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PRIDEA Guide to Achievements in our Local High Schools

Published bySauk Valley Media

PRIDE 3

W elcome to the latest edition of Pride. Within the pages of this edition, you will learn of recent achievements at our local high

schools, whether in academics, sports or extracurricular activities. All of the content for Pride was submitted by the schools.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Pride. We extend a spe-cial thank you to all of the schools and advertisers for their participation in this publication. Pride would not have been possible without them.

Amboy High School ......................................................................4

Ashton-Franklin Center High School ..........................................6

Bureau Valley High School ...........................................................7

Byron High School ........................................................................8

Chadwick-Milledgeville District 399..........................................10

Dixon High School ......................................................................12

Eastland High School ..................................................................16

Erie High School ..........................................................................19

Faith Christian School ................................................................21

Forreston High School ................................................................22

Fulton High School .....................................................................23

Morrison High School .................................................................25

Newman Central Catholic High School ....................................28

Oregon High School ....................................................................30

Polo High School .........................................................................32

Prophetstown High School.........................................................34

Rochelle Township High School ................................................36

Rock Falls Township High School .............................................37

Sterling High School ...................................................................41

Fulton Unity High School ...........................................................45

West Carroll High School ............................................................46

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Amboy High School

‘Excellence every day’W hen I reflect upon

Pride and Amboy High School,

my thoughts lead me to my students. I am consistently amazed by the dedication that they display every day.

It is very common for our students to be involved in multiple activities and athlet-ics throughout the year. Mr. Wissinger, our counselor, was working on a letter of recom-mendation for one of our seniors, and he showed me a list of her accomplishments.

During the past 4 years, she has been a member of the band (concert and marching), Span-ish Honor Society, National Honor Society, Student Coun-cil, and Future Farmers of America, has worked backstage for the fall play, played in the orchestra pit during the spring musical, has been a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, and softball), maintained a 4.0

GPA and earned a 30 on her ACT.

I am and always will be very proud of this young lady. She has proved that at Amboy, a student can pursue “excel-lence every day” and gradu-ate from Amboy High School ready for whatever path she chooses to walk in life.

AcademicsI’m pleased to announce

that we have 10 Prairie State Achievement Award win-ners this year, and we have expanded our advanced placement offerings to include AP U.S. History.

This year, we have created a science technology engineer-ing and mathematics class. In Mr. Browne’s STEM class, students have the opportunity to “do science.” The students have already built air condi-tioners, an infinity mirror, two hovercrafts, and one group

is working on programing an Arduino board that will allow them to steer and drive a small toy car by light.

Amboy remains committed to our freshmen Clippers, Set Sail! program. The Clippers, Set Sail! teachers have taken students to Northern Illinois University, Rock Valley Com-

munity College, Morrison Institute of Technology and Educators of Beauty. These trips help students explore future career opportunities.

I’m also very proud of the fact that all of last year’s incoming freshmen students advanced

AMBOY CONTINUED ON 5�

The Amboy band and color guard perform on the field at The Harbor during a Clippers football game. It’s not uncommon for foot-ball players to grab their instrument and their spot at halftime to perform. Participating in a variety of activities is the Clipper way.

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PRIDE 5

I would like to congratulate the six students moving on to the IMEA district competi-tion and look forward to their performance at the District 8 regional concert in DeKalb. One of our choir students has earned a national distinction, as well.

The musical students per-formed a sold-out run of the “Wizard of Oz” last spring, and this fall, they are perform-ing Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book.” I would like to be able to tell you what the spring musi-cal is, but I have been sworn to secrecy under penalty of death if I so much as utter a word.

For those of you who cannot wait, they will announce the decision after the fall play’s final performance.

In June, Spanish teacher Mrs. Sondgeroth led the World Travel Club on a 10-day trip to Costa Rica. The club is already planning its next trip to Italy and the French Riviera in 2016. If you

or your child is interested in attending, please contact Señora Sondgeroth.

AthleticsAmboy continues its strong

athletic tradition. Both volley-ball and football ended their seasons in the playoffs, the golf team for the first time in 38 years won the conference tour-nament and made sectionals, and for the second straight year, Megan Grady ran at the state cross country meet in Peoria, placing 63rd in Class 1A.

FFAAmboy’s strong agricultural

tradition has helped create an excellent FFA program at Amboy High School.

This year, we get to add two more accolades to the pro-gram’s prestigious history. Current member Nick Bickett earned a spot on the National FFA Choir and performed in front of 64,000 people at the National Convention in Lou-isville, Kentucky, and Amboy alumnus Andrew Klein is serv-ing as this year’s State reporter.

Congratulations, gentlemen.

AMBOYCONTINUED FROM 4

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The World Trav-el Club stops

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and the French Riviera is being

planned for 2016.

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Ashton-Franklin Center High School

Technology key at AFCAshton Franklin Center High School

has made the commitment to provide its students with technological oppor-

tunities. We began this process several years ago using money received from the REAP grant to purchase various technological items to use throughout the district.

One classroom item purchased several years ago was a SMART board for each class-room, which enables the teacher to project items from their computers onto the board. There are many ways these can be used to enhance instruction. Other items that have been purchased include an ELMO to project items from a book onto a screen, individual iPads for teachers, and a mobile laptop cart that teachers can take into their classrooms for instruction.

Two years ago, we made the commitment to continue our technological advancement by beginning a 1:1 program. We began by purchasing mini iPads for our freshman class. Chrome books have been purchased for incoming freshmen the past 2 years. We also allow our seniors (and other students, as well) to use their laptops and cellphones dur-ing class time in order to get work done.

Students are allowed to listen to music on their devices while completing homework, and they are allowed to use their electronic devices in other ways when their homework is complete. For example, they can search the Internet or play games.

The latest way AFC High School is imple-menting technology for its students is by providing an online Spanish course. This is a virtual course in which students interact on their own devices with a certified teach-er, thus allowing for more individualized instruction.

This commitment to technology has made a positive impact on student engagement and homework completion. With more students able to access the technology, more students are engaged during classroom instruction time. Also, we have seen a rise in home-work completion, with students being able to email assignments to teachers as well as being rewarded with Internet time after their homework is complete.

We believe we are able to “reach” more students with the use of these technological items, and we will continue to provide these opportunities to our staff and students.

Commitment to technology has made a positive impact on student engage-ment and homework completion at AFC High School. With more students able to access the technology, more students are engaged during classroom instruction time.


Renaissance coordinator Tori Boyle (second from left) and senior Renaissance Executive Council bembers (from left) Rachel Brummel, Thomas Samuels and Jedidiah Barnes beam as they hold a check for $1,000 in the Drive 4 UR School video contest.

Bureau Valley High SchoolRenaissance Program truly awakeningThis school year

marks the sec-ond year of

Bureau Valley’s Renais-sance Program, which started off slow, but has really started to take off and leave a mark.

Renaissance is a national program cre-ated to help recognize and reward students and staff for their hard work. The BVHS pro-gram does many differ-ent things to recognize and reward students, as well as build school pride.

The beginning of the year started with T-shirts for the entire student body and staff, which were sponsored by CPS, an assembly with information and games, a graduation gown for seniors to sign as their commitment to graduate, and more.

The Renaissance Program also contin-ued the things that they started last year: Renaissance cards, monthly birthday cake, student and staff of the month recognition and breakfast, pop-ins, school spirit pictures, semester field trips, and more.

In June, a 2-minute video was created fea-turing the semester field trips that BVHS Renaissance sponsors. Renaissance sponsors two field trips dur-ing the school year, in which 35 students are nominated each semes-ter by the staff mem-bers of the school.

Students are nomi-nated for things such as behavior, academic achievements, atten-dance, school pride, and more. These stu-

dents were rewarded for their good acts and efforts by being able to attend a fully funded field trip.

The students got to enjoy the morning at the bowling alley, eat lunch, and finish the afternoon with a movie (of course with popcorn and pop).

In July, two BVHS Renaissance Executive Council members, Kai-tlyn Ptasnik and Chase Gripp, had the oppor-tunity to travel with coordinator Tori Boyle

to Orlando, Florida, to the Jostens National Renaissance Confer-ence. The conference was attended by 225 different schools from all over the United States and Canada.

During the confer-ence, attendees got to listen to featured speakers, attend break-out sessions and pep rallies, meet people from other schools and states, and, of course, have a little fun at the Magic Kingdom.

