Steinmetz Star Star.pdf · them sing their ABC’s or Barney — now that’s classic.” Continued on Page 6 Freshmen Natesha Hill and Zaina President did not experience much upperclassmen

Steinmetz StarVolume 76, Number 2, October 2010

PHOTO BY LARONDA GADLEN

Candidates for Homecoming King and Queen cheer as they’re introduced during half-time. From left: wTakara Johnson, Briana Robertson, Mark Kolodziej, Jovanna Espino, Yesenia Borges, Xaquille Townsend and Vianay Neria. Leomely Ramos was crowned Homecoming King; Jovanna Espino won Homecoming Queen. See Page 9.

By Destiny Carpenter, Larissa Labon & Jasmine Reese

Students and staff enjoyed Spirit Week, October 4 - 8.

“It was awesome because I was able to spend it with my friends Thalia Ruiz and Imani Wright,” sophomore Kimberly Mojica said. “My favorite day was Nerd Day. All my friends acted so crazy and I loved see-ing them like that.”

Teachers appreciated seeing students out of uniform too, es-pecially Dress to Impress day.

“Everybody expressed them-selves in their own way,” soph-omore Thalia Ruiz said.

Spirit Week gives everyone a chance to show Streaks pride.

“The pep rally gives me in-spiration and lets me know the school supports us,” said senior Michael Hodges, linebacker.

It seemed that everybody participated in some aspect.

“Spirit week is sometimes the best thing at Steinmetz,” Nikita MacCaa said.

Homecoming lifts spirits

Freshy Friday didn’t break the piggy bank

PHOTO BY JOELLE LEZON

By Olga Bustamante, Myraneisha Gardner, Frances Lopez & Cindy Yousif

Many upperclassmen practiced the Steinmetz tradition of welcom-ing new students on Freshy Friday by throwing pennies at them.

“I was skeptical as to what was going to happen,” freshman Jose Lopez said. “What was so special about just that one Friday? I found out that this is just the way that the upperclassmen say, ‘Hey, welcome to Steinmetz!’”

In past years, some upperclass-

men have gotten carried away by beating up freshmen, stuffing them in lockers, making them dance on the tables in the caf-eteria and throwing quarters and batteries. But this year, on Sep-tember 10, Freshy Friday was much calmer.

“Freshy Friday wasn’t as fun as it used to be,” senior Brittany Almon said. “Watching upper-classmen put freshmen on the ta-ble in the lunchroom and having them sing their ABC’s or Barney — now that’s classic.”

Continued on Page 6

Freshmen Natesha Hill and Zaina President did not experience much upperclassmen harassment on Freshy Friday. When a senior threw a penny at Natesha, she turned around and “treated him,” she said.

2 Steinmetz Star October 2010

Principal’s MessageSteinmetzAcademicCentre3030 N. MobileChicago, IL 60634Tel: (773) 534-3030Fax: (773) 534-3151www.steinmetzac.comPrincipal: Dr. Eunice Madon Assistant principals: Jaime Jaramillo, Donald MendroBudget director: Paul ChaseStar adviser: Sharon Schmidt

Student Editor-in-Chief: Alyssa Sanchez 1st & 5th period section editors:News: Zachery Pekovic, Ileana Rosado Opinion: Jasmine Sheppard, Adriana Pineda Features: Regina Crawford, Stephen PowellSports: Demetrius Robinson-Stanford, Jonathan Lopez

Journalism class reporters, Room 333 1st Period: Julio Baez, Jordyn Bailey, Destiny Carpenter, Nohemi Caudel Raygoza, Jovanna Espino, Sarai Fernandez, Michael Frackowiak, Myraneisha Gardner, Michael Hodges, Takara Johnson, Larissa Labon, Lissette Lagunas, Frances Lopez, Michael Lublansky, Yaritza Marroquin, Xavier Morales, Yadira Olea, Lukasz Olszanski, Rosemary Peralta, Tetyana Prannychuk, Julian Rivera, Gabriela Rodri-guez, Rafael Totolxin, Xaquille Townsend, Natalia Twardus, Natalie Valdez; 5th Period: Grzegorz Bara, Louis Bell, Danielle Brumley, Olga Bustamante, Sayda Figueroa, Shyeesha Fountain, Kierre Gillespie, Kenia Guerra, Jennifer Maravillas, Manuel Mejorado, Gloria Quintana, Jasmine Reese, Luis Rocha, Ricardo Rociles, Jessica Solis, Nia Spencer, Cindy Vazquez, Cindy Yousif, Oscar Zarate

Newspaper club reporters: Jason Alvarado, Shanna Arceo, Arrick Cosey, Kiara Davidson, Eunice Dimas, LaRonda Gadlen, Malica Lacy, Marcelino Lagunas, Joelle Lezon, Kimberly Mojica, Amora Morales, Saremm Saenz, Ve-ronika Scott, Kayla Tomich, Jeremy Valentin, Aracely Ventura, Ajay Woodley

The Steinmetz Star welcomes submissions by all students and staff. Email us atSteinmetzStarNews @ gmail.com

By Tetyana PrannychukJunior Crystal Phillips, senior Patrick

Korzenieweski and teacher Wassil Kalin visited the Holocaust Museum in Skokie on May 24, Holocaust Remembrence Day.

