Publications & Sites 
District 219 Notes for April 27
Updated: June 4, 2012 10:22AM
‘Henry V’ to run at North May 3-5
The Niles North Theater Department presents William Shakespeare’s “Henry V” May 3-5 in the Drama Performance Center, 9800 Lawler Ave., Skokie. In Shakespeare’s earlier works, the title character is depicted as “Prince Harry,” a unruly and fun-loving wastrel, but Niles North’s adaptation of “Henry V” is set in the not too distant future where the young monarch is a fun-loving party girl who assumes the throne as Queen H5.
How to keep “Henry V,” which Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago, current for today’s audiences? Director Timothy Ortmann set the play in the year 2020, where the ruler is Queen H5 and she leads an army at the Battle of Agincourt. “Nobody expects much of her,” said Ortmann. “She surprises them. She’s quite astute and has been paying attention.”
Other than some name changes (Princess Catherine of Valois becomes Jean-Claude in this adaptation) and some changes in pronouns, the play uses Shakespeare’s words. It is the actors who had to consider what role gender plays in society and how leaders are perceived.
Showtimes for “Henry V” are 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on May 4 and 5. Tickets are $10 and may be reserved by calling the Box Office at (847) 626-2122. A free community performance will be held at 10 a.m. May 3.
The director for “Henry V” is Timothy Ortmann; Tech Director Annaliisa Ahlman; Costume Designer Teresa Ripley; Lighting Designer Michael Rourke; Sound Designer Will Boersma; Hair Designer Brian Fallon; Assistant Tech Director Max Dolinko; Shop Manager Destiny Hall; costume assistants are Linda Room and Anita Scanlon; Assistant Lighting Designer Alon Stotter; Fight Captain Dylan Connelley; Stage Manager Rachel Sepiashvili; and Assistant Stage Manager Danielle Kropveld.
The cast includes: Royalty: Shannon Rourke as Queen H5; Jonathan Berg-Einhorn as Duke of Clarence, brother to the queen; Teresa Franks as Duke of Bedford, sister to the queen; Joanna Valkin as Duke of Gloucester, sister to the queen; Naveen Kanji as Duke of Exeter, cousin to the queen; and Ryan Loach, Duke of York, cousin to the queen.
Nobility: Alex Hammond as Earl of Westmorland; Eugene Hyun as Earl of Warwick; Camille Paskind as Earl of Salisbury; and Alexandria Monte as Earl of Huntingdon.
The Clergy: Nathan Selinger as Archbishop of Canterbury and Lauryn Schmelzer as Bishop of Ely.
Conspirators: Alexandria Monte as Earl of Cambridge; Maddie Martin as Lord Scrope of Masham; and William Boersma as Sir Thomas Grey.
Friends of Sir John Falstaff: Natalie Aleman as Ancient Pistol; Christopher Khoshaba as Host, formerly Master Quickly, married to Pistol; Sebastijan Torgus as Lieutenant Bardolph; Joanna Vaklin as Corporal Nym; and Hannah Sahyouni as Girl.
Officers in the Queen’s Army: Lauryn Schmelzer as Erpingham; Sebastijan Torgus as Gower, an English captain; and Margaret Hensley as Fluellen, a Welsh captain.
Soldiers in the Queen’s Army: Kimberly Cortez as Joan Bates, a soldier; Jonathan Berg-Einhorn as Michael Williams, a soldier; and Alex Hammond as Herald.
The French:
Royalty: Yiorgos Giannetos as French King, Charles Vi; Carissa Yau as Queen Isabeau; Dylan Connelley as Louis the Dauphin, their son; Ryan Loach as Jean-Claude, their son; and Margaret Hensley as Alice, secretary.
Officers in the French Army: Cathleen Lee as Constable of France; Natalie Aleman as Duke of Burgundy; Sabina Dzelilovic as Duke of Bourbon; Nathan Selinger as Duke of Orléans; Kimberly Cortez as Duke of Berry; Christopher Khoshaba as Lord Rambures; and Sasha Goman as Grandpré.
Noah Zeidman as Montjoy the Herald; Eugene Hyun as Governor of Harfleur; Sabina Dzelilovic as Ambassador to England; Camille Paskind as French soldier, Madame le Fer; Sasha Goman as Messenger; Maddie Martin and Sabina Dzelilovic as Attendants; and Eugene Hyun as Henry IV.
Students’ ideas impact competition
Niles Township High School District 219 students participated in the Midwest Research Competition: Positive Impact on April 13 at Wheeling High School. This competition focused on showcasing original investigations designed and carried out by high school students. The overarching theme for the competition and conference was: How can high school students use their ideas to have a positive impact on the world around them?
