Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In this Issue desire to make improvements to the results that we see today.
The project started about three years ago when the Rita
administration decided something needed to be done about
Pages 2-5 the chemistry and physics laboratories. They were old and
Rita community welcomes worn-out, with acid-stained countertops and a distinctive and
offensive odor.
new faculty and staff members
Rita Principal, Mrs. Sally Deenihan said, “We wanted top-
notch facilities to match our top-notch students and top-notch
Page 6
teachers.”
Rita students share their views Therefore, a committee was formed to put together state-of-
Page 7 the-art new laboratories. The committee started its work on a
philosophical note, asking, “Just what is ‘state-of-the-art?’”
Where the 2008 Presidential
TO ANSWER THIS question, the committee made
candidates stand on the issues appointments to tour the new and remodeled labs of other local
high schools.
“One of the key places in this search,” Mrs. Deenihan said,
“was Nequa Valley. We were given a tour of their labs as well
as recommendations from their science department chairman, Photo by Al Smith
which gave us ideas for our own labs.” CHEMISTRY TEACHER MRS. Susan Krystof displays her new scale
After the research portion of the task was done, the committee workstations. The chemistry and physics labratories were recently reno-
organized several fundraisers and received grants to pay for vated and will help Rita students improve the results of experiments.
the project. The final decision to actually go through with the
renovations was made last January. Several features of the new laboratories include rear vents, new
Following the decision, a team of contractors and plumbers water; gas; and electricity lines, a new fume hood, new emergency
was hired to perform the construction. Work began toward the showers and eye-wash stations, new equipment storage drawers,
Photo coutesy of abcnews.com beginning of summer vacation and concluded a few days into this and all new cabinetry.
Page 8 new academic year. The old floor tiles made from asbestos were also properly
removed and replaced with new, asbestos-free tiles.
Rita upgrades school technology
Mrs. Susan Krystof, Rita chemistry teacher and occupant
Pages 9-11 of one of these new classroom laboratories, is extremely
satisfied with the new facilities.
Rita Mustang activities and sports
“IT’S NOW MUCH easier for me to supervise the
kick in to full gear for 2008-2009
students from the front of the room during laboratory
Page 12 assignments with the huge bars that ran across the counters
Varsity Mustang Football gone. Safety in general has improved,” she said.
Begins 2008 Season Undefeated “I also like that the trough-style faucets are gone, so
there won’t be as much splashing or spilling. It also makes
inventory easier, so science teachers who don’t have a lab
in their classroom can find things more simply,” said Mrs.
Krystof.
She believes the new facilities will allow her to improve
the results of her existing experiments, and possibly allow
her to assign organic chemistry labs in the future.
“We wanted to provide a place in which our students will
be able to learn,” Mrs. Deenihan emphasized, “not just a
beautiful room to display and not allow anyone into! We
Photo by Al Smith want a space that is both usable and durable. I think we
SOPHOMORE KEVIN KOSMAN (right) fills a granulated cylinder in a have accomplished that task.”
Photo courtesy of Advancement Office new trough-less sink to complete a chemistry experiment with his classmates. Rita has plans to make similar renovations to the biology
These sinks reduce the amount of splashing and spillage that used to occur. laboratories located on the lower level in the future.
Theology Divsion
Life as a teacher is something Mrs. Albrecht truly en-
joys and was aware she wanted from a very early age.
Mrs. Mary Albrecht is also new to Rita, teaching “I love teaching; I decided I wanted to become a
Theology 1 and 2. teacher when I was in grammar school. I always
She joins the faculty after spending several years at helped my peers and others to do well. I love learning
Seton Academy in South Holland where she taught and and education,” she said.
was the Assistant Dean of Students alongside another She currently lives in Indiana with her husband Mark,
Rita newcomer, Mr. Brian Gilbert. whom she recently married in June.
A graduate of Seton Academy herself, as a high Mrs. Albrecht gives credit to her great uncles and
school student she was involved in student govern- grandfather as part of the reason for choosing to be-
ment, yearbook, and tennis. come a teacher the school, as they were all Rita gradu-
Following high school graduation, Mrs. Albrecht ates.
went on to attend college at Saint Mary’s of Notre Besides the students she has encountered so far in
Dame and furthered her higher education with a year of the classroom, Mrs. Albrecht also enjoys attending the
Photo by Al Smith study in Ireland and a graduate degree from Valparaiso football games.
