East Leyden High School: The Eagle's Eye--Vol. 85, Issue 1

October 30, 2014 Volume 85 Issue 1

East Leyden High School

District

3400 Rose Street

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Franklin Park, IL 60131

earns democracy honors

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Math,

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Photos courtesy of Mr. Fowler

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Joanna Leski ast and West Leyden have students. One of the various educaearned recognition as De- tional opportunities they offer for mocracy Schools, an honor our Illinois schools is the funding given by the Pritzker Foundation and creation of these Democracy to only thirty other Illinois schools. Schools.

The honor comes as a results of “Democracy schools play the district’s successful efforts in a more intentional role in teaching planning a school-wide civic as- students about our government sessment and proposing ways to and how it works and how to be a deepen its commitment to civic participatory citizen. This means learning. there will be a much greater con Even though both Ley- nection to government and civics dens just became recognized this and citizenship present in our month, Social Sciences teach- school curriculum,” principal Mr. ers Mr. Robert Jason Markey J u s t l i k e i t i s commented.

Fowler and Mr. necessary for students One way that Charles Skrabacz have been t o l e a r n a b o u t clear connection working hard personal hygiene and will be achieved on applying to is the creation reproduction, it should of a new civics become a Debe necessary to learn course, a govmocracy School about our government ernment-focused since this summer. Mr. Fowler and its role. Both social studies teaches the only classes would teach course that will strictly governsome important life be required in the ment themedfuture. long lessons. class at Ley “Students den, Political would be providScience, which made him very ed with more opportunities to think passionate and motivated to help critically about what’s going on in Leyden become a democracy our government and understand it school. more thoroughly. A lot of times

“The whole idea of a students just hear about big issues Democracy School is to prepare thrown out from the government students to become more active whether it is something that has citizens and students who are more happened in our country or even likely to participate in their com- internationally. We don’t take the munity, state, or even their country time as a school to understand or so they can go out and make the even think about these things, and world a better place,” Fowler ex- a democracy school would do just plained. that: allow our students to think

The Pritzker Foundation, about those things with peer supbased in Chicago, supports differ- port and teacher support.” Markey ent educational opportunities for proposed.

Political Science students from last year enjoy learning about our government.

Not only would students be able to discuss government affairs in a classroom, they would also be preparing themselves to become citizens ready to participate in our democracy after high school.

Mr. Chuck Skrabacz comments, “I chose to work for the designation because I thought that Leyden needed to assess how well we were promoting civics, and through this work grant money would be available to help us develop programs that will focus our curriculum regarding citizenship.

We are looking to create a required semester-long civics class which will allow students the opportunity to understand their government and the importance of their role in that government prior their graduation.”

The earliest you’ll see this class at Leyden is the Fall of 2016 but that doesn’t stop the administrators from starting to plan for the future now. The class is being set up as we speak and some

ideas are circulating to set up this civics class as a mock Congress where students will simulate lawmaking and the procedures behind law-making.

The students would be bringing in issues and creating laws around these issues, giving them a chance to play the roles that Congress plays out. Mr. Fowler discussed his hopes for the future: “We hope to get students more active in the community and become better citizens and to make sure that when they leave high school and grow up they’ll be more likely to participate and be active and get involved in their community.

After this class, students should feel more comfortable with voting, going to a student council meeting, and getting involved with a political party.”

Senior Najera Veljkovic provides some insight on how the students feel about this change, “Even though I won’t be around, I’m glad this change is taking place and I’m excited for my little

brother and all his peers to be able to take the new civics class. There is only one government-themed class in all of Leyden, which is political science. Unfortunately, I had to decide between taking European History AP and Political Science and I took European AP to gain college credit. After taking Global Studies, Euro AP, United States History AP I can tell you all about the governments in Europe and America up to 1970, but after that all I know about our government now is what I learn from newspapers, TV, and social media. This is why we need a required civics class.”

Junior Yzabelle Tud adds, “We have a required health class, so why not have a required civics class? Just like it is necessary for students to learn about personal hygiene and reproduction, it should be necessary to learn about our government and its role. Both classes would teach some important life long lessons.”

writing centers ready for visitors

eyden’s staff has fine-tuned the school’s math and writing centers in an effort to increase traffic.

A recent change to the appointment-making process has doubled convenience for students who wish to come in for help with anything related to math or writing. Students can now easily schedule an appointment with the math and writing coaches online under the “Coaching Centers” tab on the school website, choosing any time slot from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

However, they are also welcome to drop in at any time, no appointment necessary!

The staff does not require students to stay for a specific amount of time. “The session length depends on how much guidance an individual needs,” writing coach Mr. Tripp Burton explained. “When a student feels like they have received the tutoring

Martha Leski they were seeking, we simply send them back to their classroom with a pass.”

The Writing Center staff can provide a helping hand to any student. Whether it’s a reading assignment or essay for class, college applications, or even a personal piece, they offer endless help ranging anywhere from brainstorming to picking a topic to proofreading the final copy. Mr. Burton believes that one on one work is what makes the Writing Center such an important tool for every student to utilize. “At the Writing Center, students get one on one attention, which is something they may not even get in the best of classes. This gives them a chance to work on exactly what they need to work on and really focus in on it.”

Junior Patryk Skoczyn recounted his helpful experience with writing coach Mr. Burton.

Math coach Mrs. Marta Grochola helps a student.

“We were reading a complicated book in my English class, and I was having trouble understanding some of the content. I was particularly stuck on one part, so Mr. Burton read through it with me. We had a discussion about it and he explained it to me in a way that helped me get unstuck. I have returned to the writing center a handful of times and I’m really glad this resource is available to me whenever I need it,” said Skoczyn.

So you deciphered your English book and figured out what to write your essay about, but you just can’t figure out how to solve that equation? The Math Center is here to help!

“The Math Center is a place where students can get help in math in a friendly environment.

Every student has trouble with math or writing at one point or another, so we’re here to make it easier,” clarified math coach Mrs. Marta Grochola.

Senior Catherine Chalakoff recalled her useful experience at the math center. “I was struggling with a concept I’m learning in my Pre Calc class, and I had a quiz the next day. I wasn’t able to stay after school for help, which is when my teacher is available.” She continued, “I had heard of the math center on the announcements, so I decided to use that resource. Mrs. Grochola was available right when I came in, and she walked me through the lesson and practiced with me. When the session was over, she wrote me a pass to class.”

Aside from the new, user-friendly online appointment making process, the key factors to the two centers successes are the availability, the convenient location, and the atmosphere. Because they are located in the library, help is easily accessible to each student at Leyden.

The Eagle’s Eye

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n a cold Saturday morning over 400 Leyden students went to West Leyden to make a difference. The students hopped on buses to go to the community and volunteer on projects. That Saturday morning the students had one goal in common, improving the community and that they did.

There were 27 different projects, exactly 495 students, 40 adults and 11 buses.

The weather didn’t stop anyone, it was snowing in the morning. The highest was 49 degrees and the lowest was 37 degrees, but students kept working. This was the 5th Annual Make a Difference Day. The students were greeted with friendly faces in the teachers cafeteria. Teachers made breakfast for students; pancakes, eggs and sausage.

made

Jesus Renteria

A variety of students were there for their clubs, like Spanish and French club.

The 495 students were divided into groups.

The students went to different locations; one group went to the park district of Franklin Park and pulled weeds and cleaned the parking lot. Another group went to the Nursing home and played games with the elderly, like bingo.

Another group stayed at West Leyden and made toys for homeless dogs.

In other words students did many things that Saturday morning. The day ended at the West Leyden teachers cafeteria with students eating pizza and gelato, as a reward for all the hard work they’ve done. Many students sat down at the cafeteria and ate with their friends and talked about what changes they’ve done to the community.

The Eagle’s Eye Staff

Leyden students help put together meals for the hungry.

Divided AP

Club Briefs

Sandy Sanchez “I want to be a billionaire so freaking bad,” are more than just music lyrics to the members of the App Developers Club, a group of dedicated kids hoping to make big bucks from their creative apps. Off to a powerful start with 10 students, 2 running apps, and meetings every Wednesday in the library, the App Developers Club is proving to Leyden that it doesn’t mess around and neither does its sponsor: Ms. Linda Smith! Smith herself is in the business of developing apps for the Apple and Android markets. She has published three iPhone apps and one Android app. Because of this work, she has connections to a broad network of possible speakers and is a member of two developer communities, both of which she hopes to share with club members. Already the club has created two apps as a group: KittyPurr and PaintPot. If the names themselves don’t attract you, then be assured the app is worthy of a try.

A club representative said, “We are working on a game called Mole Mash next.” Other interested students may talk to Jose Sifuentes or Ms. Smith.