However, the most

exciting part of the conference was being selected as the winner in a video contest and receiving an Eagle’s Choice Award at the awards dinner and gala.

Recently, BVHS Renaissance won anoth-er video contest through its fundraiser, Drive 4 UR School. Three videos were submitted featur-ing the school’s pro-gram, executive council, and coordinator. One of the videos BVHS sub-mitted won an award of $1,000.

The BVHS Renais-sance Executive Council has continued to grow with adding a few more members and expand-ing the work they do for the school. This year has been the start of the commitment to gradu-ate signings, secret stars, Renaissance week, and more.

New ideas and goals are never far with this group, as they continue to want to make a dif-ference in their high school, their lives, and those of their peers.

PRIDE 7


Byron stu-dents won second place and the Spirit Award in last year’s sculp-ture-building contest in Rockford, and hope to build on that success at the event in January.

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Byron High SchoolArt department

has a visionThe Visual Art and

Design department is going to have a busy

fall and winter this year.Students took a field trip to the

Art Institute Museum of Chica-go on Oct. 3 to study traditional and contemporary works of art through a self-guided tour cre-ated by Mrs. Driscoll.

The department will also be participating in Rockford’s snow-sculpting competition again this year. Byron students won second place and the Spirit Award last year, so this year, they are looking to take home the gold with first place. The competition will be held in January. It is simply amazing to

see these projects take shape.All are encouraged to visit

the students as the sculptures are being created. Look for announcements on the Byron website (byron226.org), and cast your vote for the best sculpture in the area.

The National Art Honor Soci-ety is taking a trip to Chicago’s Gallery District, where they will get to meet artists, ask questions about their work, and get a taste of a real world art scene. NAHS is also work-ing on producing ceramic bowls for their annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser that raises money to help fight hunger by donating to local food banks.

PRIDE 9

We are proud of all our

Local High Schools’Local High Schools’Achievements

andOgle County Newspapers


The Ivy Faith Drinkall Memorial Playground at Milledgeville Elementary School was dedicated Oct. 24 to Ivy Faith, who was just 5 months old when she died last July of sudden infant death syndrome. Her two sisters, Lili and June (flanking the park’s sign) attend the school. The playground was built with $60,000 raised by the Drinkall family in Ivy Faith’s memory.

Chadwick-Milledgeville High School

Community dedicated to its youthChadwick-Milledgeville

school has had gen-erous donations

from community members and organizations that have improved the appearance, functionality, and culture of our school.

A new playground was donated that is modern and safe, and will provide many years of play for our students. We have also received a digi-tal marquee and scoreboard in the gym. These donations have had a huge impact on our school, and we are extremely lucky to have such a generous community.

The building underwent a large renovation to maintain safety and functionality of the building. All new flooring was installed in the hallways, and new paint adorns much of the school. A state-of-the-art science lab was installed that will challenge our stu-dents in many areas of sci-ence. Jen Drinkall and her daughters, June (left) and Lili, cut the ribbon so that children can enjoy

Ivy Drinkall Memorial Park on Oct. 24 at Milledgeville Elementary School.MILLEDGEVILLE CONTINUED ON 11�

PRIDE 11

PSAE incentive participants

Each year, seniors who meet or exceed PSAE standards on the test, which is taken during their junior year, are rewarded with special outings, meals and final exam waivers.

This year, participating students are Cecilia Ottens, Joshua Waite, Gabrielle Sheddan, Danielle Shed-dan, Keagan Murray, Kolton Morgan, Emily Kleckler, Harrison Jakobs, Branning-han Hutchison, Breyana Henson, Kailee Forbes, Bry-anna Flynn, Bailey Fisch, Baily Queckboerner, Owen Brown, Rebecca Alexander, Alan Osterhaus.

Music Department places at state

The Chadwick-Milledgeville High School music department achieved success once again.

The MHS band, directed by Cheryl Neumann, won third place, and the MHS choir, directed by Margo Weber, won second place for Class D schools in the IHSA State Music Sweepstakes for the 2013-14 school year. This was based on the number of total points earned from solos, ensembles, and organizations at music contest in March and April 2014.

IMEAChadwick-Milledgeville

students participated in the IMEA District Music Festival in November 2013 at DeKalb High. Chadwick Junior High

was represented by Matthew Biller, Christian Toms-Smith (Jr. Mixed Choir), Hope Herin, and Maranique Glover (Jr. Treble Choir). Milledgeville High School was represented by Zachary Herin, Cecilia Ottens, Levi Skoog, Deidre

Ewers (Sr. Mixed Choir) and Kylie Patterson (Sr. Band). These students were under the direction of Weber and Neumann. Additionally, Deidre Ewers was chosen to attend All State Choir in Peo-ria in January 2014.

MILLEDGEVILLECONTINUED FROM 10

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ABOVE: Milledgeville High was represented at the IMEA District Music Festival in November 2013 at DeKalb High School by (from left) Zachary Herin, Cecilia Ottens, Levi Skoog, Deidre Ewers (Sr. Mixed Choir) and Kylie Patterson (Sr. Band). Additionally, Ewers was chosen to attend All State Choir in Peoria in January 2014.RIGHT: Chadwick Junior High was represented at the festival by (from left) Matthew Biller, Christian Toms-Smith (Jr. Mixed Choir), Hope Herin, and Maranique Glover (Jr. Treble Choir).

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Dixon High School stu-dents from the build-ing trades classes, along with their teacher, Ryan Zim-merman, are shown removing and replac-ing the shake shin-gles on the Old Settlers Log Cabin.

Dixon High SchoolElbow grease meets academics at DHSThe Lee County

Historical and Genealogical Soci-

ety raised the money. Dixon High School stu-dents and staff supplied the labor.

The historical society asked the school’s build-ing trades classes to assist in replacing the cedar shake roof on the Old Settlers Log Cabin. The historical society raised the money to replace the shingles, and DHS took it from there.

Students from the build-ing trade classes along with their teacher, Ryan Zimmerman, removed and replaced the shake shingles for the project.

DIXON CONTINUED ON 13�

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PRIDE 13

B.L.I.N.D. is the acro-nym for Building Lasting Impressions that Never Die, which is a joint effort by multiple area schools to improve the social/emotional climate of our schools.

Dixon High School will continue its activi-ties with the freshman class with multiple mini-refreshers throughout the year.

The first of these was Nov. 10 during seventh and eighth perods. All ninth-graders par-ticipated and worked in small groups with DHS B.L.I.N.D. student lead-ers on specific develop-mental assets.

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Student leaders with the Dixon B.L.I.N.D. program take a breather for a photo opportunity. The school is continuing its B.L.I.N.D. activities with the freshman class with multiple mini-refreshers throughout the 2014-15 school year.

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Dixon Marching Dukes

The Dixon Marching Dukes, Drum Majors and Dance Team all earned first-place trophies at this year’s Oregon Autumn on Parade competi-tion. The band is directed by Steve Boll, and the dance team is coached by Monique Elmendorf.

Great success in fall sports

Dixon High School expe-rienced a successful fall sports season during the 2014-15 school year.

We competed in the Big Northern Conference in the West Division for the first time after spending the past few years in the Northern Illinois Big 12.

Several highlights from this past season include:

• Olivia Pultorak qualified for the IHSA state girls golf tournament. Jacob Bonnell, Cole Ruckman, and Olivia Pultorak all qualified for the IHSA sectional meet, as well.

• Boys soccer placed third in the Big Northern Con-ference, and finished the season with a conference

record of 5-6-1.• Girls tennis finished in

seventh place at the IHSA sectional meet, with Katie Hammitt advancing to the third round of play.

• The boys and girls cross country teams both quali-fied for the IHSA sectional cross country meet. Girls volleyball won an IHSA regional volleyball cham-pionship for the first time since 2005, by defeating Winnebago. The Duchesses also won a sectional semifi-nal before seeing their sea-son come to a close in the sectional championship.

• Football advanced to the IHSA football playoffs for the 1st time since 2006 with a 7-2 regular season record. The Dukes won their first-round game against Rich-mond-Burton before losing to Manteno in the second round.

Council hosts blood drive

Dixon High School Student Council hosted another suc-cessful blood drive.

We collected 63 pints of blood. Thank you to all the students who helped in any way, and to Subway for donating sandwiches for the drive.