Niles North High School student Ariella Hoffman-Peterson won first place for her research: How Does the Evolutionary Conserved Region Adjacent to the RALDH2 Gene Affect the Patterned Accumulation of Retinoic Acid in a Developing Zebrafish Embryo? The research focus was to better understand the RALDH2 Gene by looking at how ECR plays a role in its function, which has implications for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a number of cancers, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Niles North student Ayana Jamal earned second place for her research: Exogenous Retinoic Acid Supplements as a Novel Approach to Reduce the Negative Phenotypes of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Using a Zebrafish Model of Development. The focus of this research project was to determine if exogenous retinoic acid supplements could be used as a potential rescue treatment to reduce the negative effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Niles West High School student Michelle Kim received third place for her research “Investigating the Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine on the Dopaminergic Neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans.” According to Kim, oxidative stress is related to the cause of Parkinson’s disease so she used 6-hyroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to emulate Parkinson’s disease symptoms because 6-OHDA releases oxydative stress when it contacts oxygen molecules. She stated, “This dose-response curve will be able to create an effective concentration of 50 percent neuron loss (EC50) that will allow the pharmacology world an access to an animal model that new drug compounds for Parkinson’s disease treatments can be tested on.”
West news wins at national convention
Niles West News (NWN) won several awards at the Journalism Education Association (JEA)/National Scholastic Press Association National High School Journalism Convention held in Seattle on April 14. In the Online Pacemaker contest, which recognizes high school publication websites, NWN was awarded 10th place Best in Show in the Publication Website Large School category, ranking NWN among the top 15 in the nation. Entries were judged on content, design, writing and editing, breaking news and media.
In the Write-Off Competitions, the following students received individual awards: Nate Shapmann, Excellent, Sports Writing; Colene Gibson, Jackie Povitsky and Michelle Sproat, honorable mention, Online News Package; Morgan Gstalter, onorable mention, Review Writing; and Rebecca Yun, honorable mention, News Writing.
Ali Toth received a Gold Key from the Quill and Scroll Honor Society in the international writing and photography contest for her news story “Moment of Silence Not So Silent.”
The NWN faculty adviser is Evelyn Lauer. Go to the website at: www.nileswestnews.org.
West news receives CSPA silver crown
At the Awards Convocation for Scholastic Crown recipients held during the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s 88th annual convention, Niles West News was awarded a Silver Crown in the 2012 digital newspaper competition. Twenty-seven high schools and 19 colleges from across the nation were awarded with either a Gold or Silver Crown during the awards ceremonies. Evelyn Lauer is the adviser for Niles West News.
‘Raising teens’ on NTYC website
Niles Township parents who came out to the April 17 Raising Teens Town Hall Meeting at Niles North High School in Skokie learned about some of the social and emotional challenges facing young people and also went away with specific advice from local school administrators, community service agencies and law enforcement officials.
A video of the evening’s presentations and question-and-answer session is available at the Niles Township Youth Coalition website: www.nilestownshipyouth.org.
Niles Township High School District 219 Superintendent Nanciann Gatta opened the evening by presenting the results of the most recent social norms survey conducted among the students at Niles West, Niles North and Niles Central. The survey showed that area students’ usage of drugs and alcohol are below national norms. Dr. Gatta also shared information about how the high schools are encouraging students to make healthy lifestyle choices.
For more information, contact Rosamin Bhanpuri of District 219 at (847) 626-3959 or rosbha@d219.org.
O’Malley leaves for new job in Oswego
Paul O’ Malley, District 219’s assistant superintendent of Business Services, will be leaving the district to accept a position at Oswego Community School District 308. The Oswego Board of Education appointed O’Malley Assistant Superintendent of Business, effective July 1.
Students earn medals at Chinese contest
Eight Niles Township High School District 219 students earned medals at the fourth annual Midwest Chinese Teachers’ Association Speech Contest held April 21 at Northside College Prep High School. Students memorized and recited original speeches in Mandarin Chinese and were judged on fluency, content, delivery and pronunciation.
Results: Theo Beck, Niles West, silver medal in first-year non-heritage; Sarah Stauber, Niles North, silver medal in first-year non-heritage; Kris Trivedi, Niles West, gold medal in second-year non-heritage; Emily Khek, Niles North, silver medal in second-year non-heritage; Charis Guinto, Niles West, silver medal in third-year non-heritage; Emmie Asrow, Niles North, silver medal in fourth-year non-heritage; Mark Bibat, Niles West, gold medal in third-year non-heritage; and Cindy Hou, bronze medal in heritage.
District 219 Chinese language students are taught by Wileen Hsing and Yan Qian.
Student wins national travel award
Niles North High School junior Rima Parikh won the 2012 Junior Travel Award for her achievement on the National Spanish Examination and for her excellent skills in the Spanish language.
Parikh and the other 12 winners became eligible by earning a high score on the National Spanish Examination and then by their selection based on samples of their written and oral work in Spanish. Parikh will travel to Mexico with the other winners in July.
Parikh’s Spanish teachers at Niles North are Ana Rios-Murphy and Pam Benitez.
STEM students earn awards at Symposium
Niles North STEM Inquiry and Research students competed at the Percy Julian Symposium held April 21 at Oak Park-River Forest High School. Sophomore Ilma Lodhi won first place in the freshmen/sophomore division for her project “The Effect of Genistein and Daidzein on Apoptosis of Breast Cancer Cells.” Senior Ashley Thomas earned fourth place in the junior/senior division for “The Effect of a Temperature Gradient on Wound Regeneration in Planaria.” Both students earned a $100 prize.
