RAMPAGE Issue #2 2019-2020

RAMPAGE 400 N. Lake Street

CHROMEBOOK HELP

VOLUME 74

SCRUNCHIE STYLE

ISSUE 2

FALL MUSICAL

OCTOBER 2019

STATE TENNIS

02

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEWS Choir blends harmoniously Blood drive exceeds goal Hunt for the Cure funds cancer research Students jam out for Cal’s Angels Debate team continues massive trophy streak Food drive delivers warm meals

STAFF REPORTERS 03

Maia Albarrak

Daniel Laubhan

Makayla Artip-Borsic

Marika McGill

04

Kaitlyn Consing

Malleigh Powers

Jordan Fliegelman

Daniel Robins

05

Chase Gibson

Henry Rowe

Francesca Gosewisch

Jacqueline Schlemm

Joselind Manzano

Nichole Trudeau

FEATURE Principal Landry shares his story Common Chromebook issues solved D127 offers real world opportunites

06 07

OPINION Scrunchie style storms Central BlendEd stirs up learning

08 09

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Autumn favorites fall into place “Godspell” rehearses to amaze Lanyard decorating ideas Mario Kart Tour sweeps phones

10-11 12-13 14 15

EDITORIAL BOARD Charissa Olaiz

News Editor

Clarissa Sison

Feature Editor

Caden Moe

Opinion Editor

Hayley Breines

A&E Editor

Jakob Killian

Sports Editor

Isaiah Mendez

Design Editor

Kristen Orlowski

Adviser

@GCHSRAMPAGE @GCHSRAMPAGE

SPORTS Bhalla places top 16 in state Golf wins conference tournaments Wrestling pins new lineup Cheerleading flies into new season

16 17

Dance team leaps towards competition Football focuses on mental growth Volleyball faces playoff season Cross country sprints to sectionals Soccer provides benefits to players

18 19

On the cover, Karishma Bhalla walks in her state sendoff with varsity Coach Chuck Lawson and the school mascot.

Cover photo by Maia Albarrak

OCTOBER | 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR RAMPAGE welcomes letters to the editor from students, faculty and staff, administrators, community residents and the general public. Letters should be 300 words or less, contain the author’s name and number, and be sent to GrayslakeCentralRampage@gmail.com. RAMPAGE will withhold the writer’s name upon request only if circumstances warrant its absence, and only at the discretion of the editorial board. The RAMPAGE editorial board reserves the right to withhold a letter and return it to the author for re-submission if it determines the piece is too long or contains errors in fact, excessive grammatical errors, or items of unprotected speech (see Law of the Student Press for specific legal definitions for libel, obscenity and invasion of privacy). Facts will be checked for verification, but will not be edited for punctuation, grammar and usage, but can be returned to the writer. Opinions expressed in a letter to the editor do not represent the opinions of the RAMPAGE staff, the adviser, other faculty, the administration, the School Board, or advertisers.

NEWS|03

Choir blends harmoniously CHASE GIBSON

Staff Reporter Annually, Grayslake Central’s choir holds a blended concert with the North, Grayslake Middle School and Park School’s choir, and this year, it took place on Monday, Oct. 21, at Central. This means that the four different choirs sang at once, making sure that they stayed on the same key, and at the same speed during the blended songs. And, as far as the audience could tell, the blending was successful, evidenced by the multitude of applause.

The Director of Grayslake North’s Choir, Paul Nielsen, made an announcement before the last song, “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars, saying “I didn’t get approval from the other directors, but if you feel like singing along, go for it. There’s no reason why we can’t all enjoy singing today.” And sing along the audience did. Even if some people didn’t know all the

words, they sang along. The choirs came together and sang, but the unexpected singers, the audience, turned out to be the biggest surprise of all.

“This concert is one of the ways that the high school choir directors look for new, talented singers. We’re excited for it. I think they’re kind of not sure how it’ll sound with hundreds and hundreds of singers singing the same songs. But I know that’s going to click when we have that rehearsal. Everybody’s excited,” said Michael Gutierrez, Choir Director at Central.

A few other songs sung at the concert were “Seasons of Love”, “Let it Be”, and “Ezekiel”. They all seemed to get a favorable response from the audience.

Gutierrez, after the concert, said, “I think the songs that the audience found most favorable were the combined selections “Seasons of Love” from the musical RENT

and “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars because all middle school and high school students sang those pieces together.” “[The singers] have been working really hard, since the beginning of the semesters, pretty much every day for the last two months.” Gutierrez continued to say. “{The other participating schools] have similar results, since the beginning of the semester. It’s a two month endeavor for all of us.”

Blended choir performs for the guests.

Photo provided by Dianna Repp

Blood drive exceeds goal JOSELIND MANZANO

Staff Reporter On Thursday, Oct. 1, onehundred seventy-nine donors show up to donate in the seasonal blood drive at the big gym throughout the day.

“There’s a lot of people that already came in that didn’t sign up on the survey, which is really good because our goal this year is to reach at least 150 donors,” said Jia Zheng, a RAMS Dedicated member and volunteer help in the blood drive.

A donor gets to choose what procedure they want to undergo.

They can choose if they want the whole blood donation or the Automated Red Cell Donation (Alyx). Malcolm Sanoria, a junior chose to do Alyx, which took a longer time.

“There’s an Alyx version, which basically focuses on the red blood

cells,” said Sanoria.

According to the non-profit organization of this event, Vitalant, one pint can help three people. Blood Donation is not just beneficial for the recipients, but also for the donor.

“It also has health benefits like it lowers cholesterol. It helps lower blood pressure and it has a lot of benefits with donating blood while you’re helping out someone else,” said Zheng.

However, not everyone will be eligible to donate. Some reasons being, they are not of age; donors have to be at least 16. They are under the weight requirement, at least 110 lb, or they might have recently traveled to an area where they could have been exposed to blood borne diseases.