This was a tremendous experience for them all. Even though the Holocaust happened over half a century ago, it is still greatly remembered to mourn those who passed away and to learn from this mistake.

Not only did the Holocaust effect the people who were in it, but everyone who heard about what was going on was deeply upset.

“I saw Holocaust victims and one speech made me tear up from a woman who saw her mother die right in front of her in a Siberian concentration camp,” Crystal said.

The Holocaust Museum includes many artifacts that an individual wouldn’t normally see. Crystal said her favorite part of the visit to the museum was “the speeches from the victims. There were about 30 speeches.”

Mr. Kalin said that Steinmetz was one of only a few Chicago high schools invited by the mayor’s office to the event.

Students visit Holocaust Museum

Mr. Kalin, Patrick Korzenieweski and Crystal Phillips pose with Principal Madon. Patrick and Crystal received photos of themselves with Mayor Richard M. Daley on Holocaust Remembrence Day.

By Dr. Eunice Madon, principalWow, what a great week we had dur-

ing Spirit Week. I believe this was one of the best ever. Students really got into the idea of the week and came out

dressed for each of days. Pajama Day was great! Not only did

the students participate, but it was fun to see the faculty in unusual garb. Some faculty even wore PJ sets that were ac-companied by stylish robes. Flannel, of course, was the order of the day.

Tuesday’s dress code was “Dress to

Impress.” The faculty and students sure didn’t disappoint us. Some of the most outstanding had gentlemen in baby blue and gold and yellow suits, But not to be outdone the young ladies had some great outfits topped off or should I say bottomed off with some great looking high heels. It almost looked like Prom had arrived early.

Wednesday had everyone looking just the opposite. On Nerd Day there were some pretty nerdy looking outfits.

Continued on Page 4

Spirit Week success

October 2010 Steinmetz Star 3

BY ADRIANA PINEDA BY KIMBERLY MOJICA PHOTO BY AJAY WOODLEYREPORT BY GLORIA QUINTANA

BY YADIRA OLEA BY JASMINE SHEPPARD BY ARRICK COSEY

Star Photo OpinionWith Halloween coming, we wondered:

What is the one of the scariest things that ever happened to you?

“One day a man stalked my sister and me. He asked us if we had any money, and when we answered ‘no,’ he then claimed he had a knife and threatened to use it unless we gave him money. He asked me what was in my pocket. After I showed him my cam-era, he gave it back and forced us to walk a cerrtain distance before we lost sight of him. We ran all the way home.”

Gabriela Pineda, freshman

“Last week in gym class I was going for a ball at the same time as another person. He ran into me and I ran into the wall. I was knocked unconscious. People in the class said I was out for about 15 minutes. Later I went to the hospital and found out I had a concussion.”

Chelsea Thornton, sophomore

“I was with my friends at a party. One friend asked me to leave with her in her car, but my other friend advised me not to because she was drunk. I gave it a thought and stayed. As soon as my drunken friend drove off, she ran into another car and com-pletely smashed her car! She was injured and bloody. Luckily I wasn’t in that car with her that night.”

Shanna Arceo, junior

“I was on a camping trip in Starved Rock when I was 14 years old with my friends. We jumped into a cave to take a picture but began to slide through. To stop myself I grabbed a small vine. I looked over just one foot to my left and saw I was at the edge of a cliff, which was at least a 300-foot drop. I knew I was very lucky to be alive.”

Ernest Mitropoulos, teacher

“I was at a haunted house in Wisconsin when out of nowhere the zombies started beating up the people in the haunted house. We were completely surprised because we didn’t expect that or know who they were. It turned out that the zombies were actually some guys from the neighborhood.”

Steven Phillips, custodian

“I was stepping out of the car when a guy came speeding down the street. In the back of his car he had a scarecrow wearing a Jason mask and I got so scared because it looked real. I heard the guy come out the car but he was nowhere to be found. He left the scarecrow in the middle of the street.”

Yajaira Quinones, senior


Star ForumSpirit week was great. Our school rules, tests and food are not.

Do you have an opinion? Share it with the Star!

See a staff member (listed on p. 2)

or send us a letter. Respond to anything in this paper or

just tell us what’s on your mind.

Email: [email protected]

Do you want to be a reporter?

See Star adviser Sharon Schmidt or come to the Newspaper Club Thursdays at 3:00 in Room 333.

Re. Spirit Week, school issues and food. October 8, 2010

Hey Streaks! Wasn’t Spirit Week a

blast? I really enjoyed my-self. This is my first year at-tending Steinmetz and I love it! I have so much school spirit and I know how to en-joy myself. I can’t wait until the Homecoming game and the dance.

But enough about Spirit Week. Let’s get to the not-so-good parts of Steinmetz: the rules, the tests and the nasty food.

The rules are understand-able because some students don’t know how to act. But most of the rules are way too strict. They really need to lighten up. Students are also given way too many tests. It’s ridiculous. I disagree with teachers giving us so

many tests. They really need to slow down on this.

