SIBLINGS IN SCHOOL

Students share experiences attending CPHS with relatives

BY LIVY HELMUTH [co-editor-in-chief] KATIE MAHLE [reporter]

School provides students with the opportunity to create friendships with new people and to strengthen bonds. When siblings attend the same school, their individualities and similarities become more defined.

With a large number of siblings in one household, freshman Sage Dorsey and seniors Sean Dorsey and Shane Dorsey often get recognized by their teachers.

“There are ten kids in our family. Sean was born fifth, I was born sixth and Sage was born seventh,” Shane said.

“It’s always a good reaction when teachers find out we are related. They’ll say that they’ve had our older sister or brother and that they were pretty good,” Shane said.

For sophomore Lauren Matthews and her twin sister sophomore Sophia Matthews, their parents used different colors in order to differentiate who was who when they were little.

“Sophia’s color has always been pink, but mine changed all the time,” Lauren said. “I loved red because it made me feel cool. Then, I changed to blue for a while. And then, I finally landed on purple, which was my original color.”

“It’s pretty nice. I know I have at least two people I can rely on both to lean on and have my back.”

- sophomore Aidan Gubbins

With twins, envy may occur more often than with other siblings. Lauren

Seniors Shane Dorsey and Sean Dorsey visit Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago. The Dorsey siblings all participate in Student Council, whose fundraisers support Lurie’s Children’s Hospital. and Sophia are a part of the CPHS golf team, and Lauren feels the pressure of competing alongside her sister.

“I’ve been jealous sometimes, only because I’m very competitive,” Sophia said. “When I see that she’s doing better than me, it makes me jealous and makes me want to do better.”

Despite their competitive nature, Lauren and Sophia don’t mind sharing special moments with each other.

“Sometimes I thought that having my own birthday would be cool, then I realized that being a twin was cooler, so I shut that idea down,” Lauren said.

Siblings may have rivalries from time to time, but sophomore Aidan Gubbins enjoys getting to attend high school with his twin brother sophomore Liam Gubbins and his older sister senior Nori Gubbins. “It’s pretty nice. I know I have at least two people I can rely on both to lean on and have my back,” Aidan said. “Although we don’t interact necessarily that much within the school day, knowing that they are there causes great comfort.” Similar to the Matthews twins, the Gubbins participate in the same extracurricular activities.

“All three of us are in choir, and we used to do track. But my brothers have a lot more similar interests than I do,” Nori said. “It’s pretty normal to not have a sibling in high school, until you have a class with them. Then, it’s weird.”

The Gubbins twins often look to Nori when deciding what activities they will take an interest in moving forward.

“Whatever Nori does, I just start preparing for because I’m most likely going to do it next year,” Liam said.

The Dorsey family is united through Student Council, succeeding in the club on their own terms.

“Sean and Shane are very involved in the Student Council, but for me, I’m kind of just there for support,” Sage said.

Transitioning from middle to high school can be stressful for incoming freshmen. Sage has gratitude for her older brothers’ assistance. “It’s nice because when I first got here, I didn’t know where anything was, but they did,” Sage said. “It would be more awkward to ask other people where to go, and I might not have gotten to my classes as quickly.”

Fraternal, or not identical, twins are not always immediately recognizable to teachers and peers, Liam and Aidan explained.

“I share a few teachers with Liam, yet they have not made the connection that we are brothers. I find it oddly funny to see how long it takes for them to figure it out,” Aidan said.

“It’s always a good reaction when teachers find out we are related. They’ll say that they’ve had our older sister or brother and that they were pretty good.”

- senior Shane Dorsey

Some siblings are surprised by the fact that they have classes together, like Lauren and Sophia.

“We do golf together, and we have English together this year, which is kind of crazy because we haven’t been in a class together since fifth grade,” Lauren said.

With siblings, things can be rocky, but in the long run, siblings can be a great way to gain support.

“After school, we do swim practice together and that’s where the majority of our ‘sibling bonding’ takes place,” Aidan said. “It’s really our chance to tell each other about our days. Overall, having siblings going to high school with me is a great pleasure, and it has made my high school experience so much better.”

Sophomore Aidan Gubbins, senior Nori Gubbins and sophomore Liam Gubbins attend their choir concert. The Gubbins siblings are all involved in both choir and swim.