The Lake Park High School Community Relations department publishes the LP Link bi-weekly to keep you informed of the latest news at Lake Park High School.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact Jennifer Jungel, Manager of Communications and Development, at jjungel@lphs.org.

Spirit of Excellence Honorees Announced   

Distinguished alumni, students, and staff will be honored at the fifth annual Lake Park Spirit of Excellence Celebration Dinner on Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm at the Bloomingdale Golf Club in Bloomingdale.  The Lake Park High School Educational Foundation established the award program to honor excellence at Lake Park High School.

Twenty seniors are being recognized for their service, extraordinary effort, achievement and leadership throughout their high school years.  These students were selected because they possess qualities for other students to emulate and have achieved special accomplishments in addition to their academic success while at Lake Park.

The following seniors will be receiving the Lake Park Spirit of Excellence Award:  Anusha Adkoli, Mike Amerlan, Michael Behrend, Caitlyn Bradfield, Lisa Brambert, Scott Filip, Kaylee Flanagan, Maria Folvarska, Alanna Gerardi, Lauren Gross, Kristina Guevara, Danielle Huebner, Danny Kaniyaly, Devon Mensching, Vassil Mladenov, Steven Nickison, Kelly O'Neill, Kyle Picchetti, Rachel Weslo, and Andrea Wojciechowski.

Four staff members will also be receiving the Spirit of Excellence Awards.  Judy Farrell, Katie Hamann, Kathy Lovelace-Birk, and Linda Schabelski were nominated by colleagues and community members for demonstrating excellence at Lake Park and within the community, inspiring others to contribute to the school, providing a special service to enhance his/her department, and demonstrating care, concern and passion to students and colleagues.

The four Lake Park Distinguished Alumni receiving this year's Spirit of Excellence Award are:
* Eric Madiar (Class of 1991):  Attorney, Chief Legal Counsel to IL Senate President John Cullerton, Senate Parliamentarian
* Justin Roman (Class of 1995):  Radio Personality B-96, Written/Co-Produced 3 Top 40 Records
* Dr. Dino Rumoro (Class of 1981): Doctor, Associate Professor, Chair of Emergency Medicine at Rush Univ. Medical Center
* David Smith (Class of 1974):  Chemical Engineer, Vice President, Olefins & NGL of Chevron Phillips Chemicals

Join us in honoring our Spirit of Excellence winners!  Tickets are $35 per person or $325 for a table of ten.  Guests have a choice of entrees:  lemon chicken, prime rib, or fettuccini primavera.  To sign up for the Spirit of Excellence dinner, click here.  If you have any questions, please call 630.295.5411.  The deadline to register is March 25.

Congratulations to the following seniors who have achieved a cumulative 5.0 grade point average or better through seven semesters at Lake Park High School!

Anusha Adkoli, Hugo Alaniz Jr., Rana Aquil, James Armbrecht, Mary Augustine, Natalia Babuscak, Sara Birchler, Katherine Blachut,
Jeremy Carter, Julia D'Agostini, Jordan DeClerk, David Dembo, Brianna Dexl, Mary Dickerson, Marisol Dominguez, Rebecca Dziubla, Chanel Fakhouri, Maria Folvarska, Hannah Garippo, Maya Golliday, Danielle Huebner, Jakub Jezusek, Danny Kaniyaly, Jessica Krause, Vanessa Lostumbo, Vassil Mladenov,  Daniel Moran,  Katherine Nowak, Ronald Olson, Kelly O'Neill, Mark Pall, Marie Partyka, Chirayu Patel, Riya Patel, Alyssa Perez, Noel Rabino, Mary Reid, Angelina Rose, Jason Solomon,  Erika Stark, Kaitlyn Szabo, Delaney Thompson, Jessica Thompson, Amanda Toledo, William Tresch, Rachel Weslo, Katarina Whittenburg, and Andrea Wojciechowski. 

Boys Bowling
The boys bowling team captured the Upstate Eight Conference Championship, the IHSA Sectional Championship, and were IHSA Team State Finalists.  Team members included: Roarke Dunn, Joe Kauther, Zach Nieman, Matt Ostrowski, Corben Sadowski, Connor Peck, Brandon Pharr.  Corben Sadowski and Matt Ostrowski earned sectional medals, placing 2nd and 3rd respectively.  The Lancers are coached by Greg Edwards and John Hobscheid.

