Ridgewood Reporter

December 1996

Volume 12, Issue 3

The R.H.S Drama Club Presented Rumors!

By: Laura Manrique

On November 14th, 15th, and 16th , the R.H.S Drama club presented a spectacular Neil Simon play called Rumors. Mrs. Lewandowski and the drama club worked on putting this play together for months. They went from practicing for long hours after school to set building on the weekends. The hard work really paid off because all of it led up to a great play.

The cast of the play Rumors, Mary Ruth Brzezicki, Michael Dicillo, Mike Favia, Angela Karcinski, Chris Mejia, Jessica Poyner, Danny Swibel, Sanja Stevovic, Kristina Tunzi, Annette Tylka, Anna Wasilewski, and John Zukowski, all did a wonderful job. All of the actors had equal parts.

The comedy, Rumors, was basically about four couples who are arriving at the house of their closest friends, Charley and Myra, to celebrate their tenth anniversary. When they all discover that Myra is missing, and Charley is passed out with a gunshot wound in his ear, no one knows what happened. Rumors start getting out about Myra and Charley and everybody else there. The rumors are mainly about bad politics, money, affairs, and other relationship problems. They all had a night to remember figuring out the truth about the rumors.

Rumors was an exciting, humorous, and unforgettable play. The set was a big part of the play. It was two stories high and required a lot of time and technique to build. Danny Swibel, one of the twelve cast members, said that although putting the play together was a lot of hard work and dedication, he really had a great time getting to know everyone. He said "This was the best cast that I have ever worked with!"

When he retired from basketball, his speech impediment meant he could only get dead-end jobs. He was hired as a busboy at Nordstrom’s department store. He said, "I was determined to be the best busboy they had ever seen." Some officials at Nordstrom’s saw his potential and promoted him to supervisor, on the condition that he go through speech therapy.

When asked what has been of great importance in his life he replied, "I refused to fail. The one thing that kept me going was that I have always had dreams. I have always believed that dreams come true if you dream them long enough, hard enough, and if you want them bad enough. In all of the experiences I’ve had in my life, I’ve never used the word failure. I’ve always thought that if I’ve succeeded once I can succeed again, and it basically turned out to be true."

When asked about advice to teens at Ridgewood, he said he would tell them to get their education and never play the victim. He said, "I’ve always thought that the hardest thing to do in the world is to fail. If you want to succeed, all you have to do is go to class and do your school work."

When asked about what he thought of our teenage society today, he said "Young people today have the greatest opportunities in history. They understand more, and they have a lot of opportunities. One thing that is missing from a lot of kids’ lives is old-fashioned values, like going to Sunday school, going to church, having a family breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The thing that kept me going in hard times was the fact that I never forgot to pray, and I had that faith. I prayed in the good times, and I prayed in the bad times."

Bob Love’s first public speaking engagement was in 1987 at a high school in Rockford, IL. It was a dream come true. As he told us many times during his speech, "I am living my dream."

He hopes that he did a good thing by talking to us. He hopes that all of us remember him as a guy who tried to make the best of a crappy situation. The story is that each individual reacts differently to a situation. He hopes he spoke logically to us and got some sense into us. The reality of AIDS is that so many people have multiple partners but won’t get tested. If you get tested, then maybe you can stop someone else from dying of AIDS.

Block Scheduling is coming!

By: Scott Shudy

Block Scheduling will be here at Ridgewood High School next year. It was passed by the School Board on November 18, and it will go into effect next year. Block Scheduling will consist of four ninety minute periods a day with a lunch. Students should be aware that they must take four courses every semester. Full credit courses will last one semester. Study those registration guides when they come out!

The Ridgewood Reporter staff, Ms. Sauter's and Ms. Flinn's homeroom, collected the most food during the canned food drive. Overall 678 food items were collected. The Junior Class collected the most items, 231. The newspaper class challenges the school to do TWICE as well next year.

Mrs. Frances (Sandy) Lynch died November 16 after a long fight with cancer. She worked at Ridgewood for over thirty years. Most recently she worked in the cafeteria, at the reception desk, and taking tickets at athletic events. Her coworker Jo Koumas called her, "a true Ridgewood Rebel." Her son said, "She lived for the school." Her son and daughter graduated from Ridgewood.

Speech Club is back again!!

By: Iris Giannakis

After 26 years Speech Club is back at Ridgewood. The club is sponsored by Miss Lindenfeld, who was interviewed by the Ridgewood Reporter.

What is Speech Club?