The blood drive is a regular school activity. It happens twice

in a school year. Consistent donor, Sydney Bui, feels rewarded after participating in the fall blood drive.

“I think it was the fact that I know that I’m helping other people. I could potentially save somebody’s life by giving them my blood,” said Bui.

Christine Cave donates blood.

Photo provided by Christine Cave

OCTOBER|2019

04 | NEWS

NEWS|05

Hunt for the Cure funds cancer research JACQUELINE SCHLEMM Staff Reporter

This year, Public Service Practicum (PSP) raised $2,800 from Hunt for the Cure and $7,000 overall from Gold Week.

The annual Hunt for the Cure event raises money to donate to Cal’s Angels, a pediatric cancer foundation that funds research for children with cancer along with many other forms of awareness and support.

PSP, which is a class offered to juniors and seniors, hosts the challenge. The theme of this year’s obstacle course is Prison Break.

PSP members explain that the teams have to complete multiple difficult challenges and obstacles that make students think hard, in order to get to the final challenge.

This year’s winning team is

Team Joe. This team consists of seniors, Taylor Pribyl, Nick Bean, Elizabeth Boos, Avery Nims, Lauryn Cartee, Sarah Chiappetta, Corinne Heidloff, and Trevor Friedl.

Hunt for the Cure is all about raising awareness and fundraising for childhood cancer.

“It gets students to all work together and knowing that they are donating to childhood cancer research helps students to want to stay involved,” explains PSP organizer Bella Adkins.

Another PSP organizer, Bella Dinkel also agrees with this. “It impacts GCHS students because they are doing a good cause for the community and when they see that they are doing that, it’s going to make them want to do more,” Dinkel mentions.

PSP agrees that this event is

a success as a way of students coming together and helping others in the community.

“I thought it was the best one that they have done in a really long time. [From doing this] sophomore and junior year, I definitely thought it was a step up from those two,” explains winning team member Bean.

The winning team celebrates their achievement. Photo provided by Avery Nims

Students jam out for Cal’s Angels KAITLYN CONSING

Staff Reporter On Oct. 10, students participated in the 5th annual Ram Jam lip-sync competition, which raised approximately onethousand five-hundred dollars for Cal’s Angels, a charity which helps children during cancer treatment.

Dustin Chierico, Public Service Practicum (PSP) teacher, believes the most rewarding part of the event is hearing about people’s stories and how they benefit from Cal’s Angels. He also adds that he is proud of his students for participating and getting involved with an event that helps people all around the community.

“There’s been a handful of students at Grayslake Central that when they went through treatment, have been beneficiaries of what Cal’s Angels does… they provide gift cards… hats, blankets, pillows… [and] they just find little ways to brighten your day,” states Chierico.

OCTOBER | 2019

Something new to Ram Jam this year is that the winners of the competition received customized t-shirts as a reward.

“Usually we never give prizes. It always goes to charity, but I feel the t-shirts are cool because its only for them,” Alyssa Ruffolo, PSP event organizer states.

This year, team TBT was the winner of the competition.

The group consisted of Gina Magno, Avery Nims, Taylor Pribyl, Elizabeth Boos, Lauryn Cartee, Grace Lanham, Nick Bean, and Omari Fleming, GCHS seniors. They performed a variety of popular and nostalgic childhood theme songs from shows such as, “The Backyardigans”, “Little Einsteins”, “Hannah Montana”, and more.

“It’s a very fun event to make memories with your friends and although its kinda nerve-racking, ... everyone has fun and no one ... regrets doing it,” Ruffolo states.

Debate team continues massive trophy streak CADEN MOE

Opinion Editor Grayslake Central’s debate team continues to prove its success throughout the years through a respectable 18-trophy streak that shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

Once a month, the debate team attends a competition at another school. There, they are divided into different rooms, called chambers, in which they present speeches arguing for or against three potential bills per session.

Such bills include hot topics like changing the electoral college, or whether vaccines should be required to go to school, and more obscure ones like preventing harmful chemicals from being put in sunblock.

“There’s an element of randomness, because it depends on what chamber you’re placed in,” said head debate coach Chris D’Amico. “Ultimately, you have to be good at debating to stand a chance.’’

There are two types of trophies that a debater can win. The first is for Best Speaker, and is awarded

to competitors gave the best arguments for their respective bills.

Freshman and third place speaker Cabot Postol commented on his strategy for speaking, saying it is “simply to try to research as much as I can, so I have good background on what I’m actually going to say.”

The other type of trophy is Best Presiding Officer. As D’Amico put it, “one debater gets elected in the chamber to basically run the show. They get to call on speakers, they get to pass or fail the bill, and they keep time on the speeches.”

Sophomore and two-time Best PO winner Abby Lake said, “You are kind of in control of the chamber, and there are only three throughout the day in your room.

So when you’re Presiding Officer, you just have a higher chance of getting a higher score.”

Many more students use these skills to win trophies, the two most recent being Postol and junior Noah Landau.

However, the team is not just about winning trophies. Their main goal is to teach students how to debate and structure a coherent argument.

In the words of D’Amico, “Is it cool to come back with trophies?

Absolutely.

But it’s much cooler to go out there, to have a positive experience, and to express thoughts in a civilized, logical way.”

for more than twenty seven years,” student council advisor, Lauren Brownstone mentioned.

The food drive began with Public Service Practicum (PSP) and has since been taken over by student council a few years later. This year, student council has decided to set a goal to collect fifty three thousand meals, which will go to D127 and D46 elementary school students.

“People [who] get food from the food drive are people in our school and in the D46 elementary school district that receive reduced cost lunch,” student council co-president, Omari Fleming mentioned.

