English Department
Awards and Highlights

2009-2010

(Dec. 2009) Congratulations to the Debate Team for impressive finishes in a recent tournament Dec. 4-5.

(Dec. 2009) Congratulations to the Speech Team for another successful tournament. The results are here.

(Nov. 2009) Congratulations to the Theatre Department! The Leaders in Theatre Ensemble (LITE) group's production of "Prelude to a Kiss" was selected to be performed at the 2010 Illinois High School Theatre Festival. This is the fifth H-F production in a row selected for the festival.

(Nov. 2009) The Debate Team had a very successful weekend! Congratulations!

(Nov. 2009) Congratulations to the Speech Team for great finishes in two tournaments this past weekend!

(Nov. 2009) Congratulations to the H-F Speech Team for another successful tournament weekend. The results can be found here.

(Nov. 2009) The Columbia Scholastic Press Association gave four Gold Circle Awards to the staff of the 2009 EDDA to recognize superior work by student journalists as individuals and as an entire staff.
Christian Lorenzo '09--First Place for a single illustration rendering photographic material: Color for Magazines
The EDDA staff '09--Second Place for general use of typography throughout the magazine
Chloe Rasmas '09--Certificate of Merit: Essays for Magazines
The EDDA staff '09--Certificate of Merit: Overall Design, Literary Magazines.

(Nov. 2009)  The H-F Debate Team participated in another successful tournament Nov. 6-8. Read all of the exciting details and view photos here.

(Nov. 2009) The results of this weekend's Downer's Grove North (DGN) Varsity-Novice Speech Mixer and the Warren Township Invitational exemplify H-F Novice & Varsity Team’s efforts. Varsity student Hannah Grasse took the tile in Original Oratory at DGN and six other students joined her in final round competition. Novice Valaria Duckworth was crowned the tournament champion in Extemporaneous Speaking. Seven other Novices also competed in their first final round. At the Warren Township tournament, Taylor King took the title in Poetry Reading. Five other students joined her as the top-rated speakers in their events.

(Oct. 2009) Oct. 23-25, at the Cedar Rapids-Washington “Iowa Caucus,” the Debate Team  earned awards in the Varsity division. Senior Astead Herndon and Junior Donald Grasse (pictured below) compiled a preliminary record of 4-2. This made them 11th seed overall (out of 75). Astead and Donald advanced to the octafinals (round of 16) but were defeated by St. Paul Central (MN) on a 2-1 decision. Also, Astead was 10th speaker (out of 150). Deserving honorable mention are Donald Grasse (11th speaker out of 150) and junior Laura River (20th speaker out of 150).

(Oct. 2009) The Speech Team held the Viking Classic Novice Invitational here on Oct. 31, and began the year with a great H-F Novice Team start. Two students received first place rankings in all three rounds at the tournament and were named tournament champions in their respective events! These students are Valaria Duckworth, champion in Extemporaneous Speaking and Alex Schultz, winner of Original Comedy. Nine additional students at H-F finished in the top six in their respective events, including two students who placed in two events!

(Oct. 2009) Congratulations to the Debate Team for yet another successful tournament. The exciting details can be found here.

(Oct. 2009) Congratulations to the Debate Team for another successful tournament this past weekend at the Morgan Park "Mustang Round-Up." The team earned strong finishes from many team members. Read more here.

(Sept. 2009)  Congratulations to the H-F Speech and Debate Team for earning recognition by the National Forensic League (NFL). The H-F chapter is now placed in the top 5 percent of NFL chapters nationwide.

(Sept. 2009) Congratulations to the EDDA 2009 edition for being awarded with first place with special merit from The American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA). Furthermore, the ASPA has given EDDA 2009 the title of Best High School Literacy Magazine in the USA for schools with 2500 students or more.

(Sept. 2009) The 2008-09 edition of The Voyager earned a Gold Medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The staff earned All-Columbia honors in all four categories (coverage, writing/editing, graphics and business). They scored a 968 out of 1000. Congratulations to sponsor Glen Leyden and the students!

(Sept. 2009) Congratulations to the Debate Team for its strong finishes in 2 tournaments recently. More about their individual awards here.

(Sept. 2009) Congratulations to the EDDA 2009 edition for being awarded with first place with special merit from The American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA).Furthermore, the ASPA has given EDDA 2009 the title of Best High School Literacy Magazine in the USA for schools with 2500 students or more.

2008-2009

(July 2009) Congratulations to those who contributed to EDDA-What Lies Beneath, the editors and their sponsors Karen Olson, Heidi Stachulak and Chris Woodyard. The edition won a silver Gold Ink award.

