LP_052319

18 | May 23, 2019 | the lockport legend news
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FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Tinley native named Lynchburg,
Virginia, Teacher of the Year
Andrew Napierkowski has
come a long way since his days
as a studious-but-shy teen in Tinley
Park.
He has moved from the back
of the classroom to the front, and
from the Midwest to the South.
His personal and professional
development has been such, in
fact, that on May 1, his employer,
Lynchburg City Schools in
Lynchburg, Virginia, named him
the district’s Teacher of the Year.
“It’s a really amazing, humbling
honor,” Napierkowski said.
“We have a lot of great teachers
in the area, and we all work hard.
For someone to recognize all
that effort, it’s just really nice.”
Napierkowski said the “ah-ha”
moments with students are what
keep him motivated.
“When you see their eyes get
really big, and watch them get it,
that’s why I teach,” he said. “Everything
else is just a benefit.”
In 2013, his student teaching
assignment landed him at Heritage
High School, where he has
been ever since.
The award, though given in a
surprising, heart-warming fashion,
did not take Napierkowski
totally off-guard.
He puts in long hours, often
working well after work, and
serves on a variety of administrative
committees at the school, including
its faculty advisor group
and its National Honor Society.
In April, Heritage Principal
Timothy Beatty informed Napierkowski
he nominated him
for the award. Napierkowski put
together a packet outlining some
of his accomplishments and
prepped for an interview with an
administrative panel. He thought
the process went well but was
not expecting to win.
“I’m not in it for acknowledgement,”
he said.
Reporting by Will O’Brien,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
3 Corners Grill & Tap now open
The wait has finally ended for
New Lenox.
3 Corners Grill & Tap is now
open at 901 E. Lincoln Highway.
Its official opening day was May
13.
The new establishment takes
the spot of what was formerly
Floyd’s Ale House, which closed
in 2015, and The Charley Horse,
which closed in 2013.
3 Corners has two other locations,
in Lemont and Downers
Grove.
The New Lenox location’s
hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday,
and 11 a.m.-1
a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
On its website, 3 Corners
says it offers 27 different beers.
The menu features a selection
of starters, burgers, wraps,
sandwiches, soups, “minis,”
flatbreads,entrees, sides and a
children’s menu.
For more information, visit
http://www.3cornersgrill.com/
new-lenox.
Reporting by Sean Hastings, Editor.
For more, visit NewLenoxPatriot.
com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Orland Park’s Dylan Cruz
prepares to release film on
Amazon Prime
Dylan Cruz is always on the
move, in pursuit of a new ideas
and new opportunities, and new
ways to share his talents with the
world.
The minute the Orland Park
resident finished post-production
on “The Day After Halloween,”
a feature-length film he wrote
and directed, and in which he
starred, he has been busy in pursuit
of the next project.
“I’ve been running around like
crazy, but it’s been a good crazy,”
he said.
The post-production process
for “The Day After Halloween”
involved intense, sometimes
10-hour-long stints of viewing
footage with the production team
and editing together the best takes.
It took roughly one year of work
before the film was finalized.
Then, Cruz and his team gathered
paperwork to submit the
film to Amazon for streaming
on Amazon Prime. Once closed
captioning was added to the film,
so it could also be shown in other
countries, Amazon accepted the
film for streaming.
It is scheduled to be published
at the end of the summer
on the streaming service. Amazon
Prime customers can view
the film for free, and others can
rent or purchase the film through
Amazon.
“I’m really excited to finally
show the public what I’ve been
up to for the past year-and-ahalf,”
Cruz said. “It’s a proud
moment to see something you
thought about come alive in
front of you. ... It’s definitely put
a new, reignited desire and passion
in me to create more, beyond
what I’ve already made.”
For more information about
Cruz’s projects, visit www.
dylancruzofficial.com.
Reporting by Meredith Dobes,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Mokena preschoolers ready for
real world of kindergarten
The gym auditorium at Mokena
Elementary School was filled
with smiles and songs May 15,
as graduation season began with
Mokena Community Park District’s
Spring Preschool Program
ceremony.
The celebration taught the
toddlers that graduation not
only signifies the end of their
preschool experience but also a
transition on their path to kindergarten.
“I love being each child’s very
first teacher on their educational
journey,” said Janet Nush, the
Mokena Community Park District
preschool teacher. “I love
seeing each child develop a love
for learning, and seeing each
child learn and grow in the two
years that they are with me.”
Nush and childcare aide Janine
White welcomed the attendees.
Following the introduction,
the graduating students came to
the stage to lead the group in
the “Pledge of Allegiance,” followed
by the Mokena Park District
song “Days of the Week.”
The students also danced to the
songs “Twink a Link,” “Jack and
Jill” and “Humpty Dumpty.”
At Mokena Park District Early
Childhood Education, teachers
utilize standard curriculum —
introducing math, science and
social studies concepts — to create
a higher level of thinking and
basis for their continued education.
“We are able to set a path for
success with children involved
in our programs, as we focus on
utilizing both recreation and traditional
educational techniques
to introduce important concepts
that are critical for both social
and intellectual development,”
said Mike Selep, executive director
for Mokena Community
Park District.
Reporting by Caitlin Fyfe,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
LTHS freshman Francesca Frieri
one of the top goal-scorers in
the nation in girls lacrosse
Being a freshman on the varsity
team can be intimidating.
The need to prove they belong
there to their older classmates
creates constant pressure — but
not for Francesca Frieri.
The Lockport freshman has
not only risen to the varsity level
of girls lacrosse but also exceeded
it. As of May 10, she is third
in scoring in the entire nation,
according to MaxPreps.com. Frieri
has fired in 119 goals for the
Porters so far in their inaugural
varsity season.
Despite all of her success, the
rookie remains humble.
“I’m just trying to help my
team out,” she said. “We really
trying to win as many games as
possible. Whatever way I can
contribute to helping the team
out is my fuel for trying to score
the goals.”
The Porters girls lacrosse team
is still in its youth, playing in the
middle of its second season as a
program and its first with a varsity
team. Inexperience comes
with the territory, coach David
Smietanski said, but his team
looks to one of its youngest players
for guidance.
“[Frieri] has been exposed to
lacrosse for a lot longer than a lot
of the girls have been,” Smietanski
said. “So, when it comes to
classroom time, when we review
things, she’ll know other girls
who are at a high level, and she
can point those girls out to us,
so we can have a game plan and
know who we’re looking at.”
Reporting by Erin Redmond,
Freelance Reporter. For more, visit
HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Hickory Creek students star in
‘Beauty and the Beast’
It was a tale as old as time, performed
by some of Frankfort’s
youngest actors and actresses.
The Hickory Creek Middle
School production of “Beauty
and the Beast,” which debuted
the evening of Friday, May 17,
and ran through Sunday, May
19, was the culmination of
months of the hard work of approximately
130 middle school
students.
In addition to performing onstage,
the students served on the
stage crew, helped with makeup
and costumes backstage and
participated as dance assistants,
said Cori Chojnacki, the school’s
chorus booster president. Several
of the lead roles in the musical
were double-cast to provide
more acting opportunities for the
young performers.
“For me, it’s always fun to see
the progression of it from the
very beginning to the showtime
and how much the kids grow
and how they can be proud of
all their hard work,” she said.
“We are actually sold out of every
show, so we are very excited
about that, and the kids are really
looking forward to performing in
front of such big audiences.”
Now in its 23rd year, the musi-
Please see nfyn, 19