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Andrew Tubek
Varsity football player earns national recognition
Senior Andrew Tubek was named a runner up in the national Hammer Strength High School Football Player of the Year contest. The award acknowledges that Tubek has strong work ethic, outstanding leadership, consistency of effort, and high academic standing. Head Coach Luke Mertens, who nominated Tubek for the award, described in a 500-word essay how his running back exemplifies those qualities. According to the contest website, the student-athletes honored "are not defined by size or speed but rather the drive, determination, and uncommon commitment it takes to become a fierce competitor."
As one of five runners up, Tubek will receive a plaque and a Hammer Strength t-shirt; he also will be mentioned in the April 2010 issue of American Football Monthly. Representatives from the magazine selected the winner and runners up for the contest alongside Hammer Strength.
Athletes continue competing at the Division I level next year
Abbie Horan
Kecia Morway
D.J. Snelton
Alex Neal
Four Eagles have signed to compete in Division I athletics next year.
Kecia Morway and Alex Neal have committed to the University of Notre Dame and George Washington University, respectively, for soccer. Morway has played for Eclipse Select for nine years in the position of left outside back. Neal has played for the Eagles varsity team as left midfielder since her freshman year. She has the most assists of any player in LCHS history, among many other accomplishments. Neal also plays for Eclipse Select.
Abbie Horan signed to play golf at Iowa State University, after leading the Eagles since she was a freshman. She has earned two fourth place medals at the state finals throughout her high school career, among other accomplishments.
Left-handed pitcher D.J. Snelton is bound for the University of Minnesota, a top 25 Division I baseball program. Snelton earned Honorable Mention All-Conference and All-Area Player last season, and he already has been eyed by some professional teams.

February Eagle Pride recognizes several exceptional students
Several students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of February. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Students and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients incl
uded Andrew Seketa, Taylor Pooley, Deondre Hudson, Lynn Twarowski, Elizabeth Prein, Carrie Breum, John Salisbury, Kelly Dean, Andrew Polfliet, Anne Safron, Roland Luke, Gianmarco Bondi, Miguel Borrero, Jared Hedges, Zack Kimmel, Evan Welsh, Joe Ames, Alexis Holbach, Nicholas Lucy, Erin McGill, Kelly Dean, Sarah Beckman, Emma Howard, Tyler McChristian, Callie Bretthauer, Megan Permer, Abbie Horan, Sarah Toporek, Carrie Breum, Alyssa Mol, Allie Laubenstein, Marcell KirkmanBey, John Androus, Yegor Duma, John Mooney, Anderew Tubek, Ryan Noon, Anthony Szuhay, Megan Frisby, Kyle Gibson, Grant Franson, Alyson Ring, Tyler Swindle, Ashley Parmly, Jordyn Hey, Josh Ptasienski, Rachel Cawthorn, Eric Gillum, Brian McPherson, and Zach Dubow.

Students' achievements honored during January Eagle Pride
Several students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of January. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Students and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients included
Mary Doupis, Chelsey Dugger, Walter Edwards, Josh Green, Brandon Paul, Kristina Elberling, Faith Dermott, Samantha Lohrmann, Shannon Grant, Kaitlyn Larson, Katherine Suopys, Cody Plusa, David Sapiega, Juan Perez, Zach Zannini, chloe King, Jazmine Garcia, Ramon Garcia, Nicole Kruckeberg, Corbin Buege, Stephen Smith, Chloe Carl, Emily Burke, Brody Griffin, Angelo Tomasello, Matthew Tucker, Mark Beadle, Emma Schutz, Tom Knowles, Steve Smith, Gianmarco Bondi, Patrick Chen, Rachel Cawthorn, Daniel Jackson, Garrett VanDellen, and Aaron Sauerland.

