Principal's Blog #33

Dear MHS Families,

Congratulations to our Seniors, Grace DeMilio and Abigail Marquardt, for serving on Principal-Student Advisory Council (P-SAC) for the last 2 years! We will miss your leadership!

Have a great weekend Mustangs!

Dr. Alexandria Rios Taylor

Principal, Mundelein High School

847-949-2200 x1257

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

MHS has "Class of 2024" signs available for purchase! Signs are $15. Orders must be placed by 11:59PM on April 30. Pickup first week of May in the MHS main office – confirmation email will be sent when signs are available for pickup.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW

Click here to see the full schedule of upcoming graduations events.

Student Registration opened February 1, 2024. All students must register yearly. Visit our registration page for more information: https://www.d120.org/resources/parents/registration-2/

All returning students must register for the upcoming 24-25 school year. Please check your email for your snap code.

The 2024/2025 Early Registration Fee item has been added to PowerSchool fee accounts for the Class of 2026, 2027, and 2028. If you choose to pay the Registration Fee by May 1st, 2024, you will receive the $25 discount, currently applied in PowerSchool.

Starting May 2nd, the discount will be removed and the regular Registration Fee of $275 will be listed. Please know that all prior Registration and Course fees must be paid off before paying the Early Registration item.

Snap Code Questions: Contact Patty DeLozier at 847-949-2700 ext. 2014 or at pdelozier@d120.org

Payment Center Questions: Please contact KC Olson at kolson@d120.org

The 2024/2025 parking permit lottery begins Monday, April 15th at 8am and runs until Monday, May 6th at 11:59pm. Seniors and Juniors during 2024/2025 school year are eligible (Sophomores will not be accepted). If your student wants a permit to park on the premises next school year, they will need to register for this lottery. We will not have another lottery during the next school year.

MHS has "Class of 2024" signs available for purchase! Signs are $15. Orders must be placed by 11:59PM on April 30. Pickup first week of May in the MHS main office – confirmation email will be sent when signs are available for pickup.

Proceeds benefit the Student Support Fund - a fund designed to increase access to extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities within Mundelein High School by ensuring finances are not a barrier to student participation and success.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW

A Musical Fable of Broadway, based on the story and characters of Damon Runyan. Hailed as the perfect musical comedy, this award-winning classic gambles with luck and love under the bright lights of Broadway. Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Directed by Jonathan Meier.

April 25, 26 & 27 at 7:30 p.m.

April 27 at 2 p.m.

Adults - $14
Seniors (65 ) - $10
Students - $8

• All seats are reserved
• Online sales stop 2 hours prior to each performance
• Walk-up ticket sales start 45 minutes prior to each performance (cash or check only)
• House opens 30 minutes prior to each performance

Tickets for Guys and Dolls Now on Sale

As the weather warms up, it’s time to get outside and get your yards ready for the summer. Our annual Mulch Fundraiser will be on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 from 8am-4pm. We will be selling bags out of Sawvell's lot, at the corner of 176 and 60 (Across the street from Crossroads and Walgreens). Bags are $4 each. Yes, we are a little bit more expensive (only about 50 cents after taxes) per bag than that big orange store down the street. You're going to get a better product though, and you're supporting a local Mundelein business and MHS. Now for the best part, no need to get dirty, we will deliver and spread it for you! Email me (don’t reply all), if you would like to place an order.

Not sure if you want to order ahead of time, that’s ok. Since we are using Sawvell’s lot, we should always have what you need available. Feel free to also just drive by and pick up what you need on the day of. I have attached our flier with more info.

If it's not too much trouble I would love for you to help us get the word out. Please share our flier on your neighborhood Facebook groups and any other social media platforms. Please reach out if you have any questions. Thanks for your support.

To celebrate educators around the 26th Senate District, I am writing to request your encouragement of Mundelein High School students to participate in the 2023 My Inspirational Teacher Essay Contest. Students in grades 6-12 are invited to write an essay of 250-500 words on their most appreciated teachers. This year’s contest celebrates how teachers positively impact their students’ lives with the theme: How My Teacher Inspires Me. Students must submit their essays by Tuesday, April 30th to be eligible.

PARTICIPANTS: All participants will receive a certificate of recognition from State Senator Dan McConchie’s legislative office.

FINALISTS: Finalists from grades 6-12 and excerpts from their essays will be featured on SenatorMcConchie.com. Finalists and their nominated teachers will also be invited to Senator McConchie’s district office in Lake Zurich on Friday, May 10th, for an awards ceremony and reception from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS: Two grand prize winners (one winner from grades 6-8 and one winner from grades 9-12) will each be awarded a $100 Amazon gift card to be used for educational supplies. (Governmental funds are not used for prizes. Amazon gift cards are donated).

