More giving acts inside, pages 10-11

Students and staff help those in need Responding to tragedy

Illinois State Scholars: ‘Best and brightest’

Doing something, anything to show Sandy Hook we care

By Serlecia Jones

Everyone responded to the Sandy Hook school massacre with sadness, and many felt helpless wondering what they could do.

“I felt devastated,” freshman Savannah Lugo said. “I want to have everyone buy a balloon and set them free at a certain time.”

Gina Szulkowski’s Art 1 class responded by making cards and writing messages to make the people of Newtown feel better. It was a painful thing to some of the students, but in the end it helped because they did something productive and creative.

20 children among the dead

By Koya Scott

On the morning of Friday, December 14, 2012, 20-year old Adam Lanza went on a killing rampage in Newtown, CT. First

he shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, multiple times in the head, then he blasted his way into Sandy Hook elementary school, killing 20 innocent chil-dren and 6 staff members with a high-power rifle.

The massacre might even have been worse, Governor Dannel Malloy said. Lanza shot himself as first responders entered the building. He had “lots of ammo” on him when he died, enough to carry out significant additional carnage, a law enforcement official said.

“We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders com-ing and apparently at that, decided to take his own life,” Malloy said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Locks of love

Submitted by Tamara Jabour, counselor

We have eight Illinois

State Scholars for the Class of 2013. The state determines Illi-nois State Schol-ars based on results from the PSAE and the students GPA. Even though there is no mon-etary award, this honor is given to the best and the brightest stu-dents throughout the state.

Art I students Jayline Mitias and Norma Carrillo made sympathy cards to send to the families of the shooting victims in Newtown, Connecticut. More cards on Page 10.

Continued on Page 10

Top row: Judy Czahor, Jennifer Czahor, Saul Zamora Bottom row: Iriz Ilumin, Nohemi Colin, Fanny Reyes

Not pictured: Jorge Orduno, Brandon Steppan

Ms. Szulkowski said that “our school and their school have something similar — the school color.”

With 20 of the victims being children it was a devastating moment.

“It’s awful what happened,” senior Jesse Fa-jardo said. “I felt bad because I have a nephew that is the same age as them.”•

Being an Illinois State Scholar looks great on a resume, college application and can help when applying for vari-

ous scholarships. When you see these students, please congratulate and “high five” them!•

Steinmetz grad, Star benefactor Hugh Hefner weds Crystal Harris

10 studentsadvance to

regional science fair, Page 4

Susana Garcia and Kassandra Garcia post condolences written by students and staff.

By Nathalie Ortiz

Many little angels will never open their eyes again; they won’t get a chance to open their gifts under the trees.

Their parents are devastated and hurt by the fact they’ve lost their gifts. A child is the most precious thing to a parent.

“This tragedy hit all of us hard,” librarian Bernie Eshoo said.

She helped coordinate a school-wide re-sponse. Students and staff wrote their con-

dolences and prayers on paper candles, which were displayed in the hall. Many wrote names of their own family members or friends who passed away. Students also signed a poster pledging peace.

Many thanks to all who helped. •

Playboy editor-in-chief and Steinmetz graduate (1944) Hugh Hefner married Crystal Harris on New Years Eve.

Since his last visit to Steinmetz in 2010, Mr. Hefner has donated $30,000, and pledged another $20,000, to the Star for equipment and printing.

“I know how important a regularly pub-lished school paper can be for all the students,” he wrote in a January 2011 letter.

When he was a student, Mr. Hefner re-ported stories for the Star and yearbook (and was also involved in drama, student council, choir and track). When he visited in 2010 he told students that he loved his high school days.

“This is where the dreams began,” he said.•

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Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris visited Steinmetz in October, 2010.

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Steinmetz StarVolume 78, Number 3, January 2013

Blood Drive

Fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Serving the children with books and the joy of reading

Happy New Year from Mr. Ngo

By Brandon Robinson & Anyssa Rodriguez

Principal Stephen Ngo welcomed Star reporters on December 14 to show us part of his duties and re-

sponsibilities. He is very busy so we were fortunate that he was able to pencil us into his very packed schedule.

First thing in the morning we intro-duced ourselves and met in his office filled with a big couch, big conference table, large screen to project computer images, artwork, photos, and stacks of paperwork.

We had planned to shadow Mr. Ngo for the day, but after 30 minutes things became too hectic and he had to cut it short.

He told us about his main concerns — attendance, making sure the students are really learning from their teachers, and being hands on with everyone.

“The best thing about Steinmetz is our students,” he said.

He talked about student choices. “When you’re walking into Steinmetz

it’s like a grocery store,” he said. “You have the good food and the bad food and it’s all up to you to make that right decision.”

Mr. Ngo told us he reviews teacher lessons plans for the week, giving teachers feedback to make their teaching more effective. He showed us examples of plans sub-mitted by teachers (with names omitted) that were effective and one that was off topic.

He said he focuses on helping teachers do a great job in the class so that students can understand and grasp the concepts more easily.

Mr. Ngo goes through a lot of paperwork. Email is a big chal-lenge; he gets 40-60 messages a day which can be hard to keep up with.

“I don’t let my stress stop me from doing my my job,” he said

While Mr. Ngo likes being in-volved in all aspects of the school, he said he can’t do it all alone.

“Being a leader and delegating means I have to trust the decisions of my admin-istrative team,” Mr. Ngo said.•

Principal’s concerns include student choices and teacher lesson plans

Greetings Stein-metz Family,

It’s hard to believe that half of the school year is already gone. So many great things have happened: B96 welcomed us all back to school, we all attended the BMX Anti-Smoking show, our varsity football team performed well in the play-offs, and we reached Level 2 on the CPS performance policy. I am person-ally excited to have our varsity boys basketball team play Schurz High School at the United Center on January 25th.

I hope all of you have enjoyed the winter vacation by doing things that you enjoy. We are making great progress academically and in our extra-curricular endeavors.

With that in mind, I want us to con-

tinue pushing forward. If we maintain our Level 2 status this year, we will be off probation. So here’s what we need to do: Freshmen and Sophomores, do your best to pass your classes, Juniors, get prepared to take the PSAE, and Seniors, make sure you fill out your FAFSA and college ap-plications.

The faculty and staff at Steinmetz will

continue providing all students with a quality education.

We believe in you! I can only hope that the second semester will be as successful as the first semester. On behalf of myself, and the entire Steinmetz College Prep ad-ministration, have a Happy New Year!

Sincerely, Stephen J. Ngo, principal •

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By Latanya McSwine, teacher

I could talk to you about the

economy and the advan-tages of being adequately prepared with the skills to meet the demands to run today’s corporations and create tomorrow’s.

I could talk to you about personal fi-nances and the benefits of having the skills that allow you to demand a top salary.

I won’t, I’ll show you instead.

Learn to program, create your own games, create a business concept or control a robot. Control your own future — sign up for Computer Science.•

2 Steinmetz Star January 2013

2Steinmetz

StarSteinmetz College Prep High School

3030 N. Mobile, Chicago IL 60641

773-534-3030, Star office (x) 25241

Email: steinmetzstarnews@gmail.com

School website: www.steinmetzac.com

(“Steinmetz Newspaper” link)

Principal: Mr. Stephen Ngo Assistant principals: Mr. Jaime Jaramillo Ms. Cheryl Williams Ms. Ruquiyah Rahman-Aquil Star adviser: Ms. Sharon Schmidt

Co-editors in chief: Jennie Czahor and Judy Czahor

Editing Team: Michael Amaya, Moriah Belt, Amanda Gidney, Anthony Guerrero, Katarzyna Jalowiec, Celimar Lopez, Rebecca Romanenko

Journalism class reporters, Room 3331st period: Michael Amaya, Moriah Belt, Breonn Bland, Makennzee Curran, Brit-tany Garcia, Jennifer Garcia, Jisel Garcia, Lechele Glispie, Arneshia Harris, Ser-lecia Jones, Anthony Lagunas, Elizabeth Martinez, Alejandra Pacheco, Emanuel Pazmino, Phillip Quezada, Abraham Roa, Heiddy Rodas, Anyssa Rodriguez, Alan Salazar, Andrea Silva, London Vasquez, Aracely Ventura, Kyle Williams 5th period: Steven Abanto, Denzel Brown, Taylah Brown, Lexus Castro, La’Keva Duncan, Jonathan Eustaquio, Iriz Gar-cia, Amanda Gidney, Victoria Gonzalez, Esther Grimaldo, Anthony Guerrero, Joc-elyn Laguer, Lathea Lee, Matthew Maggit, Dominic Masciopinto, Nakita McCaa, Ivelise Mercado, Norjoria Pratt, Ricky Rico, Brandon Robinson, Govani Rosales, Daniela Vargas, Esther Velazquez 8th period: Selene Acosta, Brenda Blanco, Norma Carrillo, Katie Christ, David Cruz, Judith Czahor, Luis Diaz, Jackueline Flores, Estefani Garcia, Julian Hemingway, Katarzyna Jalowiec, Celimar Lopez, Luis Lopez, Erik Martinez, Jose Martinez, Lisette Mendez, Cathy Meraz, Leticia Mombela, Lissette Monterroso, Ja-mie Muro, Nathalie Ortiz, Jesus Ramirez, Julian Rice, Sergio Rodriguez, Rebecca Romanenko, Johann Sanchez, Anthony Shanks, Vanessa Solis, Kandace Warren

Newspaper club reporters: Mariceli Cadena, Joanna Colin, Jennie Czahor, Kala Geralds, Alejandro Her-nandez, Trae Johnson, Ameerae Lunjas, Tridaya McGee, Justin Martinez, Michael Newson, Maria Sanchez, Koya Scott, Shem Stasik, Stefanie Stelmach, Andres Suarez, Justyna Szczech, Quijna Walton, Jalan Veal, Saul Zamora

The Newspaper Club meets on Thursdays after school in Room 333.

The Steinmetz Star welcomes letters to the editor, corrections, comments, and bylined articles from all members of the Steinmetz community.

Printing: Mr. Hugh Hefner’s October 2012 donation pays for printing the Steinmetz Star at Newsweb Corporation, Chicago. •

Principal’s Message

CorrectionsGirls Cross Country We misidentified the varsity girls cross country team award win-

ners in the Nov.-Dec. 2012 issue of the Steinmetz Star.

We should have printed Most Valuable Runner:

Giselle Jimenez.

BathroomsWe omitted a word when quot-

ing engineer Charlie Wrenn. We should have written that the

custodians do not do major cleaning of the bathrooms

during the day.

The Star staff regrets the errors.

Please continue to let us know when you see our mistakes. We make corrections to the online PDF version of the paper. See

“Newspaper Link” atwww.steinmetzac.com•

Principal Stephen Ngo fills out a condolence candle for the wall of peace display.

Principal Stephen Ngo, with B96 radio personality Errick Brown, students and staff on Tuesday, Sept. 4 , the first day of the 2012-2013 school year

Sign up for computer science and build your future

What can you do to make a positive change?

