Issuu

Volume 89 Issue 2 Winter 2018

East Leyden High School

3400 Rose Street

IncubatorEDU: S Dawid Poddany

tudents in grades 11 or 12 fascinated with careers in business can take Leyden’s new Business Incubator Course, which gives them an opportunity to work with real-world entrepreneurs and business experts. Together, these teams and outside consultants organize and launch businesses, taking them from concept to fully formed business plan. Students spend class time working on their businesses together into groups to learn about marketing, accounting ,and human resources. The teacher of the class, Vincent Russotto, shared what he wants students to get out of his course. “I really hope students have an experience they’ll be able to take with them after high school. I personally think that this is a class like no other. They’re also going to have this opportunity now to see what it takes to start a business. Not all students have that opportunity, and I think if they are able to see what it takes and how difficult it really is, or how fun it can be,it’s something they can possibly pursue post high school.” His class makes the business world very real for the students, allowing them to be exposed to a collaborative environment and allowing

BLOOD: A gift from family

Carolina Michalek

eyden’s annual blood drive, held this semester on November 29, gave all students the opportunity to help others. For some, it was a new experience. For others, it’s an old habit. Johana Smith* knows the importance of blood donors first hand. Three years ago her aunt, Anna Castro*, was diagnosed with severe iron-deficiency anemia. “I was petrified to hear the diagnosis,” Smith* said. “When I went to visit her at the hospital, I saw all

them to all share their ideas to ultimately work together with different ideas to lead their business in one direction. For students who have an interest in business and are interested in the class, Mr Russotto has only a few requirements: “To be open minded, not being afraid to fail, I feel that a lot of students feel that if they fail that’s the end-all, be-all. Once students really grasp the idea that failing is a positive, they rebound from that failure, pick themselves up, and [understand] failure is okay. [That’s how they end up ]being able to keep going forward and pursuing their dreams.” of the light in her eyes drained.” Severe iron-deficiency anemia occurs when the body doesn’t have enough iron, which it needs to produce hemoglobin, the main component of red blood cells. When the iron in the bloodstream is dangerously low, the rest of the body can’t get the amount of oxygen it needs. The disease can transpire at any age. Taking care of the your body with nutritious meals, and regular exercise will decreases your chance of developing iron-deficiency anemia. Symptoms such as dizziness, weakness, and cold hands/feet occur. For Smith’s* aunt, the symptoms resulted in a trip to the ER. In order to live a comfortable life, Castro* needed periodic blood transfusions to replace her deficient red blood cells. According to Life Source, less than 38 percent of the population is eligi-

Franklin Park, Illinois

Class gives students real business experiences

The students in the business incubator class are tasked with creating an idea and conduct-

Brian Wasilewski, Mark Praca. Sagan explained that their business is an app that “revolves around financial organization. It I really hope students have an will allow you to track experience they’ll be able to take your purchases exactly, with them after high school. count your receipts for --Mr. Russotto you, put everything into categories, so if you go to ing research and interviews with Target and buy 1-9 items and those potential consumers to see if they items are clothes and or food, that would like their idea. The students gets shifted into categories labeled present their idea by the end of the food and clothes.” The app is based school year; to a group of investors around financial help, so anyone who may back their product with in between the ages of 16-55 that their name and money, if they like has a smartphone and a functional it and see it’s potential. bank account can take advantage One group presented of the product. their App project, Jacub Sagan, This course has very Kacper Kijowski, Kevin Giec, much benefited Jacub and will

Julia Werynski donates at the recent blood drive. Photo by Carolina Michalek

ble to give blood. Luckily, Smith* was a matching blood donor. “I thank the universe for having a niece with the same blood type as me,” Castro* said. Now, Smith* donates her blood as often as her aunt needs,

which is usually once per year. ”It’s become a norm for me,” Smith* said. “But as long as it’s saving my aunt’s life, I would do it over and over. If [people] can donate their blood, they should. It would save others who might have

allow him to present his newfound skills of marketing, market research, and cooperation in a team. These are skills he hopes to bring to the business world. “Well I plan on going into the business world and tech world. After I get my degree in computer science I want to be integrated into the corporate world, so I will not only need my computer science degree but the skills I learned in the Business Incubator class such as marketing and cooperation with a team.” Sagan explained, “When we first started out in class, nothing really seemed that serious. We were talking about different business strategies and researching the market. The weight and importance of the class never really sunk in before we had finally chosen our product/service. After we pitched our idea to the class and our teacher as well as put together an explanatory presentation, that’s when it hit me. We are actually going to start a business. Sure, it may be rudimentary and just in the early stages, but it will be a business eventually. This is when we really started cracking down on the spreadsheets, the presentations, the interviews. We wanted this to take off; we wanted this to be a successful project.” similar situations, like my aunt.” That’s the same sentiment provided by blood drive and student council sponsor, Ms. Ellie Dix. “Donating blood is a great way of giving back to people in the community that are in desperate need of medical attention,” she said. According to the American Red Cross, every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. During the in-school drive conducted by the professional organization LifeSource, students who were 16 and older donated enough blood to save up to three lives. “It makes me feel like a hero,” Svetoslav Zografski said. “Anyone who is considering to donate blood or has donated is a real MVP.” said Student Council member Riley Deahl. *Name changed for anonymity

News

Winter 2018

Big Youth Turnout at Elections

Morgan Carli

n November 6, 2018 hundreds of students voted for the first time. This time around, the voting was for the Illinois Midterm election. They voted for Governor, House of Representatives, Senators, Judges, etc. For Governor, the main candidates were Republican Bruce Rauner and Democrat JB Pritzker. For the House of Representatives, all 18 seats, and in the Senate both seats, were contested. Many people turned 18 and finally got the chance to vote. Everyone has their own reason why they voted or didn’t vote. People vote because they want to have an opinion on who should run the state or country depending on what they’re voting for. They also vote because now they can complain about who the candidates are, they have that right. There has been a major increase in 18-29-yearolds voting in 2018. According to The Atlantic, young adults make up 13% of overall voters, that is 11% more than the last midterm election in 2014. This may be due to young adults realizing that they have a voice and that their opinion actually matters. Young adults are going to be the ones that change the world one day. Clarissa Messina, a senior here at East Leyden, is one of many young adults who voted. She says the reason that she voted was, “If you don’t vote, then you don’t have a right to complain

Mark Praca @Ya_BoiiMark The change in Illinois leadership may mean that recreational marijuana may be coming to the state.

about who gets elected”, which many adults would probably agree with. Messina also stated, “Voting was a very empowering experience. It’s one of those things that most people take for granted, and getting to do so was an awesome experience. It was different than I thought it would be because it was so easy! I thought it would be difficult. I never knew how many judges there were until I voted.” When people turn 18, they are usually excited about voting because they do get the chance to have their voice be heard. Once you vote, you can vote on anything you desire, you’re voice will be heard and validated. Every person has an opinion on who they want running for offices and yet they don’t vote. Emiliano De Blas, here at East Leyden, stated, “registering

to vote takes too much time and effort. And this is the reason I didn’t vote.” High school seniors typically can be lazy, therefore not wanting to put in the effort of voting and actually researching candidates. De Blas continued to say “students can’t agree 100% with any of the parties”. Other reasons that people vote as soon as they turn 18 are, they want their opinion to matter and their voice to be heard. Abby Brewer, also a senior here at East Leyden, stated, “We have the world at our fingertips! It is our right and our duty to look up political campaigns and see who is running. Everything we need to know is at our fingertips.” Brewer also agrees that not everyone knows or agrees with what a candidate stands for and to vote you would have to choose.

Voting is our right and duty as US citizens. Voting does give you a voice, and it allows the younger generation to make a difference. Even though one may think that one vote may not make a difference, it does, as in our most recent election. In the end, our new Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker won with only 54.5% of the votes, which actually consisted of mostly Cook County, Illinois. This midterm election turned out to be a historical moment amongst young people from the ages of 18-24. It has also been said that is was the “most expensive” campaign race in US history with Bruce Rauner spending over 78 million dollars and JB Pritzker spending over 128 million dollars.