October 6, 2008
Page 4
NEW FACULTY AND STAFF
Two new Spanish teachers join faculty
By Luke Konrath & Craig Sabath
Sophomore & Freshman Writers “In order to learn a language, you must be
immersed in the culture of the language,”
Ms. Socorro Yanez is one of Rita’s two she said.
new Spanish teachers. To engage the students in such learning,
Spanish is actually Ms. Yanez’s first lan- Ms. Yanez hopes to bring her students on
guage and it was during her years in gram- field trips demonstrating situations where
mar school that she learned the English the Spanish language would be practical.
language. In addition to her teaching duties, she is
Growing up in the southwest suburbs of assisting with the Hispanic Club and hopes
Chicago, Ms. Yanez was an active member to start a Rita chapter of the Spanish Hon-
of her high school’s National Honors Soci- ors Society.
ety, Spanish Honors Society, and Foreign Mr. Justin Fisk is another one of Rita’s
Language Club. new Spanish teachers.
She went on to attend DePaul University He is teaching Spanish 2, Spanish 3 and
in Chicago for college where she recieved AP Spanish 4.
her bachelors degree in secondary educa- Mr. Fisk is from New Mexico and Mary-
tion. land and attended the Catholic University Photos by Al Smith
Ms. Yanez began here career at Kelly of America in Washington, D.C. THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE department at Rita welcomed two new Spanish teachers
High School, also in Chicago. She now Mr. Fisk has always enjoyed literature, this year. Ms. Socorro Yanez (left) and Mr. Justin Fisk (right) together will be covering all
in a part of the Rita community teaching and through that enjoyment he stumbled the Spanish courses offered at Rita. Both look forward to experiencing the Rita tradition.
Spanish 1 and 2. upon his interest of the Spanish language.
Through her teaching, she hopes to pre- After studying the language, he used his After teaching for several years in Mary- opening on the Rita faculty.
pare her students for the changing Ameri- knowledge to train with the United States land, it was during spring break last year Mr. Fisk looks forward to the year ahead,
can society in which Spanish is becoming Foreign Service, our nation’s principal dip- that his wife of 4 years brought him to Chi- and he hopes this is only the beginning of a
very useful. lomatic arm. cago. This trip later led him to apply for an long future with Rita.
What’s That?
of its citizens to be a POW. That’s a POW that we would
need to spend all our money housing and feeding lest we
breach the Geneva Convention.
IF THE DRC were to invade any of the other Great Lakes
The following question was recently asked of several classes of Rita students. Below are some of their responses.
countries, it appears that China might give them full support
The race for the presidency is in full swing. The November election is pitting the Republicans and McCain against
and a blank check. It has been stated they want to amass a
global empire, and the middle of Africa has a lot of supplies the Democrats and Obama. Many people are getting tired of the fighting between the two parties. If you could form
and riches to start. Not to mention that the other countries your own political party, what would it be about? What would you call it?
are our allies and we could find ourselves in real trouble on
a decision. Should we take the wait-and-see approach or risk
losing a war that’s nearly impossible to win? Cesar Morales, freshman: My party
Again, why care? We should because of the fact that we
would be about unity and peace. It
could face a war with one of the highest death tolls in man-
kind. would always go against war and care
We make bigger weapons to deter the use of others using about terrorism and global warming.
big weapons. However, when one uses said weapons, then
we face the consequences. Brandon Johnson, sophomore: I
Think of Hiroshima then imagine bigger versions of that
in bigger cities. The death toll would rise in the millions, would try to help the middle class and
maybe hundreds of millions. That devastation dwarfs any- try to lower taxes. It would be simi-
thing the world has ever seen. lar to the Republican party and would
help people in other countries that don’t
Please note, the editorial is a written view of one St. Rita
have the same opportunities we have.
High School student. It does not necessarily reflect the
views of others at St. Rita or the school as an institution. It would be call the Greatian Party.