Prior to the food drive, student council sent out seven hundred mailers to low-income students

in D127 and in D46. The goal of fifty three thousand meals is composite a number of each family getting three meals a day for twenty five days.

The food drive is a local charity that directly helps those in the community. The donations of the food drive go to the people nearby.

“I think it’s really important for people to understand that these are kids in our community, because it’s easy to say that ‘oh I’m hungry, I want to go eat a bag of chips’ but not everybody has that, and I think it’s important to understand that these are people you sit next to in class,” Fleming mentioned.

Reach out to Brownstone or Ciferri to get more involved!

Debate’s latest trophy won at a competition at Grant High School on Oct. 23, 2019. Photo by Caden Moe

Food drive delivers warm meals CLARISSA SISON Feature Editor

Team TBT dancing their way to victory Photo by Kaitlyn Consing

Many participants and people involved with planning the event enjoy Ram Jam and encourage students to participate next year.

Chierico believes the event is a great opportunity for students to get involved with charity and to create lasting memories.

“If there is any doubt in your mind about doing Ram Jam next year, I would ... recommend you get a group of friends together and join… Not only is it a good time, but you’re also supporting a great cause,” Magno states.

Photo provided by Lauren Brownstone

As Thanksgiving season approaches, and it’s time reflect on the blessings we’ve received, student council helps people get in the spirit of giving back by organizing the fall food drive.

“On record, this is the twenty seventh year, but Mrs. Ciferri has been looking up some stuff and found out that it’s been going on

OCTOBER|2019

FEATURE|07

06|FEATURE

Principal Landry shares his story HENRY ROWE Staff Reporter

Principal Landry talks with junior Noah Landau. Photo by Henry Rowe

W

e have all seen him in the halls or in offices around Grayslake Central, making things look easy. However, Dan Landry’s job as Principal at Grayslake Central High School is not as easy as it seems.

Principal Landry brings experience to the table. He has been at Grayslake Central for 25 years.

In that time, he’s worked several jobs in education as a history teacher, a dean, an Assistant Principal and as Principal. While this professional experience is important, his personal background is also a key component to his success at Grayslake Central.

Landry grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois and went to Rolling Meadows High School.

During high school, he played soccer and baseball and had a job at a local K-Mart store.

“I played soccer and baseball.

I did theater too. I worked on five plays… a couple of musicals and three straight shows. I did varsity letter club... Late in high school, I was in a band, not the [school] band. I was like the worst bassist ever,” Landry mentioned with a laugh.

OCTOBER|2019

Common Chromebook issues solved HAYLEY BREINES A&E Editor

During high school, Landry was a well-rounded student.

In addition to athletics, he was also involved in fine arts.

This wide range of activities may be the reason we see Landry involved in and supporting so many activities at Grayslake Central. This experience also may have taught Landry about time management and how to handle many things at once, a skill key to being a principal.

Landry also places an importance on the social aspects of life at Grayslake Central.

Landry says he was a great student in high school and enjoyed his friends on the athletic teams, but it was his downtime away from school that was key to his well-being.

“When I was in high school [my junior year], I had a brother who was a senior… and a brother that was a sophomore and a brother that was a freshman.

Seeing my friends on a regular basis and the social aspect of school is untouchable and it’s really important,” Landry mentioned.

After high school, Landry began considering a career in education. While working on his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois, Landry worked in the library and was a tutor for his school’s athletic department.

It was at this point in time that Landry began considering a career in education.

“My job is to make sure you guys have the best teachers in front of you, you guys have the best equipment in front of you and you have the best facility to learn, to grow, and interact with each other. One of the things that all of us have in common is we, and this is totally cliche´, do everything to benefit you

guys. When we see our students succeed that makes us want to make everyone of you guys succeed.”

GCHS students face many day-to-day issues with their Chromebooks. However, Chromebook specialist Denise Carr in the tech office, room 2620, is ready to solve these problems for students.

WHY ISN’T MY WIFI CONNECTING? A common complaint many students file to Carr has been that once they go home after school, the WiFi connection no longer works. “[The issue] has to do with our firewalls because these devices are still being filtered when they’re not at school. The signal has to come into our school and identify you as one of our kids, but not in the building,” Carr said.

Re-authenticating the Chromebook at home with this button allows for the system to recognize the WiFi connection.

Letting the battery die fully before charging the Chromebook can cause issues with the “internal clock on it, and then you might not get on our WiFi at school,” Carr said.

HOW CAN I FIX INTERNAL ISSUES?

HOW CAN I PREVENT THESE ISSUES?

According to Carr, many internal issues can be solved by merely restarting the Chromebook.

“A lot of problems can be solved by rebooting the machine.

It will fix issues happening, and that is also how it does it’s updates,” Carr said.

Chromebook updates are crucial so the operating system is at its peak condition.

Another way students can keep the internal machinery working properly is avoiding adding many extensions onto their Chromebook and the possible viruses that can come along with them.

“Some kids go in and they add one, but the problem is other stuff sneaks in with it, like gamer advertising, and that can cause problems on the Chromebook,” Carr said.

Many issues within the Chromebook can be prevented with simple maintenance measures.

“I recommend at least restarting at once a week, keeping it clean and food and drink away from it, and basically just taking good care of it too. If it tends to get dropped regularly- you tend to drop your backpack when you walk in the room- and if the Chromebook is in there and plastic pieces break off inside, they may not come out, but they could cause problems inside with the keys and the touchpad,” Carr said.

Restarting the Chromebook using this button can help prevent issues and allow updates.

D127 offers real world opportunites CLARISSA SISON Feature Editor

Junior Ana Boucek works while thinking about life after high school.

Photo by Clarissa Sison

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question that is commonly asked, but we also need to ask “how do I get there?” There are many careers out in the world and there is more than one path to reach that destination. If you’re unsure about that destination, that’s okay because you could even switch

careers throughout life. However, for those with a general idea of their destination and want to proceed down that path as soon as possible, Gina Shuyler offers the perfect opportunity for you.