High School Heroes

Ulrich Nazareno

BLA club members took time off school to teach elementary students important life lessons. They participated in the High school Heroes which is a leadership and a community service program where high school students get to become teachers and teach them about finances and business. Students also benefit from the program because they learn many important life skills. Amanda Le, a sophomore FBLA member says she learned “more organization skills and the knowledge necessary needed to be a teacher.” As for Tony Nguyen, a senior FBLA member“ I improved in my public speaking and gained real-life work experience” Sunny

Marijuana Debate

Patel also a senior FBLA member, he “learned teamwork and how to work with a group in order to succeed”. FBLA members were split into groups and each taught different grade levels. With each grade level comes with its own difficulties. Deanna Nino a Senior who taught a kindergarten class found it difficult to keep their attention “Because the grade I had is so young, it was difficult to keep them quiet during discussions and lectures”. For Amanda Le teaching the 4th-grade class had its difficulties as she was, “making sure that I was teaching the lesson properly” to a large group of kids. Even though there were some struggles, FBLA members enjoyed their time teaching young

students important lessons. F o r Tony Nguyen, he enjoyed teaching his interest in business “I pursue in majoring in computer science, but at the same time it was fun expressing my passion in business” Sunny Patel loved the energy of the students as “They were very energetic and it was fun to work with them”. Deanna Nino enjoyed her time because they were able to teach their lessons properly. When asked if she would encourage students to

participate in High School heroes next year, she replied: “I would definitely encourage other students to participate next year because it was a great learning experience and it’s a lot of fun getting to work with your friends.”

Governor-Elect J. B. Pritzker “The path forward for Illinois is clear: we need to legalize marijuana. As governor, I am ready to stand with leaders, communities, and families across our state to legalize marijuana and move our state forward. There is an abundance of evidence that shows we can legalize marijuana in a safe way. It would have real benefits for Illinois, including reducing opioid overdoses and bringing in much needed revenue from taxation.”

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner “We studied the issue of whether we should make [marijuana] available for chronic pain. We studied it because there are pros and cons because cannabis is addictive… But we signed a law that basically said where opioids would otherwise be prescribed, we want to make medical cannabis available. Because it is less addictive than opioids… What I’ve done is visit governors of other states [where marijuana is legal] and medical professionals, and what most of them have recommended is that we in Illinois should wait and watch… Because they’re learning a lot of painful lessons. And it is not all been good.”

Features

The Eagle’s Eye

Sweet Tradition

Marta Lasak

hicago’s sweetest run, The Annual Hot Chocolate Race, had sweet runners this year. About 40,000 runners laced up their sneakers, including multiple Leyden math teachers. “It’s our Math Department tradition,” explains Mrs. Marcy Kinnane. This year’s runners: Ms. Miller, Mrs. Ferguson, Ms. Thomas, Mrs. Kinnane, Ms. Trinka and Ms. Cullen, ran in support of a great cause. Yearly, this race contributes to the ‘Make a Wish’ foundation. When signing up, runners contribute to treating children with critical illnesses. The race started early Sunday morning, on November 3. Getting the energy to run early on a weekend, had to have been challenging. Ms. Miller explains, “I went to bed early on Saturday

and we texted each other to make sure we were all awake! Most of us had a banana and a granola bar and water before the race.” Every year the race is located at Grant Park. The start line is set on Columbus Drive, where all runners began there run. Runners have a choice of completing a 15k or 5k. All runners ran through Lower Wacker Drive, Clark Street, W. Van Buren Street. The 15k course extends to Michigan Ave and went all the way around to Fort Dearborn Street. Ms. Trinka was able to run the race with some tunes, “I had a great running playlist, I am always motivated to try and beat my previous race time. All runners were motivated throughout the entire course, with warm cheers from the crowds. The numerous water stations were also packed with Leyden Volunteers. Ms. Kinnane mentions, “It seemed

like there were at least 100 Leyden students volunteering. We saw them cheering and giving out water at the first water station along the route. It was a memorable moment to run past them as we smiled, waved, and cheered for each other.” Ms. Miller agrees, “The entire water station was taken over by great Leyden students and staff sponsors who were volunteering!! It was amazing to see them and have their support. It’d be

Snowball stresses confidence, teamwork

Max Pinero

ith the sun shining a bright glare and positive vibes filling the air, students from Operation Snowball got to have some fun on getaway trip to Camp Duncan in Lake County, Illinois on Tuesday November 27th. Operation Snowball is one of the many clubs you can join at Leyden where you get to do fun activities to develop skills and spread prevention of drugs and alcohol. With a club like this, it truly opens the doors for students to truly becomes leaders and develop even more skills when it comes to being socially active in the real world. Not only that, there’s a objective and meaning deeper to Snowball. Yesenia Diaz, a junior at East Leyden and member of Operation Snowball, stated, “It helps you focus on becoming a role-model through leadership skills and team building to where I

impossible to have a race of this size without volunteers.” After the run, runners reconnected at the Post Race Party. This is where runners treated themselves to a finishers mug. Mugs were filled with delicious goodies and hot chocolate. Ms. Kinnane describes this moment as ‘rewarding’, she explains, “The Hot Chocolate is the best part! The post-race included hot chocolate, chocolate fondue, a

banana, a marshmallow, pretzels, a donut-hole, and a cookie.” Ms. Ferguson agrees, “After the race we went straight for the treats and hot chocolate. They were all delicious!” It is always great seeing our Leyden community and teachers come together! We hope the math department tradition will forever carry on, supporting a great cause.

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

W can spread my influences to others and make a good impact on my community to live an alcohol and drug-free life” Diaz said. Not only can you learn these skills through the club, but you can apply these skills to everyday life whether it’s within your community or throughout the entire world. The whole idea of Operation Snowball is to spread prevention through activities to bring people together that require teamwork and leadership skills to get the task done. With that in mind, over 95 students got to participate in the activities during the trip. “I remember one of the activities we did was where I to go through a hole but at the same time one group was throwing me through and the other group had to catch me, and it was a lot of fun” Diaz said. Some activities weren’t available due to the weather, but students got to enjoy the activities that were indoors. For anyone who wants to enjoy trips like don’t even have to be in Snowball. Junior Snowball

member, Stephanie Schulmeister from East Leyden, expressed this stating, “You could be in basketball, you could be in wrestling, you could be in cheerleading, or you don’t even need to be in snowball to go on these trips,” she said. This allows everyone to be able to go on these trips being in snowball no matter what your a part of. “You don’t have to hide your true self and people will still like you for that” said Stephanie. With this getaway in the books, this trip was truly special and memorable to the students in Snowball. “I was able to meet a lot of people that were just like me and had similar situations like me and it truly left an impact on me” said Stephanie. “I was able to be a leader with another student during the group discussion and that had a very big impact on me because being able to be the leader and it felt really cool,” said Diaz. It will be a trip Operation Snowball will remember for years and years to come.

Jenny Molini

ant to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity trip to Italy? Every summer Leyden partners with a school in Italy to either go to Italy or Leyden students host exchange students. This coming up summer Leyden is going to Italy. Ms. Jablonska, a guidance counselor, said, “It gave me the opportunity to know a lot of different types of kids that are not on my caseload.” This trips allows students to get to know teachers outside the classroom setting and establish greater connections to students. Ms. Jablonska said, “You get to experience the different culture, food, which is amazing, and shopping.” The exchange kids travel all over Italy. They start in Rome and end up in Braica making many stops along the way. The exchange kids stay in hotels for half the time then with a host family. This gives students the opportunity to make friendships with people they would never know if it wasn’t for the exchange program. “Most importantly you get to know and make relationships with kids the same age as you that live a totally different life,” Ms. Jablonska

said. Many people don’t realize the differences between the lives of the same age kids across the county. The friendships you make with your host family will last a lifetime. Clarissa Messina, a senior, said, “It is a great experience and you get to meet new people and have friends in another country. It is a lot of fun.” One of the most rewarding parts about this trip is the friends you will make. Messina was hosted by Laura. Immediately they became close friends. She said, “We still talk at least once a week.” “It is nice to talk to someone who lives across the country, and get their perspective on situations.” Messina and Laura are able to gossip to each other about anything and everything without the fear of it spreading. The openness they can have with each brings their friendship to a new level. Most of the Italian students speak English well so communication is not a problem most of the time. Dr. Ruffalo is fluent in Italian. This allows us not to have a language barrier when we are traveling before we get to the host families. It does not matter if you take Italian anyone is eligible for the trip.

