November 20, 2009 Southwest News-Herald - City
School Events
Forty-two students at Mother McAuley High School, 3737 W. 99th St., Chicago, earned the distinction of AP Scholar from the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams.
About 18 percent of the more than 1.6 million high school students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar. Students took the AP Exams in May 2009 after completing challenging college-level courses at McAuley. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on a student’s performance on AP exams.
Three McAuley students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest). These students are Class of 2009 graduates Amanda Shine, Andrea Altenbach and Rachel Page, of Oak Lawn.
McAuley had 13 students qualify for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students are seniors Sarah Mahoney, Anne Dailidonis and Gina Sanchez, of Evergreen Park; and Class of 2009 graduates Hannah Pienton, Kelly Bartusiak, Burbank; and Rachel Pazda, of Chicago’s Clearing neighborhood; Lyssa Chavka and Christine Durco, of Evergreen Park; Chelsey Walsh, Jessica Murray Sarah O’Rourke; Emily Robinson, Oak Lawn; and Kathleen Kaysen, of Orland Park.
Twenty-six students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Examinations, with grades of 3 or higher. These students are seniors Mary Baker, Sheila Burns, Jacqueline Capron, Katherine Cronin and Killian McIlvain; Leah Maslona, of Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood; Kelsey Philippi, Carol Frigo, Bridget Sheehy and Catherine Smith of Oak Lawn; Helen Sweiss, Rebecca Sutich and Clare Teeling, of Chicago’s West Lawn neighborhood; and Class of 2009 graduates Caitlin Gallagher, Julie Larmon, Erin McGinnis and Allison Usher, Brigid O’Keefe, of Evergreen Park; Despina Batson, Rebecca Pelka, Tia Puetz, Mary Albano and Sabrina Karakaya, Oak Lawn; Jessica Carroll and Ann Quinn, of Orland Park; and Diana Rocha of Chicago’s West Elsdon neighborhood.
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Echo, the student newspaper at Mount Assisi Academy, 13860 Main St., Lemont, has been honored for its achievement as an outstanding high school publication by Quill and Scroll, the International Honorary Society for High School Journalists.
The 2008-09 Echo was awarded International Second-Place honors. Sister Therese Ann Quigney is the student newspaper moderator.
Mount Assisi Academy’s Echo has been awarded a rating of superior achievement in policy guidelines and business practices, as well as substantial achievement in all other categories. Quill and Scroll evaluators commented that they were “impressed with the quality of Echo and the manner in which it incorporated suggestions from last year’s critique in preparation of this year’s publication.”
Student editors of the 2008-09 Echo were seniors Hillary Bengtsson, Ali Jablonsky, of Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community; Angie Repel, of Chicago’s Scottsdale community; and Mary Sullivan.
“I am extremely proud of our editors and staff,” commented Sister Therese Ann. “They worked hard and I am pleased that their achievement has been recognized. Echo involves accepting a huge responsibility and many after-school hours in order to produce an excellent newspaper. I am thrilled that Quill and Scroll has not only acknowledged this, but has also provided us with concrete suggestions to make the paper even better.”
During the 2009-10 school year, senior editors Gina O’Driscoll and Jenna O’Malley will work with juniors Christine Bednarz, Meghan Gallagher, of Orland Park; and Megan Kirkland, Evergreen Park.
“I am excited that Echo has earned a second place rating from Quill and Scroll, and I hope that we can do our best this year too,” noted O’Malley.
For more information regarding Echo, call (630) 257-7844.