"Parents of Year" Make Dramatic Sacrifices

Gifted Maine East musician Jessica Bienarz's parents gave up professional careers in Europe, and her dad works three jobs. That's only the start of the sacrifices they made for her education.

  Jessica Bieniarz looks like the quintessential American teenager, with her blond hair, glasses and open, friendly face. She smiles and laughs easily, and her English bears only a trace of the Polish that was her first language. Her parents, Stanislaw and Dorota, still wear the face of their native country. They had come to the United States years ago, before their only daughter was born, and were living here when Jessica arrived, delivered at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago. Jessica’s essay about the sacrifices that her parents made – moving from the Chicago area to Poland and back again – won them recognition from Maine Township High School District 207 as “Parents of the Year” at Maine East High School. That draws a laugh from…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Maine East Takes 1st In Linemen Challenge

Two years ago, the Maine East football team finished dead last in the linemen challenge. This year, they beat out 12 teams and take home first.

Coach Gabe Cory knows that if you're going to win football games, you're going to have to put the time in to compete. His three-year game plan may be showing signs of fruition, as Maine East football took first place at CSL's Linemen Challenge on July 13 at Glenbrook North High School. The competition featured 19 teams from 12 different high schools. Just two years ago, the mostly same group of kids finished dead last in the linemen challenge. Last year, they came in ninth place. This year, however, they brought home the top prize and finished first. Unlike wide receivers and running backs, who participate in 7-on-7 scrimmages, linemen must compete in brute strength exercises during the offseason. Some of the challenges include flipping …

• Photos (7)

The People in Your Neighborhood

Q&A: Maine West Parent, Maine East Substitute Teacher, Dist. 62 Board Member

We ask, where’s a favorite place to go, thing to do.

Stephanie Duckmann, 47, has lived in Des Plaines for 12 years. Two of her sons, James and Crosley Duckmann, and her nephew, Geoff Duckmann, attend Maine West High School. Duckmann is a substitute teacher at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, and she is also the vice president of Community Consolidated School District 62’s board of education. On Tuesday evening Duckmann watched her sons and nephew play a baseball at Maine West against Maine East. In between innings Duckmann answered a few questions about Des Plaines. Patch: Where is one of your favorite places to go in Des Plaines? Duckmann: Sunrise Grill off Touhy. The dinners are great, and it’s BYOB. Last time I was there I had salmon with risotto; it was awesome. It’s a place you …

• Photos (1)

D207 Freshmen Outperform Older Students

Ninth-graders at Maine East, South were tested when they arrived in September, and have higher scores than the district's sophomores, juniors and seniors.

    Freshmen in Maine Township High School District 207 did better, on average, than previous classes on the ACT’s Explore test. The Explore test is generally given as the first is a series of tests culminating with the ACT college entrance exam. All Illinois public high school juniors take the ACT as part of the Prairie State Achievement Exam. The scores, which were presented in a report at a recent school board meeting, showed that the composite Explore score for District 207’s class of 2015 was 17. That's 0.4 points above the average of the composite scores of the last three years, according to the report from Barbara Dill-Varga, the assistant superintendent for curriculum. Earlier: Test scores for class of 2012 slipped “In every …

• Photos (1)

Photo of the Day

Photo of the Day: Maine West Track

Share your favorite pictures from community events; click the green “Upload Photos and Videos” button.

Manny Perez, a freshman at Maine West High School, kicks it into overdrive in the 800-meter relay at a track meet at Maine West on May 8. Maine West finished in second place in the event with a time of 1:48.3. Niles North took first place with a time of 1:45.8. The all-freshmen meet was also attended by students from Deerfield, Glenbrook North, Highland Park and Maine East high schools. Related: Check out all the photos of the day. The last one was of a soccer game. Stay connected: Do you have something to share? Patch makes it easy. Click, type, click again. Adding Events and Announcements to Patch is a breeze. Again, with the clicking and typing, and clicking again. Find Patch on Facebook; click like. Stay connected: Receive an email …

• Photos (1)

Maine West Jumps to No. 8 in Patch's Basketball Rankings

Week 4: Boys’ and girls’ teams undefeated in CSL North.