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PRIDE 15

Dixon High School math teacher Tracy DuRall received recognition Oct. 21 from a group from U.S. Cellular.

DuRall received a plaque from Calling All Teachers, a program conducted by U.S. Cellular in collaboration with DonorsChoose.org that sup-ports K-12 public school teach-ers.

One project (valued between $100 and $1,000) per teacher was considered from Aug. 11 to Sept. 21. Teachers sub-mitted projects for fund-ing consideration by going to DonorsChoose.org. Each teacher wrote an essay, labeled their project and submitted a classroom photo.

CAT reaches teachers and students in every corner of U.S. Cellular’s markets.


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Math teacher wins U.S. Cellular award

Dixon High School math teacher Tracy DuRall received a plaque Oct. 21 from Calling All Teachers, a program conducted by U.S. Cellular in collaboration with DonorsChoose.org that supports K-12 public school teachers.

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A generous donation from Ameri-can Legion Post 357 was part of the $800 raised for the Wound-ed Warriors Project by East-land High School during the week of a girls basket-ball game against Lena-Winslow in Lanark.

Eastland High SchoolIt takes a village in Lanark

The Eastland High School Student Coun-cil designated the

week of Feb. 3 as Wounded Warrior Week.

Several activities took place to collect money that was donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, whose mis-sion is to honor and empow-er wounded warriors. Visit woundedwarriorproject.org for more information on the charity.

The Pie in the Face contest took place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 6. Collection cans were circulated around the school and at home basketball games. The three volunteers with the most money in their cans received a pie in the face at the high school assembly.

EASTLAND CONTINUED ON 17�

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PRIDE 17

The girls basket-ball team, coached by Colleen Henze, placed third at the IHSA state basketball tourna-ment in February.

School spirit, funds raised at hoops games

Many thanks to boys senior basketball player Dalton Sha-ner and girls senior basketball

player Courtney Walker and her coach, Colleen Henze, who all took a pie for the cause.

Another event was a taco supper that brought in about 120 people before the

girls basketball game against conference rival Lena-Win-slow.

Thank you to all the Eastland and Lena-Winslow fans who attended.

More than $800 was col-

lected (including a generous donation from the American Legion Post 357) through the various activities during the week.

EASTLANDCONTINUED FROM 16

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Seniors honored at annual gala

Thirty-six Eastland seniors were honored May 14 at the 14th annual Award and Scholarship Night.

Local businesses, organi-zations, memorial funds, colleges, and individuals donated more than $60,000 in scholarships. Depart-mental awards of excel-lence, as well as numerous other awards, also were presented.

A successful event such as this would not be possible without the tremendous sup-port of Eastland area busi-nesses and individuals.

Artwork juried into Rockford museum

Congratulations to Farrah Stubbe, Karalicia Kennedy, Shandi Groezinger and Alys-sa Multhauf, who all had art-work juried into the Rockford Art Museum’s 73rd Young Artist Show.

Out of 927 entries, only 176 were selected to be in the show. The exhibit will be displayed March 2 through April 6.

Artists honored at Highland

Congratulations to art student winners in the 44th

Annual Highland Commu-nity College District High School Juried Art Exhibit.

Destiny Zahn received first place and an honorable mention; Hannah Wilczyn-ski received Best of School; and honorable mentions went to Alyssa Multhauf, Jared Gaughan, and Shandie Groezinger.

In all, 26 Eastland art stu-dents had their work juried into the show. The work is displayed in Ferguson Gal-lery through April 29.

EASTLANDCONTINUED FROM 17

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Cougars collect honors in arts, academics

Students (from left) Farrah Stubbe, Alyssa Multhauf, Shandi Groezinger and Karalicia Kennedy had artwork juried into the Rockford Art Museum’s 73rd Young Artist Show.

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PRIDE 19

In its return to IHSA football postseason, Erie-Prophetstown lost a 48-34 slugfest to St. Joseph Ogden in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Erie High School

Administration aims for A’sErie High School places

emphasis on the A’s of academics, attitudes

and athletics.

AcademicsEHS once again achieved

academic success with this year’s 41 seniors achieving the school’s highest average ACT overall scores to date. The average for the class was a 22.1, while the average for the core students achieved an average of 24.5.

The local Prairie State Achievement Examination saw 70 percent of EHS juniors meet the state level of 55 per-cent in reading, 85 percent in math – compared to 52 per-cent at the state level – and 77 percent in science against the

50 percent norm at the state level.

The end of the first quarter showed 66 students on the high honor roll, with eight receiving straight A’s, and 70 others on the regular honor roll.

Our juniors and seniors have the opportunity to earn college credit while attending high school through a dual credit program with Black Hawk Col-lege in Moline. Classes offered this year are literature 190, social problems 102, English 205 (topics in literature) and psychology 101.

Previous courses offered were composition 101 and 102, sociology, speech, litera-ture, and art appreciation.

ERIE CONTINUED ON 20�

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The Erie-Prophetstown girls cross country team qualified for the Class 1A Oregon Sectional, and the boys team placed fifth in the 1A Rock Falls Regional.

EHS students getting head start on college

Presently, we have 42 students who start their day with a college class at 7:30 a.m. The district has backed this program whole-heartedly by reim-bursing the students 75 percent of their tuition each semester if their grades are an A, or reimbursement of 50 percent for a B.

Graduating seniors can already have earned 18-20 hours of college credit. Some of our students challenge them-selves even further and take online classes to increase their college credits.

It’s a tribute to these students who manage to be a high school student, a college student, an athlete and still be involved in other extra-curricular groups.

AttitudesA small school of 213 students finds

its pupils working hard to promote positive attitudes, in spite of personal adversities and the media highlight-ing so many bad things happening to schools around the nation.

Two programs used in the past (Friends of Rachel Scott, Columbine, Colorado, victim; and B.L.I.N.D.) have played a part in educating the students to be a friend, do kindness activities and help others whenever possible. Couple those efforts with

our Student Council and National Honor Society, and we have a win-ning combination to help set an example for life for our students.

Both the council and NSH sponsor blood drives each year, and have suc-ceeded in meeting or exceeding the goals set forth by the American Red Cross each time.

NHS also does other service proj-ects. Plans are being made once again to collect food items of the local food pantry, as well as hats, socks, scarves and mittens for the less fortunate.

The students also support the local Fireflies group at Christmas time by selecting Christmas cards for a child for the local angel tree, and sponsor-ing the town Easter egg hunt.

Past group projects and individual service hours have included helping at shelters, raising relief items for tor-nado victims, and spreading holiday cheer for veterans.

Recently, EHS lost two of its students in a car accident. NHS quickly swung into action and organized fundraisers for the families. Dodgeball and vol-leyball tournaments were played for 3 days during the eighth-hour study hall, and a biscuits-and-gravy break-fast was also served. More than $600 was donated in the 3 days.

The students responded in a posi-tive way, in spite of all the adversity that unexpected deaths bring to a small school.

ERIECONTINUED FROM 19

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The Erie girls golf team qualified for the Class A Eastland Sectional golf meet, where the Car-dinals placed fifth as a team, just two spots away from making state.

PRIDE 21

This year, the seniors at Faith Christian School partnered with Praying Pelican Missions Orga-nization to take a trip to Belize.

Faith Christian High SchoolBlessed trip to Belize

Seniors take missions trip to Belize

This year, the seniors at Faith Christian School partnered with Praying Peli-can Missions Organization to take a trip to Belize.

Our team partnered with a local pastor and church in a part of Belize City, called Rootsville. Our team’s was the first mission trip to partner with this particular church in Belize. They were very excited and gracious toward us, even though many people from the church spoke only Spanish.

Throughout the week, we were involved in children’s after-school programs, visits to an orphanage, visits to Sister Cecilia’s Home for the Elderly, food distribution, and home visits to 20 needy families from the church.

The girls were also able to bless the pastor’s fam-ily with a new washing machine and laptop. It was a very rewarding and eye-opening week for our team, and we were very blessed for our opportunity to serve others in Belize.

Students serve othersThis year, our high school

students were given the opportunity to participate in a service project each quarter of the school year.

The service projects included working with kids at an after-school program in Chicago; packing supplies and working in the kitchen at an after-school program in the kitchen at the Rockford Rescue Mission; and pack-ing food at Feed My Starving Children.