“This year I would like to change my attitude. I’ll do what I have to do, go to sleep early, and get haircuts more often.”

Carlos Geovany Cruz, freshman

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“I want to change how we all live by recycling and going green because our environment is dirty and we’re going to end up like Wall – E.”

Valeria Huerta, sophomore

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“I would change the world by stop think-ing about myself so much and start thinking about others.”

Asia Davis, senior

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“Be more healthy. I would like to see every-one unified here. Go Streaks!”

Ruquiyah Rahman-Aquil, assistant principal

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“Be kind to as many people as I can, and tell them to do the same so it’s like a chain reaction or pay it forward.”

Jason Cathey, senior

“Say one positive thing to a person everyday.”Nolan McKinney, security

“Be more responsible and take senior year more seriously. After graduation, people are not telling you what to do; you’re on your own. I would like to help my family out and be home more often. Even though there’s tension around the house, I have to stay close to them and make sure they know I have their backs.”

Victor Navarro, senior

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“I could be a better role model — be more civi-lized in the hallways instead of being rowdy.”

Taj Newson, freshman

Bullying Bites clubJoin us for our next meeting, Jan. 23, in Room 601. See sopho-more Husna Afzal or Ms. Zulma Rivera for more information.

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 3

Star Opinion 3

Letters

Write to the Star editorsAnyone in the Steinmetz community is welcome to send a letter to the Star

regarding any issue.Email us: SteinmetzStarNews@gmail.com. •

December, 2012I would like inform our commu-

nity of a situation we face, the issue with invasive species. Invasive species are organisms that are well adaptable to a wide range of environments and they can out compete; outbreed and drive out the native organisms in the area.

You might not think this is im-portant, however when it comes to unwanted damage to personal prop-erty or food and water shortages, you would have wished that you had helped out to prevent invasive species from taking over your area.

Organisms like the European rab-bit (like the ones around the school campus), European Starlings damage crops that farmers produce and this affect us because the farmer’s produce is eaten by us. Since these organisms damage the harvest this leads us into a food shortage.

Zebra mussels clog water pipes and create problems with water transporta-tion which in turn creates economic problems.

The reason for this piece of news is to inform people about the problems that are created by invasive species. Knowing this simple fact can help us regulate and prevent invasive species from taking over habitats, endanger-

ing native organisms and causing problems for ourselves.

Some helpful tips: When boating or fishing make sure to check your equipment before and after your trip to make sure there isn’t an un-wanted organism imbedded in your possessions. People considering pets — choose your pets wisely and care for them properly. Don’t set your pets loose where they can damage the eco-system in your area.

If an invasive species is spotted in your area and the organism is danger-ous do not attempt to move it just call for proper authorities for removal.

Remember, we are the primary cause of why these invasive species are introduced to foreign habitats in the first place. Because of our careless actions we have allowed the release of these organisms so now we must help fix the problem.

Sincerely, Anna Szczech, senior

Help fix problem of invasive species

Love to all from Hef

More online

We have more photo opinion interviews, more stories, and

more pictures in our “Web Extra” pages in the online version of the Star.

See the “Steinmetz Newspaper” link on the school website and

look for our expanded version of the Star.

www.steinmetzac.com. •

JROTC color guard joins Gov. Quinn on Christmas

10 advance to regional science fair

Drill team takes 3rd in city competition

By Cathy Meraz

Steinmetz is filled with many inspir-ing teachers who

can relate to the students and who are there if you need them. One teacher who has never failed me is Sergeant Billy Hill.

He’s not just an ordi-nary teacher. He’s like a father to me, always look-ing out for me and making sure I’m doing well in my classes and getting there on time.

“He’s a good teacher,” Vanessa Solis said. “He’s honest and he answers your questions directly.”

He’s a great role model in JROTC. “Sergeant Hill is a bad a__ sergeant,” Erik

Martinez said. “He knows what’s right and teaches us to be strong.”

He has taught me to take leadership, believe in myself and never ever give up on something

that I want. Having him as an ROTC instructor has opened my eyes to do well.

“He’s a good inspiration to seniors,” Celimar Lopez said. “He’s always on top of us, making sure we are go-ing down the right path.”

He’s a very inspiring person with lots of stories to tell. I believe that every-one should get to know him. If you don’t know him stop by the JROTC room and say hello, he will

love — that he’s friendly. “Sergeant Hill was one of my favorite teach-

ers because he understood every kid in the class,” senior Julian Rice said.

Sergeant, thanks for being a role model for me and caring for me through these years. I will take all you have taught us and use it in the real world after graduation. I will make you proud and become the young independent lady you taught me to be. •

Submitted by Sgt. Billy Hill

Gov. Pat Quinn says the men and women who volunteer to serve in the military deserve the nation’s gratitude on Christ-

mas Day and every day.Quinn had Christmas lunch in Berwyn on

December 25 with service members from the Great Lakes Naval Academy. Many of the re-cruits were spending their first Christmas away from their families.

Quinn called them “the best of the best.” He says it was inspiring to see hundreds of young people who’ve volunteered to serve their coun-try.

It was the seventh year that community groups in Berwyn have organized the event. Steinmetz JROTC provided the color guard detain for this event this year.

Quinn has attended every year except in 2011, when it conflicted with his annual trip to visit injured service members at a military hospital in Germany. •

By Justin Martinez

The drill team won third place at the city-wide Drill and Color Guard competition

at Carver Military Academy on December 9.

Through hard work and many days of practice the team did well. This is a lesson for all of the under-classmen that hard work pays off. Specail thanks for all the dedicated cadets for their practices.

JROTC Upcoming events:January 26: Freshman Drill

Competition at Harlan High School

January 18 and 25, 0700 Hours: Meetings to plan Military

By Vanessa Solis

The JROTC fall recognition ceremony was

held on November 14 in the auditorium instead of out on the front campus because of the cold. It’s done every year to recognize special achievement and to ensure all cadets have

Molly Filipowicz Tyler Lutz, Daniel TchinibekovCintia Garcia, Brenda Escalante

Adrianna Latuszek, Alicia UrquizoMarisol Bernardino, Kienna Bariso

Andriy Suden

JROTC fall ceremony

JROTC instructors are great role models

uniforms.Cadets were recognized and awarded

for their achievements. Vitaliy Yavorskyy was given a special award for repelling at summer camp.

Several parents of JROTC students attended as well as school staff. Principal Stephen Ngo was given a picture the of Pearl Harbor Memorial, which now hangs in the main entrance.

JROTC has benefited many students.“I have been in JROTC for three year

and it has given me motivation,” senior Leslie Rivera said. “It has helped me be more responsible academically.”

“JROTC has made me more respon-sible with my kids and family,” senior Eve-line Garcia said. “It has made me more mature and a better citizen.”

“JROTC has helped me stay out of trouble,” senior Anna Jawor said. “It made me more responsible and motivated. Be-cause of it I have accomplished a lot.”

JROTC Student Chain of Command and Staff

Battalion Commander:COL. CZYGANOWExecutive Officer: LCOL. MIRANDACommand Sergeant Major: CSM MOSCOL Sergeant Major:SGM DELGADOS-1 (Personnel and Administration)MAJ LOPEZS-2 (Intelligence and Security)MAJ PORTILLOS-3 (Operations)MAJ COLINS-4 (Logistics)MAJ PENAS-5 (Plans)MAJ MARTINEZDrill Team Leader1LT RODRIGUEZLTC MIRANDA•

Sophomores and freshmen competed in the school science fair held in December. The ten Middle Years Programme (MYP) students shown above will compete in the regional sci-ence fair on January 25 at Northeastern University•

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Sgt. Billy Hill, Cathy Meraz

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Teaching is easy(for 1 day)

English language learners can overcome barriers, offer extraordinary skills

Teacher spotlight: Vanessa CarterReady to settle down in the U.S.

By Jocelyn Laguer

Spanish teacher Zulma Rivera’s students became

teachers for a day at Mary Lyon school on December 14 through Junior Achievement, a program that helps prepare students by showing them differ-ent job opportunities.

Ms. Rivera coordi-nates this program ev-ery winter and spring.

By Trae Johnson

English teacher Vanessa Carter is a new addition to the staff this year. She’s traveled to many

places, and just came from teaching in Kuwait where she worked at the American Bilingual School, a private school for Kuwaiti students.

Ms. Carter teaches sophomores and IB juniors. Whenever you see her, she’s always in high spirits. Walk into the 600 mods during a passing period, and you’ll see her outside her classroom door, happy as ever, greeting everyone that walks past.

She is also a very kind person.What made you decide to come

to the U.S?I missed my family. I was tired of

traveling and was ready to settle down.

Is teaching in Chicago different from teaching in Kuwait?

Yes, because in Kuwait the boys and girls were in different campuses once they hit 6th grade, so I either taught a class of girls or boys. I taught 7th - 10th grade.

What do you miss about Kuwait?

I miss being able to travel when-ever I wanted. Kuwait is a central country, so I could get to many other countries much cheaper than if I was to travel from the U.S.

I traveled throughout the Mid-dle East: Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, Lebanon, and Jordan. I also went to Spain, Sri Lanka, and China.

Do you prefer teaching in Ku-wait or Chicago?

I prefer my job here in Chicago. My classroom at Steinmetz is much

more diverse, and I think that makes class more interesting.

If you could go back to Kuwait, would you?

I would go back only to see my stu-dents. I would not want to live there again. •

By Luis D. Diaz

The room is still quiet as first pe-riod runs. It re-

minds me of my first day of school at an American school, three years ago as a sophomore. It´s quiet as the thoughts of every stu-dent in that time asked themselves why their fates changed so drasti-cally.

Everyone is looking at me as I entered the room. They love to talk, but show resistance to my camera. What is so special about them is that they are the senior bilingual class, graduating this year from the only place they have known since they came to the U.S. The majority of them arrived a few years ago in their freshman year without speaking fluent English and without knowing a single thing about the American system of education. I was in the same situation, except I arrived a year later.

Many seniors worry about their prom dresses, their heart relationships, or the de-sign of the new senior hoodies. Bilingual kids are not so enthusiastic about these things. They had to start a new life with little time to learn everything that other people already know, living all their lives here. Since they came to the U.S., they have experienced very hard situations and the only place they know to identify themselves is their high school and their friends.

“English language learners contribute a lot to the diversity of our school,” said teacher Yuridia Espinoza, the head of the bilingual department since Stephen Ngo became prin-cipal of Steinmetz.

“They are very intelligent students and it is a pleasure to work with them because they tell you things that enrich your experiences at school.”

However, in five more months the ex-perience is going to disappear for them as they walk away to the real life. They feel very enthusiastic about being in the program at this time, but few know where are go after graduation. While some said they are ready to start filling out their applications to Wright

College, others have little knowledge on how the system works or feel that they just can’t succeed after high school. These students are seriously thinking in returning to their coun-tries of origin to study without the tremendous pressure that money means after your senior year in the states.