(May 2009) Congratulations to the Thespians for a banner year with special congratulations to the following 32 students who will be inducted into The International Thespian Society on Fri. May 29: Kaci Antikiewicz, Tess Adamonis, Hekinde Akintola, Jennifer Arnold, Ianthe Belilse –Dempsey, Victoria Blocker, Evi Courter, Andrea Curry, Jordan Daley, Sean Dolan, Ciobhan Dunn, Courtney Green, Samantha Ho, Andrew Holmgren, Eric Johnson, Zak Kerkhoven, Marva Moody, Kanoa Mulling, Miho Nakamura, Rachel Newman, Josie Nordman, Ian O'Learey, Gloria Pterrelli, Emre Pruitt, Movola Rotibi, Ben Rycraft, Omar Shamma, Clarise Tayui, John Van Ort, Rachael Weed, Christine Williams and Waylor Wisham.

(May 2009)  Congratulations to Emily Siner, who received first place for feature writing at the IHSA Journalism State Finals. H-F placed 20th overall out of 87 schools that competed.

(April 2009)  On Sat., April 25, H-F students attended the IHSA Journalism Sectionals. H-F tied for 2nd place out of 14 schools. The following students placed in the top three and will advance to State Finals on Fri. May 1: Raj Tyagi - 1st Place Copy Editing, Emily Siner - 1st Place Feature Writing, Olivia Lubeck - 2nd Info. Graphics, Emily Siner - 2nd Place News writing, Stanton Polanski - 2nd Place Sports Writing, Liza Goldberg - 2nd Place Yearbook Copy Writing, Cody Carson - 2nd Place Yearbook Design.

(April 2009) Congratulations to senior Markeyla Henton whose editorial on teen violence has been published on the Web site for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, one of the more respected national news programs in the country.

(March 2009) H-F's Group Interpretation Production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest earned 4th place at the IHSA Sectional Group Interpretation Competition on Sat. March 21. Also, six students were named to the All-Section Group Interpretation Cast: Nick Narcisi, Angelica Herndon, Dionte Robinson, Dylan Pruitt, Grant Rios and Avery Smith.

(March 2009) Debate students competed at the Illinois Speech and Theater Association (ISTA) JV/Novice State Debate Tournament on Sat. March 14. Please click here to learn about their outstanding results.

(March 2009) H-F’s theatre students earned straight superior ratings (the highest possible ratings) from all three judges on their performance of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the SWSC Group Interpretation Festival on Sat. March 14 at Stagg High School. As a result, they took home the superior plaque. At the festival, judges also nominate students to the SWSC All-State Festival Cast based on their performance. H-F had seven performers named to the All-State Festival Group Interpretation Cast, which was more students from a single production than any other school at the festival. The following students were nominated: Angelica Herndon, Marlon Hulett, Michael Moran, Nick Narcisi, Dylan Pruitt, Dionte Robinson and Avery Smith.

(February 2009) Voyager Editor-in-Chief Emily Siner won 1st place in the journalism competition at the 2nd Annual SWSC Journalism Convention on Friday Feb. 27 at Andrew High School. Students from eight high school newspapers in the conference visited to share ideas and listen to speakers from The Sun-Times, SouthtownStar and Eastern Illinois University's Journalism program.

(February 2009) H-F Debate Team won several awards at the Evanston Township High School Tournament. In the Varsity Division, Valaria Duckworth and Astead Herndon compiled a 4-1 record, making them 4th out of 48 and they advanced to the quarterfinals. Honorable mentions were given to Astead Herndon, Laura River and Aaron Schoeneman. In the Novice Division, Patrick Lawler and Jeremy Lentz also compiled a 4-1 record, making them 5th out of 46. They also reached the quarterfinals. Freshman Ike Makos was the 6th speaker out of 92.

(February 2009) H-F Debate received many awards at the 15th Annual Maine East Regatta. In the Varsity division, Laura River and Emily Carroll compiled a 4-2 record in the preliminary rounds, making them 19th out of 82. They then advanced all the way to round 16. In the Novice division, Donald Grasse and Margaret Strong compiled a perfect 6-0 record, making them 1st out of 44. They then advanced to the semifinals. Also, Grasse was 2nd individual novice speaker in a field of 88 speakers. Adam Griesbach and Irving Rodriguez compiled a perfect 6-0 record, making them 2nd. They advanced to round 16. Furthermore, Ike Makos and Sean Farris compiled a 4-2 record, making them 13th. They also advanced to the 16th round. H-F's total record was 43 and 42, with a total of 85 rounds debated!

