Principal's Blog #29

Dear MHS Families,

I'd like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and restful time off. This break is an excellent opportunity for our students to disconnect from the daily stresses of school life and recharge their batteries.

Parents, if you'd like to help your children make the most of this break, I encourage you to:

1. Encourage them to unplug from electronic devices and social media, allowing them to be present in the moment and enjoy quality time with family and friends.
2. Promote outdoor activities and physical exercise, which can help reduce stress, improve mood, and boost overall well-being.
3. Provide opportunities for them to pursue hobbies and interests outside of their academic commitments, fostering creativity and personal growth.
4. Engage in meaningful conversations and listen to their thoughts and concerns, strengthening your bond and providing emotional support.

Remember, spring break is a time for relaxation and rejuvenation. By supporting your children in taking a step back from the demands of school, you'll help them return refreshed and ready to tackle the remainder of the academic year with renewed energy and focus.

Go Mustangs!

Dr. Alexandria Rios Taylor

Principal, Mundelein High School

847-949-2200 x1257

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

Mustang parents, this is the last week to provide valuable feedback through the 5-Essentials Survey. If you haven't already done so, please take a few minutes to help guide our ongoing improvement efforts. Parents can start the survey now by clicking here.

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

National Assistant Principals Week, April 1–5, 2024, is a celebration of the unsung heroes in our education system. These dedicated folks work tirelessly to bolster teachers, motivate students, support their principal, create a positive learning community, and face the many unpredictable challenges that land on their desk. Assistant Principals play a crucial role, and this week is a dedicated time to recognize them for their hard work and commitment to our schools, students, and profession. Please join us in celebrating these incredible school leaders!

Adapted from https://www.nassp.org/national-assistant-principals-week/

We love our instructional assistants (IA), also known as paraprofessionals or teachers’ aides. We could not do our jobs without the support of these amazing individuals.

The backbone of our schools are instructional assistants (IA), also known as paraprofessionals or teachers’ aides. We could not do our jobs without the support of these amazing individuals. The need for competent and caring IAs has only increased over the years driven by lack of special education teachers, higher needs of students, and push for inclusive practices.

Adapted from: https://access.slptoolkit.com/working-effectively-with-instructional-assistants/

On Wednesday, April 10 and Thursday, April 11, MHS will conduct the required state tests for grades 9, 10 and 11. The schedule for these two days is as follows:

April 10

Grade 10 - PSAT 10

Grade 11 - SAT

April 11

Grade 9 - PSAT 8/9

Grade 11 - ISA

We are so excited to be gearing up for El Baile 2024! Get ready for a night in traditional Latin America as this year’s theme is Herencia Hispana!

DATE
Saturday, April 13th from 7-10 PM.

TICKETS
$5 in advance in person and online Online tickets go on sale starting Monday, 4/1 and close the night of Thursday, 4/11. In-Person tickets will be sold near the cafeteria during all lunch periods Monday, 4/8, Tuesday, 4/9, and Friday, 4/12. At the door tickets will be sold for $15! The first 50 students who buy their tickets this year will receive free food and drink vouchers at the dance!

GUESTS

Guests are welcome. Forms will be available in the Deans’ office starting Monday, 4/1 and will be due on Tuesday, 4/9 after school.

NOTES

This year all students are eligible for the dance regardless of service hours/detentions.

There will be a Spirit Week leading up to the dance again.

DANCE WORKSHOPS

Dance Workshops will be held on Thursday, April 4th and Tuesday, April 9th from 3:30-4:30
in the cafeteria. All students (and staff) are welcome to come and learn the basic steps for dances like merengue, bachata, cumbia, and more! These workshops are free and we will also raffle off free tickets or food vouchers for the dance.

Coaches/Club Sponsors: this is a great/fun team-building activity for your group! Students learn best when they are already with their friends and teammates. Please consider bringing your group to one of the lesson events.

The annual Mayor’s Cup STEM Challenge is a great opportunity for Mundelein students to showcase their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills, earn cash rewards, and have fun in the process! Think critically, work together in teams, test your knowledge, and strengthen your collaborative and social skills. Expect real-world problem solving, hands-on involvement, and out-of-the-box thinking!

Please register for the Mayor’s Cup STEM Challenge through teachers at each participating school no later than March 18, 2024.

Also, we need to collect some of the materials that students will be using in the challenge. To meet that end, if you are getting rid of any of the following items, please donate them to the event.

• Carboard Boxes of any size/shape (paper boxes, cereal boxes, Kleenex, etc)
• Cardboard
• Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls
• Empty Aluminum Cans
• Packing Material (bubble wrap, Styrofoam, etc.)
• Balloons
• Newspaper

Donated materials can be brought to B-141, B-152A, or the Nano Lab C-130. Thank you for your support in making this event a success for our students and community.

Questions? Please contact Jennifer Marshall at 847-949-3225 or jmarshall@mundelein.org

We will be observing a special schedule for prom. More information will be available soon.

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

Date, Time, and Place: 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.

