In recognition of their excellence, four Niles North staff members and 16 students have made news recently. The students, who have been acknowledged for their musical abilities, have been given the opportunity to perform in front of some of Illinois’ most esteemed judges. Meanwhile, the teachers have all been recognized for their contributions to the school and other organizations to which they belong.

31 District 219 students have been invited to perform at this year’s Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) District 7 Festivals which will take place on Nov. 10 at Glenbrook North High School. Their performance will determine whether or not they will be invited to the All-State Festival, the most prestigious high school music festival in Illinois, this January in Peoria. The following students from Niles North have been selected:

Jonathan Luk, viola; Jacob Nagler, bass; Aidan Perreault, first violin; Karli Goldenberg, flute-piccolo; Daniel Sahyouni, percussion; Ashley Faith-Ferrer, contrabass clarinet; Christopher Scheithauer, trumpet; Sally Alvarado, soprano I; Phoebe Yeo, soprano II; Sarah Alkyer, alto I; Taylor Gardner, alto I; Karen Savella, alto I; Glenwin Ebreo, tenor I; Eugene Hyun, tenor I; Matt Sund, bass I; and Noah Zeidman, bass II.

Jason Brown, the new District 219 Fine Arts Director, received the prestigious Excellence in Education award from the St. Louis American Foundation at its 25th Anniversary Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala. On Sept. 14, Jeremiah Nixon, the governor of Missouri, issued an official proclamation honoring Brown on this achievement.

The award recognized Brown for revitalizing the arts program at Riverview Gardens School District in St. Louis. He was commended for using every possible resource available to the district including grants, collaborations, community partnerships, donations and human resources in order to further the program and expose the students to broader ranges of artistic expression.

Gevik Anbarchian, an English and English Language Learner (ELL) teacher here at North, was selected to present two workshops at the Southern Nevada Chapter of California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)’s state conference. Anbarchian is the president of Illinois’ TESOL and Bilingual Education program for the 2012-13 school year after presenting at the conferences in Illinois for four years.

The theme of this years’ conference was “The Promise of English,” and his workshops were entitled “Using Political Speeches to Teach Language and Culture” and “Teaching Language, Culture and Academic Knowledge through the New Yorker Cartoons.”  The conference took place on Oct. 19 and 20 at the West Charleston Campus at the College of Southern Nevada. Anbarchian will also be presenting at the international conference in Dallas about how to use Shakespeare in ELL classes, which will take place in March.

Jerry Pope, the District’s National College Adviser, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) at the group’s 68th National Conference held recently in Denver. Pope has been a member of NACAC since 1993 and has held previous leadership positions there including Vice President of Admission Practices.

Tiffany Stallone, one of the school’s guidance counselors, was elected as the Secondary Level Vice President of the Illinois School Counselor Association (ISCA) for the 2012-13 school year. The ISCA’s goal is to promote excellence in professional school counseling as a fundamental component in the development of all students. Stallone is out on maternity leave until Nov. 13, but that hasn’t stopped her from continuing to fulfill her new position and being one of many Niles North staff members to be recognized for all they do for this school.

Four Niles North students were named Commended Students in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 34,000 students throughout the nation were awarded with this title. From Niles North, seniors Vi-Vien Bui, Joel Feinerman, Elana Kennedy and Phoebe Yeo earned the title. Though they won’t move on in the competition for the 2013 National Merit Scholar awards, they did place among the top five percent of the more than 1.5 million students who entered the competition by taking the PSAT.