People may know that the English language learners go through very harsh experiences and need double effort to stand as the regular students at the school. But the greatest stories are still lost when we don’t think where these students are going after life at Steinmetz.

To understand how they are going to suc-ceed in college we must first analyze how well they are doing in high school. Many have ignored the fact that extracurricular activities were important in applying for college, they don’t know about advanced classes and the importance of them for college, and few of them are researching and investing time in scholarships.

At Steinmetz, all bilingual students take bilingual classes in English, math, history and science. Other subjects aren’t available to them because there are not many teachers available for the program. That means students don’t have the opportunity to learn subjects in their own language. The most common languages at the bilingual program are Spanish and Polish, but students came from all parts of the world,

such as Russia, Mongolia, Korea, Philippines, and the Ukraine.

“It is difficult to offer bilingual classes in all classes because it is hard to find teachers that speak these language,” Ms. Espinoza said. Schools are also constrained by budget formu-las imposed by the state and city.

Many seniors are still struggling to plan for after high school. In the class of ESL IV, six out of eight students think to pursue a profes-sional degree, many of them in community colleges. Many seniors said that the bilingual program should emphasize teaching students for the ACT, as happens for the regular kids in their junior year.

“The test is hard, but at the end you have to take it, being bilingual or not,” one student said.

Many think that if the school wants any se-nior to go on to college, it should start prepar-ing them beginning freshman year, especially the bilingual students.

“There is a difference with the stuff you learn in regular classes and the bilingual,” said Maria Landowska, a senior who switched from bilingual classes to honors and AP classes in her junior year to learn new stuff and practice her English. Her counselor encouraged her to take this choice, but she didn’t know what to expect. It was a smart decision. Today, she’s still in the bilingual program, but has learned

a lot more about the language and college in her regular classes. Maria said she is very confident about go-ing to college this year.

“You can speak in Polish in your bilingual classes and the teachers are very nice, but the regular and honors classes have taught me dif-ferent things about the experience of be-ing in high school,” Maria said. “I´m not

afraid of my English now.” I remained in the bilingual program only

a year after I came to the U.S. Then I moved to regular, honors and AP classes to challenge myself and show other people the importance of enriching our education throughout our ex-perience in high school and being unafraid of achieving things that other people never tried.

I know that in college I will still have troubles with many things, but starting early is the key to show that the dreams that we have in our new country can be achieved with effort and hope. Bilingual students who go to college have another challenge in their lives, but if they never tried before is a good thing to start thinking that your goals can be done with perseverance.

If you are a student that sees bilingual as “bad” consider two times the things they go through in their lives to be where they are now.

“There is a lot of misconception in Stein-metz about the bilingual students,” Ms. Es-pinoza said. “Don’t treat less the kids who don’t know English, but encourage them to be included in our society and learn from them and from their culture.”

They come from different backgrounds from all over the world, and their experiences convince them of a better future. Being a bi-lingual students is a very worthwhile experi-ence for the new arrivals to the ones currently enrolled in the IB. They have had very little time in the U.S., but what they have known through life is a lot and their courage will take them beyond the line to succeed in college if they and their school put interest in the future of their education. Good luck class of 2013!•

“When we as a society do a really bad job teaching foreign languages, it is costing us when it comes to being competitive

in a global marketplace.” — President Barack Obama

Sophomore Amber Ares and I were partners, teach-ing first graders. It was an amazing experience for me.

I enjoyed working with the little kids who were lovable and funny.

Continued on Page 6

Vanessa Carter

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 5

Star News 5

Bilingual English IV students Josue Chavez, Erick Panfilo, Jennifer Jimenez,Govani Rosales, David Cruz, Michael Cordon

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Jocelyn Laguer, Regina Baggett

Teachers for a day

Working to become better fathers

Teen mom puts daughter first, receives help from many to create a good future

By Elizabeth Martinez

Inever imagined myself being a teenage mother, no one does, but things are not always planned. I’m a senior and a mother to my beautiful daughter who was born January 13, 2012.

I’ve been a mother for one year now and it went by so fast. I remember how I struggled the first week to get used

to feedings at all times, changing diapers, and burping her. Now I’m getting used to following her around all the time and watching what she does. She’s crawling and tries to grab everything.

Being a mother is a hard job, and being a teen mom is even harder because I’m not on my own two feet yet. I have to juggle school, homework, and watching Abigail. But even though I am young I feel like I’m just as good a mother like other women. I am responsible for watching my daughter, and handling other things going on in my life.

I have learned to grow up more and put her before me. Instead of stuff for me I always go to the store to buy her clothes, formula, baby water, wipes, toys and Gerbers. Instead of going out with friends, I hang out with my Abigail.

When I’m in school not a minute goes by that I’m not thinking about her. I’m always wondering what she’s doing or if she’s up or not. When I’m at school Abigail’s grandmother takes care of her.

She’s what inspires me to do good. I keep up with all my school work so I don’t get bad grades. I want to walk across

the stage for graduation and have her waiting in the audito-rium. I want her to be proud that I never gave up on school and I still want to go further in my education. I don’t want

her growing up and feeling bad because I had her so young. Having a baby changed my life. I’m still the same person

but instead of being a regular teenager, I’m a teen mother. I love my daughter so much. She’s my whole world. I

thank my parents for helping me and always being there. At first they were really upset with me but once they saw my daughter for the first time they fell in love with her.

I thank my boyfriend, Abigail’s father, Jesus Alvarez for being there every step of the way. He goes to doctor’s appoint-ments, buys her what she needs, and is always there to help me with our daughter.

I also thank my teachers from my junior year. Mr. Oh and Mr. Bagdonas always asked how I was doing and gave me advice. Other teachers have also asked me about Abigail. My homebound teacher, Mr. Borges, came to my house everyday to give me my homework. He was a nice teacher who helped me stay on track for school.

At school I received help from Mentoring Moms, which is a group that is for teen mothers or girls who are pregnant. We talk about our babies and learn more about how to take care of of them. Lots of teen mothers are in there and it’s nice to have someone you can relate to. The girls are really nice. We all talk about stories of our kids and show pictures to each other.

Mentoring Moms is facilitated by Martha Rubio, through the Metropolitan Family Services. Girls can ask their counselors for a referral. •

By Nakita McCaa

Many teen fathers are overlooked in today’s society. Many people believe that all teen fathers are

deadbeat dads or just don’t claim their kids. The Star interviewed Ronnie Sanders,

who’s a very loving father and takes care of his 1-year-old daughter Shaniah. He does not fall under the category of deadbeat fa-thers.

How does it feel to be a father?It feels like a big responsibility and I feel

that I have to change a lot of things.What’s your favorite thing about being

a father?Going out with my daughter and seeing

her smile.Did you want to be a father at such a

young age?No, it was all unexpected.What’s the hardest part about being

a father?

The hardest part is trying to keep a good relationship with her mother so I will be able to see her.

What’s your favorite thing to do with your daughter?

Watch Spongebob.When do you see your daughter?Wednesdays and weekends. •

By Lexus Castro

Counselor Deono Powell has just created a group for teen dads in high school. The group meets every Thursday dur-

ing 6th period. It is focusing on how to be a responsible dad.

Mr. Powell will be helping young dads on “interpersonal skills, career development, and parenting skills,” he said.

Mr. Powell made this group because he is a father himself and wants to help others in the same situation. He wants young men to start thinking about job concerns.

“Financial skills and school responsibility choices can affect the teen and also the child,” Mr. Powell said.

The group is designed to assist young men

with tools and resources needed to become a good parent. Mr. Powell also touches the topic of how young men don’t have fathers of their own.

“Some of these young men come from families where dads are not in their lives,” Mr. Powell said. “It takes two to play the role of parents.”

Mr. Powell wants to make sure the teen dads play a role in the child’s development as they grow older. Overall, the group will benefit young men by giving them necessary skills in life.

Senior Jovan Shelby joined the group be-cause he will be a dad in four months.

“The group will help me become a better father,” Jovan said. “I’m going to be in my child’s life.” •

Elizabeth Martinez and her daughter Abigail

Counselor Deono Powell and Jovan Shelby

Ronnie Sanders with daughter Shaniah

At first we were so nervous. but once we got the teaching going on, it was extremely easy. The first grade teacher helped us. She told us to tell the students that the day was just like any other day and that we were in charge and that they still had to obey the rules in the classroom.

Once we went over the rules we taught a lesson about families and how important they’re to us.

“The children asked a lot of questions,” Amber said. “Some of them acted up a little, but other than that the class went well. As it got closer to the time for us to leave, I told them it was a pleasure to meet them and passed out their certificates. For me, this was a good experience because I had never done anything like that before, but I liked it and learned a lot.”

Other students agreed that Junior Achievement is terrific experience.

“It was a good program and it was a lot of fun,” sophomore Joshua Medrano said.

“I liked how smart they were,” sophomore Koya Scott said. “My students were kind and cooperative.”

Senior Paul Santana also said it was fun to work with young children: “I loved it, the little munchkin-type kids.” •

Moriah Belt contributed to this story

Continued from Page 5

FAFSA Workshop Dates

Tuesday, Jan. 22: 12 - 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23: 3 - 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30: 12 - 4 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 2: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7: 12 - 4 p.m.

Drama Club to begin work on

spring playRehearsals will begin the week of January 28. Students will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thurs-days. See teacher Lynda Meunier.

Danille Stencel, Samantha Ayala, Koya Scott

6 Steinmetz Star January 2013

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Is Steinmetz really the ‘Best in the West’?Transfer students compare schools

LSC student rep work good for outspoken

Student Voice Committe

By Jennie Czahor

Ivy McSwine, who transferred from Morgan Park, said she sees a “great advantage” here — the college and career center. She said at

Morgan Park the students procrastinated. Ivy said she wants to go to Clark, Atlanta, a Historically Black College to study fashion design.

Ivy has had to deal with two differences: the uniform policy and the “regular” calendar. At Morgan Park the students didn’t have to wear a uniform and they were on “Track E,” a school year schedule beginning early in August that includes several weeks off during the year (that Ivy doesn’t get now that she is here.)

She is in the IB program, just like she was at Morgan Park. She said she feels comfortable with

By Jackueline Flores

The major difference between Waukegan High School, where I attended until this year, and Stein-

metz is the uniform policy. Waukegan does not require one.

Another difference is the lunch food. The food here is disgusting: The nacho cheese is stuck on a stale chip, and the spicy sandwich is mostly pink inside. Waukegan didn’t have the best food, but compared to here I know people would rather have it. At Waukegan there’s a sub and nacho bar in addition to hot lunch.

Bathrooms here are often dirty with toilet paper all over the floor. At WHS there are multiple janitors that must keep all bathrooms clean. Our bathrooms there were cleaned every period. No one could go to the bathroom the first 10 minutes of each period for that reason.

In Waukegan High School we had a study hall class in our schedule that gave us a credit.