October 30, 2014 Photo courtesy of Catrina Sanfilippo

Difference

News

position promises more student interaction

Jesus Renteria Due to popular demand and help from a group of parents, a new club might be coming soon to East Leyden: The Paintball Club. The leader of this club is Samuel Crespo, sophomore at East Leyden. Crespo started paintballing freshman year and fell in love with it. He said, “it reminded me of video games.” Crespo wanted students to try Paintball; therefore, he is trying to create a place where they can play together. The Paintball club has only had one meeting so far. Mr. Pecucci and over 40 students were there. In the meeting, Crespo described the club and told his plan for getting it going. They don’t have an assigned date for the next meeting yet, but they need a sponsor and funds.

Crespo implied that the sponsor should be easygoing, responsible, and interested in paint balling. The Paintball Club hopes to meet on Saturdays and will be going to O’hare Paintball Park. The students will be playing against each other or other players at the park. To join the club you will have to pay $100 for the membership, and you can get that money by fund raisers. Some parents have already donated money to get the club started. Depending on how much they raise, the club is hoping to play every two or three weeks. There is no experience necessary to join and transportation will be provided. Crespo requests that students ask their teachers if they are interested in being a sponsor and ask their friends to join.

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Samantha Caputo

ith the creation of a second assistant principal at Leyden, students will now have the chance to meet and work with Ms. Anita Huffman.

Ms. Huffman is “excited and already in love with” the “Leyden family.” She said that she could tell that people really care about each other here from just walking through the door and seeing the way that students and teachers interact.

The job was created this past year by the school board because they believed that they didn’t have enough capacity to perform essential assistant principal functions with only one person at each campus. The board wanted to have someone come in to bring new ideas, do the job successfully, and to work well with the existing team. The job of the assistant principal was divided so that Ms. Karen Ritter now works with instruction and the “teacher side” of things while Ms. Huffman will work with student services.

Principal Mr. Jason Markey explained that he chose Ms. Huffman because she brought a perspective that East Leyden could benefit from. Her experience working as a special education teacher and as an instructional coach means that she can help teachers to improve their practices.

She’s also knowledgeable when it comes to observing students and helping them stay on track through interventions and other instruction.

Ms. Huffman wants the student body to know that her door is always open

Editors-in-Chief Samantha Caputo (News) and Alex Mennella (Sports)

Web Editor

Opinions Editor Catrina Sanfilippo

Visuals Manager

In Focus Editor Yolisiya Yonova

Social Media/Marketing Manager Christina Leon

Feature Co-Editors Yonka Angelova & Adriana Balvaneda

Copy Editors Joanna Leski Martha Leski

Jessica Batson

Christopher Brito

Arts & Entertainment Co-Editors Maria Barron & Yakeline Ramirez Broadcast Editor Piotr Dabek

The Eagle’s Eye is produced by students enrolled in English IV Journalism and English IV Journalism Honors with Mr. John Rossi. 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 of content and submit story ideas via the web site.

Social Chair Jamie DuBrock

Photo by Christopher Brito

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Ms. Anita Huffman

and she is always willing to help. She has become very involved already with the school by growing relationships with students and teachers while at the same time doing her job.

Mr. Markey knows how hard a transition to a new school can be, but he shared that he is already very impressed with Ms. Huffman’s ability to learn the job, offer new ideas, and communicate with both students and staff.

Outside of school, Ms. Huffman enjoys running (7.5 marathons), playing with Lucy, her loving dog, reading, hanging out with her family, boating, and having dinner with her husband while trying new restaurants in Chicago. Ms. Huffman is eager for this school year and hopes to make as many connections around the school as possible.

Reporters Alyssa DeSimone Nicholas Elliott Jacob Hawking Crystal Iniguez Kristina Ivanova (Page 9 Designer) Akur Kuanyin-Agoth Angel Perez Anthony Raimondi Jesus Renteria Jessalyn Rivera Sandy Sanchez Alicia Solis Jasmin Villalpando

Find us at lhsnews.org

Opinion

The Eagle’s Eye

October 30, 2014

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Catrina Sanflippo and Jasmin Villalpando ere’s a scene I witnessed from the packed back hallway at the end of tenth period last month: Everyone was rushing to go home, and I was pushing through people and ended up in front of two boys.

“Hey you going to my game tonight?”

“Yeah dude.”

“Guess what, there’s a faggot on the team! Why would a fag be on the [omitted]

Voices of Support

team?!”

My face got really warm, I turned around and I stared at the two kids, hoping my look said enough about how disgusted I was with what they said. Unfortunately, it likely wasn’t enough as it was less than what I would have said during Ally Week.

Scenes like this don’t occur much during Ally Week. The hallways are quiet and people are biting their tongues. They’re on guard, making sure that their usual “casually offensive” words stay unsaid. They’re also aware that classmates will be quick to jump on them for poor word choices. But after Ally Week is over, students’ support of the LGBT community often starts to fade. People start to forget to hold back from using slurs and being disrespectful towards the LGBT community.

In order to make a difference at East, students should not only participate in Ally Week but also carry on its spirit every week.

The student body can refrain from making hurtful comments, avoiding the use of gay slur either in a purposely derogatory way or an “accidental” way. But it’s also fairly easy to keep one another in check. If you hear such a word in the hallway, a simple, “Hey, that’s not cool,” will likely get the message across and show support. There are LGBT people in this school, and even when these words may not be directed towards a particular person, they could be hurt by your words.

Ms. Michele Curley suggested, “Students are aware of the problems that the LGBT community are going through. They want to make a difference, but they don’t put in the effort or time. We need to take action. Do not assume that someone is straight. It’s always nice to use inclusive language, for example, “significant other” instead of ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’.”

Ally week itself is a great way to raise awareness to the LGBT community. It focuses on being kind to others regardless of sexual orientation. It also reminds people of that their actions can be unintentionally harmful to others. Ally week is a time when students and teachers can step back and think before they do or say something that could be offensive to supporters of LGBT. Going the extra mile to make sure our classmates, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, feel comfortable is a great way to show your support.

But being a true supporter of the LGBT community means showing kindness and respect towards everyone regardless of who they are, and it’s worth far more than one week of commitment.

On Common Ground members stand proudly in front of their October showcase.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Michelle Curley

LGBT Supporters, Keep Ally Week Going

Mrs. Holtgrewe - On Common Ground Sponsor

Ms. Curley - On Common Ground Sponsor

Senior Christina Dziadus - OCG President

“East is a fantastic school filled with motivated and kind students, but we can always grow and become better. In the halls hurtful language aimed at the LGBT community can still be heard. Comments are still made degrading students who identify themselves as homosexual or transgender. I would like East to become an even better version of itself - one where those words are not spoken and all kids feel safe and supported.”

“During Ally Week we pledge not to use anti-LGBT language or slurs, nor language or slurs against anyone based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, size or physical appearance. We pledge to intervene, if safely possible, in situations where students are being harassed for any reason. We pledge to support efforts to make this, and every, school safe for all students. We also hope that ally-building will continue throughout the whole year and not just for one week!”

“I joined On Common Ground to make a difference in this school and help people come together and see LGBT kids are the same as them. I want to help kids come out or help them feel safe in school. To let them know the (LGBT) are people no different from everybody else.

What would I like to see in the LGBT community is more people happy and helping each other out. Just more smiles and love.”

t o l e r a n c e Tolerance is essential at all times.

On one hand we have cultural differences, that

Lead students to learn of various lifestyles,

Either through religion or race, and

Revive interracial exchanges,

All the while teaching youth the power of acceptance.

Necessary in all schools because

Sandy Sanchez

Below are just a few observations from faculty and fellow students about the value of tolerance throughout our high school. Each individual expressed concerns and hopes for a stronger bond among the school community.

“In the school there is a lot of diverse people and everyone brings their own culture and talent to the school, that is why people need to be more open and understanding of other people’s cultures and opinions.” ~ Mrs. Beatrice Porro “Personally for me, tolerance is necessary in high school because the students need to understand one another’s differences and learn to accept others as individuals.” ~ Miguel Meza (Sophomore)

“Tolerance should be the core of every high school environment, because diversity is at large.” ~ Maria Sanchez (Junior) “We need a lot of tolerance in the school because I notice in certain occasions there isn’t much in our everyday school environment.” ~ Denise Vazquez (Junior) “I think tolerance is a necessary when dealing with other students. For example when someone is being really annoying– because acting out and making a scene would just get you in trouble.” ~ Oscar Lopez (Senior)

“The students at East Leyden should all consider tolerance as the core of their learning environment since we are constantly surrounded by fellow students of all backgrounds.” ~ Velina Zhelyazkova “Tolerance is essential at all times, especially in an academic setting.

Accepting and embracing our differences helps us grow and allows us to form bonds with people of different backgrounds, races, and religions, to name a few.” ~ Najera Veljkovic (Senior) “It’s good for people to be accepting of other people’s differences so that kids don’t end up getting bullied.” ~ Annalise Schildgen (Freshman)

Change can create inseparable bonds, all while

Embracing ourselves and others.

