SUMMIT, IL – DECEMBER 15, 2017– Argo Community High School was selected by Microsoft as a 2017-2018 Microsoft Showcase School for their excellence in transforming its learning environment to deliver more personalized education to students. They are also recognized for using mobile and cloud technology to bet-ter prepare students for success in the workplace.

Argo Community High School joins an exclusive community of more than 2500 premier schools from around the world, recognized to celebrate their truly pioneering efforts and innova-tion in rethinking teaching, learning and assessment in order to drive deep 21st century competencies. Micro-

soft Showcase Schools are the change makers in education. These innovative schools promote personalized learning approaches supported by Microsoft solutions. Leaders and educators in Showcase Schools thoughtfully con-sider the role of technology as they explore new ways to redesign learning spaces, restructure curriculum, rein-vent pedagogy and reimagine what 21st century leading and learning looks like across diverse contexts.

The school district launched its One2One initiative in January of 2016, piloting Microsoft Surface Pro tablet computers to enhance teaching and learning. “Being selected as a Micro-soft Showcase School is an amazing honor and recognition of the passion

our teachers and staff have for creating the best learning environments possi-ble,” said Dr. Chris Covino, Principal at Argo Community High School. “We look forward to sharing our experiences with other schools in our community and the world to continue finding innovative ways to equip our students with the proper tools needed for success inside and outside of the classroom.”

As a Showcase School, Argo Com-munity High School will work closely with Microsoft to lead innovation in education and communicate a vision for education enabled by technology through the hosting and mentoring of other schools in the community on transformational educational practices.

Alumni Newsletter

SUMMIT, IL – AUGUST 18, 2017 On Friday, August 18, members of the Argo Community High School Dis-trict 217 Board of Education, faculty and elected officials joined Richard and Sharon Portillo as the ribbon was cut on the Richard and Sharon Porti-llo Performing Arts Center.

The Portillo family generously donated $1 million toward the com-pletion of the $17.5 million project. Additional funding was secured through Qualified School Construc-tion Bonds (QSCB), which are offered by the federal government, and enable the District to borrow money at little to no interest. Argo Community High School is one of only 29 school dis-tricts from Illinois selected for this funding opportunity. Argo Communi-ty High School is grateful to the Porti-llo family for their generous donation to their alma mater, which will serve the students and community of Argo Community High School District 217 for years to come.

Helping to officially open the Argo Community High School Richard and Sharon Portillo Performing Arts Center are from left: Dr. Jill Kingsfield, Superintendent; Joe Murphy, Business Manager/CSBO; Dr. Kevin O’Mara, Retired Superintendent; Dr. Chris Covino, Principal; Wayne Turcotte, IHC Construction; Terry Pappas, School Board President; Joe Slattery, IHC Construction; Helen Mallis, School Board Vice President; Sharon Portillo; Richard Portillo; Dr. Dan Kozal, School Board Secretary; Nick Caprio, School Board Member; Dallis Anderson, School Board Member; Lou Noto, DLA Architects

Follow Argo Community High School on:

You will notice the Planet Argo publication has gone through a change with this latest edition. We want to make sure that our Argo Alumni have the yearly opportunity to learn about all of the amazing happenings with our students, alumni, and school community. In order to make this happen, we have opted to go with a “newspaper look” which will save the District approximately $9,000 each year. We hope you understand that, in these financially challenging times for all schools, we

must look for avenues to save on expenditures. In addition, for those of you graduating with the Class of 1990 or after, you will not be sent a paper copy of Planet Argo. A link to the yearly Planet Argo will be posted on the Alumni section at www.argohs.net. We will also post the link on the Argo Alumni Facebook page. Enjoy this edition of Planet

Argo as it shares much good news about your Argo Community High School.

Argo Community High School joins with Richard and Sharon Portillo for the

GRAND OPENING OF THE PORTILLO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

(“Big Mike”), Class of 2015, is the starting center at Missouri Southern State University and was recently recognized by the Mid-America Inter-collegiate Athletics Association for his work as an offensive lineman. As an Argo freshman, Mike was a starter on the Sophomore SSC Red Division Conference Championship football team. He anchored the of-fensive line his junior year resulting in an 8-3 season and played in the Sweet 16 Class 6A IHSA Playoffs in 2013. Mike earned SSC Red division All-Conference honors for his performance on the offensive line his senior year at Argo.