Please send all entries to jmorano@sgop.ilga.gov.

Learn to recognize the signs your child might be vaping. Learn about opioids and other harmful drugs. View a Mock teen bedroom and get tips on how to talk to your kids about drugs!

Date: Tuesday, April 30th

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Mundelein High School

Presented By: NICASA, Stand Up, and the Mundelein Police Department (English and Spanish)

Click here to register.

The College Ambassadors are hosting the Senior Decision Day Celebration on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 9:30am at the parking lot by the pool!

The 2024 Mundelein High School Prom is quickly approaching! Prom will be held Friday, May 3 from 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM at the Marriott Lincolnshire in the Grand Marquee Pavilion. All Mundelein High School Juniors and Seniors are invited to attend. This year’s theme is A Night Under Lanterns.

Tickets will be sold the week of Monday, April 8th to Thursday, April 18th online through RevTrak on the D120 website. All students must be in good standing in order to purchase tickets. The price per ticket is $85.00.

Click here to learn more.

Click here for the special schedule.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Join us on May 14th at 7:00pm in the Auditorium to celebrate our Senior Class. We have a remarkable senior class and we’re proud to celebrate their impressive and unique accomplishments:

• As outstanding scholars earning top grades and honors

• As stars in art, theater, choir and band

• As accomplished athletes - many in multiple sports - spreading Mustang Pride across the state and country

• As compassionate citizens, demonstrating support for your classmates, the community, and our country

Drop off your MHS books and equipment .... and PICK UP your graduation cap, gown and tickets!

Graduation will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 3:00 pm at the NOW Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, IL. Seniors need to report to the NOW Arena by 2:00 pm. Students may drive on their own, however bus transportation to the NOW Arena and back to MHS will be available for any students and their families who need it. Information regarding transportation services will be released in the spring.

Tickets and seating: Each graduate will be issued 15 tickets (wristbands) for guest seating. General seating will begin at 2:00 pm.

In an effort to give students extra time to study and take a breath before finals, we have implemented a special schedule for May 22nd. Click here for more information.

Semester 2 final exam days are May 23rd and May 24th. We will be on a special schedule both days. Please click here for more information.

No School! Enjoy your summer!

Join us for a night of percussion on May 30th, from 7:00 to 9:00pm.

Congratulations to Freshmen Jireh Hernandez and Ryan Jeschke !! We received 44 submissions this week!

MHS Science Olympiad earned two first place awards along with a fifth place finish at the Science Olympiad Illinois Individual State Tournament.

Congratulations to Brandon Schwab and Nia Buxton for landing first place in Air Trajectory, to Damian Harrison and (again) Brandon Schwab for first place in Wind Power, and to Sara Choi, Shruthi Menon, and (again) Nia Buxton for placing fifth in Experimental Design.

Mustang Nation is proud!

On 4/21 Mundelein Art students participated in the state-wide Illinois High School Art Exhibitions.

Seniors, Emma Cohn, Marisa Chen, Kassandra Haro, Ashley Lucas, and Jaxon Wasseluk exhibited in the Senior Scholarship exhibition. Mundelein senior collectively was awarded $856,000 in scholarship offers from multiple colleges and universities. Emma Cohn participated in the Live Figure Drawing Throwdown Competition while Jaxon Wasseluk won a Best in Show award out of the nearly 500 artworks shown!

Juniors, Abriana Pelayo, Mateo Bonilla, Aspen Sweet, Leila Bychowski, Maisy Price, and Sarah Choi exhibited in the Northern Regional Exhibition. Maisy Price won an Honorable Mention Award in the Photography category.

Junior Eva Yakovlev and Freshman Lauren Demuth were awarded an Early College Scholarship award to attend summer classes at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the College of Creative Studies in Detroit respectively. Lauren also was awarded a top 5 portfolio award from the Early College Program exhibition.

Congratulations to all participants for an excellent showing of creativity and hard work!!

The 6th annual Student Research Showcase celebrates 30 student researchers as they share their mentorship experience and innovative research through the Mentor Matching Engine. During the 2023-24 school year, students across the state of Illinois have identified questions in a variety of fields including STEM, Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities and more. In partnership with professional mentors on the Mentor Matching Engine, they developed their ideas, refined their skills, and completed in-depth research on their subject.

Their research was titled "Smelly Memories".

