News

Fenton High School

Posted June 09, 2020 1:00 am

Fenton High School in Bensenville. Daily Herald File Photo

<h3 class="breakHead">Graduates in Class of 2020: 343</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Fenton Scholars (Top 5% of class): Annalisa Bomicino, Julie Ferrer, Diego Gutierrez, Adam Kashif, Eduardo Meza, Adrianna Modelska, Natalie Natiello, Dhruv Patel, Nancy Pena, Virginia Salazar, Emily Sanchez Jimenez, Ann Sofineti, Abigail Subach, Malien Tingpalpong, Emily Trzmielewski, Karolina Zawitkowska, Jacob Zielinski.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Graduation speaker: Students in the Fenton Scholars program voted to allow each person to submit a short quote for the Virtual Graduation Ceremony in lieu of speeches.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Class officers: Malien Tingpalpong, president; Jacob Zielinski, vice president; Ann Sofineti, treasurer; Emily Trzmielewski, secretary; Megan Jobe, Adam Kashif, Bilal Naseer, Nancy Pena, Karen Villegas, council members.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Academic achievements:</h3>

• 27 seniors were Illinois State Scholars

• 38 students earned the Illinois Seal of Biliteracy

• Virginia Salazar was a Commended Student in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program, won the QuestBridge Scholarship and will attend the University of Notre Dame on a full-ride scholarship worth $76,883 per year for four years.

• Emily Sanchez Jimenez won the QuestBridge Scholarship and will attend Washington and Lee University on a full ride scholarship worth at least $77,600 per year for four years.

• Ricardo Saucedo won the Evans Scholarship and will use it to attend Michigan State University. This is a full scholarship valued at $55,714 per year for four years.

• Victor Aristakessian won the Village of Bensenville Breiter-Cuvala Volunteer Award for logging 265 hours (at the time) of community service.

Athletic achievements:

• Boys soccer team won the PepsiCo Showdown Championship

• Dance Force placed 8th at state

• Football player Andre Bess (running back) selected to play in the Illinois High School Shrine All Star Football Game and earned an All-State Class 6A Honorable Mention

• Wrestling team won IHSA Class 2A Regional Championship

• Girls volleyball team won the Bison Blastoff tournament

• The boys basketball team's 21 wins tied a school record for most wins in a season, previously set in 1976

• Diamon King - most career points (1,208), most career rebounds (697), most rebounds in a season (275) for the boys basketball program

• Andre Reed - most career three-point field goals made (102), most career steals (159), most steals in a season (91) for the boys basketball program

• Jose Alvarez - most career assists (225) and most assists in a season (149) for the boys basketball program

Extracurricular achievements:

• Malien Tingpalpong, speech state champion in the original oratory event

• Jesus Amador, 4th at state for speech in the original comedy event

• Jesus Amador, 6th at state for speech in the humorous duet acting event

• Speech Team finished 11th at state overall and won the Upstate Eight Conference Championship

• Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) team qualified for state

• Ann Sofineti, selected to the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State Honors Choir

• Fenton Symphonic Wind Ensemble earned Division I Superior Rating at the Fenton Tri-District Band Festival and the Carl Sandburg High School Concert Band Festival

• Fenton Jazz Ensemble earned Division I Superior Rating at the Purdue University Invitational Jazz Festival

• Jessica Padilla earned second place in Digital Art/Graphic Design at the Upstate Eight Conference Art Show

• Sydney Minard earned honorable mention for Painting at the Upstate Eight Conference Art Show

<h3 class="breakHead">Theater productions: "Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook" (freshman play); "Dancing at Lughnasa" (fall play); "Sister Act" (spring musical, interrupted by COVID-19).</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Senior Class gift: New water fountains for the lobby of school auditorium</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Homecoming King and Queen: Daniel Ramirez and Mariana Morales</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Homecoming theme: Candy Land</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">What was new for Class of 2020: James Ongtengco was promoted to superintendent in 2017; Jovan Lazarevic was hired as principal/associate superintendent in 2017.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Notable visitors: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon visited in March 2020 to announce the expansion of a grant program for AP exam waivers, choosing Fenton for the announcement because Fenton won the College Board's 2019 AP District of the Year for Small Districts; Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes and 2008 Fenton graduate; Delegation of 19 Chinese educators visited Fenton in September 2019 to observe and ask questions.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Principal's reflections on the Class of 2020: The Class of 2020 was born amid the aftermath of our country's Sept. 11 tragedy and it is graduating during a global pandemic. This group of young men and women are truly resilient and persistent, as they will not be defined by these two events. They gave us another state champion, our dance team continued its long run of state qualifications, they had numerous state competitors in multiple activities, they ushered us into a new athletic conference, and they gave us new school records. Academically, the Class of 2020 played a big role in our AP District of the Year award and set a strong foundation for our fledgling Career Pathways program. Thank you for being Bison.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead"> - Principal Jovan Lazarevic</h3>

Fenton High School 2020 senior graduation sign. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

Fenton High School performs in the Class 2A final round of IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

Fenton senior Daniel Ramirez, top, wrestles Bartlett's Gavin Moretti in the 152-pound final of the Upstate Eight Conference wrestling tournament. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Glenbard South's Aryton Temcio battles for the ball with Fenton senior Diamon King (20) during a boys basketball game in Bensenville. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

Fenton's varsity boys soccer team hoists the PepsiCo Showdown Cup after a 2-0 victory over Huntley High School. Courtesy of Fenton High School

Seniors Mariana Morales and Daniel Ramirez were crowned Homecoming Queen and King during Fenton's Oct. 11, 2019 Homecoming assembly. Courtesy of Fenton High School

Members of Fenton's Student Council pose with ceremonial checks prior to making four separate $1,000 donations using proceeds from the October 2019 Homecoming dance. Student Council Advisor Clint Porter, left, and Principal Jovan Lazarevic, right, delivered donations to the Bensenville Toy Drive, the Bensenville-Wood Dale Food Pantry, the Bensenville Rotary Coat Drive, and the Fenton Class of 2021 for use in planning the upcoming Prom. Courtesy of Fenton High School

Senior Malien Tingpalpong won the speech state championship in the Original Oratory event. Her brother, Ien Tingpalpong, a junior, and senior Jesus Amador placed sixth at state in the humorous duet acting event. Amador also placed fourth in the original comedy event. The three finalists from Fenton pose with their medals during the Feb. 26 ceremony in Peoria. Courtesy of Fenton High School

The senior section cheers during Fenton High School's Oct. 11, 2019 homecoming assembly. Courtesy of Fenton High School

Courtesy of Fenton High SchoolSenior Diamon King set Fenton's all-time scoring record during the Bison's March 6 Regional Championship game against St. Viator.

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