Students also did cleanup at area locations and helped collect items for the local food pantries. Everyone greatly enjoyed meeting new people and learning about the organizations they were serving.

Sports and activitiesFaith Christian High School

is committed to providing stu-dents a quality education with a Christian worldview.

Here is just a sample of what we offer:

Sports• Boys and girls soccer• Boys and girls basketball• Boys and girls volleyball• Boys and girls golfActivities• National Honor Society• Key Club• Student Council• Band• Choir• Spring musical• Senior missions trip

2014-15 achievements• Varsity girls volleyball firstst

place at state• NICC Conference award-

winners: Mike DiGrazia (soccer honorable mention), Ben Bierd-man (soccer honorable men-tion), Zach Lessman (soccer first team), Andrew Robertson (soccer first team), Ben Babler (soccer first team), Katie Cover (volleyball honorable mention), Stacia Hamill (volleyball second team), Sarah Smith (volleyball first team), and Tressa Schuler (volleyball MVP) 273 IL Route 2 - Dixon • 815-288-3394

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Academic achieve-ment is the goal of any educational system,

and when that goal is met or exceeded, recognition of that success is important.

Through a collaborative effort between students and Forreston Junior Senior High School Principal Michael Mandzen, a new Honors Pro-gram was created to recognize student achievement.

The program is designed to encourage and motivate stu-dents to push themselves to take rigorous courses while in high school. One of the main focuses of the honors program is to challenge students to take our capstone courses in vari-ous subject areas, especially during the senior year, when many students are looking to create an easy, less-stressful class schedule.

Taking our most demanding courses will create learning opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge and

expand their ability to apply skills within specific content areas, and challenge their cre-ative and analytical thinking. Our program concentrates on what is important in school: learning and advancing that learning at high levels of thinking.

The new Honors Program recognizes two distinct lev-els of achievement. In both

levels, students must meet or exceed on each of the three Prairie State Achievement Examination subject area tests: reading, math and sci-ence.

The students must also dem-onstrate good citizenship and have no suspensions or acts of gross misconduct, aggression, or violence during junior or senior year.

Total Achievement status

To be awarded a Total Achievement status, students must meet that basic criteria, plus pass at least three cap-stone or college level courses with grades of C or better, and earn at least a 2.67 (B-minus) grade-point average.

Highest AchievementTo qualify for the second

and highest level of distinc-tion, Highest Achievement, the student must meet the basic criteria, plus pass at least five capstone or college level courses with grades of B-minus or above, and earn a 3.67 (A-minus) GPA.

Those earning the honor distinctions will be recog-nized at the annual end of the year Honors Night, where they will be presented an honor cord to wear during the commencement ceremo-ny.

Forreston High School

Honoring achievementMeet Forreston High School’s ACT scholars. Two levels of achievement give students goals to set.

PRIDE 23

The media publications class at Fulton High School has been recognized for its innovative work on the yearbook. The students are shown holding photo collages created for them by teacher and advisor Jeff Hoese.

Fulton High SchoolThrough our lens, the future is bright

BY BREVIN MASONFulton High School senior

The 2013-14 media publications class has something to brag

about.Not only has the class shown

off its well-known Week in Review videos, which recap the previous week highlight-ing Steamer events. Now the class has built something much more significant – the yearbook.

Media publication students spent countless hours com-pleting a remarkable year-book full of memories that students of FHS can cherish for a lifetime.

In June, some students of paid a visit to the Figge Art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The class was invited to the museum by its yearbook rep-resentative, Jim Straub of Walsworth Yearbooks, to not only attend, but be recog-nized at the convention for the outstanding performance creating the yearbook.

Before the start of the 2014-15 school year, Mr. Hoese and a few media publica-tions members were asked to speak at yearbook work-shops in Geneseo and Gales-burg. Schools from all around the Quad City area attended these workshops to learn and capture ideas for their new yearbooks. Once again, the media publications class was

recognized for its exceptional achievements in the yearbook at these workshops.

Now that school is back in full swing, bright new stu-dents are sitting in the media publications class, ready and eager to be a part of the next big thing at Fulton High School. Five students are returning to the class this year, happy to help lead this class on to big things that lie ahead. The future looks very bright through the lens of everyone in media publica-tions class.

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PRIDE 25

Morrison has always had a tradition of culture greatly influ-

enced by the arts. Both the com-munity and its students are not only involved in art, music, and theatre; but they bring a certain level of talent and experience to each field, making the town an incredibly strong presence in the cultural world.

Morrison offers a wide range of music programs both in the community and at the high school. At Morrison High School, nearly 10 percent of the student population is involved in band, which has been directed by Dave Bean for the past few decades. While the band begins regular marching performances during the foot-ball season, its debut concert will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 in the MHS auditorium. All are welcome to attend.

Morrison High School also has a very prestigious madri-gal group, a choir that dresses in Renaissance clothing and sings songs from that era. It is one of the oldest in the state, going on 38 years. Each winter, the madrigals put on a holiday dinner and tea. This year’s performances will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 20. Please contact Ms. Zahora, director of choral activities at [email protected] if you are interest-ed in attending. Reservations are being taken now.

Each spring, Morrison puts

on a musical. Last year, “The Wizard of Oz” was an incredible success. The level of student and community involvement was unparalleled, and the per-formance was incredibly fun.

This year, Morrison is excited to announce its performance of “Thoroughly Modern Mil-lie.” Though this musical might not be as widely known as “The Wizard of Oz,” it is no less enter-taining. The story follows Millie, a young actress in the 20s who makes the big move to New York to pursue wealth and fame. She has hilarious expectations, meets some pretty interesting characters, and finds herself investigating an evil plot.

“Thoroughly Modern Millie” will premiere at 7 p.m. May 8, with further performances at 7 p.m. May 9 and 2 p.m. May 10. Please visit morrisonchoir.wee-bly.com for regular updates.

Morrison also has an incred-

ibly strong art program. If you walk through the hallways of the high school, you can’t help but to notice both the classi-cal and student-made art that adorns the walls. There are also murals located throughout the school. It goes to show that the school and community

embrace the fresh artistic tal-ents its students have to offer.

Every year, the students and community participate in an event that is native to Morrison called Paint the Town. This event is a celebration of art in the community, and it allows community members to paint a square on Main Street. It is a widely attended event and one that the town greatly cherishes.

The art program at MHS also puts on a show each year that happens to coincide with the musical. It is highly recom-mended that the events are attended in succession. It makes for a great night of culture, first viewing some truly spectacular works of art, and then attending a stellar production (each for a fraction of the price they would be in any major city).

Morrison High SchoolNo such thing as lost arts

Morrison High School boasts a madrigal group with a deep, rich history. Visit morrisonchoir.weebly.com to read all about the ensemble, its schedule and more on the school’s fine arts.

MORRISON CONTINUED ON 27�

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PRIDE 27

Drivers education at Morrison High School often features guest speakers, including police chiefs.

Drivers education a chief focus at MHS

In drivers education, we do several things. There is hands-on driving, which allows for instruction while driving. We encounter all kinds of driving, such as interstate driving on I-80 and -88, as well as driving on gravel and winter roads. We cover city driving, along with how to park in angled, straight and parallel parking spaces.

In the classroom, there is hands-on work, in which we use technology. We use sites for dif-ferent driving topics. We student new laws and cover other licenses, such as motorcycle and CDL licenses. We cover motorcycle and bicycle safety. We work on learning to avoid simple traffic errors. We also have guest speakers like the chief of police, who explain traffic stops and citations. We have had a guest speaker who is a deputy chief of police from Cook County. He discusses the con-sequences of distracted driving, and we also have had a speaker who comes to talk about motorcycle safety, and how to get your motorcycle license.

When finished with drivers ed at Morrison High School, students have a foundation of what is needed to be a safe and defensive driver in the state of Illinois.

MORRISONCONTINUED FROM 25

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ABOVE: Erin Allen shows off an art project inspired by adversity. The Allen family has had multiple brushes with cancer. “She’s more expressive now than ever before,” Amber Allen says about her daughter’s newfound outlet in art.

RIGHT: The Newman Stu-dent Ambassadors Pro-gram members are shown promoting Newman Cen-tral Catholic High School at Culver’s for a New-man Night. They spent two evenings sharing their stories with patrons and promoting the Cath-olic education Newman offers. The group active-ly participates at social events, church functions, community parades and the school’s annual open house.