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The Eagle’s Eye

Opinions

October 30, 2014

KiDs ThEsE DaYs Every generation criticizes the generation that comes after it. They feel that they are “better”. It is a natural thing to do. We grow up living a certain way and then the ‘younguns’ start acting unusual.

We asked a representative from each generation to comment on what comes after them. Below are their surprisingly balanced responses.

Baby Boomers (1946-1965) commenting on Generation X (1965-1980): Mr. Tim Stark: “People are entitled to things rather than working hard to gain the upper edge. This is the biggest discouragement from younger people. Each year that goes by people work less and less, and think they deserve more and more.”

Ms. Michele Curley: “I feel that the next generation is just as great as my generation! I am basically an eternal optimist, and I believe that everyone has the potential for being an exceptional human being.”

Ms. Elizabeth Adams: “I was in high school and college in the 80s. I was always a little envious of the generation under me for a few reasons. Technology was starting to really take off at that time. All through high school and college, I had to type my papers on a typewriter. The generation under me had it much easier because computers were becoming much more popular, and some were even lucky enough to have personal computers to work on.

I always seemed to be one step behind on the technology they were using so easily. I will admit that my generation was very materialistic (and still is), however, I do think that it even got worse with the next generation. No one seemed to be willing to be patient and save for things, but instead many of them had to satisfy every material want whether they could afford it or not (clothes, cars, houses, etc).”

Catrina Sanfilippo

Generation X (1965-1980) Commenting on Generation Y (1981-2000): Mrs. Caroline Holtgrewe: “I’m encouraged by the fact that the generation after mine is not afraid to discuss issues that have divided people in the past as a means of improving our nation. Although they sometimes get a bad reputation for being lazy, I think this wave of young people will hit the ground running when they identify exactly what it is that each is passionate about.

These are the kids who will follow their dreams, whereas generations before have toed the line of expectations.”

Generation Y (1981-2000) Commenting on Boomlets (2000-) Bianca Medina: “My honest opinion is I feel like everyone is trying to grow up so fast that they aren’t taking advantage of the time that they actually have to be a kid. I feel like the generation below us is so fixed on who has the best clothes or who got invited to a party or who’s doing drugs that they aren’t spending their time making memories that are actually going to matter in 10 years. I think everyone is trying to grow up so fast that in 10 years they are going to regret having rushed through their childhood.”

Boomlets: (2000-) on the Present: Yesenia Aguilar, 8: “I feel lucky, cause none of the other generations got to have what we have, I also think we are spoiled because we have a lot of technology to play with like iPads and computers. Instead of going outside to play I can have fun on my iPad.” Alejandro Aguilar, 6: “I feel like I always get what I want, cause I am happy with what I got I feel smarter than all of the old people.”

Seniors Speak Out Juniors: Freshmen: Lessons Learned Get Focused, Stay Focused Yolisiya Yonova

Joanna Leski

In high school, just like in every other aspect of life, first impressions are the most important. If you want to succeed and make the most of it, you should work hard from the beginning. The way you portray yourself is the way that you will be perceived later on. Starting out on the right track will make the next four years a blast! Here are some tips on how to become a successful student from the beginning.

It always seemed so far away and unreal, but now the time is here: the end of high school. As early as freshman year, students–like me–were advised to start thinking about the big picture and were advised to plan for their future as early as possible. This fell on deaf ears for many of until it seems too late. Lucky you, juniors! Here is your chance to get ahead by reading some tips and pointers from this year’s seniors.

Start Planning College Visits Early: “I have always taken my education very seriously, and from the start of my high school career I have always been aiming to get accepted into one of the more competitive colleges. My grades, ACT score, and all the credits I gained from AP classes will never be a problem with me, but choosing where I want to attend college will be a problem.” Senior Monika Dimitrow claims. Dimitrow has lived in various places all her life, including New York and New Jersey but Chicago strikes her as “one of the most amazing places she’s lived because of the people, beautiful city life, and amazing opportunities.”

Now Dimitrow is torn between staying at home for college or starting a new life in a completely different state. “I wish I had done more college visits. I really want to go to Florida State University, but at the same time I’ve never been to a school in Florida, and I don’t know what to expect. I don’t want to move 1,000 miles and find myself missing home and being uncomfortable. I am not too worried because there is still time for college visits, but I would tell the underclassmen to make time for them earlier because exploring the campus of your dream college is really a game changer and then you will know if it is exactly what you want or if you begin re-routing your path for the future.”

Take the ACT VERY Seriously: “I don’t think enough emphasis is put on how important the ACT is until it actually rolls around,” senior Michelle Stryczula claims. “If I knew that one single point could really be critical in determining your future, I would have enrolled in ACT practice classes.” ACT practice classes are available for juniors before the ACT, but that’s not the only step one can take to prepare. During ACT practice classes, students take practice tests similar to the real ACT and get a feel about how much time the ACT will take and learn how to pace themselves and get examples of what they should expect. For those who do not have time for the prep classes, simply doing a Google search with “ACT practice tests” will link you to many valuable resources and you can even buy ACT practice books online on Ebay or Amazon for cheap. “Overall, I’m still content with my composite score. Math has never been one of my strong suits, however, so I wish I had practiced more for that section.

I chose working over taking the prep classes, and I would advise the underclassmen and juniors to never put anything before their education and ACT test. You won’t ever see a college that doesn’t care about your ACT score, and it would really be unfortunate to not get accepted into your college, especially if it is a competitive college, because you’re one or two points off.” Practice, Practice, Practice! Small things do really matter regarding the ACT score, and one or two points can really change your future- no pressure! However, getting a score you are not content with is not the end of the world.

Retaking the ACT is always an option and multiple test dates are offered at school. Some colleges will even super score your scores meaning that they will take the highest score from the four sections ( reading, math, English, and science) and combine them together to create your composite score. It is important to try your hardest the first time, but one mistake will not define whether you get into your dream college or not and you can fix that “mistake” by retaking your test. You can take the ACT up to 12 times and that’s more than enough tries to be able to reach your goal.

Take Advantage of AP Classes Leyden is one of the various schools that offers Advanced Placement or AP classes that students can enroll in starting their sophomore year. Some students completely misinterpret what taking one of these classes would be like. “Taking these classes requires a lot more effort than taking a normal class but succeeding in them is nowhere close to impossible. Jessica Krieter, who has taken almost every AP class offered at Leyden, shares her secret “You don’t have to be one of the top students in your grade to succeed and that’s the best part. As long as you stay motivated, show up to class everyday and stay on task and set aside at least 30 minutes a day to study for whatever class you have enrolled in you are almost guaranteed a four or five on your AP exam in May.” Taking an AP class looks great on your high school transcript as it showcases your ability to take a risk and challenge yourself. Even if you don’t end up getting an “A” in your course, AP classes are weighted so a “B” in an AP class is weighted and equivalent to an “A” in an honors class. Besides potentially raising your GPA, AP classes really pay off in the long run.

Lesson 1: Respect the teachers and follow their instructions. They are there to help you in any way that they could. Don’t take it for granted and make the most of it.

You can ask anyone at school and they will tell you that they have seen students be disrespectful to the teachersmore specifically vulnerable, new teachers. I have had a couple of student teachers in my four years of high school and in every single case, there were at least two students who were being disrespectful to them and completely disregarded what they have to say.

Lesson 2: Enjoy high school to the fullest! You should look at every opportunity that is given to you and take advantage of it. Join clubs, get involved, and most importantly have fun! Before you know it, high school will be over and you will have to take on the real world.

I can’t believe that senior year is already here. I didn’t take advantage of any clubs my freshman year and that is one my biggest regrets. I could have met a lot more people with the same interests as me and enjoyed my first year of high school a lot more than I actually did.

Lesson 3: You should start thinking about college. College applications and deadlines will come a lot faster than you think.

The more prepared you are, the better off you will be.

A lot of the seniors still don’t know which college they want to go to. I personally am stuck between a couple, so the earlier that you start to think about this subject, the more stress free it will be later on in the years! Start to take advantage of classes that will help you in your field of study during college.

The Eagle’s Eye

Features

Quick Costumes “What would I be if I desperately needed a Halloween Costume? I would paint and color a garbage bag brown and black and be a ninja turtle.” ~Kuba Kondy, senior

Yonka Angelova

T

he night of October 31st is when the dead arise from the ground and join the living. Young people dress up in different types of costumes and go trick or treating. But what happens when trick or treating becomes a trick rather than a treat?

Senior, Mitzy Perez, shared her hair-raising Halloween experience with the Talon.

Four years ago, Perez went trick or treating around her neighborhood. All the houses were decorated and there were children saying “trick or treat”.

Mitzy stopped by a house that was fully decorated and had a festive Chucky statue displayed on the front porch. When Mitzy rang the doorbell, she discovered that the Chucky “statue” wasn’t actually a statue, it was a real person. She turned around to see Chucky staring right at her, holding a knife in his hand. Mitzy slowly started walking away from the house, but Chucky chased after her until she lost him. Perez was terrified after and she claims that it was the most terrifying Halloween ever.

