Stevenson Daily Digest - May 2, 2019
Jim Conrey
Stevenson Daily Digest - Thursday, May 2, 2019
Follow Stevenson on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, and at d125.org. Want to see previous editions of the Digest? Visit the Daily Digest archive.
Pair Wins First Place in National Journalism Contest
The good news keeps rolling into journalism teacher Dean Bradshaw’s classroom. In the past two weeks, the sponsor of Stevenson’s Statesman student newspaper has received word of several major awards earned by his staff.
Leading the list are sophomore Ojasvi Saxena and junior Emily Lu. The pair won a First Place award in the National Federation of Press Women High School Communications Contest for their sports story, “No Place for Hate.” The article covered hate speech rules adopted by the Illinois High School Association and the North Suburban Conference. The judge who saw the piece said it was “the most topical, impactful, and important story that I've seen thus far in this year's contest.”
Sophomore Bradley Locker received an Honorable Mention award in the same contest for his column on athletes personalizing their uniforms as avenues of protest and support for various causes.
The Statesman, meanwhile, earned a Second Place Award in the American Scholastic Press Association Newspaper Review and Contest, and garnered a Silver Certificate at the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association conference at the College of DuPage on April 12. The Statesman also received a Bronze Certificate for its website.
At the NISPA conference, senior Kendall Roberts earned a Blue Ribbon Award for her infographic on recent changes to the Illinois High School Association. Stevenson also came away with four Honorable Mentions: For its staff editorial on academic dishonesty; senior Braeden Forman’s column on the Freshman Mentor Program; senior Ellie Baden and junior Janice Lee’s team in-depth reporting on academic dishonesty; and sophomore Lily Jiang's photography at World's Fair.
Who Wrote the One-Act Plays?
Wednesday’s Digest listed the names of the student directors for this weekend’s one-act plays. However, you can’t have a play without a playwright. Here are the students who wrote this weekend’s one-acts: Tim Graves, Angela Spilotro, Ethan Murphy, Quinn Chowaniec, Ananya Shah, Emily Feldman and Matthew Zimring. The playwrights and directors will also be acting in the productions.
Cancer-Stricken Student’s Family Seeks Help
The family of a Stevenson student battling a rare form of cancer has created a GoFundMe page to raise money that will help pay for some of their expenses and basic needs. Sophomore Charnice Fisher was diagnosed earlier this semester with osteosarcoma, a type of cancer that occurs in bones. Her mother has been unable to work since undergoing major surgery around the same time as the cancer diagnosis. The cancer was discovered when Charnice, a member of the SHS dance program, was experiencing significant leg pain. She received an initial diagnosis of a strained groin, but a subsequent MRI led to the cancer discovery.
Click here for today’s athletic schedule
Wednesday’s Varsity Results
Boys Gymnastics
Stevenson at IHSA Libertyville Sectional: Freshman Jack White finished sixth in vault (9.0), tied for eighth in floor exercise (8.75), was 11th on high bar (8.0) and tied for 12th on parallel bars (7.9). SHS placed seventh out of eight teams with a final point total of 110.9. The top five individuals in each event advanced automatically to next week’s state meet. The IHSA will announce at-large qualifiers by 10 a.m. Monday. - Official Results | Daily Herald
Softball
Stevenson 5, Zion-Benton 0: Haley Barnes threw a one-hitter, striking out eight, and went 2-for-3 at the plate for the host Patriots (7-10). Haley tossed the team’s first shutout of 2019, surrendering only a single to open the fourth inning. SHS scored all the runs it would need in the opening inning, when Maggie O’Brien hit a triple to score Haley, then came home on a Maggie Trotter groundout. Riley Housinger knocked in Emily Freedman (two runs) with a sacrifice fly in the second, then singled home Reagan Koenigs in the sixth. - GameChanger.com
Baseball
Stevenson 5, Waukegan 1: Nick Wang, Eli Fishbein, Ethan Kallish and Michael D’Angelo combined for a four-hitter on Senior Day as the Patriots improved to 15-6 overall and 7-2 in the North Suburban Conference. The quartet struck out five, with Nick recording three in his two innings of work as the starter. Jack Jonota (2-for-2, two runs) doubled home classmate Chris Farina, then scored on a single from Michael (2-for-3) as SHS took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. After the Bulldogs scored an unearned run in the top of the fourth, Brandon Ward hit an RBI single to score Jack in the bottom of the inning. Isaiah Hart knocked in Josh Snider with a triple in the fifth, then came home on an error to close the scoring. - GameChanger.com
Girls Water Polo
Stevenson 15, Naperville North 9: Lauren Maloney scored six goals to lead the top-ranked Patriots (27-0) over the fourth-ranked Huskies (26-3) on Senior Night in the Patriot Aquatic Center. The victory also extended Stevenson’s state-record winning streak to 60 games. Naperville North led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, but Lauren scored four times as SHS outscored the Huskies, 6-1, in the second to take control. Anna Mossakowski made 10 saves for the Patriots, who close out the regular season Saturday by hosting a quadrangular tournament with No. 6 Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley. Eleanor Michaud scored three goals, Kalista Tapas and Shreya Sreedhar had two apiece, and Maddy O’Donnell and Maddie Meirhaeghe also scored. - Daily Herald
Boys Volleyball