Now let’s get to the nasty food. The food is horrible. What do they think we are? Ani-mals? I don’t know about anyone else but I would never in my life eat whole-wheat pizza. It’s horrible. The staff wouldn’t eat it so why would they give it to the students? That’s just wrong.

Lechele Glispie, sophomore

Lechele Glispie and friends (left, “dressed to impress”) enjoyed all the events of spirit week, including the pep rally (above).

Continued from Page 2Some of the teachers really took the

day to heart and looked well, NERDY. Those glasses repaired with tape, slicked down hair, and gym shoes with dress slacks were lots of fun.

Chicago Sports Day was the order of dress on Thursday. It was amazing to see how many different kinds of shirts there are that are aligned to the profes-sional teams in our great city. But the day really belonged to our students. It ended by honoring our student athletes at the pep rally. The enthusiasm shown for the teams was outstanding. It gave them a real boost to know that both the

students and faculty support them.Friday was the big game and stu-

dents showed up to school not only wearing green and silver clothing, but some had green hair, some had their faces painted green and silver, some had decals. It was an impressive sight to see that in the end we are all green and silver. We are STREAKS and for-ever will be part of the history of the school.

A great big THANK YOU to Ms. Russo, the coaches, the band, the cheerleaders, the staff and everyone who made Spirit Week 2010 such a great success.

Principal’s message: Thanks to all for Spirit Week success


Star News‘Let us skate!’

Seniors: ‘Where are our lockers?’

By Jonathan LopezSkateboarding is now banned on cam-

pus. Senior Erick Najera and sophomore Ruben Turcios were devastated on Sep-tember 21 when they found out that they couldn’t bring their boards to school any-more or else they will not be able to get in the building.

“I think it’s dumb, because it’s not like we are hurting anybody,” Ruben said. “For some of us it is a faster way to get home.”

“To me its bull,” he continued. “We don’t make the school look bad. There are other people who smoke and gang bang and fight and stuff and all we are doing is just skating after everybody leaves. They think that all we do is start trouble, but all we do is have fun. I think skateboarding should be unbanned because we were not hurting anybody.”

Principal Eunice Madon said she was worried that the skaters would hurt them-selves because they usually skate without helmets or knee and elbow pads.

Property damage also entered into the decision to ban the skate boards, she said.

“They were ruining the sidewalk,” Dr. Madon said. “They broke a railing and

chipped the cement on the wall.”While the front campus is the most con-

vient place to skate, skateboarders are trav-elling to Chicago Academy High School and the skate park at Wilson and Lake Shore Drive

“I think this is whack,” Erick said. “We really didn’t do anything to deserve this punishment. It’s not like we use our boards

to do something bad like hurt people.”“Actually skating is a positive thing to

do rather than drugs or doing something stupid,” Erick said.

“I think more people should start skat-ing. They could go to Wilson and do switch hard flips off the eight stairs and be like P-Rod and Sean Malto.”

By Danielle Brumley & Jennifer Maravillas

This school year, for most seniors, started off chaotic right when we all thought it was go-ing to be worry free -- because hey, it’s our senior year. The entrance was packed, no books were distributed and our lock-ers were nowhere to be seen.

Almost every senior this year was not assigned a locker. The lucky students who were had the same lockers as last year, as expected. During eighth pe-riod the first week it appeared that every senior was lined up at student services. How could so many seniors not have been distributed lockers?

“They were supposed to ask

for lockers at orientation,” assistant principal Donald Mendro said.Apparently, seniors were supposed to automatically know that

they were to ask at student services during orientation. But there were no notices to let them know. Steinmetz decided to change

things, right when seniors were already comfortable with the way things were.

“I waited a week for my locker,” senior Mercedes Mas-ciopinto said.

Student services staff Patrice Mikolajczak acknowledged the confusion about orientation.

“Seniors were supposed to ask for their lockers,” Ms. Mikolajczak said. “I didn’t find that out until orientation. They should have made an an-nouncement.”

The entire ordeal was a result of miscommunication between the school and seniors. As for those who are still searching for their lockers, student services is open every day until 2:30 p.m.

Senior Gisele Lopez (left) waits at student services on Sept. 7.PHOTO BY KIARA DAVIDSON

(Above, left): Erick Najera does hard flip. (Above, right): Uriel Flores “Yayo” does a kick flip.PHOTOS BY JONATHAN LOPEZ


Star NewsStudents dislike new lunches

Upperclassmen kept calm on Freshy Friday

Continued from Page One

The lunchroom was calm this year. Prin-cipal Eunice Madon and other administra-tors were there throughout the day. There was no major violence.

“Freshy Friday was good because the upperclassmen didn’t do anything to me,” freshman Jailine Rivera said.

Some of the big kids were actually seen helping the freshmen find their classes. Only a few pennies were seen here and there. Maybe people value their money more now and heard the rumors that last year a little over $100 was collected.

It could be that the upperclassmen have become somewhat more mature than in previous years.

“During Freshy Friday, I was participat-ing by throwing pennies at the freshmen,” junior Anabel Jacome said. “It was really amusing seeing the freshmen run and try-ing to dodge my pennies.

“Yet, I would see some freshmen trying to flip the script and try to throw pennies at the upperclassmen. Luckily, I never got hit with one.”