Girls Bowling
The girls bowling team captured the IHSA Sectional Championships and were IHSA Team State Finalists.  Team members include Cristina Hernandez, Cassie Johnson, Samantha Sztym, Kaitlyn Keith (sectional medalist & All Upstate Eight Conference), Halley Brattkus (sectional medalist & All Upstae Eight Conference), Sara Pulice, and Kendall Leahy.  The girls bowling coaching staff includes Head Coach Joe Regilio, Assistant Coach Theresa Wimberley (Lancer for Life and herself the IHSA State Bowling Champion in 2003), Assistant Coach Larry Wimberley, and Assistant Coach Courtney O'Donovan.

Competitive Cheerleading
The Competitive Cheerleading Co-Ed Squad were IHSA Team State Qualifiers, continuing a streak of qualifying for state every year since the IHSA implemented competitive cheerleading as a team sport.  The Competitive Cheerleading team includes:  Nikki Jahnke, Jessie Kern, Sylvia Osczcapinski, Gina Vitulli, Sarah Dicristofano, Marisa Delgado, Brianna Waschevski, Jenna Adcock, Kelly Borcherding, Jasmine Lance, Alizea Brame, Mark Schram, Ruslan Grynyk, Jazmine Davis, Emma Marchese, Martin Zyla, Rachael Hansen, Elisa Cirone, Megan Rinker, Andrea Vazquez, Madison Rosenquist, Tina Kovach & Hannah Cillick.  The competitive cheerleading coaching staff includes Head Coach: Samantha Pavesich, Assistant Coaches: Kelli Besteman & Courtney Mildren

Competitive Dance
The Lancettes Competitive Dance team qualified for the first-ever IHSA Team Competitive Dance Competition.  Members of the state qualifying squad include: Amber Ahlf, Shae Callahan, Julianne DeClerk, Nikolina Denic Angelica DiPrizio, Ellen Hilgenberg, Francesca Leone, Nicolette Lopez, Rachel Lore, Gianna Marino, Lauren O'Brien, Carissa Panoutsos, Marta Prell , Sophia Rose, Alexa Valavicius, Darcey Wilkinson & Gianna Mazeska.  The Lancettes are coached by Head Coach Danielle Ragano and Assistant Coach Julie Astrouski.

Boys Swimming & Diving
The following boys swimmers and divers qualified for the IHSA State Boys Swimming & Diving Championships:
* Sean Gregor (3-Time State Qualifier): 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle
* Jacob Vance (2-Time State Qualifier): 200 Medley Relay, 200 Breast Stroke
* Ben Fisher: 200 Medley Relay
* Kevin Siciak:  200 Medley Relay
* Mitchell Carzoli: 200 Medley Relay
* Jack Reilly (2-Time State Qualifier): Diving

Wrestling
Austin Schoen completed his illustrious career as a Lancer wrestler by capturing his 4th Upstate Eight Conference Championship, becoming only the ninth wrestler in the history of the conference to be conference champion all four years of high school.  Additionally, was named by the Upstate Eight Coaches as the Ed Washington Award Winner for his outstanding sportsmanship.  Austin went on to capture the IHSA Regional Championship, the IHSA Sectional Championship, and earned IHSA All-State Honors by placing 4th at the IHSA Individual State Championships.  Other wrestlers receiving honors included Jackson Schoen and Albert Hogan, both of whom captured IHSA Regional Championships.

Boys Basketball
Senior Boys Basketball player Jacob Ktsanes was named to the Boys Basketball All Upstate Eight Conference team.

IHSA Team Academic Achievement Award

Congratulations to the following varsity athletic teams who have been recognized by the IHSA for their Team Academic Achievement Award:

Girls Swimming and Diving:  3.23 GPA/4.0 GPA
Girls Cross Country: 3.48 GPA/4.0 GPA
Boys Cross Country: 3.11 GPA/4.0 GPA
Girls Tennis: 3.43 GPA/4.0 GPA
Girls Volleyball: 3.56 GPA/4.0 GPA
Girls Golf:  3.31 GPA/4.0 GPA
Boys Golf: 3.03 GPA/4.0 GPA

Units began flooding the halls of Lake Park around 1 pm on Saturday and the final group left at nine hours later.  Hosting a guard contest takes a great deal of space and this was no exception as units used the main gym, field house, front lobby, cafeteria and many hallways. One highlight of the evening was a performance by the South Shore Drill Team, a well known inner-city youth organization that has a competitive winter guard.
 

