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District 219
Updated: June 18, 2012 8:14AM
Students earn awards at state
Students from Niles Township High School District 219 participated in the Illinois Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) State Leadership Meeting held April 19 through 21 in Springfield. The District 219 delegation was part of more than 1,500 students and advisors who attended the conference.
During the conference, many of the students participated in STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) and State Proficiency Events. Attendees also had the opportunity to listen to workshop presentations and the election of the 2012-13 Illinois Association of FCCLA State Officers also took place. Niles West and Niles North students earned four Most Outstanding awards, 15 Gold medals, 28 Silver medals and eight Bronze medals.
Students named National Delegates were: Ariel Tidhar, Niles North; Gabi Weinketz, Niles North; and Maria Fernandes, Niles North. Niles North students Jordan Kabins and David Barak placed in the top six in the state and are competing for the two National Delegate slots for STAR Culinary Arts.
The following students earned Most Outstanding (the highest level possible) awards: Niles North: Gabi Weinketz and Maria Fernandes, STAR Focus on Children Team; and Alexander Johnson, Food Production – Relish Tray. Niles West: Molly Morello, Pastry Arts - Fondant Cake.
Gold medals went to: Niles North: Lenny Veytsel, Pastry Arts – Fondant Cakes; Veronica Billedo, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; Jack Burke, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; Scott Elgazar, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; and Karoline Ross, Pastry Arts – Fondant Cakes.
Niles West: Zena Salam, Formal Wear Fashion Construction; Alexandrina Bits, STAR Fashion Construction; Aisha Badla, Child Care Provider; Colene Gibson and Patricia Mocarska, Preschool Literature Event; Lily Chatman, Preschool Lesson; Vanja Selak, Pastry Arts – Fondant Cakes; Laura Krikorian, Pastry Arts – Fondant Cakes; Aisha Usman, Pastry Arts - Decorated Cookie; and Sashoy Chambers, Food Production - Relish Tray.
Silver medals went to: Niles North: Ariel Tidhar, STAR Fashion Design; Trent Markland, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; Rachel Shaykin, Fashion Apparel Display; Jovaan Shaw, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; Colton Kaplin, Food Production — Salad Demonstration; Mady Taira, Pastry Arts — Fondant Cakes; Martyna Tos and Natasha Yousif, Children’s Literature Presentation; Amanda Ibraham and Deasia McCray, Children’s Literature Presentation; Pearl Kohler, Food Production — Salad Demonstration; Isabel Berkson, Pastry Arts — Fondant Cakes; Jack Cantin, Food Production — Salad Demonstration; Jordan Kabins, STAR Culinary Arts; Romeo Montiel, Food Production — Salad Demonstration and Kesha Chau, Food Production — Salad Demonstration.
Niles West: Alina Tariq, Formal Wear Fashion Construction; Joanna Kastrinakis, Semiformal Wear Fashion Construction; Angela Guinta, Formal Wear Fashion Construction; Brandi Fryer, Child Care Provider;
Katie Graves, Child Care Provider; Chrysanthe Agos, Preschool Literature Event; Moriah Gelfand, Preschool Literature Event; Jenny Marin and Kelly Sanks, Preschool Literature Event; Jackie Yablon, Pastry Arts - Frosted Cake; Jonah Barquez, Food Production - Salad Demonstration; and Chris Lee, Pastry Arts - Frosted Cake.
Bronze medals went to: Niles North: Brandon Rivera, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; David Barak, Food Production – Salad Demonstration; Melissa Ewart, Professional Career Image; Jolene Strauss, Brittany Ebeling and Katherine Betz, STAR Chapter Service Project Display Team; and Cryzlyn Domino and Sarah Hampton, STAR Chapter Showcase Display Team.
Niles North advisors are Julie Lear, Debora Meyer and Mike Swiatkiewicz and Niles West advisors are Michelle Kline, Kay Coughlin, Marilyn Stopek and Laura McCormack.
FCCLA is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and consumer Sciences Education. FCCLA has more than 220,000 members and nearly 7,000 chapters from 50 state associations and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The organization has involved more than ten million youth since its founding in 1945.
Spanish students earn exam medals
Students from Niles Township High School District 219 earned a total of 23 gold, 25 silver, three bronze and two honorable mentions on the 2012 National Spanish Examinations. The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in sixth through 12th grades and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
“Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with 143,641 students participating in 2012.”
