Troy choirs perform at veterans’ vigil in Springfield
June 12, 2012 10:58AM
The Blessed Mother was crowned by Hannah Kitchell (left), assisted by eight-grader Emma Dingbaum at Immaculate Conception School in Morris. | submitted photo
Updated: July 13, 2012 10:12AM
Troy choirs perform
On May 4, seventh- and eighth-grade students of the Troy Choirs went to Springfield to perform at the 24th annual Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vigil.
The choirs have had the honor to have been the only choir to perform at this vigil for the past 24 years.
While in Springfield, the students visited historical monuments and learned about state government. They performed for the closing ceremonies of the 24-hour vigil.
Lockport All-Academic Team.
LOCKPORT — These students graduated with a 3.5 GPA or higher and are SWSC varsity athletes: Sarah Anderson, Katyla Bekermeier, Amy Benes, Nick Bergamini, Michelle Biciste, Tierney Bottino, Anna Bryniarski, Darryn Calvillo, Alyssa Clarida, Gina Collesano, Lauren Cralle, Sarah Dominguez, Haleigh Draper, Allison Foley, Christopher Formosa, Thalia Frederick, Jorie Gorski, David Hir, Laura Holle, Jennifer Holly, Nathaniel Ing, Cortney Jerzy, Megan Kelley, Ryan Maurella, Matthew Monte, Matthew Muszynski, Emma Nunley, Kathyrn O’Brien, Caleb Perkinson, Lucas Piatek, Austin Polke, Thomas Razo, Valerie Renkor, Anthony Rossi, Amanda Sadler, Daniel Schaack, Catherine Schultz, Michele Schultz, Alexandria Slavik, Samantha Spencer, Dominick Strom, Philip Tomas, Zachary Trent, Jodi Ulm, Taylor Weissenhofer, Christina Wilson and Zachary Wolfe.
May crowning
MORRIS — Immaculate Conception School students held a May Crowning, which is a prayer service honoring the Blessed Mother. During the service, a crown of flowers is placed on the head of a statue of Mary as an act of devotion.
Students sang hymns and read prayers and petitions. The prayer service was led by Immaculate Conception pastor, the Rev. Ed Howe.
National Spanish exams
PLAINFIELD — Twenty-five Plainfield East High School World Language students earned top honors on the 2012 National Spanish Examinations.
Students earned one gold, one silver and seven bronze medals; and 16 honorable mentions on the rigorous exams.
The examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Honored were:
Gold — junior Thara Abu-Mallouh
Silver — sophomore Melissa Vicente
Bronze — juniors Justine Bunn, Alyssa Peek, Ashley Peek, Alonzo Diaz, Elizabeth Desantiago and Gerardo Manjarrez; and senior Andrew Elam
Honorable Mention: sophomore Jose Garza-Alvarez; juniors Aquita James, Nina Moody, Lorence Velasco, Jose Abes, Jennifer Huerta, Amanda Serrano, Emilie Brazinski, Jerzy Cholewa, Keara O’Connor, John Oto, Dominique Phills, Amarpal Singh, Dominick Sullivan, and Francisco Sanchez Del-Real; and senior Lara Trinidad.
Conservation award
PLAINFIELD — The Plainfield North High School Interact Club won the Student Conservation Award from the Land Conservancy of Will County for its work on several environmental projects.
The club was recognized for its efforts to help protect and restore habitat and project and manage open space for the viability of the Will County ecosystem.
Among other activities, club members have monitored frog species, cut brush, and helped manage open space, trails and recreation areas countywide.
Minooka journalists
MINOOKA — As Minooka High School senior Aubrey Aspan and junior Ali Bagley awaited the results of the IHSA State Journalism Competition at Eastern Illinois University, they weren’t sure what to expect.
Aspan, who earned a first place finish in Headline Writing at the sectional, also finished in first place in that category at the state competition.
“We had to read a story, and then come up with a headline for it according to a specific set of criteria,” she said.
Each participant had to write a headline for six different stories within a 90-minute timeframe.
“I re-read everything after I finished just to make sure I didn’t have any mistakes and so that I was sure I liked what I had done,” she said.
Bagley, who earned a second place in Feature Writing at the sectional, replicated her feat at the state competition by earning second place.
“We had to attend a press conference about a new fitness competition and write a story about the winner,” Bagley said.
“I was nervous,” Bagley said. “I knew it would be difficult to place at state because there were so many talented students there.”
While Aspan graduates at the end of the year, Bagley is already looking forward to qualifying for next year’s state competition during her senior year.
The MCHS Journalism Team is coached by Matt Thomas and Laura Erion.
