Freyja Brandel-Tanis '14 has been named a 2022-2023 Fulbright Scholar. Brandel-Tanis will graduate from Georgia Tech with a master's in city and regional planning and MS in civil engineering this spring.

She has been awarded a Fulbright research award at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway and will be conducting stakeholder focus groups on the role of digital twins in sustainable transportation modeling. Her work will be an early stage in long-term research at NTNU to ensure the complexity of transportation systems is considered in future digital twins.

(Digital twins have established use in manufacturing and rocketry to virtually replicate physical environments and test potential scenarios, and some modelers and officials see their potential to improve on current transportation modeling technologies.)

Outside of her research, Brandel-Tanis is planning to engage with local queer organizations and ride her bike as well as exploring the Trondheim's public transit system. After her Fulbright, she plans to return to the US and work as a city planner/civil engineer before eventually pursuing a PhD.

Lower School Computer Science and Tech Integration Specialist Fiona Deeney, Middle School Technology Coordinator Mike Demopoulos and Upper School Innovation Studio Manager Shane Enderle offered an inside look at Latin's maker spaces for parents/guardians.

At the start of the event, the team shared information about each division's maker space and projects created in them. Then they gave a tour of the upper school maker space to show some of the equipment and supplies students can access in all three divisions.

Upper School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutters
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
Soldering Irons and accessories
iPad Pro’s with Apple Pencils
VR Headset

SOFTWARE
Adobe Suite
Illustrator
Photoshop
In Design
Fusion 360
Sketchbook Pro
Procreate
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio

Middle School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printer (x3)
Vinyl Cutter (x2)
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
MacBook Air (x2)

SOFTWARE
PrusaSlicer
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
iMovie

Lower School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutter
Laser Cutter
Digital Embroidery Machine
Sewing Machines 
LittleBits Pro Library and STEAM Kits

SOFTWARE
Doodle 3D
TurtleStitch
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
Drawing Pad

Afterward, parents/guardians got the opportunity to laser engrave on a pre-cut wood roman head. They also visited stations to make leather key chains, play with Little Bits electronics from the lower school, see embroidery and sewing machines in action, and a few physical projects that students have created.

The maker spaces at Latin aid students with designing and problem-solving, as well as develop skills, talents, thinking and mental rigor.

Academics

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, upper school project week is back! Students chose to spend the week on one of the 25 in-town projects or 11 out-of-town projects.

The in-town offerings included:

• Ad-RAP-tation: the Latin School and Q Brothers' Collective
• Art and Anatomy
• Chicago: Walking, Food, and Art
• Code Your Own 2D Games and Build a Mini Arcade Cabinet
• Curling in Chicago
• Cycle Chicago: Riding & Wrenching
• Dancing with culture
• Design a Chicago Bike Tour
• El mundo Latino in Chicago: An Exploration of Chicago's Latinx Community  
• Exploring Chicago’s Queer History
• Find Your Inner Chef
• Habitat for Humanity
• Just for Kicks
• Make Your Escape (Room)
• Making Music
• PADI Scuba Diving Certification and Training
• Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective
• Survivor
• Theatre in Chicago
• The Greatest City in the World Chicago Gospel
• Treemendous Forest Preserves 
• Urban Agriculture
• Wellness: Mind & Body
• What Makes a Neighborhood?: Art, Advocacy, and Food
• Yarn Bombing

The out-of-town offerings included:

• Canyoneering & Rock Climbing Adventure
• Civil Rights Trail 2022
• Coral Reef Experience in Florida Keys
• Cycling Through the Sonoran Desert
• Detroit: Invention and Reinvention in a Great American City
• Exploring the Pacific: Oceanography of Southern California
• Latin Iditarod: Dogsledding
• Mountain Biking in Moab
• The Ancestral Heritage of The Land of Enchantment
• The Raw & The Cooked: A Literary Feast in Michigan
• There is No Business Like Show Business!: LA TV & Film

Check out more photos and videos from our PWeek take over on Latin's Instagram @latinschoolofchicago at #latinpweek.