Features

The Eagle’s Eye

Retiring Teachers JUDITH CONDREN

ALEX JOMARRON

Areli Avila

he knows where your book is. Whether you love fiction or romance she knows what to find you. Whether you dislike reading lengthy books or enjoy picture books she will find it for you. She knows where to look. Librarian Judith Condren, who is retiring at the end of this school year, never lets a student down. She sees it as her job to connect with each student and to make the library a place where students can rely on someone to find what they need. That mission begins early before classes start. “I want very much to make connections, and I do a walk around greeting and wishing you guys a good day because it is the start of your day and it is the start of my day,” Condren said. Like most librarians, Condren’s work is also founded on a love for reading. Her father always encouraged her to read and read. That was the #1 priority for school work. At first, Mrs. Condren did not enjoy it, but over time, reading helped find her identity. Her father always found books that he knew she would be into. It was not just reading any book, but it was reading genres she loved. “My dad really made a point by trying to help me find books that I would appreciate,” she said. “He had a hard time because he kept getting me the Little House on the Prairie type of books that I couldn’t identify with at all, but soon he got Robinson Crusoe and this wonderful love story, Lorna Doone, and all these adventure books.” Although it is her last year working for Leyden since 2002, she will very much miss the students the most. As a librarian, Judith Conderan states, “Because I see so many of you that, unlike a classroom teacher where you have that teacher for one year, you guys have me for 4!. I really try to help you guys recognize me as an important connection for you.” Librarian Judith Condren has been a librarian for about 16 years. But from all her experiences she says it’s hard to misunderstand a person that they feel offended. She is always looking for ways to improve herself like reading a challenging book to grow her brain or take the restorative justice training to improve herself as a person.

“The challenges are maybe there is a misunderstanding and I just took the restorative justice training and I am really hoping that a lot of teachers take advantage of that.” Although she is retiring from East Leyden, Ms.Conderan isn’t going to give up on her mission. She still wants to continue helping East Leyden Eagles find their own reading identity with reading. “Oh my gosh, I will have to come back. To me, the relationship side to reading is a beautiful thing. I have a book club here (in the library) and we get to talk about what we are reading or to share what we’ve read. I love hearing what you all have to say.” For a person who has worked at Leyden for over 10 years is amazing. Judith Conderan met so many students and she will keep growing her bond with the ones that appreciate her help. Everyone loves and enjoys the person she is. She will definitely be missed!

Jennifer Molini

n June 8, 2019 Alex Jomarron, a social studies teacher, will be officially homeless. He is selling his Jeep and the only property he will have is his boat and van with the exception of his motorcycle in a storage unit in Chicago. After teaching for 24 years Jomarron decides to end the teaching chapter of his life and open the adventaious chapter. As for the where the boat and van are headed, Mr. Jomarron plans to head to Alaska for his first stop on his never-ending journey. Jomarron said, “I rode my motorcycle to Alaska 20 years ago. I am looking forward to a much more comfortable trip this time. Then, I am going to head down to Washington, Oregon, and California and then leave the van in San Diego,” said Jomarron. Then I am going to fly back to Chicago to visit my friends and family. The next part of his trip is going to be on his boat. He is going to fly to Savannah, Georgia. Jomarron said, “Next year at the beginning of the school year, I am going to be in the Bahamas sailing down to the Caribbean.” Once hurricane season approaches he is going to fly to San Diego and get his van. “I am going to take six months to drive my van down to Mexico, Central America and to Panama.” “I am leaving my van in Panama and go to my boat and seeing where that takes me.” The dangerous storms and hurricanes won’t stop Jomarron from doing what he loves. “Hurricanes and bad storms are forcastest so you won’t get caught in them.” “Sailing I just avoid hurricane season.” To avoid storms he has a satellite to get weather reports daily, “if I want so if I get stuck in a hurricane and die. I deserve it because I am an idiot.” Jomarron tries to take his adventurous lifestyle to the classroom. “I try and remind students to do what makes them happy.” “for all the naysayers in our lives who say when you want to do something and they say nah you can’t do it. I always tell people that the people who tell you that have never done a damn thing in their life.” Being apart from people won’t be any different to Jomarron, “You meet other people who are doing this and you get together on the beach and have pot luck dinners and play guitar.” I will have plenty of social life. Before embarking on his journey he has yet to finish his final year as a teacher. “I think there is a perception that people have it can be staff or even students like ohh he is retiring he is going to take it easy.” However, Jomarron has the opposite thinking. “I get to put all the knowledge and experience I have gained over the years so I expect that this will be my best year teaching.”

ROBERT SMITH David Poddany

warm chuckle comes out of him when he finds out why he’s being interviewed. Despite retiring this year, Robert Smith’s priority is to always help his students, as he walks over the one student who stayed after school for his help that day; Mr. Smith insisting that he help the student understand the problem on her paper before beginning the interview. Mr. Smith walks back to his worn out chair and sits on it with a quiet sigh of relief of the day being over. Now with only 1 year left in the classroom, Mr. Smith is looking forward to exploring new hobbies outside of school after having a long and busy career as the head coach of girls and boys tennis, and a pre-calculus honors and intermediate algebra 2 teacher. He does see much success in his coaching, “I think we’ve only had 2 seasons where we didnt have at least a 500 record, since I’ve been here we’ve had drastic improvements in tennis courts, when I first got here we only had 5 tennis courts over at west, but now we have 8 over at west, so through the help of the school board and our athletic director and our superintendents We’ve had a lot of improvements, and I think that the tennis program is on the map in terms of the people asking us to come to tournaments, them asking us to host tournaments.” Retirement doesn’t necessarily mean taking a break as Mr. Smith has a lot to look forward to in the future, “I have a lot of job opportunities in the tennis industry, so I’m thinking about doing something in those terms, other than coaching and tennis. I’ve worked in the past in tennis clubs, I might do that but most likely probably not, but at least the opportunity is there. I also do something which a few people know about, I work with these things called drum and bugle corps and writing, designing band shows for high schools, I’ve been doing quite a bit of that throughout my entire life also, which is a whole different realm of besides math teaching and teaching tennis. Having seen leyden change drastically throughout the years, Mr. Smith stills appears surprised when considering how much the technology that Leyden uses; has changed. Stopping for a second and chuckling while his eyes widen as he thinks about the advancements to Leyden. “Probably the most dramatic has been all the technology we’ve added, there’s been pluses and minuses, everything from when we first added the whole phone things are good to now the phone things are bad, realizing that the technology is good to a point, but can also be very distracting at times, trying to create a balance between the use of technology, has been the hardest thing to do, realizing when technology is gonna help us, especially in math I guess, and when technology becomes more a crutch from us.” Mr. Smith gets up and walks over the other side of his table where under a stack of papers he pulls out a packet discussing his induction into the hall of fame, as well as an award for him, which in bright blue letters read “2017-18 State Coach of the Year.” After retiring Mr. Smith will have a lot more time to take vacations in certain seasons that teachers usually don’t get the opportunity to do. “I could go to europe when the weather is a little bit nicer, there a lot of places that would be really nice to go to in the fall or in the spring, you get a lot of vacation time when you’re teaching, which is awesome but you are limited it when it is and you’re always going at the peak time, which is always at the highest price times, so now I could travel on bargains, that’ll be nice. The other thing is i’ll be able to get in more tennis, and a little bit more of the drum course stuff, I could start to write more band stuff from now on.” Even after all of the reflecting Mr. Smith has done throughout the course of the discussion, with a laugh, he is very straight to the point as to why he’s retiring. “Because this will be my 35th year overall teaching that’s enough, I’ll be in 63 seasons of coaching varsity.”

