When asked about her AP classes, she said, “Sometimes I get overloaded with homework and end up staying in over the weekend to finish it .”

Some of Ulanowicz’s goals are to get into a good collage, get a job, and get married . She is getting an early start in looking into colleges. As of right now, she is leaning toward the University of Iowa . Ulanowicz is thinking about becoming a History Teacher .

Unlike most students, Ulanowicz enjoys writing essays for class . She also writes stories for fun, and enjoys blogging . What does she blog about? She blogs about anime, movies, and sometimes just  about anything .

Ulanowicz reads just about as much as anything else she does . The book she is currently reading is Fatherland by Robert Harris . Fatherland is a book that explores what would have happened if the Nazi Germany army had won World War II . A great book series she read was Percy Jackson and the Olympians .

When asked about her relationships, she said, “What’s that?”

Finally, Ulanowicz loves to sew and draw . Things she sews include stuffed animals, scarves, and hats . She has sewn a lot of stuffed animals and winter clothing . She even uses her clothing on chilly days .

Students who are above honors level courses are placed in Advanced Placement courses. If a student is recommended for an AP class, then their teacher believes them to be ready for a college level course. Passing an AP exam at the end of the year means gaining a college credit for that course. Some look at this as a way to pay for one less college course down the road and want to take advantage of that.

The exams are spaced out over the course of May. Joe Rogers, a sophomore who took AP European history as well as AP Macroeconomics, said, “My Euro exam is on May 11, and my Macro exam is on May 17. It’s nice because they’re a week apart.”

There are many expectations from students as to how the AP exams will go. Hannah Pecis, a sophomore who took AP Microeconomics and Macroeconomics this year, said, “Hopefully it will go well. I actually feel well prepared for the exams.”

Rogers said, “I think that they’ll go really well if I study hard and my nerves don’t get to me.”

With such high expectations for such a big test, did these students do enough to prepare for the exams? Pecis said, “I’ve done a ton of studying and lots of practice exams. I think I’m ready, for the most part, but I will definitely use up the rest of my time to study.”

Rogers said, “I’ve studied all of my notes and written a few essays to practice. I don’t think I’m ready yet, but in a few more days of studying I should be prepared enough.”

Was taking an AP course an experience that these two students would go through again? When asked, Pecis said, “Yes. Hopefully I will be taking AP Psych senior year.”

Rogers said, “Yes, I plan on taking AP Literature, U.S. History, Spanish, Calculus, and Computer Science.”

Now that these students have been through the process of taking an AP class, they have a few words of wisdom to pass along to other students who are or will be preparing for the exams. Pecis said, “Pay attention in class and make sure you do any review work your teacher gives you. They really help a lot.”

Rogers said, “Study! Study! Study! And good luck on the tests.”

Vince started skateboarding four and half years ago when his brother encourage him. Vince and his friends started practicing on a daily basis trying to improve their skills. They practice in their neighborhood, skate parks, and while skating around playing skateboarding games.

“The hardest thing about skateboarding is just progressing and learning how to land new tricks,” said Vince.  Vince skates whenever he can, especially on a sunny day.  His favorite trick to do is a hardflip.

Vince said, “The easiest thing about skateboarding is falling. This one time I was at Ehlert (Skate Park) and I was trying to learn how to land a tre-flip. I fell a good 30 times until I finally landed it. It was a huge accomplishment.”

Vince rather skates with a group of friends rather than by himself. Vince said, “It gets pretty boring and I like to compete against them. I also enjoy playing skating games with them and seeing them progress as well as myself.”  When asked about what’s the best thing about skating, Vince said, “Just learning new tricks and getting better. I also like how I meet a lot of cool people who skate too. I made a lot of friends because of skating also.”

Vince has also created some great memories because of skateboarding. “My favorite memory of skateboarding is when I went to Krush (Skate Park) for the first time. It was so overwhelming and I couldn’t wait to go down their ramps. It was scary at first, but once I got the hang of it, I kept going down them. The people were awesome there too. Everyone was so chill.”

Vince has multiple goals that he wants to achieve with skateboarding. “I really want to go professional with skateboarding and be able to skate in California. That has also been my dream,” he said.

In a press release, Principal Pam Bylsma said, “Kristen is well prepared for this role with a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University.”  Smetana even writes math questions for the state math certification test. Hopefully with all this knowledge and experience backing her, she will find success in her new role at RB.

Clarion had a chance to sit down and ask her a few questions about what exactly she wants to get done  at RB, and why she’s excited to be here.

 Q: What’s your education?

A: “I went to the University of Illinois, and I have a major in mathematics and a minor in secondary education in Spanish, and a certificate in advanced study”

 Q:Did you want to be something else before becoming a teacher?

A: “No, my mother was a teacher and would always take me along when she could, so it’s been my passion for a while.”

“I did toy with what age group I wanted to work with but ultimately decided on high school.”

Q: What do you plan to accomplish here at RBHS?

A: “My first goal into coming to RB is to really find out what makes RB so special. I know already of some of the projects, activities and the extra-curricular activities here.”

