Students, teachers, and parents bring credit to the Schools

As the year comes to a close, we report on a flurry of accomplishments by students and teachers and thank parents for the many ways they volunteer to support school activities. Here is a look at some individual recognitions:

Student honors

National Merit Scholarship finalists are seniors Nora Becker, Sarah Craig, Samuel Gershman, Jessica Heyman, Jessica Hung, Olivia John, Terese Lantos, Nuala McCullagh, Hui (Bertha) Tang, and Benjamin Zimmer.

Karin Brummell, a senior, is a National Achievement Scholarship finalist.

The U-High team took first place overall and won many individual medals in the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering competition. Team captain Matt Lawlor was first in mathematics and third in computer science, Bertha Tang placed second in mathematics and computer science, Paolo Condenotti placed first in computer science and third in mathematics, Jackie Greaves was second in English, Rebecca Diamond was first in physics and chemistry, Michael Constantinides was second in physics and third in chemistry, Fei Sha was first in biology, Emily Hudson was third in English and biology, and Sophia Lee and Sara Constantin tied for second in biology.

U-High was well represented at the Science Careers in Search of Women Conference held in March at Argonne National Laboratory. Students attending were freshman Jessica Broniarczyk; sophomore Alice Easton; juniors Laurel Brehm, Robin Brehm, Hannah Schlessinger, and Rachel Strong; and seniors Denise Lopez, Lynae Maciel, Nuala McCullagh, and Shilpa Rupani.

Students who have qualified to participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Examination are freshman Jeffrey Kuan; sophomores Matt Barber and Andrew Hoffman; juniors Ben Charrow, Matt Lawlor, and Sophia Lee; seniors Michael Constantinides, Rebecca Diamond, Paolo Condenotti, Olivia John, Charles Long, John Oxtoby, and Natalie Vokes. Their scores were in the top five percent of students nationally who took the AMC-12 test. Kuan had the top school score and Diamond and Hoffman tied for second. Scoring over 100 on the AMC 10 test were freshman Samantha Meyer, and sophomores Zack Beatty, Kim Cho, Alice Easton, and Tim He.

For the second straight year, the U-High Model United Nations team was the winner of one of only two Best Delegation awards at the Harvard Model UN Conference. Representing Ireland, the students competed against 2,000 delegations from 200 schools. Individual awards for best delegate went to freshman Christin Aucunas, junior Jon Feder, and seniors Spencer Lazar, Ethan Stillman, Ryan Sturgill, Ryan Werder, and Ben Zimmer. Receiving honorable mentions were sophomore Catherine Derbes and senior Becky Levine. Other team members who helped contribute to the victory were sophomore Anthony Carlson, senior Jessica Heyman, and sophomore David Stern.

At the University of Chicago Model United Nations conference, these students were recognized as outstanding delegates: sophomores Anthony Carlson and Adam Wright and junior Derin McLeod. Receiving honorable mention commendations were freshmen Christin Aucunas, Alicia Beyer, Lisa Chan, and Pryanka Rupani; sophomores Robert Dellsy, Catherine Derbes, Alma Heckman, Emily Jordan, Rob Ross, Ainah Tan; juniors Jessica Laser and Maya Vinokour; and seniors Jessica Heyman and Ethan Stillman. Verbal Commendations went to freshman Priyanka Kanakamedala; sophomores Ang Ma, David Stern, and Steven Wittels; and seniors Andy Jeninga and Natalie Vokes.

At the National High School Model United Nations conference in New York, the Model UN team achieved the highest distinction, “Distinguished,” for the third consecutive year. The delegation representing Guyana received an Award of Merit, and the delegation representing Spain took home top honors. Seniors Nora Becker and Becky Levine were selected as a Delegation of Merit on the Security Council, said history teacher Earl Bell, who is the adviser for Model UN.

Senior Blake Friedman won first prize at the Society of American Musicians competition in the High School Division. He studies with Gisela Goettling, a retired Lab Schools music teacher.

Senior Jessica Hung, a violin and viola player, serves as Co-Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She has been a member of numerous other orchestras and has traveled with them to Europe. She has been a soloist at Grant Park and Mandel Hall and has won numerous musical awards. She presented solo performances of the Brahms Double Concerto with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra in March. As winner of the 2003 Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, she performed Mozart’s Concerto Number 5 with the orchestra in DeKalb in December.