Newman Central Catholic High School

Service with a smile

Photo submitted by Paul Gierhart

PRIDE 29

ABOVE: Newman students took part in the Illinois Music Educators Association District 8 Music Festival, a daylong event comprised of advanced music students throughout northwest Illinois. Students go through a rigorous audition process in order to be selected to the band, choir, or orchestra. The groups then rehearse under the direction of a prominent guest conductor and perform a concert at DeKalb High School.

RIGHT: Newman choir members were selected for the Three Rivers Music Fes-tival at Augustana College. They spent the day rehearsing and performing under the direction of Dr. Robert Sinclair from Vandercook College of Music.

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We are proudof all of ourlocal HighSchools’

Acheivements




Oregon High School band member Kelsey Pudlas grabs a comfortable seat for a photo opportunity with the OHS Hawk. The Marching Hawks won the Geneseo Maple Leaf Classic, the first championship in a field show in the history of the school.


Oregon High School sees continued success going into the 2014-15

school year after bing nationally recognized three times since 2012.

First it was recognized by U.S. News & World Reports as one of the nation’s best high schools in 2012. Second, it was recognized as by News-week/Daily Beast in 2013 as the 660th-ranked high school in the United States. It was recognized again by News-week/Daily Beast in 2014 as 616th–ranked high school in the U.S.

With more than 25,000 pub-lic high schools in the U.S.,

OHS ranks in the top 7 per-cent in the country.

AcademicsOregon High School contin-

ues to offer a comprehensive slate of advanced placement courses for the 2014-15 school year.

OHS students can take the following slate of AP courses on site: AP art history; AP U.S. history; AP calculus AB; AP calculus BC; AP probability and statistics; AP Spanish; AP environmental science; AP U.S. government; and AP lit-erature.

OHS students also have a vari-ety of dual-credit courses they

can take through Sauk Valley Community College, with free tuition offered to students tak-ing courses on the OHS cam-pus. These courses include: psychology/sociology, rhetoric and composition, chemistry, Western civilization, and digital media and speech. Nearly 90 percent of the Class of 2014 took at least one advanced placement or dual-credit course before graduating.

Faculty and student recognition

In October, OHS visual arts teacher Cheryl Bunton was recognized as teacher of merit

at the Those Who Excel cel-ebration, sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Educa-tion. Bunton is among the seven faculty members who are National Board-certified teachers. Those teachers include Jan Pattat, John Zuber, Megan Adams, Danyel Larsen, Kim Radostits and Aaron Sitze.

OHS senior Ben Baldwin was named as a National Merit Scholarship semifinal-ist in August. Ben is the first OHS student in recent school history to be recognized as a semifinalist.

Oregon High School

National treasure

OREGON CONTINUED ON 31�

OHS senior Ben Baldwin was named as a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist in August. Ben is the first OHS student in recent school history to be recognized as a semifinalist.

At the end of the 2013-14 school year, Oregon High School students had per-formed more than 21,000 hours of com-munity service. OHS also had five stu-dents from the Class of 2014 earn Silver Service Cord recognition, having per-formed more than 400 hours of com-munity service. They were recognized at their graduation ceremony for their efforts.

PRIDE 31

MusicThe Oregon High School Marching

Hawks received first place at the Gen-eseo Maple Leaf Classic, the first cham-pionship in a field show in the history of the school.

The OHS music program is involved in ILMEA and IHSA. This year, 20 OHS students were selected for the all-district band and choir through the ILMEA audition process. Last year, five students qualified for ILMEA all-state ensembles, and one student was selected for the future music educator seminar.

At 2014 IHSA organizational contest, both band and choir received superior ratings. The OHS music program placed 4th in Class B IHSA music contest over-all. The OHS band placed 3rd in state in its own division.

ServiceOregon High School continues to

believe strongly in service to its com-munity. At the end of the 2013-14 school year, students had performed more than 21,000 hours of community service. OHS also had five students from the Class of 2014 earn Silver Service Cord recognition, having per-formed more than 400 hours of com-munity service. They were recognized at their graduation ceremony for their efforts.

The Class of 2014 also had 21 Pre-mier Scholars, who met the following criteria: must meet or exceed perfor-mance benchmarks on the Prairie State Achievement Exam; maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average; participate in at least eight extra-curricular activities by second semester their senior year; per-form 80 hours of community service by third quarter of their senior year; take at least one advanced placement or dual-credit course by the end of their senior year.

AthleticsOHS had another successful year in

athletic competition during the 2013-14 school year. Highlights for the Hawks included:

• The Lady Hawks volleyball team fin-ished with a record of 29-9-1, winning an IHSA 2A regional championship and advancing to a sectional championship game.

• The Hawks football team advanced to the second round of the IHSA Class 3A playoffs, before falling to the eventual state runner-up.

• For the first time, OHS fielded a girls golf team, which advanced to an IHSA sectional. The OHS boys golf team also advanced to the sectional level.

• The Lady Hawk girls basketball team finished with an outstanding record of 19-12 and won an IHSA Class 2A region-al championship.

• Both the OHS boys basketball and girls softball programs won the White Pines Officials Association Sportsman-ship Award for the northwest/north central Illinois region.

• The Hawks wrestling team had three wrestlers advance to the state finals.

In addition to their fine accomplish-ments on the field, court, mat, or dia-mond,

OHS athletes donated more than 1,100 hours of community service back to the area through various events. It’s great to be an Oregon Hawk!

OHS commits to classroom, communityOREGON

CONTINUED FROM 30

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BY JAMIE L. HARMONPolo Community Schools art instructor

As I continue into my 15th year of teaching the students of PCHS,

I often wonder how the art department has gotten to where it is.

I look around and see the amazing art created by young kids throughout the years. The awards that hang in the art room. The paintings that adorn the halls. and the doo-dles that cover the notebooks. They’re all signs of the kids’ love of art here in Polo.

The dedication, talent and excitement of the students have landed us in a nota-ble position among state schools. In this past year alone, the list of accom-plishments is astounding (and long!).

During the 2013-14 school year, the PCHS art depart-ment was awarded with:

• Second place overall in the Congressional Art Competi-tion. Madison Merdian’s sun-flower still hangs in Congress-man Adam Kinzinger’s office.

• Eight of the top 12 place finishes in Woodlawn Arts Academy’s student art com-petition, including all three first-place awards in each age division

• First place in the high school division of the Sauk

Valley Art Competition• Fourth place in the high

school division of the Sauk Valley Art Competition

• Fourth place in the junior high division of the Sauk Val-ley Art Competition

The start of this current school year already brings three awards through the Grand Detour Art Show/Next Picture Show. In the high school division, Lana Scholl earned first, and Jake Han-lon took second. In the same art show, Denesy Lackland placed fourth in the elemen-

tary division.Keep your eyes on us – we

are soon to be entering the Northern Illinois University high school show, the Con-gressional Art Competition, Woodlawn, and a few state competitions.

I am very proud of what my talented students achieve, but will continue to push them to new levels. We can always do more in the arts from the small town in which we belong.

But the art department is more than just winning priz-

es. We participate in many activities. We began creating and producing the PCHS year-book last year. Twenty-five students and I, for the past 13 years, have participated in Morrison’s Paint the Town. The windows at this spectacu-lar event are our canvases.

You also will spot us in Chica-go, Milwaukee and Minneapo-lis on our jam-packed, ambi-tious art field trips. The trips are done in conjunction with Mor-rison High School’s art depart-ment. The day usually starts at 4 a.m. and ends around midnight on a few chosen Sat-urdays throughout the school year. We visit museums, ride the subways, eat at a variety of odd restaurants, shop and most recently attended the coveted “David Bowie Is” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Murals can be found throughout the middle school and high school, and some-times even the sidewalks are full of color.

I have had the pleasure of working with such great stu-dents and parents over the many years. The program would not achieve the level it does without them. I greatly appreciate this and look forward to seeing what art will come from 61064 in the future.

Polo High SchoolArt in full bloom

Several of Polo Community High School’s finest students came together May 18 at Honors Night, to be awarded more than $25,000 in local scholarships.

This year, the ceremony hon-ored more than 15 recipients through 24 different scholar-ships; some scholarships went to a single student, while oth-ers went to multiple recipients.