Gold medals awarded to: North: Peter Goco, Daniel Kang, Noah Michael, Noah Zeidman, Sally Oh, Ashley D’Costa, Dianne Maglaque, Nathan Selinger, Lucy Yao, Stephanie Drucker, Phoebe Yeo, Robert Moss and Alfonso Fernandez. West: Sarah Chamness, Catherine Steegmueller, Daniel Thompson, Tracy Zawrazky, Sheryl Cherian, Charlotte Collins, Vinay Patel, Barbara Gawin, Kabya Bastola and Jeremy Sands.
Silver medals awarded to: North: Hannah Bader, Kelly Oh, Sarah Stauber, Daniel Sahyouni, Iris Schwartz, Shon Thomas, Ross Drucker, Arpeet Kamdar, Yuliya Yukhvdin, Anastasia Kim, Rima Parikh, Trinette Lopez and Liliana Lule. West: Marie Chemmachel, Josmi Joseph, Josni Joseph, Samantha Barnes, Nancy Ho, Charles Jacobs, Allison Mui, Divya Shah, Alison Stangel, Zofia Antonow, Vincent Kabat and Paul Kundzicz.
Bronze: North: Brad D’Costa, Maggi Kreisheh and Sumona Munshi. Monica Komorowski and Sergio Dorado from Niles West were awarded Honorable Mention recognition.
Students earn 26 awards at ISU
Niles Township High School District 219 STEM Inquiry and Research students competed at the 11th annual High School Research Symposium sponsored by the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology (CeMaST) on April 27 at Illinois State University. CeMaST promotes excellence in the teaching and learning of science, technology, and mathematics education at Illinois State University. The primary goal of CeMaST is to pursue and support projects and activities that seek to improve the teaching and learning of science, technology and mathematics.
Niles North captured the school trophy for the third consecutive year. District 219 students received 26 individual category awards and two special awards.
Category awards went to the following students: Ashley Thomas, Niles North, third place, Animal Sciences; Cheyenne Guy, Niles North, third place, Behavioral Sciences; Rupal Desai, Niles North, second place, Biochemistry; Ilma Lodhi, Niles North, first place, Cellular and Molecular Biology; Sheryl Cherian, Niles West, second place, Cellular and Molecular Biology; Julia Bentkowska, Niles North, third place, Cellular and Molecular Biology; Valerie Fung, Niles West, second place, Chemistry; Josh Lipschultz, Niles North, first place, Computer Sciences; Rudy Newman, Niles West, second place, Computer Sciences; Jourj Baghdisar, Niles North, first place, Earth and Planetary Sciences; Elan Ness-Cohn, Niles North, first place, Engineering; Sam Bearman, Niles North, second place, Engineering; Emre Erel, Niles North, third place, Engineering; Rachel Traisman, Niles West, first place, Environmental Science; Marc-Daniel Julien, Niles West, first place, Mathematics; Rishy Chacko, Niles West, second place, Mathematics; Ayana Jamal, Niles North, first place, Medicine and Health Sciences; Alexander Weiss, Niles North, second place, Medicine and Health Sciences; Micah Beller, Niles North, third place, Medicine and Health Sciences; Felix Angelov, Niles West, first place, Microbiology; Moshe Rubin, Niles North, third place, Microbiology; Reena Patel, Niles North, first place, Physics and Anatomy; Shahzmeen Hussain, Niles North, third place, Physics and Anatomy; Ariella Halevi, Niles West, first place, Plant Sciences; Eric Wolf-Klammer, Niles North, third place, Plant Sciences; and Nathaniel Lee, Niles West, first place, Product Sciences.
The Student Choice Award, given to the project that the students thought was the best overall, went to Felicia Phan of Niles West.
The Edison Perseverance Award went to Sam Bearman of Niles North.
Kathy Spreitzer to receive Skokie award
On Monday, June 4, Katherine Spreitzer will be presented with the Fine Arts Commission’s 2012 Skokie Award for Artistic Excellence at Skokie Village Hall. Her name will be listed on a perpetual plaque at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Center in Skokie. For over 30 years, Spreitzer has been a fixture in the Skokie community and at Niles West. Numerous students, staff, faculty and community members have been affected by Spreitzer’s artistry, whether it be as a band member, theater student, or play or concert-goer.
