Issue 5, Vol. 48

Features page 10 Flip to features to find out about how veganism factors into the holiday feasts.

the Correspondent

Zoom In page 3

• Volume 48 Issue 4 • December 11, 2015 •

The trend of yoga earns new recognition in the exercise world.

After Hours

• John Hersey High School •

• Twitter: @Hersey_corre • Snapchat: hersey_corre • • Instagram: @hersey_correspondent •

Soldier Cody Evans inspires goodwill Students come together to honor veteran

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eft: Junior Ian Stoddard solders a metal bracket for the project.

NHS provides staff with holiday relief McKenzie Mauer National Honor Society is participating in the season of giving as they prepare to host a babysitting night.

This event entails a night where staff members have the opportunity to drop their kids off for four hours, so that they can get their shopping and other things done. The members hope to provide staff with a sense of relief during the busy holiday season.

“I think it is really great that we are able to give back to our staff members in this way and that the kids are able to give back to the community through the veteran letters,” senior Katherine Jaffe said.

At the event kids will have no lack of activities to participate in. There will be movies and coloring sheets along with the toys that are provided in the preschool room, where the event will take place.

One of the main events that kids can take place in will be card making where they can write messages for local veterans.

The letters to the veterans are going to multiple places; They are being sent to a senior home, and, Rags for Honors, a program where veterans facing disabilities are able to make a living through graphic design.

Also, they are sent to veterans that the school is helping like Cody Evans and Jason Smith.

“We have people who have fought a long time ago to people who were more recently discharged, and I think that it is a great way to show appreciation for all who have served,” senior May Napora said.

These sentiments provided towards local veterans are beneficial for both the ones receiving and writing the letters. The kids are able to give back to their community in a unique way while they have a night of fun.

T

op right: Sophomore AJ Mikkelson helps design the house’s layout.

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ottom right: Students participate in the annual gingerbread fundraiser.

V

•Sneh Pandya

eteran Cody Evans pictured in bottom half prior to his injury in combat.

•Sneh Pandya Jennifer Lechowski Kayleigh Padar The school is raising money to build a house for a veteran for the second year. Each year a variety of events take place from photo booths to gathering funds to students working on creating real architectural plans for these houses.

This year, students are working to help Lance Corporal Cody Evans build a home.

Students partner with an organization called ‘A Soldier’s Journey Home,’ which is a group of volunteers comprised mostly of current and retired firefighters and retired veterans from over eight states. Over the past 13 years, they have worked on a variety of disaster relief construction projects and now focus efforts towards severely injured veterans.

Junior Patrick Feltes worked to create a website for this cause. “The website spreads the word more effectively than the Facebook page and allows people to donate online rather than sending in donations via mail,” Feltes said.

Students are doing many activities to raise money for Evans.

The second annual gingerbread house contest is taking place next Thursday. This event is a way for students to have a fun time with their friends and donate money to a great charity. The $5 per teammate donation will help build Cody a new home.

Social media advertisement, fueled by student efforts as well as several clubs and sport teams, help create the optimistic atmosphere that has attributed to the past success

of this fundraiser. Raffle prizes are also being given out as students get their competitive holiday spirit on for a good cause.

The architecture class has had the honor of helping design Evan’s new house.

Evans has also been able to videochat with the class to let the students know what he wanted the layout of the house to be.

“We had a template for the house, but we had to figure out what he wanted in terms of space. He’s really into cars, so he wanted a car lift and extra space in his garage,” junior Eddie Mleko said.

Students’ direct, willing involvement with the architectural layout paired with communication from Evans has excelled this philanthropic effort.

“My specific plans are that I have this one large great room. It’s isn’t easy for him to get around with a lot of doors, so I combined the kitchen, the dining room, and the great room into one room,” sophomore Jonah Bouvier said.

Furthermore, the speech team hosted a photo booth and raffle at one of their competitions. For only $1 anyone in the building can come and take a photo with multiple different props. Each photo also included a raffle ticket for gift cards.

“One of my favorite parts of the photo booth is seeing everyone take the pictures at the competition and seeing kids from all over the district having fun with each other because everyone’s from different schools working towards one common cause,” speech coach, Amanda Ams said.

After all the photos are taken,

•Correspondentlive they’re saved and will eventually be shown to Cody Evans.

“I love giving the photos to the soldier afterwards, so that they can see how much impact they have on high school students,” Ams said.

A gift card drive for military veterans is being sponsored by SOS club this year. The $25 gift cards help families in great need due to living under the poverty level.

These gift cards can be used for food, gas, entertainment, etc. The school was provided with a list of possible candidates from Salute to benefit from this fundraiser.

This is all going towards helping Evans. He sustained multiple injuries and lost both legs while sweeping for IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Afghanistan in December of 2011.

Evans has been home from the hospital for about three years. In this time, he has been working to regain his health, relearn how to walk and rebuild his life.

He is currently studying at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn. in order to become a history teacher.

Evans received a therapy dog named Sir William or Willie for short in July of 2013. His mother, Regina Evans said, “the dog does several things, he can pick up and get things for him and can help him in the wheel chair. He does small things, like if he drops his keys Willie can grab them.”

•Continued onto page 2

•Photo courtesy of Evans’ family

2 the Correspondent

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D d you KN W?

News

Students take action to make difference • Continued from page 1 Toby is a therapy dog here, but he has a very different job from Willie. “Toby is a therapy dog in training and hasn’t been certified in anything. His training is more manners and obedience. Service dogs come with a much higher and more difficult degree of training,” said Mark Gunther.

Despite this, there is a possibility that Toby and Willie could still meet.

SAT may replace ACT

The state of Illinois is closing in on a deal to give high school juniors the SAT exam instead of the ACT to get into college next spring. The State Board of Education revealed that the College Board is going to test 143,000 students over the next three years.

The ACT is the region’s preference for college entrances, but it scored lower than its competitor, the SAT, on a number of criteria, including cost.

According to state officials, they estimate the SAT would cost $4.7 million a year during the three year contract, with tests costing $33.30 each. That’s about $1.4 million less per year than the ACT would cost.

The SAT also provides four free college applications for low-income students. “I think it’s a good idea for the SAT to provide free college applications for students,” sophomore Ivana Santiago said.

District 214 already committed to paying for the ACT next year for its 3,000 juniors. However, the district might offer the only SAT instead of both tests if the state approves the budget.

• Jennifer Lechowski

Zuckerberg makes substantial donation in hopes of better world Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook, and his wife Priscilla Chan announced that they will donate 99 percent of their Facebook stock to philanthropic causes.

After the birth of their daughter on Dec. 1, the couple wrote an open letter to their daughter detailing their wishes for the world to become a better place during her lifetime and how they plan to promote these ideas.

