Volume 15 Issue 8
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UNITY HIG H
GRANT
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Grant Community High School
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April 2009
LISHED 19
APRIL
STUDENT
30
OF THE
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The Grant Community High School April Student of the Month is senior Kelly Pearce, daughter of Michael and Valerie Pearce of Fox Lake.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Pesticide Notification/
2
Guidance Notes
3
Sports Update
4
Spring Musical
5
Honors Geometry
6
Music
7
Calendar
8
Kelly’s academic achievements include induction into National Honor Society during her junior year. She has earned her place on Honor Roll with an impressive GPA of 3.92/4.0 and is currently ranked 41/376. Kelly has made Grant her home since her junior year after transferring from Richland High School in Washington. Her extracurricular activities since coming to GCHS are varied and include Student Council, New Student Helper, Academic Team, Initium, Debate/ Mock Trial, Prom Fashion Show, Homecoming Float Building (she helped film the parade for the senior video) and track.
Kelly Pearce
Kelly joined in to sand bag during the flooding in Fox Lake. She volunteered to help trainers from the Lincoln Park Zoo show animals to little kids. Others activities include: Project Sticker Shock with the Fox Lake Police Department, volunteer work at Paradise Park, student tutoring through NHS and with Stanton Students. In addition to all of her activities, Kelly puts in 25-30 hours per week working at Ace Hardware in Fox Lake as a cashier. Her spare time is filled with reading, writing, knitting and spending time with her siblings. She finds it rewarding when she assists speech therapists to teach her sister and other deaf children with cochlear implants to speak. Her plans for the future include attending Drake University in Iowa to complete her degree in molecular biology. Ultimately, she would like to continue her education in the area of medicine to become a cardiac surgeon.
Summer School registration forms are available in the Front Office or you may register online at www.grantbulldogs.org
act/psae testing SCHEDULE The PSAE (Prairie State Achievement Exam) is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 2009 and Thursday, April 23, 2009. All Junior students are required to take all of the sub-tests of the PSAE on both days. Any absent student will be automatically scheduled for a make-up session of the PSAE. The PLAN test for all Sophomore students will be administered on Wednesday, April 22, 2009. All Sophomores are required to take all of the sub-tests of the PLAN on Wednesday. There will be no school for Freshman and Seniors on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 ONLY. All students must report back to school on Thursday, April 23, 2009. All Juniors will sit for a second day of testing on Thursday, April 23, 2009. All Freshman, Sophomores and Seniors will report to class.
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Volume 15 Issue 8
FOR YOUR INFORMATION Application of Pesticide Notification This notification is to advise you of the occasional need of the District to apply pesticides, such as for weed control, to certain areas of its facilities. Pesticides are only applied when necessary and are applied according to the policy of the Board of Education of Grant Community High School District 124. Information regarding pesticide use is available at the conclusion of each school year in the office of the Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds. Please be aware that we have scheduled the following pesticide applications for weed control on our campus for 2009 (weather permitting): April 15, 2009 May 15, 2009 June 15, 2009 July 15, 2009 September 15, 2009 October 15, 2009 August 14, 2009 If you would like to be notified prior to the application of pesticides to our grounds, please contact Christine A. Sefcik, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations at csefcik@grantbulldogs.org or (847)587-2561, Extension 223.
AN EVENING OF ENCHANTMENT The Super Saturday Sale for this year’s Prom tickets is scheduled for April 18 from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in the school’s Commons. Formal wear retailers, hair and nail salons, as well as floral shops will be on hand to offer discounts, take orders, and arrange appointments for students and parents planning for the much anticipated occasion. Tickets to the event will be sold at $50.00 per ticket on April 18 and also on April 20-24 before school (7:20 a.m.-7:50 a.m.) and after school (3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.). Any student wishing to bring an out of school guest must have the Grant Dance Guest Approval Form completed before tickets can be purchased. Prom is Friday, May 1 and the theme this year is “An Evening of Enchantment” with the destination at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort in Lincolnshire, Illinois. All students must be present for the entire school day on Friday in order to attend. No absences, tardies, or passes off campus will be accepted for students attending Prom. Please be aware that any student tardy to school or absent from any class will not be allowed to attend Prom. Junior and Senior students will be receiving formal Prom Guidelines during their English classes on Tuesday, April 7. Further inquiries can be addressed to event organizers Ms. Herrick at (847) 587-2561, Extension 442, aherrick@grantbulldogs.org or Ms. Highley at (847) 587-2561, extension 384, thighley@grantbulldogs.org .