According to nominator Susan Phillips, the Niles West Music Parents Association President, “Mrs. Spreitzer has been very involved in the musical arts at Niles West in the visual arts at Niles West, Theatre 219, Fairview and the Skatium. Ask any Niles West student, alumni or faculty in the Fine Arts, or community members involved with Theatre 219 about Mrs. Spreitzer and they will tell you about a shirt they were proud to wear, a theater set that enhanced the show, or a beautiful program worth saving as a keepsake of a performance.”
Steve Katz, Niles West Orchestra Director, originally suggested Spreitzer as a nominee for the award. Phillips received help from Jennifer Pawlikowski, Spreitzer’s daughter, in assembling the nomination.
Interim Director of Fine Arts Mary Jo Papich said, “Kathy Spreitzer is not only talented and creative—she is selfless in the sharing of her incredible gifts. For over 30 years she has been active in the arts as a parent and professional in public education. Skokie is more arts-rich and arts-knowledgeable because of Kathy Spreitzer!”
Just a few of Spreitzer’s highlights over the last 30 years include: set designer for the ice shows at the Skatium; designing and sewing costumes and painting backdrops at Fairview; designing band logo, T-shirts and assisting the Niles West Band Director; painting sets for Niles West musicals and Theatre 219 community productions; creating wolf logo when the Niles West Indian mascot was retired; directing Pop n’ Rock pep band; secretary in Niles West Main Office; and administrative assistant to Director of Fine Arts.
Pawlikowski said, “We are so proud of my mom! All of her contributions to Skokie and the arts have brought so much pride to our family and joy to so many. This recognition is so well deserved and appreciated by my mom and her family. Thank you for honoring her and her exceptional talents.”
North qualify for National History Day competition
Junior and senior high school students from across Illinois have qualified to compete in the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest to be held June 10-14 in College Park, Md.
Students from Niles North High School, Skokie, were chosen during the annual Illinois History Expo held May 3 in Springfield. These students were chosen from more than 1,400 students from throughout the state.
“We’re very proud of these students for the way they researched and presented the past in new and innovative ways. We all wish them luck as they compete against students from across the country,” said Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) Acting Director Catherine Shannon.
The Illinois History Expo where the winning students were chosen is coordinated by the IHPA’s Student History Program in cooperation with the Chicago Metro History Education Center. Niles North High School students qualifying for National History Day include:
Lindsay Pietz and Karen Savella, “The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters: Equal Working Rights for All,” Senior Group Exhibit.
Zainab Khan, Michelle Scaunas and Yuliya Yuichvidin, “Reacting Against Nativism: The Lager Beer Riot of 1855,” Senior Group Documentary.
Kelly Oh and Margie Chubin, “Ben Reitman The Doctor Who Gave Societal Misfits a Purpose,” Senior Group Website.
Students gain insight into
workforce
Students from Niles North and Niles West High Schools recently had the opportunity to practice professional development skills through competitive interviewing, resume writing and career-oriented workshops while participating in an innovative program called, “JA You’re Hired!” The program, developed by Junior Achievement (JA) and presented by University of Phoenix Chicago Campus, brought together more than 130 students from nine Chicagoland high schools at the Chicago Marriot O’Hare.
During the “JA You’re Hired!” event, the students participated in a series of workshops and competitions that focused on professional competencies such as in-demand workforce skills, networking, social media dos and don’ts, interviewing and leadership.
“At JA, we aim to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to prepare for their future,” said Peter Truschke, vice president of suburban operations for Junior Achievement. “This event gives students a unique opportunity to gain invaluable lessons and perspective from networking with business professionals.”
The event also included an award ceremony for JA Company Program student participants. Each year, Junior Achievement of Chicago awards high school students who participated and competed in this flagship program, which challenges high school students to take on “officer” roles while running their own company. Local business professionals from more than 50 Chicago companies-- including those from the financial, education, technology, retail and business sectors, among others helped students develop and practice their networking skills.
“University of Phoenix has a long and proud history of partnering with Junior Achievement,” said University of Phoenix vice president of Illinois campuses, Michael Kaley. “It was an honor to join them in supporting Chicago-area students with this fun and educational event.”