Shuyler is the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department chair for Careers and Community Partnerships. This position allows her to create partnerships with real world companies to create opportunities for district D127 students. In order to get her help, just simply stop by her office and discuss what you’d like to do.

“If someone is interested in an internship or a job shadow, I would have them make an appointment to see me and we can sit down and narrow [things] down, asking questions like, do they have transportation? Or is it something you need in walking

distance from your home? Do you want it during school [or] do you want it after school. Once we have those narrowed down, then we’re able to set things up, get all the permissions from teachers or parents, and where it’s happening and secure the location. And then from there, they would meet with me to have some follow up conversation after as the internship is going on,” Shuyler mentioned.

Shuyler offers a unique opportunity for those who want to proceed down their career path or even for those who want to build up their resume. For those who are not sure what they want to do yet, Shuyler can also help by being a career guidance counselor. For more information, email Shuyler at gschuyler@ d127.org or stop by her office at 2830.

OCTOBER|2019

OPINION|09

08|OPINION

Scrunchie style storms Central

MARIKA MCGILL Staff Reporter

U

nless you’ve found yourself living under a rock for the past couple of months, you’ll know that the scrunchie trend is here, and it’s taking Grayslake Central students by storm. Scrunchies have been around since the 80’s and are one of the many retro trends that have resurfaced in our generation. Now, it’s nearly as common for someone to have a scrunchie as it is for them to be wearing a bracelet, or a belt.

Not just the girls, but the boys too can be seen flaunting them on their wrists while walking down the hallway, breaking boundaries between what accessories would normally be seen as more ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine.’ Some of the boys even wear multiple at once, stacking three or four (or 50) on their wrists at the same time.

It’s like overnight, everybody has hopped on the bandwagon, and it just continues to pick up steam.

Not every scrunchie-wearing student follows the trend for the same reason; there are many individual reasons as to why people wear them. While speaking with Ethan Strong, a senior who has begun to follow the trend, we learned a bit about how it originated. Although he himself wears it as a sort of fashion statement, he mentioned that many boys will wear their

OCTOBER|2019

girlfriend’s scrunchies as a sign of commitment to their significant other. So, in a way, wearing a scrunchie on your wrist is kind of like holding a big sign over your head that states “Hey! By the way, I have a girlfriend!”

So, where in the world did this trend come from? If you had asked

Students flaunting their scrunchies.

Photo by Mykie McGill

the boys a year ago if they would wear scrunchies, chances are you would get some weird looks.

Even at a point not too long ago, if a girl was wearing a scrunchie, they likely would be laughed at, as trends phase in and out throughout the years. But now all of a sudden, it’s cool?

The internet is to blame, and the rise of the ‘VSCO Girls.’

If you’re not sure what a VSCO Girl is, it’s actually rather likely you’ve met one before. They’re notorious for always having their hydroflasks (likely with a save the turtles sticker on it), big baggy tee shirts, birkenstock sandals and puka shell necklaces. But, one of the most notable accessories that these internet spawned girls always have are-you guessed it scrunchies. Whether they wear them on their wrists, in their hair, and whether they have one or 15 of them, a scrunchie is always a necessary part of a VSCO girls’ outfit.

As we’ve often seen happen on the internet, VSCO Girls became the subject of nearly everybody’s jokes for at least a few solid months. If you remember, on Wacky Wednesday during homecoming week, there were countless boys walking around with their short-shorts and long t-shirts, with their hair and wrists embellished with scrunchies.

And after this day, no scrunchiewearing boy was ever the same.

Keep in mind, there were girls out there that were mad about the jokes being made about VSCO Girls. But now, it seems as if they have become fashion icons for the boys walking around sporting a million scrunchies on their wrists.

Oh, the irony of this situation-it’s almost too much.

For those who wear the scrunchies to signify their relationships, it’s an adorable way to symbolize being taken. In fact, one could say many people probably prefer it over some of the over the top PDA that we’ve all witnessed in the hallways (Because, EW).

It’s a rather common thing for trends to begin as jokes before becoming something that people take seriously. Remember when Airpods first came out, and everybody was laughing at the people who bought them? If you look around now, nearly everybody has Airpods-likely more than those with regular, cord-bearing headphones.

In a world with trends that only continue to get weirder and weirder, boys wearing scrunchies is a rather tame one compared to some that have arisen throughout 2019. At this rate, we can only guess what the next trend might be. Wearing your clothes inside out? Going everywhere barefoot?

Only time will tell, and all we can do is sit idly by with our scrunchies on our wrists.

BlendEd stirs up learning ISAIAH MENDEZ Design Editor

P

icture this: a class where you don’t have to be in the class. You are allowed to walk the halls and study for a class in a different location of the school. Can you imagine that? It sounds like something a school would never execute, but believe it when we say that this is a new method of teaching adopted by Grayslake Central High School.

“The biggest difference is that a blended learning class has more independence for students and more responsibility for students. Part of the class is being sort of in charge of your own kind of timeline and how you get things done. And when things get done within a certain timeframe.” says Maureen Ritter, a teacher of the BlendEd world literature class.

To be BlendEd out means you are allowed to leave the classroom. This doesn’t mean you are kicked out of the room. You are allowed to stay in the classroom if you need help that day. To be BlendEd in, means you are required to be in the classroom for a certain time, or the entire period. The teacher is the one that dictates the days you are BlendEd in and out.

“Probably the most visible component of BlendEd is that students don’t have to be in the classroom every single day.” says Ritter “The biggest difference is that a BlendEd learning class has more independence for students, and more responsibility for students.”

