Monday, April 25, 2011
A DHS senior writes about “Senior Ditch Day” and the difficult decision of whether or not to participate.
Editor's Note: This article was written on Sunday, the day before senior ditch day. It was held until Monday so Patch columnist Jacob Perlson could take advantage of his decision one way or the other. I’m telling myself that I haven’t made up my mind yet. It could go either way. I might go to school tomorrow; I might not. Realistically, I won’t be going. When my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow morning, I really don’t see myself saying at this point in my high school career, “Ah, what a glorious day! Let’s go to school!” But I don’t know that for sure and I’ve prepared for both possible outcomes in my indecision. I have most of my homework done and some tentative plans made for if/when I decide I’m ditching. It’s really a difficult …
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Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/do-i-dare-ditch
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Sunday, March 13, 2011
DHS Senior Jacob Perlson talks about how his life has changed with a little more free time.
Swimming ending has freed up about 19 hours per week. If you include all the additional eating time, it’s probably freed up about a whole day. With this time, I thought I’d get to bed earlier, get my work done more quickly and efficiently, and I would have more time to do what I wanted. I was wrong on all of those accounts except for the last. My schedule opening up has allowed me to see concerts on school nights and spend time with friends on weekdays, but it has not caused me to work well rested with focus and intensity. Instead, it has made way for what I can safely say is my first real bout of senioritis. I’ve written briefly about senioritis before, but my experience was limited then. It was like me giving marriage advice. I was …
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Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/a-bout-of-senioritis
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/locations/3670122
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A high school senior reflects on swim season and shares some insights about what it means to be on this team.
It hadn’t really struck me that swimming would ever end. Once you’re about halfway though the season, it just becomes part of your life, for better or for worse. It wasn’t until about five weeks ago that I remembered the team and I were not going to be swimming together forever. I put a countdown in my assignment notebook for the bittersweet end when I recalled it existed. Sectionals are next week, but because I have the orchestra trip to New York, the countdown is over for me. (And the majority of the team whose last swim was either senior night or conference.) Swimming ending is something I knew I wanted to write about in this Patch column, but I didn’t know how. There is a lot to say, too much to say. Swimming has been a significant …
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Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/a-letter-to-the-dhs-swimming-class-of-2015
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/locations/3383316
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Our high school columnist shares his list for 2011.
I'd love to reflect on 2010 but there is simply no time. A new year has begun and it is not slowing down for sentimentality. But still, there are a few things worth putting in writing for the sake of direction in the coming year. Or rather, for the rest of this school year which is just a little less than half way done. These are my New Year's resolutions, and I'm sure I share several of them with a lot of my classmates who are starting their last (half) year as full-time residents of Deerfield. Finish senior year with same effort I had as a junior In two weeks I will be a second-semester senior. I likely will contract senioritis and have trouble staying motivated and focused on schoolwork. Without few enduring consequences, I could …
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Deerfield High School student Jacob Perlson explains why using SparkNotes compromises a whole lot more than just a paper.
One of the central paradoxes of education these days is as technology makes it easier for students to get information, they suffer intellectually. I have easier access to a dictionary, but I also have spell check. This technological advantage has kept me from ever having to learn how to spell the words "thoroughly" or "successful." I have access to dozens of phenomenal online encyclopedias, but I also have Google. This technological advantage led me to use "Mr. Dowling's Mesopotamia Page" to write a paper freshman year. (Mr. Dowling wasn't as knowledgeable as you might think.) Every teacher in every subject has his or her own bone to pick with technology, but the shortcut students take when we visit websites like SparkNotes.com is one of …
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Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/to-sparknote-or-not-to-sparknote
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/locations/2427722
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Jacob Perlson of Deerfield High School explains why he thinks his class is setting a new standard for school leaders.
When one thinks of a high school senior class, things like elitism, hazing underclassman, and disruption come to mind. I'll admit it, the Deerfield High School Class of 2011 is not perfect in these respects. However, there is something different with this group of seniors. It's important to mention that I'm not just saying this because I'm a senior and want to gloat about my class. What prompted me to write this column was a number of comments from unbiased teachers and faculty members who see what we see. They, too, understand that this year's seniors are special and possess qualities that future senior classes will, hopefully, have as well. Whether it's for the best, the seniors have a lot of power over the school environment. Student …
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Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/a-new-breed-of-senior
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/locations/2373859
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Waukegan Rd & Deerfield Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/a-new-breed-of-senior
/locations/2373860
Saturday, October 23, 2010
A Deerfield High School senior wonders if choosing a college says way too much about who we are.
When it comes time to start thinking about applying to college, Deerfield High School students are given a list of things they are supposed to care about. Academic rigor, size, location, cost of tuition and dozens of other factors that go into choosing "the right school." Choosing this school is definitely an exercise in compromise, but something on the list gets far more attention than it should -- the institution's prestige. Realistically, prestige is the most subjective and superficial item on the list, but it means almost everything to Deerfield students. Oftentimes, more important things are sacrificed in the name of prestige. They are sacrificed because it is engrained in the Deerfield culture that attending a prestigious university …
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-87.85677
Deerfield High School
1959 Waukegan Rd, Deerfield, IL
/articles/playing-the-prestige-game
1704338
/locations/2331108
David Greenberg
10:08 am on Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Dude... you should totally talk to Ferris. Bueler.... Bueler.... Bueler.... Anyone? Bueler.... more ›