Thursday, May 26, 2022

Almost There…Final Experience Ends TODAY!

You’re almost done, Patriots!

Stevenson’s Final Experience ends today. Here is a handy guide to get you through this last busy day, complete with schedules, reminders about course material returns, open gyms, food service, transportation and tutoring hours.

Good luck on your final…finals!

Come Chill Out And De-Stress In Room 6110!

Stressing About the Final Experience, which continues through today?

No worries! Student Services welcomes all students and staff to take advantage of our Finals Destress Days, running today from 8:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. in Room 6110. Students are encouraged to stop by during their lunch/free periods and should not miss any scheduled part of their Final Experience.

Here’s the Destress Schedule:

Today: Color and Calm 🎨

Game Development 2 Classes Name Winners For Contest

It might be every gamer’s dream: develop his or her own video game.

That’s essentially what the course Game Development 2 at Stevenson is all about and each year around this time, students in that course develop a final video game using the Unreal Engine. These games are hosted on the school server and playable from Stevenson’s Computer Science, Engineering And Technology website. Games range from open world 3D games to classic side-scrolling 2D games. Students in the Game Development 2 classes voted on their favorite games. This year’s Game of the Year winners were:

Sammie Fedorov for Lost; Elliot Rubinstein for Paper & Pencil; Micah Kim and Shourya Mehta for Sukafu

Tip: Most games use the controls WASD to move, spacebar to jump, and the mouse to look/move the camera. Games can be played only on computers.

Ren Will Rush From Graduation To USA Biology Olympiad

Summer vacation will have to wait. After graduation on Friday, it’s off to the Washington D.C. area for senior Greycen Ren. In March, he advanced to the Finals of the USA Biology Olympiad, which are being held at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia starting Saturday and running through June 9. The competitors will be staying on campus.

At the residential training program for the USABO National Finals, Ren will learn advanced biological concepts and exacting lab skills. He then has the chance to move on to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) competition which is slated to take place in Yerevan, Armenia in July.

This has been a long journey for Ren. Back in February, 35 members of Stevenson’s Biology OIympiad Club participated in the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) competitive exams. Four students scored well enough to advance to the Semifinals held in March. Those students were: Ren, Anmol Dash, Joshua Song and Yash Vijay.

Six Staffers Recognized By The National Federation Of Press Women For Their Work In The Statesman

Nearly 2,000 students nationwide participated in this year’s National Federation of Press Women Education Fund and six Statesman staffers were recognized earlier this month.

** Junior Shannon Moser and sophomore Kyla Smith: Second Place, Single Page Layout for their photo essay “World’s Fair.”

** Seniors Natalie King and Malini Pillai: Honorable Mention, Double Page Layout for their column “COV-ingenious COV-ignorance.”

** Junior Aauyshi Wadhawan and sophomore Jenny Huang: Honorable Mention, Graphics/Photo Illustration for their page about volleyball “Killing The Game.”

Students in the national competition were selected from first-place winners in their statewide competitions.

Seniors: How And When To Get To Graduation

Seniors, please remember these two important points regarding arrival for The Class Of 2022 Commencement:

1. PARKING: Graduation will be held at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. NOW Arena is allowing families to arrive in two cars maximum.

2. ARRIVAL TIME: Doors will open to the public at 3:30 p.m. Graduates should report no later than 4:00 p.m. Guests will enter the arena through the main entrance. All graduates will enter the arena through Door 11.

For more details about The Class Of 2022 Commencement, please click here.

Seniors: If You Haven’t Gotten Your Graduation Cap and Gown Yet…

…don’t worry! Graduating seniors will be able to pick up their cap and gown on Friday morning at the Commencement Rehearsal. The rehearsal is in the Fieldhouse. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. with your counselor. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Get In Tip-Top Shape For The SAT Or ACT: Join “Bootcamp!”

Do you want to sharpen your skills for either the upcoming ACT or SAT exams? You’re in luck. Spaces are still available for this summer’s “Testing Bootcamps” that are taught by our own Stevenson faculty and staff. You can still register for either of these bootcamps:

** ACT Bootcamp: June 13 through June 15; 7:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., daily.
** SAT Bootcamp: July 5 through July 14; 7:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., daily.

Both summer experiences include a focus on: test-taking strategies, pacing guidelines, reinforcement of subject matter skills, and a simulation practice test on the last day of class where you will receive your immediate score report and feedback.

The late fee has been reduced for each of these experiences!

Questions? Contact Marla Israel at misrael@d25.org or Ellyn Ross at elross@d125.org.

Before You Leave For The Summer: Check Out The Lost And Found!

ALL lost-and-found items will be donated or disposed of today. NO items are kept into the Summer.

