Meet the 2014 Solstice Literary Magazine!

Solstice, 2014, with English Teacher and
Literary Advisor Jim  DiDomenico

Congratulations to Solstice Chief Editors Gabrielle Lail ('14), Syndney Schwartz ('14), and Emily Ding ('14) along with the entire Solstice staff for the beautiful, remarkable 2014 edition.  The overall design, in addition to the poetry, short story, and artwork, are all striking and memorable.

The picture here shows the cool S-shaped cut-out on the front cover.  The theme is "ombre," which I had to ask students to define for me.

Congratulations, too, to the Faculty Advisors, English Teacher Jim DiDomenico and Art Teacher Pat Potokar.

Thanks to Sue Grady for Six Years as Adviser of the Devil's Advocate!

English Teacher Sue Grady,
Photo Credit: Wycoff-Tweedy

English teacher Sue Grady is transitioning from being the Advocate adviser this year.  Today, Devils Advocate Online published a wonderful appreciation of her leadership in an article by editors Kate Lee and Jeff Lauer.  

The bell announcing the start of seventh period rings as Mrs. Susan Grady enters room 504. Taking a seat at her desk, she takes out her tablet and logs onto www.hcdevilsadvocate.com.  As she reads and edits her way through the online newspaper’s articles, the Devils’ Advocate buzzes with activity. With Grady at the helm, the class runs smoothly as the staff churns out story after story. 

Grady has dedicated 12 years to working with student-run publications. Currently teaching Journalism 1, Journalism 2 Online, and Journalism 2 Print, she has spent six years advising the Devils’ Advocate, contributing to the print magazine’s Newspaper Pacemaker Award. This year, however, Grady will step down from her position as sponsor of Central’s student-run publication. 

As a pillar of Central’s journalism program, Grady has left her mark on several of her students. “Mrs. Grady taught me everything I know about journalism, and she made my favorite classes, Journalism 1 and Journalism 2 Online,” said Sanjana Srinivasan, writer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. 

“Advocate has been so awesome these past few years, and [Mrs. Grady] has made journalism so much fun. I’ll miss Advocate next year,” said Katherine Kiang, writer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. 

Grady accomplished making journalism an enjoyable topic of study for students, stirring their passion for journalism by enhancing their skills. “Mrs. Grady was always so helpful and willing to go the extra mile to help me learn the art of journalism,” said Daniel Holland, writer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. 

“Mrs. Grady has been a fantastic teacher and mentor. Whenever I thought my [articles] were finished, she always had an idea to improve them,” said Christi Carras, writer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. 

While maintaining a lively, enjoyable classroom setting, Grady also strove for excellence.
According to past Advocate editor Kristy Hamilton, “Mrs. Grady had a great vision for Devils’ Advocate and, more importantly, had the competitive drive to achieve what she set out to do.” 

It is because of Grady that many chose to join the student newspaper.  “Mrs. Grady changed my high school experience. I would have never tried out for Devils’ Advocate without her mentioning it in class. I can honestly say she was my favorite teacher, [after] having her [for] all four years,” said Anna Konstant, writer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. “She’s helped me become a better person and journalist. She made every class exciting and relatable.” 

Besides her contributions to the Devils’ Advocate, Grady is a devoted instructor beloved by her students. “I’ve had Frau Grady for German and Advocate. It was awesome,” said Nina Demirjian, one of Grady’s students and writer/videographer for the Devils’ Advocate Online. 

Grady has left an indelible impression on her students’ high school experiences, and her amazing presence will be greatly missed on the Devils’ Advocate.

Congratulations (and thank you!) to Sue for completing 6 years of award-winning service with the Advocate!  

Find the whole article here: http://www.hcdevilsadvocate.com/features/2014/05/27/grady-leaves-her-legacy-on-devils-advocate/

El Diablo has arrived!

This year's El Diablo has arrived.  And.... wow!   It's 380 pages and beautiful.  This year's theme:  "Hiatus."  The 2013/2014 Diablo staff has outdone itself this year with design that's always attractive and inventive and editorial that's astounding by itself.

Here, for instance, is a selection from the opening pages:

Hinsdale Central is the 4th-best high school in Illinois, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.  The athletes are State  competitors, champions in Cross Country, Tennis, Swimming and Diving, Wrestling, and Golf.  The scores are amongst the highest in the nation.

OK, yeah.  But, come on -- give me a break.  We're teenagers.

