Summer and Fall Highlights 2014 TAFT S AVID PROGRAM Excellence in Leadership and Academics Academic Accomplishments 223 AVID Sophomore, Junior, and Senior students have a GPA of over 3.0 64 AVID students have a GPA of 4.0 or above. The AVID seniors in class are applying for college, such as filling out their Common App, applying for scholarships, and learning how to structure application essays. Outside of School Accomplishments Alexis Anderson (AVID III) visited numerous college campuses and took college level classes over the summer.
Matthew Koso (AVID III) is in the Chicago Police and Fire Training Academy. Colleen Kane (AVID II) was in the Espana Ensomble with ASM. She also appeared on the ABC network with the dance group. Sami Lin Schwieger (AVID II) released her first Album, "Track From My Past" and was featured on the local news website DNAinfo. (Pictured Right) Ana Novillo (AVID II) continued her exploration of her Ecuadorian heritage by traveling around the Cevadas mountain region this past summer. Joseph Lopez, Michael Rosa, and Robert Raszewski (AVID II) completed the boot camp training over the summer for JROTC in Mersailles, IL. (Pictured Right) Sarah Pagan (AVID II) is a member of the Gompers Park Knights Travel Softball Team that won 1st place in tournaments in Hoffman Estates.
Athletics at THS Tara Seif-Kashani (AVID II) Broke the Taft HS track record for the 4x4 and open 400 meter races last Spring. (Pictured Left) Michal Trzupek (AVID I) participated in a soccer camp this summer and earned a spot on the junior varsity soccer team as a goal keeper. Joseph Jastrzebski (AVID III) is captain of the lacrosse team and conducts offseason workouts. Stephanie Wilczynski, Katherine Chavarria, and Jennifer Perez (AVID IV) are the Senior Captains of the Varsity Pom Pon/Dance Team, and Melissa Maligsa (AVID III) is a Junior Captain of the team. (Pictured Below) Of the four senior Varsity Football Captains, TWO are in AVID, Roberto Juarez (AVID IV) and Nicholas Sechesan (AVID IV). (Pictured Left)
Sisters Sarah and Megan Foy (AVID IV) are managers of the Varsity Football Team. Also, Leslie Lopez (AVID II) manages both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. (Pictured Below) Clubs at THS Mihaela Miladinov is the President of the National Honor Society for the 2014-2015 school year. Nicole Wilczynski is the Vice President, Olivia Martin is the Secretary, and Sara Lopez is the Sergeant of Arms. All are in AVID IV. (Pictured Left) Jordan Orta (AVID II) is the president of the Ukulele Club. Sarah Foy (AVID IV) is the President of Student Government. Her sister, Megan Foy (AVID IV), is the Vice President, and Anna Radziewska (AVID IV) is the Treasurer.
Harmony Gonzales (AVID III) is part of the Taft Marching Band. Anna Prado (AVID IV) is the Anime Club President. Bridgett Hennessy (AVID III) is the head of PR for the Drama Club. (Pictured Left) The Arts at THS Nicole Zalewski and Ashley Specht (AVID IV) received the news that they were accepted to be prestigious Eagle Singers. Auditions for the fall play, Grease, took place the first week of school. AVID Student Celeste Castillo (AVID IV) (Pictured Left) is a member of the main cast, playing Jan, a Pink Lady. Marina Castillo (AVID IV), Julia Lait (AVID IV), and Bridgett Hennessy (AVID III) are going to be in the play as members of the ensemble.
Pictures of the AVID Back-to-School Soccer Tailgate. Over 150 AVID students showed their support for the AVID Program and Soccer Program. THS AVID Staff AVID Coordinators: Seamus McGowan and Anil Menon spmcgowan@cps.edu & amenon@cps.edu AVID Teachers: Juan Salinas, Brenda McGeever, Sergio Santillan, Jessica Lane, Barbara Newton, Linda Bahavilai, Vladan Miholjcic AVID Interns: Veronika Klocek, Stephanie Wilczynski, Jonathan Sandoval, Arturo Cadena, Olivia Martin, Jocelyn Mendoza, Isabelle Eiden AVID Update Editors: Stepahnie Wilczynski and Veronika Klocek AVID Counselors: Melissa Gallagher, Sonia Abrego PARENTS: Thank You for Your Support and Involvement!