“In doing that I’ll be able to meet the faculty and more importantly get to meet the students.  I’ve heard so many wonderful things about the students here, whether it be kids who challenge themselves with AP classes or with extra-curricular activities.”

Q: What do you think makes RB special?

A: “What’s really unique to RB and what drew me to it is how well you stick to your mission statement.  You put it everywhere and are so proud of it and you really do live it. Your partnership with the zoo and all the social learning activites and the way the teachers help the children to learn in their passions is just so special.”

Baartman is going to be a camp counselor for a fourth through sixth grade camp starting this August. “I will be counseling for two weeks at Camp Geneva,” he said. When asked about how he became a camp counselor, Baartman said, “I had to go through about a two month application process. Then I had to go up to the actual camp for an interview.”

As one could imagine there are many responsibilities that come with being a camp counselor. Baartman said, “I will be working with the fourth through sixth graders for two weeks. I also will, on certain days,  have to do kitchen duty because this is my first year.”  Baartman has high expectations for this summer. He said, “I expect to have a different camp experience. Seeing it from a different perspective will be awesome and new.”

“I am excited for the opportunity to make a difference in these kids’ lives.”
-Sophomore Jeremy Baartman

This is Baartman’s first time being a camp counselor, and he could not be more thrilled. He said, “I am excited for the opportunity to make a difference in these kids’ lives.” He is unsure whether or not he will continue being a camp counselor. He said, “It depends on if I end up liking it and if I can get up there again.”

Asian carp are an environmental problem that is slowly getting worse. They are an invasive species that is spreading through multiple states, disrupting ecosystems and killing off native life. They are filter feeders and eat a lot of food. This means that the Asian Carp are eating most of the food at the bottom of the food chain and hurting everything above it. They can get very big, even up to about 100 pounds. People are trying many ways to control their spread and population, but the only good way so far is electronic barriers. At the same time, people are fishing them as they are both edible and flavorful.

The presentation came as part of APES study about globalization and invasive species.  APES teacher Jame Holt said, “I wanted to give the students a firsthand opportunity to learn about the subject.  Since this is becoming a national problem, it is quite possible that it will be on the AP exam.”

The presentation, given by the head of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, lasted from 9:30 to 10:45.  The presentation was free of charge.  The speaker presents for free because he wants to be able to educate more people on the subject.

APES student Kylie O’ Connell said, “It was very interesting.  I learned a lot from it.”

Later on in the presentation, students went outside to look at the boats and equipment the IDNR uses to catch Asian Carp. Eco Club member Alex Cleveland said,“We were able to get a close up look at the equipment they use and it was really cool.”

Cleveland added that the presentation showed her how the Asian Carp would affect the environment, and O’Connell said that it did cause her to worry.

Leary said, “I bought a puzzle and painted purple over it. Then I wrote on it ‘Prom?’ I split up the puzzle pieces and gave them to [junior Karolina Saucedo] during her classes. We have 7^th hour together so she told me yes then.”

Saucedo was happily surprised. She said, “I thought it was really cute. He asked me on my birthday, so it was a great birthday present.”

How did he come up with this creative idea? Leary said, “My mom and my sister helped me. I had another idea of decorating her room, but I decided she’d like the puzzle more.”

Kosik came up with another inventive way to ask his girlfriend. He said, “I decided to buy three live gold fish and put them in a fishbowl in [junior Caitlin Berek’s] locker. On the outside of the bowl I wrote, ‘Out of all the fish in the sea will you go to Prom with me?’’’

Berek found the fish in her locker. She said, “My first reaction was, ‘Why are there fish in my locker?!’ I was very surprised to find out that that was him actually asking me to Prom. Of course I said yes.”

Kosik said, “My mom helped me come up with the idea. Another idea I had was to spell out Prom in candles on her front yard.”

Prom will take place on May 4th at the River East Art Center.

The day began with a breakfast in the Lehotsky Room for staff and students to mingle with Anderson. He floated from table to table discussing a range of topics, including Facebook and one student’s interest in the Brookfield Zoo.

Anderson’s inspiration for Feed began as a teenager. He always felt irritated by how marketing was clearly targeted for children his age. “They were always selling us things that we don’t necessarily want,” he said.   Anderson wanted to show readers how marketing affects their lives and changes how they understand who they are as people.

When Anderson was writing the book, he was not only foreshadowing the future, but also trying to satirically depict what was going on in the modern world of marketing. He was basically over exaggerating on what marketing was all about and how it affects our lives.

“Sure, there’s not a literal chip in our head that tell us what everything cost or what we need to purchase, but I know over the years I have internalized what I’m supposed to buy, “said Anderson. He explained that, when he got into his thirties, he felt that he needed to have the white picket fence and a house in the suburbs like most typical Americans. He felt pressure over the years because of advertising to be a certain way and to buy specific things.

His hope is to impact young readers by giving them a sense of urgency about the marketing world and to give encouragement to those who are already aware of the influence of advertising.

“Many kids are actually irritated by these things or alarmed by them already, my hope is that they will be able to say ‘Oh, other people feel this way too,’” said Anderson.

Anderson was very pleased to be asked to speak to the students.

