8 Central Students Published; 8 Honored in Illinois English Bulletin

Each year, the Illinois English Bulletin devotes its Fall issue to publishing student work from Illinois students. This year, an astounding 16 Central students were published and honored. Congratulations to this remarkable group of authors!

Published

Madeline Beja (senior) "Generation to Generation"

Audrey Glaser (senior) "Canta Y Une Tu Voz"

Laurel Johnson (senior) "A Fight Worth Having"

Mackenzie King (class of 2011) "Adopting an Identity"

Danielle Labotka (class of 2011) "Dancers Don't Cry"

Riley O'Donnell (senior) "The Crash"

Jennifer Oetter (class of 2011) "Untitled"

Julia Quintero (class of 2011) "Dear Dragonfly, Love Meggers"

Jeffrey Yang (senior) "Quit"

Honored

Meredith Christian (senior) "Purple is Everything"

Claire Dunderman (class of 2011) "Clause and Effect"

Gemma Groch (senior) "The Evolution of My Father"

Divya Kirti (senior) "Don't Freak Out, But I've Got Three Kids in My Backpack"

Mahum Mirza (senior) "Facebook Motto: With Great Positives Come Great Negatives"

Elizabeth Ann Shaw (senior) "Learning How to Talk"

Grace Walsh (senior) "A Chance Conversation"

Hinsdale Central PSAE Scores remain tops in DuPage

The Chicago Tribune reported today that Hinsdale Central students scored very well on the Prairie State Achievement Exam that all juniors took last April. Of non-selective schools, Central is ranked #1 in DuPage County (and just behind New Trier and Deerfield High Schools overall). Central's continued excellence is a marked contrast to general gloomy outlook that the Tribune reported in a recent article about this year's scores.

Central students scored #1 on the Reading subsection of the test, as well.

Find the data here.

Senior Stephanie Lenchard-Warren wins national writing award

Senior Stephanie Lenchard-Warren recently was awarded the prestigious "Achievement Award in Writing" for "superior performance in writing" by the National Council of Teachers of English. A total of 1,649 juniors were nominated by their schools to participate in the 2011 program. The essay that she submitted to the contest, "Eyes Against a Black Canvas" was also published last year in The Best Nonfiction Writing, Hinsdale Central High School. (View this post to learn how to order your own copy.) Stephanie is currently enrolled in the Honors Seminar in Writing.

The National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing was established in 1957 to encourage high school students in writing and recognize publicly some of the best student writers in the nation. The selection process is intense. The winning writers are selected for independence of thought, fresh insight, concern for expressiveness, keen observation and reflection, and sensitivity to nuances of word meaning.

Congratulations to Stephanie and the entire faculty for helping her develop her writing skills.

Online Devils' Advocate goes global!

English teacher and Devils' Advocate sponsor Sue Grady just told me that the online newspaper is gaining international attention. Website statistics show that it is being viewed in Beijing, London, Leicester, Kennsington and London. Check it out at http://www.hcdevilsadvocate.com/