Argonaut Alumni in the News

MIKE DZIERZEGA,

Argo Community High School selected as a

2017-2018 MICROSOFT SHOWCASE SCHOOL

PLANET ARGO FACELIFT

2 Planet Argo January 2018

I am honored to introduce myself to you as the eleventh Superintendent of Argo Community High School. As I begin my tenure at Argo, I want to share with you some of my past experiences that have prepared me to serve as Superintendent. I have over 24 years of experience in suburban school districts. I began my career as a Spanish teacher and dean of students at Lake Park High School before moving to Fenton High School as assistant principal and director of curriculum and instruction. All of these positions have played an important role in shaping who I am as an educator - passionate about students and a tireless proponent of quality education for all students in a caring environment. I am thrilled to be part of the Argo community and look forward to serving future genera-tions of Argonauts for years to come.

As I have learned from past Argo Superintendents, the tradition and pride in the Argo High School community runs very deep. I have been privileged to meet generations of Argonauts over the past several months at various school and community events and a common theme has emerged: our alumni love Argo High School. The dedication of our alumni and their willingness to help support our school has surpassed my expectations. The large crowds of alumni and friends at last January’s Alumni Basketball game, the generations of Argonauts who attended the first ever Argo Higher Education Foundation Casino Night in March, and the outpouring of generosity at the Annual Golf Tournament in June made me realize that supporting Argo Community High School is a way of life in our community. The funds raised at these alumni events provide scholarships to graduating Argo seniors each year. You all continue to make a difference at Argo even after years away. Thank you.

Over the last several months I attended many events at and around Argo. I have been struck by the tremendous pride this community has for our high school and all it has to offer our students. As you look through the pages of this edition of Planet Argo, I hope you feel a sense of pride for your alma mater, Argo alumni accomplishments, and our current students and their endeavors. Visible in each hallway of our building, on our athletic fields, and at our extracurricular activities are students who are carrying on Argo’s traditions, striving for success and focused on college, career, and life readiness. I want to thank you for your dedication to the Argo Community High School community and I invite you to visit us or attend one of the many athletic or activity events. Hope to see you out and about at our upcoming alumni events.

Sincerely, Dr. Jill Kingsfield

After the VFW closed, Argo had to find an alternate location for the Alumni gathering after the basketball games. With the help of Bridgeview Mayor Landek, we were able to rent out the Club Level of Toyota Park. It was a great success with over 300 alumni in attendance. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the fun we hope to see all of you on Fri-day, January 12, 2018 at this year’s events.

A new tradition began last Jan-uary 2017 at our annual Alumni Night: Fifteen of our outstanding Argo alumni athletes played in the First Annual Argo Alumni Bas-ketball game hosted in the Swan-son Gymnasium. Our Argo Pep Band played in the background to encourage and inspire the teams towards victory. Thanks to Coaches Dallis Anderson and Phil Svetich for their dedication to this new Alumni event.

The Second Annual Alumni Game is January 12, 2018. The following Argo Alumni will play:

Corinne Aldarondo, Lidia Arias, TiShuan Booker, Kendall Carpen-ter, Marquis Dotson, Jose Espada Jr, Marcus Fry, Brucale Green, David Harris, Kyle Hill, Robert Jackson, Lirim Kaciu, Jermaine Linder, Joe Marrotta. III, Kendale McDonald, Al Sewascink, Caroli-na Tovar, Morris Woods

Class of 2015, a junior mathematics actuarial science major at Millikin University, was honored as the first recipient of the Dr. Randal S. Beck Award in Actuarial Science on Nov. 7. The award reimburses the cost of actuarial exams for current Millikin students, with passing an exam as the main criterion for reimbursement. Millikin alumni Jason Goldfarb ‘05 and his wife Meghan Sims Goldfarb ‘08 es-tablished an endowment for the award in Dr. Randal Beck’s name, emeritus professor of mathematics at Millikin.

Argonaut Alumni in the News

RYAN SIKORA,

JASON DAVIDSON,

(Source: https://millikin.edu/news/millikin-mathematics-student-receives-first-dr-randal-s-beck-award)

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE

JANUARY 2017 ALUMNI NIGHT

Great Turnout for 2017 Alumni Night Reception at Toyota Park

Class of 2012, was recently featured in Lanterns, the alumni magazine for the University of Dubuque. Jason is a secondary science education major that graduated in December 2017 from the University of Dubuque. He was also a member of the wrestling team at Dubuque, a three sport ath-lete at Argo in football, wrestling, and track and worked a few summers at Argo in the maintenance department.

