GOOD NEWS REPORT - Bremen High School District 228 / Overview
Transcription
GOOD NEWS REPORT - Bremen High School District 228 / Overview
BRE ME N G O O D DI S TRI C T NEWS 2 2 8 R E PO R T APRIL 2015 BREMEN HIGH SCHOOL Academics & Activities At the April faculty meeting, two students and their parents were recognized as “Someone you Should Know.” Alex Tucker was recognized for his dedication to BMX biking. Alex is in contention to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. He recently finished eighth out of 160 in the country at Grand Nationals and top five in the state. Dorelle Curtis will be graduating this semester. Although he had some rough patches along the way, Dorelle was recently recognized on the honor roll. He confesses he had to make some significant changes in his life especially when the obstacles were stacked against him. His teachers are quite proud of his commitment and determination to excel. Bremen Theatre is excited to present their spring play Lady Dracula. Shows are April 23 and 24 at 7pm and April 25 at 5pm. Tickets are $5. The final Honor Assembly of the year will take place on April 28 at 9am. Students in the areas of academics, activities and athletics will be recognized. The Bremen Jazz Ensemble will also conduct a special performance. On April 30 at 6pm, the annual Bremen AP Art Show and Open Mic Night will feature a plethora of talented students demonstrating their verbal, visual and musical talents. On May 7 at 12:30pm, Bremen administration and PPS will host its annual Senior Signing Day. Each senior in attendance signs a certificate of commitment to a post-secondary institution to continue his or her education or service. On April 17 more than 220 students participated in the Gay-Straight Alliance Annual Day of Silence, in conjunction with the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance. This national school initiative is an opportunity for students to work toward improving school climate for all students. The District Communication Arts and Technology program recently competed in the Eighth Annual Video Competition at South Suburban College and came home with plenty of hardware. In the category of Commercial, First Place went to the team of Moises Montano, James Beaver and Doug Bulow, and Third Place went to the team of Efua Richardson and Timothy Rhodes. In the category of Public Service Announcement, First Place went to Thomas Parchem. In the category of Short Subject, First Place went to the team of Thomas Parchem and Michelle Rodriguez, while Second Place went to the team of Michelle Rodriguez, Jose Ambrosio and Thomas Parchem. On April 18, several student groups participated in the Annual Global Youth Service Day throughout the Bremen Township Community. Students served the community in various facets, including: adopting a grandparent for the day and teaching healthy lifestyles to middle school students. Senior Houston Weatherly was a lead voice in the events, along with Mr. Terry Stephens, Mrs. Gina Arguelles, Mrs. Amanda Chelepis and Mr. Craig Cappel. Chemistry students recently took a “dive” into gas laws. Mrs. Jessica Rucinski’s chemistry students participated in a field trip to Scuba Emporium in Orland Park, to experience real-life application of gas laws, a unit in Chemistry they have been studying. It provided direct instruction from certified divers, all of which had a strong science background, along with hands on learning as it relates to the study of gases. With the leadership of sophomore Cheyenne Moore, Bremen hosted band members Kyle Dee and Stevie Mac of Fall Four to do a meet and greet with students, as well as promote a new teen social networking group called YOLOBE, that connects students and the workforce, with the possibility of internship opportunities. The Fall Four have made appearances on the hit T.V. show Empire and lead singer Kyle Dee traveled to Hollywood on season 11 of American Idol. Twenty-two band and choir students were awarded South Suburban All-Conference Honors. Students that received this honor were: Dakari Bass, Nyrasia Beal, Noah Boots-Kalamotousakis, Demiah Boyd, Samantha Bravo, Marlene Chavez, Martin Garcia, Lavell Hughes, Gabriel Jeronimo, DeBrias Lake, Emily Leal, Julissa Leal, Alexis Meadows, Krysta Patterson, Adrian Perez, Ashanti Perkin, Brianna Snyder, Margarita Tiscareno, Amparo Villanueva, Nikia Watkins, Cierra Williams and Heather Zubko. Athletics Congratulations to the District 228 Girls’ Water Polo Team for being crowned champions at the Bremen High School Tournament. The Boys’ Baseball Team is off to an 8-6-1 start, beating a plethora of non-conference opponents. The Girls’ Track Team will be hosting its annual invite on April 25 with 14 schools in the competition. Additionally, the girls will host the SSC Conference on May 7. GOOD NEWS REPORT Page 2 TI NLEY PARK HIGH SCHOOL Academics & Activities The Tinley Park-Frankfort Rotary Club hosted its annual Top Ten Gala at Tinley Park High