“I’m glad that the world will be able to benefit from his success. Investing in the future is really what is important and I think he is setting a good example for other successful young people,” senior Sophie Shepley said.

Zuckerberg and Chan joined the Giving Pledge, which is a pact amongst over 130 billionaires, such as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to donate their wealth to charity.

The stock is currently valued at roughly $45 billion, and under the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, they hope to continue “advancing human potential and promoting equality.”

• Julia Hapanowicz

December 11, 2015

•Courtesy of Jim Miks eteranCody Evans sends the school a photo of him with his service dog Willie.

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“If Toby is having a good day, and I can keep his attention, I would love for Toby to meet another buddy in service,” said Gunther.

“Every little act of kindness that students do works towards building Cody a handicapped accessible home and also works towards healing. It isn’t just about the house, it helps to heal emotional wounds.

You’re changing a life forever,” English teacher and coordinator of the project Jim Miks said.

The entire school has come together to give back to a disabled veteran, but these acts of kindness will go farther than simply building a house.

Students race with style in Santa Run

• Danielle Eriksson articipants of the Santa Run strive towards the finish line last Saturday in downtown Arlington Heights.

P

Danielle Eriksson The eighth annual Rotary Santa Run took place last Saturday at 10 a.m. in downtown Arlington Heights with runners (and walkers) of all levels eager to be apart of the Santa theme race.

Some students entered the race committing to a different and quite amusing experience. “When else do you get to run with a bunch of people dressed like Santa?” junior Nick Tinaglia said.

The proceeds from the event support projects to further the Arlington Heights Rotary Club’s impact on our community and world (eradicating polio, advancing clean water initiatives, and more). The Rotary clubs partner with Wheeling Township Food pantry.

“My dad is a big runner, and he told me about it last year. I thought it looked really fun, and it was for a good cause so why not?” junior

Aidan Burke said.

In order to participate in the run, all registered participants receive a five-piece Santa suit consisting of a hat, jacket, pants, belt and a beard that is theirs to wear during the race and to keep. Hundreds of Santas are seen prancing through Arlington Heights on race day.

Open to all ages, this fun Arlington Heights tradition takes place on a five kilometer course in the heart of Arlington Heights. There is also a one mile walk for those who do not want to run.

“I would totally recommend it to other people because anyone can do a five kilometer, whether they want to run or walk it, it’s fun either way. It’s also a neat way to get in the Christmas spirit,” sophomore Taylor Lafayette To add to the holiday spirit of the Santa Run, holiday music was played for everyone before the race started. Many runners chose

to continue to play holiday music during the race via their phones and mini speakers.

There were also other sweet parts of the experience. “One restaurant had free chocolate for the runners afterwards,” Lafayette said.

Out of the 1,300 people who ran the race, junior Sam Svienty won the race with a time of 16:56. With only one week of training, Svienty’s goal was to win this year as he has moved up four to five places each year and received fourth place last year.

“Several people congratulated me; some people were mad because I had no Santa gear on by the time I finished; I ripped it off throughout the run,” Svienty said.

“It felt really nice that a lot the people of Arlington Heights came out by the neighborhoods and cheered us on as we ran,” Lafayette said.

Citizens fear for safety after recent attacks McKenzie Mauer Tragedy struck California when a shooter opened fire on a holiday office party in San Bernardino on Dec. 2. The attack left 14 people dead and 21 injured.

The pair of individuals, Enrique Marquez and Syed Rizwan Farook, who committed the crime, planned the attack for over a year. They practiced shooting a gun at a California gun range and also made preparations for their families for when they were gone.

Aside from the two men who committed the crime, there is an investigation into a neighbor who purchased two of the guns that were used in the attack.

This incident of domestic terrorism comes on the heels of the ISIL attacks in Paris where gunmen attacked various public gathering locations on Nov. 13. The violent

actions resulted in 130 deaths and more than 300 injuries.

Security measures have been heightened, especially near government buildings, public transportation centers, and landmarks.

“Shootings keep happening, and it’s becoming a big problem. Nowadays, getting a gun is fairly easy, and people are using them care-

• Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS MCT Campus

memorial was held for A the victims of the San Bernardino shooting.

lessly. Especially when people use them to shoot innocent people,” sophomore Ana Manrique said.

With the increasing effort to combat terrorism, some controversy has arisen. Debates have occurred regarding whether or not Syrian refugees should be allowed into the U.S. The concern is that terrorists may be able to get into the country as refugees.

While the country’s doors have not been entirely closed to Syrian refugees, 31 states have said that they will not allow refugees into their borders.

These horrific events, with seemingly no lack of frequency, have put citizens on the edge as they question their level of safety in public places.

“I hate how it is becoming less shocking to hear about these tragedies because they are occurring so often,” senior Casey Gunther said.

December 11, 2015

Zoom In

the

Correspondent

3

•Eric Czarnota bove: Sophomores Sofie Snyder and Emme Dekorsi A and junior Carmella Di Cicco enjoy practicing yoga outside their classroom.

Senior Delaney Parker concentrates in half-chair Right: pose.

•Courtesy of Delaney Parker

Yoga makes lasting impact on body and mind Jamie Anderluh Students turn to physical activity for a variety of reasons.

It aids in stress relief, serves obvious health benefits, and increases mood.Considering, some forms of athletics in high school can be a cause of stress; some dislike competition or excessive pressure, and, as a result, they turn to

different forms of exercise. An example of this, one that has gained popularity in recent years, is the practice of yoga. “My cross country coach started giving us yoga classes after practice, and I really liked it,” junior Lauren Grabos said. Known for its pri-

oritization of both mental and physical health, many see it as a notable tool in the midst of stressors.

“I was aware that the practice of yoga involved stretching, balance, and being mindful, and I thought this would help me out with dance and stress, along with relaxing me. It did, and that inspired me,” sophomore Julia Murray said.

Yoga allows for both intense and moderate physical activity, meditation, and self-study.

Unlike many brands of athletics, it pl aces large significance on mental health and well-being.

Yoga supports growth without concepts of ‘winning’ or comparison to others.

“It helps me to de-stress after a long day because the breathing and stretching are calming,” Grabos said.

It’s a practice of balance, find-

ing peace in the midst of adversity, and acceptance.

“Walking into yoga, you go in with school or work or pressures from around you that could cause stress, but when you walk out, your mind is at a much more relaxed state, and you feel much better,” Murray said.

Along with this, the health benefits are countless.

Those practicing yoga can expect to find an increase in energy and protection from injury.

Yoga has even been known to improve performance in other athletic endeavours.

It can be s p e cifically beneficial for students, as it is known to improve focus, relieve stress, and aid in self-happiness.

“It’s a really fun activity, and I think everyone should try it at least once,” Grabos said.