Abortion: Pro-choice; does not support Same-sex marriage: Voted against Abortion: Opposes abortion in all cases Same-sex marriage: Supported Alaska
partial-birth abortions constitutional ban on gay marriage; except when the life of the mother is at constitutional ban on gay marriage, but
Supports civil unions that would give risk also vetoed a bill that would deny state-
Embryonic stem cell research: Sup- same legal status as marriage covered health and retirement benefits to
ports both its practice and funding Embryonic stem cell research: Does not same-sex partners of state employees, cit-
Energy policy: Says top priority is support on the grounds that it takes hu- ing it as unconstitutional
Economy: Opposes Bush administra- solving energy crisis; supports govern- man life, but supports research of stem
tion tax cuts; believes that key to im- ment funding to find new energy sourc- cells taken from sources other than the Energy policy: Strong proponent of en-
proving economy is confronting expen- es human embryo ergy independence; supports drilling of
sive health care and energy costs crude oil and development of alternative
Economy: Has criticized Obama’s pro- fuels such as natural gas
Page 8
TECHNOLOGY October 6, 2008
10:09:08
“WE DECIDED THAT in order for the new website Solorio.
to meet our expectations, the infrastructure would need to The new site will better inform students, faculty, and
be remodeled, including new software and hosting pro- parents of news concerning our school, with the result of
vider,” said Mr. Solorio. fostering the online community.
Mr. Solorio, as an avid technology user himself, felt the The site will also be geared towards recruiting 7th and
current system was not good enough for the needs of the 8th graders to St. Rita. Finally, the site will advertise up-
website. He wanted to design a site with the flexibility coming events, such as Winterfest, the Alumni Banquet,
October 6, 2008
MUSTANG ACTIVITIES Page 9
Swinging
Mustangs
chip away
at season
By Brian Boyd
Senior Writer
Marching Mustangs help set the tone coming to Providence Catholic, Brother
Rice, Marist, and St. Ignatius.
The outstanding golfers this year have
been Jack Delaney, junior Tanner Pan-
nozo, senior Dave Fashingbauer, and se-
nior Josh Clemens.
Jack Delaney posted a 36 at Cog Hill
on the front 9 holes against Ignatius.
Even more impressively, he shot a 79 at
the Balmoral Woods tournament, plac-
ing 7th out of 126.
Although facing some adversity this
season, the team keeps an optimistic out-
look.
“No matter how well or poorly we play,
it’s something to do on the weekdays to
keep busy, and most importantly, it’s re-
ally fun. We’ve got great coaches and
teammates, and hopefully the younger
guys will come around for the post-sea-
Photo by David Huang son tournaments” said senior Jack Gol-
THE MARCHING MUSTANGS help to set the tone of Rita’s student pride. The band has been busy practicing, playing at football
drick.
games and hosting the Annual Mustang Stampede. This year band students are even devoting their lunch and TDT time to practice.
October 6, 2008
Page 10
MUSTANG SPORTS
Varsity soccer looking for breakout game
By Luke Bentley
Senior Writer games the Mustangs came up short but
showed strong efforts in each.
Rita’s varsity soccer team started out the As conference play rolled around, the
season as usual: with high standards. Mustangs, two-time defenders of the Chi-
With two previous successful seasons cago Catholic League White Champion-
under their belt, this year’s team expects ship, were hungry for a win.
nothing less. Coach Godinez commented on the Mus-
Second-year head coach, Antonio Godi- tangs trying to three-peat as conference
nez, has set goal high saying, “We need to champs, saying, “Every team will come
improve on our communication as a team out strong against us, but we are capable
and on our soccer IQ.” of winning it.”
When asked about the playoffs and how THE MUSTANGS’S FIRST confer-
far he thinks the team will advance, he ence match was against neighborhood rival
said, “I would like to see us finish strong as St. Laurence High School.
we go into the regionals. I think last year’s The Mustangs came out strong and took
team looked past our first game too much. an early 1-0 lead. The Laurence Vikings Photo by Matthew Bokowski
This year we have to prepare for the first tied it up 1-1 several minutes later. Before SENIOR CAPTAIN LARRY Damico (left) prepares to bring the ball back into play.
round and take it one game at a time.” the end of the half, senior captain Kyle Do- While the varsity Mustangs have suffered some defeats, they have also had their share
The Mustangs started out their season in nahue hit a free kick in to give the Mus- of victories. The team hopes to find its breakout game and end it season successfully.
the Windy City Ram Classic, which was tangs a 2-1 lead at half.
partially hosted here at Rita. The Vikings struck a late comeback to tie comes out and plays hard every game.” nior Matt Carlson and junior Marty Healy.