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Volume 15 Issue 8
G UIDANCE N OTES
IMPORTANT SENIOR INFORMATION
Guidance Department Activity Calendar 2008-2009
GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENTS Herff Jones was on campus December 11 & 12 to take orders for graduation announcements for the class of 2009. If you happened to miss them or need additional items, you can contact them directly at (815) 756-4743 for any assistance.
April Freshman career meetings
April 15, 16
PLAN testing for sophomores
April 22
PSAE/ACT state test required of all juniors
April 22, 23
CLC Registration Field Trip
April 29
May SAT Test Date
May 2
SAT Regular Registration Deadline (June test)
May 5
ACT Regular Registration Deadline (June test)
May 8
Honors Night
May 13
SAT Late Registration Deadline
May 15
ACT Late Registration Deadline
May 22
Any questions may be directed to the guidance counselors: Mr. Elliott ext. 275
Ms. Wickboldt ext. 249
Ms. DeYoung ext 267
Ms. Moore ext. 250
Ms. Corey ext. 236
CAPS AND GOWNS Students were measured for their cap and gown during their lunch periods on December 11 & 12. Those who missed being measured for their cap & gown please see Ms. Palo in the Principal’s office. FEE AND FINES Senior students must pay all outstanding fees and fines before they will be able to pick up their cap and gown for graduation.
College of Lake County New Student Orientation On April 29 there will be a New Student Orientation field trip to the College of Lake County. The trip is limited to 30 students. This trip will allow students to meet with college advisors, register for summer and/or fall classes and take a tour of the campus. Please contact Mr. Elliott at ext. 275, or lelliott@ grantbulldogs.org if you are interested.
STUDENT DRIVER VEHICLE MAGNETS STILL AVAILABLE Driver Education Summer School Classroom Parent Meeting Information All summer school classroom parents are strongly encouraged to attend the presummer parent informational meeting. Although the date/time has not been determined yet, it will most likely take place near the end of May. Look for those details on the school’s website in mid-May as well as the May newsletter. This meeting will be extremely beneficial to obtain specific information regarding the school’s Driver Education program. All questions should be directed to Mr. Kibitlewski at ext. 362 or email: bkibitlewski@ grantbulldogs.org.
Parents and students have the opportunity to purchase vehicle magnets to be used while our young, inexperienced, new drivers begin practicing their driving skills. These magnets will attach to a metallic surface, and then can be removed when the student driver is not driving. The cost is $3.00 per magnet and the choices are: STUDENT DRIVER, BE PATIENT NEW DRIVER, and CAUTION NEW DRIVER. Supplies are limited. It is well worth the $3.00 investment! For more information, contact Brian Kibitlewski at the school.
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SPORTS UPDATE VARSITY BASEBALL The Varsity Baseball Team is ready for action this year with a wealth of experience and talent. The Bulldogs return eleven varsity players, with nine of them being seniors. Seniors Ryan Thorsen, Brad Baron, Nick Guenther, David Dickinson, and Ryan Magnuson will all try to pitch the Bulldogs to victory. Seniors Nate Lucas, A.J Spohr, Peter Tragos, and Jim Cokefair will lead a Grant offense that has both speed and power. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and allow the baseball Bulldogs the opportunity to showcase their skills.