Students recognized during December Eagle Pride ceremony
Several students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of December. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Illinois Scholars and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients included
Mike Bartlett, Danny Edwards, Matt Hoffman, Michele Lewis, Rosalind Werchek, Daniel Abbinanti, Courtney Adlam, Joseph Antony, Sarah Bartlett, Sarah Beckman, Lauren Bernard, Kelsey Blackwell, Callie Bretthauer, Nicole Buchholz, Michael Burchard, Tyler Callese, Daniel Carlsen, Kyle Coia, Jessica David, Amanda Fischer, Benjamin Goforth, Laura Gorski, Bridget Hebbard, Alex Higgins, Danielle Hill, Emma Howard, Kathryn Konopka, Carrie Kooistra, Candice Kosanke, Nicle Kosanke, Nicholas Lucy, Kaitlin Macanowicz, Elizabeth Madryzyk, William Massie, Charles McChristian, Erin McGill, Michele Moes, Alyssa Mol, Mark Molloy, Kecia Morway, Alexandria Neal, Alexandru Nicolae, Justin Okamoto, Mitchell Post, Caroline Prendergast, Jason Reuse, Megan Schlaeger, Andrew Seketa, John Sieracke, Sarah Steffen, Sarah Toporek, Paul Twarowski, Alex VanCamp, Evan Vandermeer, Vedant Vasavda, Julija Vinckeviciute, Carly Wade, Hannah Ward, Sarah Warren, Elysia Whipple, Samantha Wojinicki, John Androus, Phil Cappitelli, Devin Ksioszk, Jennifer Totten, Ryan Prais, Mike Beckman, Steve Korosis, Abbie Horan, Jamie Dykstra, and Rachel Sieracke.

Kosanke earns semifinalist spot in National Merit competition
Nicole Kosanke
Nicole Kosanke has jumped the first hurdle in the National Merit Scholarship competition: she's one of 16,000 semifinalists. Now, the senior is waiting for February to come around to learn whether or not she will be one of 15,000 finalists in the country.
"I was really surprised and excited," Kosanke said of her reaction to being named a semifinalist. "I knew that you needed to score really high [on the Preliminary SAT], and I didn't really think I would."
To enter the contest, students must take the PSAT in October of their junior year. About 1.5 millions students across the country take the test each year.
To continue in the competition, Kosanke had to complete an application detailing her extra curricular activities and her plans for the future, which are to major in English and education, hopefully at Lake Forest College. She also had to submit an essay. For her essay, she wrote about what it is like to be an identical twin to her sister Candice Kosanke. Earning a finalist spot opens up the opportunity for her to qualify for scholarship money.

Students recognized during November Eagle Pride ceremony
Several students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of November. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Students of the Month and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients included
Eileen Grace, Kyle Hill, Megan Antony, Shannon Wibright,
Lucas Tressler, Matt Jones, Caleb Gorsuch, Carrie Breum, Arturo Hernandez, Samantha Potenza, Isaac Soto, Marcus Clearwater-Clark, Baldomero Juarez, Ramon Marin, and April Tosado Pagan.

Graduate nominates social studies teacher for Stanford honor
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Eric Vichnick, social studies teacher, earned recognition from Stanford University for being an inspiration to one of the university's freshman — Raven Jackson-Stone, a 2009 LCHS graduate. Jackson-Stone, who was a student in Vichnick's International Relations class, nominated him for the award, which he received during a surprise announcement at a faculty meeting on Nov. 4.
Vichnick said he is especially "blown away" by the honor because Jackson-Stone's academic focus was more in the maths and sciences.
"This validates to me what I've been trying to do — to hook students into current and important world topics and to get them to think on their own," said Vichnick, who has taught International Relations for four years.

Media specialist, social studies teacher team up for presentation
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Faculty members Katie Plese and Jaclyn Shapiro presented at the Illinois School Library Media Association Conference on Oct. 30. Their presentation, entitled “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen!,” focused on the collaborative process for the technology-based projects that they have created as library media specialist and social studies teacher.
Their projects for Shapiro’s U.S. History and AP Government classes have utilized technologies such as wikis, digital storytelling, and podcasting. For more information about the presentation and related projects, check out their website.
Plese and Shapiro are looking forward to developing more collaborative projects in the future.