Instead of being routine, yoga can become a lifestyle–one that can impact well being throughout each day.

•Courtesy of Delaney Parker (left) and Julia Murray (right)

Senior Delaney Parker releases stress as she pratiLeft: ces yoga.

Sophomore Julia Murray embraces the outdoors Right: while relieving tension.

4 the Correspondent

Opinions

December 11, 2015

Students suggest help over hate Nathan Kim

When we watch the news and see the horrific results due to acts of terrorism, it is hard to sympathize with the Middle East. The innocent lives taken and the senseless bloodshed cannot and will not ever be justified, regardless of what skewed religious ideas prompted these events to take place.

However, many Americans fail to understand why these events transpire and how they even became possible.

Tragedies like 9/11 and the attacks in Paris are a result of growing hatred towards Western countries, which has been the main fuel for groups like ISIL. In order to deplete the control and influence such countries have over the world, these terrorist organizations have groups in their respective regions.

To break down these groups, we must first understand why these groups hold such hatred toward Western countries and how they attract their multitudes of followers.

But the truth is, most of ISIL is comprised of the disenfranchised part of the Middle East. These are the desperate, poverty stricken citizens, whom

• Mitchell Porthero/McClatchy/TNS MCT Campus

readies for combat in Asolider the Middle East.

have nothing left to hold unto except the hateful teachings of extremist groups. Most of these people barely have enough food to feed themselves, much less their families.

When they see propaganda regarding the rich Western countries, they grow spiteful and despise us, especially when they see how we spend our money and waste so much of our resources on pointless endeavors.

This combined with the religious justification, the proclamations that it is their duty to commit

Complaining compromises content and companions Jordan Slonke “I’m too tired.”

“Well I have a test today that I’m not even ready for!”

“This sandwich tastes terrible.”

Listen to conversations in the hallways, and it becomes obvious that many students have no problem voicing their complaints. However, there is a fine line between a minor protest and becoming irritating to those around the complainer. Students often use these phrases to gain sympathy, especially from teachers.

Studies show that complaining is damaging. Always focusing on the negatives results in a worse outlook on life, annoyances by friends and family, and being stuck in the “victim” mentality.

“Chronic complainers get stuck in victim mode, and that irritates the people around them,” Michael Cunningham, a psychologist at the University of Louisville, said in a “WebMD” article.

While venting to friends and family occasionally doesn’t count for a diagnosis of “chronic compainer,” it’s always better to look on the bright side. This advice is cli-

che, but true.

No one likes to hear others only ever talk about their issues and the latest woes in their lives. Trying to gain sympathy from others rarely works and just results in annoyance from those who are being vented at.

The phrase “first-world problems” sums up most of these issues.

Whether that is a gross lunch, or not receiving the gift we wanted, or traffic on the way to school, taking a step back and realizing exactly what we are complaining about can often provide a new perspective on our lives.

Having a lunch, even if it is gross, means we are more fortunate than millions of people in the world.

Getting any gift shows that someone cares about us, even if it isn’t the exact thing on our wish-list.

Hitting traffic on the way to school isn’t fun, but we are lucky to even be able to attend school, let alone drive there.

It takes effort to break out of the cycle of complaining, but by making it a point to give a compliment to someone, thinking about what we are grateful for, and spending time with positive influences, the addiction of complaining can be abolished.

How can you show appreciation for the life you have?

acts of jihad, is why groups like ISIL are able to grow and take control over the Middle East.

ISIS takes advantage of the impoverished and desperate, brainwashing them into their violent ideals.

They believe their actions are justified, and that their group is doing the work of God when, in actuality, they are causing bloodshed and tearing apart the lives of the innocent.

The only way to “defeat” terrorism isn’t by expressing military bravado, or responding with more hatred. These will just give terrorists more justification to continue their work.

By providing resources, medical care, and educating the people of the affected countries, we will show that we aren’t their enemy, and that they won’t have to depend on groups like ISIL to provide security.

When we try to help rather than hate these people, they will hopefully support our cause and try to break away from these extremist groups.

In the past, it has been shown that military force does nothing but result in pain and fear, and thus gives terrorists even more reasons to continue their hatred. Instead of sending troops, we should be sending help, and destroy the reign of terror that has taken hold of the Middle East for far too long.

Social media overuse distracts from reality Julia Hapanowicz

Likes, followers, and the social media world consume most teenagers’ lives.

The idea of quitting this “world” was brought up for discussion after social media personality Essena O’Neill left her 500,000 followers on Instagram and deleted over 2,000 photos on her account.

Bro a d c ast i ng life on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter often results in more effort trying to look picture perfect rather than living in the present.

While social media is a great tool to connect with friends, if it takes more time to edit photos, think of perfect captions, and check for likes than to actually interact with others, it might be time to disconnect.

Comparing ourselves to the images on our screens is a destruc-

tive habit that is hard to break out of. However, starting with less mindless scrolling through feeds and eventually cutting back on all forms of social media can be one of the keys to happiness.

With the rise of internet “celebrities”, like O’Neill, it’s possible for anyone to become a star. With the temptation of fame at our fingertips, leaving these platforms is even more difficult now but it is important to remember that living offline is more valuable than the slim possibility of becoming famous.

Social media addiction isn’t something to be taken lightly. We’ve all know someone who lives their life through their camera, and not because they are a photographer.

Will they ever look back on the ten minute video from a concert, or the thousands of pictures from their trip to the mall? Probably not.

Will they wish that they had lived in the moment and enjoyed their life offline? Probably.

hersey sPeaks

(( ( (

“Findthethingsthatsupported you, and work towards improvingthemandmakingthem betterforthenextgeneration.”

-Sophomore Michael Sutor

“Takecareofmyfamily,thank them for supporting me.

Thanking my friends.”

“Bytryingtogivebackto others, like community service”

-Junior Yulia Zayets

-SophomoreJoelGaliotto

“I stay healthy, taking care of myself.”

-Freshman Susan Schmidt

TheCorrespondent

Staff Speaks

Less gun control in schools may lead to dangerous situations

School A allows both staff and students to be legally armed in the name of self-defense and safety. School B strictly prohibits any guns, with the exception of the trained school police officers.

Which school the bright is safer? The one side,Onfitness scores with guns around have skyrocketed... every corner to save ourselves from attackers or where there are limited weapons on campus?

According to everytownresearch. org, 161 school shootings have occurred in America since 2013. The increase of gun violence occurring on campuses has resulted in the allowance of many teachers and students to carry their own guns on school grounds.

This decision also means that with so many guns legally on campuses there are more opportunities for those who normally don’t have access to these weapons to get their hands on them.