Another way you could earn a credit in Waukegan is by being an ambassador. “Ambassadors” worked a whole class pe-riod helping secretaries in the office or teachers with what they need. You had the opportunity to have your own ID to be in the hallways and not be in trouble for that certain period.

Lastly, my old school did not toler-ate tardies. If you were caught in the hallways right after the bell rings, you had to go to the Processing Area. In the Processing Area they scan your ID and it will give you a warning if it’s your first tardy. They give you a warning, a second warning, and the third time you get a tardy you get a Saturday School. If you keep receiving more tardies there will be more consequences.

I noticed that here at Steinmetz they seem to let people slide, and it’s some-thing new and nice to come across after attending a strict school. •

Jackueline Flores, seniorIvy McSwine, senior

By Vikki Gonzalez

Had I known what being on the Local School Council (LSC) con-sisted of when I ran for student

representative last year, I might have backed out.

It’s a great opportunity, but because I’m involved with so many other extra curricular activities in the school it can be overwhelming.

The meetings have definitely showed me how stressful it is to stay in school for 13 hours straight. It’s like I’m at school all day and then when I come back the next morning it feels like I never left.

The LSC meets on the first Wednes-day of every month, beginning at 6:30 and going until 8:30 p.m. Different peo-ple representing different groups share their reports: Principal, LSC chair, who is a parent, teacher, community member, and student.

The LSC deals with budget issues. Paul Chase, the school budget director,

comes to the meetings to present infor-mation and answer questions.

Sometimes teachers or parents sign up to speak about issues that concern them. Students can do this, too. Or, they could tell me what concerns them and I could include that in my report.

Being at these meetings, I have learned some of the inner workings of our school, which definitely prepares me for my fu-ture with work. Being the student rep-resentative feels like a big responsibility. A new level of expectation arises from both your peers and the authorities in the school.

Sometimes it feels too much for me to handle, but sometimes it’s pretty chill. Where else can you tell a group of adults in this school that they’re wrong? It gets frustrating to see the LSC members work out their different issues.

The LSC does provide dinner for meeting nights — Jimmy Johns or pizza.•

By Jonathan Eustaquio

The student voice committee is a club to discuss the problems in the school. The program gets together on Thursdays at

3:20 in Room 303. Join the Student Voice Com-mittee and let your voice be heard.

“I like that I can stay after school with some of my close friends and have a teacher we can trust,” junior Gabriela Pineda said.

The sponsor is Alex Gonzalez, who started teaching social studies here last year. He is also familiar with this school because he was a student here. That means he knows how things ran here when he attended and he also knows things about this school that some of us don’t know.

In this program we get to do fun activities like drawing our perfect community, and consider-ing what words are used to describe this perfect community.

We also do things that helps everybody get to know each other.

People from the club also go on field trips to large meetings with other schools. People that went said it was fun and very entertaining.

Club members get to meet new people, make new friends and discuss how problems could be solved.

Club members speak their minds about what they think about Steinmetz and try to change things around.

“We would like the school to be cleaner and safer,” junior Kimberly Leon said.•

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the teachers and students.“I feel a vibe here with the teachers,” she said.

“It’s hard to be a new student in the middle of the year, but I feel welcome. I love Ms. Mark. I just got here and she’s really supportive.”

Ivy said she has had positive interactions with students.

“I’m surprised I get compliments when walk-ing through the halls,” she said.

The Star asked if Ivy thought people treated her better because her mom Latanya McSwine is a teacher here.

“Maybe they do out of respect,” she said. “At the same time, I feel these people are genuinely nice and are respectful towards what’s put in front of them.”

The Star asked if her mom had embarrassed her.

“No,” she said. “But if I were an underclass-men, everything would be embarrassing.”

Finally, we asked what everyone is asking her.“Everyone asks me how tall I am,” she said.

“I’m 5’9 and ¾; about 6 ft. in heels. I usually wear 3 or 4 inch heels.” •

Jahari Jones

By Sergio Rodriguez & Johann Sanchez

While a few students who have transferred here call the school “lame” or “ratchet,” two seniors

(both on the basketball team) said they like it.

Jason Cathey moved here from Killeen, Texas. His school was near a military base with most of the students from military families.The school was bigger, more disciplined, and sports were very important. He said that if a student was in a sport his gym class was a class in that sport.

“I miss my friends,” he said. “But it’s easy to get involved in things here.”

Jahari Jones attended high school in De-cauter, Illinois, and in Chicago at Michelle

Clark High School before transferring to Steinmetz. He said Decauter stressed sports and had a separate lunch room for the foot-ball players.

Michelle Clark is a nearly 100 percent African American, he said. He said that it was better academically, but had more fighting than Steinmetz.

“It’s cool here,” he said. “I’m happy wher-ever.”•

Jason Cathey

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 7

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Roldan: ‘Valentine’s Day will be next uniform-free day (if 90 % attendance)’

How do you smell?

By Alejandra pacheco

As an incentive for good attendance in the month of December (a typically rough month) students were told if the

school achieved 90 percent attendance they could have three days of uniform-free days.

The percent for the month of December was 85.5 percent, which was very close and the the highest rate of attendance for the month, attendance director Renalto Roldan said. So students were given two days without the uni-form requirement as a reward.

“I just hope people enjoy these two days without uniform and if they keep the atten-dance rate up they’ll be more days like these,” Mr. Roldan said.

Students were relieved to wear whatever they wanted on Thursday, December 20 and Friday, December 21.

“It’s a good idea,” senior Unique Macklin said. “We should do it more often.”

For the past ten years the trend is to wear uniforms, so Steinmetz is just going with the trend, Roldan said.

“It shows that we have discipline and or-der,” he said. “Some kids don’t have the money, but by wearing what everyone else wears they fit in.”

However, many students don’t want to look like everyone else. Without uniforms “we can express ourselves better,” senior Amaira Joiner said.•

By Iriz Garcia

One of many important things about a person is their smell. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a friend

or boyfriend, someone who smells good is attractive.

What are the favorite colognes and per-fumes at Steinmetz?

“I use a variety of colognes but the one that I’m using right now is Calvin Klein 360 Perry Ellise,” junior Emmanuel Sobier said.

“I use True Religion,” junior Edward Smith said.

Yet there are some that don’t use cologne or perfume. They prefer to stay natural.

“I use El Natural cologne,” teacher Charles Cave said.•8 Steinmetz Star January 2013

8 Star Fashion Star Fashion

By Govani Rosales

Seniors have started planning the prom theme. They have been discussing possible themes at the

senior events meetings. The one that many students like is the masquerade theme.

The other options for the prom themes are Starry Night, Glow in the Dark, All the Lights, Under the Sea, Candy Land, and Zombies.

“I think that, the prom theme should be masquerade because is a good idea,” senior Shery Lopez said. “The school had never done a prom like this.”

Last year seniors got “A Night in Paris.”

“I like the Underwater theme be-cause that’s new to me and I don’t like the other ones,” senior Jennifer Jimenez said.

All seniors can come out with more themes for the prom but those are the ones the we have talked about at the senior meet-ings.

“We should not do Zombies because that’s not pretty for a prom,” senior Maria Landowska said. “I think Candy Land is better because who doesn’t like candy?”

Oscar Reyna, Krystal Haro, Josue Chavez, David Cruz and others said they’d like to be the first ones to have a Masquerade prom. Seniors can vote in Febru-ary.

“I’m not sure what day it will be, but I’m thinking that is going to be the first meeting in Febru-ary,” senior adviser Robin Russo said. “And I’m still taking sug-gestions for the prom theme.” •

Shoes show interests, attitudes, friends, and cash flow By Norma Carrillo & Anthony Lagunas

Shoes tell us about personality. They’re the great-est, whether high-top basketball shoes, skate shoes, zebra print, solid flat, Vans, Nikes, Toms,

Timberlands, Jordans, Converse, Puma, or whatever.

UGGS: “They’re comfortable,” freshman Kienna Bariso said. “I like the gray color, the button on the side, and they’re furry!” — Vivian Palma Heels: “They go with my style, like skinny jeans,” senior Williams Perez said. “I

love really tall heels, 5-inch heels.”

Masquerade, Candy Land, Under the Sea, Zombies?

Prom theme to be decided in Feb.

What’s hot?

By Denzel Brown & Esther Velazquez

Hot:Ilseh Torres: Hair has to

be done, nails have to be done, and shoes have to be match-ing.

Nakita Mccaa: Heels with the spike on the bottom.

Jenny Garcia: When girls wear cute scarves.

Taylah Brown: I think that the combat boots are hot.

Selene Acosta: Good smelling perfume and cute accessories.

Amanda Gidney: Animal print boots.

Denzel Brown: When people wear their boots and when girls wear Uggs.

What’s not?

Not:Nakita McCaa: I don’t

like pencil skirts. Kassandra Mercado: When

people wear those foxtails on their clothes and body.

Taylah Brown: I don’t like people wearing bonnets.

Ilseh Torres: Too many bright colors that don’t match our school uniform.

Denzel Brown: I dont think it’s cute when girls wear the same weave for months.•

Govani Rosales and Emily Balbuena braved the cold, joining seniors and events coordinator Robin Russo at Milleneum Park for ice skating on January 4. Other senior events this season included bowling over winter break and decorating for the holiday season (see page 14).

Converse: “I’ve got six pairs,” senior Michelle Banda said. “They’re comfortable and simple, but nice. I like simple shoes.”

“They go with anything,” senior Melissa Lopez said.

“They’re the style right now,” freshman Anahi Reyes said, “I like the color and the way they look.”

“I love Converse, they are my favorite kind of shoes,” junior Maria Luna said.

“They’re comfortable and easy to twerk in,” senior Stephanie Giron said.

“I like how they look, they look good with skinny jeans,” junior Aida Abarca said. “I like the designs and colors.” •

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 9

Star Fashion Star Fashion 9

Many involved in school-wide fundraisers

Rest in peace, children of Newtown

By Alejandro Hernandez & Kandace Warren

Students and staff raised $1,152 for Leukemia and Lymphoma cancer research in the annual fundraiser

organized by counselor Tania Mounji. Leukemia is a type of cancer of the

blood. It also is a part of a bigger disease affecting the blood, bone marrow, and lymphoid system.

Money was raised in several ways. Holiday cards, created by student art-ists, were sold for $1 each. School com-munity members were encouraged to donate money. Many students and staff participated in incentive events.

Teacher Iriz Dominguez pledged to jump rope according to how much money was donated.

On December 19 she skipped rope for 30 minutes, 4,000 jumps.

Teacher Stefanos Apostolopoulos allowed himself to be duct taped to the gym wall by anyone willing to pay $1.

Twenty members of the Streaks basketball teams (all three levels) pledged to shave their head if $500 was donated.

On December 19, coaches and administrators joined them for a mass haircut. Students Pedro Angon, Alex Gonzalez, and Alberto Graciani worked the razors.