Mundelein High School has earned its place among the “Best Communities for Music Education” in the nation. This unique and prestigious award is given by the National Association of Music Merchants

Foundation.

To nominate yourself or others for this feature, please email Mr. Gonzalez.

The Welcome Center is in need of donations to continue assisting those members of our community that are in need. With the fallout from some of our families being displaced recently by inclement weather, those donations are even more important today. We welcome donations of non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, soaps, detergents and clothing. To help assist those families in need, we are also accepting gift card donations. Please take a minute to watch this video about how The Welcome Center helps our community.

The Wellness Center team is proud to share Mental Health Must-Haves for Mundelein Mustangs, a resource packet filled with tips and tricks to manage emotions and stress, regulate thoughts and anger, improve self-love and self-confidence, increase executive functioning, and enhance overall self-care.

Take a moment to review the May self-care check list.

Click here to see all the student support areas we have to offer.

MHS has many supports to offer students. Students can access a quick-reference guide of all supports available on this page. Available is everything from social-emotional support, to financial support. Check it out!

Click here to see all the student support areas we have to offer.

The College Ambassadors are hosting the Senior Decision Day Celebration on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 9:30am at the parking lot by the pool! We want to celebrate all post-high school decisions: 4-year college, 2-year college, military, trade school, or going straight into the workforce. Seniors are encouraged to wear something representing their decision or direction!

Experiential Education describes all opportunities offered to students to give them a chance to explore the world of careers and professions. These include classes like Dual Credit Student Internship, Business INCubator, and Geometry in Construction as well as career treks and featured guest speakers.

On Thursday, April 25, MHS hosted two panels for the students in our three law-based courses--Business Law, Civil Law, Criminal Law, taught by teachers Michelle Sherwin-Petrucci, Nicole Malham, and Michele Bonadies, respectively. Approximately 120 students heard stories of law school experiences, courtroom triumphs, and critical career decisions from a panel of nine lawyers and one police officer.

The panelists shared valuable career advice. “Law school only taught me how to read a case,” shared estate attorney Sharanya Gujurajan. “I had to use my critical thinking skills, follow my instincts, and learn from my peers about the practice of law”.

Gujurajan also commented about the strong sense of community found among lawyer circles. “You’re going to meet a lot of people, so strong interpersonal skills are necessary”.

“It’s the best feeling when someone chooses me to represent them,” she added. “It gives me a chance to do what I love best--practice law in order to help people in need”.

Special thanks to our list of panelists for taking the time to share their stories with our students: Dimitra Anderson, Andres Cerritos, Maria Diakoumakis, Sharanya Gujurajan, Eric Kalata, Kate McKeon, Elliot Pinsel, Elin Shoback, Donald Tyer, and School Resource Officer JT Schuldt. Because of you, careers were shaped and lives were changed!

On Friday, April 19th, eight Mundelein High School students attended the annual Trauma Day at Advocate Condell Medical Center. The event offered students from all over Lake County a comprehensive tour of the different departments in the hospital, including the ER, medical imaging, occupational therapy, and even the helicopter landing pad, part of the Condell’s Level One Trauma Center facilities.

The photos below tell the story of the students’ experiences that day--click on each one to see the scope of Condell’s exciting day of learning!

Thank you to MHS Guidance Counselor Samantha Smigielski for joining us as a chaperone!

Athletic Events week of 4/29/24

Submitted by Coach Dressen

Congratulations to our Frosh/Soph team for their decisive victory at the first MHS Frosh/Soph Quad last Saturday. The boys soundly defeated Deerfield, Maine East, and Round Lake in 2 sets each. Also, congratulations to all levels for their wins over Grayslake North on Monday. What a great way to start the week! This Saturday, Varsity heads to the Grayslake Central Invitational where they will face Buffalo Grove, Christian Heritage Academy, Proviso West, and others. Then the Varsity and JV levels travel to North Chicago and ALL levels to Libertyville on April 29th and May 1st respectively. The games are at 5:00 and 6:00pm. Come out and support your Mustangs!

Submitted by Coach Rutz

Last Friday we successfully defended our title at the Round Lake Blue Thunder Invitational. We had a number of meet champions on the night. Izic Miller won the 800, with Alberto Diaz winning the 1600. We also had wins in the 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relay.

In the Field Events we had wins in the Shot Put (William Vilchynskyy), High Jump (Julian Eagar), and Pole Vault (Nico Osorio).

Decent weather Monday night led to a number of PRs for our guys. While we lost to both Stevenson and Lake Forest, the scores were closer than expected.

