Vol 23 issue 1

Vol. 23, No. 1

souihwoRcIs Maine Township High School South

September 12, 1986

Principal adapts to new surroundings Dr. Thomas J. Cachur replaces Mr. Robert Barker this year as principal of Maine South after Mr. Barker's retirement last July.

Cachur comes to Maine South after serving as assistant principal of staff at Maine West since 1981 and assistant principal of students at Maine North from 1976 to 1981. Previous to his employment in District 207, Dr. Cachur worked at Lyons Township High School where he was a teacher, assistant dean, and dean of students.

Cachur believes Maine South is a "typical, suburban" high school and his initial reactions towards its students are positive since he views them as "curious and friendly."

"Anytime there is a change in the administration, you have people in different positions looking at things differently," Dr. Cachur states. He says that the administration this year tried to "examine procedures and processes and tried to make them more effective and efficient."

Cachur says the administration will strive this year to make things easier for both students and staff. They have begun to do so already by the joining of the daily bulletin and calendar offices.

Dr. Cachur is trying to create a "more open atmosphere" between himself, other administrators, and students. He has begun to do so by removing a number of wall-like partitions in the secretary's area of the principal's office and by making himself more accessible in hallways, making appearances in dassrooms, and in the cafeteria.

Cachur tries to combine old policies with new ones in orde' to "make Maine South a more efficient and a more outstanding school."

Dr. Cachur has received a bachelor's degree in English from St. Joseph's College, Indiana; a master's degree in English from Loyola University; and a doctorate in administration and supervision from Loyola.

M-S. gains new faculty members "I'm really pleased to be here. I'm vci7 impressed by the positive attitude and warmth of the students and the faculty," stated Mrs. Judith Bovenmyer. Mrs. Bovenmyer has been appointed dean of students replacing Clifford L. Adamo who was named assistant principal for students.

Mrs. Bovenmyer comes to Maine South from Maine West where she has been a teacher of physical education and health since 1966.

She has most recently assisted in the dean's office where she handled a portion of the student discipline load. During her 20 years at Maine West, Mrs. Bovenmyer has also coached volleyball and gymnastics. She received a bachelors degree from Indiana University in 1966 and a masters degree from George

Southwards

Editors-ln-chiat

Alls* R»g«i Wayn* Qobia N*wt Editor Maura Scott Commantary Editor Mar«dlth Brammaiar Faaturat Editor Katy McQarry Sporit Editor Jan Richtar Photo Editor HaidI Naumann Southwards is tha ttudan> producad newspaper ol Malrte South High School. Park Ridge. IL. Letters to tha editor should be dallverad to Room V-130 or given to a member ol the editorial stall listed below.Southwords reserves the right to edit all letters containing cbscana or libelous material.

Williams College in 1976.

Mr. Dennis McCann is the new counselor in the C-101 homeroom complex. He has replaced Bruce Erickson as a result of Mr.Erickson's appointment as director of student personnel services at Maine East.

Maine South enters the 1986-87 school year with 17 new faculty members. The art department gained Rowland Ecker, who will be teaching photography, and Betty Lou Polhck, who will be teaching Art III. Michael Egan joins the English department as a new reading instructor for the Reading Center, while Lynne Salefski and Jodie Wachowski strengthen the home economics department. Michael Harper, Susan Kramer, and Steven Lowry, three newSpanish teachers, have joined the language department, while Jerry Drudge and Walter Kratsch have been added to the industrial education department. The special education department acquired Helaine Mann and Rebecca Pollacci, while the Social Science department added JoAnn Bondi, a U.S. History and World Cultures teacher, and Nancy Canova, a government and history instructor. Jack Marino and Molly Schmelzer, two Physical Science teachers, join the Science department and George Verber is the newest addition to the Physical Education department.

Congratulations to all the new faculty and welcome to Maine South.

Dr. Thomas J. Cachur

South acquires new outward appearance This summer, construction crews under the supervision of the new head custodian, Mr. Robert Yoshioka, have made several renovations here at Maine South. These renovations have changed the appearance of our school inside and out.

A new road has been constructed on the south and east side of the school building. This is merely a way for the administrators to get to their parking lot behind the school. It is also a restricted fire lane and therefore cannot be used by students For the Softball players, a new sodded softball field has been laid out and a permanent backstop built. In the near future base paths will be added.

A new stage has been installed in the auditorium in order to replace the old wooden one that was damaged beyond repair. The girls weight room has been enlarged by 1/3.

Benches in the front circle have been removed due to the breakage of many windows by loiterers after school.

