TIMESCOSMOS

Hamtramck High School l 11410 Charest l Hamtramck, MI 48212 l hhscosmostimes.com l Issue III: Winter 2014-15

(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 Soci-ety Induction Ceremony:NHS held its Induction Ceremony swearing in the new Executive Board members: Lubna Begum (President), Tazia Miah (Vice President), Sus-metha Baidya (Secretary), Elsa Nilaj (Treasurer), and Jenny Ghose (Historian). 19 new members were in-ducted into the ceremony.Girls’ Varsity Tennis:The Lady Cosmos trav-eled to Grosse Point to compete in the Tennis Dis-trict Championships. While many won at least one match, a few girls compet-ed in the semi-finals.May 22 - All - District Con-cert:The Hamtramck Music Department collaborated to perform during the Dis-trict-Wide Band Concert. May 27 - 2014 ESD Engi-

son at the District 1 Re-gionals event at Centerline High School, where Team 123 made it to the semifi-nals. 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 Multicul-tural show took place, where HHS students were able to showcase their di-verse talents.

May:AP ExamsAfter a year of rigorous studying and practicing, the AP Exams were taken on May 7 (Calculus AB), May 8 (English Composi-tion and Literature), May 9 (Studio Art) and May 12

2014 Timeline, a look back at Hamtramck High By Tazia Miah, Farzana Ak-tar and Hanan Algumaei

neering SMArT Michigan Competition:Hamtramck High’s Light Savers finished third in a competition to design blueprints for an ener-gy efficient house. The five members of the team were: Susmetha Baidya, Lubna Begum, Waheeda Bilbaria, Jenny Ghose, and Tazia Miah. Each stu-dent 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 mem-bers 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 Entrepreneur-ial Business Plan Chal-lenge:Jenny Ghose won first place for creating a busi-ness plan for Mattico, a graphic design firm, and received a $2,500 scholar-ship. Tazia Miah won sec-ond 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 Livo-nia. 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 stu-dents of Hamtramck High School’s Class of 2014 were Ahmed Ali (valedic-torian) and Majeda Rakhi (salutatorian). Final Exams:On June 16 and 17, under-classmen took their final exams. After all their hard work, the staff and stu-dents’ summer vacation finally began. 2014 General Motors Summer Student Corps:The General Motors Stu-dent 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, Tasn-ima Lasker, Tazia Miah, Sadeeque Mohamed, Fatima Nasir, and Mitul Purkayestha) were cho-sen to receive tablets do-nated by Chrysler.

July:KAPLAN Summer Class-es:KAPLAN ACT practice was available for any stu-dents who wanted to work on their ACT readiness during the summer.

August: Dual Enrollment:The new seniors, steppedup to tackle the challenge (Continued on page 4)

January:Snow DaysWith several snow days in January due to the Po-lar Vortex, students had less time to prepare for midterm exams. Midterms were postponed to the fol-lowing 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 feel-ing of love in the air.Boys’ Varsity Basketball:The Hamtramck Basket-ball team had a winning season, finishing with 12-7 wins for a back-to-back 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 Gradu-ate.It detailed the story of how, with a little push from his friends, Tasnima Lask-er and Azraf Bakth, Thab-it worked tirelessly to get back on track to graduate on time.Boys’ Varsity Wrestling:The Cosmos’ Wrestling team had a winning sea-son, with an 8-3 record. They outscored their op-ponents 375-191 and won each meet with an aver-age of 27 points. Three players won awards at the 2014 Bishop Foley Wrestling International Tournament: Senior Tre-veon Lane, Juniors D’An-gelo Fantroy and Sherzod Muhammediev. Treveon Lane won 1st place at the tournament.

March:FIRST Robotics : District Regionals EventsMarch was robotics sea-

Cosmos Times Issue III: Winter 2014-15 Page 2

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The mountain climbing, sky diving teacherBy Elsa Nilaj and Shommo Das

have to put in, it’s easy to just give up and say I’ve had enough!

“Mountain climbing isn’t the only thing Mr. Rostek does! “I have skydived, yes, I always try to do adventur-ous 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.”

ing is, “Believe in yourself. To me climbing is more mental than physical be-cause of the long days you

Over winter break our brave, adventurous teacher, Mr. Ros-

tek, recently climbed Acon-cagua, located in the Andes Mountain Range, in Argenti-na. Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in the Americas. This mountain has many glaciers, cold weather con-ditions and air pressure of 40% less than sea-level at the summit (peak) which makes it increasingly hard-er for climbers as they as-cend 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 ap-propriate 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

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 be-ing 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 Af-rica.

His advice for others in-terested in mountain climb-

falling into a crevasse.

