Fenton Student Joins ISBE Student Advisory Council

Congratulations to Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta for being appointed to the Illinois State Board of Education Student Advisory Council. Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, Sarah served as a voice for more than 2 million students. The council consists of only 25 students from across Illinois and it reviews proposed legislation with elected officials.

State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala visited Fenton in June 2022, at which point Sarah and a classmate gave a presentation on education from a student perspective. That positive interaction led to the ISBE Student Advisory Council contacting Sarah and inviting her to apply for a seat.

Sarah thanked her parents for their support, and for molding her into a person worthy of serving the residents of Illinois.

“My parents don’t have the same level of understanding when it comes to the events I go to or the topics I speak on, but they could always tell I’m doing something important and they are always behind me 100 percent,” Sarah explained.

She also thanked several Fenton teachers for their mentorship. “My speech coaches, Ms. Hendricks and Ms. Feinberg, and my band director, Mr. George, have taught me to trust my own experiences and intuitions, and to be the most authentic version of myself that I can be,” Sarah said. “My experiences matter and are worthy of commanding the attention of my audiences.”

Student voice is a priority at Fenton, and Sarah said the opportunity to make a difference in her school is how she met Dr. Ayala and eventually earned a seat on the ISBE Student Advisory Council.

“I am and always will be a proud Fenton Bison,” Sarah told the Fenton School Board. “Thank you for trusting me with the name and reputation of our school as I represent my peers on the ISBE Student Advisory Council.”

Fenton’s Stage Crew is the Best in the Business

Congratulations to Fenton’s stage crew on the Contest Drama production “Sylvia” for winning the 2023 IHSA State Championship for Drama Technical Performance. The crew builds and manages the sets and props used in the performance, as well as manages the audio, visual, and lighting. Their actions are timed and measured just as rigorously as the performers on stage.

“I’m very proud of our whole team. While we had a few students here for the second year in a row, many were new to this activity and they all handled the pressure of the competition with grace,” said Dr. Mike Mitchell, who directed the production with assistance from alumni Jeremiah Barr and Amanda Baker.

Sylvia is a Broadway comedy about a man who adopts a dog during his mid-life crisis and all of the dog’s antics that cause friction between him and his wife.

“It was such a great honor to work with a cast like this, which inspired me to keep going and do this for a career,” said Stage Manager Jessica Van Leeuwen. She plans to study film and television production in college next year.

Well Spoken

Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta earned 3rd place at the IHSA Speech State Finals for Original Oratory. Nathan Rodriguez earned 6th in state for Original Comedy.

Undefeated

The Fenton Chess Team went to the IHSA State Finals for the 16th consecutive year. Junior David Severiano went undefeated (7 wins and 0 losses) while at the State Finals, something no one else at Fenton has ever done!

Olympian Power

Fenton’s 2022-2023 Special Olympics Basketball Team won 2nd place in state after defeating several powerhouse schools.

State Bound Students

Congratulations to the following students for being among the best in Illinois. These students were invited to state finals or a state performance due to their individual or team successes in competition.

Choir

Aiden Torres (selected with honors)

CHESS (as a team)

Alejandro Aguilar Carrera

Adamary Gomez

Kacper Grych

Viktor Hrushka

Brenna Ralston

Drew Salski

Emilio Sanchez

David Severiano

Piotr Szostek

Speech

Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta (3rd place)

Tera Pabico

Nathan Rodriguez (6th place)

Special Olympics Basketball

(team won 2nd in state)

Manraj Dhaliwal

Jakub Grochal

Mikolaj Grochal

Michael Melnyk

Andrew Nagel

Elyse Navarro

Cristian Ramirez

Olivia Beecroft (team manager)

Fccla

Sofia Diaz (Gold Medalist)

Izabel Krajecki (Gold Medalist)

Esther Zachariah (Bronze Medalist)

Wrestling

Yamile Penaloza

Softball

Kayla Valadez

(3rd Team All State)

Kaitlyn Hoffing

(2nd Team All State)

Contest Drama

(Cast qualified for Drama State Finals) (Stage Crew won State Championship for Drama Technical Performance)

Lita Aguilar

Natalia Alvardo

Alex Cabello

Ariana Hurtado

Delilah Johnson (All-State Cast Honors)

Lex Mikulski

Neena Nair

Brandon Pauls

Nathan Rodriguez

Sara Schaefer

Natalie Sisto

Kailianna Smith

Pirote Thach

Jessica Van Leeuwen (stage manager)

GROUP

INTERPRETATION (as a cast)

Ariana Acosta

Aldo Benitez

Alexa Calderon

Hamza Chohan

Sarah Guerrero Gorostieta

(All-State Cast Honors)

Rosa Guzman Santos

Arturo Hurtado Jr

Tera Pabico (All-State Cast Honors)

Elijah Rivera

Nathan Rodriguez (understudy)

Angel Santiago

(All-State Cast Honors)

Zoya Siddiqui

Mia Silva

Josslyn Wade

(All-State Cast Honors)

Zujeidi Mendoza Garcia (assistant student director)

Basketball

Alejandro Diaz (Class 3A honorable mention)

The 1 and Only

Senior Kaitlyn Hoffing’s softball jersey #1 was retired at the end of the 2022-2023 season by Coach Dave Mello and his staff in honor of her outstanding career.

Kaitlyn broke the program’s record of 117 stolen bases, finishing the season with 121 career stolen bases. That total ranks 38th all-time in Illinois.

But that’s not all. She also scored 55 runs this season, which is the second highest single season total in Fenton’s program history. For her career, she ranks third all-time at Fenton with 153 runs scored.

Kaitlyn is also Fenton’s all-time career leader in batting average at .444, walks with 88, and on-base percentage at .598. These were accomplished in just three years, as the IHSA cancelled all spring season sports during her freshman year (2020) due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Kaitlyn’s jersey #1 is now the third Fenton softball jersey number to be retired. She joins Sam Rubright (#12 retired in 2009) and Isa Lozada (#7 retired in