According to rumors, a food fight was to happen in 6th period lunch on Freshy Friday, September 10 (above). But that period and all other lunch periods were peaceful. Dr. Madon and other administrators monitored the lunchroom throughout the day.

PHOTO BY OLGA BUSTAMANTE

By Michael Frackowiak & Stephen Powell

Everyone has noticed a change in the food this year. There are a couple of new choices such as veg-gie pizza and burgers, along with a new type of macaroni. Many stu-dents say the food is not up to par, even though it is supposed to be healthier.

“Nothing really changed, it just got worse,” senior Chris Wodka said.

In Chicago, healthier food is be-ing served throughout the district. The meals are supposed to include more fiber and less sodium and sugar. Nachos and fries are served less than they were last year.

The new food comes from the same CPS food service provider as last year, Chartwells-Thompson.

Many students dislike the caf-eteria food, but have no alternative and have to stick with it.

“I hadn’t gone into the lunchroom for a long time because I have 8th period lunch,”

senior Ricardo Rociles said. “I kept hearing rumors about the new cafeteria food being healthier, but I had not heard anything about the taste of it so I wanted to try it out.

“When I went l looked at the food and I wasn’t surprised that it looked gross. I took a bite out of my stale pizza and it tasted just how it looked. I couldn’t take another bite, it was just too disgusting.

“Why they would feed this to us is beyond me and I’m sure that not even the people in prison have it this bad.”

What happened was that First Lady Michelle Obama said that America’s children are getting too fat. Because of her campaign against obesity there is now the USDA HealthierUS School Challenge, in which school districts try to meet nu-trition guidelines.

Steinmetz lunchroom manager Joan McCollum said the healthier food will benefit students.

“Students these days only want and think about junk food,” Ms. Mc-

Collum said. “But when they grow older eating junk food will result in health prob-lems.”

PHOTO BY STEPHEN POWELL

Lunchroom manager Joan McCollum says healthy eating will pay off for students when they’re older.


Star Features

Ms. Ryan: ‘I wanted to be president’...

Guitar club: ‘Nothing can stop us!’By Yaritza Marroquin

Just because music teacher Christopher Berg isn’t around this year doesn’t mean you can stop these guys from keeping the guitar club around.

“It was an intention that we had even before Mr. Berg’s de-parture,” senior David Lopez.

Even though the club has problems with lack of equip-ment and finding a permanent practice room, that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop them from playing.

“We have to work around that and getting equipment because it was all owned by Mr.Berg,” senior Jonathan Lee said.

Jonathan and David are will-ing to teach students the basics of guitar. They will also be working on the school’s rock band. The guitar club isn’t only about music, but discussing music as well.

If you have a passion for mu-sic, swing by the band rooms, 400 and 401, after school.

PHOTO BY YARITZA MARROQUIN Jonathan Lee (left) and David Lopez (center) are willing to help any-one learn to play the guitar.

By Sarai FernandezInterviewing Eng-

lish teacher Lydia Ryan was very ex-citing. You wouldn’t believe the things I found about her that I never knew.

Before becoming a English teacher, Ms. Ryan said she had other goals.

“I wanted to be president of the U.S., but when I got to col-lege they asked me to choose a more realistic career so I decided to become a English teacher,” Ms. Ryan said.

The Star asked why she wanted to work with high school students and not kids from elementary school.

“Even though I love little kids you can not have a discussion with them as you can with older students,” Ms. Ryan said.

Besides teaching here she worked at Walter H. Dyett high school.

The Star asked Ms. Ryan about how she motivates her students to attend her class.

“I like to tell them their strengths first then tell them what they need to improve on,” Ms. Ryan said.

The Star asked her about what her life in high school was like. Did you know that Ms. Ryan was a cheerleader since she was four years old? She was very active in school. In addition to cheerleading, Ms. Ryan was on the softball team, yearbook, Kairos and newspaper.

“When I was captain of my cheerlead-ing squad we won third place at the state finals,” Ms. Ryan said.

Even though being a cheerleader was fun it also had a consequence of getting hurt. Ms. Ryan broke her toe, but lucky enough it was not severely injured to stop her from

cheerleading. The Star asked Ms.

Ryan what were some of the most embar-rassing moments that has ever happen to her.

“When I was get-ting my diploma at Purdue University one of the deans came to give me a hug but accidentally punched me in the face in front of live TV. That was so embarrassing,” she said.

After school Ms. Ryan likes to run, but

what she loves to do is bake. If you were in her class last year you would know this because she would bring her students homemade cookies, brownies, and other delicious snacks.

The Star also wanted to know what qual-ity she likes about herself.

“I think I’m very funny and I love my work ethic,” she said.

Ms. Ryan is funny and that’s how she keeps her students entertained. She says the funniest quotes like “roasted,” which makes her students laugh as she teaches her class.

PHOTO BY SARAI FERNANDEZ Lydia Ryan teaches her 1st period students.


Spirit WeekPJs, impressive dress, nerd day


Spirit WeekChicago sports, pep rally, game


Star FeaturesStudents to admire: Eve Menendez & Leomely Ramos By Jordyn Bailey

Out of all the new people to meet and greet at Steinmetz, one individual might stand out.