Under current legislature, people as young as 18 can legally purchase certain types of guns. High school student’s brains are still developing abilities to regulate emotions, impulses, idea of risk and reward, and other significant factors that can possibly hurt decision making and only be aggravated with access to

firearms.

The ‘pro-gun’ culture in this nation combined with the global coverage of terrorist attacks means guns are now not only a means of protection, but also of mass destruction as well.

Recently, neighboring schools Barrington and Stevenson both have had incidences involving students bringing unloaded firearms on to school property. While the students’ intentions of what to do with the • Joshua Irvine weapons have not been reported, firearms have no place in the classroom.

This school can not simply ignore this issue in hopes that we won’t ever have to experience something like this.

This year this school notified parents that we inccurred a credible gun-related threat. All three students have drawn police investigation.

This has caused many to question our safety in light of this vile trend of gun incidents in schools, especially by underage students.

It’s our responsibility to weigh the pros and cons of allowing firearms to be permitted in schools and realize that, even when backed with good intentions, dangerous situations could arise with the allowance of guns on school premises.

Cultural generalizations prove to be harmful Colette Tangney

Confusion has dented the efforts in targeting the group behind recent ISIL attacks. This reaction is a common byproduct to cope with the tragedies that have recently occurred.

However, in light of such events, many have begun to stereotype individuals that are of the same group as these terrorists. Specifically, presidential candidate Donald Trump has turned to profiling, particularly in religion, in efforts to reassure questions of national security.

My intention is not to say that Trump and the like are anti-Muslim, but to bring awareness that their ideas are influencing many Americans to be so. Adopting this ‘anti-Muslim’ idea means grouping over a billion people into the same category as extremist terrorists.

Though these groups are a branch of Islam, their extremist ideals promote destruction in contrast to the preaching of pacifism of moderate Islam.

We do not categorize the KKK’s efforts as Protestantism even though it was an act of Protestant extremism, so why are we allowing ourselves to classify ISIL’s efforts as Islamic?

Recent commentary declaring that Muslims are our biggest threats has exploded on social media with posts comparing Trump’s suggestions of mosque surveillance and his openness of Muslim identification to Nazi Germany’s Jewish identification system and unjust scrutiny.

While this may seem like a far-fetched analogy, it provides insight to the level of discrimi-

nation of Muslim Americans that some believe are necessary.

Recently, Liberty University’s president Jerry Falwell Jr. made a comment regarding the San Bernardino terrorist attack stating that “we could end those Muslims.” This is yet another example of a person with influence reiterating the wrongful idea of moderate Muslims association in these extremist attacks.

Trump added that he supports banning Muslims from entering America, violating one of our nation’s basic rights of nondiscriminatory practice of religion. The continuous vile categorization of Muslim people has altered perceptions and understandings of the religion which ultimately has put innocent followers of this religion subject to these prejudices.

We’ve learned in our history classes about evolution of stereotypes in every ethnicity and their corresponding effects. These wrongful accusations are nothing new, but as we know, history repeats itself. We have not learned from previous generations about the consequences of wrongful generalizations.

The noticeable trend of combining a lack of knowledge, fear, and inaccurate stereotypes has led to misunderstandings that has deteriorated perceptions of Islam. Yes, national safety is always a primary concern, but the ‘awareness’ against our citizens has led to civil discriminations that does more damage than our intended protection.

Generalizing one segment of an ethnicity to define that group’s entirety will continuously bring misconceptions, mistreatment, and miscommunication of these wrongfully stereotyped people.

the

Correspondent

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SpeakUP

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Opinions

December 11, 2015

Classroom temperatures heat up debate

I start my day by waking up and scavenging for clothes in the dark. Most of time it’s just a random choice of a top and pants, but lately I’ve been having to think more about my choice. Not about how I will look, but about how comfortable I will feel with the changes in temperature from classroom to classroom.

Many, if not all, students experience this inconvenience. Students shouldn’t have to deal with exposure to frigid temperatures one class and have to move into a boiling room next period.

We should not continue to suffer in these conditions. If we try to ignore these distractions to learning they will not go away, and although a temperature change sounds harmless, it has a major impact on the school day.

If we all agree to a reasonable range of temperature that is uniform for each room, students will benefit.

• Tom Schwaba

Red cups result inIn aoverreactions world where diversity is as ubiqui-

tous as iPhones, it’s hard for companies to be neutral in regard to religious affiliations and please everyone with their products.

That was exactly what Starbucks was trying to do when it released its annual holidaythemed red cup that was just that- a red cup.

Void of any embellishments, the company thought they were appealing to all audiences however, the backlash was unbelievable.

While Starbucks claims it was an attempt to give people a blank slate to create their own stories for the cups, people on social media have criticized the simple design, calling it a “war on Christmas.”

It’s ridiculous that such an innocent gesture was turned into a trending controversy.

Starbucks has not forsaken Christmas; their Christmas blend coffee and many other Christmas-themed products contradict that claim.

They’ve merely taken a more pure approach to the cup’s decoration. At the end of the day, it’s just a cardboard cup that gets thrown away after thirty minutes. People shouldn’t be so easily offended and make a cup more important than it should be.

TheCorrespondent

•

Zoe Strozewski

is published 10 times a year by the journalism students of John Hersey High School, 1900 East Thomas Street, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. Call for advertising rates. Phone (847) 718-4945.

The Correspondent welcomes a free exchange of ideas. Letters to the editor may be sent to correspondent@d214.org. Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of The Correspondent is determined by, and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials or the school itself, its student editorial board and responsible student staff members assume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication.

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6 Correspondent

Indepth

Winter W December 11, 2015

From food to family, students share family traditions Lexi Wachal Zoe Strozewski

The holiday season can drum up opportunities for unforgettable memories for students, such as the obvious, but no less special, decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the candles on the menorah, and many other special holiday routines.

But every family across the school has a few traditions that make the holiday a little different, and a little more extraordinary, for everyone.

Most families have traditions that revolve around food. Junior Jane Kannookaden said, “We only eat pumpkin pie and turkey during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Saving them to eat during that kind of year makes it more special during the holiday season.”

Reserving certain foods for the holiday season isn’t uncommon here, so students often save eating traditional meals for these special occasions.

Junior DJ Meyers said, “We always go over to my aunt’s house and eat traditional Jewish food like fish, meat, and matzo ball soup.”

Similarly, Junior Yulia Zayets said, “We usually eat Ukrainian beet salad every year for Christmas.”

Other families concentrate their holiday traditions that don’t revolve around food. Sophomore Sam Menczywor said, “We go to my aunt’s house, and she has this big, gorgeous tree decorated. We have this pickle ornament that she hides, and the first one to find it wins a prize; it’s usually money.”

The theme of gift giving is also prevalent in other students traditions.