Profiles

Passion For Sports: Brandon Marsh

Marta Lasak @martaxlasak

ehind Leyden’s sports and athletes, is a positive Athletic trainer, Brandon Marsh. Working with Leyden sports teams, preventing injuries and healing our athletes year round. Brandon grew up loving every sport, he explains, “I pretty much played a little bit of everything... Indoor soccer, baseball, and gymnastics in elementary school; football and track during middle school; football, wrestling, and track during high school.” This love for sports grew his motives to get a degree in sports and medicine. Brandon explains, “I first knew I wanted to be an Athletic Trainer my sophomore year of high school. I was a three sport athlete at Hinsdale South and each year I had at least one injury that

THE EAGLE’S EYE Page Designers:

Carolina Michalek, 1 Ulrich Nazareno, 2 Jennifer Molini, 3 Dawid Poddany, 4 Adam Trzaska, 5 Cesar Hernandez, 6 Hadeel Hejaz, 7 Beatriz Verin, 8 Bryan Muro-Enriquez, 9 Victoria Drozd, 10 Mark Praca, 11 Catherine Saponieri, 12

Writers:

Marta Lasak Areli Avila Morgan Carli Erick Aguilar Kailey Kirkwood Sabrina Perricone Franco Petrucci Max Pinero Brian Wasilewski Rocio Flores-Najera The Eagle’s Eye is produced by students enrolled in English IV Journalism and English Journalism Honors. The opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the district. Readers are encouraged to check out our full collection on content and submit story ideas via the web site. FOLLOW US: @EAGLESEYE212

required physical therapy.” Freshman year of High School, Brandon was also diagnosed with Osgood Schlatter disease, a disease that was common in young athletes. He explains, “My leg bones were growing faster than my muscles could keep up with so that was causing pain and swelling at my right knee.” This never stopped Brandon, Tackling

The Eagle’s Eye

these minor injuries, Brandon spent a lot of his time doing getting therapy. Brandon explains, “These trainers introduced me to their role in athletics and sports medicine… They were really good at what they did. It truly inspired me.” After High School, Brandon’s inspirations allowed him to start his career in becoming an Athletic Trainer. He finished his

studies at Illinois State University, receiving his certifications and graduating in 2016. He then joined the Leyden staff in 2017, after working with NovaCare for a year. Brandon explains, “I wanted to be in a career field that was challenging, engaging, and genuinely helping people all while being around the sports that I love. It truly seemed like a perfect fit.” He laughs, “ A 9-5 desk job wouldn’t have been my thing.” Brandons work primarily at the East Campus, working with every Leyden sports team. He explains, “The kids get down to my room at 2:30 and that’s when the madness begins! You’ll find me bouncing around the room multitasking with doing injury evals and assisting the kids with their rehab. That goes on till about 4:00 before the room clears out. The rest of the time I’m checking in at practices, chatting with coaches

about injuries, and taking care of the kids that get hurt during practice.” He agrees this can get stressful, yet be very rewarding, “ I love helping everyone and that goes beyond just with injuries. If you’re having a bad day, I try to lift your spirits and throw some motivational knowledge your way while treating your injuries. The biggest reward for me is seeing an injured athlete get better each week and how that positively affects them overall.” Leyden sports greatly appreciate Brandons hardwork and healing. After overcoming a minor concussion, Varsity Cheerleader, Maricruz states, “Brandon made sure I was taking the right steps; staying hydrated and focusing on my injury. I was able to completely recover and get back to cheering… Brandon plays a big role at Leyden.”

Calm in the Storm

Re-evaluate the role of your gudiance counselor

Catherine Saponieri @Saponieri14

he bell rings and you make your way to your next period class. A majority of the students walk around the halls with their headphones blasting music leading to very little interaction. You make your way to the first floor and open a door. A door leading into a waiting room with students ranging from freshman to seniors. You turn left in the waiting room and stroll into a room ou walk into a room that feels cozy and welcoming just as your living room does at home. For a moment you feel like your not in school thinking about the math test you have to take next period. It’s just you and someone else sitting there talking about life and issues you might be dealing with. The dark cloud you were carrying over your head gets smoothened down by these people who work in this chaotic field for a living. An average high school guidance counselor deals with 482 students a year. That is 482 students that come in and out of an office looking to get a schedule change, receive college advice, plan for future goals, or deal with personal issues. These counselors offer advice and try to lead students in the right direction in high

school and for post secondary plans. One of these counselors, Emilie Reynolds, has been working at Leyden for many years now. The daily life of Mrs. Reynolds or

degree. She ending up getting a job teaching English for 5 years, but seemed to interact with the teenagers in a different way. Students would come to her with personal

any counselor is never the same. Growing up in the Arlington Heights, Reynolds wanted to become a veterinarian or an attorney in high school. That changed when she got into college although. She graduated high school and began her own life at Harper College and strived even better than she did in high school. A year later she transferred to Western Illinois University and majored in Psychology and also got a teaching

problems and would open up to her more than they would with other teachers. That led her to decide to return back to school to receive her masters and look more into school counseling jobs. “I felt like I made an impact on other people. Sometimes on a group of people or an individual. That led me to think I should be impacting kids in another way” Reynolds said. She wanted to be the

counselor she never had when she was in high school. Reynolds would see her counselor only twice a year and never felt connected with her. She wanted to be able to connect to all students if that was about their personal interests or on a deeper level. “I used to bring home this big bag every night that were filled with papers to grade and materials for planning. Now I don’t carry home that bag. I carry something else. I carry home a heavy load in a different way. I wake up at night thinking about my kids. First thing I think about when I wake up is checking up on a kid I might have met with last week to make sure that they are okay. ” You walk past their office everyday, but never take the time to stop and think what is truly going on behind those doors. How many people they are impacting. How many meetings they might have a day. How many kids they meet in the matter of a couple periods. They have a bigger influence on students then we might think. The daily life of a counselor might be chaotic and stressful, but at the end of the day it is for a good cause. They are the calm of the storm.

Profiles

Winter 2018

C P of Joe

Cesar Hernandez @CHernandez_66 4:30 AM: Wakes up to make a Dunkin Donut blend of black coffee and finish homework 6:30 AM: Heads out for school 7:00 AM: Arrives and finishes any homework left 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM: AP and honors filled schedule 2:30 - 3:30 PM: Some sort of school club, or working on photography 4:00 - 9 PM: Works at Leyden Township’s community center (occasional school board meetings on Thursdays) 9 - 9:30 PM: Drives home 9:30 - 11:30 PM: Eat, shower, work on homework and music 11:30 - 4:30 AM: SLEEP This is the average weekday for 18-year-old Joseph Sanchez. “The Godfather” poster hangs next to the window straight away from the door to his room. Hip hop music books rest on a shelf above a desk stacked with a computer, microphone, two Samson Resolve studio monitors,

a Native instrument machine, and a midi akai MPD 32 pad controller. Somewhere in between the window and his desk is a bed. This is the room of Joseph “Joe” Sanchez, a room he doesn’t get to spend to much time in due to his busy schedule. Being busy has been all Joe has known since he was little, and that’s all he’s feels comfortable with. And this has allowed him to become interested in many things, whether it be music, photography, volunteering or rather just working hard. Going on to become an example that business and happiness can coincide. “My dad had a band where they would perform for different venues and concerts. And I would always be at the studio, and

we’d be there late at night,” Joe Sanchez explains. “It has always been a part of my life, and I feel in my element there.” From a music taste including hip hop artists, such as Kendrick Lamar and Jay Z, to Jimmy Hendrix, and a few symphonies in between, each has its own sound that Sanchez loves. Playing multiple instruments had Sanchez

exploring more within music and Sanchez at fifteen taught himself how to use the program “ FL” and worked with two passed down turntables to work parties. “I started off with virtually nothing, taught myself things, and at the age of 15, I was working late nights [DJ’ing parties] and then next morning, I was working with my step dad.” Joe no longer Dj’s too often, but continues to make beats and music almost everyday where he does make money. His weekend job includes working with his step-dad, which is helping with home renovations. Friday nights he can be seen filming and taking pictures of the Leyden Hockey team, another passion of his. But within his weekday job, he wanted to become more connected to the community as well as volunteer. That is why he works at the Leyden Township community center. “I’ve always felt I’ve had to fill a void. As a kid I didn’t have the best childhood growing up, so I knew what it felt like to not have

anything. Growing a little older, I learned how to thrive and make money for myself and understand what work truly is.” Sanchez explains “I then began to think about all the other kids like me, and giving back is a way to show one cares, and it is important to care for one another. This job allows Joe to help at children’s events, parades and any community event or group that the township runs, helping rekindle feelings of being in Peru where he helped build a greenhouse for a family. It is hard to imagine Joe moving here mid freshman year, to him now becoming one of two students who are members of the school board. Through a ton of work experience, Joe has become an exceptional speaker who can express his thoughts and visions clearly, making him perfect for the role. He explains that “ I {he} love talking, and wanna help make a little improvement on an otherwise awesome school.”