The various scholarships offered had a multitude of requirements for the candi-dates. Each one has its own criteria when choosing the recipient(s). Some donors have the candidates write an essay or go through an inter-view process, while other scholarships require the stu-dents to continue their post-high school education within

specific educational fields.Polo’s local scholarships

have a huge impact on these young men and women. In addition to significant finan-cial help in paying for their education, the scholarships also are concrete evidence to them that they are important to the local donors, as well as to the Polo community.

Bev and Bill Burkardt, found-

ers of the William and Beverly Burkardt Family Foundation, NFP Scholarship, chose eight scholarship recipients for this year’s scholarship. The win-ners were Owen Bailey, Casa-ndra Kurschner, Ashlie Lowry, Allison Reeder, Miguel Domin-guez, Justin Archer, Peyton Taylor, and Austin Dollmeyer.

Receiving scholarships leads to paying it forward

Madison Merdian’s sunflower, submitted in the Congressio-nal Art Competition, still hangs in Congressman Adam Kinz-inger’s office.

POLO CONTINUED ON 33�

PRIDE 33

Last year, Polo Commu-nity High School imple-mented a volunteer hour requirement for all gradu-ates.

Each student must suc-cessfully complete 10 vol-unteers hours during every school year attended.

The purpose for this graduation require-ment is to get the stu-dents involved within the local community as well as to “give back” to the Polo community and the surrounding areas, in exchange for the commu-nities’ continued support.

Senior Allie Stover has

volunteered at Dixon’s Granny Rose Animal Shelter, raked her elderly neighbors’ lawns, vol-unteered at her church’s Trunk or Treat event, and also helped a house-bound elderly couple by picking up their meat from Chad-wick.

When asked what she has learned from the vol-unteering experience, she stated, “I have learned to be a lot more patient, especially when working with the animals at the shelter.”

The students at the high school are not only helping our community members, but are they are also learn-ing lifelong skills during the process.

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With their 8-hour battery life, the Chromebooks integrated into everyday life at Prophetstown High School make for a more powerful learning experience.

Prophetstown High School

Panther pride meets Google DriveBY CLARE KRAMERProphetstown senior

Prophetstown High School has experi-enced a vast amount of

change in the past year. Along with a new principal and a number of new teachers, PHS has also been blessed with some new technology – Chromebooks.

Last year, the District Tech Team, consisting of Chad Colmone, Cathy Hinrichs, Cindy Megli, David Rog-ers, Nathan Stahr, and Gail Wright, assembled the sec-ond Wednesday of each month to discuss the best technology options our dis-trict has.

With the help of funding from the Education Founda-tion and the PLT District,

our schools were able to purchase the Chromebooks for $273 each.

The District Tech Team found that by providing Chrome-books for the district, they

“would not only put a com-puter into the hands of our students, but they would save money by becoming a Google Drive district,” according to Wright. This is why the English teachers have been converting PHS students to using Google Drive instead of Microsoft Word.

Clare Kramer

PROPHETSTOWN CONTINUED ON 35�

PRIDE 35

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Students are now using Google Drive is an online word pad used to write essays and take notes. Google Drive provides a better source to converse essays or projects with teachers and classmates. Instead of always having to print out projects, students will be able to share their assignments with their teach-ers for them to grade. This will not only save time in printing, but also money since PHS will be using less paper.

Besides having to pay a large cost for Windows 7 and Microsoft Office for each computer, another deciding factor for getting Chrome-books through Acer was the 8-hour battery life. With each student having a full 8 hours of battery life for the day, they can get a lot accomplished.

Getting Chromebooks “really expands the learn-ing opportunities for our students,” Mrs. Wright said. Many teachers have had “awesome lessons they want-ed to do with students that required the use of websites or access to computers,” she added.

The media center is com-monly booked with other classes. The Chromebooks will allow teachers to conduct their lessons in the classroom instead of having to go to the media center, where there is always a chance that it is already occupied.

Grades 3-12 will also be receiving Chromebooks in the near future. Even the little tykes get them! However, grades 3-8 will have to leave their Chromebooks in the classroom every day, while the high-schoolers get to take theirs home during the whole school year.

The high school was the first in the district to acquire the Chromebooks.

“We hope to have the Chromebooks for grades 3-8 by the end of the first semes-ter – sooner if there is no delay in the manufacturing process,” Mrs. Wright said.

Since PHS is getting snazzier with the new Chromebooks, we must learn to take good care of them. The Chrome-books will also be filtered, even when the students are at home. Each student is responsible for charging the Chromebook before school so it has a full 8-hour battery life.

Students should learn to take advantage of this won-derful opportunity.

“It is a choice each student has to make, especially the decision on whether they are going to learn and master the content so they can become productive, employed citi-zens,” Mrs. Wright said.

PROPHETSTOWNCONTINUED FROM 34

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Chromebooks offer versatility PHS at a glance• Our entire freshman

class has been on two col-lege visits this year

• Last year’s graduates: 35 percent went on to a college/university, 58 per-cent to community college or trade school, 5 percent to workforce, 2 percent to military

• PHS offers 47 hours of dual-credit classes

• PSAE scores have increased 3 consecutive years

• PHS has 4 Illinois State Scholars (Rebecca Arnolts, Catherine Cooney, Mikaela Kovorik, Madline Wold)

• 44 PHS students earned the National Career Readi-ness Certificate

• PHS chorus placed second in Class C Music Sweepstakes

• PHS band placed third in Class C Music Sweep-stakes

• Girls basketball placed second in the IHSA state tournament


Rochelle High SchoolLaying out a road map for success

Freshman parents: Semester 1 is nearly over, and it’s time for a plan.

The Rochelle Township High School and its Parents Resource Network remind parents that your child’s 4-year plan is under construction. First-year students bring the plan home for review, discussion, and signatures, and the plans must be returned to RTHS before the end of the fall semester in December.

What is a 4-year plan?It is a collaborative effort between the

student and their counselor.High school students choose from a

broad range of courses of study and elective classes. Because of very specific academic requirements for graduation, having a plan helps guide success. Creat-ing a 4-year plan allows each freshman to discuss their interests and goals with a counselor before creating a semester-by-semester map of the classes they want and need, so both career goals and high school graduation requirements are met.

“The 4-year plan is not a commitment, but a tentative look at how classes can be laid out over your student’s high school career,” counselor Laurie Pillen said.

While meeting with freshmen, courses of study like academic vs career-specific programs through Kishwaukee Educa-tion Consortium are explained.

Also discussed are options like early graduation and summer school, which can free up time for elective classes dur-ing the school year.

Other questions discussed: Are study halls in your best interest?Does the plan meet all mandated

requirements?Do the elective classes you want fit into

the plan? What would Plan B look like?Once the plan is complete, it is sent

home for review, creating an excellent opportunity to talk about future plans, as well as discuss how current classes are progressing.

Four years of high school is 708 days. It passes quickly. Discussing post-high school plans and career goals is impor-tant.

“We encourage parents to sit down and look at the plan,” Pillen said. “We hope it begins a conversation that continues about long-range plans, as well as the specifics of short range plans. The 4-year plan highlights student options. It shows students and parents alike how the class-es fit together.”

The 4-year plan should be signed and returned before the end of the fall semester (Dec. 19), because registration meetings regarding the sophomore year schedule begin after the winter break.

Now is a good time for families of soph-omores, juniors and seniors to revisit the 4-year plan to be sure students are on track.

Eighth Grade Curriculum NightParents of eighth-graders – next year’s

freshman class – should attend Eighth Grade Curriculum Night on Dec. 3. The incoming freshmen and parents begin in the RTHS auditorium for an overview, then talk with reps of the academic departments and extra-curricular activi-ties.

The Parents Resource Network is the liaison for parents with the administra-tion and Board of Education. All RTHS parents are welcome to participate and can receive group emails.

The 4-year plan is working in Rochelle.

2013-14 accolades at a glance

• 23 seniors earned Illinois State Scholar distinction

• 1 student scored Perfect 36 on ACT, will study at Northwestern University

• 1 student earned an ROTC Scholar-ship, enrolled at Stanford University

• 1 student won United States Con-gressional art contest

• Class of 2014 earned $995K in scholarships ($165K local, $830 institu-tional)

• Vocal jazz ensemble won seventh National Downbeat magazine award

• 17 students competed in state-level FFA, mathematics, computer science, engineering drafting and tennis competi-tions

• 25 seniors volunteered at least 400 hours of community service while in high school

PRIDE 37

ROCK FALLS CONTINUED ON 38�

Student leaders with B.L.I.N.D work with incoming Rock Falls High School freshmen.