Junior Maddie Renner said, “On Christmas Eve we, go over to my

Oma’s house, and we have a white elephant. Every year someone brings a piñata, and there’s always a theme. Last year’s theme was WP, whimsical poultry, so we got a chicken piñata.”

Across the board, one common theme remains consistent with almost all varying traditions: families. Meyers said, “Every year for Hanukkah we go to my aunt’s house and watch sports, eat good food, and do a grab bag of presents.” The holiday season tends to be about spending time with loved ones, and spreading holiday cheer through different traditions, either a unique or a personalized common one. Menczywor said, “It’s really fun to have a tradition that I get to spend with family.”

•Eric Czarnota anta Claus waits to greet children at Woodfield Mall on Dec. 8.

S

Students get in giv

Heidi Freitag

•Eric Czarnota tudents pack and sort boxes to send to one of three locations: Wheeling High School, St. Augustine Indian Center, or Northwest Compass. For more pictures and a full story go on to

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correspondentlive.com

It’s that time of year again when families begin to spread their holiday cheer, and of course, the presents start to roll in.

But as the festive season appears to be getting closer, some people decide to stop thinking about the receiving part of the holidays and begin to focus on the giving aspect.- For many holidays, students decide to help their community.

When Thanksgiving was coming to a close, students paired together to give a helping hand and prepare for the canned food drive. Despite the time commitment and high donation goal for the food drive, students agreed to pitch in.

“It was pretty awesome to see so many different people come together, who are all the same when it comes to wanting to help others in the community,” senior Caleigh O’Neil said.

Students collected over 40,000 cans and helped a

great deal of The genuin is often better students find others is more But some h overlooked is to help and b as well.

“At my chu their picture, who needs h hobbies and i for them base Magnuson.

Even thoug for many, stu in not only th surrounding cial and comp

Indepth

Wonderland December 11, 2015

Cold weather brings different types of fun Kelly McCarthy Although the cold weather closes the door to certain outdoor activities like going to the beach, it opens up the door to just as many other activities.

“I love to ski with my family or friends. It definitely makes being in the snow more enjoyable,” sophomore Haley Skiko said.

Many people eagerly await the snow so that they can enjoy these activities.

“I don’t like winter in general because it’s so cold, but these activities definitely make me look forward to it a little bit more. It kind of brightens winter because you are excited to go snowboarding and play in the snow and do all of these fun things,” junior Kelly Holan said.

The Ski and Snowboard Club is always excited for winter because it means they can go on their trips to different ski resorts around the Midwest.

“I go snowboarding on all four trips that Hersey has, and then I also try and go on my own a couple of times a year, so I probably end up going six or seven times a year,” Holan said.

“I enjoy skiing and snowmobiling. I try to go as often as I can to Chestnut Mountain,” fresh-

man Dylan Riley said.

The great thing about living where we do is that we don’t have to travel fun to join in on these fun activities.

“I went downtown to Maggie Daley Park’s ice skating rink with a few of my girlfriends. There are a lot of people downtown at this time, so it just feels more special,” sophomore Katie Lindgren said.

However, the fun can be found even closer to home. “Melas Park is my favorite place to go sledding whenever it snows,” junior Sigmund Serranilla said.

The holidays also prove to be a great time for getting outdoors and participating in these activities.

“The city during Christmas is so festive. All of the lights and people remind me of Christmas and make the ice skating experience a lot better,” Lindgren said.

There’s also no reason why the winter fun is limited to the outdoors. “I like skiing and sledding, but movie marathons with hot chocolate are fun too,” junior Remy Gerew said.

There are a plethora of exciting things to do during the winter that prove that the fun doesn’t have to go away when the warm weather does.

Correspondent

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What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day?

•37 Twitter responses

•Courtesy of Kelly Holan uniors Taylor Greaves and Kelly Holan enjoy their winter by participating in the school’s Ski and Snowboard club.

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ving spirit for holidays

f families who are struggling for food. ne feeling of giving during the holidays r than the feeling of receiving because that oftentimes the satisfaction from e meaningful. hidden holiday miracles that are often that many students go out of their way be a contributor to their communities

urch, my family and I choose a kid from and there is a description of the kid help. On the picture it has the child’s interests on it, and we would buy a gift ed on their hobbies,” sophomore Claire

gh the holidays can be a busy season udents still reserve time to place value heir friends and family but also in their communities as well. “I felt very speplete after delivering the present to the

child,” Magnuson said.

Other school service projects include the mission to build veteran Cody Evans a home and activities and fundraisers for Special Olympics and the CLS department.

The school’s encouraging atmosphere to give back to the community and promote kindness has, in return, inspired students to enjoy the comfort they give others.

“Whenever I give back to the community, especially during the holidays, I feel very happy and kindhearted,” senior Olivia Bordenet said.

Holidays can be a great opportunity to give rather than just get.

8 the Correspondent

Entertainment

December 11, 2015

Shopping brings festivity to the holidays Zoe Strozewski

The season of giving can’t happen without a lot of buying. Shopping is a significant part of the holidays, and while shopping in general can be viewed as an enjoyable activity, holiday shopping has its own unique appeal that remains exclusive to this festive time of year.

Regular shopping and holiday shopping have one key difference: traditional shopping usually involves a person buying items for himself or herself while holiday shopping is done solely to buy gifts for others.

The fact that the gift giving community isn’t obtaining purchases to keep for themselves doesn’t usually take away the pleasant aspects of shopping.

In fact, students can find that shopping for others is just as, if not more, enjoyable as spending money on themselves.

“I do enjoy going out and shopping for the holidays. I love the rush of trying to find different things for different people,” said junior Bhumi Parikh.

Another appealing feature of shopping during the holiday season is the festive atmosphere that many encounter. “I like being able to look at all the Christmas decorations that different stores have,” Parikh said.

Undoubtedly, the most popular day of the year for holiday shopping is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the symbolic kick off of the Christmas season.

Black Friday has been made famous by its outrageous sales, and the millions of people who crowd into malls across the country to take advantage of those deals.

“I wouldn’t say I love going Black Friday shopping, but it’s definitely something I like to do,” sophomore Amy Morgan said.

Some can also find this intense, frenzied activity slightly tedious.

•Eric Czarnota “I sometimes like oodfield Mall is a popular place for people to do their going because it’s holiday shopping.

Other than its trendy stores, the fun to look at the mall also boasts elaborate holiday decorations and a chance deals stores have, to meet Santa Claus. but then it get’s really tiring walking dimension of the holiday spirit by putting time around everywhere,” Parikh said. and effort into giving thoughtful gifts.

Even though gift exchanging isn’t the sole It’s a lively, warmhearted way to embrace the point of the holidays, people have created a new generous spirit of the season.