Class of 2017, has published his first book called “The Munchkin Guide: The 16 Lessons I Learned in High School.” His intent is to share his words of wisdom with students entering high school, to inspire and encourage them to choose their own pathways to success, including self-love, self-dis-cipline, finding passion, and staying focused. He has reached out to area high school principals to worki with incoming freshmen or provide motiva-tional speeches for student assem-blies. David is currently a freshman at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

DAVID HERNANDEZ,

Planet Argo 3January 2018

Argonaut Alumni in the News

Argo’s Marching Band marches in the 2017 Washington D.C. Memorial Day Parade

On Friday, April 7, 2017, Fox32’s Jake Ham-ilton visited Argo Community High School for Pep Rally Friday. He spent the morning with our baseball and softball teams, the cast of “Shrek, the Musical”, our Special Olympics bas-ketball team, Culinary Arts students, Physics and Welding students, and ended the morning with several other teams and a school-wide Pep Rally. The energy and pride as Argonauts was alive throughout the building and Jake was extremely impressed with the students and staff of Argo Community High School.

Argo Community High School sophomore Abby Lopez, SSC Conference Champion, IHSA Class 6A Regional and Sectional Champion, and fin-ished her season placing 6th at the IHSA State Fi-nals at Detweiller Park in Peoria on November 4, 2017. Congratulations to Abby and Coaches Mary Bergman and Paul Thompson for a great season.

Class of 1988, for being selected by the Illinois Bas-ketball Coaches Association into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame this past weekend at the 45th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, May 6th at The Illinois State Redbird Arena. A great honor for Argo High and Ray. In the picture are all Argo alumni plus Ray including Coach Rick Moss and Pat Moss.

Class of 1990, currently works with the New England Patriots. He started with the team in 2000. Joe is the Athletic Trainer and Rehabilitation Director for the Patriots and has earned 5 winning Super Bowl rings. He has been honored to receive the 2017 NFL Assistant Trainer of the Year Award and the 2017 Ed Block Training Room Of the Year Award. Approximately 10 years ago, Joe received the Argo Community High School Distinguished Alumni Award in Medicine. The photos are taken on the field at Super Bowl LXI. First photo is Joe VanAllen and Sharon Froedge Hartz, ACHS class of 1965. Second photo is Joe and wife Jody, with their children, and Sharon on the field following the game.

Chicago’s Fox32 Good Day Chicago Spotlights Argo High School

Argo’s Abby Lopez Cross Country Season a Huge Success

Argo’s Marching Band marched in the Washington D.C. Memorial Day Parade on May 29, 2017. 89 students, 7 chaperones, and 5 staff members participated in this amazing opportunity to honor our Nation’s soldiers, past and present, with their musical talents.

RAYMOND D. THOMPSON,Congratulations to

JOE VANALLEN,

4 Planet Argo January 2018

On June 14, 2017, the Argo Higher Education Foundation hosted its annual Golf Outing to benefit the scholarship program for Argo High School senior students. For the Class of 2017, the Foundation was able to award 15 renewable $1,000 scholarships. With the proceeds of the June 2017 Golf Outing the Argo Higher Education Foundation will be able to continue providing such outstanding scholarship opportunities to the Class of 2018. Thank you to the many generous supporters and golfers who participated in this fun-filled outing, raising close to $22,000 for the Foundation.

HOSPITALITY SPONSORSFranczek Radelet P.C. CMM Group

HOLE-IN-ONE SPONSORSMcNellis InsuranceWiliams-Hayward Protective Coatings K&K Iron Works, LLCFirst Student

TEE SPONSORSAbbey PavingAmber Mechanical Contractors, Inc Arbor ManagementArgo Senior Class Board Argo Teachers Union Chemcraft Industries Chicago Office Products Cordigan Clark & Associates Dave BradyDLA Architects, LTD. Echin Publication Fasano’s PizzaFrank and Margaret Basile Grand StageHargrave Building, Inc O’Mara FamilyIHC ConstructionHumanities Dept., Social Studies, Music, & ArtHY-Power Electric Company Independence Tube CorporationA Nucor Company IwanskiJ.P. Hopkins Sewer Contractor, Inc Just Rite AcousticsLeonard Plumbing Matthew Paving