We like Netflix binges and going to concerts: we love to hang out with friends and have a good time.  We study when we have to, we practice and perform when the time comes, but we really just want to have some fun...

So, indeed, on paper Hinsdale Central is very accomplished.  But get to know us, and people will see why we get to say it's a great day to be a Red Devil.  We are surrounded by people, wonderfully real people.  You just can't put that on paper.

And yet, we've tried to encompass what our school is really about in this book.

So, sit back, relax, and take a little hiatus.  You deserve it.

Congratulations to the editors and staff of El Diablo, including Editors in Chief Sophia Glomb ('14) and Victoria Gomez ('14) and Head Editors Mayank Mehta ('14), Jaya Sharma ('14), Iman Ajaz ('14), Francesca Chiapetta ('14).  Congratulations, too to the advisers of El Diablo, English teachers Erin Timmons and Sham Bhatti.  If you're interested in purchasing a book, please let me know!

Ben Hall is English Department Student of the Quarter!

Ben Hall ('16) and Ms. Erin Timmons
Photo Credit: Sigita Mitchell

I'm proud to announce that sophomore Ben Hall is the English Department's Student of the Quarter.  He was selected by his English 2 Honors teacher, Erin Timmons.


When Ms. Timmons introduced Ben the Student of the Quarter Breakfast this morning, she spoke about Ben's ability to make connections between the curriculum and everyday life.
In recognizing Ben, Ms. Timmons said:

When a student can make connections on his/her own, draw parallels, see how interdisciplinary seemingly unrelated topics are, to me this is the mark of a critical intellect and the hallmark of intellectual curiosity.  

Ben has this amazing ability to hear music in people’s words – he’ll tell them they just quoted this song or that – and he can make analogies which result in the rest of the class asking him “How did you think of that?”

Contratulations to Ben.  Hinsdale Central is a special place because of students like Ben.

IATE Poetry and Prose Contest Winners

Great news!  Again, students at Hinsdale Central have been recognized as excellent writers by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English.   Students were nominated by their current English teachers (I listed the English teacher in parentheses below.)  First place winners will be published in the Fall Illinois Teachers Bulletin. Congratulations to all winners!

Srinivas Kaza, Prose First Place, “Suyfitas” (Mr. Friebel)

Brandon Weller, Prose First Place, “The Top Ten Reasons Why I would be the First to Die in a Zombie Apocolypse” (Mr. Friebel)

Jack McGowen, Prose Runner Up, “Twindependence” (Mr. Friebel)

Steven Chun, Prose Honorable Mention, “Gifted” (Mr. Friebel)

Satyajit Krishnan, Prose Runner Up, “Ignoramus” (Mr. Bhatti)

Samrita Sawhney, Prose Runner Up, “January 3” (Mr. Bhatti)

Morgan Fitzgerald, Prose First Place, “Skinny: A Family Tradition” (Mrs. Burrell)

Caroline Sudduth, Prose First Place, “(Re)reading Myself”(Mrs. Burrell)

Madison Wagner, Prose First Place, “Lost and Confused”(Mrs. Burrell)

Sylvana Caruso, Prose Runner Up, “I’m Not That Innocent: Why Good People Say Bad Things About Pop Music”(Mrs. Burrell)

Kathryn Cua, First Place Prose, “Lost in Translation” (Mrs. Fehrman)

Kathryn Cua, First Place Prose, “Slut-Shaming and the Purity Myth” (Mrs. Fehrman)

Alexandra Solovyev, First Place Prose, “Purgatory” (Mrs. Fehrman)

Paxton Gammie, Honorable Mention Prose, “When I Refused to Wear Shoes” (Mrs. Fehrman)

English Teacher and Librarian Selected to Present at IATE Conference in the fall

Congratulations to English teacher Jared Friebel and Librarian Kerrin Riley on being accepted as speakers at the Illinois Association of Teachers of English annual conference to be held in Crystal Lake, Illinois on October 17^th and 18^th, 2014.    Their session “Reaching Beyond the Classroom to Teach Information Literacy” focuses on the inter-departmental work going on between Central's English Department and Library and Media Center, specifically about the two-year informational literacy curriculum and assessment developed collaboratively with the two departments and led by Jared and Kerrin.  These assessments are an objective measure of how students are learning to be smart consumers of digital information.  This is a great example of how teachers take on important curriculum projects that turn theory into practice at Hinsdale Central.