HERE - HHS Cosmos Times

COSMOS
TIMES
Hamtramck High School l 11410 Charest l Hamtramck, MI 48212 l hhscosmostimes.com l Issue III: Winter 2014-15
2014 Timeline, a look back at Hamtramck High
By Tazia Miah, Farzana Aktar and Hanan Algumaei
January:
Snow Days
With several snow days
in January due to the Polar Vortex, students had
less time to prepare for
midterm exams. Midterms
were postponed to the following week.
February:
Valentine Cards:
Carrying the torch of the
mysterious Valentine card
maker from two years
ago, Student Council left
individualized cards on
the locker of each HHS
student. Discovered in the
morning by students, the
notes definitely left a feeling of love in the air.
Boys’ Varsity Basketball:
The Hamtramck Basketball team had a winning
season, finishing with
12-7 wins for a back-toback winning season. In
the Metro Conference, the
Cosmos beat Highland
Park 68-63 and Ecorse
60-52.
American Graduate - A
Story of Success:
A success story of Thabit
Ahmed, an HHS senior,
was recorded and aired by
Channel 56 Detroit Public
Television on February 27,
2014 for American Graduate.It detailed the story of
how, with a little push from
his friends, Tasnima Lasker and Azraf Bakth, Thabit worked tirelessly to get
back on track to graduate
on time.
Boys’ Varsity Wrestling:
The Cosmos’ Wrestling
team had a winning season, with an 8-3 record.
They outscored their opponents 375-191 and won
each meet with an average of 27 points. Three
players won awards at
the 2014 Bishop Foley
Wrestling
International
Tournament: Senior Treveon Lane, Juniors D’Angelo Fantroy and Sherzod
Muhammediev. Treveon
Lane won 1st place at the
tournament.
March:
FIRST Robotics : District
Regionals Events
March was robotics sea-
son at the District 1 Regionals event at Centerline
High School, where Team
123 made it to the semifinals. The Cosmos were in
the top 20 seated teams
in Livonia, the District 2
event.
ACT/MME:
After months of stressing,
preparing, and working
on a crash course with
KAPLAN, on March 3, 4
and 5, the juniors took the
ACT/MME.
Senior Mock Election:
The seniors gathered to
receive awards chosen by
their own classmates.
April:
Princess Prom:
On April 12, Hamtramck
High School held Princess
Prom.
Multicultural Show:
On April 16, the Multicultural show took place,
where HHS students were
able to showcase their diverse talents.
May:
AP Exams
After a year of rigorous
studying and practicing,
the AP Exams were taken
on May 7 (Calculus AB),
May 8 (English Composition and Literature), May
9 (Studio Art) and May 12
(Physics C: Mechanics).
Senior Breakfast/Senior
Swing Out:
The Senior Breakfast was
decked out in white and
gold as the seniors said
their final goodbyes to
Hamtramck High School.
This was followed by the
Senior Swing Out, where
the band led the Seniors
through the halls one last
time.
12 - National Honor Society Induction Ceremony:
NHS held its Induction
Ceremony swearing in
the new Executive Board
members: Lubna Begum
(President), Tazia Miah
(Vice President), Susmetha Baidya (Secretary),
Elsa Nilaj (Treasurer), and
Jenny Ghose (Historian).
19 new members were inducted into the ceremony.
Girls’ Varsity Tennis:
The Lady Cosmos traveled to Grosse Point to
compete in the Tennis District Championships. While
many won at least one
match, a few girls competed in the semi-finals.
May 22 - All - District Concert:
The Hamtramck Music
Department collaborated
to perform during the District-Wide Band Concert.
May 27 - 2014 ESD Engi-
neering SMArT Michigan
Competition:
Hamtramck High’s Light
Savers finished third in
a competition to design
blueprints for an energy efficient house. The
five members of the team
were: Susmetha Baidya,
Lubna Begum, Waheeda
Bilbaria, Jenny Ghose,
and Tazia Miah. Each student received a $30,000
scholarship for five years
to Lawrence Technological
University.
Physics Olympiad:
An all girls’ team of 10
members competed in
Physics Olympiad at the
University of Michigan-Ann
Arbor. The girls didn’t fail
to impress as five members won medals in their
events and the team won
third place in the overall
competition.
Girls’ Varsity Soccer:
The Lady Cosmos placed
second at the District
Championships.
2014 JA Be Entrepreneurial Business Plan Challenge:
Jenny Ghose won first
place for creating a business plan for Mattico, a
graphic design firm, and
received a $2,500 scholarship. Tazia Miah won second place for Rhythm 101,
a versatile music tutoring
business, and a $1,500
scholarship.