Eve Menendez came here as a transfer student during her junior year. Now, as a senior, Eve has really gotten into the swing of things.

Eve starts her school days just like any other senior, the only difference is she wakes up to the smiling face of her 17-month-old daughter Nevaeh.

“I wake up at 5 o’clock just to get my daughter ready,” Ive said. “Sometimes it’s hectic, but it’s normal to me now.”

Throughout the day, her little girl is the motivation that keeps her going.

“I want to be someone she can look up to, so I try hard to make good grades.I want to be the mother to her that I never had,” Eve said.

Behind Eve’s generally energetic and happy personality, she has had struggles just like anyone else. She strives to step up her game for her daughter’s sake, since her own mother wasn’t around to teach her many life lessons.

Eve doesn’t have much time for a social life, but she does look forward to a few senior events.

“It’s different for me, but I am looking forward to prom and the lock-in,” Eve said. “I just have responsibilities that come first.”

One of her best friend is Star reporter Regina Crawford.“She’s always there for me,” Eve said. “She helps me apply for

colleges and jobs. She’s a great friend.” Some of Eve’s favorites:Song: Your Love by Nicki Minaj; Color: GreenFood: Arroz con gandueles y chulita (rice with beans and pork)TV show: One Tree Hill; Movie: The NotebookFavorite class: Nicolas Kotchera’s Spanish III

What to expect when you’re expecting, continued

By Natalie Valdez Out of 2,000 students at

Steinmetz, senior Leomely Ra-mos is a perfect example of ex-cellence. He credits his parents and sister with giving him full support.

“My parents work hard to get what they never had. That makes me and my sister hard workers,” Leomely said.

Leo has managed to get far in life, even though his early childhood wasn’t as great. He said his parents weren’t there as much for him during that period of time because of their busy work schedules. But his sister that took care of him.

As he got older, Leomely became more independent. He

was on the soccer team for the first two years of high school, then moved on to something bigger — working at Starbucks and gain-ing his money by himself.

Not only has Leomely had joyous moments, he’s also faced a couple of challenges. There have been bad influences around him that made him question what path he should be taking.

One of the things he went through was being influenced to do drugs and to even get involved in gang-related situations. But time passed and in the end he realized that he doesn’t want to end up making the same mistakes he observed in others.

“You always pay for your mistakes later in life,” Leomely said.He is a good person to admire not only for his hard work but

for his way of always doing the right thing, no matter what the cir-cumstances may be. He is the type of teen who is making a positive difference in today’s society.

PHOTO BY JORDYN BAILEY PHOTO BY NATALIE VALDEZ

Continued from Page 11I agree with her. Moving in together and

having a baby together would take away from me being a teenager completely.

Star: What would you have done differ-ently?

Gloria: I would have used protection all the time instead of most of the time. I thought a couple times not using protection would be okay. But I was wrong. Some people get pregnant after a while of hav-ing unprotected sex but others get pregnant

quicker. It depends on you, but I wouldn’t take the risk.

We were having unprotected sex on and off for a whole year and nothing happened. That’s why I assumed I would never get pregnant, but that’s not reality.

Tell us about someone you admireThe Star publishes responses to our articles (See P. 4)

Email us at [email protected].


Star FeaturesWhat to expect when you’re expecting at SteinmetzBy Alyssa Sanchez

The Star interviewed senior Gloria Quin-tana about being pregnant at Steinmetz. The interview took place on September 21 at Glo-ria’s house where she opened up to the Star about the difficulties of being pregnant while being in high school.

Star: What did your mom say when she found out you were pregnant?

Gloria: She cried, then she started curs-ing a lot. She didn’t talk to me the entire day. But what do you expect from a mom who just found out her teenage daughter is pregnant?

Star: What’s it like being pregnant at Stein-metz?

Gloria: I’m annoyed. Kids run and bump into each other and don’t watch were they are going. They think it’s a playground and I don’t want them to hit my belly. And as for the teachers, some of them are understanding but others don’t want to “hear it.” They don’t understand my pregnancy needs. Being preg-nant I have to pee 90 percent of the time and some teachers won’t let me go to the bathroom or will make me stand for being late to class.

Star: What’s the hardest thing about being pregnant at Steinmetz?

Gloria: Being pregnant drains me of energy so it gets tiring going up and down the stairs. I have no energy for classes and when I get there I just want to fall asleep. Also, some of the rooms are very hot so its makes me even more tired, so sometimes I fall asleep and wake up with sweat all over my stomach (laughs).

Star: What did your teachers say?

Star reporter Gloria Quintana is expecting a baby in November.

PHOTO BY ALYSSA SANCHEZ

Gloria: Some teachers were surprised and some weren’t. The ones that were asked me if I was going to stay in school. They all asked me the same thing; everyone asks me the same thing. It’s like there are three top questions for pregnant girls: How many months are you? Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl? And what are you going to name it? It’s so funny be-cause when people reach to touch my belly I already know what they are going to ask.

Star: How has your relationship with your

boyfriend changed?Gloria: We are definitely starting

to mature; one of us faster than the other. Our relationship has gotten more serious and less fun. We used to hang out, wrestle and goof off. We would do teenage stuff. But now we have to work hard and do stuff we didn’t expect to do for a while. My plans were never to be 17 and wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning to feed a baby. We can’t just be a couple anymore; we have to be parents now.