The faculty lounge has been enlarged and now contains two designated areas, smoking and non-smoking. These two areas were installed to please both the smokers and the nonsmokers.

Dr. Cachur, the new principal, is having his office remodeled.

page 2

Commentary

Cachur adapts goals for excellence Again this year Southwords is continuing its faculty column.

The Other Side. // is published with the hope that, as an outlet for faculty expression, it will lesson the barrier between the faculty and student bodies.

During the past few months, I have had the opportunity to visit with staff members, administrators, parents and students to ex. amine our school's strengths and areas in need of improvement.

These discussions led me to conclude what we have known all along: Maine South is a good school. South's strengths are its supportive parents and booster groups; its dedicated well-trained staff; and its goal-oriented student-body who take advantage of the vast array of curricular and extra-curricular programs.

As Maine South's new principal, I am delighted to be part of this quality schocJl which has enjoyed a history of academic excellence. We must strive together to make Maine South an outstanding school. But how do we accomplish this task?

Many proposals have been brought forth to improve schools in the wake of recent reports about the condition of education. The largest body of research available on successful schools is The Effective Schools Research. Basically, this research identifies practices and characteristics associated with outstanding schools.

Among these characteristics are stress on academics, high expectations, orderliness, and commitment.

Examining the techniques of well-managed companies can also be helpful. The work of Peters and Waterman, through their study of "excellent companies," in In Search of Excellence, is another resource. Both of these sources provide strategies for achieving excellence.

One of the most important characteristics shared by America's well-run companies and 1700exemplary schools is their sense of mission—a firm sense of where they are headed. In this regard, I would like to share with you three specific school-wide goals for the 1986-87 school year: Goal 1: To renew our commitment and emphasis on academic excellence.

Underlying this goal is the belief that all students can learn that the most important goal for each student is high achievement, and that the primary goal for teachers is to facilitate the academic^ growth of students.

In order for productive learning to take place, class time must! be used for learning with a minimum of interruptions or distrac^tions. We must decrease the multitude of forces which tend to erode the amount of time for instruction. Thus, we will review our use of field trips, assemblies, and ] special bell schedules. We also want to decrease the iK>i.se and disturbances in the hallways during class periods.

As further subsets of this goal, we will assess our ACT/SAT Test Preparation Program, our tutorial programs, and our study skill program.

Goal 2: To increase communication between staff, | students, the administration, and the community.

Commuiiication between members of an organisation, in this case, the school, is extremely important. Both formal and informal channels must be employed. Established standing committees, for example, the Building Communications Committee for faculty and Student Council for students, must be utilized more effectively. Further, periodically throughout the year, students and staff will have an opportunity to meet with building administrators during students' and staff's free periods

to allow for discussion, suggestions, and the sharing of ideas to improve our school. During the past three weeks, building administrators have made an effort to be in classrooms, halls and the cafeteria. This practice will be continued throughout the school year in order for administrators to be accessible to students and staff.

Additionally, the school's communications with parents and the community will be addressed. A viable public relations program which communicates the accomplishments of our students and staff through frequent letters to parents, newsletters, and articles in local newspapers, must be established. Finally, munication to parents regarding students' academic progress must be increased. A process which provides an assessment of student performance on a regular basis will be examined.

Goal 3: To continue our efforts to recognize staff and students.

During the previous school year. Student and Staff Recognition Committees developed a series of activities designed to recognize students and staff members, such as Student of the Month Awards, the displaying of pictures of the officers of the various' dasses, clubs and organizations and "special" days to recognize staff members. These activities will be implememted and additional means of recognition will be developed.

John Donne wrote that "No man is an island." The principal continued on page 4

September 12,1986

page 4

September 12, 1986

Sports

Optimistic l-law[(S start season The attitude is clearly optimistic regarding this year's mighty hawk football team. By setting their goals with an intense practice schedule, the Hawks prepare to open the season as the number 8 ranked team in the Chicago area for the second straight year.

After opening the season against the York Dukes, the Hawks will take on the Maine West Warriors tommorow at home.

Gary Francis, a passer as well as a runner, leads the Hawks in their good passing attack as starting quarterback. Four other starters return this year to the strong offensive line, including Jim Swanson, John Kostrezewa, and

Matt Bourke, and Stan Holsen. Jim Walker and Sean O'Malley will pair up as split ends to add to the force, along with Rob Lentz, an extremely fast flanker.

The defensive backfield is still settling in, but Coach Hopkins is not worried about filling the positions since the talent is definitely there.

