Publications & Sites 
District 219 Notes for Feb. 27
Updated: April 2, 2012 8:03AM
NW News earns Gold Circle Awards
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) received almost 5,000 entries from college, university and secondary school students in the 29th Gold Circle Awards program for yearbook and digital media. Out of the 745 winners in this annual competition for individual achievement by student writers, editors, designers and photographers, Niles West News earned 13 awards.
Niles West students/alumni received 2012 Gold Circle Awards for Digital Media. These awards reflect entries produced between Nov. 2, 2010 and Nov. 1, 2011.
First place awards were given to: Dylan Lanoff and Vishal Piryani (Niles West Class of 2011), “Vikral,” Video News Package; Jackie Povitsky, “Backlot Bash,” Single Feature Photograph; and Mike Undas (NW’11), “Decalicious ice cream,” Video Commercial.
Second place awards were given to: Hafsa Wahid, “Niles West’s Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr,” General Commentary; and Amy Chow (NW’11), “Orchesis Gallery,” Photo Slideshow.
Third place awards were given to: Amy Chow, “Walkout Gallery,” Photo Slideshow; and Niles West News staff, Typography, Overall Look of the Entire Website.
Certificate of Merit, or honorable mention awards, were given to: Colene Gibson and Ivana Kosir, “Sprinkler malfunction causes water pipe to burst,” Breaking News; Rozy Kanjee (NW’11), “Students walkout for collective bargaining rights,” News Writing; Ivana Kosir, “Committee studies school day schedule,” In-depth News; Rozy Kanjee, “My plea to the school board: make us want to learn,” Personal Opinion: On-Campus Issues; Nick Goldwyn, “Konner Scott: A day in the life,” Sports Features; and Niles West News staff, News Online Design Web Site.
Evelyn Lauer, Niles West English teacher and Certified Journalism Educator, is the Niles West News Adviser.
Support Special Gifts Theatre
Niles North High School is holding its Empty Walls Silent Art Auction this year on March 3. Empty Walls is an all-day event in which artists from the community, staff, teachers and talented art students will team up and create art the entire day. That evening, artists donate their works at a silent auction with the proceeds going to this year’s School Chest beneficiary, Special Gifts Theatre. Special Gifts Theatre is an organization that provides children and teens with special needs a drama experience enabling personal growth while also breaking down stereotypes related to disabilities. This is a special opportunity to acquire beautiful one-of-a-kind works of art while at the same time helping to support children with special needs.
The Empty Walls Silent Art Auction begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3 in the Niles North High School Codell Commons at 9800 Lawler Ave., Skokie. Bidding will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. with auction winners announced at 6:30 p.m. Artwork represented at the auction includes paintings, photography, drawings, watercolors, jewelry, fiber arts/clothing and ceramics. There will be jazz entertainment from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For children, there will be a craft section and face painting.
Local businesses may make donations by contacting Empty Walls Director Lori Real at (847) 626-2113 or lorrea@niles219.org. Visit the Empty Walls Silent Auction Home Page at: http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/north/departments/fine-arts/empty-walls.
North and West
attend conference
Originating in Bloomington-Normal, the Students Involved with Technology (SIT) Conference is an annual conference held at several sites throughout Illinois. SIT is by students, for students, and completely presented by third through 12th graders, with assistance from community and school volunteers. This year’s conferences are being held in Charleston, DeKalb, Normal, East Moline, Lincolnshire, and Woodridge. The conference highlights a variety of innovative activities in which students from around the region are involved.
This year nine Student Tech Leaders from Niles West and Niles North attended the SIT Conference at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire on Saturday, Feb. 18.
District 219 students will present Applications for the Modern Student: Tech leaders share their favorite/essential Web 2.0 and smartphone applications: Max Collins with Umer Gaffar, Bill Pndavinji, Tezen Mathew, and Talah Ahmed.
Make Yourself Known: Tech Leader Aliza Malyani shares ways to safely promote your talents online.
Web 2.0 and the Cloud: Tech leaders discuss DropBox and other cloud-based file storage services that can be accessed anywhere/anytime: Jourj Baghdisar and Aziz Aziz.
