2010-2011 Accomplishments - Township High School District 113

District 113
Deerfield &
Highland Park
High Schools

Aliza Gilbert, a college counselor at
HPHS, was selected to receive the
2010 Human Relations Award by the
National Association for College
Admission Counseling (NACAC). She
was especially recognized for her
assistance to underrepresented
students and families.

This past year commemorated
the 50th anniversary of
Deerfield High School.

The 2009-2010 HPHS Literary
Magazine, Sojourn, earned an
All American rating with four
marks of distinction from the
National Scholastic Press
Association.

As part of First Lady Michelle
Obama‟s initiative “Chefs Move
to Schools”, DHS partnered with
Chef Gale Gand to improve
school nutrition.
Gale, from TRU restaurant in Chicago, is host of
the Food Network‟s “Sweet Dreams,” and has
appeared on “Iron Chef America”, “Martha
Stewart”, “Baking With Julia (Child)”, and
judged Bravo‟s “Top Chef”.

An artificial turf surface was
installed at Wolters Field.
Installation of turf at DHS
took place this summer.
Thanks Donors!

DHS students, Elias Wygodny,
Logan Bloom and Matt Nadler,
participated in the 36 th Annual
Illinois High School Theatre
Festival All-State Production of
Into the Woods.

Several members of the District 113
staff were recognized by the Illinois
State Board of Education program,
Those Who Excel, for their outstanding
contributions to education.
Bonnie Shlensky − Board President
Sonia Ayala − Support Staff Member
Lilly Brandt − School Administrator
Stacey Halpern − Student
Support/Intervention Specialist
Parents. The Anti-Drug − District Team

DHS student, Jonathan Korey,
was recognized by the
Northern Special Education
District (NSSED) for his
outstanding growth in
communication and building
social relationships with peers
at DHS.

HPHS student, Dana Schwartz,
received an Achievement Award in
Writing from the National Council
of Teachers of English (NCTE).
She earned distinction for
“Superior” performance, one of
only 34 in the state!

The DHS Student Congress
team won the Illinois
Congressional Debate
Association tournament.
Many students on the team
also won individual awards.

District 113 received the highest
mark for financial stewardship and
merited award recognition based
on the annual audit.
The District received a 4.0 Financial
Recognition Award, recognizing
that District 113 is in excellent
financial condition.

The DHS library staff and members of
the Social Studies Department were
recognized for their outstanding
collaboration on information literacy
projects. Together, they won the
American Library Association‟s
Collaborative School Library Award.

Seven students from the HPHS
Junior Board volunteered
their time and efforts to help
fundraise for Lambs Farm.

Members of the Transportation
Department voluntarily
transported over 300 sailors from
Great Lakes to Highwood to
participate in Highwood for the
Holidays.

Eleanor (Cissy) Singleton and
many HPHS volunteers sent over
150 care packages to troops
serving abroad. Over the last five
years, Cissy and friends have sent
over 32 shipments.

The District 113 Student Equity
Team attended their first field
trip by going to the DuSable
Museum to see the exhibit,
“African Presence in Mexico:
From Yanga to the Present”.

Jeff Hoyer, DHS science teacher,
and his AP Environmental
Science students sponsored the
2 nd Annual DHS Rummage Sale.
The sales benefit their Arial Home
construction project where
homes are built in Mexico.

HP^3 hosted the Fall
24 hour Lock-In over Veteran‟s
Day where students and staff
participated in race-focused
community building.

Nathan Fertig, DHS student,
was named a Young Arts
finalist in voice. He was
chosen from over 5000
applicants for this distinct
honor.

156 DHS and 181 HPHS
students were named
Illinois State Scholars.

DHS alum, Rachel Saltzman,
„07, was featured on the
television show “The Sing
Off” on NBC with the group
called The Backbeats.

The 2010 HPHS Model UN team
took first place (Best Overall
Delegation) at the Chicago
International Model United
Nations (CIMUN) conference.

DHS students, Haley Kaplan
(violin) and Nathan Fertig (jazz
vocal), were named All-State
musicians by the Illinois Music
Educators‟ Association (IMEA).
Nathan Fertig and Rahm
Silverglad, also a DHS student,
were recognized in the IMEA
composition competition.

HPHS head football coach, Hal
Chiodo, was selected by the
Illinois High School Football
Coaches‟ Association to be
the 2011 recipient of the Ray
Eliot Award, based on his
service and contributions to
high school athletics.

Six HPHS students were
selected as finalists in the
Art is Alive juried art
competition.

Both DHS and HPHS earned
their highest ACT score in
all disciplines tested.
Equity and Excellence in
Action!

DHS, a host of the Special
Olympics Event, earned the
Illinois Special Olympics
Maggiano‟s Hero Award.

The HPHS Robotics team, the
Beastie Bots, won the
Wisconsin State FTC
Championship in January.
They went on to take 3 rd place
overall in the Global FTC
Robotic Tournament.

DHS earned the Academic
Excellence Award from the
Illinois Board of Education.