“I think that it is for a good cause even though I was reluc-tant at first,” freshman basketball player Fernando Sandoval said. “I thought about it and the kids who got this disease didn’t want lose their hair, so I shouldn’t care if I lose my hair.”

The fundraiser and haircuts serve as a reminder that life is truly precious. Plenty of people in this school know someone who has been affected by this disease or cancer in general so they know how important the research is. I [Alejandro] lost my aunt several years ago to cancer.

We encourage anyone to donate any money they have, whether it is a $1 or $100, anything will help out. Cancer is has been a deadly disease for hundreds of years, so any op-portunity for it be gone should not be wasted.

In the words of the legendary college hoops coach Jim Valvano, who died almost 20 years ago of bone cancer, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” •

A gift of loveBy Amanda Gidney

Ariel Perez cut his hair on Decem-ber 19 to donate

to Locks of Love. The question puz-

zling his fellow Streaks is why he did it.

“I donated my hair,” Ariel said, “just to give someone a gift for the holidays.” •

Sympathy cards by Eduardo Hernandez and Anna Sica

Fundraising for animal rights

Dozens of students and staff members participated in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Many donated money, others had their heads shaved, skipped rope, and were taped to the wall with duct tape (“Stuck for a Buck”) to spur on more donations. Above: Pedro Diaz, teacher Iriz Dominguez and teacher Stephanos Apostolopolus.

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By Jalan Veal

The animal rights club is selling stuffed dog and

cat toys to raise money to help animals through donations to the Anti-Cruelty Society. The money may be used to buy prefabricated houses for dogs with no homes, and also to help against dog fighting and cruelty.

“I want students to

learn how to treat animals and to be kind to them,” club sponsor Barbara Slanec said. “Being involved with the club might also help kids consider careers that deal with animals.”

The club will continue selling the stuffed animals through February. They make excellent Valentine’s Day gifts. The cost is $10.•

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Star News10

Some of those killed died heroes. FIrst-grade teacher Victoria Soto heard the gunshots and instantly went into action by shielding her students. According to accounts posted on Facebook, when she first heard the gunshots she hid her students in the closets and cabinets located in the room. When the gunman came, Soto convinced him her students were in gym class. The gunman killed Soto and moved on, but none of Soto’s students were harmed.

Other teachers risked their lives to save the children. Kaitlin Rois locked her students in the bathroom and kept them safe. Maryrose Kristopik barricaded her music students in a closet, while the gunman fought to get in.

Lanza killed principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach who tried to stop him when he entered the build-ing. In addition to Ms. Soto, he killed three other teachers: Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, and Rachel Davino.

On December 17, 6-year-old Noah Pozner and 6-year-old Jack Pinto were the first victims set to rest.

Jack was a major New York Gaints fan and loved sports. He was buried in a number 80 Cruz jersey. Noah had a twin sister in a dif-ferent class. He was given a traditional Jewish funeral with a simple brown wooden box with the Star of David laying across it.

Noah’s mother delivered this message at the service:

The sky is crying, and the flags are at half-mast. It is a sad, sad day. But it is also your day, Noah, my little man. I will miss your forceful and purposeful little steps stomping through our house. I will miss your perpetual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the envy of any lady in this room.

Most of all, I will miss your visions of your future. You wanted to be a doctor, a soldier, a taco factory manager. It was your favorite food, and no doubt you wanted to ensure that the world kept producing tacos.

You were a little boy whose life force had all the gravitational pull of a celestial body. You

were light and love, mischief and pranks. You adored your family with every fiber of your 6-year-old being. We are all of us elevated in our humanity by having known you. A little maverick, who didn’t always want to do his schoolwork or clean up his toys, when practic-ing his ninja moves or Super Mario on the Wii seemed far more important.

Noah, you will not pass through this way again. I can only believe that you were planted on Earth to bloom in heaven. Take flight, my boy. Soar. You now have the wings you always wanted. Go to that peaceful valley that we will all one day come to know. I will join you someday. Not today. I still have lots of mommy love to give to Danielle, Michael, Sophia and Arielle.

Until then, your melody will linger in our hearts forever. Momma loves you, little man.

In the end the victims of this day will never be forgotten for either their heroic ges-tures or their innocent faces. We just have to hope and believe that they rest in peace.

Names of the children who were victims of the Newtown shootings:

Charlotte Bacon, 6Daniel Barden, 7Olivia Engel, 6 Josephine Gay, 7 Ana Marquez-Greene, 6 Dylan Hockley, 6

Madeleine Hsu, 6 Catherine Hubbard, 6 Chase Kowalski, 7 Jesse Lewis, 6 James Mattioli, 6 Grace McDonnell, 7 Emilie Parker, 6 Jack Pinto, 6 Noah Pozner, 6 Caroline Previdi, 6 Jessica Rekos, 6 Avielle Richman, 6 Benjamin Wheeler, 6 Allison Wyatt, 6[Sources for this report include Facebook,

New York Times, Huffington Post, and Sub-stance.] •

The animal rights club, sponsored by teacher Barbara Slanec, will con-tinue selling stuffed dog and cat toys in Room 305 after school.

Ariel Perez

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JROTC food drive

Staff spotlight: Tania Moumji Counselor loves working with kids

Freshmen serve Head

Start children

Counselors Perla Ocampo, Katelyn Michalik, and Tania Moumji (6th from the right) started the Girls Group last year which orga-nized STI testing for seniors in May 2012 and for juniors and seniors in October 2012.

By Lathea Lee

Counselor Tania Moumji takes the time to talk to you and give you ad-vice. She doesn’t judge you, she tells

you if you’re right or wrong, and also she doesn’t bite her tongue if she feels she has to tell you something.

She is my favorite counselor in the world. I appreciate the fact that she takes the time out to talk to me and help me when I need it. She encourages me to do well when I am ready to give up.

Ms. Moumji puts up with me even when I get on her nerves. She is always there for

me, so I know she will be there for others also.

I asked her a few questions about her career.

How long have you been a counselor? I have been a counselor for seven years.

Before I worked in the school I did indi-vidual and family therapy for two years.

What made you want to be a coun-selor?

When I did my first internship at Rush Hospital, I asked my supervisor what I had to do to become great at my job. She said to get a counseling degree so I did.

Do you see yourself being a counselor forever?

Yes, I see myself being a counselor in some capacity. This is my passion. I truly enjoy working with children.

Why do you like being a counselor? I love being a counselor because I love

working with students. Everyday is a dif-ferent challenge.

Before you became a counselor did you have any experience with children?

Yes, I’ve worked with other children for the past thirteen years. I started working with children professionally since the age of 22. •

Submitted by Victoria Serritella, teacher

Freshmen in Tara Scolire’s and Victoria Ser-ritella’s reading classes served the children of the Resurrection Procare Head Start

Program facility in Bellwood on December 19. Prior to their visit, students had created ABC

flip charts to be donated to the program. The creation of the flip charts was a reader response activity that coincided with events in the novelThe Book Thief, which Reading Workshop students are currently reading.

Students earned service learning hours by cre-ating and donating the flip charts to the program. It would not have been possible to donate the charts without the help of teacher Mike Edwards and his class, who laminated them so they would be durable and hold up in the hands of little children.

Special thanks also goes to staff members Ren-alto Roldan and Emily Holley for helping to plan and facilitate the trip.

During their visit to the facility, Steinmetz students presented the ABC charts to the students in the program. The age range of the children in the program is 2 to 5 years old.

After presenting the charts, Steinmetz students were paired up with the Head Start students for buddy reading.

The students had to opportunity to engage the children in various educational activities through-out the visit. All the students, the teenagers and the youngsters, had a great time and benefitted from the visit.

Several freshmen spoke to the Star about the trip to the preschool.

“I liked working with little kids,” Paris Glispie said.

“They were so cute,” Karina Sanchez said.“It was nice to share our time with the kids,”

Nathali Rebolledo said.“It was nice seeing them learning, ” Miguel

Ocampo said.“It was fun helping kids who needed help,”

Linet Zamora, freshman“We spent time with them and they actually

learned,” Enrique Sanchez said.All the students said they’d do it again if they

could.•Alan Salazar contributed to this story.

Hundreds give blood to save livesBy phillip Quezada & Julian Rice

Students who gave blood on December 18 were first screened by Lifesource workers. Participants needed to be

healthy, with acceptable iron levels, a mini-mum weight, and no piercings.

Then they had to overcome their fear.Some students arrived with bravery while

other students cried, experienced dizziness, or even fainted. To help them they had wa-ter, vitamin-water, graham crackers, pea-nut butter crackers pretzels, popcorn and cookies.

“I wasn’t frightened about giving blood because I drank a lot of water and ate be-fore I got into the seat,” junior Anthony Lagunas said.

The many benefits of giving blood at school include skipping class, getting a “Savin’ Lives Like a Super Hero” t-shirt,

and receiving six service learning hours.The most important benefit is helping

others.“Great job for participating in the blood

drive,” said teacher Paul Bagdonas, who organizes the event every December and

in the spring. “We had the highest number of accepted

blood at 224 units. Thank you for giving of yourselves during this holiday season to help others in need.”•

Serving at churchBy Erik Martinez

I am a teacher at St. Cyril, 5744 W. Diversey Ave. I try

my best to work well with all my students, those younger, the same age or even older than me. Along with others, I teach the confirmation class.

We are a small church, but a good com-munity. Everyone I know from the church has helped me so much. I’ve been here since I was nine. I also know about six students from Steinmetz who come to St. Cyril. Our website is http://www.cmpncc.org.

I get along with my teachers and my priest, Father Adam. He does a really great job in taking care of the church. We recently had a priest retire half a year ago.

“The best thing I like to do is join the open-minded conversations about things that happen in the world,” said Francisco

Bolanos, 16. “Our own questions can be answered and will get us to talk more because we were all usually quiet and our teachers knows how to put things with more explanation.”

One of the younger students in

the church explained how she feels about being part of the community.

“I feel happy about this church,” 11-year-old Esmeralda said. “Everyone here is nice, especially the Father and the teachers. The place is clean. All the students here learn about everything the teachers tell them. The parents think it’s very good education in the church.

“I’m an altar servant. It’s fun helping even during the mass time. You get to meet the Father and spend a lot of time learning about things used in the mass. There’s also a choir in the church. It’s great. You feel great about being in it.”•

By Justin Martinez

Major Wendy Portillo, senior, and her assistants collected 2,287 cans of

food in the JROTC annual canned food drive, October 13 through December 11.

SFC Phillip Yangas’ first period students received a pizza party for their contribution.

St. Cyprian’s Ecumenical Food Pantry received the donation.

Continued on Page 14

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Dartameon Plain

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High school romance can lead to lasting marriage

By Andres Suarez

The prequel to the amazing Lord of the Rings series has finally come. It is the story of

Bilbo Baggins and his travels to the dwarf city to reclaim it from a furi-ous dragon known as Smaug.

The dragon has stolen the city and all its gold from the dwarves. During the travel to the city there are many side stories that told of the king’s adventures and struggles, one of which was about the pale orc, the king’s greatest enemy who was defeated but had returned to kill the king.