School. The speaker was Tinley Park Village Clerk, Pat Rea. His message was one of following dreams and taking risks. The evening concluded with the awarding of four $500 scholarships to students in attendance from each of the four high schools. Congratulations to our very own Jesalem Garnica, who won the scholarship for Tinley Park High School. Hard work has paid off for seniors Claudia Chayer and Brett Lauer. They are the 2015 recipients of the Mark and Moira Schmidt “Most Improved” Scholarship. Each of them will be awarded a $1,000 college scholarship by the Bremen High School District 228’s Education Foundation. The students are being awarded based on their remarkable improvement during their four years of high school. Tinley Park High School counselor Ms. Dori Neven and English teacher Ms/ Tammie Schultz, along with 28 other Chicagoland educators had the opportunity to experience five days of Marine Corps life throughout some of the Marine Corps’ Southwestern installations, March 30–April 3. Known as the Educator’s Workshop, these teachers, counselors, coaches and administrators had the opportunity to experience the Marine Corps by watching and participating in a variety of events that encompass the Marine Corps’ way of life. Our two staff members commented on how eye opening the experience was and they were very grateful for the opportunity. Congratulations to the Band Program for their continued success. They hosted the annual Jazz Café on March 29 and welcomed over 350 people for an evening of jazz music, food, raffles and fun. The Symphonic Band displayed its talent as they competed for a spot in the Super State Concert Band Festival. They were successful and earned an invitation to perform at the University of Illinois campus on May 8. Congratulations to the 494 Titans who made Honor Roll, High Honor Roll or Distinguished Honors for the Third Quarter. The Drama Group will be performing The Great Gatsby for its Spring show. A matinee performance will be held on April 23 at 10am for the eighth grade students at Arbor Park Middle School, followed by performances April 24 and 25 at 7pm. We will conclude with a April 26 matinee performance at 2pm. April 18 was Global Youth Service Day. A number of students participated in various community service projects as a way to highlight our overall concern and care for our community. There was a Teen Expo that was sponsored by our teen group, YOLOBE; Amber Holup organized a WW2 Veterans Appreciation Breakfast (which was well attended) and Kira Feliszak along with the Tinley Park Girls’ Soccer Team made quilts to donate to local shelters. Athletics Junior Eric Schultz has been named to the Daily Southtown Wrestling All-Area Team! According to Logan Malloy of the Southtown, Schultz is, “A premier athlete and All-Area wrestling selection.” The Varsity Baseball Team took their show on the road over Spring Break, competing in the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky and the McDonald’s High School Challenge in Gary, Indiana. Our Titans went 3-0 over the break, beating Owensboro, Kentucky; Mullenburg County, Kentucky; and Lafeyette Central Catholic, Indiana. Contributing to the overall success of the team were the following players: Connor Ceglarz, Steven Gonzalez, Drew Hall, Quinn Kelly, Andrew Joren, Mark Suarez and Brandon Williams. The boys’ continued their winning streak on April 13 with a two game sweep over Conference rival Bremen. Congratulations to the Varsity Boys’ Tennis Team on their 3-2 victory against Shepard High School. All three Doubles Teams won to pull out the victory. Leading the way was Harold Taylor, Patrick Nolan, Nolan Jasek, Daniel Pascual, Jake Jelderks and Justin Coyle. Congratulations to the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team for their 6-1 victory over Eisenhower High School. Carolina Carillo led the way with one goal and two assists. Casey Crusius, Elizabeth Carillo, Karina Rodriguez, Morgan Sniegolski and Emily Lilly also netted goals for the Titans. Stephanie Nichols helped push the offense with two assists, while Emma Alderman and Katie Kopecky maintained a solid defense. APRIL 2015 Page 3 HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL Academics & Activities Congratulations to the DECA Chapter members that participated in the State Career Development Conference in Decatur. At the conference, students utilized a variety of methods and models to measure their knowledge and skills through the process of completing multiple-choice economics and career cluster examinations. In addition, participants engaged in two problem solving-based role plays in the various business environments. More than 1,300 students participated in this year’s event! The following Hillcrest students competed: Buying and Merchandising Team, Marchand Henderson and Jorge Reyes; Quick Serve Restaurant Management, Lea Farhoude; Marketing Management, Christian Hammond. Key Club members traveled to the Victory Centre of Sierra