MetalmasterMike & Kathy Budde, class of ‘68 & ‘70 Nikolas Painting Contractors, Inc Signature Demolition Services, IncSportsfields, INCSteve Landek State Senator 12th District Class of ‘73Summit Auto Body Talerico-Martin BakeryVortex Commerical Flooring Weglarz CompanyWiliams-Hayward Protective CoatingsWillow FloristW-T Group, LLC Zenere

PROGRAM SPONSORSConstantine and Athena TouliosJohn ByrnesTom Lesniak Summit Lodge #29People Voices For Education, DaveJohnson, President, En Memorium PSRP Argo Support StaffHayes Mechanical Chapman and Cutler Metropolitan Corp PPS DepartmentD.R. PhillipsTom and Joan Dixey Superior Machine Inc. The Graphic EdgeRiddell Sports/Kollegetown Sports Carey Cochrane ‘76 Class

Lifelong friends join together to support the Argo Higher Education Foundation and look forward to the second week in June each year to play some golf and reminisce.

Thank you to recently retired Argo Community High School Superintendent Dr. Kevin O’Mara for his assistance in growing this outstanding yearly event.

ARGO HIGHER EDUCATION FOUNDATION GOLF OUTING JUNE 2017

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SUPPORTERS

Planet Argo 5January 2018

1956Sally Taloff (Jones)Widow4 childrenRetired administrative assistantEnjoyed traveling to 23 countries & 9 Canadian Provinces since 2004.Remembers: “Happy Days” with many friends still in my life.Widow of Harold (class of .53). At age 60, I met my half-sister for the 1st time in California. I have 4 children, 9 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren all living nearby. salmartal@att.net

1961Joseph Manske Jr.Widow3 childrenRetired Sheet Metal Worker4 years with the United States Navy, 3rd Class Remembers: 1960 South Suburban Conference, being on the football team, parade and recognitionMarried Judith Mizwicki July 5, 1961. Married for 49 years and 8 months. She passed away in April of 2011.

1973Eric RuschMarried 4 childrenRetired policeman for a little over 32 yearsRemembers: Going all through Europe with the choir in the summer of 1971. A 3 week trip. Fundraisers, fundraisers and more fundraisers. I used to love being a part of plays, musicals, and Homecoming. erusch@gmail.com

1973Phyllis Thornhill MinkelMarried2 childrenFiberglass Laminatorphylshill3@gmail.com

1974Dan HeckerMarried4 children5 grandchildren Live in Burbank

1974Mona White HowardMarried 43 years3 children3 granddaughtersCurrently live in Channahon, IL

1976Ruth GergitsI teach biology at Argo and will be retiring at the end of this school year. It has been amaz-ing to work there and serve our community. It’s been a wonderful 36 years.

1976Deborah Neill BocconcelliWidow1 childEarly Childhood Profession InstructorCareer & Technical Early Child-hood CertificationRemember: Mr. Guzo always makimg me make a “right” turn instead of “left” when in the drivers ed class.teachya89@aol.com

1978Cindy Braun Lewis Married2 childrenLine Leader- Coordinator- Rich Products, Crest Hill, IL Travel whenever possible- go west they say- “I do” Remembers: The friends I made and the great teachers. Mr. Faulkner was the most fun, taught with humor so we un-derstood. Mr. Columbo, social science, wish we would have taken your advice and opened a bottled water company. We would be billionaires. Loved the honest and trust with teachers at Argo. Thank you. caneyerelax@yahoo.com

1978Michael MilamMarriedRetiredLiving in Bolingbrook.Wife Jeannie teaches in Joliet.Currently serving on the Board of Directors for United Way of Will County; Big brother for BBBS

1978Lorraine Schroeder Not marriedNo childrenRetail Managerjack4077@att.net

1980Lynda MiserendinoLiving in Lago Vista, Texas

1985Tamara Wilson Floyd3 childrenDirector of Cardiopulmonary and Environmental Services at a local hospital. I’ve lived in West Tennessee for the past 27 years.3 daughters and 3 grandchildren

1987Eva Manzke Suyko Married3 childrenBeginning 25th year as teacher in District 104 in Summit. Con-tinue to coach Girls Track at Argo Community High School.Married to Marty for 25 years with 3 children Morgan 23, Marty Jr. 19, and Madison 17. All three children play soccer, 2 in college at Valparaiso University and Lewis University. One at Carl Sandburg HS.

1990Tammy Gross JanesMarried3 childrenI am just completing my degree Medical Billing and Coding and have worked in the medical field just over 4 years. Remembers: I truly miss the halls of Argo and have wonderful memories. I love music just as much as I did standing on that stage in choir. The class of ‘90’ is still just as close now as we were back then if not stronger. I am forever an Argonaut I am married with three wonder-ful children. I have been married to my best friend for 21 years. We live in West Tennessee.