The overall team depth is a problem, however, and the juniors will have to come through as a solution. Seniors: Joe Passanante, Jim Sellergren, Dan O'Malley and junior Wes Vanderbrink, as running backs, will combine to help the Hawks to victory. Playing middle line backer is Jeff Topel, a returning defensive starter. Brendan Waters will line up at defen-

sive end, with Walker and Sellergren in the defensive backfield as well. This defense will feature the 4-3 set of four linemen and three linebackers in order to get better pass coverage and a better rush, as opposed to the traditional 5-2 defense usually seen in suburban football.

With both Gary Francis and Stan Holsen listed among the top 200 college prospects in the nation, and also having offensive linemen John Kostrzewa and Matt Bourke listed among the top Chicago area players, talent is obviously a key to the Hawks season.

Talent combined with team strategy should lead the Hawks to yet another strong season.

Varsity soccer starts year with tougli schedule The Maine South varsity soccer team, led by Coach Steve Dezurko, heads into their season with many question marks, but with the attitude that they can and will succeed. Led by captains Paul Kitchell, Dan Costantini, and Pete Murges, the Hawks head into a season in which they will play seven of the top fifteen ranked teams in the state.

The team opened its season with games against Oak Park and Gordon Tech, two highly rated teams in the state. This weekend they will take on Buffalo Grove, another top rated team in the state. The Bison are a well coached team and have very good talent, including two possible All-State selections. At one point last year, the Bison were ranked number one in the state by the USA Today, Coach Dezurko added.

Next the team takes on Glenbrook South at home. The Titans have many returning players from their team this past season. Last year the Hawks pulled off a very close 3-2 victory, but the Titans went on to finish third in the conference. Also, next Friday night, the Hawks will take on Libertyville at Libertyville. The Libertyville team is one to reckon with, having 9 returning starters from last season and also a

will tell the tale of this season. They will need to go out and one hundred percent all the time because they will face no real easy teams, said Coach Dezurko. The coach is rebuilding a defense which was left empty due to graduation, and an offense with only three returning scorers, though between them they have amassed 9 goals. The pressures of a varsity program on the younger players could be this team's downfall, but with the players realizing that they can play the game with its intensity and win they should fair well. This was summed up by Todd Showalter as he said,"This team has a lot of potential, the question is whether we can put it together." very talented .A.F.S. student player for them.

Coach Dezurko added that they may be the team to watch in the state tournament later in the season. .Along with all the above competition, the Hawks play in one of the toughest soccer conferences in the Chicago area. With teams like Evanston, New Trier, and Glenbrook North the Central Suburban Conference is a tough place to play. Yet Coach Dezurko shares the feeling of his team that they can compete with these teams. Captain Dan Costantini summed up this feeling when he said, "We are comparable to any team in the state."

Some of the top players from the team are senior goalie Matt Kenneally, senior sweep>er Paul Kitchell, senior striker Dan Costantini, and senior right fullback Chuck Huetiingcr.

Rounding out the starting line up arc seniors Mark Farina, Pete Murges, Mike Yadgar, juniors Jeff Burgis and Marc Sernel and a sophomore Mike Nugent. Though the bench is young and inexperienced. Coach Dezurko feels that juniors Jun Choi, Aaron Jackson, and Greg Miner show good potential, as well as back-up goalie Chris Gusloff.

This team is very young and faces a tough schedule and maturity will play a major part in the team's success. The reaction of the players to the caliber of competition they are facing

Cachur's goals continued continued from page 2 and building administrators cannot accomplish these goals alone. If, as a school, we are to achieve these goals, if we are to strive for excellence, we need the commitment, involvement and support of everyone—students, parents, staff, and administrators.

If we follow the advice of a successful coach, we can achieve excellence: in anything you do, set your goals high; aim for the moon. For, if you miss your target, you will still fall among the stars.

Dr. Thorns J. Cachur Principal

Schedule FOOTBALL Sept. 13 home 12:00 Maine West Sept. 20 away 12:00 Waukegan West SOCCER Sept. 13 away 10:00 Buffalo Grove Sept. 16 home 4:30 GBS Sept. 19 away 5:00 Libertyville GIRLS' TENNIS Sept. 13 home 9:00 Maine Quad Sept. 15 home 4:00 Regina Sept. 18 away 4:30 Waukegan West GIRLS' SWIMMING Sept. 12 home 4:30 Maine West Sept. 19 home 5:00 GBS Sept.

Sept.

Sept.

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12 13 16 19

away 5:00 away 11:00 home 4:30 home 5:00

Maine East Elk Grove Maine East Highland Park