The Tech Leader program in District 219 offers students an opportunity to be an integral part of the District’s Anywhere, Anytime Learning (AAL) initiative by providing technical support and training to their peers. Students learn valuable life skills while exploring new areas of web-based applications and open-source software.
To qualify as a Tech Leader, students must be proficient in computer technology, support and training, be patient and respectful, have strong problem-solving and leadership skills, be recommended by a teacher, maintain a strong GPA, and commit to work a maximum of 10 hours a week.
SIT Conference website: http://www.sitconference.org/
Student Tech Leaders/AAL Help Desk Website: http://url.d219.org/aal-helpdesk.
West Poms placed 12th in nation
The Niles West Pom Squad placed 12th in the nation in the Large Varsity Hip-Hop category at the 2012 National Dance Team Competition held recently in Orlando, FL. Niles West competed against 34 other teams in the semifinals then advanced to the finals where they were matched against the top 17 teams in their division.
The Niles West Varsity Pom Squad includes: Tia Tountas, Nicole Bonner, Marie Castillo, Angie Barnas, Mary Vo, Ashley We, Sandra Lee, Jane Kwak, Dylan Lanoff, Evangeline Alpogianis (captain), Amanda Shafer, Elizabeth Mangulabnan (captain), Sophie Sidlowski, Emme Deamont, Vera Ratner, Alison Check, Daniela Cicio and Nicole Kim. The Varsity Pom Coach is Christine Selander.
North Debate reaches semifinals
The Niles North Debate Team had a successful weekend at the Dead Presidents Invitational, held at Evanston Township High School on Feb. 3 through 5. Competing in the Novice division, Adam Yusen and Ambria Benesch, seeded 11th going into the elimination debates, defeated the sixth seed and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they upset the third seed from Glenbrook North and advanced to the semifinals. They were defeated on a close 2-1 decision by Northside College Prep and were named semifinalists at the tournament. Benesch was named fourth speaker out of 116 debaters. Also competing from Niles North: Mia Temkin, Karli Goldenberg, Zahra Domin and Jyotsna Seesala. Niles North is preparing for its next round of competition, including a tournament at Harvard University, and will be vying for state and national championships in March.
The Niles North Debate Head Coach is Katie Gjerpen. Assistant coaches are Arjun Vellayappan, Andrew Baker, Apoorv Kumar and Sarah Smaga.
West Debate
continues success
Niles West Debate, fresh off its tournament win at the Lane Tech tournament, competed at the Dead Presidents Invitational hosted by Evanston Township High School Feb. 3 through 5. Niles West came close to winning another novice championship; the team also advanced in the Varsity division, which is an amazing feat for a new program.
In the Novice division, Alwin Alex and Tahir Meeks were 5-1 in the preliminary rounds and were seeded fifth entering the elimination rounds. They made it to the semifinal round, then lost on a 2-1 decision to Walter Payton High School. Out of 116 debaters, Meeks was the 11th speaker. Teammates Julia Sarata and Sahar Jiwani had a 4-2 record at the tournament. Other Niles West debaters competing in the Novice division: Joe Bakes, Reza Khan, Dimitry Kotrotsios, John Lefevre, Mahnoor Bhatti, Emmanuel Picazo, Taimur Shaikh, Sam Seo, Tanvir Chowdhury, Idrees Kamal, Veronica Guzman and Shan Khan.
In the Varsity division, Jessie Amgalanjargal and Lia Isono had a 4-2 record in the preliminaries and were the 13th seed entering elimination rounds. They made it to the Octafinal round where they lost on a 3-0 decision to Whitney Young High School. Nathan Anderson and Kris Trivedi had a 4-2 record at the tournament. Out of 124 debaters, Theo Noparstak was named 14th speaker and Kris Trivedi was 19th speaker. Other Niles West debaters competing in the Varsity division: Ari Hoffman, Sana Khan, Breana Brill, Miranda Kang, Emma Lazar, Gershom Chan, Michelle Sproat, James McLellan, Lizzie Prete, Janat Ahmed, Nick Charles, Morgan Gstalter, Megan Zachacki, Vinay Patel, Jonass Placitis and Walter Lindwall.
The Niles West Debate Head Coach is Eric Oddo. Assistant coaches are Matt Fahrenbacher, Val McIntosh and Kevin Bancroft.
