Get Your Spirit On, Stevenson! “Spring Fling Spirit Week” (With Theme Days!) Starts Next Week
The school year is winding down, but not without plenty of fun activities that will put on just the right kind of exclamation point!
“Spring Fling Spirit Week” kicks off next week, with Theme Days, and a jam-packed Friday that includes a PPA Treat Day with free cupcakes, a Pep Assembly in the Stadium and, the topper, Spring Fling, an end-of-the-school-year celebration where students can socialize and build teams to go head-to-head in kickball, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and cricket!
SPIRIT DAYS
Monday: Groutfit (Grey Outfit) Day
Tuesday: Celebrity Merch Day
Wednesday: Jersey Day
Thursday: Beach Day
Friday: Spring Fling Jersey Day Or Stevenson Spirit Wear Day
Senior Raquel Hirsch Won Grand Prize In An Essay Contest About Teacher Bill Fritz
In conjunction with Teacher Appreciation Week last week, State Senator Dan McConchie of the 26th District challenged students in his district, of which many towns in the Stevenson District are included, to write an essay about their most appreciated teacher.
More than 100 essays were submitted and on Wednesday night, the winners were unveiled.
Stevenson senior Raquel Hirsch (pictured right, top) was the grand prize winner in the high school division for her essay on English teacher Bill Fritz (pictured right, bottom). She received a $500 Amazon gift card that can be used for educational supplies.
There were also winners in each grade, from sixth to 12th grade and Stevenson senior Tony Smyrnov won for his essay on Science teacher Sheila Edstrom. An essay about Chinese teacher Li Ye was also the subject of a submitted essay by Stevenson senior Madailein O’Brien.
“It was an honor to celebrate and recognize the students of this year’s essay contest and congratulate them on their winning work,” Sen. McConchie said. “It’s encouraging to see so much enthusiasm and eagerness to recognize the amazing teachers that we have in our schools. Teachers inspire our students and make a positive difference in their lives, and this was just a small and fun way that we could acknowledge all that they do.”
Back-To-Back, Baby! Math Team Wins Second Straight State Title!
The wins piled up all season long for Stevenson’s Math Team. Now, the state championships are starting to do the same.
At the Illinois Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics (ICTM) State Math Contest last week, Stevenson successfully defended its title from last year to record BACK-TO-BACK state championships! The Patriots also finished in first place in the Modeling the Future competition.
Stevenson defeated second-place Whitney Young, 908-885 as two Stevenson grade levels finished in first place for their class. The Freshmen finished as the top mathematicians in the state, led by Jaden Chen, who won first-place honors individually. The sophomores also finished first in state with Angela Guo and Vedant Rathi tied for first place individually. The Juniors finished second in state with Katherine Li winning first-place honors individually. And the Seniors finished in third place as a class, with top-scoring Andrew Liu finishing in seventh place in the state. Among other state champions was the 8-person team comprised of Greycen Ren, Lillian You, Andrew Liu, Joy Qu, Katherine Li, Ben Chen, Nathan Ma, and Aayush Kashyap.
Stevenson Math Modeling teams also ended their seasons on a high note. Both teams captured $5,000 in scholarships in the M3Challenge.
The Senior team of Andrew Liu, Greycen Ren, Joy Qu, Gabriel Visotsky and captain Spandan Goel totaled winnings over two years of $10,000 in scholarship money.
The Junior team of Aadit Juneja, Aayush Kashyap, Nathan Ma, Jack Chen, and captain Collin Fan came away with the top prize in the Modeling the Future Challenge for their paper analyzing homicide rates in Chicago. Together with their M3Challenge winnings, this group has won $30,000 in scholarship money for their work this year.
Stevenson Takes Multiple National Awards At BPA National Leadership Conference
At the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Dallas last week, 19 students competed for Stevenson, which was very well represented on the podium Saturday night at the closing ceremony.
Senior Brandon Li took home the big prize, as the national champion for “Fundamentals of Web Design.” Meanwhile, senior Chinmay Avsarkar was the national runner-up for “Digital Marketing Concepts.”
Stevenson also had five students come away with Top 10 Finishes: Avsarkar for “Digital Communication & Design Concepts,” Aditi Bobba, Angela Qian and Saanvi Sharma for “Website Design Team” and Logan Kim for “Digital Communication & Design Concepts.”
The other Stevenson students who competed were: Erum Ahmed, Tristen Arun, Maxwell Benjamin, Blake Duvall, Julia Levenshteyn, Ronit Lodd, Shreyas Mishra, Aditya Mehorta, Advaith Ramanan, Renee Tiwari, Sachet Verma, Alexander Wang and Fred Yuan.
Tuesday Morning Drop-Off Change: Parents, Use LOT B ONLY
IMPORTANT: All parents who drive their students to school, please note that on the morning of Tuesday, May 17, ONLY, please drop your student off in Lot B by the Point/Main Entrance. You may access this drop-off area from Route 22. For this one morning only, please do not drop your student off in Lot E as we will be directing all school buses to this lot. We will return to our normal pattern for pick-up areas on Tuesday afternoon.
Zoom Meeting Scheduled For Driver Ed Students On Tuesday
Driver Education Students: For those who are taking Driver Ed during the first semester of next school year (2022-23), please check your e-mail for information about a Zoom Meeting that will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Sophomores Must Attend Meeting With Their Counselors During Monday’s Activity Period
Attention Sophomores: During Monday’s Activity Period, sophomores are required to meet with their counselors, even if they are in a club. Counselor locations are listed here.