Other students find disadvantages to being BlendEd out, like allowing them more opportunities to procrastinate and getting less work done when not in the physical classroom.

A BlendEd location in the field house hallway where students can work and see the football field. Photo by Isaiah Mendez

While students will take advantage of this system by not doing their work, others use this system to control their own schedule of when to and when not to do assignments. Having a BlendEd class does give the opportunity to procrastinate.

Students would usually go somewhere quiet like in the specified BlendEd areas, the LRC, the Write Room, or the MARC for help. Sometimes students go congregating with friends, but not always. A student who procrastinates has more burden because it is their decision to procrastinate and use the BlendEd day as a relaxation day. This can teach students time management and organization skills.

A BlendEd class establishes trust between the teacher and the student, with a student’s assignments. Having a BlendEd class is a great opportunity to relax and have your own space to organize, prioritize, and accomplish your work. If you’re open to get a BlendEd class, talk to your counselor to take a BlendEd course next year.

A BlendEd location next to the athletic staircase.

Photo by Isaiah Mendez

As a student who is BlendEd for Pre-Calculus, the leniency is enjoyable. There is more responsibility instilled in a student to complete the work. It’s similar to having your own timelines where you can optimize when and where your assignments can be done. Some days a student can relax with their friends at lunch, and some days a student can stay in the classroom to get help personally from their teacher.

One of the locations students can stay and work.

Photo by Isaiah Mendez

OCTOBER|2019

10 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Autumn favorites fall into place CHARRISA OLAIZ & JOSELIND MANZANO News Editor & Staff Reporter

The fall season is the time of year that people can enjoy the transition into the cold weather and the leaves changing colors. Here’s what GCHS students have been enjoying this fall.

Seniors Victoria Arteaga, Zoe Spiwak and Julia Maravola on a field trip at Stade’s Farm & Market.

Photo provided by Lino Montoya

E vents: Stade’s Farm & Market: This is located in McHenry, IL, where family and friends are can pick apples at the orchard, enjoy tractor rides and the fall festival with over 30 activities and attractions.

Richardson’s Corn Maze: Located in Spring Grove, IL, lots of students went to Richardson’s Corn Maze! The place has a wide range of stuff to do like their giant slide, interactions with animals, pumpkin patch, trampolines, and the iconic “World’s Largest” corn maze.

Pumpkinfest: This event occurs every year at Central Park where parents can bring their kids and enjoy Halloween fun activities like games, giant slide and hay rides. Most GCHS students took part in this event for NHS and dressed us characters for the Halloween character path.

Fright Fest: Fright Fest is an annual event at Six Flags Great America during the fall season. While visitors can go on rides, there are several haunted houses available and scare zones, where actors are paid to dress up and scare people.

Fashion

Transitioning from the warm weather of summer in fall’s cold weather means changing our clothing style with anything that keeps us warm like jeans, jackets, scarves, sweaters, boots, beanies and more. Here are some of our students’ fashion favorites for fall.

Jeans

Flannels

“Since people call it “I usually wear a lot flannel season, people more mom jeans.” usually wear lots of - Junior Sydney Bui flannels.” - Junior Derek Bitun Photo by Flickr

Activities

Sweaters & Hats “I think everyone needs a cute fall jacket. I have this one I got from Goodwill that’s a brown corduroy jacket. It’s my favorite.”

- Senior Izzy Loeffler

Photo by Flickr

There are so many activities that students do during fall that are provided around our community like apple picking, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, jumping into leaf piles, and so much more!

Fall photoshoots with friends:

Seniors Edah Tumuti, Gillian Agnew and Adeline Evans dressed up for Pumpkinfest.

Photo provided by Edah Tumuti

Taking pictures with friends and family captures those memories forever, especially with the beautiful scenery.

Seniors Victoria Arteaga and Natalie Espino taking pictures on the street.

Photo provided by Hitarthee Ray

Juniors Joshua Auskalnis and Tamara Blagojevic pose in the corn maze at Richardson’s Photo provided by Emma Pryzbylski

Pumpkin picking & decorating These activities are both a must do for fall. Getting a pumpkin and displaying it anywhere in the house gets people into the fall vibe.

Junior Molly Delaney posing with a pumpkin at Kroll’s Fall Harvest Farm Photo by Anissah Groark

Foods & Beverages

During the fall season, we have our usual favorite foods and drinks like the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, apple or pumpkin pie, apple cider or hot chocolate. Here are some of our favorite fall foods and drinks!

“My mom bakes a lot, so she bakes apple pie and banana bread. A lot of baking is done at my house.” - Senior Victor Regalado

“I love Chai lattes with almond milk.” - Senior Priscilla Perez Photo by Pixabay

OCTOBER | 2019

Arts & Entertainment | 11

Photo by Flickr

“I like the foods that come with fall. Not pumpkin spice, but just pumpkin and apples and all the like homey warm foods that just give you a hug.” - Senior Emma Romaneli

OCTOBER | 2019

12|ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Godspell’ rehearses to amaze

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT|13

‘Godspell’ rehearses to amaze

DANIEL LAUBHAN

Staff Reporter A common tradition here at GCHS is the fall musical.

Every fall, Encore!, the theatre company, works for months on a musical to be performed in late November. This year, Encore! will be performing a production of ’Godspell’, a renowned Broadway musical focused on the idea of

coming together in the face of division, by way of a musical interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. While hundreds will soon pack the GCHS theater to see the production come late November, only a handful will actually know what goes on behind the scenes of a production.

Senior Daniel Karl, who plays Jesus, helps to spread the gospel in this scene from ‘Godspell’.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

The department at the helm of the entire production is Encore!, the theatre company at GCHS, that has been putting together productions every fall for many years now. The decision to choose ‘Godspell’ as this year’s musical came from the company’s director, Pat Kerr.

Kerr has been working with GCHS for over 18 years, coming back this year to produce ‘Godspell’.