(February 2009) The H-F Speech Team competed in the Regional Tournament last Sat. Feb. 7 at Thornwood High School. The Vikings placed 2nd overall. Members qualifying for the Sectional Competition are: Bree Schmidt, 1st in Dramatic Interpretation; Erin Schmidt, 1st in Humorous Interpretation; Reni Raju, 1st in Extemporaneous Speaking; Kanoa Mulling, 2nd in Radio Speaking; Dessa Rose, 2nd in Performance in the Round; Teddy Hughes, 2nd in Original Comedy; Bree Schmidt and Nick Narcisi, 3rd in Dramatic Duet Acting; Erin Schmidt, 3rd in Poetry Reading; Rachel Newman, 3rd in Special Occasion Speaking; Gloria Petrelli, 4th in Oratorical Declamation; Grant Rios, 4th in Prose Reading; and Markeyla Henton, 4th in Impromptu Speaking.

(February 2009) WHFH radio station students and had quite a surprise when WHFH Alumni Chuck Garfien and Laurence Holmes stopped by to visit in February. H-F’s radio station is the highest powered student-run radio station in the nation, currently. Garfien, a 1989 graduate, is currently working as a Reporter/Anchor for Comcast’s SportsNite and SportsRise and is host of White Sox Pre Game Live and White Sox Post Game Live. Holmes, a 1993 graduate, is working for The Score 670 Sports Radio Station as a Host and Reporter.

(January 2009)The H-F Speech Team advanced 19 of the 22 entries to the final rounds at the SWSC Varsity Conference Tournament on Thurs. Jan. 29 at H-F. It marked the 4th straight year that H-F has advanced students to the finals in every event, again claiming four tournament champions and winning the 2008-2009 SWSC Red Division. Congratulations to both students and their coaches on a job well done!

2007-2008

(August 2008) The 2007-2008 Voyager earned a First Class ranking from the National Scholastic Press Association, which critiques high school and college newspapers from across the country. The staff earned Marks of Distinction in three categories: coverage and content, layout and design and leadership. The judges called the Voyager an "outstanding publication" with a "wonderful variety of stories."

(August 2008) English and Journalism Teacher Glen Leyden was selected from a competitive field of 400 applicants to participate in the 2008 ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute for two weeks. During this time, Mr. Leyden explored the basics of print journalism, studied how daily newspapers operate and gained a greater appreciation of the First Amendment. The ultimate goal of ASNE is to encourage teachers to inspire a new and diverse generation of journalists.

(June 2008) The National Scholastic Press Association has just announced that the 2008 edition of H-F’s EDDA magazine has earned First Class status in the association's annual contest for the second year in a row. EDDA also received Marks of Distinction for art, photography and typography. This places H-F in the top 10 percent of the 20,000 schools entering publications in this prestigious competition.

(April 2008) H-F’s Journalism Sectional winners competed against 67 schools at this year’s IHSA Journalism State Finals on Sat. April 26 at Eastern Illinois University. H-F ranked 5th overall, and four of six H-F students placed in the competition. The four H-F students who placed this year are as follows: Elise Brown, 2nd Place for Headline Writing; Joel Dobben, 5th Place for Review Writing; Marsha Sanchez, 2nd Place for Feature Photography; and Emily Siner, 3rd Place for Infographics.

(March 2008) H-F’s Group Interpretation members took 2nd Place at this year’s IHSA State Drama and Group Interpretation Competition on March 15 and 16 at the University of Illinois in Springfield. H-F’s Group Interpretation production of Passion Play, directed by Jill Bonavia-Galligani and Janine Stroemer with technical direction by Kevin Wall, placed 2nd out of 18 performances. Also, six H-F students were named to the All-State Group Interpretation Cast, which were the most students chosen from any other school at this year’s competition. In order to be named to an All-State Cast, four out of five judges must nominate the student for his or her outstanding individual performance.

(March 2008) H-F High School’s Debate Team participated at this year’s 35th Annual Illinois Speech and Theatre Association’s JV/Novice State Tournament on Sat. March 8 at Belleville East High School in Belleville, IL. The Novice division scored the best results in H-F history.

(February 2008) Senior Joel Dobben, member of the student-run newspapers, was awarded 2nd Place in News Writing at the SWSC Journalism Conference on Fri. Feb. 8 at Bradley Bourbonnais High School. The conference included presentations from seven professionals in the journalism field, including several reporters, and the president of the Illinois Journalism Education Association.