Around School

Lower School Computer Science and Tech Integration Specialist Fiona Deeney, Middle School Technology Coordinator Mike Demopoulos and Upper School Innovation Studio Manager Shane Enderle offered an inside look at Latin's maker spaces for parents/guardians.

At the start of the event, the team shared information about each division's maker space and projects created in them. Then they gave a tour of the upper school maker space to show some of the equipment and supplies students can access in all three divisions.

Upper School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutters
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
Soldering Irons and accessories
iPad Pro’s with Apple Pencils
VR Headset

SOFTWARE
Adobe Suite
Illustrator
Photoshop
In Design
Fusion 360
Sketchbook Pro
Procreate
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio

Middle School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printer (x3)
Vinyl Cutter (x2)
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
MacBook Air (x2)

SOFTWARE
PrusaSlicer
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
iMovie

Lower School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutter
Laser Cutter
Digital Embroidery Machine
Sewing Machines 
LittleBits Pro Library and STEAM Kits

SOFTWARE
Doodle 3D
TurtleStitch
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
Drawing Pad

Afterward, parents/guardians got the opportunity to laser engrave on a pre-cut wood roman head. They also visited stations to make leather key chains, play with Little Bits electronics from the lower school, see embroidery and sewing machines in action, and a few physical projects that students have created.

The maker spaces at Latin aid students with designing and problem-solving, as well as develop skills, talents, thinking and mental rigor.

Academics

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, upper school project week is back! Students chose to spend the week on one of the 25 in-town projects or 11 out-of-town projects.

The in-town offerings included:

• Ad-RAP-tation: the Latin School and Q Brothers' Collective
• Art and Anatomy
• Chicago: Walking, Food, and Art
• Code Your Own 2D Games and Build a Mini Arcade Cabinet
• Curling in Chicago
• Cycle Chicago: Riding & Wrenching
• Dancing with culture
• Design a Chicago Bike Tour
• El mundo Latino in Chicago: An Exploration of Chicago's Latinx Community  
• Exploring Chicago’s Queer History
• Find Your Inner Chef
• Habitat for Humanity
• Just for Kicks
• Make Your Escape (Room)
• Making Music
• PADI Scuba Diving Certification and Training
• Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective
• Survivor
• Theatre in Chicago
• The Greatest City in the World Chicago Gospel
• Treemendous Forest Preserves 
• Urban Agriculture
• Wellness: Mind & Body
• What Makes a Neighborhood?: Art, Advocacy, and Food
• Yarn Bombing

The out-of-town offerings included:

• Canyoneering & Rock Climbing Adventure
• Civil Rights Trail 2022
• Coral Reef Experience in Florida Keys
• Cycling Through the Sonoran Desert
• Detroit: Invention and Reinvention in a Great American City
• Exploring the Pacific: Oceanography of Southern California
• Latin Iditarod: Dogsledding
• Mountain Biking in Moab
• The Ancestral Heritage of The Land of Enchantment
• The Raw & The Cooked: A Literary Feast in Michigan
• There is No Business Like Show Business!: LA TV & Film

Check out more photos and videos from our PWeek take over on Latin's Instagram @latinschoolofchicago at #latinpweek.

Around School

Congratulations to our student-athletes who have committed to playing a sport in college next year!

Margot B. ’22 is playing ice hockey at Gustavus Adolphus College. Zachary W. ’22 is rowing at Lehigh University. Mehak D. ’22 is playing squash at Colby College. Lauren V. ’22 is playing water polo at Pomona College. And Mia W. ’22 is swimming at Mount Holyoke College.

Go Romans!

Athletics

Lower School Computer Science and Tech Integration Specialist Fiona Deeney, Middle School Technology Coordinator Mike Demopoulos and Upper School Innovation Studio Manager Shane Enderle offered an inside look at Latin's maker spaces for parents/guardians.