Ridge assisted living center in Country Club Hills to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the residents. The Key Club members led the festivities with “Lucky Bingo.” All the prizes were donated by the Hillcrest faculty, staff and supporting clubs. The residents enjoyed their prizes consisting of gift cards from McDonald’s, picture frames, stationery, lotion and bath sets, puzzles, sports memorabilia, and much more. The Key Club members enjoyed reaching out to their community and sharing their talents. During National Foreign Language week the Family and Consumer Arts teacher collaborated with the French program to create a mouthwatering culinary experience for the students. Ms. Jean Sweeny provided a stocked culinary cart and a traditional French crepe recipe. Ms. Erin Johnson’s French students were able to “taste” a little part of France. The two teachers integrated rich culinary experiences with foreign language skills to enhance learning. Not only did the students complete their oral demonstrations in French, but they acquired a firsthand look at important aspects of French cuisine and culture. Students were able to mix batter to perfection, learned to achieve a “perfect” flip, and practiced final preparation techniques. This was the perfect exercise in using French conversational and communication skills through cooking. On March 24 we hosted our Fourth Annual College Fair. The fair featured over 50 universities. In addition, Regency Beauty Institute, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Elite Ambulance, and the Art Institute of Chicago sent representatives. The fair offered a great opportunity for juniors and seniors to receive assistance with their decisions. Students and parents were able to meet with the representatives to discuss everything from academics to campus life. Eight Hillcrest advanced placement Spanish IV students were driven to northern Minnesota to spend three days in Concordia College’s Immersion Village. Students were chaperoned by Spanish teacher Mrs. JoEllen Lee. Students enjoyed used their “passports” to enter the country, exchanged their money for pesos, used the pesos for purchasing, and “swore off” the English language for four days. The students really enjoyed immersing themselves in the sights, sounds, tastes and experiences of the Spanish-speaking world. The Drama Group performed the award-winning “Antigone Now,” a modern re-telling of the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles, at the South Suburban Conference Drama and Group Interpretation Festival. Seven conference schools participated. This is the first year the Hillcrest performers participated in this competition under the direction of Mr. Gregory Fitch, Mrs. Jamilah Adebesin Mason and Mr. George Macabobby. Noteworthy performances were given by actors Jesse Craig, Kalila Hunter, Nylle Graham, Robert Wilk, and Maurice Edmonson. Hillcrest received the “Tech-cellence” award for “Best Small Dramatic Performance.” Senior member Jesse Craig was awarded the All-Conference Drama Performance medal for individual accomplishment. The talented Technical Crew included Devin Turner and Art Society members, Kennedy Warfield, Christopher Shivers, James Thompson and Jacklyn Porter. Six seniors took Second Place at the Fourth Annual Financial Literacy Bowl, which was hosted by the Illinois College Advising Corps at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Robynn Alsup, Kim Chi Dang, Kendria Jenkins, Constance McCullah, Symone Varnado and Kendra Warfield each received a $750 college scholarship! In addition to their scholarship money, Kendria Jenkins won a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 4, and Symone Varnado won a Kindle as raffle prizes. Students prepared for the event throughout the Fall and Winter by attending financial awareness training workshops facilitated by their ICAC advisor Ms. Jessica Schraft. Athletics The Athletic Department would like to congratulate the Boys’ Basketball program on another outstanding season. The Varsity Boys’ won their twenty-seventh CONSECUTIVE Conference Championship with an undefeated record. They also won the Regional and Sectional Championships. The Boys’ lost a tough one to Morgan Park in the Super-Sectional. Special congratulations is also extended to Coach Don Houston for earning Co-Coach of the Year in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Congratulations to Varsity Softball team for opening the season with two victories over St. Francis De Sales and Seton Academy. Congratulations Luther Newburn for placing second in the Triple Jump at the Illinois Top Times Meet. This meet is the indoor equivalent to the outdoor State meet. The outdoor Track season is finally underway after the weather forced cancellation of the first few meets. Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Teams are looking forward to the season. GOOD NEWS REPORT Page 4 OAK FOREST HIGH SCHOOL Academics & Activities Athletics Oak Forest High School students worked with eighth graders at Jack Hille Middle School to help ease the transition to high school next year. The project is named the Husky Project after Hille’s mascot, the husky. The OF student leaders talked about the faces that Hille students needed to know at the high school: deans, principals, secretaries and counselors. Hille students asked a lot of questions. They wanted to know how big the lockers were, about the clubs and organizations of the school, and about various sports and camps. The OF presenters pointed out the high expectations that high school teachers had for students and the strict adherence they had for turning in homework on time. They discussed how some teachers post assignments online and collect homework. The OF team said that high school is definitely harder than middle school but assured students that they would get used to it. As part of the Husky Project, OF student leaders also participated at the Hille Career Fair. Divided into two groups, they presented simultaneously at four separate sessions. OF students that participated in the Husky Project events were: Jenna Beardsley, Cassidy Burns, Alexander Joritz, Benita Joseph, Marley Majetic, Nathan McGovern, Anthony Pelligrino and Sara Valente. The City Council of Oak Forest honored the Bengal Wresting Team. Mayor Hank Kuspa presented the Third Place IHSA dual team with a proclamation, congratulating them for their tremendous accomplishments this past season. The Wrestling Team also earned their second consecutive IHSA Do What’s Right! State Final Sportsmanship Banner, exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship at the State Final tournaments in all team sports. Schools who make the grade receive a banner to proudly display in their school. The letter from the IHSA stated, “Your school has set a high standard for other schools to follow during regular season and post season play.” Group Interpretation’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off cast earned two All-Sectional Cast spots at the Sectional Drama and Group Interpretation Festival. They are: Al Joritz, who played Ferris Bueller, and Cami Clark, who played Jeanie Bueller. Group Interpretation is directed by media specialist Ms. Cheryl Harris-Sumida. Girls’ Track athletes Lynette Latocha and Alex Lambros recently competed at the 2015 Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships. Often referred to as ‘indoor state,’ this competition pits the best track and field athletes in the state against one another before heading outside to participate in outdoor track. Lynette was the only freshman to compete in the event. She placed sixth overall in the high jump with a leap of 5’3”. This tied the school record at Oak Forest as well. Senior Alex Lambros competed in the triple jump and placed fifth overall with a jump of 35’7.25” breaking her own school record in the process. Associate Principal Dan Dunne announced that Oak Forest High School has taken First Place, among the ten schools in Region One, for the program they called 5 to Drive. This is the sixth consecutive year that OFHS has won First Place honors. The 5 to Drive Campaign focused on five safe driving habits: no cell phones, buckle up, no alcohol, no speeding and no extra passengers. These habits are the ones that teens should avoid while in a car. As a result of winning the First Place prize, OFHS wins an additional $2,500 to implement Post-Prom activities such as a catered breakfast the morning after prom, with additional prizes and giveaways like Frisbees, beach balls, t-shirts and cinch bags for the students. OFHS will also be invited to attend a Ford Motor Company’s Driving Skills for Life Ride and Drive and will bring a select group of sophomore students. This is an opportunity for teens to learn critical driving techniques and skills from professional drivers. All-State Wrestler Patrick Kristin won the Ken Gerdes III Leadership Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. This award is open to all seniors in the State of Illinois that have shown greatness on and off the wrestling mat. It was awarded to only seven wrestlers out of hundreds of applicants. Senior Julian Raczka signed a letter of intent to play collegiate soccer at Trinity International University in Deerfield. He will play on Trinity’s team as a forward for Coach Patrick Gilliam. Raczka plans to study business administration and accounting. Spring sports have gotten off to a tremendous start. Baseball, Softball, and Girls’ Soccer programs have started their Conference campaigns without losses. Softball has raced out to a 5-0 record, while soccer and baseball own identical 3-0 records. Softball also earned the Consolation Championship at the Freeport Tournament. The Sophomore Boys’ Volleyball Team earned Second Place at the Oak Forest JV Invite. Finally, badminton has made a nice turnaround this year with their largest participation numbers in the last four seasons.