Stevenson d. Waukegan, 26-24, 25-17: Gavin Meng recorded 10 kills and Justin Ross had eight kills to go along with a solo block and four assists for the host Patriots (19-5, 5-0) in the Sports Center. SHS won its fifth straight match, and concludes its North Suburban Conference schedule next week with contests against its two closest rivals, Warren and Lake Forest. John Angelos added five kills and three block assists. Will Sorenson was 60-of-62 setting with 25 assists, while Samuel Epstein made 17 digs. - NFHS Network Replay
Girls Lacrosse
Stevenson 14, Lake Forest 10: Anastasia Crews made 13 saves and the Patriots defense caused 13 turnovers in the road victory. Shaina Zilber and Payton Jagiello each forced two turnovers for SHS (9-7, 3-0 NSC), which led 7-2 at halftime and extended the margin to 14-5 before the Scouts rallied in the final five minutes to close the gap. Offensively, Kilian Weber led Stevenson with five goals and also made three assists. Sophie Sorenson scored three goals and assisted on seven others, while Georgia Maskalunas also had a trio of scores with an assist. Erica Spieler scored twice and added an assist, and Michelle Shen also scored. - NFHS Network Replay
Boys Water Polo
Naperville North 13, Stevenson 11: The 10th-ranked Huskies (20-8) upended the fourth-ranked Patriots (19-8) in the Patriot Aquatic Center, spoiling Senior Night. Dima Kobets led SHS with six goals. Mark Holzer scored twice, while Drew Wangard, Sammy Maya and Filip Mihajlovic also scored. Alex Mitchell made six saves. - Daily Herald
Boys Lacrosse
Lake Forest 12, Stevenson 4 - NFHS Network Replay
Badminton Team Begins Quest for Three-Peat
The two-time defending state champion girls badminton team begins its quest for a three-peat today by playing host to an Illinois High School Association sectional tournament in the Field House. The Patriots will be one of seven teams in the sectional, along with Evanston, Leyden, Oak Park-River Forest, Maine East, and two Chicago schools, Northside College Prep and Taft. Stevenson, which has won eight consecutive sectional titles, posted a perfect regular season record for the second straight year and third time in coach Grant Johnson’s four-year tenure. SHS was 20-0 in dual matches this year after going 17-0 in 2018. The Patriots were 22-0 in Johnson’s first year. In his four years at the helm, Stevenson has a 72-1-2 record. Use this link to see sectional results later today.
SHS Connections With Whitewater Softball
Two players with Stevenson connections are part of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team, which this weekend is seeking its seventh straight trip to the NCAA Division III tournament. Outfielder Vera Pflugradt (Class of 2017) and pitcher-outfielder Dani Biesiada, the daughter of SHS Social Studies teacher Mark Biesiada, helped the Warhawks compile a 26-10 regular-season record. Both are sophomores. Pflugradt is hitting .342 in 29 games with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, while Biesiada has a 1.05 earned-run average in 20 games with five saves. Whitewater won its third straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title and is the top seed in this weekend’s league tournament. The winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Make a Spring ESPPA Award Nomination
Have you seen a Patriot student-athlete or team have a great game or a great season this spring? Is there a team manager or fan that deserves to be recognized? Nominations are now being taken for the Athletic Division’s Exceptional Stevenson Patriot Pride Award (ESPPA). Several categories are available. To make a nomination, fill out the form at this link. The nomination deadline is May 15. Winners will be recognized at the Spring Sports Awards Night on May 20.
Today on NFHS Network
Today’s varsity and junior varsity girls soccer matches at Warren, and the varsity boys lacrosse game in the Stadium against Lyons Township, will be streamed live today on Stevenson’s NFHS Network page. The boys lacrosse game starts at 6 o’clock, the JV girls soccer contest begins at 4:30, and the varsity match-up commences at 6:15.
Correction
Wednesday’s Digest spelled the last name of varsity girls soccer player Nikki Kolz incorrectly.
STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Click This Link to See More Announcements
College Essay Workshop for Juniors
Juniors are invited to register for a four-day workshop this summer to improve their college application essays and reduce stress at the start of senior year. The SHS Communication Arts Division is offering its College Essay Workshop four times during summer school: June 4-7 and 17-20, and July 8-11. Visit this link for more information. To enroll, go to the summer school web page.
Final Girls Water Polo Frosty Friday This Week
The girls water polo team is holding its final Wendy’s Frosty Friday fundraiser on Friday. Chocolate and vanilla Frostys will be available for $2 in the Wood and Glass Commons during the passing periods between sixth and seventh, seventh and eighth, and after school.
ILLINOIS EDUCATION HEADLINES
Teachers at Chicago charter schools go on strike
IEA president responds to death threat
Zion school board has three vacancies
Kaneland students can wear hats to school next year
Lane Tech debate team sets national record
Woodland District 50 appoints new leader
Math chairman promoted to superintendent in Morris
California educator named LaSalle-Peru High principal
NATIONAL EDUCATION HEADLINES
Thousands of North, South Carolina teachers protest
Family in China paid $6.5M to fixer for Stanford admit
Police praise student who died trying to stop attacker
Michigan governor OKs delay in teacher evaluation change
Cengage, McGraw-Hill merge, become No. 2 publisher
Colorado State cracks down on annual “Undie Run”
Sixth-grader, sick of coloring, skips ahead to college
###########################################################
The Daily Digest is compiled and edited by Jim Conrey. To subscribe or unsubscribe, contact him at jco...@d125.org.