Paulina Kruk is also a Senior at East Leyden. Five years ago Paulina went trick or treating with her friends. Like most children, she walked all around her neighborhood trying to obtain as much candy as possible. She recalled a house that had extremely creepy decorations with a person dressed as a werewolf standing outside.

As Paulina began walking towards another house, the werewolf started running after her and her friends. They ran all the way down the block and when they turned around the werewolf was no longer chasing them. Paulina still wonders why that werewolf was chasing her, but apparently she needed a trick rather than a treat.

Over the years Halloween tricks have become common. Most people ring the doorbell and then hide after. However, some fighting tricks might be to visit friends’ houses and write on their bathroom mirror with your finger, the message needs to be something scary such as “I’m watching you!” Afterwards, breathe on the mirror and you can see your words. Once your friend takes a shower, the words will appear again when the mirror fogs up. The tricks played on Mitzy Perez and Paulina Kruk are not as silly as ringing a doorbell, they go above and beyond custom traditions.

“I would wrap myself in a white bedsheet.

Toga party!” ~Justin Aleman, sophomore “If you can find a tie-dye shirt, you have a hippie costume.”

Robert Boyte & Elexis Sutfin show off ~Efi Ntovas, senior some easy costumes.

The key is creativity. Instead of digging out your basic cat ears and eyeliner whiskers, think outside of the box. An innovative idea may take your Halloween costume from last minute costume to first place costume.

“I would recommend working with a plain colored shirt. Instead of going as yourself and just wearing a red shirt, see if you can find some horns and you have a devil costume!” ~Jazzy Abdic, junior “Simple couple costumes can be really cute. Last year, my brother and his girlfriend went as Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson from Grease. All it took was some hair gel and a pink sweater.” ~Monika Dimitrow, senior A unique costume doesn’t require a lot of time or money. It just requires some thought.

Instead of going as the person that didn’t have time to piece together a costume, go as a cartoon character, Greek god, hippie…the options are endless!

Too Old to Go?

Samantha Caputo

Every year on Halloween, you have people of all ages going out and dressing up, going to parties, and maybe even going trick or treating. Yet when do the festivities end? At what age are you “too old” to go trick or treating?

“Just because I don’t dress up every year, doesn’t mean I can’t go trick or treating!”

Joshua Ortega

Fall Fun for Families S

Jessica Batson

weater weather is finally here, and as the temp slowly begins to decline many families are at a loss as to what to do to keep busy.

While taking a quiet stroll through your local forest preserve to witness the magic of the changing leaves with that special someone is always an option, there are many other things to keep the little ones busy.

The Halloween Hoot will be held Friday October 31st from 4-6 p.m. at North Park, so come dressed in your best Halloween costume and participate in the Halloween fun!

Goebbert’s Farm & Garden Center is a definite go to place for fall fun. With a petting zoo, giant jumping pillow, hay rides and food galore Goebbert’s is the perfect place for a family outing.

“I haven’t gone trick or treating in about two years. I have had no time. I would just steal my cousin’s candy.”

Damian Furgal

“Even though I am going to keep getting older, it’s a tradition for me to dress up. I don’t know when I’ll stop, but I feel like I have a need to celebrate it.”

Michelle Domain

“I take my little sister trick or treating if the weather is nice. If the weather is not nice then we will take her to the mall (Fashion Outlets of Chicago) and have her get candy there.”

Gleanne Rosales

5

Treats Only, Please

Photo by Martha Leski

Martha Leski Never got around to at least piecing together a creative Halloween costume? Don’t panic: The Talon has got you covered.

October 30, 2014

While spending time with your family is great, we all need some time to spend with our friends. If you’re looking for somewhere to go for a good scare Dream Reapers is the way to go. Rated the number one haunted house in Illinois for three years in a row, with over 14000 square feet of pure terror, over 22 rooms, 40+ animatronics, over 40 actors and actresses some even being Leyden students or past Leyden students Dream Reapers is the place to go.

Thrill rides, screams, and terror can all be found at Six Flags fright fest. Fright fest is definitely a destination to put on your list for both fun with your friends or even with your significant other. Take a stroll through Deadwood Grove, try to survive the haunted hallways of ManSlaughter Manor, and make it through Necropolis without becoming a zombies next meal. For more information thrill seeking fun go to http://frightfest.sixflags.com/greatamerica

6

In Fo

The Eagle’s Eye

Our quick guide to ma Get help

read a lot

As seniors get closer to graduation, and even closer to the deadline for college applications, it’s important that they follow the steps it takes to apply to a college or to prepare for life after Leyden. A sometimes overlooked step in that process is including parents and counselors in the planning process.

Every year, nationwide, senior students rush to get their college applications in– hopeful that they’ll get into their dream college. But what about the students who haven’t even started the college process, or even know where to start? Do they just not get to go to college? Are they doomed to watch their peers acceptance posts on Facebook? Well, not necessarily because there are countless articles online that step by step help many students to begin their college adventure, so that in no time they too can get acceptance.

Seniors should really go and talk to their parents about their plans for college. They should do this because their parents can help them look at colleges. Looking at colleges by yourself, you may be drawn to certain things about the college that you really like. But what you like and what’s best for your future may not always line up perfectly. Your parents will be there to remind you that you aren’t going to college to party, you are going there to start planning for your future. It’ll also be good to have them there so they can help make you look at college from a financial standpoint. Including your parents will help bring your college experience more into an affordable and life changing perspective. Parents want to make sure that you won’t end up in a huge debt by the end of college, but they also want to see you be successful. Take their advice and get their opinions.

1. US News’ 10 Steps: Katy Hopkins provides not only 10 essential steps when considering a college but she also provides us with an example of a real life high school senior, Michael Lopresti. Hopkins gives a timeline effect as she arms us with advice: starting with rethinking our college choices to advising against procrastination and being open to rejection! But don’t worry. Although it may be a long process–you’re not alone. This article strongly encourages the involvement of parents in the excruciating process so that students have a support system and decisions can be made.

Seniors should also go and talk to their counselor.

Counselors are there to help you out with your future plans about college. You actually will need them for quite a few things such as transcript, letters of recommendation, and application fee submission. Counselors will also help and let you know if you are missing any graduation requirements and if you qualify for the college you’d like to attend.

Counselors are trying to help make your transition from high school to college easier, but if you don’t go in and make appointments and seek out help, you may miss something or end up not being able to do what you had planned.

3. US News strikes again: Sadly not all high school senior are born into rich families that can more or less pay for the all time high college expenses, and yet each year students from low income families are accepted into colleges due to the various means of financial aid. Yet not all is as easy as it seems when receiving “free” money, and Kelsey Sheehy gives insight on common mistakes made by students when applying for financial aid that can end up costing you more than it returns. For example, as seniors, our greatest challenge is procrastinating and Sheehy knows this because she says, “Procrastinating: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is available Jan. 1, but students often don’t apply until the last minute, says Matt Falduto, director of one stop student services at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa.” This on its own advises us about upcoming deadlines! When choosing a college, the process will be hard and it will be long and it will bring tears to your face– but the end result will make everything worth it! You’ll now be able to join the Facebook posts of acceptance letters and be able to share your story with others who could be going through the same thing.

Alicia Solis

Sandy Sanchez

2. Your college, Your choice: Like Hopkins, Frank Bruni, also uses a real life example as he advises on how to choose a college to fit the student’s personality. Bruni concentrates on the various schools’ personalities such as “The Party” school, “The Closest to Home” school, or the “Ivy League” school, etc. In his article, Bruni describes how colleges are able to fit the needs of the individual student by allowing them to stay within their comfort zones since we all know college can be an overwhelming terrifying experience for high school seniors. Bruni, although, gets our minds really thinking when he finishes by advising that you don’t choose the “school [that] is the surest route to riches but [instead] will give [you] the richest experiences to draw from, which will broaden [your] frames of reference.”

Do Relationships Matter?

Yonka Angelova

Manuela Burek and Casper Pajor have been together for fifteen months. Burek and Pajor haven’t still decided where they want to go to college, but they will most likely go to different colleges. If they do go to separate colleges Burek stated that, “Besides communication, we’re going to try and visit each other as often as we can. That might be easier said than done, but regardless I know we’ll figure it out and make it work.” Both Burek and Pajor plan on attending colleges that are close to one another in order for them to see each other more often.

Jerome Patt is a mathematics teacher at East Leyden and his high school relationship is an example of a fairy tale dream come true. Mr. Patt started dating his high school sweetheart early February his Senior year.

