Issue 5 3 2 18

Page 1

Volume 108, Issue 5

Individual champions crowned

Henry Claesson ‘18, Spencer Walker ‘18 continue success; Walker sets state record by Grace DeKoker @grace_Dekoker

Page 10 has the full story on the IHSA state performance from the boys swim and dive team along with these individual champions.

Friday, March 2, 2018

PH

aper ighlights

Look here for some quick reads on this issue’s features.

Right: Spencer Walker ‘18 (middle) explodes off the wall to start the 100 yard backstroke. (Melanie Walker)

18th Annual All-school Assembly cancelled

Unifying school event will not be rescheduled to protect emotional, physical well-being of students

by Harper Hill between two others and interpreted it as a threat to the All-school As@harpss42 sembly. he All-school Assembly, originally scheduled on Feb. 9 but postIt was soon determined that the conversation was misunderstood. poned to Feb. 23 due to a snow day, was cancelled by administration Rather, it was a positive discussion about an event unrelated to the Allofficials out of concern for the emotional welfare of the student populaschool Assembly, Waterman said. tion, even after it was determined that there “At that point, we said there is no reason was no credible threat to the event. to believe there is any threat of safety to “In working with the police, we had no the school or All-school Assembly,” Waconcerns about physical safety, but we are terman said. also responsible for a student’s emotional That did not stop rumors from spreadwell-being,” Principal Brian Waterman ing among students, between parents and said. “And, I felt that our entire school and on social media about a potential risk to community was very emotionally fragile the safety of people attending or performand anxious.” ing in the assembly. The decision to cancel was made reluc“Once that rumor got out, people were tantly, administration officials said, followscared or vicious, without ever having the ing a rapid sequence of events that began one facts,” Assistant Principal Kris Costopouweek after the devastating school shooting los said. “Even though we tried explaining in Parkland, Fla. Many students and families that there never had been a threat, there across the country have been left feeling inwasn’t a threat, the school was perfectly secure and concerned about their safety. safe—they were still very anxious about It started on Feb. 21 with multiple stueverybody being in one room.” dent reports of a potential threat to the AllThese rumors and Speak Up Line reschool Assembly, Waterman said. ports, coupled with the hundreds of phone Local police were alerted and, in cooper- Tony Burkes ‘15 dribbles up the court at the 2015 All-school calls and emails from community memation with LT administration, sought to in- Assembly. (Carroll/LION) bers, led Waterman to email LT parents on vestigate the origin of the information, Waterman said. It was quickly Feb. 22 reinforcing that there was no credible threat. traced back to one student who overheard a third-period conversation “While the student initially reported the Continued on page 6

T

Alumnus wins Super Bowl, inspires charity

Jake Elliott ‘13 T-shirts sold at LT, funds given to Kelli Joy O’Laughlin Memorial Foundation

Page 2: Maintaining tradition, the senior class has already left its mark on LT with its senior gift. See the contribution on Page 2. Page 3: Consumer Economics has shattered all prior expectations of summer school. Read all about the new online class option on Page 3. Page 5: Shoutout to WLTL for its 50th anniversary! We wanted to know how they would celebrate, so we have the full scoop on Page 5. Page 7: It’s the classic Page 7 Grid. Check it out. Page 9: Who doesn’t love a random homework quiz? We don’t. Read our opinion on Page 9. Page 11: Another issue, another Athlete of the Month. Page 11 has a very talented athlete waiting for you. Page 12: It might only be the second day of March, but we’re already thinking college basketball. See who senior editors Luke Lusson, Mikaela Larson, Grant Campbell and a surprise faculty contributor think will win the big dance on Page 12. Page 14-15: Enough is enough. Flip to Pages 14-15. Page 16: And the Oscar for Pet of the Month is...found on Page 16. Page 18-19: Did your church league team make our power rankings? You’ll have to flip to our church league spread to find out!

T-shirt sales flourish at NC lunch. (Tuisl/LION) by Isabel Tuisl @isabeltuisl Jake Elliott’s football career isn’t the only thing taking off lately. Along with Elliott’s Super Bowl win as the kicker for the Philadelphia Eagles, his T-shirt sales through LT and involvement with The Eagles Eye Foundation have raised money and awareness for causes in the community. All of the proceeds from the T-shirt sales went to the Kelli Joy O’Laughlin Memorial Foundation, which grants college scholarships to students. Jeremy Vrtis, an LT math teacher, put together a design for Eagles T-shirts with Elliott’s name on the back. “The shirt idea came from a suggestion [JoEllen] Gregie made on Facebook,” Vrtis said. “I took her suggestion and ran with it from there.” Although Spanish teacher Gregie did not know Elliott personally, she saw the desire for Eagles merchandise, and took action, she said. “While reading Facebook posts from colleagues talking about buying Eagles clothing I thought, ‘Why not make it more personal by creating our own Jake Elliot LT Spirit Wear to honor his success, and then donate any profits to the philanthropy of his choice?’” she said.

North Campus

Jake Elliott receives historical portrait. (Weber/TAB)

The goal was to have the shirts affordable, and ensure any profits would go to the charity of Elliott’s choice, Vrtis said. “I think [the philanthropy] is a responsibility that comes with the [professional] position that I’ve been put in, but I’m happy to help the community as much as possible and I love giving back,” Elliott said. Vrtis asked P.E. teacher and Assistant Varsity Football Coach Jason Brauer if he thought it was a good idea to sell the T-shirts, and he agreed. “Jeremy started the conversation with me and we’ve created a lot of T-shirt designs here at school so we were able to get a good price for them from the T-shirt [company],” Brauer said. Student Activities Director Peter Geddeis posted an Instagram message and a simultaneous tweet to Elliott, and Elliott quickly picked the KJO Foundation. Elliott quoted the tweet not long after, indicating his choice of the KJO Foundation, Geddeis said. “Elliott was two years older than Kelli, but Brauer said they both played tennis and did know each other,” according to the publication My Suburban Life. The T-shirts were originally only sold to LT administration and staff, but the decision was

Students gather to support Elliott. (Waterman)

made to bring the sales to students and the rest of the community. Brauer and Vrtis reached out to Geddeis after the staff pre sales ended, to discuss the logistics of selling to students, Geddeis said. “We were hoping for a good number of sales, but the community support was something that snowballed into a huge number of T-shirts,” Brauer said. “[It’s great] to see the support that the school has, [as well as] the community, for a former player and a great cause. In the first few days of sales, 1,300 shirts were sold. On Friday, Feb. 2, there were 100 shirts sold per lunch period, and the supply met the demand for each period, Vrtis said. “Additionally, the KJO Foundation had their own sales. It has been a wonderful level of excitement and generosity,” Vrtis said. The KJO Foundation spent $4,000 on T-shirts, and then sold 1,000 of them for $15 each. In total, $15,500 was raised by the foundation via T-shirt sales and donations. LT numbers are separate but they are sending the foundation a check for around $1,200. Including the school’s amount raised, a combined total of $12,700 was donated to the foundation. “It was really a wonderful experience to bring the community Continued on page 4

100 S. Brainard Ave. LaGrange, Ill. 60525 South Campus

Page 20: We know you can’t get enough of church league. So we have another page of coverage for it. See our favorite tweets on Page 20.

Church league coverage begins on Page 17.

4900 Willow Springs Rd. Western Springs, Ill. 60558


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Issue 5 3 2 18 by Lion Newspaper - Issuu