Kerr is filling in for theatre and English teacher Maureen Ritter, who has produced past musicals such as ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Footloose’.

“The first thing we have to start with is just looking at the match between the talent we have, and the vehicle, which is the musical,” Kerr said.

Kerr decided to choose this musical because it was the last

OCTOBER|2019

Junior Larina Pelletier gives an intense stare to sophomore Amanda Barry in a scene from ‘Godspell’.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

musical he directed before he left GCHS, along with its timely themes.

“For me, the concept of the show is creating community.” Kerr said. “Our country seems to be so divided [right now]. We can’t even listen to each other, and [the theme of community] really comes out in the opening act of the show.”

The opening act focuses on a group of philosophers arguing over different philosophies, with seemingly no common ground being found.

In the end, Jesus appears, and “starts creating [a] community” where people can mutually agree on things and be respectful of other people’s beliefs.

The QR code to the right of this column can be used to purchase tickets. ‘Godspell’ will be showing November 22-24.

Senior Kevin Urban plays bass while practicing the ‘Godspell’ score.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

Senior Corinne Heidloff plays piano for the ‘Godspell’ band.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

Another crucial part of the production is the band, as they are wholly responsible for the score and soundtrack of the musical.

For ‘Godspell’, the score is based entirely off of a recently rescored rock-oriented version.

“There are two versions of the show... the original was written in the early 70s, [the version we are using] was written in 2012…

One of the differences is the music is more rock-oriented.” said band director Dom Bertino. “We did the original maybe 18 years ago, before we had the theatre, and we did it down in the arena.”

This is the same musical that the director of the musical, Patrick Kerr, referenced previously.

The musical requires a lot of coordination between the many respective departments. Tech and Encore! started rehearsing together in mid-October. Band

and Encore! will start to rehearse together in mid-November.

Currently, band rehearses in the choir room and consists of seven members: three electric guitars, one bass, two pianos, and a drum set.

“This year, we’re not [putting the band in the orchestra pit].

Because we’re a smaller group, and [because] it’s a rock band, we’re putting the [band] on stage, in the scenery.” Bertino said.

Senior Kevin Urban will be playing bass in the ‘Godspell’ band and has been playing an instrument for much of his life.

“I’ve done [band] since fifth grade and I’ve been involved with trumpet, and I eventually moved on to bass.” Urban said.

“I’m really used to jazz music, and kind of concert music, so transferring into rock, it’s a little bit different.”

Senior Jeremy Adams plays the electric guitar for the ‘Godspell’ band.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

Senior Nick Bean plays drums for the ‘Godspell’ band.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

Senior Nick Bean plays drums for the ‘Godspell’ band.

Photo by Daniel Laubhan

OCTOBER|2019

14|ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Lanyard decorating ideas JORDAN FLIEGELMAN Staff Reporter

G

rayslake Central is allowing the students to wear decorations on their lanyards to encourage students to want to wear their lanyards more, instead of leaving them at home.

Decorating lanyards can cause students to be happy to show off everything that they have around their neck.

The deans created a presentation about lanyards and how they are to be worn at all times. Decorations allow students to create a more personalized view of what they like with clubs or any activities that students are involved in.

Some teachers agree that lanyards should be decorated.

“I think decorating lanyards with … flair is awesome. I think it encourages people to want to wear their IDs; it shows off the kind of person you are because you can decorate it in the type of things that you like, so sports or theater or different types of clubs,” teacher Laura Widenhoefer said.

According to a RAMPAGE poll posted on Schoology, of 75 responses 73.3 percent said that they haven’t decorated it, but 90.7 percent want to decorate it.

Buttons, ribbons, patches, keychains, and paint or homemade decorations were the highest contenders for the most desired decorations.

Activities director Dianna Repp encourages decorating lanyards too.

“I just purchased a button maker for student activities and clubs [that] are interested in learning how to make buttons. It could be fun. But you just need to make sure that you can still see that it is...a Grayslake lanyard.” said Repp.

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According to the poll, 73.5% of students do not decorate their lanyards yet.

However, 90.7% of students polled do like the look of a decorated lanyard.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT|15

Mario Kart Tour sweeps phones JAKOB KILLIAN

Sports Editor A new mobile game sweeps across the nation bringing in players from all over. The new game is Mario Kart Tour. Mario Kart Tour features all the classic Mario characters racing in various Grand Prix tracks.

For the first week of the game, with the release date on Sept. 25, anywhere you looked you would see at least one student playing this game. People couldn’t stop talking about it. Now as the game is more than a month old, we can’t help but realize that it is already leaving the screens of so many users.

Mario Kart Tour did a great job hyping up to the day it was released, with over 10 million downloads. With so many features, people were excited about what

was to come. The return of the favorite Mario characters entering their phones, for free, hyped many students. But quickly, we saw that many things were locked and the game quickly turned into a pay to win game.

Many students played until they were basically forced to stop because they would have to wait sometimes more than a day to play the next level. With this large amount of time many had, they quickly found other things to do in the game, like challenges that could help unlock more features in the game. But that can only hold one’s attention for so long.

The game has lots of potential to be a fun and long-lasting entertaining game, but Nintendo just hasn’t reached that point yet.

Nintendo promised a multiplayer option of the game, but this option wasn’t even released yet on the original download. This desired feature is still not even available for players, turning many away from the game.

The overall rating that Mario Kart Tour deserves is a 6 out of 10. Nintendo did a great job advertising for the game, and they are quick on getting updates out with many new aspects being added like characters. But the game still lacks the ability to keep many people hooked and talking about it. If Nintendo looks into what their problems are--pay to play, having to wait, no multiplayer--they can make Mario Kart Tour an enjoyable and addictive game.

Here is an example of a decorated lanyard with buttons and patches.