1994Jessica SmithMarried2 children

1995Georgia KrimbasMarried3 childrenManagement with thee best company ever, Costco Retired from AT&T /Ameritech after 13 years as a manager.Wife of an amazing man!! Mom of 3, our daughter Amber will be 21.

1996Michael KealyEnglish Teacher and Head Varsity Boys Soccer Coach at Stagg High SchoolB.A. Augustana College, M.A. Governor’s State University

1996Michael MelendezMarried3 childrenI was recently promoted to Assistant Campus Legal Counsel for UIC and earlier this year was elected to the LaGrange District 102 School Board for a 4 year term. I reside in Brookfield, with my wife and three kids. I also coach youth soccer and basket-ball as well as volunteer as a Little League Baseball manager.

1997Keith BartelmeyMarried1 childI am a special education teacher at Eisenhower Junior High in Darien, IL.Eastern Illinois graduate, working on my Master’s Degree in Read-ing Instruction through Aurora UniversityI am currently living in North Aurora, IL. I’ve been married for 15 years to my wife, Amber. We met at Eastern Illinois Univer-sity during our freshman year. We have a 9 year old daughter named Hannah.

1997David BellI received a Bachelors degree in Social Science with teacher certification from Eastern Illinois University, and later earned a Masters Degree in History from that same institution. After teaching high school for ten years, I moved into admin-istration and am currently an Assistant Principal at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago.

1997Louis EspositoCurrent Assstant Football Coach Andrew HS.Team Sales Representative Lan-sing Sport Shop Benedictine class of ‘01, 4 year football letterman. Assistant Football Coach/ Re-cruiting Coordinator Mount Ida College 02-08.

1998Jennifer Crowe2 childrenI will be beginning my career as a preschool teacher as of January 2018. Then I am off to continue my degree to eventually pursue my masters in science so that I can be a geography teacher.Mother of two, a girl and a boy, two years apart.

1998Stacey Pennington EstradaAwarded a scholarship to achieve a Masters of Science in Management from the American College of Financial Services, expected graduation July 2018.

1998Jamie Stuker Vermillion Married2 childrenCertified Surgical Tech for derma-tological surgeon AST Member, NBSTA CertifiedRemembers: Band and choir tripsjamievermillion@mail.com

1998Bekime XherajI’ve been teaching in District 104 for the last 15 years. It is great contributing to a communi-ty I grew up in.

1999Renette Hilton Wallace Recently accepted a new position at the Pentagon as a Political Affairs Officer in The International Affairs Office. Proud Argonauts, handling the Nations business!

1999Shari Perkins Smith Major Shari Perkins, United States Air Force. Force Support Officer recently as-signed to The Air Force Colonels Group and currently assigned at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Proud Argonauts, handling the Nations business!

2002Dana Fountain Louder MarriedMy Husband (Christopher Foun-tain class of 97) and I recently bought a historic landmark property on South Michigan Ave-nue, in Chicago and renovated it into a wedding and event space called Row 24. (Rowtwentyfour.com). Our wedding was the first event in the space in May of this year! Great for weddings, corpo-rate events, social events, and of course High school reunions!!!

2002Michael HiemerMarried2 childrenI’m currently a firefighter/para-medic with the Bedford Park Fire Department.I’m happily married with two children, a girl and a boy. We reside in Oswego, IL. My wife is a middle school ELA teacher in the Troy 30c school district.

2005Mayra Ortiz CamachoMarried2 childrenCurrently work at Nicor Gas.Graduated with a Bachelors de-gree from Dominican University in 2009. Will be graduating from Lewis University in May 2018 with a Masters in Organizational Leadership.Have two daughters, Emma (3) and Elisa (1). Married Argo Alum Jose Ortiz, class of 2002. Serve as a Summit Board Trustee.

2006Briana Betts-HaleyMarried2 children

2006Michaela Stambaugh SimpsonMarried1 childOwner of Michaela Raquel Lash ExtensionsMarried to Allen Stambaugh since 6/22/2013, and proud parent of Jordan Stambaugh, age 2, with another due April 2018.

2007Mallory Laiter MarkertMaster of Education in Decem-ber 2016Married in September 2016New Home in October 2016

2009Amy MarkertGraduated Columbia College Chicago!