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‘25 Days of Christmas’ promotes cheer and shares holiday favorites Claire Durand Patty Merris

What song represents you?

I like U2 “Beautiful Day.” It just always puts me in a good mood.

What superpower would you want and why?

I would read minds and read thoughts whenever I would want you. I wanna see what’s going on inside people’s brains.

What excites you about this holiday season?

I host Christmas Eve for my family, so I like merging our families together because it’s just one big crazy time.

Are you going to see the new “Star Wars” movie?

No, I’m not a Star Wars fan. I would like to get into it, but I don’t know how.

As the holidays approach, so do the plethora of holiday movies. From movies like “The Polar Express” and “Disney’s a Christmas Carol,” TVs will be blown up with lots of red, white, and green.

One of the major sources for these movies is ABC Family’s holiday special: “25 Days of Christmas.” As the name implies, ABC Family hosts a holiday programming block for 25 days, counting down the days to Christmas.

These movies consist of holiday-filled cheer and old classics. “My favorite movie that plays is ‘Elf ’ because it’s so funny and [Buddy the] Elf ’s excitement for Christmas gets me just as excited,” sophomore Alexis Badami said.

ABC Family’s “25 Days of Christmas” has been airing since 1996 and looks to be continuing for a while.

It has been an outlet for family time and holiday time. ABC Family does not ignore the new add-ons to the holiday category.

“The Mistle-Tones” and “Toy Story 2” are only some examples of new additions to the ABC Family’s lineup.

Not only movies, but some shows are aired, with their special Christmas premieres, like the up-and-coming show “Young and Hungry.”

Although new shows are making it onto the holiday list for airing, many students still prefer the old and classic.

“I don’t like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ because even though it technically is a Christmas movie, I don’t consider it to be one because it doesn’t have very much Christmas

spirit,” Badami said.

Even though some movies may not be favored, the tradition of the “25 Days of Christmas” always seemed to be loved.

“I would like to see it in the continuing years because it’s nice to be able to watch my favorite holiday movies with my friends and family,” junior Emma Lee said.

“I think that they should keep doing what they’re doing because I love it,” Badami said.

The most viewed movie, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, marked a new record with 5.4 million views; this made it the most viewed and most loved holiday movie in the “25 Days of Christmas” marathon.

The best part of “25 Days of Christmas” is the opportunity it gives for families to pause the chaos of school and work and relax and indulge in the vintage holiday moments with each other.

“It’s a great program for families to enjoy,” said Lee. It also gives a younger generation a look at what their parents watched when they were young.

What’s great about “25 Days of Christmas” is that it gathers a wide variety of holiday movies that doesn’t just center around Christmas. It features a special “Toy Story” day with all the movies shown from the series so that viewers won’t forget about the iconic Woody and Buzz.

When there are re-runs, ABC Family makes sure that the re-runs are prominent and crucial holiday movies that viewers cannot miss, which makes it convenient. If people are too busy getting gifts or celebrating with family, ABC Family allows them to tune into any movie.

December 11, 2015

Reviews

‘25’ showcases Adele’s diverse talents

the

Correspondent

9

Nate Horne

still stands up there with the much more complex songs on the album.

And lyrically, “25” consists of songs much Finally, she’s back. Adele, after four long and emotionless years, has recently released her more complex than a song relating to a bad newest studio album “25.” With 11 powerful and break-up (her previous two albums). Each song beautifully crafted songs, “25” wasn’t anything is unique with her heartfelt lyrics that show a new side of Adele. short of amazing.

And the modernized songs such as “Water The album can be categorized into two types of song: typical Adele (wailing vocals over ele- Under the Bridge,” “Sweetest Devotion,” and gant piano) and a more modern and risky Adele. “River Lea” represent music that still fits Adele’s There is just enough diversity to keep me in- almost gothic style, but is molded into a popterested while still letting me (attempt) to sing like track. These songs have catchy choruses and concepts that are more along with the new Adele clasfitting for this generasics. tion’s popular music, The amount of times I’ve lisbut still hold unique to tened to this entire album is alAdele. ready in the double digits and Her song “River Lea” quickly increasing. has an incredibly eerie The more typical Adele tracks verse that builds into include songs like “Hello,” an ensemble of vary“When We Were Young,” and ing instruments. Many “Remedy.” songs consists of many Although every song has a layers of instruments, gentle piano melody over dense sound effects, etc. and spiritual vocals, each song They are relativeis incredibly different. ly unnoticeable but The use of subtle effects and greatly affect the song. carefully constructed harmoEvery song is put tonies are only small details, but gether like a puzzle as they greatly contribute to the each piece of the song Adele’s indescribable sound.

Also, the use of a deep and •Adele.com perfectly fits together with the other. tense bass pushes each song itled as a reflection of her From “Sweetest Deforward with delicate force, eslife and state of mind at votion” where Adele pecially on her song “When We that age, “25” was released belts out strong voWere Young.” cals over a fast paced And speaking of that soon-to- four years after her previous rhythm, to “Million be top-of-the-charts song, Adele album “21.”

Years Ago” where Adele proves her insanely entertaining vocal range as she effortlessly hits notes that in- slowly sings a jazzy melody over a dominantly acoustic guitar instrumental, to even “Love in evitably cause goose bumps.

It’s so obvious that Adele and her produc- the Dark” where fine hints of string instruments tion team took all the time necessary to create compliment exquisite harmonies, it’s always the an outstanding album, and it’s prominently seen vocals that make every song what it is.

Ornate vocal patterns turn a rather convenon the song “Remedy.”

Although the song simply consists of piano tional song into a song worth remembering. So, and vocals (the award winning Adele duo), it all I have left to say is: finally, she’s back.

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Freaky

Fast

REVIEWS

‘Splinters’ swells on Netflix

‘Peanuts’ movie pays tribute to classic

From Papua New Guinea comes a documentary, recently available on Netflix, that captures the intense desire to surf, win, and see the world.

“Splinters” centers around a village craving social advancement, only able to access it from a surfing competition—a path to a spot on the nation’s surfing team and a glimpse at the globe.

Battling institutions, the people of Papua New Guinea fight to surf.

With rivaling surfing clubs and the test of gender and ability, all within a patriarchal and often-excluded society, “Splinters” is riveting, rewarding, and visionary.

“The Peanuts Movie” is an hour and a half long, “Peanuts” special that’s loosely tied together with the same underlying plot: Charlie Brown trying to win his crush, the red-headed girl.

The movie is adorable coming from someone who loves the “Peanuts.” One of the best parts of this movie is how it doesn’t stray too far from the original “Peanuts” plot. Snoopy himself is more animated and lively, and it gives one of the most beloved dogs in America even more personality.