New Country, Life & Struggles

Beatriz Verin @verinbea

oving into a different country of unfamiliar traditions, Susanna Hernandez, a senior at East Leyden faced a lot of challenges such as speaking the language, learning the culture, and finding the connections. “I moved from Columbia to the United States four years ago. Besides the language, getting used to the culture is difficult because I did not know anything about this place,” Hernandez said. Hernandez moved to the U.S. because of her family’s economic situation. Hernandez did not speak English when she came here. Communicating in English is a crucial thing in the U.S. in order to express our thoughts with others. Hernandez’s parents did not speak English, so she has to learn it all to help her parents. “I want to be able to talk

and understand others. I like to express myself. Being not able to communicate with others motivated me to learn English fast. I wanted to communicate so I could make friends, but mainly I wanted to help my parents,” Hernandez said. As school was approaching Hernandez was told to move with her aunt whom she barely knew. Her parents had to stay back in Kenosha, Wisconsin and continue working while Hernandez was going to school. “It was like living with a complete stranger. I knew that she existed, but I never really got a chance to really get to know her,” Hernandez said. Leaving her family behind in Wisconsin forced Hernandez to become independent. Hernandez had to figure out her life on her own. “I felt so lonely. I missed my family so much. It was hard to visit them because they were far,”

Hernandez said. For a couple of months, she missed her parents because they were far away, but they moved to Franklin Park to be reunited with her again. Going to a new school can be pretty daunting especially if you lived in a different

country. Everything is different: the schools, classes, teachers, students, and schedules. Adapting to the new environment is tough and might take some time. Hernandez started her freshman year in Columbia and moved to East Leyden during the second semester. Hernandez experienced a lot of differences with her classes and resources. “One of the key differences is the schedule. In Columbia, we have the same classrooms and have the same students the whole year. The students become really close with each other and over here, everyone is just way too focused on their studies.” Hernandez said Hernandez had to get used to how big East Leyden is and

the way the schedules work. She was also grateful for the resources such as the Chromebook because in Columbia not everyone had Chromebooks. The ESL program truly helped Hernandez at the beginning of her high school career. Hernandez said “The teachers were very understanding because it was difficult for me to communicate. They helped me get through the tough projects, homework, and presentations.” Hernandez is now taking 3 AP classes and 1 honors class. Throughout the years, some of Hernandez’s family has moved to the United States but she still misses Columbia, and she hopes to go back can go back soon. Hernandez constantly thinks about her country and still holds a lot of her culture. Although she may have moved to a different country she does not want to forget her culture.

Profiles

The Eagle’s Eye

Music’s Future

A Life of Exploration

L Photo by Michael Kleen

Hadeel Hejaz

ooking for something to satisfy his curiosity, Ruben Haro found his way to a haunting yet exciting hobby: to explore abandoned places with intriguing stories in their past. Haro defines himself as an urban explorer, someone who explores abandoned structures, sewer systems, and train yards. Others define it as illegal trespassing. A nearby group of silos and an abandoned house caught his attention initially. “I just wanted to try something new, do it for fun,” he said. He never thought about urban exploring until he started researching about what was going on in those places. He wanted to feel the excitement, the thrill, wanted to go on an adventure. In his first experience at the abandoned house, he saw a lady just staring at him while he was at the top of the house looking out the window. She was there staring at him in the pitch black darkness of the night, and that’s what caught his attention, wanting to do more research to find what happened there, what’s the story behind it, who is she? He also found an old record player and kept it, so he loved finding these old things to collect. After that experience he was interested, researching, finding places that he can explore. While researching he found a nearby road with a story: Munger Road. His hands shaking, body shivering, feeling cold, Haro claims he felt a presence around him. Standing far from it, staring, nervous to go near Munger Road, where a school bus full of children was hit by a train after becoming stuck on the tracks, killing everyone inside. Ruben Haro, just a kid from East Leyden, went all the way to the vllages of Bartlett and Wayne to explore a legendary haunted site, drawing visitors to experience supernatural phenomena at the railroad track. Preparing his knives and flashlights, while mentally preparing himself, zipping his phone up his sweater pocket, refusing to take it out just in case he has to run. Haro took deep breaths right before walking through Munger Road.

CHICAGO’S SPOOKY ATTRACTIONS GRACELAND CEMETERY 4001 N Clark St Chicago, IL 60613 Little Inez Clark was only 6 years old when she was struck by lightning. As a memorial, a statue of her was created. But! During thunderstorms, it’s rumored that the statue has been seen wandering the grounds. “Who wants to go check out that creepy sculpture in the rain?”

Photo By: Scary for Kids

E DGEWATER MEDICAL CENTER 1621-1623 W Edgewater Ave Chicago, IL 60660

Dr. Maurice Mazel was so invested in the hospital that he oversaw every operation until his death in 1980. In 1989, the hospital was sold to Peter Rogan, who engaged in a shocking array of corrupt activities like kickback schemes, insurance fraud, and unneccecary surgeries that led to the death of many patients. Reportedly, if visitors at Munger Road sprinkle baby powder on their car bumpers and sit on the tracks with their car in neutral, the spirits of the children push the car off the tracks to safety, and their handprints can be seen in the powder. Hearing his heartbeat in the dead silence of the windy night, Haro kept having second thoughts looking back at the car debating if he should go through the road. But he wanted to go; he wanted to say that he went ‘urban exploring.’ Taking a deep breath, he walked through the woods very alert to his surroundings, looking at everything around him, palms sweating. Listening closely, he says he heard whispers. Looking around to see if there was someone else around them, but it was just

Photo By: USSF them. Empty. Haro and a friend waited 40 minutes and started thinking maybe there is nothing here. Wait, whispers he hears once again. “Did you hear that this time,” he asked his friend. Staring at him in shock, his friend nodded. They dropped everything and ran as fast as they could’ve out of those woods. Finally away from Munger Road, out of breath, scared yelling over each other. They jumped in the car and went as far as they could’ve from that road, never wanting to go back.Getting home was the most relieving feeling in the world knowing he was safe and sound in bed. After that feeling of excitenment he knew that he wanted to keep exploring.

Brian Wasilewski

ooking into music’s future here’s the next big thing coming out of leyden. Senior Alex Moreno at East Leyden High School is on track for his big come up. As for a lot of students at Leyden music plays a big roll in their life, some students like Moreno take it more seriously and love to mess around and produce music. Even though it all started as a hobby in spring of his freshman year,Moreno looks forward to producing music for some of his favorite artist in the future. Looking at music and the role that music plays in our society and generation a lot of kids and teenagers feel as if music connects with them on a different level. Moreno said “I liked that people created a different vibe and feeling when making music”.As he gets to create his own beats and songs now,he gets to enjoy that feeling and vibe as he can create whatever he likes. Moreno doesn’t always think of himself and what he likes, he tries to stay on top of the trending music and create similar beats so that maybe one day someone big in the music industry comes across his music. “When you get to sit in a room with a bunch of cool sounds and drums and other artists it’s just awesome”.Moreno sometimes later on collaborates with some rappers from around the area.Even though these rappers are young, they help him out by using his beats and getting the platform out there. Moreno doesn’t use anything special or hard to create his beats,he has his own mini studio at home in his bedroom where he has an Imac and a macbook.Fo studio in garageband is what he uses to create his beats,which he later on posts on his soundcloud and youtube (@HiHway). There’s also a club which meets after school where students from Leyden that love to create music can meetup and work on something they want to produce. Moreno attends most of these club meetings as he gets extra time to work and collaborate with some other students.Moreno does have his favorite rappers and producers that inspire him, “Pluto,Nash,kennybeats,southside.”These are mostly music producers that produce crazy beats for very popular artist in the rap industry.Moreno tries to learn from them so that he can improve his own work. Even though Moreno spends a lot of his free time on producing music he’s also a very smart kid in school,if you have him in class you know that he is a hard worker and wants to achieve his goals.As Moreno wants to go to college after graduating High School he also has his dreams. “I want to work with a lot of my favorite artist from Chicago as well as others worldwide.”

Features

Winter 2018

Holiday in the Park

Winter Date Ideas

Beatriz Verin While it might be cold outside, there’s still plenty of things to do in the winter. Winter can seem a little daunting and even depressing as the cold months drag on and on! Whether you’re looking to enjoy the snow or just want to find something to do indoors, you’ll be able to find a cute date idea for you and your bae or friends.

Make a Home You can buy a kit or make it at home from scratch. See how creative the two of you can get.