By Ivelisse Mercado

Many people say that love won’t last or you can never find real love at such a young age but

I sure believe that’s not true. I am cur-rently with my boyfriend Christopher Alarcon, whom I am soon to be engaged to. It is already two years that we’ve been together, and I’m sure we’ll be together forever.

Chris is one year older than me; he graduated from Foreman High School in 2012. The crazy part about it is that we’ve known each other since we were babies. His mother and my mother grew up together and were best friends even before Chris and I were born. To think we would fall in love in our teen years was crazy for them, but they did say they talked about it.

When we were younger Chris moved to Florida with some of his family for about two years and then came back. We’ve always kept in touch through the phone with his mom, who I have such a great relationship with, and then we planned to meet and hang out just like we did when we were kids.

Chris started coming to my volleyball games and church. During junior year I joined the marathon team which met every Saturday. I ran at the lakefront with other schools that also participated in the training and he was in it too (from Foreman High School) so we made it a routine to wake up every Saturday at 5 a.m. to run and we got closer. One day

we realized that we’ve always liked each other and decided to take it a step further.

It feels like it’s a small world because, in addition to our moms being friends, our grandparents are friends. My grandparents and his play dominoes every Saturday at my grandparents’ house. So now that we’re together, it’s one big happy family.

Teen romances can work out to be lasting marriages. Chris’ uncle and aunt were high school love puppies. His aunt Yesenia and his uncle Robert have now been mar-

ried for 20 years. They always knew each other from church since they were children. When they got older all the ladies wanted to be with Robert and many men were after Yesenia as well but it came to pass that they loved each other. They got engaged during her senior year when she was 18 years old and today they have three children, one is in their teen years and the other is growing up. Great news came recently that she became pregnant and now has a newborn who is nine months named Dara Joy Gomez.

Today they tell me and Chris their love stories and encour-age us to stay strong because they went through the same trials that we are going through, with rumors of cheating as well as trying to get money to plan a wedding.

But anything is possible and love will always find a way.•

By Ricky Ricos

The TV show “One Piece” is an anime adaptation of the One Piece manga. The story follows

a boy named Monkey D. Luffy in a world that is full of pirates.

Luffy is a pirate who set out to sea with the goals of becoming the King of the Pirates and putting to-gether the best pirate crew. But he accidently ate a Devil’s Fruit that made his body rubber. In exchange for the abilities that a Devil’s Fruit gives the consumer, it curses them by taking their ability to swim. This is an ironic development because pirates are always out at sea.

In order to become the Pirate King, Luffy is searching for the leg-endary treasure, the one piece, which was a hidden by the previous Pirate King, Gol D Roger, on a sea known as the Grand Line.

“One Piece” is great. It’s full of ad-venture and action, with moments of sadness that make the viewers feel for

the characters. Eiichiro Oda created an awesome world with a great story.

Senior Ihor Omelyan watches “One Piece” because “it’s cool and it’s interesting.”

Senior Eric Albino said he likes “One Piece” because “it was the first anime I ever watched and it’s just fun to watch.”

Luffy is always seen wearing his straw hat that was given to him by Red-Haired Shanks of the Red Hair Pirates.

Luffy’s pirate crew is known as the straw hat pirates. His crew is made up of nine members. Luffy is the cap-tain, Roronoa Zoro is the swordsman, Nami is the navigator, Usopp is the sharpshooter, Sanji is the cook, Tony Chopper is the doctor, Nico Robin is the archeologists, Franky is the ship-wright, and Brook is the musician.

The show is nearing 600 episodes, but still running strong. Every week you’re left eager for the next epi-sode.•

By Kasia Jalowiec

The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien is an adven-turous book. It begins

with Bilbo, the hobbit, who is approached by a wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves to go on a adventure to fight against a dragon and capture a treasure.

It is funny because since there are 13 dwarves they wanted one more someone to travel with them so they don’t have bad luck.

Bilbo finds a little cold ring while being captured by goblins. When he puts it on, he disappears and manages to escape to join his compa-

ny. Bilbo did not say anything about the ring at first, he let the dwarves and Gandalf think he was brave and smart in his own way.

I enjoy reading “The Hob-bit” during my free time. It’s a nice way of relaxing and let-ting my mind flow along with the characters’ adventures. The author wrote this tale in a way that makes the reader want to be at that place and time, where beautiful high moun-tains hide secrets and unknown roads are yet to be discovered.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy/ fic-tion books. I plan on finish-ing the book before I see the movie. •

Ask Mandee

By “Mandee”

Dear Mandee, Most times when I go to my locker there is a

couple talking. They are in my way. What’s a nice way to get them to move? Sincerely, Locker Craze

Dear Locker Craze,Being polite can only work so long because you won’t be

getting your point across. There is one solution guaranteed to work: Make it awkward and be the weird person because no one will stick around the crazy person’s locker. Seriously, just make your presence known and hopefully the people will move. Yours, Mandee

Dear Mandee, Ever since the start of the year I’ve been worried about the ACT. Now there are classes for help, but I don’t know if I should take them or am I just overreacting. What do I do? Sincerely, Needing Knowledge

Dear Needing Knowledge, Maybe you are overthinking it. Stop being worried. It’s

just a test so treat it like one. But use what is at your disposal, nothing bad could come from this class. Also, the class is free. If there’s one life lesson you should follow — don’t turn down anything that’s free. All my best, Mandee•

Must-see movie

Pirate king quest

“It’s a great story,” junior Michael Amaya said. “It’s visually appealing, but lengthy.”

The movie is a must-see, rated by many with Four Stars. “The Hobbit” is one of the best in the series. •

Excellent fantasy fiction

12 Steinmetz Star January 2013

Star Arts & Entertainment12

Chris Alarcon, a Foreman 2012 graduate, and Ivelisse Mercado, senior

Must-see movie

When your crush isn’t interestedBy Star advice columnist Jennie Ann

Kinda sucks, you know, when you like him/her, but his/her head is in the clouds or on someone else. We’ve all

been there, you see them walking down the hall (or just around somewhere) and you ask yourself, “Should I say hi? Maybe I should ask if he/she wants to hang sometime... Does that make me sound desperate? Am I worrying too much about this?”

Well, it certainly does not make you sound desperate. It doesn’t hurt to say hello to some-one; many people do that every day, even to those they don’t know personally. You may be worrying a bit too much, though. It simply depends on the person you are trying to ac-knowledge. If they are really popular in your eyes (the social butterfly, maybe), you may be more nervous than towards someone who you see as a bit more aloof (the mysterious one or the lone wolf ).

You may find yourself becoming somewhat daring one day, and you decide to take a dive into your destiny. You panic for a few minutes, and then you send a text, or confront that certain someone in person and you spill the entire contents of your heart on the ground for them… Or you just say a few simple words professing your deepest, dearest sentiments towards them.

Whatever time passes between when you tell them and when they answer feels like a life time, and you’re blowing up on the inside, just standing there, possibly wishing you could take your words back, but you can’t, that’s not how life works in this dimension.

Unfortu-nately, they tell you something along the lines of “It’s ok.” or “I’m flattered” …but then they lay it on you. Hopefully they give you the (ex-cruciating) truth and it’s probably something like this: “It’s just I don’t think we would fit, you’re too (insert cliché comment about intelligence or being way, way too different for each other… too different in fact for the saying “op-posites attract” to even be valid) and I just want to be by myself now (even though you know very well that they’re itching to be with someone as much as you are).”

You probably walk away, dumbfounded, or tell them thank you for being a decent person, but you’re still a little broken.

Depending on the type of person you are, you may get over the entire ordeal pretty quickly, and then it’s on to the next one if you’re that person who tends to have a “Flavor of the Month.” That’s wonderful, cheers to you. If, however, you are the person who gets over having your still beating heart ripped out

of your chest like some may get over the death of their dog, then you may need to slow down for a little bit.

Take a second to re-alize a few things…

1. It’s just high school. It is not the end of the freaking world. Chill out. I was once told that you go to high school to find your bridesmaids (or grooms-men, as the case may be) and not your husband/wife.

2. No, chances are you will not die alone, or die and leave to your 20 cats the rest of your savings, as long as you

are a decent human being with at least a sliver of a personality. It also helps to not be a com-plete dick. Just sayin’.

3. If you keep trying to provoke them to like you, then it may do just the opposite. You can’t change anyone but yourself, and only change yourself to make Numero Uno happy (that’s you, by the way).

4. Yes, you can still talk to them. This may help. You may want to discuss what happened to make things less awkward. This is good, especially if you were friends before and you want things to go back to as close as normal as possible.

5. Yes, you can still be friends! (See above!) Doing what you did may even strengthen your friendship in a weird way. Nothing is impossible.

6. Don’t drown your problems, please! Don’t try to kill your pain with substances or self-harm; it’s seriously not worth it. It’s just one guy/girl and there are 7 billion people on this earth and counting. There really are plenty of fish in the sea. Just to put 7 billion in perspective, if you tried to count to 7 bil-lion, it would take 200 years. Google it, I’m not kidding.

7. Think about where you see yourself in 15 years and where you see that person in 15 years. Don’t get dreamy about it and think “Maybe with me.” Be real with yourself. Are you both in similar places?

8. If you aim to let then go, then that doesn’t mean you have to try and make your-self stop feeling anything for that person. This may become unhealthy; just let your emotions run their course.

9. It’s completely fine to tell someone about how you feel. Maybe they know something about that person that you don’t, such as that person having the attention span of a cricket. Not the greatest attribute, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

10. You should do something creative with your feelings. Write a song. Maybe someday you’ll become a rock star in a metal band and that song will be a huge hit with angst-y teenagers like yourself. Stranger things have happened.•

Streaks-celebrity look-alikes / act-alikes

Do you see other celebrity look-alikes or act-alikes in our midst? We’ve got more pairs ready to go for the next issue. Add your picks. Email us: steinmetzstarnews@gmail.com

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 13

Star Arts & Entertainment 13

Dealing with the holiday bluesBy Judy Czahor

More and more often, one hears people say that they hate the holiday season. Students especially are showing less and less holiday

spirit as the years go on. Before winter break, with the holiday season in

full swing, some people were in Grinch mode and were being total humbugs. What is causing this decline in the love for the holidays?

“I hate them,” senior Vikki Gonzales said. “What’s the difference between December 24th and 25th? Nothing!”

Even teachers and staff are bummed out by the stereotypically joyful gift giving season.

“It’s unnecessarily stressful,” said art teacher Alex Sutphen

Not only do people dislike the idea of decking the halls for Christmas and making resolutions for New Years, they also loathe other holidays too.

“I hate Valentine’s Day,” senior Jennifer Lee said. “It’s too mushy for me.”

Not everyone hates the holidays and the feelings that accompany them. Many students still enjoy a little holiday cheer to get them through the cold months.