May 29 - Senior Prom:
Senior Prom was held
at the Italian American
Banquet Center of Livonia. Sammy Ashaif was
crowned Prom King and
Fatima Nasir was crowned
Prom Queen.
Boys’ Varsity Baseball:
The Boys’ Varsity Baseball
Team beat Cesar Chavez
6-5 and beat UPSM for
Districts.
June:
Graduation:
On June 6, the seniors
walked the stage with their
diplomas. The top two students of Hamtramck High
School’s Class of 2014
were Ahmed Ali (valedictorian) and Majeda Rakhi
(salutatorian).
Final Exams:
On June 16 and 17, underclassmen took their final
exams. After all their hard
work, the staff and students’ summer vacation
finally began.
2014 General Motors
Summer Student Corps:
The General Motors Student Corps began with 10
new interns:
Nada Alqaderi, Laki Ali,
Azraf Bakth, Ilma Bilic,
Jenny Ghose, Syed Kazi,
Amina Khatun, Rostylav
Krasnovsky, Elsa Nilaj,
and Shana’ Risby.
Chrysler Tablets:
The ten 2013 General
Motors summer interns
(Abidul Ahad, Nahid Alam,
Ahmed Ali, Alkami Bilic,
Reba Chowdhury, Tasnima Lasker, Tazia Miah,
Sadeeque
Mohamed,
Fatima Nasir, and Mitul
Purkayestha) were chosen to receive tablets donated by Chrysler.
July:
KAPLAN Summer Classes:
KAPLAN ACT practice
was available for any students who wanted to work
on their ACT readiness
during the summer.
August:
Dual Enrollment:
The new seniors, stepped
up to tackle the challenge
(Continued on page 4)
Page 2
Cosmos Times Issue III: Winter 2014-15
The mountain climbing, sky diving teacher
have to put in, it’s easy to
just give up and say I’ve
had enough!
By Elsa Nilaj and
Shommo Das
O
ver winter break our
brave, adventurous
teacher, Mr. Rostek, recently climbed Aconcagua, located in the Andes
Mountain Range, in Argentina. Aconcagua is the tallest
mountain in the Americas.
This mountain has many
glaciers, cold weather conditions and air pressure of
40% less than sea-level at
the summit (peak) which
makes it increasingly harder for climbers as they ascend toward the top.
Mr. Rostek said, “I enjoy
being outdoors and I enjoy
the physical challenge of
climbing a mountain.” Mr.
Rostek had to have the appropriate gear to safely and
comfortably (as comfortable
as you can get, of course)
to climb Aconcagua. For his
feet he wore double plastic
boots, which are boots that
have an inner boot and an
outer boot to keep his feet
warm, for clothing he wore
a down coat and down
pants, which are pants
that are “like a puffy coat
and puffy pants.” He wore
a face mask, goggles, and
high altitude gloves. Gear
is not the only thing that
kept him safe, his group
did too. Whenever people
go mountain climbing, they
go in small groups to avoid
hazards like avalanches or
Aconcagua, Argentina, South America is located in the Andes mountain range. Photo by Mariordo Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]
falling into a crevasse.
Of course, just like
goals in life people want
to accomplish there will be
challenges and Mr. Rostek faced a tough one this
year. “Unfortunately, I came
down with an upper respiratory infection and I had to
go down just after 16,200
feet.” Mr. Rostek said. However, this wasn’t the toughest challenge he faced in
his mountain climbing experiences. He has climbed
many mountains, “This
was his second time in
South America, there was
the Alaskan range (Mount
McKinley--also known as
Denali), Elbrus in Russia,
and Kilimanjaro in Africa.”
Mr. Rostek said his
toughest climb was Denali
in Alaska. As he was climbing Denali, he had to carry
a fifty pound pack on his
back, and drag a thirty-five
to fifty pound sled. On top of
all of that, the climb wasn’t
a rocky, dirt, boulder type
climb like Aconcagua but a
glacier, ice climb where he
had to wear crampons (a
metal plate with spikes fixed
to a boot for walking on ice).
Despite Denali being his
toughest climb, it is also his
all time favorite because it
was, “the prettiest of all the
mountains because I liked
the glaciers.”
Despite Aconcagua being the tallest mountain Mr.
Rostek has tried to climb,
the highest he’s gotten in
mountain climbing was
19,341 feet, which was at
the top of Kilimanjaro in Africa.
ing is, “Believe in yourself.
To me climbing is more
mental than physical because of the long days you
“Mountain climbing isn’t
the only thing Mr. Rostek
does! “I have skydived, yes,
I always try to do adventurous stuff. Like last Spring
a buddy and I went to the
Everglades and canoed
with the alligators and then
we went out to the Gulf of
Mexico and island hopped!