Star: How have you been prepar-ing for the baby?

Gloria: I’ve been reading a lot, and consulting with my family a lot for advice. I moved into a bigger room and got all her stuff ready. We have the entire attic just for the baby and me.

Star: Do you think you’re ready to be a mom?

Gloria: I don’t want to say yes because this is my first baby, but I don’t want to say no because I have read all the books. But regardless I have to be ready. The baby is coming whether I’m ready or not.

Star: Do you and your boyfriend live together?

Gloria: No, my mom won’t even let him stay over. She doesn’t want us living together. She says we’re not married, and we need to be kids.

Continued on Page 10

Pregnant? Have a child? Mentor Moms offers help By Gloria Quintana

Mentor Moms is a program for girls who are either pregnant or already have babies. It meets on Tuesdays, between 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. If a student wants to be in the program, she needs to see her counselor to fill out the application.

Social worker Tamara Sutton runs the program which educates teen moms on pregnancy and parenting.

She leads group discussions that address

the issues that the girls face and helps them cope with what they’re going through.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time,” Ms. Sutton said, the father of the baby is wel-come to join.

Another benefit of the program is the referrals offered to moms for WIC or day-care. Aside from the group meetings on Tuesdays, the girls also have field trips to places where a mom and her baby can learn to interact and have fun.

Ms. Sutton said she would be taking stu-dents to the pumpkin patch and will also host a Halloween party just for the girls and their babies.

The program helps teen moms come to-gether and learn from each other’s experi-ences and challenges.

Mentor Moms is a good place to go for advice and support and to have fun all in one.


Star SportsBy Lissette Lagunas

Volleyball is a wonderful sport to ex-press your anger. In volleyball you can spike the ball on the opponents’ faces and not get in trouble.

Not only that, but you can feel the rush when you have a good hit on the other team — whether it is an ace (when the opposing team can’t touch the serve), a spike or when the ball is in play for a good five minutes.

Volleyball is a very competitive sport. Watching the game is intense. The audi-ence’s cheers are almost as loud as Stein-metz cheerleaders.

The volleyball team’s record is not what the players want, but they still enjoy the game. The season has been going on for two months. Practice started on August 13, from 9 :00 a.m. till noon.

“I always look forward to volleyball starting in the summer,” senior Keyla Tor-res said. “Even though we had to wake up early to go to practice, it was worth it.”

By Kierre GillespieLast year people said that the girls bas-

ketball team was weak. No one really showed up for the games. But this year ev-eryone is hoping the team will be better and more exciting to watch.

“I think this year’s team will be a good team because there are a lot more girls in-terested,” junior Malica Lacy said. Return-ing players and those who want to tryout are conditioning Tuesday — Thursday. They meet after school in Room 225 with coaches Nicole Barnes and Justin Everage.

Tryouts are on October 25. Daily prac-tice starts November 1. The first game will be at the Prosser Thanksgiving tournament which starts November 17.

By Louis BellSome boys basket-

ball players have been conditioning.

They meet in the big gym after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 3:00.

Anyone interested in being on the team can come to condi-tioning.

See teachers Paul Bagdonas or Brad Dowling.

Tryouts will start soon.

The players are working very well to-gether. As most participants in Steinmetz sports or clubs report, simply being in the activity with friends is the best part.

“The girls on the team are great,” Keyla said. “We are like a family. When we need each other we are there for each other.”

Girls and boys basketball pre-season conditioning

Players work on strength and stamina during after school workouts.PHOTO BY ARRICK COSEY

Feel the rush of volleyball

By Xaquille TownsendHere are some winter sports that you

might want to join: Boys swimming, girls and boys indoor track, bowling and basketball. Basketball conditioning has already started.

Senior Marcus Smith, who plays summer

league basketball, said he is looking forward to getting in shape before the season starts and trying out for the team.

Conditioning is really tough to get through. It puts your body to the test and only the strong survive.

Get ready for winter sports Varsity CoachesBoys basketball: Brad DowlingGirls basketball: Justin EverageGirls indoor track: Abel PereyraBoys indoor track: Paul BagdonasGirls bowling: Jesenia RiveraBoys bowling: Megan HedgesBoys swimming: David Henry


Star Sports

By Ileana RosadoIt’s amazing how some athletes

keep their grades up while on a sports team. This year’s softball team is more about brains rather than brawn. The players are well off academically and well be-haved, but on the field they’re struggling.

“Some of the brainiest kids are on the team,” coach Renalto Roldan said.

The team started off strong. But the older athletic students don’t at-tend practice like they should.

“People have other responsibili-ties as they get older,” senior Perry Smith said.

Other problems include player injuries and lack of ambition.

Things aren’t all bad though. Many players improved since they started, such as “Fast Eddie Ri-vera.”

The Streaks are in the tough-est conference in the city but that shouldn’t bring hopes down. To all the softball players and future baseball players: It’s time to un-leash the beast!

By Michael Lublansky Streaks softball players

have been struggling as they push themselves after losing the first eight games. How-ever, the team improved miraculously and got a few wins.