Photo by Jordan Fliegelman

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16|SPORTS

Bhalla places top 16 in state MAIA ALBARRAK

Staff Reporter Singles player Karishma Bhalla placed in the top sixteen in the IHSA State Tennis Tournament.

The tournament began on Thursday, Oct. 24 at Palatine High School where Bhalla won her first two matches. She lost to the singles player from Providence Catholic High School in her third match, which sent her to the backdraw bracket.

In order to qualify for the state tournament for the second year in a row, on Saturday Oct. 19, Karishma Bhalla placed fourth in the sectionals tournament hosted

by Antioch.

Collectively, GCHS varsity girls’ tennis team placed 2nd, with their hours of training and hard effort claims Coach Chuck Lawson.

Varsity girls’ tennis finished

their season as conference champions in the regular season with an overall record of 8-6 and they won the NLCC conference tournament making them conference champions for the fourth year in a row.

With Lawson guiding them through practices, the girls showed strong effort and hard work through obstacles, such as the weather.

“If the weather is decent and the girls are out here we work hard,” Lawson stated.

Many of the girls set personal goals to accomplish throughout the season.

Bhalla makes it clear what most players have as their goal, “state is the main goal for every player...My goal is obviously state.”

“I was able to do better than I did last year, which I find to be a great improvement!”

- Karishma Bhalla

Karishma Bhalla working hard to prepare for the state tournment.

Photo by Maia AlBarrak

Golf wins conference tournments JAKOB KILLIAN

Sports Editor Boys golf finishes their season with a 9-1 record and winning the NLCC Conference Championship.

“They played very good in dual meets this year in our conference and as far as tournaments, they played well. We just go in very tough tournaments,” states Coach Jim Mazzetta.

One of the goals that the team set for themselves was winning the conference tournament. They also wanted regionals but weren’t quite able to get that win. They didn’t go to regionals as a team, but they did have four individuals that went to the regional tournament.

“The conference tournament was a very big win and we won by so many shots [that] it was even bigger,” Mazzetta says.

Heading into the off-season Mazzetta has programs set up for the team to keep them playing

October|2019

while they aren’t out on the course, such as camps over the summer and junior golf programs keeping them competitive.

The girl’s golf team finishes their season winning the conference championship, with it being their first year ever being a conference sport.

Brett Kay, the assistant coach for girls golf, states that “one of the big things for this year that stood out was the amount of four year golfers that we had on our team that had started and were beginner golfers their freshman year. [They] ended up pulling through, and having some really nice scores at the end of their senior year.”

Being a co-op team with North and Central brings many skills from both schools and also brings good team chemistry. “I don’t even think they notice they are

from a different school,” states Kay because they have really good team chemistry.

Kay states that senior leadership was one of their major strengths. “When you have girls that participate for years, like any other sport, when you have people buy-in and participate for the full length of their highschool career, it naturally makes the team easier to coach.”

Girls’ golf wins conference trophy.

Photo provied by Brett Kay

SPORTS|17

Wrestling pins new lineup NICHOLE TRUDEAU

Staff Reporter The 2019-2020 wrestling season is around the corner. Tryouts are after school at 3 p.m. on Nov. 11 in the small gym. According to head coach Matthew Joseph, “if anyone wants to be part of the team, all they have to do is find coach Mazzetta or myself and we can fill them in. Or they can show up to a practice after school at 3pm and we can chat with them there.”

Joseph explained, “For practices, [they] start off pretty rough, but also try to ease in the newer wrestlers such as freshmen.”

Joseph also confidently claimed that this year’s team has strong returners. “Individually wise, I think we have a lot of great returners.

Starting in the lower class, we have Jayson Weidman, who ... last year was a state qualifying alternate,” Joseph said. “Then working up in weight classes, we have Joey Jens who was a state qualifier last year, and Adrien Cramer who was a state placer last year. … I think Jake Lester will be a big part of the team as well.”

Overall, Joseph reflects that the ultimate goal is to fill a competitive line up, to continue to develop the program in a positive way, and help mold responsible, respectful young men.

Juniors Jake Lester and Joey Jens enhance their skills during open mat.

Photo by Nichole Trudeau

Cheerleading flies into new season What is the process of transitioning from sideline season to competition season?

“After the end of the sideline season, we have a tryout for the competition team. Once our competition team is finalized, we get right to work on our competition routine...we now focus solely on our competition routine.

We only have about a month and a half to prepare before our first competition,” said coach Stacy Custodio.

What is the competition looking like?

“We try not to pay too much attention to other teams. However, we know that if we are working hard, the other teams are too! We are lucky to compete in the state of Illinois, home to some of the most talented cheerleaders in the country, which is why the Chicagoland area was chosen to represent Junior Team USA at Worlds last year!” said Custodio.

Is there anything in particular that stands out for this year’s season?

“We have six seniors on the team that have given four years of hard work and dedication to this program.

We hope to make them proud,” said Custodio.

Dance team leaps towards competition Are there any new competitions this year?

“This year we decided to try a new competition which will be held in Wheaton, IL. Not only will we be competing against newer faces, but it is also held on an earlier date, so we have more time to perfect our routines for the later competitions.” said varsity coach Daniela Ziegler.

What is the process of transitioning from sideline season to competition season?

“Transitioning from sideline to competition season tends to be more serious because we start really investing in our competition routines. Our goal is to improve our routines with each competition that we attend, by listening to the feedback from the judging panel.” said Ziegler.

What are you hoping to get out of this year’s season?

“Once we officially start our competition season, Coach Bevente and I will sit down with our teams and set goals for the season. It is very important for the girls not to get distracted by watching other teams, and to stay focused on Varsity coach Daniela Ziegler (right) and JV coach Francesca accomplishing the goals we have set together. My hope for this year is for the Bevente (left) during last game of girls to believe in themselves, like I have from the moment I met them all,” said the sideline season.