“It’s great. It’s really lovely to be here,” he told an audience of Freshmen who had all read his book.

Anderson’s hope isn’t for teenagers to become less dependent; it’s to have them become more aware of how technology is being used and how companies use it to influence people’s interests.

“I do hope that kids will be very aware about the way technology is being used and particularly how technology is intertwined with various corrupt interests that are much more complicated in their motivations then it might seem” said Anderson.

Anderson started writing the novel Feed in the summer of 2001 and then took a week off, which coincided with the 9/11 attacks. “It was a very dramatic shift in how I saw things,” said Anderson.   He ended up writing the rest of the book in a completely different political climate then he originally had planned.

The only thing in the book that changed because of 9/11 was that Anderson, by pure coincidence, had towers falling, so he cut that part out of the book. He also originally called the hackers in the book terrorist,s but he took it out because he didn’t want people to think he was talking about that one event.

Anderson’s advice about writer’s block was to start a portion of a story and take time off and work on something else.

“Often time if you leave the project and go back to it later, and work on something else, you gain clarity,” he said. He noted that writers often have the “shower effect,” which is when you think of the answer when you’re focused on something else, rather than just pacing around your room trying to think of the solution. Anderson usually works on two books a time.  He works on one stage of one book, stops, and switches to work on the other book.

“I find that the delays really help me fresh the ideas of each project,” he said.

Anderson feels that the role that Feed has a relation to the environment; He told students that there are a lot of truths that people want to conceal from themselves, such as how the way they live impacts the environment. Anderson noted that there are consequences from living a certain way that human beings don’t want to deal with. Eating is a prime example, because people all want to continue eating burgers and fries without thinking of the impact it has on the environment. They don’t want to think about how the pesticides and chemicals run off into rivers and pollute them or how industrial waste from the industries is disposed of. Companies market products in a certain way so that people don’t worry about the consequences of their decisions.

“It is one of the things obscured by the advertising sphere,” he said.

After having breakfast with the students, Anderson went on to a presentation in the auditorium for all Freshmen and any returning SEE team members that wanted to hear him speak. He talked a lot about his inspiration for the book and how technology is evolving and how it impacts our daily lives. After the presentation, he talked to Kathleen Harsy and Sarah Johnson’s AP Literature classes and Allison Cabaj’s Honors English 9 class.

The educational system in Germany differs from that in the US. After primary school, students enter into one of three different types of secondary schools, based on both their academic ability and plans for the future. In addition to this, while classes at RB meet every day, students in Germany have different classes each day that meet only a few times per week. Also, in their last year of school, students take an important test, called Arbitur, and immediately go to a very focused graduate or vocational school. The students also say that the overall culture of the schools differ slightly. “The relationship between the students and their teachers is different, which I really like,” said Pape.

Pape, Fey and Meurer have each been studying English for several years. Because European students are usually taught British English, the transition to American English can be a challenge, yet it greatly improves their speaking and listening abilities. “At the beginning, it was a bit hard to understand, but now it is much easier,” said Fey. “Understanding is very easy most of the time,” said Meurer.

Yet despite any language barriers, there are many things the students enjoy about life at RB. “I really love the USA. My everyday life here is really different from my life in Germany. I get a lot of new experiences from simple things, like going to school or to a grocery store. It’s very interesting. I also like the sports and other activities you can do after school,” said Pape.

Fey, Pape and Meurer all have different interests and goals for their stay. For example, Meurer has been playing soccer since he was four years old. During his time at RB, he has begun playing baseball and football, as well. In the past, Meurer has also studied French on a foreign exchange trip to Madagascar.

“I get a lot of new experiences from simple things.”
-Paulina Pape

Fey, who also studies French, Hungarian and Chinese, has been participating in dance competitions for over ten years. She has traveled across Europe for international competitions. During her stay in the US, Fey says she has enjoyed the peacefulness and greenery of the community.

Pape, who has been studying English for eight years, has many goals for her time at RB. “My goals are to get to know a lot of new people, see what life is like in another country, another continent, and learn more about the language and culture. My plans are to see a lot of Chicago, and maybe go to a baseball game, since we don’t have baseball in Germany at all,” said Pape.

Senior Ryan Negley, who is taking the test this Wednesday, was influenced by his family and friends.

Negley said, “I chose to go into the military because it pays for school, after 20 years you receive a pension, and you get to go on tour.”

Most of the seniors chose to go into the military because of the benefits that come with the decision.

Senior Mary Kemper took the test because it pays for college and it provides good experience for her dream job.  She was influenced by her grandfather and uncle.

Kemper, who has already taken the test, said, “It was fairly easy.”

Senior Oscar Baez said, “I want go into the military because I want to serve my country, plus the benefits are awesome.”

Baez, who also already took the test, was influenced by his family and would like to be a Calvary scout.

Once the students take the test, they go through a process of writing down personal information and setting up a date to go to the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) where they examine your health to make sure you are capable of doing things your job requires.  The next day they are inducted into the military.

Negley said, “How well you do on the test determines on the job placement.  If you do great you’re going to have a really good job.”