Laugh Now, Cry Later
Earlier this year, I read a news article about Ethan Westbrook, an NFL player, who got a face tattoo in order to provide extra motivation to make it in the NFL. After all, with his newly-acquired face tattoo, what employer in the “real world” would want to hire him? He must have learned this strategy by studying Hernando Cortes, who, when facing an uphill battle to conquer the Aztecs to claim the land for Spain, ordered one of his men to burn the boats to ensure that they were fully committed to the cause. (Footnote: Cortes ordered the boats to be scuttled, or sunk, not burned! "Burn the boats!" is a much better rallying cry than "Scuttle the boats!")
We remember the Cortes story because his conquests were successful, and many companies and sports teams use this historical reference to convince their team to be “all in” as they pursue the organization's mission. The jury is still out on Ethan Westbrook’s success. To date, he has played in four games with the Rams, making four tackles. Maybe he’s wishing he would have merely hidden his boats on the other side of the island...
Now I want you to think about your student’s tattoo. You didn’t know he/she had one? I guarantee that 99% of FHS students have a tattoo--a digital tattoo. We used to call this a digital footprint, but this term insinuates that a person’s online presence can be eroded over time, covered up, or washed away. We want students to know that their online activity is much more permanent. Hence, we use the term “digital tattoo.”
Students have an overwhelming presence on social media, and it is daunting for parents to keep up. But that is exactly what I encourage you to do. Ask to see your student’s accounts for:
- Instagram
- Twitter
- Yik Yak
- SnapChat
- Facebook (if he/she still has one)
- AskFM
Then, check out these other things on their cell phones or school-issued iPads:
- Contacts--Do you know all of the people listed under Contacts?
- Text messages--Are the messages appropriate? If there are no messages, ask them why.
- Camera Roll--What pictures is your student taking? Saving?
- PhotoStream--Don’t forget to check the photos saved in the iCloud!
- Other social media or storage apps (Photo Vault, Google Drive, Dropbox)
- Have you Googled your student’s name to see what comes up? Click on the “Images” tab--I’m surprised by what comes up for my name when I do this.
If you are periodically checking your student’s digital tattoo, there is a much better chance that future admissions officers and employers will like what they see (or don’t see). As we eagerly wait to see how our students’ stories play out, they will likely avoid the words of warning tattooed on Ethan Westbrook’s face: “Laugh Now, Cry Later.” And the best part of all, their boats will still be intact.
That’s too many metaphors, but you get the point.
Here’s the story I referenced: Ethan's Face Tattoo
Highlights and Successes
- Congratulations to Coach Chris Grattoni and the Fremd Math Team for earning second place at the North Suburban Math League meet on October 30. The following students earned perfect papers: Kevin Chen (freshman), Elizabeth Perez (freshman), Daniel Tokarz (junior), and Jennie Yang (senior).
- Congratulations to Coach Jerry Moon and the Fremd Chess Team on bringing home a trophy for finishing 4th place out of 30 teams at the Evanston Chess Tournament. The competition consisted of six out of the top 10 teams in the state. Special congratulations to Ryan Cajandig, who earned an individual 1st place award on board #3, and Nathan Narasimhan, who earned an individual 3rd place award on board #7.
- Congratulations to the following Varsity debaters for winning awards at Fremd's Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglas Debate Tournament: Public Forum--John Komoll, Top Speaker, Matthew Carlins and John Komoll, 1st Place Team, Zach Jordan and Ishan Taparia, 2nd Place, Rebecca Beale and Eric Simon, 3rd Place, and Lincoln-Douglas--Angie Peng, 3rd Place.
- Congratulations to Coach Joe Marcin and the Girls Cross Country Team on placing 3rd at Sectionals and qualifying for the State meet. Ayako Higuchi was all-sectional placing 8th. The cross country team members are: Ayako Higuchi, Katie Escobar, Anita Grudzien, Nora Finegan, Jessie Peterson, Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan, Lauren Ciardiello, Monica Zawisza, Bell Moroney and Anna LaValle.