The movie is essentially a mash-up of every “Peanuts” special. An adorable mash-up, but a mash-up nonetheless. This is a perfect way to fix some old-fashioned morning cartoons.

•Jamie Anderluh

•Lexi Wachal

Honeyberry proves exceptional food and fast service It’s hard to stand out when there are so many breakfast places, but Honeyberry Cafe makes this no problem. With its fast service, spacious rooms, and awesome food, Honeyberry Cafe is a popular selection in Arlington Heights for breakfast.

It has been open for about a year now; they have a wide variety of food from breakfast foods like waffles, omelets, and pancakes to lunch food like sandwiches and salads. This wide variety can please anyone’s appetite. Getting seated

quickly and served fast is what people look for in a restaurant, and Honeyberry Cafe exceeds these expectations.

With three spacious rooms, there is usually no wait at Honeyberry. The workers are hardworking, and the wait for food is usually five to ten minutes. Overall, Honeyberry Cafe is a great breakfast place for any occasion. The atmosphere is a great place to start off the morning.

•Paige Pannozzo

with Joshua Irvine

More lukewarm than heated This movie - “Krampus” - doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. At the start, it plays itself like a comic sly critique of our inextricable love-hate relationship with the increasingly commercialized nature of Christmas - ironic, considering its Spotify ad shows up every two minutes on my playlist to scare the hell out of me - and quickly transforms into a part- 80s slasherpart-paranormal-thriller with the most deranged take on Christmas since “The Santa Clause 3” (oh, the horror).

Ultimately, “Krampus” finds itself split between these two premises, lacking enough humor to come across as funny, and not quite scary enough to merit screams.

A slow-motion sequence featuring a deranged stampede of Black Friday shoppers opens the flick, From there, the dysfunctional suburban family of Max (Emjay Anthony) is introduced.

After Max, burdened by the arrival of his Hummer-driving NRA-card-carrying redneck relatives (the only thing missing is a “Make America Great Again” hat) pulls a Kevin McCallister and then angrily tears up his letter to Santa (before he literally tosses it to the wind - because SYMBOLISM/littering) he unleashes the environmentally conscious wrath of Krampus, Santa’s own deranged cousin who wants nothing more than to unleash a healthy dose of “Goosebumps”-style monstrosities on Max and his extended family. Chaos, unsurprisingly, ensues.

“Krampus” seems to go about breaking every single rule in the book, but does it the wrong way. For one, the film’s main cast is mostly tweens, which is probably the most annoying age group in movie history (behind “racist old relative” and “bratty teen girl”, but don’t worry, they appear too). On the bright side, it’s a hell of a lot more satisfying when they’re all devoured

by Christmas demons.

More confusing, however, is the choice to focus the vast majority of the film on Adam Scott’s father figure, then kill him off in favor of his jerk kid in the last ten minutes. Don’t worry, though, because they kill the kid off too - or do they? The correct answer to that question is who cares? By the time the film hits its credit sequence viewers have thoroughly stopped understanding or caring what’s going on.

Funny enough, the finest aspect of “Krampus” are the puppet horrors that come to attack the dear protagonists. The eponymous villain does not disappoint sporting goat’s hooves, horns, and a nasty smoker’s tongue. The problem is the film’s PG-13 rating - the scenes featuring these monstrosities are more heavily cut than a hyperactive kid with a katana.

The formula of “Krampus” is both too disjointed to make sense of and not funny enough for us to not care. The end result is something like putting a Santa hat on Frankenstein’s monster - original, perhaps, but not particularly funny or clever.

10 the Correspondent

Features

Students react to Wi-Fi restrictions

December 11, 2015

Gracie Scannell

debate team since I used to be on it, but when I used my iPad a lot of the time I was stopped by the school District 214 provided every student with an iPad for restrictions, so it’s harder for me to get stuff done.”

Students are attempting the 2015-2016 school year. to adapt to these restricThis addition has had varitions regarding Wi-Fi. “It ous reactions. Many students sometimes stops me from believe the technology has taking quizzes online, not helped them in their studonly because of the restricies, but opponents argue that tions but just because it’s these devices do not belong constantly failing,” freshin the classroom. man Joseph Ivanov said.

To make sure that the iPads Some believe that it is are used for only academnot worth all of the effort ics meant that restrictions put in to block students on the Wi-Fi networks had from accessing certain to be put into place. Certain pages when it discourage apps will not connect includstudents from studying ing Instagram, Snapchat, and and researching certain Tumblr. Various websites are topics. blocked as well.

“I’ve been in so many District 214 director of situations where I was taktechnology services Keith ing a quiz or something Bockwoldt said, “The Disand the Wi-Fi just stops,” trict is required to comply sophomore Nina Conwith federal laws to block websites that may be harm• Screenshot from Instagram nor said. The issue is not only with the filters ful to students. The proteci-Fi restrictions create issues for a stubut the faulty Wi-Fi tion measures must block dent trying to access their Instagram as well. “They’re kind or filter Internet access to account. of pointless because pictures that are: (a) obif they wanted to stop scene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers that are us from doing bad things in school, we can literally just go on our phones and do the same thing on there,” accessed by minors).”

These new restrictions have created problems, es- sophomore Parrick Walsh said.

These complaints come from a place of frustration pecially to well-meaning students who are trying to do research on topics deemed “obscene.” Sophomore and annoyance and, as the use of technology continues Catherine Spann said, “I’ve tried to look up things for to expand in the school, need to be addressed.

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Vegans and vegetarians modify dishes during holiday season Jennifer Lechowski

companies now make vegan alternatives to meat out of tofu or

Now that the holiday season is in seitan that taste similar to the real full swing, many start cooking up a thing.

Others may not substitute for storm. Holidays including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and the meat of the meal. “I usually Kwanzaa all have foods associated eat everything I would normally with their special day, which usu- eat during the holidays except ally consist of a meat base. These for turkey. I’m a vegetarian, so I basically eat menus noranything that mally don’t doesn’t have cater to the actual meat vegetarian and in it,” sophovegan lifestyle, more Chinand substitumaye Vishtions must be wesh said. made.

Making Veget ar i an vegetarian- or or vegan stuvegan-frienddents do not ly versions eat meat or anof dishes, imal products. such as pies While some or mashed make these potatoes, is diet choices for • Julia a route that health reasons, Hapanowicz some students others’ choices vegan cheese plate prochoose. are based on vides an alternative to a Being a religious and vegan or vegethical beliefs. classic Thanksgiving dinner. etarian may A normal Thanksgiving table has a turkey, sound like a challenge; however, stuffing, and gravy, while classic it is quite simple for many stuHanukkah dishes include brisket, dents. “I find it fairly easy to not and cheese. Christmas dinner can eat meat and other products, even consist of a roast, ham, turkey, or during the holidays. I was never really a person who liked meat or stuffing.