Maddux Hermestroff PR'd in the 100m, taking 5th overall in 12.33. Julian Eagar won the 200 in 23.97, with Izic Miller taking 3rd in the 400 with a PR of 55.25.

Alberto Diaz won the 1600 with a time of 4:45.06. Ben Segura took 3rd in the 110 hurdles despite a stumble near the end. The 4 x 400 relay took 2nd, with Ethan Connelly running the fastest split on the day of 53.5.

The highlight on the track belonged to the 4 x 800 relay of Alberto Diaz, Nathan McCreight, Andrew Weaver, and Izic Miller. The foursome won in our fastest time of the season by far, 8:32. Nathan McCreight sizzled in his leg, running a huge PR of 2:07.

In the Field Events William Vilchynskyy stole the show with PRs in both throws. Will took 3rd in the Shot Put with a throw of 13.69. Will came back in the discus to take 2nd with a PR of 136'9". Holden McFall had a 12 foot PR in the discus, throwing 102'1". First time over 100'!

Maddux Hermestroff took 2nd in the High Jump with a leap of 5'8". Ethan Connelly and Drew Patrick went 1-2 in the Triple Jump. Great job guys!

Next up we have a JV meet tomorrow at Antioch, a chance for some of our athletes to shine who don't ordinarily get the chance. On Saturday we compete in the granddaddy of meets, the Palatine Relays. This meet has been going on for over 90 years, and is unique in its design, as all the events are scored as relays, with each athlete's performance in an event added together. A great meet to watch. If you can make it out, you won't be disappointed.

Until then, It's A Great Day To Be A Mustang!

Submitted by Coach Ryan

The softball program continued their win streak with victories over New Trier, Zion-Benton, Lake Forest, and Waukegan, improving our record to 17-0. On Saturday, we hosted our annual Community Day. We had many future Mustang softball players attend and spend time with team. Big shout out to MBSA for providing a delicious lunch! So much fun!

This weekend we head to Rolling Meadows to play in an eight-team tournament. The Mustangs face off against Johnsburg High School Friday night at 8pm.

Congrats to our JV 1 team who beat a tough Woodlands Academy squad this past Monday. Skylar Brown had a home run and hard hit double off the fence. Way to go!

Submitted by Coach Mahoney

This past week brought a lot of success for the Mustang girls. Friday night saw a convincing TEAM victory at the Blue Thunder Invite at Round Lake High School. Event winners included: Jeni Bolanos (800), Chloe Engelbrecht (1600), Paige Robertson (3200), Sariah Hutchinson (High Jump), Delaney Jung (Long & Triple Jump), 4x100m Relay - Delaney Jung + Kate Burchill + Sariah Hutchinson + Victoria Osei, 4x200m Relay - Gabriella Lipske + Khloe Heerdegen + Xitlally Garcia + Amelia Snarski, and the 4x400m Relay - Vivi Gonzalez + Delaney Jung + Kate Burchill + Amber Dean.

The hard work for the team continued on Saturday in hosting our large middle school invite, the Keith Zawila Invite. The athletes and coaches collaborated with the boys track and field program to run an outstanding event and provide a great experience for a huge number of middle school teams.

Monday brought more great competition with Stevenson and Lake Forest.

Be sure to come out to our home meet on Monday, 4/29, to celebrate our seniors! Join us in celebrating: Maya Alsayed, Jeni Bolanos, Nicole Casino, Amber Dean, Alicia Fontenla, Sariah Hutchinson, Gabriella Lipske, Mila Patel, & Abbie Shifley

Quest is proud to be your dining partner and we are committed to providing the best experience possible to every student, including nutritious food, a wide variety of choices, and a seamless dining experience. We wanted to share a few important reminders about the dining program and we welcome your questions and feedback. Click here for more information.

Did you know that you can customize your Mustang spirit wear online? Since 2010, hundreds of items are available to choose from infant sizes to 6XL. Choose embroidery or screenprint, ladies or men’s fit, and front and back printing. You can add custom text to add your name to your shirt. Look at actual garment size (chest, body, and sleeve length) to find the perfect fit. Buy accessories like hats, bags, and luggage tags. All customizable and shipped directly to you! Visit us at mymustangnation.com or linked through the d120.org website.

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Past blogs are available at:

https://www.d120.org/about-mhs/principals-newsletter/

Website: www.d120.org
Location: 1359 West Hawley Street, Mundelein, IL, USA
Phone: 847-949-2200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Mundelein-High-School-District-120/100095401983567/
Twitter: @MundeleinHS