Hit the Hills Even if you only hike up the hill once or twice, it will still be a rush going down that hill with your date.

or the first time in the park’s 42 year history, Six Flags Great America will stay open until the end of the year, inviting theme park fans to celebrate the winter holidays while riding roller coasters! Six Flags created a new “season of thrills” as the park has been transformed into a winter wonderland. The park features nightly tree-lighting ceremonies, fire pits for roasting marshmallows and new holiday shows. According to Great America, the event also features more than one million LED lights throughout the park and its Christmas trees. These rides spin, fly and promise to take kids on magical journeys. Most kids love the thrills and fun only Six Flags can offer. While speaking to the students here at East Leyden, there can be some good and bad things coming from this experience. “The weather would definitely affect my experience because you don’t know what to expect, and it might be too cold for the rides,” said Kayah Gregorczyk a Freshman here at Leyden. “Although, it would be a nice way to spend time with family and friends during the holiday season, where we can all come together, it can be a new family tradition!” Speaking to Cecilia Flores, a sophomore here at Leyden, “I’m really excited. It’s not

Hadeel Hejaz just fright fest where you freeze your eyes off outside, there’s also things to do inside. Although, I think nothing is going to be able to beat fright fest that’s number one! But, the lights are going to be so much better than the spooky attraction because I won’t be watching my back every second.” Speaking to Estefania Zepeda a sophomore here at Leyden, “ It’s going to be beautiful because of all of the lights, although the only concerning part is it might be cold so I might get sick afterwards!” As you can see it would be a great experience to go out and have some fun being outdoors with your loved ones, although you better dress warm you don’t want to get sick! I know what you’re thinking, no way the rides will be open in the freezing cold, well you thought wrong, yes they are! The rides might only temporarily close due to the weather but will open back up! “There’s so many twists and turns,” stated Natalia Mellett a sophomore here at Leyden. “I am so excited for the rides because I have never gone while it was snowing!” Micaela McGinley, Communications Specialist at Six Flags Great America, “We’re expanding upon our ever growing seasons with our first-ever Holiday in the Park. As we continued to see the

Go-to Winter Outfits

Sledding Frenzy Carolina Michalek

Lace Up Skates

Check out a local skating park and hit the ice. Hold hands and laugh with each other or at each other.

See Zoo Lights

If the cold weather doesn’t bother you, this is one of the best times to see the animals and a light show.

Favorite Winter Traditions Franco Petrucci “I love baking my famous 7-up cake for my family, Christmas dinner, and having a grab bag for my family.” - LaNia Harris “We love to buy matching pjs to wear on Christmas Eve.” - Kasia Mikina and Oliwia Wilda “ My favorite winter tradition is taking my children on the Polar Express.” - Mrs. Maldonado

Climb up and slide down, down, down. Then, repeat. Anywhere there’s snow and a hillside, you can find people sledding. Chicago has some awesome sledding hills: 1. Schiller Woods “This has been my go-to hill since I was a child.” - Jakub Tekielak 2. Barrie Park – Oak Park “I remember falling from my sled on this hill multiple times as a child, but with the help of my parents I still had fun.” - Juan Huesca 3. Riverwalk Sled Hill at Rotary Hill – Naperville “I love that Naperville offers a hill exclusively for snowboarding. It’s cool to watch.” - Melanni Diaz

positive reaction to Fright Fest and extending for our Last Call Fall Festival, we decided to take the opportunity to launch Holiday in the Park and delight our guests in a completely new way. We are creating a thrilling environment with traditional holiday attractions all in one location!” “Holiday In The Park® is designed for thrill-seekers of all ages and their families. Guests can experience a variety of activities, shows and attractions throughout Holiday In The Park® designed to entertain folks from 1-100. We will have classic fan favorites like Raging Bull and an all-new Peppermint Swirl ride experience that will be a completely immersive Holiday in the Park experience” The season begins on Friday November 23rd, and is open on weekends all through December 23rd. Although the theme park will be open daily from December 26th to December 31st. So, grab your coats and gloves and head out the door to enjoy the very first ever Holiday In The Park!

Cat Saponieri @saponieri14

t’s December and the holiday season is in full gear. You wake up Monday morning and are clueless on what you are going to wear to school. What is the ideal outfit to wear so you’re not freezing in this Chicago weather? We have you covered! We have some Leyden students, Claire Murray and Chris Lingat, who are here to share some of their go to Winter outfits and how to stay warm this season. “My go to style to stay warm and still look stylish would be throwing on a cute sweater with a vest just in case I do get chilly. Then adding a pair of jeans and some boots to complete the look. Fuzzy socks and scarves are always essential. If your just chilling with friends or having a night out, always make sure throw on a warm jacket” - Claire Murray “I think the best way to dress for the winter season is to dress with layers and match the weather with your colors. Definitely wear flannels with a nice hoodie or jean jacket, but don’t over do it. Darker and less bright colors go well with winter compared to bright and vibrant colors.” - Chris Lingat

Features

The Eagle’s Eye

Costly Crash: Road to Recovery W Ulrich Nazerano

hen Lorenzo Ramirez, a High School senior, thinks of his summer vacation, he doesn’t really remember anything significant that happened. “All I remember was working and nothing much else .” His hard work was going towards a goal that many people his age share: a new car. He researched many cars trying to find a cheap, reliable and gas-friendly car. “I had to be really careful because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a bad car.” After weeks of searching, he finally 2007 Nissan Sentra in perfect condition. Unfortunately for Ramirez his Sentra didn’t last in perfect condition for very long. He remembers driving

He jokes that one thing he learned is “to learn all my family’s phone number because I honestly never took time to learn it!” But in all seriousness, the crash was a wake-up call for him:. “It’s like one second you’re here and the next you can be gone because of someone’s mistake.” Despite everything that he has gone through for the past few days, he is still focused on maintaining high grades as the

home from a long day at work on November 24, and all of the sudden a car slammed into the front of his car. Ramirez was okay, but he couldn’t believe what happened. “I felt the adrenaline when the crash happened, and I didn’t feel the impact of the airbag after it went off.” It got even worse when he found his phone smashed into the windshield so he couldn’t call anyone. Although, he happened to be close to a relative and was able to run to his cousin’s house and call for help. Luckily for Lorenzo, it wasn’t his fault, there was a witness, and most importantly everyone was able to walk out of the incident. But for the rest of the day, he recalls being miserable, asking himself “What if I reached that intersection a minute earlier or later?”

semester comes to a close. As he sits down on his chair, he gives a look of disappointment because the only A he does not have is AP BIO. As he begins his homework he seems unfazed about what recently just happened. “It could have been a lot worse. I’m happy that it’s just my car and phone. I can always save up for another one”

It’s like one second you’re here and the next you can be gone because of someone’s mistake. --Lorenzo Ramirez

Surviving Winter Franco Petrucci With bad winter weather approaching that’s bad enough for e-learning days students should focus less on the snow and more on the dangers the weather brings to the roads. The winter weather brings a lot more than just a pretty snowfall, it brings bad road conditions that even experienced drivers get affected by. Those who don’t drive or those that this is their first winter driving have heard about this and while also get affected don’t completely understand this danger until they in a bad and potentially scary situation. These hazards are things such as visibility, battery failure, tire pressure, salt, and the cold temperatures The main hazard is slippery and icy roads. These conditions cause poor traction and reduced ability to stop. The main mistake made is hitting your brake while sliding when you should really not press your break but instead turn your wheel into the slide. Ms. Nicole Sweeney A teacher at east Leyden has found herself in this position before and said “When in this situation you’re not supposed to step on the break but guide the steering wheel and stay calm while being aware of

Photo from flickr: Artem Marchenko

your surroundings.” While Ms. Sweeney does not prefer the snow she trusts in the knowledge she has from this experience to keep her safe. A fellow student Tara Mackey has also found herself in this position While driving to a 6am practice said “I went to go turn into the parking lot but this was snow that isn’t plowed yet and my car slid and I hit the breaks and heard a der-der-der and I slide into the grass and almost hit the fence” After this she knew not to attempt to use breaks while sliding and also how to handle this situation for the future. The vehicle you drive also makes a big difference fellow student Jason Kemp Has driven in with both with a car and a Pickup

truck. Kemp said “I have a 2005 Chevy Silverado and in the winter I throw it into 4wd and the snow barely affects me.” Prior to his truck he drove a car in the snow And while driving the car Kemp said “I felt like I was in Tokyo drift the car was going everywhere and I had less control.” While Kemp prefers his truck many don’t but you can still drive knowing how to control your car. Other students are unable to use there cars in the winter due to the weather. Fellow student Alex Reed who has a 1994 mustang GT Said “ My car is rear wheel drive so i am unable to drive it in the winter because it slides and I will spin out the weather also messed up my car’s starter and I’m sure it will affect other parts as well.” Al-

though Reed cant take his car out in the snow he still makes sure to keep up with winter maintenance so the car will still run. Mr. Paul Potvin an autos teacher here at East Leyden said “ For those new to driving in the winter make sure to get used to your car first and have as [few] people in the car as possible.” When it comes to Maintenance Mr. Potvin said “The salt rusts the car so it is important to wash your car often in the winter as well as check parts such as starters often because the cold temperatures can affect car parts in a negative way.” Take it from your fellow students and teachers and be careful and drive safe on the roads.