GIRLS SOCCER The Grant Girls Soccer Team is hard at work preparing for the 2009 spring season. Led by seniors Kendra Kazmaier, Janine Fiordirosa, Sarah Scurto, Gina Holzman, Gina Celluci, Rebecca Sage, Kristen Sircher, and Veronica Valentin, our soccer team has high expectations and look forward to beginning competition. The soccer team is coached by head coach Michael Kennedy and assistant coaches Shane Rivette and Ben Burnet.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD The boys track and field season is well underway. The team has 13 seniors (Tom Bychowski, Brandon Bushing, Ken DePeña, John King, Lance Littleton, Chris Mark, Alex Maskevich, Geordie McKenzie, Garrett Olsen, Gunther Rosentreter, Kevin Savage, Jeff Szelewicki and Mike Zielinski), 17 juniors, 15 sophomores and 21 freshmen. The outlook for the outdoor season is promising with both the varsity and frosh/soph levels looking to compete heavily for the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division Championship. Since starting in mid-February, the team has competed in 4 of their 5 indoor meets. So far 3 indoor school records have been broken in the 4x200m Relay (DePeña, Leo Minne, King, Bychowski), the 4x400m Relay (DePeña, Bushing, Nolan Hebein, Bychowski) and the 400m Dash (DePeña). Chris Mark has also tied the school record in the pole vault. The indoor season concludes on Saturday, March 28 at the Lake Michigan Invitational at Carthage College.
WRESTLING Grant High School will be hosting an Olympic Style Wrestling Club on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the wrestling room. The first meeting will be March 23 and will run through the spring and summer. For further information please e-mail flwc24@yahoo.com. Congratulations to alumni Jimmy Kennedy and Daniel Dennis on earning All-American honors as each of them competed for their respected universities. Jimmy competed for the University of Illinois and Daniel for the University of Iowa (2009 national champions). This is the second time Jimmy has earned this honor and the first for Daniel.
GIRLS TRACK The Grant Girls Track program is off and running in 2009! Led by Head Coach Jackie Randall, Assistant Coach Vicki Webb, Assistant Coach Jim Cramer, and Volunteer Coach Jamal Abdullah the Girls Track Team aims to continue excellence in the North Suburban Conference. Expectations are set and shared with the team by returning leaders Kendra Kennedy, Erin Horvath, Alexis Capps, Taryn Doherty, Vianca Bermeo and Maureen Cook. The team also has some extremely talented newcomers: Alyssa Pasiewicz, Tara Cwiak, Breha Davis, Kim Heershce, and Daryian Thillen. Please come and find a cheering spot on the new bleachers at one of our home meets April 11 or April 20. Let’s go Lady Bulldogs!
SOFTBALL Spring is finally here and we are looking forward to an exciting softball season. There has been a lot of change in the program with only three returning players from last year’s team. The returning players are C.J. Hill, Amber Potts and Briana Brujioni. Come out and support the Lady Bulldogs Softball Team. Our full schedule can be found on the Grant website.
Volume 15 Issue 8
t h o e8 t k 0’ c a
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You are about to go on a journey..A journey back to a time when Michael Jackson and Rick Astley were the Kings of Pop.. A journey back to a time when bubble skirts and blue eye shadow were cool.. A journey back to a time when the Atari was cutting edge technology...That’s right dudes...you are about to go on a journey… The Spring Musical is here again! This year’s production is “Back to the ‘80’s.” The setting is William Ocean High School and the story highlights the fun, loves and coming of age experiences of the students in its graduating class….all set to the biggest hits of the ‘80’s. Lucky audience members will enjoy our vocal talent singing classic hits such as “Love Shack”, “Walking on Sunshine,” and “Material Girl”. Throw in highenergy dance routines, a “Star Wars” dream sequence and twenty cans of hairspray and the result is a musical guaranteed to entertain and amuse the audience. Character leads are played by Mike Claver, Tim Cephus, Kelsey Peters and Ashley Foreman with strong supporting roles played by Dylan Clark, Brandon Forman, Dakota Clark, Tyler Dempsey and Brittany Sven. The talents of these “totally tubular” students will impress you! Don’t miss it! For tickets, please contact Matt Erickson, Musical Director, at merickson@grantbulldogs.org, Beth Savage at savage@grantbulldogs.org or the front office.
Michael Hayes and Amanda Jacobs are busy painting the set
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HONORS GEOMETRY STUDENTS GET CREATIVE Ms. Handzel’s Honors Geometry classes spent a week learning constructions using only a straight edge and compass. Students learned how to use these tools to bisect segments and angles; copy angles, segments and triangles; and construct regular hexagons and pentagons, as well as other basic constructions. Their final project was to create either a five or six pointed star as a basic shape outline and color it. Students were asked to elaborate the basic design to come up with a more creative picture using their own ideas or replicating some examples shown in class. Everyone did a wonderful job!
