Steinmetz Star

STEINMETZ STAR Volume 86, Number 2, November - January 2020 www.steinmetzstar.com New Year, New You! The 2019 Strike: Streaks Share Their 2020 Resolutions Student Perspective By Diana Mendoza, Marta Stasik, Jakera Kimble, Sofia Martinez and Alyssa Guzman By Carina Mauricio and Colin Richko Each new year comes with the opportunity to make new resolutions. Some vow to stop eating sweets, some As we entered school on September 3, 2019, tensions were decide to get more sleep or exercise and some simply decide to eat breakfast everyday. January 1st is a great high between our teachers and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) time to start fresh and set new goals for a successful and happy new year. However, according to a study by US and many students had no idea. Since June of 2019, when the News, 80% of people abandon their resolutions by the second week of February. We wanted to hear from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) contract expired, the CTU was Streaks about what some of their resolutions are for this year and see how they are doing in achieving them. working tirelessly to obtain a tentative contract with CPS. Yet, by the first day of school, we were still facing the threat of a strike. Mr. McNally from the PE department said, “I think that one of my main resolutions has to be to not eat too much sugar, and try to be the best I can be. I can do that by finding a new student that I could help.” Ms. Walsh, one of Throughout September our English teachers said, “My main resolution would have to be drinking more water. I have been doing better. and the first half of Oc- Now I bring my water to work with me. And I want to read before bed. Usually I fall asleep right after I am done tober, students (especially watching tv, which then leads to me not being productive. That is a habit that I’d like to change.” Our other PE seniors) were fearful and Teacher, Mr. Ruiz said, “I think that mine would have to be eating healthier. By eating healthier I can exercise upset about the possibility more and look the best that I can.” of a strike because it would push back our Spirit Week We all hope that we can be successful in reaching our goals, but we realize that it is hard to do. As teens, we and Homecoming Dance, have a lot going on and life can be stressful. Many people brush off our stress and anxiety as something that as well as potentially impact college application deadlines. The we exaggerate. No one understands teens better than other teens so we thought it would be helpful to provide strike began on October 17th and lasted for 11 school days. We an article that talks about ways to help manage stress and practice self care. ...continued on page 4 missed our Homecoming Football Game, our Spirit Week was pushed back until the end of November and our Homecoming Dance did not take place until December 6th. Fortunately, most colleges were kind enough to extend their application deadlines Who Was Charles Proteus Steinmetz? to seniors. By Brian Urbieta and Agustin Sanchez Mayor Lori Lightfoot was at the forefront of the whole ordeal, as she was accused of consistently refusing to negotiate with the Have you ever wondered why our school is named Steinmetz? We did, so we CTU. She made a lot of broken promises to teachers, as well as decided to research more about it. Charles Steinmetz was born on April 9, 1865 students, which is why the teachers chose to strike. She was very in Breslau, Prussia before it became Wroclaw, Poland. He graduated from the different in her statements to the public and to the teachers in University of Breslau then moved to Zurich for a short period of time before negotiations. She would express to the public that she wanted the immigrating it to the United States. He was an accomplished German-Amer- same things that teachers wanted, but when it came down to her ican Mathematician and Electrical Engineer, earning the nicknames ‘’Forger putting it in writing, she refused to do it. This created ongoing of Thunderbolts’’ and ‘’The Wizard of Schenectady’’. He accomplished many agony between the teachers and CPS due to the fact that they all things in his Engineering career; so much so that an award was created in his wanted the strike to be over, yet they couldn’t agree on what to honor. The prestigious award is given to outstanding Engineers and its named put in the contract. “EEE Charles Proteus Steinmetz Award”. He died on October 26, 1923 in Charles P. Steinmetz Schenectady, New York. Many CPS students took to social media to voice their con- cerns about the strike and how it has affected them as students. Some fun facts about Steinmetz is that he was only four feet tall. He suf- Although we will not include them for privacy reasons, many fered from the disease of dwarfism, had a hunchback and hip dysplasia. stated that the teachers only went on strike due to their lack of However, he never let this stop him from accomplishing a lot in his life- pay. This seemed to be a common misconception in the media. time. In fact, it is said that his disabilities motivated him even more. He In reality, the bigger reason that the strike was so heavily sup- also worked alongside the great Albert Einstein, as well as Nikola Tesla! ported was the lack of resources within our schools. According to our CTU school delegate, Mrs. Szulkowski, the teachers chose Our school opened in 1934 and was named in honor of the German to strike due to class sizes, pay cuts, residency, special education population in the neighborhood during that time. Can you guess why program problems, as well as physical problems that are unad- our mascot is a Streak? It is because Steinmetz had such a major impact dressed and the lack of nurses within each school, “The only L-R: Ernst J. Berg, S. Benedict, on creating, developing and modernizing the electricity system in the possible option was to strike; our class sizes were too big, and it was Albert Einstein, Unknown, C.P. United States. He was a great leader, role model and titan in the field. getting ridiculous.” As students, we often complain about the Steinmetz, A. N. Goldsmith, problems within our school, yet when our teachers fight for us A. Malsin, Irving Langmuir Under his name, our school has been in service for over 80 years! in order to fix some of the problems, the complaints still come. Sometimes, it just feels like a no-win situation. As you What does it mean to be a STREAK: now know, students are Teacher Edition required to attend school By Jacquelyn Rodriguez on dates that were previ- In our last issue, we spoke to a few classmates about what being a Streak meant to them. Our new school creed ously not outlines us as Strong, Talented, Resilient, Empowered, Ambitious, and Knowledgeable individuals. This time around, we school days: wanted to hear from our teachers about how they try to live out our core values everyday. November 27th, Janu- “As a former student, and now part of staff, when I think of being a Streak, 3 words come to mind: pride, strength, ary 2-3 and warrior,” said Ms. Cotto, Bilingual Coordinator. “I am proud to have walked these halls and now work here. If it June 17-18. Our very own Mr. Patner is seen wasn’t for Ms. Serritella and Mr. Ochoa, I would not have lived up to my potential or become a teacher. I was given Many people at the front of a downtown rally the strength to fight through learning disabilities and shatter stereotypes to become what someone told me I’d never be. were initially Steinmetz made me a warrior and I’ll forever be a Streak!” confused as to why we have to make up these days. Some blame CPS and some blame the CTU; neither of which is entirely the Next, I spoke to Mr. Franklin who said, “Being a Streak means being reliable and responsible; to be available to case. In the end, they settled on making up 5 of the 11 missed students and to hold them accountable for their success.” Mr. Sandoval echoed those sentiments saying, “Being a days in order to make up half of teacher’s pay lost during the Streak means to be engaged and responsible in everything that you do. Be polite, responsible and proactive.” Finally, strike, as well as match the state required amount of days that Ms. Benavides offered her insight, describing a Streak as, “A well rounded, committed student who actively partici- students are required to be in school. pates in academics, extracurricular activities and is connected to the school.” Now that the strike has come and gone, we hope to see the As a school, it is important to take the time to re-visit our core values and see which ones we are exhibiting changes that were promised put into action in order for our everyday and which ones we should focus on more in order to reach our full potential. school, and surrounding schools, to thrive. 2 News Thankful For Those We Rely On Most - Our Deans By Eva Delgado and Deaysia Powell Just like any other school, when there are masses of teenagers involved, disputes are bound to happen.

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