Publications awards

Senior Benjamin Zimmer was named semifinalist in the 2003 Ernest Hemingway Writing Awards for High School Journalism, a contest sponsored by the Kansas City Star. He was cited in the news category for stories he wrote on security cameras and national trends in high school scheduling.

The National Scholastic Press Association has given the 2002 edition of the yearbook, U-Highlights, an All-American rating, its highest honor. It was named Best Overall Yearbook in competition sponsored by the Eastern Illinois School Press Association. The book’s photography editor was Claire Stewart. The editors in chief were Smitha Gandra and Neha Shah. All were members of the Class of 2002.

The U-High Midway received its 12th Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for issues published during the 2001-2002 school year. The recognition is a national record. Advisers for the publication are journalism teacher Wayne Brasler and photography teacher Liese Ricketts. Gold Circle honors went to senior Russell Kohn for editing and senior Laurent Varlet for artwork in a special insert on the September 11 terrorists attacks.

Students were also recognized in the Quill and Scroll Society’s annual International Writing and Photo Contest. Photography editor Tess Lantos, a senior, was a national winner in the news features photography division. Book critic Sam Gershman, a senior, was a national winner in the review category.

The 2002 Renaissance was one of seven high school magazines nationwide to receive a Pacemaker award, the highest honor given by the National Scholastic Press Association. It was the ninth time the magazine has received the award. Advisers were foreign language teacher Steven Farver, music department chair Dominic Piane, and art teacher Brian Wildeman.

Foreign language news

On March 19 and 20, fourth-grade Spanish students presented their play Los Eventos deportivos del año (A Year in Sports) in Gerstley Auditorium. The students performed skits and commercials. “A special thanks to Lee Gustafson, Lab parent and music teacher, who made video copies of the play for parents wanting a memoir of the event,” said Becky Lopes, Lower School Spanish teacher.

Fifth-grade students celebrated Foreign Language Day on April 11. Spanish students spent the day with teachers Becky Lopes and Angelica Guerro and parent volunteers in a series of activities that included a snack of churros and milk, and completing a poncho designed with Aztec symbols. The group had lunch in the Little Village neighborhood and visited shops where they had an opportunity to use their Spanish skills. “Muchos gracias a los paderes”: Leslie Armstrong, Rebecca Carlisle, Mumtaz Champsi, Lorna Davis, Ann Dreaganich, learning consultant Susan Eisenberg, Susan Glick, Rajendra Goswami, Nancy Halbeck, Catherine Harth, Vinitha Raghavan, Sandra Reynolds, Emilie Schrage, Stephen Small, Cathy Solomon, and Grace Tsiang.

Fifth-grade French students took part in workshops on French art and French noises. They dressed in French costumes and performed French folk dances from France, Canada, and Haiti, said teacher Catherine Collet, then had lunch at a French restaurant, La Sardine, where the owner greeted them in French and students ordered a three-course meal in French. “It was an ‘oo la la’ experience for all of us,” Collet said.

In February, French exchange students visited Lab. They were hosted by juniors Alexis Maule, Laura Oxtoby, Becky Rogers, and Rachel Strong, and senior Nuala McCullagh.

In April, German exchange students visited Lab. Students hosting the visitors were freshmen Samantha Meyer, Sonia Roberts, and Ana Wagener-Sobrero; sophomores Catherine Derbes, Emily Gunty, John Kuo, Ray Padgett, Madeleine Shapiro, Hannah Shaw, and Steve Wittels; and senior Julia Halpern.

Among the 22 students who took the National German Examination, twelve scored 91 percent or higher. They were sophomores John Kuo, Julie Joseph, Raymond Padgett, Madeleine Shapiro, and Steven Wittels; juniors Amy Aschliman, Daniel Babai, Susan Carlson, and Margaret Murray; and seniors, Benjamin Bohlman, Nicole Rosner, and Lloyd Sullivan.

Sports news

Senior Luke Schleusener was the sectional champion in the 200 free style swimming competition. His time, 1:53:10, set a new school record. He also set a new 100-butterfly record for the school at the meet: 56.61.

Senior Rebecca Diamond broke the U-High Indoor Track record for shot put with a throw of 30’2”. She was also named to the all-state honorable mention academic team from the IHSA. She is the U-High State representative.