Four DHS and two HPHS seniors
were named as candidates for
the United States Presidential
Scholars Program.

Dana Schwartz, an HPHS
student, was named one of
the 141 U.S. Presidential
Scholars for 2011.
Students who qualify for this award have
demonstrated outstanding academic
achievement, artistic excellence,
leadership, citizenship, service, and
contribution to school and community.

DHS had 5 National Merit
Finalists.
HPHS had 8 National Merit
Finalists.

Several DHS and HPHS students
succeeded with top-three finishes at
the DECA Area Competition.
DHS Science & Engineering (WYSE) team
won the Academic Challenge Regional
Tournament in February.

College Bound Opportunities (CBO)
provides students who have academic
potential and financial need the
opportunity to earn college degrees,
pursue careers of choice, and
productively serve in their local
communities.
Five students were selected for the DHS
CBO Class of 2016.
Fifteen students were selected for the
HPHS CBO Class of 2016.

Alicia Akers (DHS) and Sheri
Owens (HPHS), members of the
Chicago Symphony Chorus, won
Grammy Awards for both Best
Classical Album and Best Choral
Performance.

The HPHS Congressional
Debate team placed first at
the invitational Wheeling
tournament.

Jonathan Kogen, a DHS
student, was one of 40
Illinois students ages 7-18
to be named a 2010 Illinois
Chess Association Junior
Chess Scholar.

The DHS Drill Team placed 3 rd
in the Hip Hop category and
7 th in the Kick category at
the state competition.

Yucheng Pan and Emma Martin, DHS
students, advanced to the US
Biology Olympiad semi-finals.
The US Biology Olympiad is the
premier biology competition for
high school students.

HPHS students, Alex Foster
and Parker Rijos, placed
1 st in a year-long Stock
Market Game competition.

Fifty-five HPHS students
competed at the SCDC (State
Career Development
Conference) in March.

DHS students and staff donated
items for the Glass Slipper Project
sponsored by the DHS PTO. The
Glass Slipper Project gives away
free prom dresses and accessories
to high school students in the
Chicagoland area.

Kunal Pujara, HPHS science
teacher, was awarded the
Highland Park/Highwood
Golden Apple Award.

Evelina Yarmit, an HPHS
junior, won first place at the
IHSA State Debate
Tournament.

The DHS Mathletes team
qualified for the ICTM
State Meet in April.

Thirty-one HPHS students were
honored by the Highland Park
Chamber of Commerce based
upon their academic and
extracurricular performances.

12 students from the Class of
2011 earned the top score of 36
on the ACT. The class as a whole
earned the highest scores in the
history of District 113!

Six students in the class of
2012 have already earned a
top score of 36 on the ACT.
Alana Lidawer, an HPHS
student, earned a perfect SAT,
scoring a 1600!

Lucas Greenebaum, an
HPHS student, won the
North Suburban Special
Recreation Association‟s
(NSSRA) “Participant of
the Year” award.

A team of five DHS students
placed 1 st in the
Northeastern Illinois
Envirothon, North America‟s
largest environmental
education competition.

All state orchestra members from
HP are Zach Moore, Jonas Tarm,
and J.J. Sechan. In vocal music,
Emily Rosenberg was selected as
an IMEA all-stater.

Kristen Piggott, a science
teacher at DHS, was named
the Illinois Science Teachers‟
Association (ISTA) New
Teacher of the Year.

HPHS presented its 23 rd
biennial arts festival, Focus
on the Arts, in April. Over
250 artistic workshops took
place at HPHS.

Kristen Wallrab, an HPHS World
Language Teacher of French,
was selected to represent
HPHS in the Fulbright Teacher
Exchange Program. Kristen
will be teaching in Paris,
France and her exchange
partner from Paris, Caroline
Schneider, will be teaching at
HPHS.

Eric Fisher, a senior pianist
at HPHS, was awarded the
Morton Gould Young
Composers Award by the
American Society of
Composers, Authors and
Publishers.

Delsy Ramirez and Jenna
Spathis, HPHS students,
received the 2011
recognition award from the
Illinois Principals‟ Association
for the Lake County Region.

The Illinois Association for
Health, Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance
named Victoria Otto, HPHS
teacher, as the 2011 Illinois
Secondary School Educator
of the Year.

Aaron Rosen and Sam Lazar, DHS
students, were awarded crystal
pillars (Student Television
Award of Excellence) by The
Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences.
Jeremy Schmetterer was also
awarded an Honorable Mention
in two categories.

Brett Schwartz, media
production and social
studies teacher at DHS,
wrote, directed, produced,
filmed, and edited a
documentary film entitled
Mashed Media which
debuted on WTTW in May.

Jonny Cohen, an HPHS
student, was selected as a
winner in the Technology
for a Better World
campaign presented by
Ashoka‟s Youth Ventures
and Best Buy Co., Inc.

Green School Initiative, an
HPHS student club, was
granted wind turbine
funds from the Sheridan
Foundation in Highland
Park. The turbine was
installed in June.

District 113 staff members
and students are truly
remarkable!