Ridgewood Reporter

November 1997

Volume 13, Issue 2

This issue was so large, it had to be split up into two pages to fit on the website. Read the first section before this page.

The Ridgewood Reporter welcomes editorials. Editorials will be printed if they are signed and of general interest. Names be omitted by request. The Ridgewood Reporter reserves the right to edit material for space, legal liability, accuracy, and appropriate language.

While attending a football game on Saturday, October 4, (their homecoming) I became slightly envious of their student body turnout. I was also upset by their tremendous parent turnout. They filled each and every one of the seats in the stand and my friend and I found it very hard to find our own. I felt as if I was at a college game because of their spirit. Every one was either standing up or making noise. Now, given, I understand that it was their homecoming and spirits are usually higher during that day, but I found out that their games are always like that. Their band was dressed uniformly, and they filled up 10 rows! They had marching band uniforms on, and their faces were painted and their instruments were also dressed in the school colors. Because of the spirit in the stands, the team performed extremely well. Even though our Varsity team is doing awesome, I think if we filled the stands and maintained the same amount of spirit present at the night rally, the team would have a high amount of motivation and incentive to perform well. Games are a lot more fun when every one is a part of it and participates in a piece of it.
--Mike Dicillo

It’s funny, but sometimes predictions are so easy to make. As I walked into school the Monday of Homecoming week, I knew that we had lost before we began. In fact, I knew there would be no "We." It was Rebel Pride day, one in a series of events planned for Homecoming Week. There were the cheerleaders and poms for whom it was no stretch to achieve a green and white ensemble; there were the athletes for whom a jersey would suffice (and were those prompted?). The typical students were in their typical display of no spirit because spirit requires thought and participation and a sense of being part of something important.

In light of the fact that we managed to "Boomba" our way through a unifying special assembly, you could tell that its effect had no half-life and there wasn’t a trace of change in attitude. No, we aren’t the big happy family we should be. The student body can’t make a single effort together, and for that matter, neither could the faculty or staff. Sure, it would have taken an extra minute or two to put together something green and white, but it wasn’t worth the effort.

Maybe we are just a microcosm of the world—constantly moving but never choosing to belong. We know all the slogans of togetherness, but we aren’t convinced that this means us. It’s a shame that the fun of doing something together is missed by all the people who have created tiny enclaves in which they don’t have to be identified with and values or causes. I’d like to say that those who don’t participate lose out, but I know they simply don’t care!
--Karl Gates

I am very upset with the block scheduling that the Board of Education instituted. Why? For many reasons. We get the same amount of homework as in prior years. The semester is too short to learn the whole course. We are being rushed to learn the material. Learning a chapter a day is hard.

The teachers don’t plan enough "fun" activities for the students. Some teachers lecture for the whole period, and it is very boring and not educational. Many teachers aren’t there after school to help their students with any problems the student has with the course.

It is very difficult to find time for clubs, fun, and homework as well. Keyboarding and gym classes are way too long. We are so tired afterwards we can’t even keep our eyes open to concentrate on the other classes for the rest of the day. The cafeteria is so crowded that none of us can breathe, the lines are too long, and there is not a lot of time to eat your lunch.

There are many ways to make block scheduling much better. I suggest that the teachers should come up with better techniques for teaching the course, like having more "fun" activities added. There should be study halls to relax our brains before they explode. Also we get to have time to study for the course before we take the test. Keyboarding and gym classes should be 40 minutes long

There should be more lunch periods. There should be more 10 minute passing periods so we won’t have to rush and break our neck to get to class. There should be more fun clubs like a Ceramics Club or Sewing Club etc.... to learn, do, and have some fun. Also the half days and the 2 o’clock dismissals should be on Fridays instead of Mondays. Mondays are so aggravating these days.

The only good thing about block scheduling is that there are less courses to concentrate on, and you don’t have to have the same course all year round. I hope that the Board will take my suggestions, make some improvements, and hopefully that next year will be much better.
Sincerely, A Very Unhappy Sophomore

The following editorials were prepared and submitted as a class assignment.

"They gave us less time for homework when they took away our studies. They should either keep the library open longer or give us more class time," commented Haidee Caturan who is a student in Mrs. Micklo’s Writing class. She holds a part-time job and doesn’t own a computer that’s compatible with the school’s system. Other classes require typed reports, but don’t offer any lab time to students. I asked several students in the library if they felt they had enough lab time, and all strongly felt they weren’t given enough class time.

The faculty and administration at Ridgewood encourages all students to be involved, whether it be in athletics or clubs. They’re not making it easy. A computer lab is open some days before school and after school but only for a short period of time. The athletic teams practice after school, and most of the club meetings are held directly before or after school. They are still in progress long after the library closes at 3:30p.m. If the library was available to students from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday evenings, these students would have the opportunity to produce assignments with better quality. Teachers have heard the excuse "I couldn’t get to a computer," too many times.