Rock Falls High School

Mentors, leaders and moreB.L.I.N.D. is a group of

high school students who have joined

together with students from Dixon, Fulton, Morrison, and Newman high schools to break down stereotypes that exist in each school and among the schools.

The group uses the Search Institute’s 40 developmen-tal assets as its template for developing healthy rela-tionships. Students elect to become a member, and then are chosen via a survey

given to the faculty.This is the 15th year

B.L.I.N.D. has been incor-porated into the different schools. Rock Falls has 25 stu-dent leaders, and all current grades 9-12 have participated in a freshmen retreat. Toler-ance and acceptance are the two major teaching points.

The student leaders attend a 3-day, 2-night retreat in early August at Camp Ben-son in Mount Carroll, where they receive intense training in a number of awareness

modules. A large community service project is included as part of the retreat.

All freshmen attend a retreat in the fall with the other high schools’ freshmen at West-wood Sports Complex.

Early-out Wednesdays are devoted to teaching the 40 developmental assets, along with a number of other per-sonal awareness trainings to the freshmen. Six-week leadership training is a feeder opportunity for potential B.L.I.N.D. leaders, and is held

at the Center for Youth build-ing (GPA) in Sterling.

Each week, students from DHS, NHS, and RFHS meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss ways to meet their potential and to become stronger lead-ers. The 6-week program discusses communication, healthy relationships, person-al asset building, community service, suicide prevention, and is led almost entirely by the current student leaders.


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Family ~ Senior ~ Sports ~ Wedding

The Junior Optimist Club is a group of high school students who have joined together, under the guidance of an Opti-mist Club, for the purpose of developing citizenship, serving the community and learning to accept the role of responsible citizens.

It is sponsored by the Rock Falls Optimist Club, and its motto is “Kids helping kids.” It is the school’s community service club. There are cur-rently five Junior Optimist Clubs in Illinois: Belleville,

Deerfield, Highland, IVC and Rock Falls. Rock Falls High School was the first to be chartered.

The group, featuring 78 stu-dents in grades 9 through 12, undertakes many events and activities.

For Night of the Homeless, Students sleep in boxes on the front lawn of the high school and collect donations for the PADS Homeless Shelter.

Among the awards the club has won is a Rock Falls Cham-ber of Commerce “Shoulder to the Wheel” honor for vol-unteerism in 2013. The club also ran the talent show in January.

B.L.A.S.T.Bigs and Littles Are Special

Together is a student-to-student mentoring program through which high school and elementary students meet twice each month at both Dil-lon and Merrill schools.

Each session has a “big” working with a “little” in an asset-rich activity. The activi-ties are based upon the 40

developmental assets. Many of them incorporate arts and crafts as a vehicle for present-ing the 40 assets.

There are 15 students assigned to and transported to each of the elementary schools. Each session is during seventh hour. Preference is given to students who have a study hall seventh hour. The Junior Opti-mist club oversees B.L.A.S.T.

ROCK FALLSCONTINUED FROM 37

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Junior Optimists raise awareness, funds

Members of the Rock Falls Junior Optimists Club set up camp in boxes on the front lawn of Rock Falls High School to collect donations for the PADS Homeless Shelter and raise homelessness awareness during Night of the Homeless.

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PRIDE 39

The third annual Zombie Shuffle was held Oct. 25 at Centennial Park in Rock Falls.

About 115 individual registered for the event. This year, we had a free kids fun run sponsored by Guar-anteed Rate. Last year, $1,100 was given to students in character scholarships, and $1,000 was donated to the United Way with the Zombie Shuffle proceeds.

Special thanks to this year’s sponsors: Wal-Mart, CGH Medical Center, Smeltzer Insurance, Sauk Valley Bank, the Illinois National Guard, Sauk Val-ley Detassling, Twin City Detassling, Mead’s Bike Shop, The Loop, Structural Healthcare, and Guar-anteed Rate.

Zombie Shuffle returns, raises funds

The third annual Zombie Shuffle, held Oct. 25 at Centennial Park in Rock Falls, generated funds for the United Way.

The winners:Overall

Dawson Smith 18:40; Shayla Moorman 22:0712-and-under

Grant Wasson 19:31; Bailee Fortney 23:06RFHS Student

Jon Cameron 19:34; Chelsi Blair 23:24Masters (40 and over)

Mark Truesdell 20:36; Patty Martinez 22:07Mid-Pack Award

Robert Russell 29:40:00


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PRIDE 41

Sterling High SchoolEntering the digital age

Even though Sterling High School is ranked by U.S. News and World Reports in the top 9 percent of high schools nationally, we

remain on a quest for continual improvement.Through ongoing conversations with our grad-

uates, we realized that while they were prepared academically, they struggled with technology-centered environments in colleges and careers.

Based on this feedback and after years of research, professional development, and ready-ing our infrastructure, this August marked the genesis of an exciting new era at Sterling High School: When the students returned in August, each was given a MacBook Air Laptop.

A transformation into a true digital learning environment takes years, but the changes at Sterling High School are already visible in the program’s first 3 months. The use of the MacBooks also has allowed Sterling High School students

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“The pace of the classroom is much different,” junior Mackenzie Barnhart said. “We can learn faster this year. We don’t have to wait to do research, because it is always available. We don’t have to wait to be scheduled into a computer lab to work on our papers, because we can work on them any time.”

Seniors Zac Alston and Abbey Zacharski also noted that they are now learning technology skills along with their class content, better preparing them for college.

The use of the MacBooks also has allowed students to become comfortable using both Mac and PC platforms, widening their future work-place skills.

Teachers continue to expand the ways technol-ogy is changing curriculum and assessment, including making assessments more efficient, and allowing the teacher to collect and ana-lyze assessment data more easily to make instructional decisions.

Math teacher Alexis Rivera, for example, uses the com-puters to send short math assessments to students, and then send out differentiated assignments based only on the skills that individual stu-dents still need to master. He also creates instructional videos that show students how to solve math problems, and watching this video becomes the homework for the class, freeing up class time for students to actually work on solving problems with the teacher’s assis-tance.

The “flipped” classroom model is becoming a more common approach to help teachers spend more one-on-one time with students in class, rather than having students passively listening to a lecture and then strug-gling with the application at

home.In addition to moving to

a more student-centered, technology-rich curriculum, one of the goals that we have for this year is to teach stu-dents how to stay organized through online tools, which mimics workplace skills. We have built 5 minutes into our first-hour class for all students to log in and check emails and Skyward.

We want to establish communication as a prior-ity. Those 5 minutes allow students to check emails from teachers, advisors, and coaches, check their grades, attendance and discipline,

and get mentally organized for their day.

Last year, staff was using email to communicate with students, but students were not checking it frequently or at all because it wasn’t easily accessible unless students went to a computer lab to log in.

This year, almost all stu-dents check email several times per day, creating a strong sense of connected-ness in the SHS community.

Alston noted that the Digi-tal Learning at Sterling High School computers help with other organizational issues, as well, as he has all of his

materials – notes, projects, papers – on his computer and always ready. This makes it easy to use smaller chunks of time available during the day to work on any in progress assignment.

In the classroom, pro-cedures for handling classroom materials have changed drastically. Stu-dents now access class texts, assignments, and notes online, which has dra-matically reduced our paper usage and also helps stu-dents stay organized.

Students know that they can find their course materi-als through Skyward, and this helps parents, as well. Parents have access to the same materials, so it is easy for parents to log in to Sky-ward and see exactly what their children are learning in class. This allows a greater degree of transparency between the classroom and home than has ever existed before.

Sterling High School’s con-version to a digital learning environment is another way that Sterling Public Schools is putting the most relevant and up-to-date curricular materials and technology in the hands of its students.

This way of learning will improve Sterling High School’s already nationally ranked academic environ-ment.

STERLINGCONTINUED FROM 41

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MacBooks aid both teachers, students

In the classroom, procedures for handling classroom materi-als have changed drastically.

