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H-BR grads reflect on past four years
GRADUATION 2015 SYCAMORE
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‘Not a goodbye’
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Student council president lauds ‘unique experience’ By LINDSEY CLARK news@daily-chronicle.com
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Sycamore High School graduating senior Stephannie Baccay (right), guided across the stage by teacher Donna O’Hagan, shakes the hand of the President of the Board of Education James Dombek before receiving her diploma during the commencement ceremony Sunday in the Sycamore Fieldhouse. Baccay, who has been blind since birth, ran and threw shot put for the Sycamore Track and Field team during her high school career.
HINCKLEY – Hinckley-Big Rock High School student council president Taylor Prellberg welcomed the Class of 2015 during her speech by bringing out a selfie stick and turning around for one last photo op with her classmates. “The many pictures I have from high school capture the unique experience I’ve had,” said Prellberg, who had been going through old pictures before graduation. “But before we turn this page of this chapter, let’s take one last photo as seniors.” Prellberg’s selfie stick – a widely growing phenomenon that smartphone users can insert their phones into to take group shots further than the average arm range
– served Sunday as a way to capture the H-BR commencement for posterity’s sake. In front of a gym full of proud families and friends, the seniors of H-BR turned their tassels from right to left on Sunday afternoon, and began following their individual paths after graduation. Prellberg touched on the memories the class of 55 students has made, mentioning that most of them have known each other since kindergarten – allowing for them to grow and evolve together. “Going to H-BR has given us many opportunities we wouldn’t have had elsewhere,” she said. “As students, we’ve had the opportunity to truly get to know every teacher, and they know
See HINCKLEY-BIG ROCK, page A4
Tight-knit Sycamore grads look to future By DARIA SOKOLOVA dsokolova@shawmedia.com SYCAMORE – Sycamore High School graduate Stephannie Baccay still remembers going to sixth grade for the first time and feeling nervous before meeting her teachers and fellow students. “It’s been up-and-down roller coaster for seven years, but we got through it and that’s all that counts,” said Baccay, holding down tears before graduation. “The biggest accomplishment is just being with all these people for seven years and then graduating finally,” Baccay said. “It’s a shocker, I’m still in disbelief that we are done with school, we are going to graduate. It’s real. At first, we walked these halls
More coverage For a photo gallery of Sycamore High School’s graduation, visit Daily-Chronicle.com. and we always thought, ‘Oh, we are going to be here forever,’ but now we are all going our separate own ways, but we are still keeping contact.” On Sunday, Baccay and 297 Sycamore High School students walked the stage to receive their diplomas in a Sycamore High School Fieldhouse filled with parents, teachers and fellow students. Shortly before the ceremony, students dressed in signature black-and-gold gowns lined the hallway as several Sycamore High School teachers prepared to lead them out.
Donna O’Hagan, teacher of the visually impaired who has been teaching Stephannie and another blind student Haley Tyrrell since middle school, said she couldn’t believe how fast the last seven years have gone. “If anything we did, I don’t know if we taught them as much school book knowledge as much as how to be independent, how to get out there and advocate for yourself and let people know that you have a voice, because sometimes people treat people who are blind as if they are almost not there,” she said. “Just for them to speak up and be independent, I think are the things that we have strived for as much as we hate to let them go.” Kari DeConinck, orienta-
tion and mobility specialist who worked with Tyrrell and Baccay on their travel skills, said both girls had learned to get around the building and to their classes during their time at Sycamore High School. “So when we talked about working together and entering middle school, it was a whole new world learning how to get around such a large building and getting to and from classes and how they were going to be independent in doing that, because part of it is making them as independent as possible in their travel and as safe as possible,” she said. To teach Tyrrell and Baccay math, the subject O’Hagan said was the most difficult for the blind, teachers had to
See SYCAMORE, page A5
Nick Brooks for Shaw Media
Jordan Bullard recieves her degree and flips her tassel, signifying she is a 2015 graduate of Hinckley-Big Rock High School during the ceremony Sunday in the school’s gym.
Feed’em Soup to run DeKalb Park District concessions By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Last season, the DeKalb Park District lost money on concessions. This year, the district plans to step back and let community organization Feed’em Soup take over, said Jason Mangum, executive director of DeKalb Park District.
The DeKalb Park District board voted Thursday to approve a contract with the nonprofit organization. Feed’em Soup was one of a handful of organizations to apply for the spot, Mangum said. Feed’em Soup will pay the park district five percent of its total gross sales in exchange for the opportunity to
sell on district property. Feed’em Soup will be running concession stands at park district sports and recreation centers including the baseball diamonds at Hopkins Park and the Sports and Recreation Center, Mangum said. Mangum said he wasn’t expecting to make much money off the deal, but he’ll be glad
not to lose any cash on concessions this year. “I just don’t feel like it’s a business we’re good at it,” he said. Feed’em Soup, a nonprofit at 251 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, focuses on giving back to the community through buffet-style meal services. It also operates a clothes closet and a pop-up
food pantry. Feed’em Soup relies primarily on donors and sponsors, but it also raises funds through catering services, arcade rentals and concession stands, according to the organization’s website. Feed’em Soup executive director Derek Gibbs couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.
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Why it matters Feed’em Soup will be running the concessions at DeKalb Park District sports facilities this year, except for golf. The nonprofit organization will pay the park district five percent of its gross sales for the opportunity to sell on district property.
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