“Driving in the snow is one of the most difficult things about driving, unless you know what you’re doing. Snow brings up the problem of spinning wheels, which happens when the wheels produce too much speed and can’t grab the icy ground so you just sit there with your wheels spinning.” -Francisco Diaz

“Driving in the winter can be difficult, because my car is rear wheel drive . I swerve when there is ice and slush but most of the time it is fine if I drive the speed limit.” - Brian Kreiter

Arts

Winter 2018

Leyden’s Graphic Designer Carolina Michalek

s freshly fallen snow gently settles on the window sills of a comfortable home, inside sits 18-year-old Daria Cichon, her long blonde hair hanging over her shoulders like a curtain, almost disguising the work that has gone unseen by so many. She is thinking, deeply. Envisioning all of the shapes and glamorous curvature her next graphic design project will include. She stares at her wall and states out loud, “How can I make the number 95 seem attractive?” To her right lay a laptop. Cichon grabs it and begins her journey by surfing the web for some inspiration. The internet is an information superhighway. With one search, you can find thousands of artworks created by aspiring or well-known artists. When Cichon was 13-years-old, beautiful, digital artwork caught her eye, and she was hooked. “On social media, I would see people posting lots of fun and creative Photoshop edits,” said Cichon. “I decided to try it out on my own and started to fall in love with it.”

The love for graphic design transitioned with her into high school. East Leyden offered a class dedicated only to her passion. “I was in shock!” Cichon said, laughing. “I can do what I love in my free time as a class? That’s crazy!” The key to becoming an extraordinary graphic designer is by mastering Photoshop and other design software. Learning it came naturally for Cichon. “The first time I used Photoshop I surprisingly knew how to use it,” said Cichon with delight. “It’s confusing to explain, but the tools reminded me of my 13-year-old self when I

would play around on Microsoft paint. I just used my knowledge from that to teach my 15-year-old self how to use the program.” Some of the work Cichon has created, displayed, or helped out with around Leyden include the “95%” poster, “Educate, Enrich, Empower” sign, producing a video for Leyden Township about recycling, video edits for an art awards ceremony, and many more. “I remember the 95 percent poster felt like it took me 95 tries to make,” she chuckled. But many times, that hard work goes unnoticed and uncredited. “Everyone looks at the posters hanging around Leyden, and reads what’s on them. I don’t think they ever think about who took the time to create them,.” Cichon said. “I just hope that in the future, people will begin to notice and appreciate all of the hard work put into the projects.” Outside of school, Cichon does freelance work, where she designs for different people and companies. In the future, she is planning on opening an online shop to take commissions from people as well as sell pre-made designs.

Without her mentor, Mrs. Nix, a teacher from East Leyden, Cichon wouldn’t have come as far as she did with her graphic design skills. “I do have to thank Mrs. Nix for pushing me towards it and seeing I have potential and talent. It definitely opened up a whole new door of opportunities for me, and I’m forever grateful for having a teacher that helped me notice that I can make a career out of something I did as a hobby

at home.” After graduating from high school, Cichon plans on continuing to advance her skills in graphic design, but not in the United States. She is planning to travel 4,617 miles to study abroad in Poland. “I’m excited and nervous to see where this journey will take me,” Cichon said.“But I like to keep in mind that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible. Almost everyone has to start from nothing to become something.”

It’s A Wonderful Life

Catherine Saponeiri @Saponeiri14

he show “It’s A Wonderful Life” made its way to the Leyden Theatre Program. It performed the first week of December and the show took off with a full crowd all three days. This live performance of, “Radio Show” was the perfect holiday season activity to attend to start the month off to a good start. “It’s A Wonderful Life” is about a young man who never got to fulfill his life goals of exploring the world and building soaring skyscrapers. He watched his family and friends become successful while he dreads on working for his father building and loan business. When a financial crisis strikes, he finds himself in a rough position. An angel comes to show him what life would be like if he was never born. This story from the 1940s has been shown and told across the world and now it’s being performed at our local school for the first time ever. Director of the show, Mr. David Narter, has been working at Leyden for over twenty years and has directed multiple shows during his time here. As soon as Narter heard that the slot opened up for a director, he jumped right on board. “Everybody loves this movie. So many people have this movie memorized after seeing it so many times. The crew is really going to be competing against those memories,” Narter said in the days leading up to the show. Long reherals and intense dedication has pushed the crew to replicate this famous movie and memorable scenes. They added their own personal twist to the show although. The Leyden Theatre program created a radio version of the movie to make it unique. Instead of acting the show out, they had the show based off as if it was being told on a radio channel. The story was told in sound, with all the music and sound effects executed on stage. Most of the actors played multiple characters with different sounds and mannerisms. Donovan Grbic, one of the main leads said “I’ve never done a radio show. It’s always been a straight acting within a set which made this very new to me, but even that it came quite naturally for the crew.” Bryana Robles, a member in the cast has worked four to five hours a day to meet the high expectations the community had. The process that goes behind making these shows takes one to two months sometimes less and contains a lot of effort from all different sides no matter how big or small your part is. “Christmas is coming up and the play was inspired by the wonderful movie that has a great message and theme behind it” Robles said. It was a perfect way to get into the holiday spirit here in our local community. The enthusiasm of the young cast brought the show together and was one to remember. The next show the Leyden Theatre will be having is “Guys and Dolls“ and the crew hopes to see everyone there!

Sports

Showtime Lakers Back? Mark Praca @YaBoii_Mark

ith this past summer’s offseason, The NBA underwent many buzzworthy offseason changes. Stars moved from the East to the West conferences and vice versa, but with Golden State the clear frontrunner for the championship, most experts agree those changes won’t change anything. Fans wanting excitement and fun can look towards Lebron joining the Lake Show. Lebron James move from Cleveland was anticipated by everyone after last year’s second straight loss to the Warriors. East Leyden Student Luke Blasinski said, “I expected him to leave. the Cavs were able to make it to the NBA Finals last year, but we all know Cleveland ain’t gonna go nowhere--not with Kyrie leaving and Lebron having to carry the whole team. [The] franchise was falling apart, and the team was just getting worse.”James has been the face of this league for many years now and has been in the conversation for the greatest of all time. But with a young group that some

writers have compared to the Toon Squad, many people wonder if James will be able to bring home a championship again. Sebastian Rosario, ELHS Senior, said, “Taking home a championship... probably not this year with the young group the Lakers have. Lonzo, Kuz, and Ingram still gotta develop. Lebron is gonna mentor and coach them on how to improve their game and craft. They won’t be a championship team right away. I think Lebron knew this.”Vince Talledo shared that outlook: “It’ll take time… the younger guys, Kuz and Ingram, gotta develop. They also need a couple more pieces: other all-star caliber players and pure shooters.”Last year the Lakers were short of making it to the playoffs and ended the year failing to reach over .500 with their record being 35-47. So far with Lebron being on the team he has been able to lead the lakers to a better record and giving hope to fans seeing them in the playoffs this year. With the lack of talent the Lakers had before Lebron a few more