At the start of the event, the team shared information about each division's maker space and projects created in them. Then they gave a tour of the upper school maker space to show some of the equipment and supplies students can access in all three divisions.

Upper School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutters
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
Soldering Irons and accessories
iPad Pro’s with Apple Pencils
VR Headset

SOFTWARE
Adobe Suite
Illustrator
Photoshop
In Design
Fusion 360
Sketchbook Pro
Procreate
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio

Middle School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printer (x3)
Vinyl Cutter (x2)
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
MacBook Air (x2)

SOFTWARE
PrusaSlicer
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
iMovie

Lower School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutter
Laser Cutter
Digital Embroidery Machine
Sewing Machines 
LittleBits Pro Library and STEAM Kits

SOFTWARE
Doodle 3D
TurtleStitch
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
Drawing Pad

Afterward, parents/guardians got the opportunity to laser engrave on a pre-cut wood roman head. They also visited stations to make leather key chains, play with Little Bits electronics from the lower school, see embroidery and sewing machines in action, and a few physical projects that students have created.

The maker spaces at Latin aid students with designing and problem-solving, as well as develop skills, talents, thinking and mental rigor.

Academics

Ben Orlin, acclaimed math educator and author, visited the lower, middle and upper school math departments on Thursday, March 3.
He popped into Upper School Math Teacher Zach McArthur's calculus class and fielded questions on Gabriel's horn, a mysterious figure that has infinite surface area yet finite volume, as well as Koch's snowflake and the coastline of California, which both turn out to have infinite length.

He also spent the afternoon playing math games with the math teachers in preparation of the release of his new book, "Math Games with Bad Drawings."

Orlin is the author of "Math with Bad Drawings" and "Change is the Only Constant."

Around School

The Writing and Reading Workshops' informational unit gives fourth grader students the opportunity to improve skills around researching, note-taking and summarizing and synthesizing nonfiction text.

Students in all three fourth grade homerooms spent weeks researching Black American inventors and makers, authors and artists, athletes and activists. Shining a light on Black achievement was an important aspect of the students’ work. Culminating projects include a research-focused paragraph, a poster, and a Google slide deck to present to their peers.

Academics

Talk about life long learning, at the age of 93, Claes Oldenburg '46 just unveiled his exciting new installation, “Plantoir, Blue,” in place this spring at the entrance to the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center. Learn more about this groundbreaking installation and Oldenburg's work.

This year’s middle school production, “Starry Messenger,” told the story of one of the world's greatest scientists, Galieo Galilei. Participating in the play is not only a fun after school activity for students, it also helps them build critical skills that will benefit them in high school, college and beyond. 

The drama program in middle school encourages collaboration with others as they create the production together. Students also gain proficiency in articulation, projection, and confidence to perform before an audience in the future.

See them in action!

Arts

The upper school AP Studio Art class provides students with the opportunity to synthesize the knowledge that they’ve gained from other art courses and focus on the skill of idea development. The class is centered around a review-critique-revise process in order to produce a more compelling piece of work. Learn more about this community of artists in Art Teacher Christine Holloway’s class.

Academics

Students in Visual Arts Teacher Derek Haverland's Computer Graphic Design class are working on LED light boxes. First they created a design in Adobe Illustrator. They have been working with Shane Enderle, Innovation Studio manager, to print those designs on the Glowforge and a 3D printer. Next they will learn how to solder (join two metals together) before using coding to program the light colors and timing.

Academics

Congratulations to our student-athletes who have committed to playing a sport in college next year!

Margot B. ’22 is playing ice hockey at Gustavus Adolphus College. Zachary W. ’22 is rowing at Lehigh University. Mehak D. ’22 is playing squash at Colby College. Lauren V. ’22 is playing water polo at Pomona College. And Mia W. ’22 is swimming at Mount Holyoke College.