2009Sadim MemishiCriminal Defense Attorney-The Memishi Law Firm

2011Rebecca Borst2 childrenI am currently a paraprofession-al at a public school district in Tinley Park. I have Associates degree in early childhood educa-tion and I am currently attending a college to obtain my Bachelors in Special Elementary Education and an ELL endorsement.

2014Dontai Johnson I am in my last semesters of my senior year at Central Methodist University. Majoring in criminal justice. Played football all four years of college. Have offers to play professionally overseas. Will pursue a Masters degree and assistant coach, after I further my football career for a year or two overseas.Favorite memory at Argo was playing on a history-making foot-ball team in 2013.

2017Prince WashingtonWhile pursuing a degree in Political Science and Education, I will defend the State of Illinois against all evils both foreign and domestic. As of November 29th, was sworn into the 183rd fighter of the Illinois National Guard I will make Argo and all those whom have helped me proud. Thanks to those like Dr. O’mara and Mrs Bean. Every one there has played into who I am now today at the University of Illinois Springfield and as a thanks it’s my turn to give back.

Alumni Quest… Where are they now?

6 Planet Argo January 2018

Michael Vick ‘41June 25, 2016

Mary Jo Janchenko (Di Gangi) ‘47September 14, 2017

Alfred Pankow ‘47February 7, 2017

Survived by many relatives and friends. Member of the Board of Education, Argo Community High School, District #217 for 26.5 years; Past Eighth District Commander of the American Legion; Past Commander of the Wm. R. Edmondson Pst #832 Amer-ican Legion, Willow Springs, Illinois; Past President of the Past Commanders Club of the American Legion State of Illinois; Past Sgt-at-Arms of the Department of Illinois American Legion; Charter Vice President (2 yrs) and helped organize the Willow Springs Lions Club; Over 60 years as a Barber in Willow Springs, Illinois.

Tannie Mandel (Sonopol) ‘49March 23, 2017

Tannie passed away in her home in Sa-linas, CA. She taught school for 39 years before retiring. Most of her teaching career was in California where she enriched the lives of many children, especially sharing her experiences in Russia during the sum-mer of 1959. Tannie worked for Whirlpool Company and demonstrated their equipment at the Russian Exposition. Tannie married her high school sweetheart, Jan Mandel in 1952. They lived in Wisconsin and Alaska before settling in Salinas. It was in Alaska that she learned to fly a single engine Cess-na airplane. Tannie graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelors in Arts in Teaching. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Jan Mandel, sister, Dorothy Griffin; nephews Todd Griffin and Raymond Griffin and great-nephew, Steven Griffin and Great nieces, Kelli and Jennifer Griffin.

Joseph Bojanowski ‘52September 2017

Patricia Jalovec (Corcoran) ‘52March 12, 2017

Born in Willow Springs, Patricia attended Argo Summit High School and upon gradua-tion she started work as an admin for Corn products. In 1955, she married Tony Jalovec and started their family of five children. She and her husband successfully ran their fam-ily trucking business A & J Cartage for over thirty years. Pat’s true love was her family and her favorite role was that of grand-mother. She was elated when she became great grandmother for the first time to baby Sophia born last July. Pat will be remem-bered for her devotion to family, her strength and generosity to others.

Gael Westerhoff ‘53August 8, 2017

Gael worked for Amoco Oil Co. for 34 years. He was active in the community, serv-ing as a Trustee for the Village of Western Springs, a member of the Western Springs Police and Fire Commission, and a member of the LaGrange Jaycees.

Arlene Zeman (Chor) ‘55February 2017

Thomas Brown ‘58February 2017

Patricia Le Grand (Fisher) ‘58July 2017

Bill Theurer ‘59April 10, 2017

Patrick Shaughnessy ‘60February 2017

Don Clark ‘61Don attended Missouri Baptist College af-

ter graduating from Argo. He was in sales all of his life, was an active outdoors man, and active in church and civic groups.  He was a talented wood worker, and taught classes of hunter safety courses and worked with youth groups in his local church. He is survived by his wife, Joy, of 49 years, son Micah and wife Cherie, daughter Amy and husband Ra-jan, along with 4 grandchildren. 

Diana Quigley ‘61March 7, 2017

Judy Holloway (Pedersen) ‘62March 20, 2017

Beloved wife of Chuck Holloway. Retired teacher of School District 104. Member of the Des Plaines Valley Heritage Corridor.

