Prairie Ridge High School, 6000 Dvorak Drive, Crystal Lake, IL 60012
Volume XV - Edition I
May 2013
Page 1
Seniors Inspire Generosity Christina Kappil
It has been a long and busy year here at Prairie Ridge, but that didn’t stop the seniors in the class of 2013 from taking time out of their busy schedules to help make a difference in the school. At the beginning of the year, many students offered wonderful suggestions as to how to leave a lasting impression on Prairie Ridge. Jordan Getzelman explained “There were a lot of different ideas offered, through feedback from students and parents. The main goal was to impact the school and the community in a positive way.” Mrs. Buck and the senior class officers—Courtney Lefevre, Christina Kappil, Tyler Kendall, Gabby Sim, Jessica Koffer, and Jordan Getzelman— worked diligently to organize the multiple acts of charity throughout the year. The first event was a food drive November 12-16. Students and teachers were encouraged to partake in friendly competition to see which homeroom could donate the most number of food items to the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. In total, the
drive accumulated 1500 pounds of food. During the holiday season, the seniors decided again to show their support of the community by organizing a toy drive with Toys for Tots. Many less fortunate children were able to receive a gift on Christmas because of the generosity of the Prairie Ridge students and staff. To keep the action going, the senior leaders organized a dodgeball tournament and a volleyball tournament which raised $400 for Miracles for Moose. Not only did this benefit Anthony Mustari, a PR graduate, but it brought all the PR students together as they competed with their teams to be the champions. One of the most rewarding senior project activities was the D47 Game Day. Many friendships were made as PR seniors spent a day playing with special needs children from District 47 elementary school. The seniors were each assigned to one of the children and provided with the opportunity to personally make that child happy. The gym was filled with the
laughter of children as they were pulled around on scooters and played baggo, basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball, hockey, or any other game that they desired. Although the main focus was to brighten the children’s day, the seniors, too, were touched by how rewarding of an experience this was. Getzelman described this day as “absolutely awesome. It’s a really special day.” PR seniors learned that even something as small as making a child smile can make a huge difference. Finally, seniors hosted the fifth annual 5K on Sunday, April 28. It was sponsored by several local businesses in the area. Over 120 students, teachers, and people from all over the community came together that day to show their support as they ran, walked, or cheered each other on. Kendall said “everyone was really energized.” Participants came away with a free t-shirt commemorating the event. The $1900 raised will go toward the Brayden Spencer Powell Memorial scholarships (see more page 4).
This year has been a huge success for the seniors. All who have helped to make a difference this year should know that through their efforts, they have fortified the positive atmosphere at Prairie Ridge and touched the lives of many in the community.
Prairie Ridge Awards Ceremony (PRAC) Johanna Sveden
“Four guys. Four girls. They’re PRAC-tically famous!” is the catch phrase that was written on the posters publicizing the 2013 Prairie Ridge Awards Ceremony, which attracted an impressive crowd of students wanting to see what their classmates had in store. This annual event sponsored by Student Council featured eight seniors who showcased their talents to win money for donation to a charity of their choosing. Joseph Schneider, Jack Disselhorst, Jimmy Olander, Even Sanchez, Julia Reid, Marisa Gerstbrein, Margaret Schlofner, and Caitlin Scott were chosen to compete this year. While these ladies and gents performed terrifically, MCs Bij Heydari and Matt Baldocchi really stole the show with their PRAC camp video and other entertaining stunts throughout the evening. Their spontaneous rendition of Kanye West’s “Homecoming” surprised the audience and had everyone cheering. Afterwards, senior Ross Carpenter noted that “the ‘unplanned’ duet with Bij and Matt was one of the best moments of the whole show.” Several students also participated in the variety show, which had acts that were interspersed between the PRAC performances. Neil Pretkelis, magician, was definitely a crowd favorite. His latest trick, guessing a randomly selected word from a thesaurus, especially impressed and stumped the audience. His assistant, guidance counselor Mr. Brown was equally astounded! “I’ve never seen anything like it,” remarked senior Maddy Riddell, regarding Neil’s sleight of hand. “Where did this guy come from?” The PRAC contestants began their evening with a group dance number, with some classy moves from the girls and some awkward moves from the guys. Sanchez first entered for this part wearing a cow suit, stirring up much confusion and incredulity from the student body. Later, Alex Koss had the whole theater dancing with his fun, high-energy variety show act. While everyone waited for the results, the infamous MCs returned to the stage once again for a grape-eating competition. Finally, they announced that Caitlin Scott and Jack Disselhorst were the 2013 winners, and that they would donate their prize money to Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund and Center on Halsted, respectively. Scott had danced a graceful modern piece, and Disselhorst did a hilarious imitation of a listening activity from Spanish class. Pianist Joseph Schneider and singer Julia Reid took the second place awards.
Inside...
Top of the Class - 2 PROM - 12
BSP Scholarship - 4 Favorite Teachers - 16
Spotlights - 10 Next Year - 24