“I hate going shopping because it can be so hec-tic,” senior Brittney Garcia said! “But I do like the holidays.” •

Seniors and staff participated in teacher Robin Russo’s annual holiday event on Nov. 30. They made ornaments and holiday decorations, trimmed the tree in the main foyer, and watched a holiday movie (this year, “Elf”).

“For me, giving presents on Christmas is fun because I love seeing a person’s expression as they open their gift and see what they got. I’m not very much into the whole receiving of gifts thing because I feel that I’m greedy when people ask me what I want and they give it to me.”

Wendy Flores, senior

‘My idea of giving presents on Christmas is showing the people that surround you and the ones who you love that you remember them in this special time of year. Receiving pres-ents is not important to me because Christmas is not about receiving, but giving and showing appreciation.”

Samantha Alvarez, senior

What is a nickname that you hate?By Taylah Brown

Brandon Robinson: “‘Grandpa Ted’ — Taylah Brown, Nakita McCaa, Lexus Castro, and Lathea Lee gave me

this nickname because they said I look like a grandpa and a teddy bear put together.”

Ronnie Sanders: “‘Casper’ — my grandma gave me that because when I was a baby I had a big head.”

Lathea Lee: “‘Bubbie’ — My mama gave me that name because of my head.”

Jovan Shelby: “‘BooBoo’ — My momma gave me that name when I was little because they said I looked like the bear off Yogi Bear.”•

The Reverend Jo Carole Bundy, director of the food pantry,

wrote a letter to Principal Stephen Ngo:I have been totally overwhelmed by the energy and commit-

ment of Steinmetz students to provide food for the hungry. Once again, the JROTC has exceeded past performance in the amount of non-perishable food collection.

Colonel Baynes and the students had everything ready for pick-up and helped load the two vans we used for the pick-up. I can’t tell you what a difference this food will make in terms of our ability to assist families needing emergency food during the holidays.

St. Cyprian’s Food Pantry shares the school’s zip code and ser-vice area. We are in our 29th year of continuous operation, open Monday and Thursday mornings, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., year round, rain or shine.

Your students have chosen to put their energies to a good work. It is especially fine that their help extends to members of the area in which the school resides. This is not the first year that Steinmetz JROTC has helped the pantry. There has been consistent support over many years.

Please be assured of our appreciation for what these young people have done. And know also my own personal pride in Steinmetz College Prep High School. Incidentally, the driver of our van is the son of a Steinmetz alumni and my assistant is herself an alumnus.

During this season of blessing and great joy, the volunteers of the pantry and I salute you and your school. •

JROTC Food Drive JROTC food drive, Continued from Page 12

How do you feel about gift giving? By Esther Grimaldo

Star staff winter expressionsLethal silence

By Justyana Szczech

My heart aches for comfortIf left alone with thoughts all my ownThey say things about me people would not see nor believeYet through isolation they are now beliefs.

Norjoria Pratt wins all-city honors Bloodline performspH

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By Aramis pates

Bloodline was invited to perform at “Rowcypher,” a high class open mic, featuring some of the best poets and hip hop artists in the Chicago area.

Once a month in Humboldt Park at the coffee shop/art gallery, Rowcypher promotes artists’ brands, future mixtapes and shows.

The following are some of the lyrics by Bloodline’s Aramis (The Prototype) Pates and Earvie (LaQuan) Howard. The release of our mixtape “BloodTrail” is planned for prom night.

Aramis: I’m often overlooked, cause of my L.I. T.So I’ll probably never sign before I D.I.E.Cause I’m I.N.T. (abbreviation for intelligence)My skills are heaven sent.Earvie: Murder all beats,Jason with these instrumentsMy words pierce your skinHomie, we call it dimples, your words they are simple.•

Submitted by Melissa Gerleve, teacher

Our very own Norjoria Pratt was selected to exhibit her art in the All-City Senior

Portfolio Show. She was one of the

52 students chosen from hundreds of student submissions from schools throughout the city.

At the opening reception on Sat-urday, Jan. 12 at the LeRoy Niemann Center of the Art Institue of Chicago, the 15 images from Norjoria’s port-folio played in a video loop. Her pen

and ink sewing machine drawing was proudly displayed in the glass cases.

Art teachers Rosanna Mark, Alex Sutphen, and myself, as well as coun-selor Kim Diaz, students Ivy Mc-Swine, Vikki Gonzalez and Norjoria’s family joined Woogie at the show. •

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“My dad and I painted an area in my room with three coats of chalkboard paint. On New Year’s Eve, I made ‘New Perspectives’ with chalk in about 10 minutes.”

Phillip Quezada, junior

14 Steinmetz Star January 2013

14 Star Arts & Entertainment

Ivy McSwine, Norjoria Pratt, Vikki GonzalezEarvie Howard and Aramis Pates

Brandon Robinson

Teacher Melissa GerleveNorjoria Pratt

Bloodline performs

Fans eagerly anticipate the return of Derrick Rose

Freshmen Streaks on hot streak

By Anthony Guerrero

Some of the Steinmetz basketball players are inspired by Bulls superstar Derrick Rose. The Star interviewed varsity player Jason Cathey.

How does Rose inspire you when you play basketball? He inspires me to be better because he is one of the hardest

working players in the league and he motivates the whole city. He has an amazing passion for the game.

How do you think he’ll do once he returns? He’s going to come back better and stronger because you

can count on Derrick RoseDo you think the Bulls have a shot at winning the cham-

pionship next year? I think they do because they have good experience in the

playoffs and they play as a team and that’s the key to success. On April 28, 2012, across Chicago everyone was excited

to see the Bulls play in the playoffs in hopes of bringing back a championship trophy. The Bulls had made it to the playoffs with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the second time. Coach Tom Thibodeau needed one more vote to be named coach of the year for the second time, something even Phil Jackson, the legendary coach of the 1990s Bulls, never did.

The last time the Bulls won a championship was in 1998 when Michael Jordan won the sixth championship for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in Game 6.

Everyone was very excited to see Derrick Rose play because he suffered of a minor injury three weeks before the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs the Bulls had to face the Philadelphia 76ers, who ended their season with the eighth best record in the eastern conference.

Because Rose was battling injuries all season long many people thought he wouldn’t be an All Star player in the playoffs. But Derrick Rose was playing like an MVP again by having 23 points in the game.

It was the fourth quarter and the Bulls had the lead of 10 points with the score being 99 - 89. There were only two

minutes left in the game. At the 1:49 minute mark, Derrick did his double step, but before he could make a layup Rose’s knee gave out on him fell to the floor and was holding on to his knee.

Many people in the United Center were all standing up in hopes Rose was okay. Things didn’t look good for the Bulls. Derrick would leave the game and not return for the rest of the playoffs. The Bulls lost to the 76ers in game 6 with the score being 79-78.

Once the Bulls lost the game everyone wondered what hap-pen to Rose. It wasn’t until the loss of Game 6 that reporters announced that Rose tore his ACL. Many Bulls fans were upset because they knew that it wouldn’t be a fast recovery. Doc-tors announced that Rose wouldn’t be able to play for half of the 2012-2013 NBA season. There was no set date on when he would return. Some said he would return in April or late March others said after the All-Star games.

Rose has been focused on getting healthy and better. Since

he recovered from his surgery something astonishing happened — he’s been practicing. In the past few months fans have read about his progression.

“Since I tore my ACL I have been working out. I always say if it’s painful I always try to see how long I can go through it because a normal person would stop when they feel pain but I try to see how long I can go through it because I try to make myself different than other people,” — NBA.com, October 4, 2012.

He was asked what has he improved since the day he tore his ACL.

“I’m trying to get healthy,” he said. “That’s my biggest thing and get my body together, and also I have more confidence with myself. I’m working out to get back on the court. I’m never stopping man. I’m always trying to improve more than anybody else. I won’t be satisfied until I’m back in that court playing for my hometown fans and my fans around the world.”

Since early December reports show he’s almost back to game shape.

“Point guard Derrick Rose has added short sprints to the list of things he’s accomplished in rehab on his road back to the floor. The 24-year-old point guard started cutting again on his surgically repaired left knee a few weeks ago and was sprinting in bursts after practice on Monday afternoon,”— ESPN.com, Dec. 3.

“So far, Rose has walked through offensive sets, stepped into shooting drills and dunked on occasion. He has run full speed and worked into defensive drills and slides as well,” - AOL Sports, December 30, 2012.

Rose travelled with the Bulls to New York for the game against the Knicks on January 10, his second straight road trip. Jimmy Butler, Rose’s teammate, reported that Rose is dunking, taking predictable contact, and is ready to play.

““You know that he wants to be out there with us and you know that he wants to be out there competing, and helping us get these wins,” Butler told CSN Chicago. “You ask him about it, and he’s like, ‘Man, I’m so ready.’”•

Varsity has winning record in conference

By Kyle Williams

In a battle from the beginning to the very last second, the Streaks varsity beat Wal-ter Payton in double overtime in their

conference debut on Dec. 11, 2012.Markiece Lindsey hit a three to give Stein-

metz a chance in overtime. Joseph Burns hit the game winner, which was only possible be-cause of a magnificent steal by Montrell Block.

Star bigmen Kyle Williams and Jahari Jones both had breakout games including a 22-point game for Kyle.

“Only the family, stack or starve!” Montrell Block said after the game.

Another win pushed the Streaks to 2-1 in conference. The Silver Streaks beat North Grand by 10 on Dec. 18, 2012 .

The Streaks finally started to look like a great basketball team after a slow and rough start to the season.

Matthew Riviera had 20 points, Montrell Block and Markiece Lincey also played a big role both scoring 12 points each, Kyle Williams had a double double: 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyrell Galmore had 5 blocks, giving the Streaks a strong inside defensive presence.

While suffering a few winter break tour-nament losses, the Streaks have come back to win two more conference games: against Roosevelt, 43-41, on Jan. 10 and a close win over Sullivan on January 15. The conference record is now 4-2.

The next home games are Thursday, Jan. 17 against Chicago Academy, and Tuesday, Jan. 22 against Lake View. •

Athlete of the monthMontrell BlockBy Matthew Maggit

How long have you played basketball?

Last five years.Favorite moment of

the season so far?Double overtime win

against Payton.

Role model? My mama.Artist: Gucci ManeFood: ChineseTeam: New England

PatriotsMovie: FridayQuote: “Team went

hard.”•

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By Alejandro Hernandez

The freshman basketball team is of-ficially on a hot streak. After starting the year sluggish with a 1-2 record,

the team won the last 7 games in blowout fashion. This is due in large part to the team’s in-your-face de-fense that tends to force a lot of turnovers.

The fresh-men are 6-0 in conference, 8-2 overall.

Along with the win percentage, the con-fidence of the team has risen as well.

“The team is pretty amazing,” freshman Joshua Rivera said. “I think we probably could win the conference.”

Starting center Miguel Tapia agrees. “We got some good talent and I think

we can win the conference,” Miguel said. Coach Paul Bagdonas also said he thinks

the team can win conference.