In Speech Club, students practice giving their speeches for competition.

What is the purpose of having the Speech Club?

The purpose of having the Speech Club is to help add to the diversity of activities available at school.

Was it here at R.H.S. before?

It was here in the 1970’s for a couple of years. Since then this is the first time, though we did have a Debate Team for a few years.

How can you join the Speech Club?

Come to talk to Ms. Lindenfeld in Room 143.

Has anyone expressed any interest?

Yes. The numbers are getting higher as the weeks go by.

Who's in the Speech Club?

Mary Jo Chrabasz, Mike Dicillo, Mike Pauley, Jessica Poyner, Sanja Stevovic, and Laiza Trujillo.

When and where do you compete?

January 18th at Minooka High School. We compete against all the schools in our conference.

When do you practice?

Every Monday and Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. in Room 143.

What makes Speech Club fun?

It is the things you do together-helping one another with speeches.

What do you win?

If you win in January you can go on to State competition. If you win at State, you receive a trophy for all your hard work.

Any final comments?

Speech Club has been more fun than ever. We’re open to people to come and join us. We are hoping that the students and faculty/staff at Ridgewood support us.

Mrs. Basili was a substitute teacher for 3 years for West and East Leyden as well as at Ridgewood before she came to Ridgewood full time last year. This year she is one of the teacher’s aides in Special Education. She graduated from Northwestern University receiving her undergraduate degree in business. She also received her master’s degree in organizational behavior from Northeastern University.

Not only does she work at Ridgewood, but she also is a passenger service representative for American Trans Air for the past 10 years.

When I asked Mrs. Basili about how she feels about Ridgewood. She responded, "I like Ridgewood because it is a smaller school, and I can get to know the students better."

Many students know you as a coach and as a student teacher for P.E. I would like the rest of Ridgewood to know more about you.

Where and when were you born?

I was born in Princeton, IL., in April of 1974.

What high school and college did you attend?

I attended Princeton High School in Princeton, IL. and graduated from North Park College in Chicago.

What exactly did you coach?

Freshman and sophomore football.

Are there any other areas of education which fascinate you?

American History and Political Science.

How do you feel about Block Scheduling?

That is a tough one right off the top of my head.- It has its good points and its bad points, as far as P.E. goes.

On the positive side, I have some reasons why Block Scheduling would help: 1. It allows students to concentrate more on the activity being taught. 2. More sports can be taught in a shorter amount of time. That brings me to my negative reason- the reason why it wouldn’t help: students don’t get physical education for a whole year, just for a semester.

Do you have any hobbies?

Football, and all other sports. They keep me busy. Woodworking is one of my non-sport hobbies. Football takes up most of my time, though, hobbywise.

FBLA’s winning spirit continues

By: Dina Politis and Anna Kritikakos

FBLA members have been very busy this year. FBLA members adopted grandparents from Norridge Nursing Home and plan to visit them before Christmas. They volunteered for Safety Town last fall. They attended the National Fall Leadership Conference in Milwaukee. They are also working hard to prepare for the Area Conference in February. It will be held at Ridgewood. Some executive board members will travel to West Chicago High School to begin the planning.

Members have also begun to get a sense of the business world through the various activities. Certificates were handed out to local businesses for American Enterprise Day. Professional FBLA memberships were awarded to the speakers on Career Day. FBLA also donated a CD Boom Box to the Class of ’97 Post Prom Party.

If FBLA sounds like something , you would like to do, stop by on Tuesday at 3:05 p.m. in room 122. You will see Future Business Leaders in action.

Juniors are noteworthy

By: Scott Shudy

The class of 1998 placed second in the state for the IGAP writing test scores As a result, the whole 1998 class had a pizza party on Dec. 3. They received a free slice of pizza and a free drink. They also were rewarded by sitting in a special section. During the various lunch periods Mr. London drew tickets and awarded T shirts.

For all college-bound juniors who signed up, ACT36 classes will begin February 5,1997. Questions about the test preparation may be answered by Mr. Norris in the Guidance office.

Ridgewood DECA Reigns Again

By: Sofia Frangiadakis

This past October, Irene Ziec was elected DECA State President. For the second year in a row, the DECA state president is from RHS.

On December 4 Ridgewood’s DECA executive board met with executive board members from other DECA chapters in the area for lunch. DECA went Christmas Caroling on December 10 at the Norridge Nursing Home. They will also be visiting with their adopted grandparents. They adopted grandparents a few weeks ago as part of a community service project. Also DECA members are preparing for Area Competition in February. If any students who have taken or are taking a business course are interested, feel free to join us. Meetings are in Room 122 every Wednesday at 3:00 pm.