Go Romans!

Athletics

Please join us virtually at 7 p.m. CST on Thursday, January 20, as Latin inducts our next class of Hall of Fame athletes. The Athletic Hall of Fame recognizes and honors outstanding teams and individuals throughout Latin’s history. The 2022 honorees join an impressive group of 38 individuals and six teams previously inducted. Please RSVP by Wednesday, January 19, at 5 p.m. to receive the Zoom link.  ​​

2022 Inductees:

Alice Baumgartner '06
Cross Country, Track

Shaunda Partida DeRon '96
Soccer, Track, Field Hockey

Noah Himmel '97
Water Polo, Cross Country, Swimming

Whitney Brooke Mayster '96*
Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Track

Linda R. O'Keeffe
1986 - 2013
Historic Contributor to Latin Athletics

John C. Stassen '92
Water Polo, Swimming, Soccer

Kati Hefferon Wax '98
Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Water Polo

2006 Girls Varsity Soccer Team

Alex Case George '07
Torie Crown '07
Joanna Starr Drew '06
Kristin Eugenio '07
Lina Feuerstein '08
Lauren Greenblatt '09
Kait Holland '06
Stephanie Goldfein Kane '08
Dana Linn '08
Emily Maynard '06
Dillon Mehrberg '07
Stephanie King Mylenski '06
Nicole Rothman '08
Lizzy Schink '07
Katie Shatto '08
Alexandra Vacin '06
Eileen Vogl '08
Margaret Wardrop '07
Chandler Wherry '08
Marie Zaro '08
Tom Bower, Coach
Tim Cronister, Assistant Coach
Kimberly Geisler, Assistant Coach

*posthumous induction

The upper school athletics teams were on fire this fall season! Check out their season highlights and accomplishments.

Boys and Girls Cross Country
It was a historic season for the Romans Cross Country teams. Both the boys and the girls teams won Conference, Regionals and Sectionals. The girls team finished fourth at the State meet in Class 2A. The Boys team WON the State meet and are the Class 1A State champions! It was a fantastic season for the entire team. All-State honors was given to Ryan Hardiman '22 who set a new school record at 14:59. He's joined by Akili Parekh '23 and Ben Gibson '25 as All-State athletes. Ava Parekh '22 won the girls State meet, while also setting a new school record in 16:23. She's joined by Mia Kotler '25 as an All-State Athlete. All five were honored as All-Conference, All-Regionals and All-Sectional athletes.

Varsity Field Hockey
The 2021 Latin Varsity Field Hockey team played one of their best seasons ever! This team demonstrated grit, determination, and passion while competing to finish the season with an overall record of 16-4. They are proud to have swept the ISL league with a record of 6-0. This accomplishment was the first time Latin Field Hockey had won the ISL in 20 years. They had nine clean sheets to the season, and a 14-game winning streak. Not only did this team exceed expectations on the field, but they were a joy to coach with their charisma, free-spirits, and genuine love for one another and this program. The team will greatly miss the 10 seniors next year. They are the trailblazers for what's to come for Latin Field Hockey. 

JV Blue Field Hockey
The 2021 JV Blue team had a record-breaking year. The record of 10-2-2 will go down into the history books, but what got them there is much more important than the numbers themselves. Behind these numbers are 20 individual stories. These are stories about what they learned about themselves and as a team. The things they sacrificed and the things they did both physically and psychologically that they never thought possible. The team made and solidified important and lasting friendships that will last a lifetime. Their stories brought them together to this point. It led them to realize that there is more joy in succeeding together than succeeding alone. 

JV Orange Field Hockey
The 2021 JV Orange squad made tremendous strides on and off the field. Their growth and competitiveness were reflected in our final record of 6-0-4. Each and every individual on the team contributed to our undefeated season. The team hammered down fundamentals, learned new skills and challenged ourselves to think tactically. The top goal scorers were Ulla Ciaccio '24, Maddie Gaines '24, and Alexa Valentine '24. With the potential of the girls on this team, this is surely only the beginning when it comes to their field hockey success! 