These holidays all consist of a most things that contained eggs meat base for the main dish and or milk,” sophomore Sam Gulke modifying these meals can be dif- said.

With these alternate diet choicficult for some. “I usually eat tofu for the holidays with a bunch of es and meat alternatives on the vegetables and fruits,” sophomore rise, the turkey dinner isn’t what Sam Gulke said. However, many all students look forward to.

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Glasses make comeback Sneh Pandya Glasses used to be characteristic of nerds; they were an embarrassment to have. Warby Parker found a way to make glasses cool again. Warby Parker is an onlinebased company with the goal of providing fashionable eyewear while also providing glasses to people in developing countries.

Not only do they provide cool glasses, but at an amazing price.

While a designer pair of prescription glasses can go up to $400, all of Warby Parker glasses are $95 with a couple frames being extra.

“I don’t really think much of my (Ray-Ban) glasses, but they were pretty expensive--I think around $200 These were actually some of the cheaper ones, so 95 for good glasses sounds awesome,” junior Joe Fasolo said.

Warby Parker provides fashionable glasses at a low price, and above that, for each frame bought, one will be given to a person in need in developing countries.

According to the Warby Parker website, to this date, they have provided over 1 million pairs of glasses to people in need.

Sports the Correspondent11 Gymnastics hopes for sweet outcomes December 11, 2015

Ellen Bakal

The Candy Cane Invite is set for 1:00 tomorrow, hosted here. The meet, favored by the whole team, is accompanied by holiday music and decorations, and puts the whole team in good spirits.

The girls competed at Elk Grove High School on Wednesday.

The girls took home a big win at their first competition against Conant on Dec. 2. “The first meet was good. We still have some improvements to look forward to but it was a great start, I’m looking forward to our team doing very well in the upcoming meets,” senior Alyssa Zurlo said.

Starting off this season with this solid win, displays the upcoming success they hope to achieve. After having only two members of the varsity team make it to state last year, they have attacked the season differently this year.

“Our team goal is to win state as a team.

We have had this goal set since last year when only myself and Alyssa Zurlo made it to state, so we are practicing super hard to nail all of our routines at every meet,” sophomore Mackenzie Kamysz said.

The girls have been preparing by treating practice as if it were a meet and practicimg to the best of their abilities every day. This helps to eliminate the nerves

that would normally come up before competing.

“This year we do not have [graduate] Kelly Haines, she really motivated us. She was the one who could motivate us to do anything, she kept us together. We’ve learned to depend more on each other for support. Alyssa Zurlo has stepped up to motivate us,” junior Alexandra Heidrich said.

A good social atmosphere plays a large role into the teams success. Team bonding obviously helps any team to become closer and stronger, but when teammates spend as much time together as these girls, spending time together outside of the gym makes a big difference in the team moral.

“We always give each other advice on how to make their skills better, not only the varsity girls but to the JV and freshman teams. Everyone is just very supportive of each other by cheering them on in every event,” Kamysz said.

“The first meet actually went really well. We came in strong definitely thinking we were going to win but then we saw the other team, they were pretty good. We had some falls here and there but in the end we won and had a great time doing it,” Kamysz said.

ophomore Mackenzie Kamysz perfects a split S jump on beam in preparation for their meet tomorrow at Hersey at 1:00.

Strength training helps swimmers meet goals Tommy Lumsden The boys have a big invitational at Rolling Meadows tomorrow; they are looking to swim strong.

Swimming season has gotten underway, and the goals for this season are high. The boys started off the year at Barrington with a loss, but still performed well. “Everyone did really well and put up some awesome times for the first meet of the season,” sophomore Michael Petro said.

The team finished sixth place at the Stevenson invite last Saturday. Swimmers were upset with their performance and are going to push the whole team to seek for better times and better outcomes in the future.

Not being far into the season, the boys still have work to do. Off season swimming seems to be the key to staying in shape and being the best they can be. “We swim for various club teams and do strength training,” senior Kris Donov said.

Gymnastics Junior Maggie Barton

•Compiled by Kelly McCarthy

5 4 3 2 1

enior Andrew Maggio practices his S butterfly in preparation for the Buffalo Grove invitational tomorrow.

The competitive intensity is only something that can be experienced in the pool racing others. “I swim on a club team in the off season to

5 Facts

“We always huddle up a do a cheer before our meets.”

“We wear spirit wear on the days of our meets.”

“Our coach doesn’t watch our beam routines because we think it’s bad luck.”

“We stand in the corners of the floor when one of our girls is on the floor to cheer them on.”

“At invites, we always have Scooby Snacks.”

5 4 3 2 1

stay in shape and compete in higher level meets.

The intensity is high during the season, so the more practice you can get in the off season with that experience, the better you will be for the season,” Petro said.

The team has high hopes for the end of the season, trying to clinch the MSL, reach sectionals, and eventually state. “Our team goal is to get as many people into the championship series, and to do that, we have to push each other at practices and motivate everyone to succeed in meets,” Donov said.

With a new season beginning, the hope is high for the boys, and the fight begins to make a late season run. “My goal is to break the Hersey 100 back record, which would qualify me for state, which is the goal we all need,” Donov said.

“State bound is the goal for me, but not just me, but for the team. We may have a small team, but we have the push and the drive we need to get there,” Petro said.

Basketball Senior Kevin Starr

“We hangout as a team a lot outside of basketball” “We constantly joke around with our assistant coaches” “Our ‘scoot’ squad always pumps us up.”

“We have four captains so there is a lot of leadership” “Our starters constantly change”

•Compiled by Mark Milligan

12 the Correspondent

Sports

December 11, 2015

enior Spencer Kruger takes down his opponent for S preparation for tonight’s match against MSL rival Wheeling at 6pm. unior Gina Miklasz dribbles up the court setting up the offense.

J The girls beat Prospect 52-39 last Friday at Prospect High School to improve to 8-0 on the season.

enior Maggie S Berigan pulls up with two Prospect defenders all over her, late in the second quarter.

enior Mitch S MacTavish and Matt

Joyce prepare for the Wheeling dual meet tonight, then head to the Dundee Crown quad meet tomorrow morning.

Kelly Weyhrich crosses up her deJaunior fender and drives into the lane looking for kick-out.

•All photos taken by Sneh Pandya

Huskie

HWhat’s uddle: unique?

Wresting “We push each other to the limit in everything we do, and we all together make each other better on and off the matt.”

-Senior Mitch Mactavish

Swimming “We are a small group focused on individual success.”

-Senior Conor Stanley

Bowling “Despite our differences in grades, we all come together and work well as a team.”

-Junior Emma Wrenn