exposed me to the intricacies of art. I’m thrilled to witness Odyssey unfold and playing a role in the process was an enthralling and inspirational experience.”

It’s Odyssey Fine Arts Week…Day 2!

Odyssey Fine Arts Week is a combination of fun, in-school activities and after-school performances by professional artists sponsored by the Fine Arts Department. Here are the events and activities for today…and a look ahead to tomorrow.

The in-school activities include:

Today: Live Music (Periods 4, 5, 6; Glass Commons and Upper Forum); Doodle Room (Periods 4, 5, 6; Upper Forum, Wood Commons, Glass Commons, East Commons)
Tomorrow: Window Painting (Periods 4, 5, 6; Glass Commons); Contortionist, Juggler, Clown/Acrobat, Living Statue (Periods 4, 5 6; Wood Commons, Forum)

The Main Events after school include:

Today: Comedy Dance Chicago (4 p.m.; Performing Arts Center. There will be a preview of the show during Periods 4A, 5A, 6B).
Tomorrow: Singer/Songwriter Concert (4 p.m.; Performing Arts Center. There will be a preview of the show during Periods 4A, 5A, 6B).

Students will scan their student IDs for general admission to the Main Events, which is on a first-come basis. A block of 200 spots in the Performing Arts Center will be reserved for parents and members of the community for the Main Events each day. For more information on Odyssey, or to reserve Main Events tickets, please visit the special Odyssey page on the Stevenson website. For questions about Odyssey, please contact Odyssey Coordinator Amanda Long at along@d125.org.

Time To Register For Summer School!

It’s cold now…but the sunny, warm days of summer will be here before you know it, and so will summer school.

If you are interested in attending summer school at Stevenson, you can now register online. It is recommended that summer school registrations be submitted by 4 p.m. on March 4 to avoid a class cancellation due to insufficient enrollment. Late registrations for summer school will be accepted up until 4 p.m. on June 3, but after March 4, all registrations are on a space-available basis and late fees will be applied.

The tuition fees (and additional lab, book, and/or field trip fees where appropriate) are listed in the course description. All fees must be paid at the time of registration. Please contact the summer school office at (847) 415-4520 or via e-mail at summerschoolreg@d125.org with questions.

Table Tennis Team Starts With Smashing Results

The Table Tennis season is up and running again and Stevenson is already off to a great start. The Patriots recently hosted Evanston and the Varsity won 12-3 while the JV won 13-1. Stevenson then hosted Glenbrook South and won 11-4. Here is the list of Stevenson’s competitors:

Seniors : Jean Andrei Bondad, Frank Gao, Srihas Rao and Daniel Wilson
Juniors: Michael Cheung, Joshua George, Lance Locker, Ethan Rong, Deepak Salian and AJ Stewart
Sophomores: Purnasai Gaddam, Charlie Klawans and Eshita Kulai
Freshmen: Adi Jaiswal and Kaashish Venkataramanan

The club is extending a special thank you to senior Jasmine Leong for being a great “assistant” coach. Up next for the Patriots is a match on Thursday. They will be hosting Loyola Academy.

Baseball Meeting Set For Zoom Tomorrow

If you are interested in trying out for baseball, please plan on attending the Informational Meeting at 3:45 p.m. tomorrow via Zoom. Coach Skala will outline the tryout dates, processes, need-to-know information and must-haves to tryout. If you cannot attend the meeting please e-mail Coach Skala and he will send you the information.

Athletic Results

Girls Basketball: The Patriots moved to 28-1 overall with a 62-47 win against St. Viator. High-scorer Emory Klatt rolled up 17 points, while Ava Bardic and Simone Sawyer both added 16 points each. Kate Arne finished with 7 points and Kendall Williams had 5 points. Stevenson is back in action against Waukegan in their final North Suburban Conference game at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Girls Hockey: After three and a half overtime periods on Sunday, the Scouts Girls Hockey team defeated Glenbrook, 3-2. Stevenson freshman Maycie Sulkin scored the first goal for the Scouts and senior Alicia Sharun logged an assist on the second goal. The team advances to the semifinals of the Founder’s Cup championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lake Forest Academy.

Stevenson Student Featured In Reuters Story On Youth Activists Fighting For Digital Rights

Senior Vidya Bharadwaj is the Director of Education at Encode Justice, an international youth-led coalition, mobilizing communities for fairer, more ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI). She has developed a comprehensive workshop curriculum that educates students on the various intersections of AI such as healthcare, policy, climate action, and implications of this technology. Over the past year, her workshops have reached more than 3,500 students across the United States, and she has gotten the opportunity to lobby at Capitol Hill, meet with U.S. Senators, present to the White House Office of Science and Technology, and even be featured in an article by Reuters. Recently, she was chosen to speak at the Boston Museum of Science’s SubSpace Winter/Spring 2022 Event.

USDA Announces Stricter Standards For School Nutrition

The administration is tightening rules for fat and salt after restrictions were eased during the pandemic.