“A lot of work needs to be done just to get this team up in a winning column and to be up there with the other teams that have more wins then losses,” a senior on the team said. “We need to get out of this slump cause we’re making ourselves looks re-ally sad and ridiculous.”

Half the time the team didn’t score in a game. How do you expect to win with-out scoring? Is that possible? Also the errors that made ev-ery game needs to stop.

The team must start win-ning. The players can come together as a team to win. Now is the time.

By. Julio BaezThe girls swim team is deal-

ing with a lot of problems. The team cannot practice in the school because our pool is closed.

”They are fixing the pipes,” coach Susie Sullivan said.

The team has to go to North Grand High School to practice. The team takes the CTA to get there, which is time consuming. North Grand uses three lanes, Steinmetz gets three.

While North Grand was nice enough to let Steinmetz use its pool, sharing the pool for prac-tice with the North Grand team is tense and awkward.

The team is swimming at North Grand High School (above) because Steinmetz’s pool needs repairs. When the girls aren’t practicing at North Grand, they’re working out on the front campus. (Above) Captain Salma Zaghdoud and LaQuisha Milton.

Coach Roldan with his players

Raul Rodriguez “George Lopez” and other members of the softball team at the October 8 pep rally.

PHOTO BY ILEANA ROSADO

PHOTOS BY JULIO BAEZ

Swim team overcomes pool problems

Softball: It’s time to unleash the beast


Star Sports

By Zachery PekovicArchery is coming to our school. There

are twelve openings for students who are interested in participating.

The new sport will be held after school in a closed hallway.

“The supplies will be under a watchful eye when they are in use by the students, eliminating the risk of any violence,” principal Eunice Madon said.

Archery will be coached by a moderator and two teacher-coaches Latanya McSwine and Michael Arroyo.

This year the students will be taught archery skills, but will not compete against

other schools. Supplies have been donated to the school by the City of Chicago and the 2016 Olympic Committee.

“We are introducing a three step program to CPS,” the 2016 Olympic Committee information stated.

The committee’s steps are first to train the teachers and students in archery basics. Then teachers will become full coaches. The last step is to take any student showing improvement into an upper class.

Ms. McSwine said the goals of this program are to develop skills that students would not normally have and to provide an opportunity for competition in future years.

By Hubert KabakThe Star interviewed senior Lukasz

Bezara, top striker of the current varsity team.

Star: After going undefeated in five games, what do you think was the reason for your defeat against Foreman?

Lukasz: I think we didn’t take it seriously enough and the team effort was too low.

Star: How does it make you feel to be one of the top players on the team?

Lukasz: It’s pleasure to play for Steinmetz. I try my best whenever I play.

Star: Are you prepared for state playoffs?

Lukasz: Yes, I think we will win some and probably lose few also. Shout-outs to Coach Kotchera.

Soccer 3rd in conference, going to state

Archery is coming soon

By Grzegorz Bara, Lukasz Olszanski & Natalia Twardus

The boys soccer team had the best season that Steinmetz ever had, with wins against Prosser, Richards, Pheonix, Marine and tie games with Amundsen and Curie.

The varsity soccer players are still playing effectively. After loosing a few good players, the members still believe in their abilities. The Streaks finished third in the conference and third in our group for city playoffs.

The first game in the state playoffs will be against Lincoln Park on Saturday, October 16 at 8:30 a.m. at the field by North Avenue and Lake Shore Drive.

The Star interviewed captain Damian Januchowski.

Star: What position do you play?Damian: Midfield or strikerStar: How many goals and assists d?

Damian: Two goals and seven assists.Star: As a captain, how do you feel about

your team‘s potential?Damian: I think our potential is good. We

started the season on right foot and we have great players which builds our team. I think the team needs new equipment and more training.

Star: What was the reason for losing games this season?

Damian: We lost because there are no perfect teams. We still have young individuals who have to improve by playing together. In my opinion the losses made our team stronger, and we tried to improve.

Star: Do you have any future plans as a soccer player?

Damian: Yes, I want to play in college and also I would like to try for the national team.

Captain Damian Januchowski applauds co-captain Walter Canola at the pep rally.

STAR PHOTO

Assistant soccer coach Matt Bonges and senior Lukasz Bezara.


By Jessica SolisSenior Mercedes Reyes is

a great person and a great stu-dent with a high GPA. She has been in cross country for four years. Over the years she has made major improvements.

“I have been in cross coun-try for the last four years. It is a very fun sport,” Mercedes said.

When Mercedes first start-ed running in her freshman year she raced over the bar. It is pretty rare for someone to achieve that when they first start off. And as the years passed by she would only be-come a better and faster runner.

Mercedes acknowledged her coach, science teacher Abel Pereyra.

“Coach P. is an amazing coach. He pushes not only me but all of my teammates to do our very best,” Mercedes said.

“Mercedes is in her fourth year of varsity for cross coun-try,” Coach P. said. “This is in-

credibly rare. She is only the second girl to accomplish that here at Steinmetz.”

At the first cross country meet this year, Mercedes ran the 2-mile for her best person-al time. Her goal is to break her 3-mile race best time.

“I believe that Mercedes could achieve that goal,” Coach Pereyra said.