We did that for a week. The
next thing I want to do is go
scuba diving in the Great
Barrier Reef (Australia). I
like to do different things,
you know adventurous
things. Take a break from
technology and go out in
nature, it’s the best thing.”
Mr. Rostek standing next to Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, in Alaska
His advice for others interested in mountain climb-
Mr. Rostek skydiving
Mr. Rostek reaches the top of Mt. Elbrus, Russia (near Sochi)
Mr. Rostek’s next adveture, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia (below). The Great Barrier Reef is the
world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for
over 2,300 kilometres
Mr. Rostek reaches the top of Kilimanjaro, Africa
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Cosmos Times Issue III: Winter 2014-15
Page 3
Hamtramck High School Wrestling
By Abdulmalik Mashrah
and Adam Abbas
The HHS wrestling team
is pinning opposing teams on
their journey to the States.
There are many reasons why
the wrestling team boasts 40
players. Everybody can join
the wrestling team; they have
weight classes ranging from
103 lbs. to heavyweight (up
to 285). Wrestling is a very
competitive sport that can
help you stay in remarkable
shape. HHS has a great team
and an outstanding mentor,
Coach Adam. Coach Adam
pushes all his wrestlers to
maintain a good GPA. If anybody is interested in joining
next year, the required GPA
to make the starting line-up is
2.5 and a 2.0 to join.
Eleventh grade wrestler,
Wasam Kasem, has been
wrestling since his freshman
year. In fact, he holds the
HHS record for most wins as
a freshman. Wasam Kasem
is also on pace for 98 wins,
which would surpass Haroon
Bagdanic’s HHS record of 89
wins. One of Wasam’s pri-
mary reason for
joining was after
seeing his uncle
Ahmed
Fadhel
(former holder of
HHS winning record, 86 wins) receive a $40,000
scholarship. Senior wrestler, Mamoon Nagi said,
“Wrestling is a
sport for competThe 2014 Boy’s Wrestling Team show their game faces!
itors only, and it’s
very difficult and takes every fault for you losing except wrestling, but they all share a
ounce of heart to win. When yours.” Many wrestlers have common goal: to win.
you wrestle its nobody’s their own reasons for loving
Girls Basketball looks for a successful season
By Diamond Mason
To the Hamtramck
High School girls basketball team, determination
and focus makes a great
team. There are several
returning players dedicated to winning a championship this year. The women have improved on ball
handling, defensive, and
offensive plays. Also, the
women are working on
discipline on and off the
court. Senior Leijla Mascinovic, captain, believes
that if the newcomers:
Daijhanel Walton, Kiara
Wapp, Ceira Mann, Krystal Skiko, and Shay Risby,
are consistent and live up
to expectations, the team
will have a chance to win
the championship.
The team goal this
year is to keep the same
Voices
in the
beat and stay on track, be
determined and stay focused in practice, games,
and at school. Most of the
women’s individual goals
for the season consist of
improving ball handling
and being a team player.
Another individual goal is
to improve their technique
and become a better team
leader. Taking care of the
ball better and playing de-
fensively was a common
individual goal.
“Women’s basketball
is just as important as
men’s basketball,” said
Coach Foster, “The women’s basketball team is
doubted because people
don’t care about it. People
think the women are not
that good. But the women
prove they are good ev-
ery time they step on the
court.” Their skills become
evident when they play.
Talking about wheher
the team has what it takes
to win, senior Waheeda
Bilbaria said, “I believe we
have the determination
and we are anxious for the
win. We will work as hard
as we can and do whatever it takes to win.”
Halls
By Ghadir Mozeb, Tasnim Begum and Reem Aljalal
How can we improve our school?
The 2014 Girl’s Basketball Team starting the season strong!
“More elective classes,
more field trips, and
more free dress.”
-Roshonda Anderson
“More teachers and
staff, more classes and
objects in class for better learning.”
-Imad Kaid
“A cleaner enviorment, better materials, and more classes.”
-Shahab Shammakh
Staff members Lilu Rahman and Showrabh Dahr drew a cartoon for Cosmos Times.
Page 4
Cosmos Times Issue III: Winter 2014-15
2014 Timeline, a look back at Hamtramck High
(Continued from page 1)
of taking college classes
while still attending high
school. These seniors began attending classes at
Wayne County Community College District while
others took Arabic class
with the University of Detroit Mercy. The students
will be be able to earn college credit for taking dual
enrollment.
New Principal:
Over the summer vacation,
Hamtramck High School
welcomed their new principal: Mr. Terrence George.