Simeon Wright ’62 September 4, 2017

Simeon Wright, who was with his cous-in Emmett Till when the Chicago boy was kidnapped and killed passed away from cancer at his Chicago-area home. He was 74. Wright’s wife, Annie Wright, told the Chicago Tribune her husband lived quietly in suburban Chicago for much of his life, but in the 2000s he became more vocal about Till. Wright published a book, “Simeon’s Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till,” including a chapter on the night Till was abducted. “He really wanted people to know what happened that night,” Annie Wright said. “There were so many ver-sions. When I first met him, he never talked about it. But then he wanted people to know the injustices and indignities.”

Glenda Mondo (Burbridge) ‘63June 12, 2017

Nora Jean Parker (Ammons) ‘63October 2017

Mel VanAllen ‘65August 15, 2017

Former Trustee and Mayor for the Village of Justice. Past Santa Fe Speedway Rac-ing Champion and Current Leader of Mean Green Machine Demolition Team. Founder of VanAllen Recycling.

Fred Ledbetter, Jr. ‘66April 1998

Rhonda Sullivan (Green) ‘71September 2017

Cathy Balich (McCain) ‘73April 20, 2017

Mary Horvath, former confidential assistant to three superintendentsMay 10, 2017

Mary was the beloved daughter of the late Margaret (nee Toomey) and John S. Horvath; fond sister of James (Rosemarie Leo) and John (Rosemarie Guadnolo), cherished aunt of Janel (Michael Palm), Leah (Ryan Osgood), Andrew (Margaret) Horvath and Steven Hor-vath and loving great aunt of Cecilia and Elliot Palm and Arlo and Nora Osgood. Mary was the dear friend of Virg Frees and many oth-ers. She was a graduate of Visitation Cath-olic Grammar and High Schools, Chicago, IL and Dominican College of Racine, WI. Mary was an enthusiastic and valued member of the staff of Argo Community High School. 

Eva Ponczek, former school nurseNovember 30, 2016

Passed away peacefully into eternal life with the Lord and her beloved husband Bernard “Bert.”  She was the loving mother of Brian Ponczek, Sharon (the late Neal) Evelyn, Marc Ponczek and Michelle (Mark) Hodges.  Loving and precious Gramma of Tate, Hayden, Brett, Kylie and Kegan.  Loving daughter of the late Paul and Inga (nee Vaaler) Hartwig.  Sister of the late Warren Hartwig, the late Pauleen Manning, the late Ingrid (the late Clare) Pope, late Robert (Barbara) Hartwig, Kaarren Brown, the late Carl (Dona) Hartwig, Signee (Finn) Thoresen, Dr. Eric (Randi) Hartwig and Kirsten (John) Rice.  Fond daugher-in-law of the late Anna Ponczek; sister-in-law to the late Sophie (the late Paul) Dunkovich, the late Mitchell (the late Helen) Ponczek, the late Angeline Urick, the late Henry (the late Bernice) Pon-czek, the late Irene (the late Joe) Madeja and Harriet (the late Ernest) Wright.  Loving aunt and great-aunt to many nieces and nephews. Eva was a cherished and dear friend to many and will be missed by all those she touched and cared for.

Eva’s many accomplishments in her life include graduating from Central High School (La Crosse, WI), graduating from Columbus Hospital Nursing School as a Certified R.N. (Chicago, IL).Her career works included: Columbus Hospital OB-GYN department, Dwan’s Medical Center, and school nurse at Argo Community High School for 26 years up until her retirement. Eva was a long time devoted parishioner at Zion Lutheran Church. She was a former member of Bedford Park Library Board, Bedford Park Welcome Com-mittee, the Red Hat’s Society “Sister Latte Dah” and former member of St. Blase Moth-er’s Club. Her volunteer services included: Adventist La Grange Hospital, Meals on Wheels, Des Plaines Valley Health Clinic and Zion Lutheran Church.

Dorothy Marie Portner, retired English, History teacher and library workerAugust 2017

Kieran Maloney, former custodian November 20, 2017

In Memory of Alumni and Former Argo Staff

Planet Argo 7January 2018

HOMECOMING CELEBRATIONArgo’s tradition of a Saturday afternoon football game

changed to a Friday Night Lights event in the fall of 2017 based on a variety of considerations. The dates scheduled by our South Suburban Conference for home football had our team playing away the last two Fridays of September and the first and third Friday of October. Our last home game was against Richards on October 13th, which is tra-ditionally senior night to celebrate with our senior players and their parents. Therefore, after much consideration, the Board of Education moved the Homecoming game to Fri-day night, the Homecoming Parade was Saturday morn-ing, along with the Cross Country Dave Brady Classic in Bedford Park.