Photo by Nichole Trudeau Ziegler.

OCTOBER|2019

SPORTS|19

18|SPORTS

Football focuses on mental growth MALLEIGH POWERS Staff Reporter

The football team is holding a record of 1-5. The Grayslake Central Football Coach, Mike Maloney explains that the team is focusing on mental growth.

“We have a tendency to go into those games, not believing necessarily that we belong in those games. And I have to reassure our young men that we there is no talent deficit here that would that we can match up.”

Maloney believes that the boys are capable of greatness, but they need to improve their mindsets so that they believe it as well. He feels that if they put their minds to it they can be champions.

“We are good enough to compete with the best teams on our schedule. It’s just a matter of preparing the right way,” said Michael Maloney.

Maloney explains that he is proud of the growth that he this

season. He believes that the team is starting to have confidence going into these games.

“But I don’t think there’s a guy that if they were honest with themselves, in the last three or four years felt that level of belief and that level of confidence that we can compete with the best team in our conference... so I think that was very, a proud moment for me” said Michael Maloney.

Senior Malachi Jackson explains that he feels the team does a good job of working together, but there’s still room for improvement.

Malachi says that his proudest moment so far is in his “Wauconda game when I went in rushing 30 yards straight with ease.”

He explains that he is happy with where he’s at, but he’s still striving to become better and improve in his abilities.

Football team huddles after a big game.

Photo provided by Eian O’Conner

Jackson says that one of his personal goals is “to score a rushing touchdown.”

He says that he’s excited for the rest of the season and to see how the team improves.

The team and Coach Maloney are trying to bring their overall attention to strengthening the way they think.

They believe that by strengthening their minds, they can become champions.

Volleyball faces playoff season FRANCESCA GOSEWISCH Staff Reporter

The girls varsity volleyball team is currently at a 13-20 record as of Oct. 15.

According to Coach Basierak, the team continues to improve.

The volleyball team will be attending IHSA Regionals on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Carmel Catholic High School.

Coach Basierak, the new girls varsity volleyball coach, sees the girls grow. Basierak states that, “they do a good job of being friends outside of volleyball...they started to communicate more on the floor. Our captains have been doing a really good job with communicating with their team and on the court. That’s helping us come together a lot better

OCTOBER|2019

now,” Coach Basierak states.

Since the team consists of many experienced players, seniors also witness this growth. Senior, Emma Guenther, a player, states that, “I try to be positive when I play. I think it’s always nice to know people still support you even if you make a mistake.”

According to Guenther, she also believes that the bond within the team has become stronger, whether they play together or not. “We play more cohesive now, which we lacked in the beginning of the season. We have grown to play more as a team instead of six individuals.” Guenther says.

The overall growth of the team has improved from the beginning of the season and everyone is excited to see where playoffs will take them, according to Guenther.

Volleyball team spends time together at the window painting event during their season. Photo provided by Emma Guenther

Cross country sprints to sectionals

MAKAYLA ARTRIP-BORSIC

Staff Reporter The 2019 cross country teams prepare for their state qualifying sectional meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Belvidere, Illinois. As the team gears up for the sectional meet, coaches and athletes reflect on the season.

“Everybody “The team “The team this really kept is… working year is probably this positivity together. A the best we’ve going lot of the had in a while. throughout upperclassmen When I was a the team... have... stepped freshman, we That’s up into got second [in] the most leadership state. But even important roles and the then this year, it thing when freshmen and feels more like you’re trying sophomores... a community, to accomplish are just upping the family, the that end leadership, their game. goal, to have everything Everyone’s that sound, about the team working all quality, mental feels a lot more together like a attitude.” very nice family.” comfortable.”

Christopher Palmer Cross Country Assistant Coach

Molly Delaney Cross Country Manager

Kier Luczak Cross Country JV Athlete

Soccer provides benefits to players DANIEL ROBINS Staff Reporter

The boys varsity soccer team finished their regular season with a record of 7-11 and a conference record of 5-2. The team lost their first match of seconals with a score of 3-0 to Vernon Hills High School.

Varsity soccer coach Tom Hamilton explains that “we’re in a unique situation where in our sport, everybody makes the playoffs. So our record is more or less irrelevant, but it has improved.”

Hamilton continues to explain that it’s about the “enjoyment of the game and keeping it so they can play their style without letting the need to win take away the fun of the game.”

Student athletes can take away their own experiences and lessons from the sport.

Varsity captain Thomas Ramsey who plays center midfield explains that he learns “time

management [from soccer]... really, I just [have to] make sure I put school first, soccer second. So now I mean, over the four years, I’ve gotten better at it. It’s not too hard for me now.”

In the future, he wants, “to keep soccer in his life after high school as well. He is inspired by his dad, who as a child grew up playing soccer in his home country England.” He hopes to be playing for a long time like his dad who still plays.

The only freshman on the varsity team Daniel Marynevych who plays forward explains that the season is “great. Everybody’s been cheering pretty nice and it’s a good experience to play with some of the older people.”

Marynevych explains that playing with older athletes is a challenge, but he is working hard to adapt to this level of play.

Ramsey and Marynevych both

encourage their fellow students to take up some sort of sport or physical activity during high school because of the positive effect it can have later in life.

Freshman Daniel Marynevych practices at Central Park with varsity. Photo by Daniel Robins

OCTOBER|2019

NOVEMBER 2019 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1

2 Food Drive

3

4 5 Snowball Retreat

6

7

8

9 Food Drive

10

11 12 Veteran’s Day Assembly

13

14

15 Food Drive

16 Food Drive

17

18

19

20

21

22 Fall Musical

23 Fall Musical

24 Fall Musical

25

26

27

28

29

30

THANKSGIVING BREAK

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