Ryan Chavez
Becky Seroki
Kelsey Garrod
Trisha Palomieri
Mary Lazarraga
Mehreen Hassen
KimbrlyyHeersche
Brandon Lofthouse
Sam Ayala y
Jason MuĂąoz
Chelsea Carlson
Mike Claver
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Volume 15 Issue 8
Grant Students Earn IHSA State Awards
The Chamber Singers received a near-perfect score of 39 out of 40 points for their performance of Kyrie Eleison.
The Percussion Ensemble received a perfect score for their performance of Rock Trap.
On Saturday, March 7, students from the Grant High School music department competed in the IHSA State Solo and Ensemble Contest. The contest was held at Grayslake North High School. Grant sent over 60 singers and instrumentalists who competed in more than 30 events. Each performance was evaluated by a qualified judge and was given a rating score of a possible forty points. Grant students received very impressive results. The students were awarded with 15 Division I ratings, 18 Division II ratings, and 2 Division III ratings. The complete list of students and their performance results is as follows: Division I:
Meagan Baran (2), Jacob Bender, Justin Bredwood, Tylor Campbell (2), Ashli Carlson, Jessica Catinella, Timothy Cephus, Mike Claver (2), Dakota Clark (2), Kate Cloonan, Rose Craig (2), Sarah DeFries, David Edgar, Johanna Eslabon, Ashley Foreman (2), Brandon Forman (2), Taylor Froelich, Derrek Gillespie (2), Ashley Gorski, Denis Hamand, Irene Harms, Jamie Harms, Kim Heershe, Perry Hennessy, Kaylie Holderness, Victoria Jackson, Jennifer Javier, Tristan Johnson, Jolein Kamenir, Jimmy Leding (2), Stephanie Martoccio, Alexandra Mason, Robert McDonough (2), Briana Miller, Ryan Padawang, Kelsey Peters, Dillon Peterson, David Reisig, Robert Sheehan, Samantha Smyth, Jenny Steele, Brittany Sven (3), Becky Tokarz, Alex Vroman, Dakotah White, Bobby Yanik
Division II:
Maria Brothers, Matt Cotter, Brittany Froelich, Ashley Gorski, Jamie Harms, Victoria Jackson, Jennifer Javier, Keya Kashem, Katrina Kazumura, Stephanie Martoccio (2), Alex Maskevich, Alexandra Mason, December McCracken, Scott Mueller, Alex Nguyen (2), Kelsey Peters, Guadalupe Ruiz, Tyler Schlossman, Mallory Simmermon, Emmy Spetz, Jennifer Steele, Alex Vroman
Division III:
Jimmy Leding, Aloendra Maskevich
2009-2010 Cheerleading Tryout Information Any male or female student interested in trying out for the Cheerleading Squad please contact Ms. Hoehne at vhoehne@grantbulldogs.org for the necessary paperwork. Dates are: Thursday, May 14, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. (clinic) in Multipurpose Room Friday, May 15, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. (clinic) in the Multipurpose Room Tryouts are Saturday, May 16, at 10:00 a.m. in the Small Gym
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Grant Community High School Dist. 124 285 E. Grand Ave. Fox Lake, IL 60020-1698 Phone: 847-587-2561 Fax: 847-587-2991
We’re on the Web www.grantbulldogs.org
CALENDAR April April 17, 18 April 19 April 22 April 24, 25 April 26
Spring Musical, (7:00 p.m. - Auditorium) Spring Musical (2:00 p.m.. - Auditorium) Mid-point of 4th Quarter Spring Musical (7:00 p.m. - Auditorium) Spring Musical (2:00 p.m. - Auditorium)
May May 1 May 1 May 25 May 26, 27, 28 May 29 May 30
School Improvement Meeting, 1:35 release Prom Memorial Day, legal school holiday Final Exams Institute Day Graduation
Home of the Bulldogs
Jim Loris Tom Lippert Paul LaRoche Ryan Kelly Ruth Michniewicz Secretary Kenneth Mark Vice President Steve Hill President
Board of Education
Grant Community High School District 124 285 E. Grand Avenue Fox Lake, IL 60020-1698
Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Fox Lake, IL 60020 Permit No. 31