Tiger Times
Dear Tigerland,
As we get closer and closer to the end of the year, exciting things are on the docket. Of note, this upcoming Thursday, May 1 is national Decision Day. This particular day is chosen because it is typically the deadline for most U.S. colleges and universities for students to officially commit. While the focus for this day has historically been on students who are opting to attend college, we also recognize all students who are making the decision to work, commit to a trade union and/or who are joining one of the branches of the military. Here at EPHS we will be celebrating students who have made their decision in our auditorium during their lunch period. Students have been instructed to wear their college or career t-shirt for that day!
FOLLOW-UP TO PROM (FRI., APR. 18, 2025)
Prom went off without a hitch! It was an incredible night at an incredible venue, the O'Hare Tech Center. Advisors, Mr. Franklin and Fox (pictured below right) wanted to give a special thanks to the Class President -- Claire Doyle and Vice President -- Natalia Galinska for all the work that they have put in over the last year and a half to plan for this event. They also had a hand in picking the them (Great Gatsby) and menu. For the menu they opted to do a buffet, which was a huge hit. Check their picture out in the upper right had corner. To further understand how Prom venue and planning occurs, be sure to check out our Athletics & Activities corner this issue.
Finally, the Prom Court (pictured below left) was as follows:
- [Left] Prom King & Queen: Dana Solis (12) & Brian Estrada (12)
- [Center] Senior Prom Court: Adamaris Cortes (12) & Jermayne Ruiz (12)
- [Right] Junior Prom Court: Franciszka Chudy (12) & Kronel Czerwiec (12)
ACTIVITIES & ATHLETICS
This week's extracurricular features are on our Class Councils and Boys & Girls Track & Field.
Class Councils: For each grade level here at EPHS we have a separate class council. At each level they are responsible for preparing and planning for certain events. The advisors for each of these councils rotates with that grade-level of student from year-to-year, and once they have had seniors, they will go back down to Freshman Council. Here is a run down of who is involved and what they do at each of these levels.
- Freshman Council: The advisors for this group are English teachers: Ms. Christina Heinen and Ms. Andrea McCann. They have 25 members and no executive board within their group; however, they will hold elections this upcoming fall as they transition to being the Sophomore Council and those who have demonstrated strong leadership during their freshmen year will be viable candidates. The focus as this level is for students to get to know one another and helping to create the ethos of our building while also building a strong team dynamic for the upcoming four years. The Freshman Council looks forward to helping at the summer Freshman Orientation!
- Sophomore Council: The advisors for this group are Business teacher, Ms. Marcia Bernas and English teacher, Ms. Janey Joiner. This council has 15 active members and do have an Executive Board, which is as follows: Secretary, Sky Vazquez; Treasurer, Margaux Prater; Vice President, Melony Howe; and, President, Zayd Lahlou-Nabil. During sophomore year this group participates in running the football concessions and decorating a hall for Homecoming. At this point they also begin research for the Prom venue that they will use in the very next year. The advisors have reported, that the council is having a very fun time doing this and they are super excited to plan Prom 2026.
- Junior Council (picture upper right): The advisors for this group are PE teacher, Ms. Nicki Franklin and English teacher, Ms. Julie Fox. The Junior class council has 10 active members and two officers, and those are Claire Doyle and Natalia Galinska. The solitary focus of this group is planning for Prom, which is an all year project. This has certainly shown through, with the amazing event that they put on this past week (see above article). As far as next year goes when this group transitions to bein the Senior class council, they looking forward to planning the for next year's Homecoming dance, which will include working concession stands for the 2025-2026 school year. They are also anxious to plan for the end-of-the-year Senior Luncheon and assisting with Graduation!
- Senior Council: The advisors for this group are Social Studies teacher, Ms. Jackie Regnier and World Language teacher, Ms. Emily Boehm. they have 10 active members in their council and have an Executive Board composed of: Treasurer, Zoe Rice; Secretary, Liliana Vitacco, Vice Presidents Olivia Shipinski and Ameerah Jaradat; and, President, Natalia Ciura. After planning Prom the year prior, their focus during their senior year is organizing Homecoming dance and also the Senior Luncheon that is held on the same day as Graduation Practice. They also help to facilitate the purchase of the senior class gift. I know that I as principal am very anxious and curious to see what they will come up with. In looking to next year, Ms. Regnier and Boehm are very excited to welcome the class of 2029!