THEIR FIRST TEST came when they the game up at two apiece. The excitement After the battle at Laurence, the Mus- The Mustangs also beat St. Francis De-
played against a strong Kennedy High grew as the game went into overtime. In tangs traveled the next day to tiny but Sales 6-1, with four goals scored by Kyle
School team. The Mustangs were defeated the second overtime, the Vikings scored on mighty Morgan Park Academy. Donahue, one by Matthew Carlson, and
2-0 but showed a strong effort. a late header in the box to give Laurence a The Mustangs couldn’t keep up with the one by junior Martin Martinez.
Rita played two more games in the tour- 3-2 victory. Class A state-qualifiers as they lost 4-0. With several more conference games to
nament, losing to Argo 5-1 and then beat- Senior Rita Captain, Larry Damico, com- SINCE THE MORGAN Park match-up go, the Mustangs are still waiting for that
ing Tinley Park 3-2. mented on the game, “We played great, the Mustangs have gone on to suffer three breakout game to turn around the season.
The road to victory did not get any easier we came out strong and took control right more defeats against DeLaSalle 4-0, Marist Coach Godinez said, “We still haven’t
as they faced three strong teams in a row: away, but it just wasn’t our night.” 3-0 and Latin 3-0. However, Rita was vic- played up to our full potential. I think as
Lincoln Way North, Marian Catholic, and Larry commented on the future of the torious over Bishop McNamara 3-1 with a whole, we still have a couple more steps
Illiana Christian, respectively. In all three season saying, “I will be happy if everyone goals made by senior John Starcevich, ju- to take.”
Sophomores suffer heartbreaking defeat The first drive ended in a Rita touchdown
scored by Russell Williams.
THE ENTIRE GAME was dominated
By John Murphy The next few drives by both teams were score tied. Kicker Dan Potempa attempted by the defense, and was kept strong by
Freshman Writer offensive struggles, all of which ended in a 40 yard field goal that would have given the offense. The offense put up 7 touch-
punts, but the Mustangs were determined Rita the lead and victory, but while the downs, while the defense allow the most
Heartbreaker. This is one word that can to put points on the scoreboard. kick had the distance, it sailed just wide points it gave up all season, 14.
be used to describe the Mustangs’ sopho- WITH LITTLE TIME left in the first and sent the game into overtime. “In the 21 years I have been coaching
more football team loss to the Caravan of half, quarterback Brendan Cloney threw Rita once again won the coin toss to be- Rita freshmen, we have never beat Mt.
rival Mt. Carmel. a touchdown pass to Mitch Saffold who gin overtime this time choosing to defend Carmel this bad,” said head coach Jack
The game began with the Mustangs win- made a great catch despite a pass interfer- first. Quinn.
ning the opening coin toss and choosing ence penalty against Carmel. The first half On fourth and goal, Carmel’s quarter- This winning streak has continued as
to receive. After a short return by running ended with the Mustangs leading the Cara- back threw a pass to the end zone where the Mustangs racked up another victory
back Travis Starks the Mustangs offense van 14-7. his receiver came down putting Carmel against the visiting Providence Catholic
headed onto the field, but spent very little Late in the third quarter the Caravan tied ahead permanently. Celtics in week five.
time out as they quickly punted the ball the game on a short run by their running WITH RITA UP on offense, the team The team and its coaches hope to con-
back to the Caravan. back. tried three times, unsuccessfully, to score. tinue the success that has been experi-
MT. CARMEL PUSHED the ball into Despite a fumble by Cloney the Mus- As was the case with the Caravan Rita enced thus far in the season, but know
Mustang territory down to the one yard tangs managed to get the ball back with a went for the end zone on fourth and goal, they must continue to work hard.
line and eventually scoring. turnover of their own. With 5 minutes and but instead of scoring the Mustangs’ en- “We are doing great, but there’s al-
With possession of the ball once again, 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter Jake countered an interception in the end zone, ways time for improvement,” said one of
Rita was more productive forcing the Mt. Pikowski intercepted a Carmel pass and thus ending the game. the team captains.
Carmel Caravan deeper and deeper toward the Mustangs just needed to score in order As the Caravan celebrated its overtime Assistant Coach Jay Standring de-
its own goal line. The drive was capped to win the game. victory, the Mustangs kept their compo- scribed a key element to the team’s fu-
off by a Brendan Cloney handoff to Tra- After a lengthy Rita offensive drive the sure, accepting the loss with true sports- ture game plan by saying, “We must stop
vis Starks for a big gain and a Mustangs’ Mustangs brought their kicking team out manship and looked to the future games of the run.”
touchdown. onto the field with 16 seconds left and the the season.