After graduating high school Mr. Patt and his sweetheart went to different colleges. Being apart from one another was extremely miserable and difficult. Mr. Patt stated, “We visited as often as we could, but that took a lot of time and money. However it was worth it. We needed to see each other as much as possible!” Seeing each other from time to time didn’t work out, so Mr. Patt’s sweetheart transferred to his college second semester. Once she transferred to his college life became a lot easier. After college they got married and are still together until this day.

Lingat and Hernandez have been dating for four years and a key part of their college selection has been considering schools that they both want to attend. The only current one that fits both their needs is Drake University in Iowa, but they’re not ruling out other schools. Lingat stated, “We have discussed about going to the same college if it would make both of us successful in life. If we don’t end up attending the same college, we are going to try to stay together. It would be a lot harder to maintain a good relationship, but I think we can handle it. We both understand that this may be the better option for us in the long and we just have to be able to work together.”

After high school Lingat and Hernandez are planning to enjoy the time they have with one another just before college comes around.

ocus

October 30, 2014

aking the big decision

7

Graphic designed by Jessica Batson

Factors to consider

Alyssa DeSimone, Anthony Raimondi, and Jamie DuBrock

Location?

As we interviewed multiple students their responses varied in how and why they choose the college they will soon be attending. College is all about balancing, being able to work hard and still make time for yourself. Trouble may occur when students start putting going to parties before their school work. On the other hand, some students go to that college for the party scene only.

Senior Kristina Cosic said, “I want my college to have a great social life also, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a party school to make my decision.”

Allison Dreyer answers, “I will not spend money on going to an expensive college just to party, but if two schools have the same education levels that I want and one is a party school compared to the other, I would choose the party school.”

Another senior, Christian Sosnowski, replied, “Being a party school or not doesn’t matter to me because I am going to play Division 1 soccer next fall, so personally I won’t have time to party.”

Junior Abby Grande agreed. “Parties don’t matter to me because my major and the sports I plan to play in matter more to me. Even though I still have over a year to choose a college I would like to attend, I know being a party school or not won’t be a [factor] for me.”

Junior Amanda Zysko stated, “Education is important to me but also not being tied down in college to school work–won’t work for me. So yes, parties school will have an effect on my college decision next year, but the education factor has to be there also.”

Size?

Leyden Alumnus, Kristina Laniewski, is a freshman at the University of Minnesota.. “Location played a big part in my college selection\,” she said, “I wanted to go somewhere with a great pharmacy graduate program, but at the same time stay close to Chicago. Minnesota was the best for me because the U was only a short train ride from Minneapolis. I was a little iffy on going to here because of the fact that it gets so extremely cold here during the winter, but during the fall when all the trees change to their different colors, Minnesota is probably one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever seen.”

Ms. Nicole Sweeney explained that location played a big part in where she decided to go. Mrs. Sweeney attended Eastern Illinois University. She said, “I attend Eastern because I wanted to get away from my family and go far but at the same time stay in-state. Eastern was a great choice for me because it was only 3 hours away,but at the same time, it got me away from my friends and family.”

She wanted to get away from life. She knew she would meet new people and make new friends and going away was her new start..

Party?

Mr. Russotto went to Illinois State University in Bloomington/Normal Illinois. This school is a bigger school, with about 20,000-22,000 students. Russotto said, “I personally preferred a bigger college, It being far enough to where I felt like I was away at college but it was close enough to go home and visit when I wanted to. But, being such a popular school you went their with your high school people while wanting to meet new people.” When asked if he got one on one time he said, “For my general education classes, no. But my major classes, I did get some one on one help.”.

Mr. Gerber went to Cedarville College in Ohio. He explained that the college was “Small, back when I went it was 700 kids, but now its about 3,300 kids.

There are pluses and minuses for both [large and small schools]. Small colleges you know everybody but then everybody knows you and a small college isn’t going to be in the Big 10 but you did know everybody so that was nice. It was fantastic; it was an amazing time for me, wonderful experience, I didn’t want to leave.” Gerber said that the small college allowed him to know “professors really well.”

The Eagle’s Eye

WiFi

Generation Tech

October 30, 2014 Photo by Christopher Brito

8

Adriana Balvaneda

W

hen a devastating loss occurs, it is not an easy thing to cope with and not everyone handles the traumatizing event the same way.

This list of coping steps is not a prescription, but simply meant to provide support and educate the public because we know that grief cannot be wrapped up in a cute little bundle. If you, or someone you love, is currently grieving the loss of our school’s wifi password, here’s what to expect.

STAGE 1 DENIAL:

The most time consuming of all stages. You may begin by thinking that the password hasn’t changed.

If you stand just a little closer to the wifi signal, you’ll get a better connection, but that’s pointless.

Then, you may spend all of your focus, all your attention, on guessing the password right. You tell yourself, “I am smart. I can totally hack the school’s system by guessing one word with symbols.” But sadly that never works.

STAGE 2 ANGER:

This is when things get ugly and you become angry at the “man.”

How dare they change the password? Why would they do such a cruel thing? Why do they want me to be isolated without my wifi?

This is where all your classmates become the perfect companions, venting together for the rest of the day.

STAGE 3 BARGAINING: This is when you find yourself sitting in class alone bargaining with the higher powers for the password. You may beg or sweet talk your teachers. “If you just give me the password I will pay attention in class and I will do my homework more often,” you promise. You even go as far as writing a letter to the Tech department but that is quickly thrown into the trash. You may even plead silently to higher powers that if given access to the Internet again you will do anything.

STAGE 4 DEPRESSION:

This is the most critical stage in coping with the loss of the school’s WiFi access. Sure we still have Chromebooks with access to the internet, but nothing beats sneaking a glance at your phone’s Facebook app during passing periods. At first we try to play it cool, but we know that we don’t have unlimited data. Maybe it’s for the best, or so the we try to convince ourselves. So we revert to the old tricks and just wander inside our heads, like in the good old days.

Which unsurprisingly reminds you of how weird you are and that doing so on a daily basis leads to an existential crisis at only 17.

STAGE 5 ACCEPTANCE:

This is by far the most alluring and calming moment after experiencing severe withdrawal from the internet. At this stage you feel defeat but at the same time you keeping going on because at the end of the day, you still have a little trickle of hope seeping into your heart that one day you will find the password. But for today, you go on and face the brave world that is high school–disconnected.

Through club sponsorship and event coordination, Ms. Amy Gorzynski and other female faculty members are helping guide more girls into STEM fields.

Women in STEM: District efforts aid struggle for equality Samantha Caputo ver the past couple of years, Leyden has done a great job of keeping up with technology and adding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based classes to our curriculum.

Leyden has done an even better job including women in this change.

According to Forbes, nationwide, women represent only 24% of the STEM workforce and the percentage of men working with a STEM job with some college, Associates degree, Bachelor’s degree, or Masters degree is triple or quadruple that of women with the same degree.

With companies looking to hire anyone who knows how to code, engineer, etc., it’s important that high schools get, and keep, young women in STEM courses.

Leyden offers such courses: TSI(Technology Support Internship), Car Care, Networking, yet girls remain somewhat scarce as far as enrollment is concerned.

Cindy De Soto is currently involved in TSI, Computer Science AP, Networking 1 and 2. She is also involved in the Computer Club. De Soto’s TSI class actually has the most girls out of all of the TSI classes, which is three. She

O

also has two, including herself, in added that the club came to life as a her Networking class and has five result of a strong need for a higher in her Computer Science class. But female tech workforce. According despite what may seem like low to the statistics, 85% of purchasing numbers, Leyden does a fantastic decisions are influenced by womjob keeping those girls who have en, but women are responsible for shown interest in technology. only 10% of the production of mar One method the district ket goods. Also, men outnumber uses is allowing teens to meet suc- women in the technology field on cessful women that are in STEM a 4:1 ratio. The club meets about and make networking connections one to two times every month, and for the future. Just a few weeks all girls, even those not currently ago, Leyden held an “All Things enrolled, are encouraged to join.

Computer Sci These efforts ence,” where seem to be workThere is an expectation six women ing as students for women to rise up and working in like De Soto be equal. technology have already despoke to 50 veloped enough girls about their careers in STEM confidence not to feel uncomfortand why young girls should strive able with the imbalance. She said to get into technology fields. Ad- that she believes that the person ditionally, the annual Women in with the better credentials and who Technology panel aims, specifi- can get the job done best and most cally, to make those connections efficiently, regardless of gender, between women. The district has is the one who has the edge in the also launched a club for girls inter- job market. De Soto is looking into ested in STEM: the Tech gURLS computer forensics as her future Club. career because the matter of solv Club sponsor and Leyden ing crimes intrigues her. business education teacher Ms. Another STEM student, Amy Gorzynski explained that the Miriam Hernandez, is in classes purpose of the club is “to expose such as TSI and Networking girls to what options are out there which are also very male-heavy, in the field of technology and but the males in her classes make provide opportunities and experi- her feel welcome and treat her as ences to learn more about it.” She a peer. Hernandez first decided to

“

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Senior Tech Reflections

T

Kristina Ivanova

he Chromebooks have been a big part of Leyden. There have been ups and downs with them. Since students started using them, their lives have been different and difficult in some ways.