The team isn’t getting big-head-ed. While it may sound like a cli-

che, the team is just taking it one game at a time. •

Streaks freshmen, coached by Paul Bagdonas: Alejandro Hernandez, Fernando San-doval, Joshua Rivera, Paris Glispie, Joseph Ares, Kiarash Khansanami, Miguel Tapia, Antonia Agee, Luis Jimenez, Marco Miranda

The team’s in-your-face defence forces a lot of turnovers.

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 15

Star Sports 15

Joseph Burns helped the team edge out a win against Sullivan, Jan. 15

Pushing themselves to go faster, work out longer, win more meets

Silver Streaks swimmersBy Estefani Garcia

Swimmers work hard, if not harder, than any other athletes. The girls had a great season, and the boys are having a season

to remember. Both think of each other as a very competitive team.

“The boys are looking good,” Coach Susy Sullivan said.

As the season passed for the girls they all become very attached to each other and they all consider themselves friends. It’s very good to see how much the boys and the girls help each other.

“I am going to miss our seniors Diana Herrera and Jazelyn Viruet,” junior Remus Orozco said

Even though both teams love each oth-er, they had to compete against each other one time. It was not an official meet, but it was the last girls meet and the start for the boys.

“We won the meet 56-34,” Remus said. “After our loss last year to the girls, there was no way we were going to let this victory slip from us.”

All the meets include races and relays in freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and but-terfly.

“It was a great meet,” senior Jazelyn Viruet said “My team showed sportsmanship.”

Coach Sullivan is pleased for all the things her team achieved this year. She gave up her first white letter to senior Diana Herrera, who swam for four years on the varsity team.

Ms. Sullivan also couldn’t believe how big her team was for the first time.

“Thirty girls came out,” Coach Sullivan said. “I’ve never been prouder and they made my year.”

Coach David Henry also feels proud of the boys team.

“Even though we lost our first two meets, I’m excited about how good they can be,” he said. “They have a lot of potential.”

The swim team practices everyday after school. They are up to achieving all the things they wish for.

Cheer on the teamShow your support and attend their meets

at home on Thursday, Jan. 17 against North Grand and Friday, Jan.18 against Rickover. Home meets are also scheduled for Jan. 31 and Feb. 5.

Highlights of season Varsity: Through a great team effort, the

varsity Swimming Streaks swam over the Wave Riders of Roosevelt, defeating them 86 to 56.

JV: The boys freshmen-sophomore Swim-ming Streaks defeated Prosser 39-38 on Jan-uary 8. Many swimmers posted their best times.•

The boys bowling team finished the season by defeating Phoenix 5 games to 2.

This Streaks team became the first in many years to finish with a winning season: 21 wins, 14 losses.

Congratulations to Brian Moscol, Abraham Marti-nez, Erik Martinez, Antoio Acosta, Jesus Sanchez, An-drew Pincsak, and Victor Alicia and Coach Billy Hill.•

Congratulations to the girls bowling team.. They’re having a winning season and headed for the season playoffs.

On January 6 the team won 7-0. Standouts include Adriana Tate 175 in Game One, 165 in

Game ThreeJazmin Morales 154 in Game Two, 151 in Game Three. •

Winning season for bowling

Eduardo Gonzalez

Vitaliy Yavorskyy

Michael Newson

Carlos Sanchez

Varsity and Frosh Soph Swimming Streaks(Back row) Aiden Preston, Christian Huerta, Saul Zamora, Jaxon Alvarez, Craig Piwowarczyk, Michael Newson, Casey Fanning

(Third Row) Coach Suzy Sullivan, Edwardo Gonzalez, Luigi DeCol, Noe Barcenas, Coach David Henry, Aleksander Zbroja(Second row) Hugo Solari, Carlos Sanchez, Aaron Ruiz, Julian Salgado, Abraham Velazquez, Albert Toczek

(Front row) Edgar Tintin, Simon Venegas

Congratulations to the women swim-ming Streaks who finished 9th at the Frosh Soph Championship. This

championship was the largest in the city’s history and the best finish by Steinmetz women since the pool reopened.

The win was a team effort with 9th and 11th place finishes in the 200 medley relay and the 400 free style relay.

Special recognition must go to Vicki Jack-son who finished eighth in the 500 free style with a time of 7:50 and freshman Nicole Sienko who finished 10th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:38. Go Streaks! •

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16 Steinmetz Star January 2013

Star Sports16

Boys Water Polo This is a spring sport so sign up and play this spring.This is a 10-week commitment starting in February.

See Coach Gerald Cole. •

Students become teachers for the day

Spanish teacher Zulma Rivera’s students became teachers for a day at Mary Lyon school on December 14 through Junior Achievement, a program that helps prepare students by showing them different job opportunities. See the complete story on Page 5.•

Working while in school is exhaustingBy Lisette Mendez

To have a job is a lot of responsibility, especially if you go to school too. You have to multitask working and going to

school. You’re going to get tired very easily. I work in retail, and I have to deal with

customers, sometimes rude customers and sometimes nice customers. You have to be po-lite all the time, even when they’re giving you an attitude.

Working long hours is a part of the job. When Christmas and Black Friday come up I have to stand on my feet all night long. I feel like the night will never end. Also, when clos-ing we don’t get to leave when the store closes.

Photo Opinion question of issue: How can you change things for the better?

We have to count the register, help clean, and wait until the whole store is clean, then I can leave.

“I love having a job, but it is very stressful to balance school and work, especially with the senior paper being due on days I have to work,” senior Cathy Meraz said.

Many cus-tomers take out their an-ger on you just because they’re having a bad day or they couldn’t find what they were looking for.

“The long hours are affecting my sleep, they mess up the schedule many times and

it’s frustrating,” senior Priscilla Alicia said. “Working makes me so lazy and not wanting to do anything, and makes me fall asleep in classes.”

At first all you think about is you want-ing a job because you want to be more in-

dependent, and want to be able to make your own money. Then comes you paying for your own stuff, and wasting money on the

things you need, then you’re left with no more money. It’s a lot to deal with, but it pays off when you get paid.•

Priscilla Alicia

“I love having a job, but it is very stressful to balance school and work, especially with the senior paper being

due on days I have to work,” Cathy Meraz said.

“I would change the fact that I’m always late for class. I’ll try to stop waking up so late.” Marcos Gabriel, junior Interview by Luis Lopez

“This year I would like to change my attitude. I’ll do what I have to do, go to sleep early, and get haircuts more often.”Carlos Geovany Cruz, freshmanInterview by Daniela Vargas

”Stay in school, and not the streets.”Alberto Martinez, seniorInterview by Jose Martinez

“I would stop the violence in the world and I would change my attitude.”Latavia Brown, seniorInterview by Arneshia Harris

“What I would do to change things for the better is to stop the gun violence because of what occurred in Connecticut.”Aleida Caligas, sophomoreInterview by Katie Christ

“Get active in my community by starting a program to help prevent crime.”Kelvina Taylor, senior Interview by La’Keva Duncan

“I think I need to focus more on school. I should study and do my homework more often, try to get better grades, and come to school on time.Alberto Baylon, seniorInterview by Abe Roa

Marcos Gabriel Aleida Caligas

Continued on the next page

January 2013 Steinmetz Star 17

Star Web Extra 17

What can you do to change things for the better?

All people are valuable, all have a story worth tellingBy Sharon Schmidt, Star adviser

One result of strong re-porting is the ability to create empathy in our

readers, Alex Kotlowitz told the Star editing staff.

Mr. Kotlowitz is a print and radio journalist, best selling author (There Are No Children Here), and award-winning mov-ie producer (“The Interupters”). He keynoted “High School Journalism Day” at Northwest-ern University, Nov. 16, sponsored by the Medill School.

The Star staff agrees with Mr. Kotlowitz — a good story offers readers new perspec-tives and interest in the people presented.

Our goal for the Star is that we tell stories well, with respect, about any of our nearly 2,000 students and staff.

It takes time to get a good story. It takes inquiry skills, listening skills, and writing

skills. It takes commitment. We hope the Star reflects some of that.

We hope the Star shows the value of every person we cover. We also hope the Star helps our community to care.

All students who want to tell the sto-ries of Steinmetz are welcome to join the Newspaper Club, which meets Thursdays, in Room 333. •

No one wore anything green on the uniform-free days in December

“Make the arts and self expression high pay-ing jobs and mandatory for every student in the world.”Renalto Roldan, attendance directorInterview by Breonn Bland

“This year I would like to focus more on my senior year by improving both my grades and attendance.”Kimberly Ramirez, senior Interview by Daniela Vargas

To change things for the better I would stop violence.”Corey Thompson, junior Interview by Katie Christ

“Try my best to help everyone out, like friends and family, with their personal problems.”Eduardo Carbajal, junior Interview by Jesus Ramirez “You have to better yourself in order to better anything else, you have to change yourself before trying to change others/things.” Kaila Ruiz, juniorInterview Lissette Monterroso

“Have a positive attitude.”Alyssa Santiago, sophomoreInterview Lissette Monterroso

“I want to raise a good family and win the golden ball as Lionel Messi does. I will help the most who needs it. I’d like to win a World Cup, scoring a goal and celebrating it with my colleagues.”Reyes Andrade, sophomoreInterview by David Cruz

“Stop smoking so I can have a clear head and think better.”Lazerick Stevens, sophomoreInterview by La’Keva Duncan

“I shouldn’t procrastinate and should con-tinue to create. Also have my art studio set up by summer.”Melissa Gerleve, teacherInterview by Moriah Belt

“Help out a homeless shelters, donate food and clothing to the Salvation Army and the food pantry.”Marisha Reynolds, sophomore Interview by Rebecca Romanenko

“Less T.V, and more studying.”Luis Delgado, sophomoreInterview by Jose Martinez

“My personal project because I’m doing sui-cide awareness and teen depression. I’m trying to make a campaign.”Raia Kline, sophomore Interview by Rebecca Romanenko

“I have to wake up earlier and leave for school earlier so I can stop being late and bring up my attendance.”Mariola Gondek, sophomore Interview by Rebecca Romanenko

“My presence already makes the world a better place, just ask my students.”Ivelisse Cotto, teacherInterview by Breonn Bland

“Always be informed and aware of things around me.”Ms. Ponce, teacherInterview by Moriah Belt

“Being kind to everyone and loving all.”Nassrin Jalili, librarianInterviewed by Moriah Belt

18 Steinmetz Star January 2013

Star Web Extra18

Jennie Czahor, Moriah Belt, Alex Kotlowitz

Renalto Roldan Melissa Gerleve and Vikki Gonzalez

Bullying Bites clubJoin us for our next meeting, Jan. 23 and Feb. 6, in Room 601.

See sophomore Husna Afzal or Ms. Zulma Rivera for more information.

Write to the Star editorsAnyone in the Steinmetz community is welcome to send a letter to the Star

regarding any issue.Email us: SteinmetzStarNews@gmail.com. •