This change would benefit the library staff as well. "Why isn’t this stupid computer working? Where’s this book? I need it now, I’m in a hurry!" The librarian and clerk are often mobbed by ten or more students who are asking these questions at the same time. It wouldn’t cost an extreme amount for the school to hire another librarian to work the evening hours and possibly Saturday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00. Mrs. Newhouse, Ridgewood’s library clerk, informed me that the library has 6 Alpha Smart Pros. Alpha Smart Pros are laptop computers available for the students to take home. Six is not nearly enough to accommodate a school of approximately 740 students.

Many could argue that the community library is sufficient enough. They’re wrong. The facilities of Eisenhower Library are in need of expansion, and it’s open during the evening, but the computers available only have the card catalog on them and have no other use. Eisenhower Library shows that it realizes the needs of the community by having extended hours. When is Ridgewood going to catch on?
--Name withheld by request

Ms. Flinn responds

I agree it is difficult for many students to balance classwork, sports, homework, or other responsibilities. Mrs. Newhouse and I do indeed have trouble helping students find library materials while loading paper in the printer or showing people how to log on to the network. Mr. London and I have talked about some ways we can better use our resources to make more equipment and more personal assistance available to students. If you would like to work with Mr. London and me on some solutions to this problem, let me know.
PS I think if you saved your work in text format, you could transfer files between home and school.

Every year Ridgewood has Saturday football games, but there is only a slim number of people in the crowd to watch the games. The players on the football team ask themselves, "Why aren’t there any people here?" and "Don’t they like us?"

Well ... it’s not that they don’t like to watch the game; it’s because there are no lights for Friday night games. When the team plays on Saturday, many are not free to come.

"I have nursing class on Saturdays, which makes it very difficult to attend games," said Stefania Laricchia. "I have to work on Saturdays. I would go [to the games], but I have to work all day," said Grace Rihani.

If there were lights, there would be something to do on a Friday night. "It would give freshmen and sophomores something to do. It would give the parents a good feeling to know their child is at a school function instead of roaming the streets," said coach Sam Wasserstrom.

If you take a close look at the teams in our conference, you see many with lights. Kaneland has an estimated 4,000 people in the stands for games. "We changed to lights ten years ago, and our attendance has grown immensely. The main reason we changed to night games is that the wind is reduced at night," said Kaneland athletic director Jill Holmes.

Yorkville has lights, and even though they have not had a successful year, people come to see the games. Neither Evergreen Park nor Westmont has lights, and there is a small crowd at their games.

Ridgewood paid MC Sports $100,900 to rebuild the school tennis court. We don’t even have a tennis team. But we do have a football team that is headed for the state playoffs in a couple weeks. Ridgewood has one of the best fields in the county, and it would look great under lights. "With lights, the Rebels would have a great atmosphere to play in," said Ridgewood senior Jack Jablonski.

Not only would lights bring a great atmosphere, they could also bring in more revenue. If more people attended games, more money would be generated for the school. This could be a joint endeavor between the school and the Parents Club. To pay for the lights, costs for entrance, food, and raffles could be raised slightly.

It’s time for us, the students, to stand up and speak out, to convince the school just how beneficial lights would be to both the students and community. If we are serious about this project, our thoughts will count. Speak loudly...we will be heard.
--Louie Mezzano

The team is playing well; they are winning games, but not matches. The team hopes to increase the intensity of their game. They finished their season with a loss at regionals. but already are making plans for next year.

There were about 20 guys on the varsity team and about 20 on the fresh/soph team. The reason why there is such a difference in the record between this year and last year is because they are not the same team, and they are playing teams who are much harder and more experienced. There were a lot of close games, but they were not always able to play 80 intense minutes of soccer. Also they may have lacked the self confidence to win. They had a tough long year because of last year’s success. The varsity team finished with an overall record of 4-13-3, and 2-5-1 in conference, which placed them fourth.

REBELS 7 MINOOKA 37
By Louie Mezzano

The Rebels are 3 out of the last 4. "The team was not practicing up to par all this week," said Captain George Mueller.

The team suited up and were trying to get ready for the game against the 2-1 Indians. In the first quarter, the Indians set the tone by scoring on the first drive. The Rebels were having a hard time adjusting to the defense of Minooka. As a result the Indians ran away with the game in the third quarter.

After winning the game, the Indians and their rude cheering section walked off the field and did not shake the Rebels hands. "I guess we know who had class," said offensive linemen Gandolpho Messina.

In my eyes it’s a win, win situation for the Rebels. If they win, they will move up in the rankings and have another win. If they lose, they will be able to find fault and get ready for the next week that starts conference.

While the Rebels are getting ready for their next game, let us, the students, work on coming out and watching the home team.

Check out Winter Sports

Wrestling
Girls Basketball
Boys Basketball

Game 5 / September 27: Herscher

Game 6 / October 3: Kaneland

Game 7 / October 10: Evergreen Park

Game 8 / October 18: Westmont

Game 9 / October 24: Yorkville

The Ridgewood Reporter Staff

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