The East Lost-And-Found location is Room 6120. The West Lost-And-Found location is Room 2416.

Reunion For Daniel Wright Alumni

Calling All Former Daniel Wright Students: Alumni are invited for a visit to Daniel Wright Junior High School anytime from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon on Tuesday. Daniel Wright’s eighth grade teachers will be waiting on the front lawn to give building tours and to hear about what you are doing now!

Honoring The State Champ: Senior Ella O’Neall Takes Center Stage At Celebration!

First there was shock.

“I was like, ‘Wow! Wait!…” Senior Ella O’Neall said with a smile, ‘Did I really do this?’”

Oh, yes, she did. O’Neall did, in fact, win a state championship last weekend, placing first in the shot put with a throw of 13.68 meters at the IHSA Girls State Track Meet at Eastern Illinois University.

On the ride home, the magnitude of a four-year dream coming true hit O’Neall.

“I just starting crying as we were driving back,” O’Neall said. “As it finally settled in, I got emotional.”

Those emotions were evident again this morning as O’Neall was celebrated by the athletic department at a breakfast in the West Faculty Dining Room that drew faculty, staff and classmates. There were plenty of long hugs and loud cheers and big smiles for O’Neall, who was understandably overwhelmed.

“I’ve worked really hard for this moment for a long time, and it’s all kind of flooding out here right now,” O’Neall said. “I’m having to say goodbye to coaches and teachers who have helped me so much along the way, but then it’s also just realizing that I have achieved the goal I’ve had for four years. It’s just a lot right now.”

O’Neall placed third in shot put at last year’s state meet but did not place in discus. This year, she placed fourth in discus, something she says she is not only proud of but that she can also build on as she heads to compete in both events at Iowa State next year.

“Last year did not go as planned and I came back (this year) hungry,” O’Neall said. “I was working over the offseason harder than I ever did before. I wanted it.”

While O’Neall has been on a four-year quest for success at the IHSA State Track Meet, she’s also been heavily involved in many other activities at Stevenson. She was a part of Stevenson’s Fine Arts production of “Shrek” during her freshman year, and she was an active member of the Black Association of Stevenson Students. O’Neall and several other BASS members were honored recently as winners of the Prominent Patriot Award for the second semester.

“Ella has done so much outside of the realm of athletics,” Stevenson athletic director Trish Betthauser said as she introduced O’Neall at the breakfast. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with her in many different aspects. She is one of the most beautiful and strongest females I’ve been exposed to here at Stevenson.”

Boys Track Ready For State Meet At Eastern Illinois

The Boys Track Team qualified four Individuals and a relay team for the Class 3A IHSA State Meet, which begins tomorrow at Eastern Illinois University.

Jimmy Davis qualified in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.68. Marcus Caselberry qualified in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.40. The 4×100 meter relay team of Zach Goldman, Caselberry, Keegan Latulippe, and Davis qualified with a time of 43.30.

In field events, Ethan Aghakhan qualified in the discus with a distance of 47.24 meters and Mark Hellwig Jr. qualified in the high jump with a height of 1.90 meters.

Preliminary rounds will conclude on Friday and the championship round will be on Saturday.

For results and more information about the Class 3A State Meet, please visit the Boys Track page on the IHSA website.

Athletic Results

Girls Lacrosse: After several delays due to rain, tornado warnings, and fog, the Patriots took to the turf in Lake Forest for the Sectional Semifinals and rolled past Libertyville, 14-4. Next up for the Patriots is the Sectional Championship game at 5 p.m. tomorrow at Lake Forest’s West Campus, 300 South Waukegan Road in Lake Forest. Stevenson, the No. 2 seed in the Sectional, will take on top-seeded Lake Forest.

Boys Lacrosse: The St. Viator Sectional Semifinal between the No. 2-seeded Patriots and No. 3 Fremd was postponed yesterday due to inclement weather. That game will be made up at 7:30 p.m. today at the Forest View Educational Center, 2121 South Goebbert Road in Arlington Heights.

Boys Tennis: Due to inclement weather and the forecast for more, the IHSA has moved the State Tennis Finals into various indoor locations throughout the Chicagoland area. Nick Stec and Ashvath Madhushankar are both in Plainfield at Five Star Tennis, 11959 S. Normantown Rd. The doubles teams of Ervin Perkowski and Daniel Jaworski and Gabe Visotsky and Gautham Kappaganthula are at Vaughn Tennis Center in Aurora, 2121 W Indian Trail.

Meet The Suburban Students Helping To Restore Illinois’ Prairie

Some teens at Waubonsie Valley High School are so into the project that teachers have to prod them to leave the prairie and go to their other classes.

The Job Market Is Booming. How Can College Graduates Take Advantage Of It?

Labor experts say that job prospects are promising for the class of 2022.