Varsity Boys Golf
The 2021 Golf season afforded Latin to continue its recent strong program standing within the ISL and IHSA State series. The program was recognized by the ISL with this year’s Sportsmanship Award, identifying the program's consistent focus on respecting the game, ourselves, and our competitors. The team finished the season with a dual match record of 9-1 and finished in second place in the ISL standings to long-time foe, North Shore Country Day. The program tips our hat to the entire roster, with a special thank you to our seniors; they will be missed!  The coaches look forward to the continued growth and success of the Golf program into the future.

JV Boys Golf
JV Golf posted a strong 8-3 record for the 2021 season. The team's captains, Quinn Lovette '23, Ryan Rose '23 and Clark Patton '22, fostered lively camaraderie and a dedicated but relaxed team culture. The future bodes well for Latin golf, as Freshman Will Behan '25 and Karim Patterson '25 posted the team's lowest scores all season long, quickly cementing themselves atop the roster. Above all, JV Golf had a ton of fun this year - every minute spent with these guys was a pleasure. The coaches couldn't have asked for a better group.

Varsity Girls Golf
The 2021 season was the strongest for the Latin Girls Golf program. The team played a very competitive schedule and finished the season with a record of 11-2. The girls won the ISL conference, IHSA regionals and the IHSA sectionals. At the IHSA state tournament, the team finished in eighth place overall after the two-day tournament.  All of the players made significant contributions to the team’s success. The team was led by seniors Emilia Rose '22, Giuliana Dowd '22 and Pickle Coleman '22 along with junior Lizzie Lucas '23, sophomores Maggie Zeiger '24, Ellery Axel '24 and Nisa Ahmed '24. The coaches look to continue to build upon the success of the golf program next season. 

Varsity Boys Soccer
Latin demonstrated a high level of class and resiliency during the 2021 season. For the third year in a row, Latin was recognized by the ISL with the sportsmanship award identifying our program’s focus on respecting and honoring the game. Latin finished 10-4-7 and advanced to the sectional finals. This year’s team was led by seniors Andrei Nikitovic '22, Ascher Cahn '22, Cesar Blas '22, David Cordon '22, Israel Martinez '22, Kai Lugo '22, Reed Rasmussen '22 (C), Sam Gibson '22 (C) and Shane Healy '22. While the team is losing nine seniors, the program has a strong foundation and nine starters returning. 

JV Boys Soccer
JV Boys Soccer was awesome! The boys honored the game by playing good, clean soccer. Every member of the team did their job and no one let their teammates down. The coaches would regularly receive praise from the opposition as well as from the referees! A referee came up to us after a match compelled to share that we were the best team he’s ever seen. And it wasn’t the final score or one individual's skill, but rather the entire team playing good soccer! Every match, they showed up with mad swag and walked away classier than ever. This group was the epitome of cool. It was tons of fun.

Girls Swimming
Led by captains Mia Wolniak '22, Lauren Valentin '22 and Reena Nuygen '22, the Girls Swim team had an amazing season. The team had a final meet record of 6-4, and placed second in the ISL. At Sectionals, the team placed eighth overall. Junior Elynor Starr '23 placed top 12 in her individual events (ninth in the 100 fly, 10th in the 500 free) and scored a lot of points for Latin. In addition, all three relays had season best times by a wide margin. The 200 medley relay finished eighth (Wolniak '22, Valentin '22, Starr '23, Weiskirch '25), the 200 free relay finished ninth (Mann '23, Hallinan '24, Cahill '23, Valentin '22), and the 400 free relay finished seventh (Starr '23, Hallinan '24, Wolniak '22, Weiskirch '25) overall.  