Over all Mercedes is a great runner and she contin-ues to improve. Way to go Mercedes!

By Oscar ZarateMelania Gomez has been on

the cross country team for two years. She enjoys being part of the team because of the good spirit the team has and the support she always gets from her teammates. The things she likes most about being on the team are the team spirit, the fun, and how the girls get along with each other.

“The team helps you cheer up,” Melania said.

The season is great because of the good morale of the team and the guidance of coach Abel Pereyra. Melania thinks the guidance of Coach P. is a good motivation to the team because he cares about the girls and gives great support.

“Coach Pereyra is the best,” Melania said.

Melania believes cross country is the best sport be-cause of the exercise and how the sport pushes the runners to the limit.

By Manuel MejoradoSome people say flag football isn’t real football. But it’s

just the same if you ask captain Travis Scott. “I love football whether i’ts with pads or not,” Travis said. The Streaks have only lost one game. They are undefeated

in the Bears conference. Coaches Robin Russo and Justin Everage say this year’s team is one of the best Steinmetz has ever had.

The seniors plan to run a victory lap at Halas Hall with the Chicago Bears.

PHO

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Mercedes Reyes

Star Sports

STAR PHOTO

By Takara JohnsonThe girls cross country

team came in fourth place out of 14 teams in its first meet on September 14 at Mather. All the girls fin-ished strong, but junior Tiarra McGee took first place for the team. Tiarra is a strong, competitive runner and a good team-mate.

The following inter-view with Tiarra took place at Mather after the meet.

Star: How did you feel about the race?

Tiarra: Nervous and a little worried before I ran,

Afterwards I felt good because gave it my all.

Star: How do you like cross countrtry?

Tiarra: I like it a lot. I didn’t think that I would join at first. I did it to get in shape for track.

“This year several sprinters from track surprised themselves that not only could they run cross coun-try, but that they are good at it. I hope they are as proud of them-selves as we are of them,” Coach Pereyra said.

Tiarra McGee shines on cross country team

PHOTO BY TAKARA JOHNSONTiarra McGee, Johnae Joiner, Jessica Gonzalez and Jennifer Novas after the girls cross country team’s first meet. Team members are very supportive of each other. The team isn’t just a team, it’s a big family that loves each other.

4-year varsity runner ‘The best sport’

A winning football team


Star SportsCheerleaders need more respectBy Regina Crawford

At most schools be-ing on the cheerleading squad is like being roy-alty. Everybody respects them because of their kindness and school spirit.

But at Steinmetz, a school of over 2,000 students, cheerleaders are not respected. They are respected as people, but when they put on the green and silver it all goes away. All the negative feedback they receive is discouraging.

Senior football player John Verdusco (#70) talked to the Star about the cheerleaders.

Star: Why do you think cheerleaders are not respected?John: Because they don’t come to our games and they don’t

support the players.Star: What is your definition of a true cheerleader?John: Someone who motivates the crowd and roots for her team.Star: How do you think the cheerleaders can improve?John: By coming to more games. Star: If they improve do you think they will get more respect?John: They’ll get more respect because they’ll actually be doing

something for the team.As captain of the squad this reporter disagrees. The cheerlead-

ers are hardworking and dedicated to what they do. Students may think that we’re no good, but it may be that they don’t have any school spirit themselves. Yes, there is always room to improve. But the way they describe us is inaccurate.

By Demetrius Robinson-Stanford

A lot of people think cheerleading is just yelling, screaming and jumping around. But there are a lot of things that cheerleaders go through that aren’t easy. There’s weight watching, keeping your grades up and intense practices.

Can you imagine standing, yelling for hours in the cold, hot or even rainy weather, forcing yourself to smile, even when the

team is getting beat down? Cheerleading is a really hard sport. Seniors Michelle Masan and Brittney Ferguson told the Star

about what makes a good cheerleader.“Cheerleaders have to be in shape and extremely cheerful,”

Brittney said. “You must be both physically and mentally in shape because the yelling and jumping around does take its toll on you and even if all hope is lost for your team you got to keep them in the game.”

“You have to be in shape, be positive, peppy, shake your boo-ty,” Michelle said. “You got to have rhythm. You can’t be lazy. It takes great spirit, positive attitudes. I mean, your team can be losing and even though hope is gone you must stick with it.”

Both cheerleaders stressed the importance of showing up with a positive attitude, being on time, being committed and, as Mi-chelle said: “No laziness allowed.”

A rough seasonBy Shyeesha Fountain & Michael Hodges

Going into the Homecoming game against Prosser there was no chance the Streaks could make the playoffs. Almost every game the Streaks came close to winning, but just did not make enough effort to follow through with the win.

“Every game that we played has been hard. We could have won three out of the first four games,” said senior Lawrence Baldwin, #25, defensive/tight end. “We need to work together more, we need more black people and better cheerleaders.”

“We have to be dedicated and stick to our positions in order to play a good game, because if you don’t stick to your position it will be a 10-vs-11 and the eleven men team always wins,” said senior Marcus Smith #28, wing back/safety.

(Above, center): Michael Hodges carries the ball for a touchdown against Taft. The Streaks lost 20- 35.

Documents

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