Be A Part Of The ISBE Student Advisory Council; Apply Now
Are you interested in education, public policy or public service? Do you also enjoy public speaking, developing presentations, working in a team environment and sharing your student voice? The Student Advisory Council (SAC) of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) might be just the right fit for you.
The ISBE is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 Student Advisory Council, which is a year-long, intensive program designed to provide high school students with an opportunity to share their unique perspectives, advocate on behalf of students, and work closely with lawmakers and education professionals to develop innovative solutions that impact Illinois students. Students must be entering the fall semester as a sophomore, junior, or senior to be eligible to serve on the SAC.
Applications are due June 3. For more information, please contact Dr. Leslie Ward at (312) 814-8988 or lward@isbe.net.
Computer Science Club Elections Are Monday After School
Members of the Computer Science Club will be participating in their elections at 3:45 p.m. on Monday in the Recital Hall (Room 4100).
Tweak In Yearbook Pick-Up Schedule For Next Week!
It’s coming…the 2021-22 Yearbook! Yearbooks will be available for pick-up starting on Monday and running through Wednesday during the three lunch periods in the Glass Commons and the College Career Center Lobby.
To make yearbook distribution easier and more orderly, here is the pick-up schedule for next week:
- Monday: Seniors and Juniors
- Tuesday: Sophomores and Freshmen
- Wednesday: Anyone Who Still Needs To Pick Up
Students must have their ID with them to receive their yearbook if they purchased one. If they did not purchase a yearbook, they will be able to at a later date (TBD) at the Patriot School Store.
“We’ve Got Spirit, Yes We Do!” Try Out For Next Year’s Stevenson Cheer!
Want to cheer for the Stevenson Patriots? Tryout dates for the 2022-23 cheerleading teams are:
May 16: 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Incoming freshmen and rising sophomores through seniors)
May 17: 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Incoming freshmen)
May 17: 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Rising sophomores through seniors)
May 18: 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Incoming freshmen and rising sophomores through seniors)
May 19: 4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Team Announcements)
** All tryouts are in the Wood Commons.
** To register for tryouts, please click here.
NOTE: Please wear black shorts, a black shirt, and athletic shoes. If you wear your hair back in a bow, it should be a black or white bow.
Athletic Results
Girls Track and Field: The Patriots traveled to Buffalo Grove for the Sectional round of the state series on a hot and humid evening. Stevenson came in fifth place as a team with 37 points. Ella O’Neall continued her successes at the sectional, becoming the champion in both the shot put and discus with distances of 13.83 and 37.90, respectively. That qualified her for the IHSA Class 3A State Meet next weekend at Eastern Illinois University. The 4×100 meter relay team of Alex Wu, Eve Traficanti, Ava Mecir, and Ava Wilson came in third place with a time of 50.50 in their final race of the season.
Girls Water Polo: Stevenson (29-1-1, 4-0) traveled to Buffalo Grove to take on Highland Park in the sectional quarterfinals and won, 16-2. Next up for the Patriots is the sectional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. tonight against Buffalo Grove.
Allied Soccer: Stevenson defeated Lake Zurich, 6-4. David Ha, Mark Brady, Trey Miller, and John Falcon each scored 1 goal. Sam Garmash and Gile Pomponi contributed to the team with their tenacious defense and goalies Shephia Zhou and Leo Reinoso both dominated in the goal. Next up for the Patriots is the four-team “Allies For Allied” tournament hosted by Stevenson at the Stadium next Saturday, May 21. Games start at 9 a.m.
Boys Track and Field: Stevenson visited Libertyville to compete in the North Suburban Conference Championships. The Patriots finished in fourth place overall with Jimmy Davis taking first place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 50.5. Marcus Caselberry also took first in his event. The 4×100 meter relay team of Zach Goldman, Marcus Caselberry, Keegan Latulippe and Davis took first place with a time of 43.42. Mark Hellwig dominated once again in the high jump with a height of 6-foot-4.75. Next up for the Patriots is the sectional at 4 p.m. on Thursday at Grayslake Central High School.
Girls Soccer: The Patriots dropped their final contest to Carmel, 3-0, but ended the 2022 regular season as conference champions with a final record of 14-2-1, 6-0-1 in the NSC. The playoffs start on Tuesday as Stevenson hosts a regional match at 5 p.m. against Buffalo Grove.
A Nonspeaking Valedictorian With Autism Gives Her College’s Commencement Speech
She didn’t say a word — and that only made her message resonate more powerfully. Valedictorian Elizabeth Bonker recently delivered the commencement speech at Rollins College in Florida, urging her classmates to serve others and embrace the power of sharing.
Students Need Summer Learning That Doesn’t Feel Like School
For many, last summer focused on lost learning; this summer should focus on making sure kids are ready and well when next year starts.
The Week Ahead
Mark your calendars for these events and see the Stevenson Calendar for details on these and future programs.
May 13: AP Exams
May 13-14: Badminton State Finals
May 13-14: Boys Gymnastics State Finals
May 13: Improv Performance
May 16-20: Spring Fling Spirit Week
May 16: Activity Period: Counselor Visits
May 16: District 125 Board Of Education Meeting
May 17: Consortium Art Festival And Reception
May 20: Pep Assembly
May 20: Spring Fling
May 20: SNN Film Festival
Stevenson Daily Digest 