(February 2008) The H-F Speech Team competed recently in the Regional Tournament and the following students placed extremely well and will be competing at the sectional competition Sat. Feb. 16 at Oak Lawn High School: Bree Schmidt & Nick Narcisi, 4th Place Dramatic Duet Acting; Keji Orekoya, 4th Place Original Oratory; Rebecca Rodgers, 4th Place Radio Speaking; Erin Schmidt & Allen Reynolds, 3rd Place Humorous Duet Acting; Jeremias Roman, 3rd Place Humorous Interpretation; Sam Sullivan, 3rd Place Original Comedy; Allen Reynolds, 3rd Place Special Occasion Speaking; Erin Schmidt, 2nd Place Dramatic Interpretation; Bekah Blocker, 2nd Place Prose Reading. Congratulations to Jeremias Roman, a tournament champion in Verse Reading.

(February 2008) The Debate Team took home awards at the recent Evanston President's Day Invitational. In the Varsity division, Joe Rosner and Andrew Rehn compiled a preliminary record of 5-0, making them 2nd out of 52 teams. After defeating their challengers in the semifinals and finals, they were proudly named the Varsity Division Champions. Overall, they had a record of 8-0. In the Novice division, Pascal Fernandes earned 7th Speaker out of 48 competitors, and Raj Tyagi earned 3rd Speaker.

(February 2008) The Debate Team brought incredible results home in the Novice Division after competing in the 3rd Annual Lane Tech Warrior Open in Chicago. Astead Herndon and Shawn Crowley were 5-0 in their preliminary debate making them 1st out of 34 teams, and advanced them to the quarterfinals. Emily Carroll and Ian O’Leary were also 5-0 in their preliminary debates, 2nd seed out of 34 teams, and took victories in both the quarterfinals and semifinals that advanced them all the way to the final rounds. Individual Speaker Awards went to the following students: Sophomore Raj Tyagi was 9th Speaker out of 68, Shawn Crowley was 7th Speaker out of 68 and Astead Herndon was 1st Speaker out of 68.

(January 2008)  H-F High School’s Thespians, along with over 4,000 students and staff members in Illinois, attended and performed at the 33rd Annual Illinois High School Theatre Festival (IHSTF) from Thurs. Jan. 10 to Sat. Jan. 12, at Illinois State University in Normal, IL.

(November 2007) H-F's Novice Speech Team members ended their 1st year season as Red Division Champions at the SWSC Novice Conference Tournament at Carl Sandburg High School.

2006-2007

(May 2007) English Teacher Joshua Brown has received two awards: The National Forensics League Diamond Key Award and the Illini District 2007 National Forensics League District Coach of the Year.

(May 2007) English Teacher Sahar Kayyal placed 1st in the Radius of Arab-American Writers Short Story Contest for her story "An Unruly Life".

(November 2006) English Teacher Kevin Wall has been selected as the 2008 All-State Director for the Illinois High School Theatre Festival. This is the largest high school theatre festival in the country, and students from across Illinois will audition to be part of the prestigious All-State cast.

2005-2006

(April 2006) Group Interpretation won 4th Place at State for its performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and Contest Play won 3rd Place for its performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.  Eleven students were named to the prestigious All-State Group Interpretation Cast, and four students were named to the prestigious All-State Drama Cast.

(March 2006) The Debate Team members made history at the IHSA State Championship. It is the first time that any student on the H-F Debate Team has been named as an All-State Debater in at least 20 years, and it is also the first time ever that a student advanced to the elimination rounds in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

(March 2006) The Speech Team, coached by Janine Stroemer and Tracy Badger, added more honors to its record as it competed at the State tournament. The State qualifications landed H-F a tie for the 9th position in point totals, ending in a 14th place tie over 170 competing schools. In Olympic-style medal counts, H-F placed 9th of 172 schools entered in the IHSA State series.

(March 2006) Both H-F's Group Interpretation and Contest Play productions qualified to perform at State based on results from the IHSA Sectional Group Interpretation and Drama Competition. The Contest Play, Twelfth Night, took 2nd place and Group Interpretation's production of Macbeth was named the IHSA Sectional Champion. Six students have also been named to the All-Sectional Casts, an award given to outstanding performances.

(January 2006) The Debate Team is one of around 40 debate teams across the country to have fully qualified a Policy Debate team for the National Tournament of Champions in May at the University of Kentucky.

(October 2005) Coach Joshua Brown and his Debate Team has been awarded membership into the "200 Club" by the National Forensics League (NFL) for achieving 200 degrees or more last year in their chapter, which placed them in the top 5 percent of NFL chapters nationwide.

For more information about these pages,
contact Mr. David Thieman, Director of Human Resources: dthieman@hfhighschool.org