MHS senior Sergio Rodriguez has earned the prestigious Chick Evans Scholarship for golf caddies that covers tuition and housing for all four years. He will be attending the University of Illinois-Chicago next year.

The Evans Scholars Foundation awards full tuition and housing scholarships to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means. Evans Scholars are selected on the basis of a strong caddie record, excellent grades, outstanding character and demonstrated financial need.

“Sergio has impressed me with his academic abilities, leadership skills, and commitment to helping others succeed,” MHS teacher Nicole Malham wrote in her nomination letter. “Sergio displays a high level of maturity and responsibility. He takes initiative in volunteering his free time to tutor younger AVID students. Sergio is always polite, respectful, and engaged in the classroom. He is a strong role model for his peers.”

Established in 1930 by the Western Golf Association and celebrated amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr., the Foundation administers the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

Over the past months, our maintenance team and music teachers have put in a number of hours to build a space that honors our All-State Musicians from past to present. Their effortshave come to fruition and it looks amazing!

State Qualifiers from our Robotics Team will be competing in the VEX Robotics Competition State Championship in Bourbonnais, IL this Friday and Saturday. We celebrated with a State Walk on Thursday morning. See the full video on our Facebook page.

The Career Tech Education area hosted a major event for Lake County where 9 high schools from the county came to the Advanced Tech Campus of College of Lake County on Tuesday, March 19th. Over 120 students from across the county came to compete in Team-Based Challenges for their respective courses in Industrial Technology and Project Lead The Way.

Manny Aldana, Mark Michalski, and Elliot Morrison worked on team-based challenges throughout the first semester that would offer our students real-world challenges in areas of Manufacturing, Carpentry, Electrical, Automated Assembly, and Children’s Furniture Outfitting. Industry partners from across three counties came to collaborate, lead discussions, and judge our student’s problem-solving skills.

MHS had a fantastic showing of over 25 students attend! This successful TBC Event was the first ever of it’s kind as we continue to build our student pathways going into the future.

120+ students and faculty from Lake County High Schools coming together for the event!

This week the MHS Visual Arts team along with four other area high schools collaborated on a student fieldtrip to the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago to view the Illinois High School Art Exhibition. Students were able to share ideas along with their creativity with several of their counterparts at Lakes Community, Deerfield, Antioch, and Conant High schools. Several Mundelein student artists have work on display in this exhibition.

At this exhibition, Art and Design colleges and universities from around the country view student portfolios and make significant scholarship offers. Offers range from 60K - 120K. That's some serious money!

We’re proud of our diversity at Mundelein High School and Wednesday was a great day to celebrate it with our 6th Annual “Common Ground” cultural fair. The event was open to students all day and contained booths with cultural artifacts, music and cultural dances. Evening events allowed friends and family to participate.

Johnny Cowhey is the new head football coach, Johnny is in his 6th year as a teacher in our math department.

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.

Each year, the highlight of our graduation ceremony is our student speakers. If you are interested in giving a speech on stage this year, please submit your speech by clicking this link!

• Submission deadline Friday, April 19, 4pm

• Full speech must be submitted in writing

• Maximum speech length is 5 minutes

• Prompt: How has MHS propelled you forward / onward or helped you to ASPIRE (Get creative!)

If your speech is selected, you will then be given a mentor to guide you through the process of refining your speech and preparing you to speak in front of a live audience on the day of graduation.

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

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 March self-care check list

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

The Cassie Meadors Joy of Life Scholarship is due on March 25th. This scholarship is for a Mundelein High School Senior pursuing a career in the Veterinary field or Animal Conservation.

Click here to apply.

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 Tuesday, March 12, eleven Mustangs attended the Endeavor Healthcare Discovery Day hosted by Grayslake North High School.

Students were divided into two teams—one surgical, one trauma—and rotated through a series of 30-minute workshops where they learned how to suture, intubate patients, scrub into an operating room, administer CPR, apply tourniquets, to name a few.

Five area high schools attended this event—Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Round Lake, Highland Park, and Mundelein. The day also featured keynote speeches from two industry professionals who shared the stories of career journeys and the choices that brought them to their rewarding careers in medicine.

The photos below tell the stories of the skills and discoveries made during this experience. Many thanks to Gina Schuyler, Dana Oddo, and Courtney Plaza from the Grayslake High Schools for hosting this engaging event!

Mundelein High School will be hosting area businesses and industry representatives for a its annual school-wide Job Fair and Career Expo on Friday, April 12th between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

This is your chance to recruit talent for hourly (year-round), seasonal (summer-only), and entry level (18+/graduate-only) openings for your business. Industry reps and military branches are also welcome to showcase opportunities in their respective fields.

For more information, please contact Alexander Kapotas, Career Exploration & Internship Coordinator, at akapotas@d120.org or 847-949-2200 x1092.

Sign up at bit.ly/Expo2024MHS

Space is limited--reserve your spot today!