’’‘‘The pace of the

classroom is much different. We can learn

faster this year. We don’t have to wait to do

research, because it is

always available. Mackenzie Barnhart,

SHS junior

STERLING CONTINUED ON 44�

PRIDE 43

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Sterling High School fall athletes are seeing unprec-edented state series success.

Sterling High School has nine fall sports opportuni-ties for its student-athletes: boys and girls cross country, volleyball, football, girls ten-nis, boys and girls golf, boys soccer, and girls swimming.

For these SHS student ath-letes, the fall of 2014 is one to remember. The boys and girls cross country teams finished second and third in the Northern Illinois Big 12, respectively, and both qualified for the sectional championship cross country meet, with Jonathan Landis qualifying as an individual for the state championship meet.

The girls tennis team had a successful regular season and advanced two doubles teams to the IHSA state tournament.

The boys and girls golf teams had successful sea-sons, as well. The girls team continues to build its pro-gram, and the boys team fin-ished third in the Northern Illinois Big 12 and placed second at the regional meet, with senior Ryan Hurley earning medalist honors. At the sectional golf meet, SHS advanced Ryan Hurley to the state golf tournament where he finished 58th.

The girls swim team under-went a youth movement this season and was led by freshman and conference MVP Kerry Mullan, and second team all-conference diver Kallie Zuidema, who broke both school diving records this year. The Girls Swim team will be working to advance in the sectional meet this year at Rockford Jefferson.

The volleyball team fin-ished second in the North-ern Illinois Big 12, and won regional and sectional titles, the latter its first since 1981.

The volleyball team fell to Joliet Catholic in the super-sectional level, a match shy of the state tournament.

The football team finished its regular season with a win-ning record for the 13th year in a row and advanced to the second round of the IHSA Class 5A playoffs before bow-ing out to Woodstock Marian. The football team has made the playoffs 12 out of the past 13 seasons.

Boys soccer continued its dominance by finishing Northern Illinois Confer-ence play unbeaten for another conference champi-onship. The team was led by senior Jose Uresti, the NIB-12 West MVP. The soccer team also won the regional championship before los-ing a hard-fought sectional semifinal match to Belvidere North 3-2.

Overall, SHS has seen extensive state tournament success in the fall of 2014, yet another example of the way Sterling Public Schools’ students achieve. The stu-dent-athletes and coaches

at SHSl look to build on the fall sports’ success with suc-cess in winter sports of girls bowling, wrestling, boys swimming, competition cheer and dance, and boys and girls basketball.

STERLINGCONTINUED FROM 42

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Fall sports season one to remember

ABOVE: The Sterling volleyball team celebrates a victory. Opponents saw plenty of that, as the Golden Warriors won their first sectional title since 1981.

BELOW: The boys soccer team continues to expect success, as well, having completed another undefeated conference slate for a Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference title.


The annual retreat, taken by the entire Fulton Unity stu-dent body, incorporates working together and fun. The goal is to build fellowship and commu-nity that is carried back into the classroom throughout the school year.

PRIDE 45

At the beginning of every school year, the Unity Christian School Stu-

dent Council hosts a retreat for all students in grades 7-12.

Student Council meets fre-quently throughout the sum-mer to coordinate the details, including organizing speaking times, meals, and games. The entire student body (grades 7-12) takes a 2-day trip to an area camp to have fun and fel-lowship together.

Prior to the beginning of the academic year, Unity picks out a theme. The 2014-15 academic year is focused on I Thessalonians 5:11: “There-fore encourage one another and build each other up.” Every year, at retreat, a speak-er chosen from the local area talks and teaches about the new theme.

After each sermon/lesson, the students and a teacher break into small groups to debrief the day and the sermon. All the games incorporate working together and fun, whether it is on the Slip n’ Slide or in a game of Capture the Flag.

At the end of the 2-day event, the students and fac-ulty head back to the school, preparing to build on the fellowship and community created at retreat. All in all,

retreat is a great opportunity for students to connect with each other and form a com-munity as they transition into another academic year at Unity. It is a fun time with multiple games and activities that encourages teamwork and bonding.

Retreat also provides a time for devotions, reflection, prayer, and encourages spiri-tual growth.

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Fulton Unity High SchoolRetreat, return, reflect, repeat


BY RACHEL DYKSTRAWest Carroll High School senior

My name is Rachel Dykstra, and I am a senior at West

Carroll High School. I live in Thomson. And in the past 4 years, I’ve been very busy.

I have four projects within my family farm, I play three sports, I participate in FFA, National Honors Society, Sci-ence Club, and Interact Club, and I am also the reporter for my FFA chapter.

I’ve always been involved on my family’s farm. I’ve been raising cattle since I was about 10. Every year, I buy two calves and raise them for meat.

Three years ago, I took over my dad’s sweet corn business. In the spring, my dad plants about an acre of sweet corn, and, in July, I pick the corn by hand with the help of my dad and brother. It takes about 2 weeks to pick our sweet corn patch. Then I sell all the corn to local grocery stores.

I also have a rabbit proj-ect, which is more than just a hobby for me. In 2011, I bought two rabbits. That year, I entered them in the White-side County Fair and ended up doing very well. One of my rabbits received first place and then went on and won Best of Breed.

Since then, I’ve entered my rabbits in the fair every year. The first year while having the rabbits, I bred them and ended up with eight babies. I later sold all of the babies to differ-ent customers for rabbit meat. I also bought two more rabbits of a different breed of the next year. Right now, I have only one rabbit, which I just plan to just keep as a pet.

My biggest project I have is my egg business. Two years ago, I bought 200 chicks from Schlect’s Hatchery. Within about 5 months, they started to lay eggs. In order to start selling my eggs in a store, I had to have an egg-selling license. I started

out selling about 100 dozen every other week to an organic store called Choices Natural in Rockford. I also sold eggs to a grocery store called Sullivan’s and a gas station called The Co-Z corner in Morrison.

That was only the beginning of my egg business. This past year, I expanded my busi-ness. My dad, brother, and I converted an old shed into a chicken coop. So now I have two coops, which both can house about 250 chickens. In

the spring, I bought 250 more chicks. With the help of my mom, I found two more stores to sell eggs – Fairway in Clin-ton, Iowa, and Piggly Wiggly in Galena.

In September, I started sell-ing about 15 dozen eggs to the Farmer’s Guest House, a bed and breakfast in Galena. Altogether, I am selling eggs to five different grocery stores and one bed and breakfast. I get about 20 dozen eggs from my chickens every day, so I

definitely need all the stores to get rid of the eggs.

After high school, I hope to keep my egg business going while I attend college. I would like to expand my egg busi-ness even farther. I really enjoy working on the farm and with the animals. My life sure has been busy within the past 4 years, but I couldn’t have accomplished what I have without the help and encouragement of my parents and family.

West Carroll High SchoolRachel’s Egg-cellent Adventure

ABOVE: Rachel Dykstra has a burgeoning egg business, with two coops that house about 250 chickens, which give her about 20 dozen eggs a day. And she has the buyers, too. She hopes to grow her business after graduat-ing from West Carroll High in the spring.

LEFT: Even though the egg busi-ness is booming, Dykstra helps out with other chores on the farm. It takes about 2 weeks for her, her dad and her brother to harvest the sweet corn crop.

PRIDE 47

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Be active year round with a SterlingPark District TOTAL FITNESS PASS!• Fitness Center at Duis• Swimming at Duis• Fitness Center at Westwood• Indoor Basketball at Westwood• Indoor Track at Westwood• Indoor AstroTurf Field atWestwood

The Sterling Park District is excited toannounce the addition of a 60 yard indoorAstroTurf PureGrass football/soccer !eldatWestwood Fitness & Sports Center! Inaddition to scheduled leagues, we will offerOpen Football and Open Soccer hourseach week. The !eld is also available for

private rental!

NOW PLAYING ATWESTWOOD FITNESS& SPORTS CENTER!

Wellbeats is a collec!on of on demand virtual aerobicsclasses and is a supplement to our current schedule of liveaerobics classes. We o"er scheduled Wellbeats classesand open studio !me in addi!on to our exis!ng aerobicsclass schedule. Open studio !me is on a #rst come #rstserve basis. Fitness users simply access the kiosk and

select the class of their choice.

STERLING PARK DISTRICTWestwood Fitness & Sports Center

1900Westwood DriveSterling, IL 61081(815) 622-6201

www.sterlingparks.org

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