October Eagle Pride recipients honored at morning ceremony
Approximately 50 students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of October. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Students of the Month and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients included
Arturo Hernandez, Ramon Garcia, Alex Mihailovic, Steve Maluenda, Patrick Jennrich, Tyler Menheer, Paul Twarowski, Matt Now, Jamie Dykstra, Ty Summers, Brandon Cencula, Chuck Troy, Tracie Musich, Cassandra Naylor, Stephanie Hegland, April Tosado, Shannon Ure, Candice Kosanke, Nicole Kosanke, Julija Vinckeviciute, Christine Osuma, Mitchell Post, Nathan Leu, John Pfeiffer, Shanna Hertz, Jessica David, Maria Karstedt, Abbie Horan, Sara Berry, Lacey Olson, Jessica David, Callie Bretthauer, Sarah Beckman, Tyler Callese, Samantha Wojnicki, Jonathon Zeeb, Tyler McChristian, Andrew Seketa, Marissa Sigler, Liz Madrzyk, Jessica Quinn, Jackie Julkowski, Iris Schweier, Ben Venturi, and Christian Higginbottom.

Nearly 300 students earn academic honors at awards night
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Nearly 300 students were invited to attend Academic Awards Night, sponsored by the Guidance Department, on Sept. 30 for achieving and maintaining at least a 3.6 cumulative grade point average. Students earned either their academic letter, pin, or numerals and also received a certificate and a handshake from Principal Jim McKay in recognition of their efforts in the classroom. A line or two about each student's involvement at LCHS and his or her future plans also was shared with the audience.
Social studies teacher Jaclyn Shapiro and science teacher Elizabeth Nelson presented speeches to the students. Shapiro shared her experience of attending a conference in Colonial Williamsburg over the summer to enhance her teaching. She used this story to encourage students to find ways to further their own education outside of the classroom and to be life-long learners. Nelson referred to her challenging experience of working on a research project at Northwestern University, and explained to students that they can use their skills and knowledge to overcome any difficulties in life.
Rebecca Bowen sang the National Anthem at Academic Awards Night, and Lucas Tressler and Hayley Sherwood were the emcees.
Click here to view a list of students who were recognized.

Students earn recognition for high achievement on AP exams
Twenty-three Eagles earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program exams.
This program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams, which are given in May. About 18 percent of high school students who took the AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.
Students who qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction by earning an average grade of 3.5 or higher are Mariah Donner, Michael Donner, Justin Hotle, Hunter McKenzie, Allison Reding, Kaela Talley, Julija Vinckeviciute, and Anthony Ward.
Students who qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor by earning an average grade of 3.25 or higher are Forrest Clements, Ryan Hill, Caryle Kliesner, Naomi Tesar, and George Wilson.
Students who qualified for the AP Scholar by earning an average grade of 3 or higher are Rachel Boglarsky, Sarah Brown, Melissa Buehler, Rebecca Helgeson, Lauren Hennelly, Jesse Lundgren, Kali Miller, Kristopher Posedel, Mitchell Post, and Benjamin Schnurbusch.
Most of the nation’s colleges and universities award credit, advanced placement, or both based on successful performance on the AP exams.
Story by Cheryl Cox, Director of Guidance and Instruction

First Eagle Pride recognizes achieving students
More than sixty students earned Eagle Pride recognition for the month of September. These students were nominated by staff members for various reasons, including outstanding achievements and helpful contributions. Each received a certificate during a breakfast this month. Students of the Month and Athletes of the Month also were recognized.
Recipients included
Nicole Buchholz, Kyle Coia, Emily Denman, Kenny Kliesner, Hilde Nelson, Jessica Quinn, Iris Schweier, Taylor Dare, Colin Vancrey, Gabe Ptasienski, Jennifer Archil, Kira Bockwinkel, Reilly Gliva, Dylan Griffin, Emma Howard, Maria Karstedt, Nicole Kosanke, Allie Laubenstein, Brittany Mooney, Katy Stoughtenger, Mike Burchard, Ashley Chernich, Lexi Holbach, Kaity Mulloy, Sarah Nelson, Caroline Prendegast, Tyler Swindle, Sarah Toporek, Andrew Flick, Alyssa Baker, Chelsea Gallagher, Colin Gillespie, Bridget Hebbard, Melissa Lewis, Karen Rocha, Chloe Schaar, Lara Williams, Rachel Robertson, Paul Polelle, Paul Kukulka, Blake Seifert, Shawn Parsons, Ashley VanSlochteren, Lauren Bernard, Curtis Sanderson, Erik Anderson, Mandy Fischer, Ashley Rosales, Andrew Tubek, and David Riedel.

Lakes Community High School1600 Eagle Way Lake Villa, Illinois 60046 Phone (847) 838-7100 Fax (847) 838-3670