Athletics:
Boys and Girls Track & Field: They Boys Track & Field team is head coached by English Teacher, Mr. Terrance Terry and he is assisted by Mr. Reggie Collins and Mr. Avery Westin who is also a District 401 employee. Coach Westin specializes in throws. For the girls, the team is head coached by English Teacher, Ms. Kendal Ahlmann and she is assisted by our social worker, Ms. Michaela Vasey who specializes in throws, pole vault and weight room; and, EPHS alumni, Ms. Marinelle Arenga who specializes in jumps (long, triple and high) and sprints. Head Coach Ahlmann focuses on the overall team experience and organization while also working with distance runners, relayers and hurdlers.
The boys team has 28 total boys, four of whom are seniors this year. We have returning State qualifier, Jordayn Boatman, Alessandro Melick, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Jeffrey Jesuit. This year Boatman is already ranked first in the sectional for long jump, of which he went to State for last year. Along with that he is also ranked in two other events. In looking at the other members on the team, David Swanek (11) is ranked first in sectional for discus. Coach Terry states that some of the newer athletes to the team have become key contributors, he sited: Joshua Manuel (10), Eric Williams (09) and Josiah Soto (11). Coach Terry also stated that some his returning athletes are engaging in different events and doing so very successfully by way or producing points for the overall team score. Of note he mentioned: Aidan Brown (11), Jack-of-all-trades -- Danny Dohoney (11), Matt Fritz (11), Trinidad Lopez (11), Joseph Rominski (11) and Eric Sierak (11).
The girls team has 50 or so members, 10 of whom are seniors. Those seniors are: Cariana Atiles, Anastasiya Bednarchuk, Isabella Braglia, Natalia Ciura, Xiomara Nieto, Olivia Shipinski, Cameron Strockis, Sibora Tace, Gia Varela and Nel Winiarczyk. Of note, both boys and girls teams will be celebrating Senior Night at tonight's yearly Tiger Invite, of which, the boys won last year. Currently the girls 4x800m relay team is ranked second in sectionals. That relay is currently composed of: Oliwia Aleksandrowica (09), Nicole Gorka (10), Alecja Ruskek (09) and Hailey Rivera (11). The first two place teams will qualify for State, so this is very promising; it is also promising because this relay team is so incredibly young. Coach Ahlmann mentioned that Sophia Cassela (10) is doing Track & Field for the first tiem this year, and she has the fastest split time for the 4x100m and 4x200m relay (i.e. she runs the fastest leg in her relay team). Coach states that she is consistent and super coachable. Sonia Iversen (09) is currently ranked second in Sectionals for hurdles. Coach stated that this is quite remarkable given one could argue that she is still mastering how to hurdle; she also has the fastest 200m split time. All in all, Iversen is a diversified athlete and can be put in many different events. Cariana Atiles and Anastasiya Bednarchuk are putting in great efforts with shot put and triple jump respectively. You may recall and article of the Tiger Times last year where there were pictures of Bednarchuk working out with former Olympian in the Triple Jump: Tori Franklin. Coach states that she is so proud of her all of her athletes, but especially the younger ones. She states that this year their focus is asking less questions and just doing in an effort to mentally strong and not getting in their head about things, as is easy to do as runners. She said she's seeing the positive side effects of this.
For the close of the season the weekend of May 9th will Conference, which will be held at West Chicago High School; the boys will have theirs at Streamwood High School the weekend of May 16th. IHSA Sectionals (there are not Regionals for Track & Field) will be held at Glenbard South High School on Friday, Mary 16; and, Boys will be at Ridgewood the weekend of May 23. If you've got nothing to do tonight, come out and check out these fantastic runners and fielders at one of our largest events tonight: The Tiger Classic. Field events will go off first with running events to follow. Hope to see you out there!