Both of the Lake Park Winter Guards received their highest scores of the season.  The JV winter guard placed 3rd in their competitive class with their show, Autumn's Arrival.  Varsity took 1st place in their competitive class, which marks their first win at this competition since 2008.  The talented fifteen Varsity guard members performed their show, Kaleidoscope, filled with color and excitement.  The Lake Park Percussion Ensemble concluded the night with a live exhibition performance that was greatly appreciated by everyone in attendance.
 

The Lake Park competition is often a pivotal contest for units who attend because it is late in the season.  With less than one month to go, the season is set to conclude in early April.  Best wishes to our varsity team which is traveling to Cincinnati this weekend for a WGI Regional contest and to both groups when they attend Circuit Championships in a few weeks.  

School Board Candidates' Forum  

A candidates' forum will be held Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00 pm in the Lake Park West Campus Auditorium.  Candidates in the race for four seats on the District 108 School Board will be featured in the forum.  Candidates will answer questions from a diverse panel, as well as audience submitted questions.  A reception will be held following the formal program.  Audience members will have the chance to meet with the candidates.  The Lake Park Education Association and the Lake Park Partners in Education are sponsoring this event.  

On the April 9, 2013 ballot, Lake Park High School will have two referendum questions regarding the construction of a pool and associated costs of operating a pool. If both referendum questions are approved by the voters, the pool would be built at East Campus within an 18,210 square foot facility which would include a an eight lane, 25-yard by 59-foot pool, a four lane warming pool and seating capacity for 350 people. The pool would be available for use by the community for activities such as swim lessons and water aerobics. The cost to construct this type of facility is $8 million and the annual total operating costs are expected to be approximately $380,000.

If voters approve both referendum questions, the $8 million bond would be paid off over a 10-year period. The total annual tax increase for the construction and operational costs will be $31.88 per household on a $300,000 home or $21.25 on a $200,000 home. As long as the District issues no further debt, after the 10-year period ends in FY 2025, only the pool operating increase tax will remain on property tax bills. In today's terms, the operating cost is approximately $13 per year for the owner of a $200,000 home.

The following documents are available for viewing:
Fact Sheet, click here. 
Frequently Asked Questions, click here.
Estimated Tax/Estimated Operations, click here.
Pool Plan, click here.
Floor Plan, click here. 

Lake Park High School has a number of scholarship opportunities available for students of the Class of 2013.  This year, the Lake Park Educational Foundation alone will be granting 20 scholarships worth over $17,000.  In addition, groups such as LPPE, the Boosters, and the Lake Park Education Association also have scholarships specifically available for Lake Park students.

To view the list of Lake Park scholarships available, click here.

For further information on the Lake Park Educational Foundation
scholarship guidelines and online applications, click here.

For information on the Booster Club scholarships, click here.

For information on the Lake Park Partners in Education (LPPE) scholarships, click here.

Additional local scholarship applications such as the Chamber of Commerce scholarships are also available in the Career Center at West Campus.

The Bloomingdale, Hanover Park, Itasca, and Roselle police departments will be hosting a forum on the growing problem of heroin in our community on Wednesday, March 20 from 7-9 pm in the West Campus auditorium.  The forum is geared toward educating parents and young adults on the dangers of this growing trend and, more importantly, discussing some prevention and intervention strategies.

The format for the program will include a brief presentation by DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin, DuPage Coroner Robert Jorgensen, DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, DuPage Sheriff's Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT), as well as a family perspective on identifying and dealing with heroin use.

Officials will be on hand to discuss and provide information on the growing problem of heroin, the warning signs of addiction, as well as providing parents with resources available for victims and their families.  Following the presentation, members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions.  For additional information, contact the Roselle Police Department at 630.671.4044.