Good news

CENTRAL WRITERS RECEIVE AWARDS

Sixteen Hinsdale Central students were recently recognized by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers in conjunction with its Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

Entries submitted for the competition from students at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South earned a total of 63 awards, which included 12 Gold Keys, 22 Silver Keys and 29 Honorable mentions.

Central winners are

• Jacqueline Bousquette, honorable mention, painting

• Elia Crisan, honorable mention, drawing and illustration

• Amy Dong, three Gold Keys, painting; Silver Key, art portfolio

• Ella Graeb, honorable mention, ceramics and glass

• Yanning Jiao, two Gold Keys, Silver Key and two honorable mentions, drawing and illustration; Silver Key, mixed media

• Fatima Khan, Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention, digital art

• Wilhelmina Kratz, honorable mention, art portfolio

• Isabella Levinthal, Gold Key and honorable mention, painting

• Bridget McBride, honorable mention, mixed media

• Abigail McMillin, two honorable mentions, drawing and illustration

• Madeline Miller, honorable mention, digital art

• Doreah Salti, honorable mention, drawing and illustration

• Mara Severts, honorable mention, art portfolio

• Audrey Song, Silver Key, drawing and illustration

• Tiffany Tu, Gold Key, painting; Silver Key and two honorable mentions, drawing and illustration

• Rachel Zuo, Gold Key, painting

OAK SCHOOL WINS BATTLE OF BOOKS

Oak School won a tie-breaker with Madison School to capture first place in the District 181 Battle of the Books competition Feb. 24 at Elm School.

Team members are Amelia Bingham, Sloane Breton, Emily Catton, Saira Joshi, Talie Mason and Caroline Thangamani. The team was coached by Colleen Malone, Jessica Brady and Anne Rigazio.

This year, 275 fourth- and fifth-graders in District 181 participated. Preparation began a year in advance as teacher-librarians researched and read multiple titles to select the books and then wrote questions of varying difficulty for each book.

Clubs begin meeting in late October through early November and worked for about 12 weeks reading, discussing and answering questions about the 20 different books. Students were required to know the full title and author’s last name when they answered questions during the competition. A top group was selected from each school to move on to the districtwide competition.

“Battle of the Books is so much more than just the fun of competition,” said Susan Petersen, teacher-librarian at Elm. “It promotes a love of reading, exposes students to a variety of award-winning books and authors, and it also fosters camaraderie and a sense of belonging being part of a team with their peers.”

A photo appears online at https://www.facebook.com/thehinsdalean.

COLLEGE STUDENTS EARN RECOGNITION

• Peter Didicher of Hinsdale recently earned membership into Delta Phi academic honor society and the Academic Fourragere Award at Missouri Military Academy.

Delta Phi fosters high ideals of character, encourages scholarship, promotes the best interest of the corps of cadets and cherishes and preserve the traditions of the academy. To qualify for membership, cadets must remain in high academic standing for consecutive marking periods.

The Academic Fourragere Award is presented by the academic dean to cadets who earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for two consecutive marking periods.

• Christina Aucoin of Hinsdale was one of more than 150 University of Iowa students who served in leadership positions for the 28th annual student-led Dance Marathon, which generated more than $1.3 million for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She was a member of the finance committee.

FENWICK SENIOR A MERIT FINALIST

Lindsey Drumm of Hinsdale, a senior at Fenwick High School, is among the 15,000 individuals from across the country who have been named finalists in the 67th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

In order to qualify as a finalist, students must continue to meet specific requirements and criteria, including having a record of consistently very high academic performance in all of grades nine through 12 and in any college course work taken.