- Congratulations to Coach Steve Keller and the Boys Soccer Team on being Sectional Champs, and qualifying for Super Sectionals. James Lefevre made the winning goal with 12 minutes left.
- Congratulations to Coach Andrew Kittrell and the Girls Swimming & Diving Team on winning the Conference Championship for the 3rd time in a row. Congratulations go to: Medley Relay: Grace Grzybek, Loretta Stelnicki, Saki Takumiya, and Grace Kneller—1st place; 200 Free: Erica King, 2nd place ; Julia Portmann 3rd place; 200 IM: Grace Grzybek 3rdm place, Becca Ballo 6th place; 50 Free: Grace Kneller 3rd place, Loretta Stelnicki 4th place; Diving: Sydney Plichta 2nd place; Sarah McTague 3rd place; 100 Fly: Saki Takumiya 1st place; Julia Portmann 5th place; 100 Free: Grace Kneller2nd place; Emily Kini 3rd place; 500 Free: Erica King 3rd place; Emily Bolger5th place; 200 Free Relay: Grace Kneller, Loretta Stelnicki, Grace Grzybek, Erica King—1st place; 100 Back: Grace Grzybek 2nd place, Saki Takumiya 3rd place; 100 Breast: Becca Ballo2nd place, ShaeTaylor 5th place; 400 Free Relay: Erica King, Saki Takumiya, Julia Portmann, Loretta Stelnicki,2nd place.
- Congratulations to juniors Kellie Halloran and Dayna Duffy on taking 1st place in their age group in the Day of the Dead 5K race.
- Congratulations to Coach Steve Keller and the Boys Soccer Team on their win over New Trier at Super Sectionals and advancing to the State Meet.
Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events
November 7
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Boys Soccer State Finals - HEHS 7:00 pm
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November 8
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Girls Cross Country State FInals
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November 10-13
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Fine Arts Fest (periods 1-8)
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November 18
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Late Start (8:50 start)
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November 18
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Fall Sports Awards 7:00 p.m.
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November 19
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College Financing Seminar 7:00 p.m.
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November 26
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Non Attendance Day
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November 27-28
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Thanksgiving Break
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Staff Spotlight
Name: Nancy Cadenas
Position: Receptionist/Student Services
Years at Fremd: 4 months
Life Before Fremd: Grew up in the Chicago area. Married and have 3 sons. I was a stay at home Mom for many years. I had to move my family to Ohio and then Maryland for my husband’s job. While in Maryland I worked at C. Milton Wright High School for 13 years.
Hobbies/Interests: I love gardening, cooking, shopping, going to movies and watching the Cubs, Bears, Hawks and Bulls.
Insider Tip for Parents: Always check the Fremd website for updated information.
Ask the Principal
Q: How is GPA calculated?
A: Overall, GPA is calculated very simply. We throw out the plus or minus, and just look at the base of each grade:
A = 4.0
B = 3.0
C = 2.0
D = 1.0
F = 0.0
Things get a little more complicated when you factor in the “bump” for an Honors/AP course, which is calculated at a 0.2225 for each semester, for each course.
Scenario:
A 9th grader has a 3.2 GPA before adding the bumps.
This student took Honors Bio and Honors English. A 0.22225 will be added to the GPA for EACH of these courses.
3.2 + 0.22225 + 0.22225 = 3.6445
That is pretty easy when you are calculating just one semester. When your student is a senior, you will have 8 semesters to calculate in this manner, and then average them...OR...You can try this method.
Scenario:
A graduating senior’s GPA (minus the bumps for Honors/AP) is 3.2.
The student has been enrolled for 8 semesters.
The student took 20 semesters of Honors/AP courses. (Each semester of a year-long course counts as an Honors/AP course.)
# of semesters of Honors/AP courses taken in total DIVIDED BY # of total semesters student has been enrolled at FHS.
20 DIVIDED BY 8 = 2.5
Mutliply this by 0.22225.
2.5 x 0.22225 = 0.555625.
Cumulative GPA is 3.2 + 0.555625 = 3.755625.
Clear as mud? If not, please check out this PowerPoint that we recently showed to our Freshman VAMP classes at the end of the quarter. Calculating GPA
Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.
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