Now there is OpenClass and many other sources for students to use. We asked senior TSI students for their opinions on the past three years of 1:1 with Chromebooks.

Senior Marcin Chmielewski said that he likes the new Chromebooks better because they’re faster than our old ones, but they’re smaller, which is a con. According to him students are very careless with their computers

and that’s why they break them.

Chmielewski likes the Chromebooks because they’re helpful for school. “The Chromebooks have helped me in school because I can go online and check my homework.

It’s easier for me because I don’t have to waste paper at home by printing stuff for my homework,” he said.

Senior Bohden Sova, on the other hand likes the old Chromebooks better than the new ones because they were bigger. Having Chromebooks in class is helping our education because if you don’t know something you can just look it up on Google. The students that come to TSI have keyboard and mouse issues most of the time. “I

like the Chromebooks in school because you can do your homework right away, instead of having to wait to come home to do it on the computer.”

Senior Bryn Osborne, also likes the new Chromebooks better because they’re faster, and easier to repair. “The Chromebooks make education easier,” he said.

Having a Chromebook in school helps him finish his assignments easier and Googling something can be faster than finding something in textbooks. “They make finding information easier, and it makes doing homework easier.”

“The new Chromebooks are not that much faster,

take Networking after she went to work with her dad for the first time.

Her dad is a contractor for RNC, a cable company in Chicago, and one day he asked her to connect the WiFi. This struck an interest in her, and she began looking into technology classes at Leyden.

Since then, Hernandez has learned how to make Ethernet cords, how to set up desktops, tv’s, etc–right alongside her male counterparts.

Hernandez is looking to pursue a career as a Computer Security Analyst. She is looking to go to Triton for her first two years of schooling and then transfer to Dominican University to study Computer Science. She understands that there are more men in the field, but she would love to see a major change with the amount of women working in STEM industries.

STEM jobs have been increasingly available over the past decade and don’t look like they will be stopping anytime soon.

The US Department of Commerce found that women working in STEM made ⅓ more than women in non-STEM related jobs. After exploring the field at Leyden, Hernandez said she understands that “there is an expectation for women to rise up and be equal to the amount of men working.”

but they get the job done,” said senior Geo Romero. Romero likes the Chromebooks in school because you have access to information very fast and it’s easier to do your assignments.

The Eagle’s Eye

Arts

9

October 30, 2014

Art Class Products Reveal Possibilities Teachers present student work highlighting what can be learned in each of Leyden’s art classes

Jasmin Villalpando

Drawn By: Hailey Heard

Photographed By: Bill Powyszyski

Ms. Lynette Rosen - Advanced Art Teacher

Mr. Steve Lappe – Photography Teacher

“I think Advanced Art is a great class for a student who have taken a couple semesters of 2D art classes. Students learn advanced drawing and painting techniques and art secrets so they can continue to improve their art skills. Students have more freedom in their projects so that they have more control over the type of artworks they would like to create. Hailey Heard created this lovely charcoal drawing by observing a little pile of shells.

Advanced Art really helps student become sophisticated artists.”

“Photography class offers students an opportunity to take a class in a subject that they are familiar with and can hone their photographic skills. In addition to working with and understanding the camera, students are introduced to Adobe Photoshop where they can edit and manipulate images. Students enjoy the opportunities that Digital Photography offers such as working outside and in the studio setting, that are different from the more academic course rigger. Bill Powyszyski captured this amazing photo, he did a great job with this assignment.”

Ms. Lynette Rosen – AP Studio Art Teacher “AP Studio Art is a great way to earn AP credit while creating something you enjoy! In this class you can work on any media; Photography, Ceramics, Graphic Design, Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, or even a combination of all of them. There is no final test at the end, like other AP classes, you submit your artwork at the end of the year for review. There really is a lot of freedom to create the type of artwork you would like. Elizabeth uses her drawing skills and creativity to make awesome original pieces like these two.”

Painted By: Elizabeth Ruiz

Drawn By: Elizabeth Ruiz

Ms. Anna Reed - Drawing Teacher “I always hear students say, ‘I can’t draw’. That is exactly what we are here to teach you to do. Drawing is a skill that can be learned in the same way that you can learn a language. The self portraits show what the students could do at the beginning of the semester and then how their drawing skills improved at the end of the semester. The self portraits were drawn by looking in a mirror, not using a photograph.

It is much easier to draw from a picture, so these students have really learned how to see and draw well.”

After

Before Drawn By: Mike Motyka

Mr. Bill Krypel – Ceramics Teacher “Ceramics allows students to challenge themselves at their own pace and to be amazed at what they are able to accomplish when they take a risk. Sarah chose to make a wizard for her sculpture assignment, and it turned out great. Magdalena made a soap holder for her sculpture, but added a twist to it, by making a frog.

Joanna went above and beyond with her vase project, it turned out amazing. Natalie made an adorable little snowman teapot.”

Sculpted By: Sarah Carlson

Sculpted By: Magdalena Wysocka

Sculpted By: Joanna Guziorek

Sculpted By: Natalie Suchy

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The Eagle’s Eye

Entertainment

X: Ed Sheeran I Connie Barron f you haven’t already, you should go buy Ed Sheeran’s new album: Multiply. As anyone who listens to Ed Sheeran knows, his songs always have a deep meaning with sentimental value. Although the songs Sheeran writes have the capacity to make a listener cry, his songs are beautiful nonetheless, in both his writing and performance. Sheeran also surprises all by only performing with his guitar.

Sheeran’s new deluxe album has 17 songs, three of them being singles. The singles include: “Sing,” “Don’t,” and “Thinking Out Loud.”

“Sing” was written and performed by Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams. This song is a very upbeat and energized, even prompting some critics, who are considered Sheeran’s debut into pop and R&B music may mean he’s leaving behind his folk-rock vibe. The song depicts an eventful night out. If you are looking for a song to jam to at maximum volume, this is it. 10/10

“Don’t,” originally meant to be the lead single of the album, is one of those songs with a hidden

meaning. The song is about an old girlfriend who cheated on Sheeran with one of his close friends. The song is not slow nor deeply emotional, but it is a catchy, blues-y, yet modern song to jam to. 8/10

For a slower-paced song, listen to “Thinking Out Loud.”

“Thinking Out Loud” is Ed Sheeran’s favorite song from the album.

He describes it as a “walking down the aisle” kind of song. The song has a happy and romantic vibe that everyone would enjoy. 9/10

It seems as though Sheeran never runs out of things to write about. Rolling Stone says, “Each new day is a fresh chance for this

October 30, 2014

Top Screen Romances

guy to hit the bar, fall in love, get his heart stomped like a bug – and then dissect the gory remains over a pretty acoustic melody.”

As always, Sheeran impresses everyone with his new album bringing more and more surprises with the variety of music he shows in each track. The deluxe album has songs from movie soundtracks like The Hobbit (“I See Fire”) and The Fault in our Stars (“All of Our Stars”). Ed Sheeran gives a good mix of music everyone can enjoy, ranking this album 9/10.

Fright Fest Films Yakeline Ramirez

Halloween is coming, and with it comes the horror film fever. If you get into the zone with scary movies, The Eagle’s Eye is here to ensure that your movie nights will keep your spine shivering.

KILLER THRILLERS In Silence of the Lambs (1991), a young FBI agent must rely on the help of a locked-up, manipulative killer in order to catch another serial killer that has a habit of skinning his victims.

Following the bloody murder theme comes Halloween (1978), a movie centered around a young boy who murders his sister. After he is sent to a mental institution, he escapes 15 years later and wreaks havoc on Halloween night.

Following the theme of twisted killers, is the The Last House on the Left (2009). After two young women are brutally attacked and raped, the team of killers tries to flee to what seems as an empty vacation home.

Soon after they realize that one of the victims parents owns that home and in an attempt to avenge the girls, the parents devise schemes that will torture the killers.

PARANORMAL HORRORS In The Conjuring (2013), when two paranormal investigators aide a family that is being terrorized by dark entities in their farmhouse. In the fight to rid of the demons the family and investigators must try and conquer their fears in a custody battle over their home.

If you’re more into the classics, then The Exorcist (1973) might be a better fit for you. Possessed by an ancient demon, Emily Rose and her mother search for the help of 2 priests to battle against it in hopes of bringing Emily Rose back. Filled with scenes that are sure to raise your heart rate The Exorcist is definitely a horror film that you can count on.

Sometimes the creepiest movies are the ones with kids, with that being said, Insidious is sure to leave you feeling terrified. Shortly after a family moves into a new home, the son suffers an accident that puts him into a coma. Soon the parents discover that the son is actually trapped in a different realm called, “the further,” where he will remain unless the parents search for help to allow their son to rush back to reality.