September:
New Editors are In! :
The Cosmos Newspaper is
up and running once again
with the help of Mr. Katopodis, but this year the
new editors plan to make it
even better. Seniors Amal
Alzendani, Jenny Ghose,
and Tazia Miah are editors
while senior Elsa Nilaj and
junior Alex Paradowski are
photo editors.
Homecoming Dance:
Our 2014 Homecoming
court had their spotlight,
slow-dance in the “A Dance
Among The Stars” themed
Homecoming
Dance.
Emad Ali and Emina Is-
lamovic were our homecoming king and queen.
The rest of the court were:
Juniors Muhammad Harris and Alexandra Paradowski, Sophomores Fuad
Islamovic and Alyssa Spillman, and Freshmen Ismael Shammakh and Emina
Skapur.
Spirit Week:
This year, spirit week was
a success. Students could
dress up according to the
day’s theme. Monday was
Pajama Day; Tuesday
was Twin Day; Wednesday was Superhero Day;
Thursday Class Color
Day; and Friday was Cosmos Day. Spirit Week ended with the Homecoming
Pep Rally where our senior Masters of Ceremony
were Asseel Shammakh
and Marcel Smith.
Cosmos Floats:
From freshmen to seniors,
students worked tirelessly
to create original and colorful floats. Each float was
based on the Disney Pixar
movies followed by their
class themes. Seniors
were Monsters University;
Juniors were The Incredibles; Sophomores were
The Lorax; and Freshmen
were Shrek.
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October:
20 - MIPA:
Mr. Katopodis’s journalism class attended the Fall
Conference for the Michigan Interscholastic Press
Association at the School
of Journalism at Michigan
State University. The students went to instructional
sessions on journalism,
newspaper, and yearbook.
24 - Last Football Game:
The Cosmos’ football
team’s six seniors--Troy
Adkisson Jr., Rayshard
Blow, De’Angelo Fantroy,
Gulgar Matin, Mamoon
Nagi, and Ahmed Zindani-played one last time. The
Cosmos ended the game
with a win of 58-38 and an
overall season of 4-5.
Boys’ Varsity Soccer:
The Cosmos Boys’ Varsity
Soccer Team scored over
100 goals this season.
Girls’ Varsity Volleyball:
Seniors Amila Causevic,
Azra Muhic, and Elsa Nilaj played for the Cosmos
volleyball team for the last
time.
November:
18 - Chess Club:
Hamtramck High School’s
chess team is started by
eager students with the
help of Mr. Bagdasarian,
Mr.Stenvig and Mr. Preston. The team holds meetings after school on Tues-
days and Thursdays.
Blood Drive:
On November 24, Hamtramck High School’s Student Council once again
teamed up with the American Red Cross to host the
fall blood drive. 28 pints of
blood were donated.
NHS Food Drive:
The food bank helps
the hungry by collecting
food year-round, packaging, and distributing food
throughout the Detroit
area to those in need.
Hamtramck High School’s
chapter of the National
Honor Society (NHS) is
proud to have been part of
the cause for the last three
years.
College App Week:
Over the week of November 3, all the seniors at
Hamtramck High School
applied to at least one college on their list.
December:
10 - Wrestling:
The wrestling team began
again for another season
with over 21 members.
13 - Robotics Off-Season
Event:
Hamtramck High School’s
very own Team Cosmos
hosted an off-season robotics event at the community center. Team 123
placed 2nd overall.
16 - DECA:
The DECA regional competition was held in Detroit, where students competed for a spot at the
statewide
competition.
More than half of the Cosmos won their events and
will be competing in Grand
Rapids.
Winter Break:
From
December
19
through January 4, staff
and students were able
to enjoy winter break and
the holiday season and
prepare for upcoming final
exams.
Cosmos Times Staff
Advisor: Mr. Harry Katopodis
hkatopodis@hamtramck.k12.mi.us
Editors:
Amal Alzendani, Jenny Ghose, Tazia Miah, Elsa Nilaj, Alexandra Paradowski
Staff:
Soha Al-Shauweyh, Khadiza Ali, Laki Ali, Tariq Ali,
Reem Aljalal, Aysha Begum, Tasnim Begum, Agron
Berishaj, Showrabh Dhar, Fahifta Gaffar, Ramiza
Hasic, Hakeem Hassan, Ke’Sean Haywood, Vincent
Hudson, Diamond Mason, Tapia Miah, Ghadir Mozeb, Lilu Rahman, Elizabeth Ratajczyk, Talyn Ruzycki, Lejla Salkic, Usama Saucedo, Merima Skapur,
Mujo Ticevic, Najera Yeasmin
Sales:
Arnela Dizdarevic, Emina Fazlic, Muzakkir Miah