Holdout Heroes

Pay day vs. Game day

Erick Aguilar @erick_aguilar24

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pieces is needed for L.A to bring home a championship. But Magic Johnson, the GM and one of the all time greats of the Lakers, said in an interview that there might be enough to be competitive this year and great in the future. “We built this team to succeed in the playoff…[a] number of vets we have and fresh players I think we will be hard to beat in the playoffs”. Going far into the playoffs will be a key objective for the Lakers to attract major attention by star players in hopes of them signing with team. Fans agree. “With such a young group and a ton of cap space for Lebron to play with, he will take home a couple championships with the Lakers. I think that’s why he joined them.” Talledo said, “I say in about a year or two the Lakers will take home a championship and become a dominant team.”With King James coming to the Lakeshow fans expect the Warriors Dynasty to end soon enough with King James establishing his throne in the West. Lebron fan Adrian Kaczmarek said, “I think the move to L.A was good. They have a

ay the man.” Those are the words some NFL analysts and fans were saying to the Pittsburgh Steelers as they were not able to settle contract negotiations by November 13, 2018 making him ineligible for the rest of the 2018-2019 season. Bell decided to “hold out”: at the beginning of the this season after rejecting the Steelers’ contract offer. Bell believed he was a player of superstar caliber. And some fans agree, pointing to the fact that he was voted by the players as the ninth best player in the league after the 2017 season and then jumping to fifth following 2018, making him the highest ranked running back in the NFL. Leyden student and NFL fan Daniel Uribe said, “When you are playing at that level,” he said, “you deserve to get paid at that level.” Fellow Bell supporter Nick Kruppa added, “He deserves more than he’s getting for what he is doing.” The Steelers contract offer would have kept Bell earning 70 million in 5 years In a league where you are paid for performing, some believe it makes sense..makes sense that he would want a raise being he currently makes as much as the “average” running back. Le’veon Bell’s decision to hold out was most likely a difficult decision for him to make knowing he is missing out on money this season even if it’s not the amount he believes he deserves. Professional sports teams and professional leagues have been reported to not treat their players right and turning their back on them after players giving them their all. Such as Isaiah Thomas, once star Point Guard for the Boston Celtics in the 2016-2107 NBA season. Thomas made the best decision to play in the playoffs despite being injured, knowing it would cause long term effects, and playing following the death of his sister. Thomas continued to play to his fullest despite all these setbacks, when the following offseason the Celtics traded Thomas away after Thomas’ amazing and gritty performance the previous season. Knowing this, it could be possible Le’veon made the best possible decision as he put himself first.

good group of young guys. His impact on the season so far is good and you can see that last year they sucked and now they can actually compete. This will be the first time they will play in playoffs since Kobe.” With Lakeshow once led by Kobe one of the all time greats people expect to see the dominance of L.A. to return.

Enough Already

Adam Traszka @AdamTraszka ost would think that $70,000,000 over five years is a good offer for any job. But former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’veon Bell wanted more. And so fans watched as Bell made the decision to hold out, believing he is worth more. After sticking with this decision through the November 13 deadline, Bell won’t be able to return this season, causing the sports community to question the decision and reflect on what athletes are actually worth. While weeks passed in Bell’s absence, he lost $14.5 million and more. He lost form and future offers, chemistry, and fans. By not playing did not only cause negative comments from his teammates, but also caused his teammates to raid his locker taking of of his belongs. But the real cost might be fans. “I think it is always bad when athletes skip out because they are not getting enough money; they are already making enough,” said Junior Dominic Capozzi. Junior Charlie Martini added, “It is hurting the team and the chemistry.” The other talk is how much should someone playing a sport make. With most people, 70,000,000 dollars is enough, but in Bell’s eyes and many other athletes, this is just a small number. “For them to want more is kind of greedy. Making $70,000,000 to play a sport is insane,” Capozzi said. Even though Bell’s situation has a lot of talk around it, this isn’t the first time we have seen something like this. Well-known and beloved third baseman for the Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant has also been refusing to extend his contract with the Chicago Cubs. Bryant may already be hurting himself by causing the fans to have mixed emotions. “I am completely distraught by hearing that news because Kris Bryant is probably our best player on the team, and I think losing him would be really bad for the team,” senior David Duwal said. In the end which ever way you see this type of situation it always seems to be the better chose to play instead of holding out when you look at how it affects you and also the fans that support you.

Sports

Winter 2018

Slaying ‘energy vampires’

Cesar Hernandez

ith a great core of returning leadership as well as a ton of new faces who seem ready to play, boys basketball head coach Bill Heisler is confident the team can get some wins and slay some vampires along the way. “We were 12 and 14 last season, and cautiously expecting to have a big season. A challenge for us is for the guys coming from a big sophomore campaign [to figure] out their roles with pieces already in place,” said Heisler, who is entering his 12th season as head coach. The Eagles have four returning senior starters. Guard Ocean Johnson is coming off a junior year campaign of 18.9 points per game, along with 6 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Kyler Britten, another three-year varsity starter, is expected to have a big season and help provide the leadership Heisler loves. Returning along with those two are guard Daquan Harris and forward David Duwal. “Daquan Harris provides competitive energy every day, and David Duwal is a great leader and very consistent,” Heisler said. As for the vampire hunting? Heisler has been asking his team, especially his leaders, to watch and correct any person on or near the team who is what Heisler calls an “energy vampire,” a person who

Head coach Bill Heisler keeps his players’ attention focused. Photos by Beatriz Verin

doesn’t give one hundred percent energy and good character. Heisler believes the talent is here, but the players must stay focused and look beyond just the basketball court. “My goals have shifted,” Heisler explained regarding the desire for wins. “I truly care about giving our kids a great experience, building character, and making them better-suited for adult life. At the same time, we’re trying to compete and win in everything we do. It’s a long season, and that is still an important part. I want to feel we’ve gotten better and enjoyed every step of the journey along the way.” Heisler said. The team, so far, has responded in both ways. Over Thanksgiving break, where they came in second losing to Addison Trail in the championship by 3. Johnson and Britten have continued success thus far from last year averaging 16 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg, 3

Young team builds chemistry

With a current record of 3-1 they still have more than half the season to go through. They started of great and are hoping to keep up the wins as teams get more competitive. Every year the team looks forward to playing against Addison Trail. In the 2017-2018 season Leyden Girls Basketball team versed the blazers 3 times and won 2 of the games. This year they started off with a win against them and are hoping to keep up that streak against them. Whether they win or not it is always a fun game to play. It will be interesting to see how those veterans step up and lead, and how the newcomers can contribute in their new roles. --Coach Kuzmanic

Areli Avila

ith a previous close season the girls basketball team are ready to defeat their rivals, with their strength and confidence. As they get ready for the 2018-19 season, the Eagles hit the floor with new leadership from 7 juniors and a sophomore on the team besides the seniors. Although a fresh start may have some weaknesses, they’re looking forward to improve individually and as a team. Head coach Mrs. Stephanie Kuzmanic will work improving the girls as a team overall. Although there are many new faces on the team for head coach Kuzmanic she still looks forward to the new basketball season. As Kuzmanic says, “I am looking forward to a new season because our team is going to be very different this year than it was last season.” Although many talented girls from previous seasons graduated last year she still is confident about the new group she will be working with as she says, “We have a good group coming in. The junior class won most of their games last year as sophomores, so I am excited to see how they adapt and compete at the Varsity level.” Although many girls from the previous season graduated, there are still some that are back for another year and excited about playing. Kassandra Perez has been on the varsity team for 3 years now. As this is her last year she has a lot of high hopes for her senior year. “It feels good to be back on the varsity team be-

spg, and 18 ppg, 2rpg, 4 apg and 2 spg, respectively. The Eagles then went on have a great team effort in the blowout win against Taft on November 30, where Britten dropped 39 points along with Johnson’s 21. The Eagles have met and surpassed all national averages in statistical categories except for blocks with .3 blocks a game, but make up with 11.7 steals a game, far surpassing the average by ease according to Max Preps. These states demonstrate their length and athleticism, which hasn’t been present within the program in recent years. Britten echoed his coach’s advice, noting that the best time to be ready is when the opportunity is “available,” which is always. “Being at practice, sticking as one team, along with continuing to be passionate, our team looks solid so far.

Leyden takes first place finish at their first tournament.

cause we already have the experience and can grow from the previous year and see what worked and what didn’t. It’s just a fresh start for the new season. As the season goes by I hope as a team we can improve on working together, and learning how to play with one another. I think we all have our own talent, we just need to figure out how to put it all together out on the court.” Kuzmanic is not looking to rebuild the team but to have them come together with each and every players’ skills they withhold. Kuzmanic says, “I am looking forward to seeing how this team gets and plays together. We only have a few returners that got a substantial amount of playing time last year. It will be interesting to see how those veterans step up and lead, and how the newcomers can contribute in their new roles.”

This year they started off strong against them with the first out of 3 games ending at 53-41. Coach Stephanie Kuzmanic marks Addison Trail as their rival team. Coach Kuzmanic said, “We have had many games that came down to a shot at the buzzer against them, it’s always competitive. Our plan to beat them is to play tougher than them. We need to out hustle them - get every loose ball, and not be afraid to get on the floor.” The 2018-2019 girls basketball season holds a lot of excitement and development. Everyone wants improvement in some way. Kuzmanic just wants bonding as a team overall and have the players get better individually. “This year I have two goals: for us to improve as team (better record) and to improve individually and get better as players.” Coach Kuzmanic says, “They play for each other and are always looking to make the extra pass and get their teammate a shot instead of themselves.”