Sophomores are getting ready

By: Anna Kritikakos

The class of 99 is planning a turnabout dance, which is when girls ask the guys. Girls, here is your chance to ask out that guy you have been crushing over. The dance will be held on January 31, 1997 from 7:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. It will be casual dress. The sophomores will hold the dance but it is for EVERYONE. Music will be furnished by a DJ, and refreshments will be served.

If you don’t want to come with a date, and you just want to go out with a bunch of friends and dance, you are also welcome. You can also come stag. It will be fun, fun, fun.

Beware of the Seniors

By: Sofia Frangiadakis

On December 20, the Seniors will be transformed into Elves. Elf grams will be sold before Elf Day, so if you are out to embarrass someone or you want to send one to someone you like, you need to purchase them a few days in advance. Senior class meetings are every Thursday after school in Ms. Lindenfeld’s room.

The band and chorus are helping to spread the holiday spirit this season through their music. Band members have already played at the Harlem Irving Plaza and will be performing at Parkway Bank. Also band and chorus members, along with DECA, FBLA, and NHS participants, went caroling on December 10. Their stops included Norridge Nursing Home and the Central Baptist Home.

To conclude their holiday season, the Music Boosters and the RHS Bilingual Department (Ms. Sisto) are organizing a festive pot luck dinner on Thursday December19 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. It will be followed at 8 p.m. by the music program’s annual holiday concert. The concert is free to all those who would like to attend. If you would like to participate in the dinner, forms are available from Ms. Sisto in Room 119.

On December 10, NHS along with Commander Mitchell, FBLA and DECA headed to the Norridge Nursing Home to visit and sing Christmas tunes. Band and Chorus also accompanied them. NHS is planning a future field trip to the ice rink down town. Just a reminder to any Juniors who are on honor roll and active in extracurricular activities, keep your grades up and stay involved to become accepted in NHS. Freshmen and sophomores, remember you need to be involved every year you attend Ridgewood to be eligible. Now is the time to plan.

A: Watch for this team in three years. I would also like to thank my assistant coach Brenda Bach.

The freshman boys basketball team is off to a 2-1 start this season. Their first two games were impressive victories. Ridgewood crushed Luther North by 22 points in their first game. Their second game that they played was against Evergreen Park which was another blowout in Ridgewood’s favor. They lost their third gameto Glenbard South despite puting up a great fight.

Coach Tom Pagliaro, head coach of the freshman basketball team and a Ridgewood graduate, was asked a few questions concerning the season.

In your second year of coaching the freshman team, how does this team compare to last year’s team?

Last year’s team was better skill-wise, but this years team gives 100% all the time, and we can perform just as well.

What is your prediction on how far the team will go this year?

If we work together and play up to our potential, we can contend to be the conference champions.

If the Rebels keep up the good work, they certainly can be conference champs. Conference championship for freshman boys is determined by the team’s record for the season.

Sophomore girls basketball team is on their way!!

By: Anna Kritikakos

The coaches are Coach Ray Cortese and Coach Jeff Koss. This year six girls came out for the team. I caught up with the coaches and asked them a few questions.

Q: How do you think you are going to do this year?

A: They are going to be competitive because they are intelligent players.

Q: Does the team show any special skill?

A: Yes, they are able to run varsity plays.

Q: What is one thing you like the most about the team?

A: That they work together as a team.

Q: What would you like your record to be at the end of the season?

A: UNDEFEATED

Q: What is one thing you would like the team to accomplish?

A: I would like them to improve on their shooting percentage.

Q: Any further comments?

A: "I believe that student athletes who persevere throughout their season and balance their lives will succeed in academics, athletics, and family values," said coach Ray Cortese.

First-Quarter Honor Roll Achievement Noted

Visit the honor roll page at http://www.ridgenet.org/honor/honor961.htm

Mrs. Varanauski, the school nurse, and Mrs. Lovero, the school social worker, are also available to talk to students about AIDS or other STDs. Remember, as Mr. Johnson emphasized on December 3, people are the most contagious right after they are infected. They may show no symptoms for ten years. Tests do not pick up the AIDS infection for up to a year. A minimum of two AIDS tests in a year are required to be sure you are not infected.

Final Exams

January 15, Periods 1,3,5,7
January 16, Periods 2,4,6,8

The Ridgewood Reporter Staff

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