On Friday, September 15th, with the stands full of students, parents, alumni, and community members, our Argonauts fought until the last seconds to prevail against Evergreen Park High School with a score of 21 to 20. The crowd was energized and chanted for their Argo football players until the celebratory end. According to alumni, veteran community members, and current Argo students, Friday Night Lights made for a very exciting Homecoming atmosphere, on a pleasant late-summer evening.

Current student athletes shared that having the Home-coming game on Friday evening allowed them to attend the event because they have competitions on Homecoming Saturday mornings. The football team was able to march in the Homecoming Parade which was a benefit as well. A student survey of all Argo students in late September revealed that the majority of students prefer the Friday night game and they liked having more time on Saturday afternoon to get ready for the Homecoming Dance.

While change is difficult and sometimes hard to un-derstand, the overall consensus is that the Homecoming Friday Night Lights game was positive, successful, and cre-ated fantastic Homecoming enthusiasm. As Argo Alumni, please plan for a 2018 Friday Night Lights Homecoming game. Details about dates and times will be posted on our website, www.argohs.net.

This fall, we had over 150 stu-dents participate in the online Hamilton course, created by the program #EduHam, which allows students to attend a performance for $10. Students were required to do research and work with primary documents from the founding era. They were to take that information and turn it into a performance. 110 videos were submitted by our enthusiastic and talented students. Two videos were selected, based on criteria required by #EduHam, for an opportunity to perform in front of the Hamilton audience. Derrian Samuels, an Argo High School junior shared his piece before the Hamilton performance at the Pri-vate Bank CIBC Theatre in front of a 1,800 person audience. Such a phenomenal opportunity for Der-rian and Argo High School.

72 students attended the Ham-ilton performance on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The students were able to experience firsthand the magic of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s vision for combining history with modern musical rhythms.

CLASS OF 1987: HOMECOMING 30 YEAR REUNION

(SEPTEMBER 15, 2017)

ARGO HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR, DERRIAN SAMUELS, PERFORMS AT HAMILTON

2017

Name

Maiden Name (if applicable)

Address

City State Zip Code

Email Address

Use the following web link to update your information digitally: bit.do/argoalumnisurvey by March 12, 2018.Or send the following information to Planet Argo, c/o Superintendent’s Office, Argo Community High School, 7329 W. 63rd St., Summit, IL 60501

Dear Foundation Supporters,

Your contributions have made a huge impact on educating the youth of the Argo High School community for many years. In May 2017 we provided scholarships to 16 deserving recipients!

Each and every dollar donated is used to directly fund scholarships. All committee members volunteer their time and talents. Absolutely no expenses are incurred other than those to pro-duce our sole fund-raising events, the Argo Higher Education Foundation Annual Golf Out-ing in June and Casino Night in March. The golf outing historically nets between $18,000 and $23,000 per year, depending on participation. Last year’s first Casino Night brought in $25,000.

To date, the Argo Higher Education Foundation has proudly awarded over 358 scholarships. The amount we award is not sufficient to fund a student’s entire college education, but the four-year grant can make the difference of whether college is truly possible for many of our students.

This year, the committee voted to diversify the scholarships so that even more students are eligible to receive scholarships.

Thank you very much for your continued support. We count on your generous contributions to the Argo Higher Education Foundation. We are a 501(c)3 tax exempt organi-zation and are listed as an approved charitable organization on the IRS website, and we maintain our good standing with the State of Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

May we count on you this year? To make a donation, please visit www.argohef.org or send a check payable to “Argo Higher

Education Foundation”: P.O. Box 690, Summit, IL 60501We welcome any amount.

With Sincere Gratitude for Your Support,Argo Higher Education Foundation

Planet Argo is a publication of the Argo Alumni Association. It is distributed, free of charge, to alumni of Argo Community High School. Issues are published annually. To be included on the alumni mailing list, send your name, year you graduated, address, and zip code to:

Planet Argo, c/o Superintendent’s OfficeArgo Community High School

7329 W. 63rd St.Summit, IL 60501

Or email to: alumni@argohs.net

ARGO HIGHER EDUCATION FOUNDATION

ALUMNI INFORMATION UPDATES

Yes NoWould you be interested in receiving your yearly Planet Argo publication via email instead of paper form?