The varsity Girls Volleyball and Girls Basketball teams both won the academic achievement IHSA award.

By advancing to the sectional basketball finals of the state athletic association, senior Michael Chandler tied a U-High record for most successful U-High three-point shooter.

The girls’ indoor track team finished the season with a win over Lincoln Park, Immaculate Conception, Chicago Christian, North Shore Country Day School, and Ridgewood. Several members of the team set personal records. Sophomore Oriana Nudo was second with a personal record in the 3,200 meter. The 4 x 800 meter relay team of sophomores Caroline Robertson, Ilana Rotmensch, Hannah Shaw, and Ainah Tan placed first and ran a personal record time as well. Freshman Sam Meyer finished fifth with a personal record in the 200 meter. The 4 x 200 meter relay team of freshmen Sam Meyer and Ria Tobaccowala, sophomore Danielle Goldman, and junior Ashanta Brady set a personal record and finished fourth. In the 800 meter, U-High swept first through fifth places with Hannah Shaw, sophomore Katie Beal, freshman Ana Wagener-Sobrero, sophomore Ashley Fahey, and junior Laurel Brehm all scoring points. Freshman Sara Constantin set a personal record and freshman Corey Biller ran her first 800-meter in a blistering time of 3:10. In the 1600 meter, U-High made a sweep with the first, third, and fourth places by sophomores Caroline Robertson, Ilana Rotmensh, and Anna Clement. Sophomore Danielle Morse placed third in the 400-meter. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Katie Beal, Ashley Fahey, Hannah Shaw, and Ria Tobaccowala placed fourth with a team personal record.

Faculty and staff recognition

Stanford University has given Teacher Tribute awards to two Lab faculty members, based on nominations from students who are now Stanford freshman. The teachers are guidance counselor Robert Banchand, who was nominated by Shelly Carr; and journalism teacher Wayne Brasler, who was nominated by Shilpa Gulati.

Karen Malhiot, fourth-grade teacher, has been awarded a Fulbright-Hayes Summer Seminar Abroad Grant to travel to Thailand and Vietnam. Her fourth-grade class has been collaborating all year with students overseas. As part of their collaboration they have built a pen pal relationship with a private school in Greece called Stavraki Elementary School in Glyfada, which is near Athens.

Cindy Shelhart, receptionist in Blaine 103, has published her third book for harpists, Tunes to Go: 400 Tunes in Lead Sheet Format for the Harp. She will also present a workshop at “HarpCon 2003,” the upcoming national conference of the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen in Bloomington, Indiana, in July. Her workshop will be “Make Mine a Double: Beginning Strategies for Double-Strung Harp.”

History teacher Charles Branham is co-author and editor of Great African Americans, a book that includes 132 biographies. It is an expanded second edition of an earlier work, Profiles of Great African Americans, which contained 96 biographies.

Community building

Fifth graders raised $1,492 from a bake sale to benefit Heifer International. They thank administrators, faculty, staff, and students who participated and enjoyed the homemade goodies.

Junior Tomell DeSilva, president of the U-High UNICEF Club, said that 900 books were donated to Chicago area agencies as a result of a drive in honor of the late Mattye Nelson, a librarian who was the club adviser.

Parents, students, and faculty ran a Fantasy Baseball raffle as part of Connections, which raised $1,700 for science lab renovations. Parent Tim Holmes proposed the idea and sophomores Andrew Beatus, Ben Hanessian, and Jack Miner, all students from teacher Rosa McCullagh’s Discrete Mathematics class, volunteered to help. Holmes provided lists of players with scores according to their performance in last year’s baseball season. The students selected subsets of players and created computer files for each position. They used statistical software to randomly select 1,200 teams. Marty Billingsley, Computer Department Chair, designed and printed tickets for the teams, which were sold at Connections. The students kept track of the tickets that were sold and determined a winner and runner-up.

More than 70 people took part in the Fourth Annual 3-on-3 Benefit Basketball Tournament, which raised more than $1,000 for the Mary V. Williams Student Resource Fund. Winners in the Men’s Division were: Arne Duncan, ’82, Eric Kurby, ’78, and John Rogers, ’76; in the women’s division: Karen DeBruin, Evalyn Gates, Cathy Mardinkens, and Linda Young; and in the Mixed Division: Chanel Coney, Javon Coney, Ben Hanessian, and Jamilah Wool.

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