GORE GALORE Ghosts and paranormal entities might be appealing to some, but not all, so sometimes gore is the way to go. 28 Days Later (2002) is a gory movie you can rely on. After a group of animal rights activists break into an animal research facility they unleash a deadly virus upon Britain. 28 days later a group of survivalists are followed as they try to escape zombie infested London. A movie with zombies always promises to leave blood infested scenes that challenge you to look away from the screen.

If you are up for that zombie challenge then Dawn of the Dead might be the toughest zombie movie yet.

On a typical morning a nurse awakens to discover that the whole world has become infested with zombies.

Horrified, she runs to the nearest place for safety, a mega mall, with other struggling survivors. This gory tale focuses on the group as they try and find help to escape this nightmare.

T

Yonka Angelova

here have been thousands of romance movies over time. Titanic, Dear John, A Walk to Remember, Never Been Kissed, A Wedding Planner, Annie Hall, The Last Song, She’s All That, and Message in a Bottle. However, of all the romantic movies across time, these are the top three: The Notebook, Pretty Woman, and Gone With The Wind. Each of these stories opens our eyes to the true meaning of love and passion.

To start off, The Notebook is based on a novel written

by Nicholas Sparks. In 2004, The Notebook was released starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple that falls in love during the early 1940s. Allie Hamilton (McAdams) and Noah Calhoun (Gosling) were desperately in love, but everything seemed to be separating them. No matter what they went through Allie and Noah knew they belonged together and even death couldn’t separate them. The film received several award nominations, winning eight Teen Choice Awards, a Satellite Award and an MTV Movie Award.

Allie and Noah’s love is the type of love that everyone wants to experience and cherish forever. We spend our lives trying to find the “ideal” person, and when we do, we often fail to fight for them; we simply let them go. As Noah said, “It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day.”

Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy.

The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Edward Lewis (Gere), is a successful businessman who takes a detour on Hollywood Boulevard and needs directions. Vivian Ward (Roberts) is a prostitute willing to assist Edward Lewis to this destination, if he pays her. Vivian ends up staying at Edward’s hotel room and assists him to formal events. Edward accepts Vivian for who she is and does everything he can in order to be with her forever. At the same time, Vivian falls for Edward as well and their love becomes unstoppable.

Julia Roberts received a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, the screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. Vivian and Edward’s fondness was coincidental, but that’s the thing about love: it should never be planned. Instead of thinking about how to find love, take a walk, because you never know whose heart you might steal.

Lastly, Gone With The Wind is a 1939 historical romance. Gone With The Wind is also an award winning novel by Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer. The film stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh), and her passionate romance for Ashley Wilkes (Howard) who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Havilland). The film focuses on Scarlett O’Hara’s life and her survival through the miserable times during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Scarlett is in a tangled love affair with Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler (Gable). Gone With The Wind is placed in the top ten of the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 American films since the list’s foundation in 1998. Life and love are full of bumps and tough times, and Scarlett O’Hara’s life is the perfect example of what life is. However, just remember that “tomorrow is another day” (O’Hara).

The Eagle’s Eye

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varsity player and captain, says that although they have many new players that aren’t used to the high school level, they are working hard. As a captain, Boyte hopes to push everyone to their fullest potential and encourage everyone to work together to be focused, but also make it a fun environment.

Alternate Captain, Louis Monette, says that many of the seniors on the team have taken a leadership role and stepped up to help the younger kids and make them stronger. “We have good chemistry because most of us have been playing together for years and we continue to grow as a team. I plan to have a victorious season,” Monette says.

Mike Pasterz, freshman and starting goalie for Leyden, says that, “I don’t feel a lot of

Wrestlers

ready Anthony Raimondi

s the new wrestling season starts, the goal for the team is to maintain Leyden’s wrestling reputation

The team has been training for the upcoming season since the very start of the school year. They have been lifting together and wrestling as a team, gearing up for the fall tournament called Grappler Fall Classic in Battle Creek Michigan.

Ryan Soch, a senior at West Leyden and 12-year veteran in the sport, has been preparing himself for his last season in the program. He said, “Last year’s team stepped up tremendously from the year before, doing much better in conference this past year.”

Soch was one of seven wrestlers who went up north to wrestle in the preseason tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan.

He said, “Everyone who went to the tournament wrestled outstandingly, but with the tournament now behind us, we are still in the process of getting ready for the regular season.”

Soch talked about that regular season: “No doubt this season will be tough, but we’ve gotten some new, younger guys that are really stepping up this year and are looking good. Also everyone on the team is showing tremendous determination,

pushing each other to exceed what they thought their best is.”

Wesam Alabed, East Leyden junior and former JV Wrestler, stated that last year was as good as a young wrestler could ask for. The JV team went undefeated last year in conference. Alabed has also been preparing himself for the upcoming season, knowing he will have to step up and fill in a spot at the varsity level. He has been working out and practicing on his technique all summer to ready himself for this year.

Alabed said, “We lost a majority of the wrestlers that were in our varsity lineup last year, but this new and upcoming squad of wrestlers, including myself, are going to have no problem replacing the guys that we lost.

This new team is so determined and dedicated to succeeding that all I see is positive things for this team.”

Soch and Alabed both wrestled in the Fall Grappler Classic. This tournament was only for individual wrestlers, not a team tournament. All weights were 64 man brackets, and both Soch and Alabed fell only one match short of placing in the tournament.

pressure as a freshman because I have been playing hockey since I was five, but the high school level is definitely a bit faster than what I’m used to.” With many young players on the team Leyden looks to build their team so that they have a stronger foundation for years to come. Pasterz continues to say that, “I’m excited for the rest of the season and we hope to have a record over 500.”

The boys won by a landslide at their home opener on October 1 against Fenwick, with an ending score of 5-1. As they get deeper into the, season they continue to grow as a team.

Soccer

or fanatic Jacob Hawking

hen a normal person talks about sports, he or she will name a favorite team and even root for them in different ways. But there are some abnormalities, fans who go to extreme measures. Let’s examine each of the potentially extreme actions.

Tattoos This causes some fans to do things on the spot that they may regret later. Getting tattoos on your body about the team you root for can be looked at as going too far by everyday fans. Although the tattoos can be interesting to people who don’t see things like this a lot, there’s no reason to get a tattoo to show your love for your team. Maybe you want to get attention when you look at them, but think about what you’re doing. A tattoo is a big decision, and while I’m not personally against getting one about a sports team or player, I’d say keep it small and don’t let it overwhelm you as a person.

Fighting Every once in a while a brawl will break out in the stands of a stadium because the two team’s extreme fans meet each other, and it doesn’t end well. This happens in all sports at all ages, even all the way down to middle school as parents want to show their love for their children’s team. In larger venues, riots can happen “It looked like a war zone.

Angry mobs ran through the streets hurling rocks and smashing storefronts. Police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and shot tear gas into the crowd. The violence had nothing to do with war or politics. It wasn’t a protest against a terrible injustice. It was all about—wait for it—a soccer game.” According to Sam Apple, this is what happened when Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup; the fans just went crazy.

Naming Your Kids

Naming your child after your favorite player can be a crazy way of showing your appreciation to your team. After all, you’re affecting someone else’s life, not just your own. I worry that the people who do this actually believe that naming their child after a star athlete will somehow lead the kid to acquire that person’s elite skills. Never let your craze for your favorite entertainers affect your life or someone else’s because you like the person.

Yes, sports can be a big deal, but there’s no reason to go crazy over them. Sports are never going to go away, so there’s no reason to make your fandom permanent in any way. Put away the tattoo needle and the baby name book and wait for your chance to root next year.

in playoffs Jakub Smolucha & Jason Reed

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eyden’s Boys Soccer team has faced a number of tough challenges to push through this season and into the playoffs. The year featured facing off with many prominent teams, such as Morton and Lyons.

“We are playing some of the top teams. We lost to Morton in overtime, who’s first in state, and we beat Lyons Township, who is second in state,” said the boys varsity coach, Mr. Mark Valintis.

As a result of the hard schedule, the boys have been training hard and building momentum as a team which has helped them while playing against some of the toughest teams in the state.

“I think we have great momentum going into the playoffs,” said Damian Kosakowski, a sophomore on the boys varsity team. “Every single practice [is different] because it depends on how we did in our game and what we did wrong,”

The coach is very confident with the boys’ victories so far in the season, a current record so far of 11-5-4. “We [felt] pretty good about ourselves as we start[ed] the IHSA tournament on Tuesday,“ said Mr. Valintis.

With all these great wins and close games, the driving factor behind this is the infamous Leyden soccer team composition.

Leyden is very known for its well formulated composition of seniors, juniors and some sophomores.

Mr. Valintis said, “We

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Fan

hopes at a glance

Christina Leon ith a new school year comes a new season.