Varsity Girls Tennis
In 2020, Girls Tennis, unfortunately, did not have a State series despite winning ISL and Sectionals. However, they still came back in 2021, firing on all cylinders with the new additions of our two freshmen Marlo Leik '25 and Malia Chen '25. The team was led by seniors Phoebe Lembeck '22, Lucy Mitchell '22, and Junior Alice Mihas '23. Together they led the team to place second in State and ISL. Our State team consisted of our top two doubles teams, Alyssa Batcheler '22 and Lucy Mitchell '22, who had a triumphant win over U-High at the State final and won first place! Talia Truska '23 and Alice Mihas '23 fought their way to fourth place by beating Wauconda in a full third set in the quarterfinals. Overall, the team finished with a record of 13-2! 

JV Girls Tennis
The JV Girls Tennis team had an action-packed season with 12 matches, one weekend tournament and daily practices. Overall the team had a winning season finishing 8 and 4, with some of the losses almost too close to count. The coaches are so proud of the resilience, hustle and sportsmanship they saw on court day in and day out. Special congratulations to McKenzie Goltermann '25 the winning our Most Improved Player award. Alanna Madry '22, for winning the Sportsmanship award, and Lauren Pearsall '23 for winning the Most Valuable Player award. 

Varsity Girls Volleyball
2021 was a difficult season for Girl Varsity Volleyball. After a challenging non-conference start to the season in the TC/Westmont and Niles West tournaments, the girls were able to pick up some momentum for the season. Lead by the seniors Tobi Morrow '22, Remy Rigby '22, and the setting of freshman standout Kate Malaisrie '25, the Romans were able to finish with a respectable 6-2 third place ISL finish and an overall 11-16 record. The team powered through our IHSA Regional competition and ended up falling in the Sectional semi-final to the eventual State championship team. While many individual players showed excellence during the season, three were recognized on the ISL All-Conference Team: Tobi Morrow '22, Remy Rigby '22, and Kate Malaisrie '25.

Freshman Girls Volleyball
As the fall 2021 Freshman Volleyball season has come to a close, the word to best describe it is new. New spaces, new faces, and new experiences. Though new, it was also a time filled with learning, laughing, and most importantly conditioning. The growth of these players in the past 10 weeks was very encouraging and should serve as a positive indicator of what’s to come over the next three years for this group. The season finished with a 5-6 record. However, the improvement that each player made cannot be deduced to a simple win-loss record on the stat sheet. The group showed up each day giving it their all, staying patient, and challenging themselves to be better athletes (and if they didn’t, well we ran). The team bought the mentality of “always believing that they can” and towards the end of the season fought hard with everything with that they had to win.

For a photo recap of the fall season, check out this video by Alyssa Batcheler '22, which was created for and presented at Fall Sports Banquet in November.

Athletics

The lower school physical education program, led by Lower School Physical Education Teachers Karie Gruber, Scott Marinier and Aubery DeNard, is designed to foster both physical wellness and mindfulness fundamentals. Students participate in a variety of activities including sport-specific units that encourage vigorous exercise and promote healthy bodies.
Additionally, the department focuses further on mindfulness by emphasizing breath work during, and after physical activity, all while providing students with a safe space to socialize and develop team-building skills.

Physical wellness is essential within the student-centered program offered in the lower school at Latin. The physical education department believes that each student has the opportunity to reach their personal best at school when provided with daily physical activity which is complementary to their academic courses. 

PICTURED: First grade students participate in six-goal soccer in PE class.

Our comprehensive physical development and health program is designed to help students learn to identify and work toward short- and long-term goals, to utilize fitness technology, to persevere in solving problems, to follow directions responsibly and to work both independently and cooperatively with others. Additionally, our units create a long-term progression aligned with the middle and upper school which encourages students to participate in interscholastic athletics. The lower school physical education program seeks to help students achieve active and healthy lives and encourages each individual to find joy in sports and physical activity.

Academics