Of course, just like goals in life people want to accomplish there will be challenges and Mr. Ros-tek faced a tough one this year. “Unfortunately, I came down with an upper respi-ratory infection and I had to go down just after 16,200 feet.” Mr. Rostek said. How-ever, this wasn’t the tough-est challenge he faced in his mountain climbing ex-periences. 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 climb-ing Denali, he had to carry

Aconcagua, Argentina, South America is located in the Andes mountain range. Photo by Marior-do Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]

Mr. Rostek standing next to Mount McKinley, also known as Dena-li, in Alaska

Mr. Rostek reaches the top of Mt. Elbrus, Russia (near Sochi)

Mr. Rostek reaches the top of Kilimanjaro, Africa

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 skydiving

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

mary reason for joining was after seeing his uncle Ahmed Fadhel (former holder of HHS winning re-cord, 86 wins) re-ceive a $40,000 scholarship. Se-nior wrestler, Ma-moon Nagi said, “Wrestling is a sport for compet-itors only, and it’s very difficult and takes every ounce of heart to win. When you wrestle its nobody’s

pushes all his wrestlers to maintain a good GPA. If any-body 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-

Girls Basketball looks for a successful seasonBy Diamond Mason

To the Hamtramck High School girls basket-ball team, determination and focus makes a great team. There are several returning players dedicat-ed to winning a champion-ship this year. The wom-en have improved on ball handling, defensive, and offensive plays. Also, the women are working on discipline on and off the

beat and stay on track, be determined and stay fo-cused 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-

court. Senior Leijla Mas-cinovic, captain, believes that if the newcomers: Daijhanel Walton, Kiara Wapp, Ceira Mann, Krys-tal 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

fensively was a common individual goal.

“Women’s basketball is just as important as men’s basketball,” said Coach Foster, “The wom-en’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 whatev-er it takes to win.”

Voices Hallsin the

How can we improve our school?

“More elective classes, more field trips, and more free dress.”

-Roshonda Anderson

“More teachers and staff, more classes and objects in class for bet-ter learning.”

-Imad Kaid

“A cleaner envior-ment, better materi-als, and more classes.”

-Shahab Shammakh

The 2014 Girl’s Basketball Team starting the season strong!

The 2014 Boy’s Wrestling Team show their game faces!

Staff members Lilu Rahman and Showrabh Dahr drew a cartoon for Cosmos Times.

fault for you losing except yours.” Many wrestlers have their own reasons for loving

wrestling, but they all share a common goal: to win.

By Ghadir Mozeb, Tasnim Begum and Reem Aljalal

Cosmos Times Issue III: Winter 2014-15 Page 4

Cosmos Times Staff

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Advisor: Mr. Harry Katopodishkatopodis@hamtramck.k12.mi.us

Editors:Amal Alzendani, Jenny Ghose, Tazia Miah, Elsa Nilaj, Al-exandra Paradowski

2014 Timeline, a look back at Hamtramck High(Continued from page 1) of taking college classes while still attending high school. These seniors be-gan attending classes at Wayne County Commu-nity College District while others took Arabic class with the University of De-troit Mercy. The students will be be able to earn col-lege credit for taking dual enrollment. New Principal: Over the summer vacation, Hamtramck High School welcomed their new princi-pal: Mr. Terrence George.

September:New Editors are In! :The Cosmos Newspaper is up and running once again with the help of Mr. Ka-topodis, 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-

October:20 - MIPA:Mr. Katopodis’s journal-ism class attended the Fall Conference for the Michi-gan Interscholastic Press Association at the School of Journalism at Michigan State University. The stu-dents 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 Ni-laj 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. Pres-ton. The team holds meet-ings after school on Tues-

lamovic were our home-coming king and queen. The rest of the court were: Juniors Muhammad Har-ris and Alexandra Parad-owski, Sophomores Fuad Islamovic and Alyssa Spill-man, and Freshmen Isma-el 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; Wednes-day was Superhero Day; Thursday Class Color Day; and Friday was Cos-mos Day. Spirit Week end-ed with the Homecoming Pep Rally where our se-nior Masters of Ceremony were Asseel Shammakh and Marcel Smith.Cosmos Floats:From freshmen to seniors, students worked tirelessly to create original and col-orful floats. Each float was based on the Disney Pixar movies followed by their class themes. Seniors were Monsters University; Juniors were The Incred-ibles; Sophomores were The Lorax; and Freshmen were Shrek.

days and Thursdays.Blood Drive:On November 24, Ham-tramck High School’s Stu-dent Council once again teamed up with the Ameri-can 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, packag-ing, 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 Novem-ber 3, all the seniors at Hamtramck High School applied to at least one col-lege 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 ro-botics event at the com-munity center. Team 123 placed 2nd overall.16 - DECA: The DECA regional com-petition was held in De-troit, where students com-peted for a spot at the statewide competition. More than half of the Cos-mos 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.

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 Mo-zeb, Lilu Rahman, Elizabeth Ratajczyk, Talyn Ruzy-cki, Lejla Salkic, Usama Saucedo, Merima Skapur, Mujo Ticevic, Najera Yeasmin

Sales: Arnela Dizdarevic, Emina Fazlic, Muzakkir Miah