Patch sports reporter Ross Jacobson ranks high school basketball teams. All the talk at the start of the girls’ season was about the three-team race for the Central Suburban League South title between Niles West, Maine South and New Trier. Yet, in mid-December, the last remaining undefeated team is Glenbrook South. New Trier still seems to be the team to catch in the CSL on the boys’ side, especially after Glenbrook North fell to Deerfield last week. Maine South jumped to No. 2, the biggest move this week. Meanwhile, Glenbrook North fell to No. 5. Earler: See who was last week's Athlete of the Week. Last week’s ranking is in parentheses. Week 4 Ranking 1. New Trier  (1) – The boys took care of their first two CSL South games by beating …

• Photos (1)

Your Turn: Vote for Patch Athlete of the Week

Please help us choose our Athlete of the Week for Dec. 5 - Dec. 11: Glenbrook North's Mark Johnson, Maine West's Conor Hart, Glenbrook South's Nora Landri, Maine East's Danny Sieghart and Deerfield's Michael Alfieri.

Almost 1,000 votes were cast in last week's poll and Evanston's Josh Irving came out on top.  The nominees for Patch Athlete of the Week, Dec. 5- Dec. 11: Michael Alfieri, sophomore, boys basketball, Deerfield – Alfieri was one of the main reasons Deerfield handed CSL North rival Glenbrook North its first loss of the season. The standout sophomore scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assist in the Warriors’ 48-42 overtime win. Mark Johnson, senior, basketball forward, Glenbrook North – Johnson had a career-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds in the Spartans’ 67-39 victory over Niles North last week. Glenbrook North improved to 6-0 on the season and got its first conference victory in the Central Suburban …

• Photos (1)

Video: Dajani's Hat Trick Lifts Maine East Into Sectional Championship

Rami Dajani scored three goals and Michal Walaszek added two in a 5-4 victory over Glenbrook South.

The finish to Maine East’s sectional semifinal in soccer may have been the longest 10 minutes of Maine East coach Vic DiPrizio’s career. But it was well worth the emotional trauma. “It’s such an emotional ride,” DiPrizio said. “It was nerve-racking at the end. That’s soccer. Those 10 minutes, my heart has never beat so fast.” Behind Rami Dajani’s hat trick, the Blue Demons (16-7-1) got out to a 5-2 lead late in the second half. But Glenbrook South stormed back with two goals in the span of less than two minutes to make it a one-goal game. The Titans (14-8-2) had a couple of great scoring chances to tie it up, but Maine East’s defense held on, winning the contest 5-4. The Blue Demons will advance to the sectional championship in Evanston on…

• Videos (1)

Patch's Football Rankings - End of Regular Season

Maine West went winless in 2011 and finished at the bottom of our power rankings.

Patch sports reporter Ross Jacobson ranks the North Shore’s football teams. The regular season ends with seven North Shore teams making the playoffs. Highland Park was the only team that was playoff-eligible but failed to qualify because of a weak strength of schedule. Although Glenbrook North and Niles North had disappointing seasons, both finished off 2011 with big wins. Loyola Academy finishes the regular season at No. 1 because of a statement victory over St. Rita for its conference championship, but a third straight playoff matchup between the Ramblers and Maine South seems inevitable. Last week’s ranking is in parentheses. FINAL REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS 1. Loyola Academy (3)—The Ramblers dominated St. Rita 34-7 to win the Catholic …

• Photos (1)

Patch's Football Rankings - Week 9

Maine West fell to rival Maine East, staying winless on the season.

Patch sports reporter Ross Jacobson ranks the North Shore’s best football teams. Not much change in our rankings leading into the final week, but still lots of drama to come. Our top seven teams took care of business with victories last weekend while the bottom five were on the losing end. North Shore moved up a spot with its impressive win over Longwood while Loyola struggled to put away Brother Rice. Five of our teams will be playing for conference championships next weekend while Deerfield, New Trier, Highland Park and Evanston still have not clinched a playoff berth. Last week’s ranking is in parentheses. WEEK 9 RANKINGS 1. Maine South (1) – The Hawks made it look easy in a 49-0 win over Waukegan. The starters only played in the first …

• Photos (1)