Athletic Events week of 3/25/24

Athletic Events week of 4/1/24

Submitted by Coaches Dressen

Our season is now in full swing with our first match against Palatine under our belts. Congratulations to our Freshman team who brought home a victory in 3 sets! All of our athletes have been playing cohesively and with tremendous heart. Each of the 4 levels has been working hard and showing improvement every single day in practice, especially in the areas of communication and teamwork. Once spring break is over, we will face Vernon Hills and Zion-Benton at home on April 2nd and 3rd. JV and Frosh/Sophs play at 5:00pm. Varsity and Freshman at 6:00pm. We would love to see you there supporting our Mustang Volleyball program!

Submitted by Coach Dayton

Girls from our MHS Soccer program participated in the Culture Fair on March 19. With over 35 cultures represented, students enjoyed sharing information about what makes them unique and highly qualified to go out and make a positive difference in the world today. Maybe this is why Alix McArthur and Sebastian Falinski's varsity team are off to such a strong start to their season.

Submitted by Coach Ryan

The MHS Softball traveled to Bloomington last weekend to play two non-conference games against Normal Community and Pekin High School. Both games were played on Illinois Wesleyan's softball field, made possible by IWU softball former head coach and MHS assistant AD, Kat McCreery. The Mustangs got the win in both contests, courtesy of great pitching by Shea Johnson (so.) and Sophia Zepeda (jr.). On Tuesday, the team traveled to Buffalo Grove where we dominated the game with 14 hits, helping to propel us to a 12 - 2 victory in 5 innings. We head into spring break with a record of 5 - 0 and will be gearing up for the start of conference play in April.

Submitted by Coach Rutz

This past Saturday we traveled to Carthage College to compete in the Lake Michigan Invitational. As a team we scored 15 points good enough for 13th place out of around 30 teams. Some really great individual performances as well.

Top performance came from junior Ethan Connelly in the Triple Jump. Ethan added another 2 feet to his best, jumping 41'4.5" and taking 4th our of 36 competitors. Also taking 4th was junior Alberto Diaz in the 3200, running 10:03.24. Freshman phenom Izic Miller took 6th in the 800m, running 2:05.19. Connor Tector closed out the scoring for us, taking 7th in the 400, with a time of 54.49.

Some other strong performances/PRs during the day. Julian Eagar PR'd in the 55m, running 6.76, narrowly missing the finals, taking 9th out of 75 runners. Finn Keegan PR'd in the 1600 with a time of 5:19.32, continuing his comeback from injury. Ben Segura had a big PR in the 55HH, running 9.56. Finally, 3 of our 4 Shot Putters had PRs, as Marco Toledano threw 36'3", Adam Bogenski threw 35', and Holden McFall threw 32'. Great job!

Submitted by Coach Mahoney

This season has seen an increase in athletes participating in Girls Track and Field. To this point in the season, the athletes have shown some outstanding learning, growth, and progress. A number of personal records, season bests, and even indoor school records have been set!

The Mustangs wrapped up the indoor portion of the season on Tuesday, 3/19, at the first ever NSC Indoor Championship Meet. In an incredibly deep and competitive conference, both the Varsity and JV teams finished 5th overall. This meet also saw a number of the PRs for the athletes.

Here are the athletes who scored in the meet:

Varsity: Abbie Shifley (2nd - 60m Hurdles), Brooklyn D'Ambrosio (6th - 1600m Run), Chloe Engelbrecht (6th - 3200m Run), Sariah Hutchinson (4th - High Jump, 4th - 4x200m Relay), Delaney Jung (5th Long Jump, 4th - 4x200m Relay, 4th - 4x400m Relay), Katelyn Burchill (3rd Triple Jump, 4th - 4x200m Relay, 4th - 4x400m Relay), Victoria Osei (4th - 4x200m Relay), Vivi Gonzalez (4th - 4x400m relay), Amber Dean (4th - 4x400m Relay), Nahla Hill (6th - High Jump)

JV: Addison Klein (5th - 60m Hurdles, 6th - Triple Jump, 2nd 4x400m Relay), Khloe Heerdegen (6th - 60m Hurdles), Precious Oyebanji (3rd - 800m Run, 2nd 4x400m Relay), Vanessa Dirzo (5th - 800m Run, 2nd 4x400m Relay), Hannah Lee (3rd - 3200m Run), Paige Prochnow (4th - High Jump), Amelia Snarski (4th - Long Jump), Xitlally Garcia (2nd - 4x400m Relay)

Indoor Season Highlights:

This indoor season has also seen a number of indoor school records set: Delaney Jung (Indoor Long Jump - set at Indoor Conference), Delaney Jung, Kate Burchill, Victoria Osei, and Sariah Hutchinson (Indoor 4x200m Relay - pictured - set at Carthage College), and Abbie Shifley (Indoor 60m Hurdles - set at Indoor Conference). An additional highlight was the 4x400m relay of Vivi Gonzalez, Delaney Jung, Kate Burchill, and Amber Dean running the 3rd fastest indoor time ever in school history at Indoor Conference (pictured).

The athletes have put in great work and seen great progress. Can't wait to see what happens during outdoor!

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/

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.

If you have any questions, please reach out to KC Olson in the MHS Payment Center at kolson@d120.org.

Visit the Literacy Center

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.

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