Although many of the varsity hockey team’s key starters have graduated, returning players plan to make the best of their season. With the addition of two new young coaches, Mike Cronin and Tony Cruz, returning senior Joe Bianchi thinks that it will be a good year. He says, “The team this year may not have the size that we had in previous seasons, but with the addition of new freshman to the team we will be a force to be reckoned with. We may not be the team that people look at and [are] scared of because of our small size, but when they see the quickness of this team, it will scare them.”

Robert Boyte, four year

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October 30, 2014

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Hockey

Sports

Leyden squares off against LT. look for the number one players out there. We want to bring out some of the younger players. And find out how well will they fit in cohesively with the juniors and seniors.”

Teamwork is a huge factor for training these varsity players. It’s the one factor that could make or break a win in a close match-up.

“[We] try to mold them into playing it as a team game, which is being able to play at higher skill levels,” said Coach Valintis.

If the boy’s varsity soccer team ends up beating Glenbrook South, they will face the winner of the Evanston regional in the sectional semi-final on Tuesday, the 28th of October at Niles North.

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The Eagle’s Eye

Sports

October 30, 2014

sisterhood of the swimming suits enior Maja Bulka can’t wait to celebrate her version of early Christmas! For Bulka, it’s when she puts on the swimsuit and competes at Sectionals after tapering. It’s an annual affair for all swimmers, when they feel stronger and plan for faster times. This year, Bulka’s senior Sectionals will be a family affair.

Bulka is joined by her two younger sisters, junior Ada and freshman Olga. They’ve swum together their whole lives, but having her two younger sisters with her on the high school team is very special. As sisters, they always had a lot in common, so when it came to picking a sport, it was no different. Swimming is just another activity that they added to the long list of things they enjoyed doing together.

But the age difference caused a split for a couple of years.

Olga said, “I feel like when Ada

Photo courtesy of the Bulka sisters

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Yolisiya Yonova & Christopher Brito

“The Bulka Muskateers” are ready to swim! went to high school and Maja became a sophomore while I was just beginning 7th grade was the gap where I wasn’t as close with them, and now we’re all back together again and closer than ever.”

The competitive nature of swimming keeps them close for long

hours. They all wake up at 6 a.m. to go and swim and practice or have meets each day.

And it’s paying off. Ada has been swimming ever since third grade, and has already broken two school records. Their closeness is a key motivator. Some ways

Ballers Getting Ready

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Christina Leon

lthough many of the starting players have graduated, the boys varsity basketball team is looking to an improved season. Starting point guard and senior Domenic Aiello said that the team “has good chemistry on and off the court” and hopes to win at least 18 games and

2 tournaments.

From summer tournaments at Northwestern to open gyms, the team has been working hard and expects results. Marcos Herrera, returning starting shooting guard, said that by going to open gyms and working out, the team will be better this year. “But I don’t want to jinx it,” he joked as he knocks on wood.

With a new season comes new players. Seniors Jason Timmerhaus and Adam Braxton, senior, are two new members of the varsity team. Timmerhaus, who is new to Leyden this year, played at St. Viator in his previous years. Braxton, also new this year, previously played at Prosser High School. Herrera said, “These good new transfers [Timmerhaus

Youth, Offseason Moves Make Blackhawks Cup Contenders

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Alex Mennella

he wait is over. Hockey season is here. In a few short weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks will be in taking the ice in search of their sixth Stanley Cup in team history. There is a lot of hype surrounding them, and they are ready to prove themselves after a heartbreaking game 7 loss in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. The Hawks are looking to lean on some young talent along with the usual superstars this coming season. Here’s a breakdown of the Hawks’ offseason moves and how the upcoming season should turn out:

Offseason Additions: The Hawks were very quiet during the offseason, making only three moves. This may seem upsetting to some fans who were seeking a big move, but in reality, this was a blessing. The Hawks were great last year, so great that they were one bounce away from clinching their third Stanley Cup final berth in 5 seasons. In only trading two players away, the Hawks remain great. In fact they only got better.

The Hawks only lost Brandon Bollig to the Calgary Flames and Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders.

Richards should make a huge impact on the ice.

He will most likely be the 2nd line center, paired with Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad. Richards looked sharp in the Hawks preseason games and is already showing good chemistry with his linemates. The Biggest story line for the offseason was inking the dynamic duo of Chicago hockey, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, to 8 year, $84 million extensions. Kane and Toews will remain in Chicago for a long time, and hopefully “Jonathan Toews” by Resolute - Own will raise a few more banwork. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia ners in the United Center.

Youth Movement: Commons The Hawks remain one The Bollig and Leddy deals make of the youngest teams in sense for the Hawks because the hockey. Even with such seasoned Hawks were over the salary cap vets as Marian Hossa and Michael and needed to clear some space. In Rozsival, the team has young only trading away two players with talent with experience. Patrick minor roles, the Hawks put them- Kane and Jonathan Toews are selves in excellent position to only only 26 and both have won two get better. The biggest offseason Stanley Cups, participated in two addition was bringing in seasoned Olympics, and each won the Conn vet and former Conn Smythe Smythe award for being the playaward winner Brad Richards. The offs MVP. But the Hawks have Hawks were able to sign him away younger talent. Keeping with the from the New York Rangers, and theme that has won the Hawks

in which the Bulka sisters are able to stay motivated is by listening to their teammates cheer on the sidelines for them, trying to keep up with their sisters, and always trying to keep in mind that there will always be people to beat. “I remind myself swimming isn’t unique only to our school,” said Maja.

For the infamous Bulka sisters, it’s not all about the swimming, it is also about the stories and memories they have come by while being on the swim team together. TP-ing the coach’s house was one of their favorite traditions that they have developed over the years. “The girls on the swim team have some of the most insane traditions and probably have the most fun out of any of the sports teams at Leyden,” said Maja. From Sectionals, to breaking records, to TP-ing the house, nothing can separate the Bulka girls of swimming.

and Braxton] are going to help contribute to a better season.”

Tryouts are on Tuesday November 11 at the East Leyden Field House; the time is TBA. The boys have their first game November 24 at Ridgewood High School, but their home opener is on Friday, December 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the East Leyden Field House against long-time rival, Addison Trail.

two Stanley cups, young, lights out talent keeps coming up from Rockford, the team’s AHL minor league affiliate. The highlight of these young guns is former first round pick Temmu Teräväinen.

The Finnish superstar is only 20 years old and is turning heads with his speed and skill.

The Prediction:

Now it’s time for the good part: the prediction. The Hawks have everything going for them this year: young talent, a solid goaltender, veteran leadership, etc. In terms of the division, the Hawks are stacked up against some incredible talent.

The Colorado Avalanche and the upstart Dallas Stars should give the Hawks a run for their money.

I still think the Hawks have the edge and will win the division and earn the one seed for the Western Conference playoffs. After a hard fought battle, I believe the Hawks will find themselves in familiar territory: the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings. I believe the Hawks should redeem themselves from last year’s heartbreak and bury the Kings in 6 games then head toward the championship series before claiming the Stanley Cup.

NBA Rundown

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Angel Perez

s the FIBA World Cup ended, there were few doubts that Te a m U S A would win another gold, even with Paul George’s injury and Kevin Durant’s withdrawal. The absence of these two superstars did, however, provide an interesting sneak peak of other top-tier NBA players. The way I see it, there are three things that we can learn about this upcoming NBA season by reviewing the Team USA the FIBA tournament.

1) The Cavs will be a Force With the addition of Kevin Love and the return of superstar LeBron James, the Cavaliers will more than likely have an amazing season this year. The Cavaliers picked up Kevin Love by trading away 1st overall pick Andrew Wiggins, and his talent is proven. What FIBA showed us is the star talent of point guard Kyrie Irving, who’s shooting was at an impressive 56% during the tournament also shooting 83% from the free throw line.

Irving averaged 12 points a game along with 3 rebounds and four assists per game. I think it’s safe to say that Kyrie and the Cavaliers are definitely going to be in the playoff runnings.

2) Return of Rose (Again) Chicago Bulls All-Star point guard and the former MVP is once again coming back from an injury. Rose’s torn meniscus last season in November against the Portland Trailblazers kept him off the court until the FIBA Tournament. In those games Rose has started to look a little like his old self, blazing speed and quickness, the ability to finish strong at the basket, and an improved jumpshot. But at other times, he looked rusty. If Rose can consistently perform the way FIBA has shown he can, the Bulls are in good shape. With power forward/center Pau Gasol and forwards Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott joining Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, and Mike Dunleavy. Bulls fans such as myself should look forward to the upcoming season and expecting the Bulls to once again be a dominant force in the Eastern Conference.

3) Injuries with Impact The tournament was bittersweet, with the gold-medal chase costing the NBA some injuries.

Pacers forward Paul George is gone for the year owing to a horrific leg injury and an injury to the Sacramento Kings Center DeMarcus Cousins will also impact the upcoming season.

These injuries may mean that some of the early predictions need to change.