Principal's Blog #10

Dear Mustang Families,

This week, I was invited to stop into Mrs. McLaughlin's AP Language classroom where students were able to ask me all of the hard questions about hiring practices, our training for staff, and what constitutes "rigor" in a classroom! These students are critical thinkers and will be using my responses to complete mini-research projects. Ultimately, their goal is to determine if MHS offers a world-class education. I’m excited to learn about their findings although I am biased and already know that we do :)

Have a great weekend!

Dr. Alexandria Rios Taylor

Principal, Mundelein High School

847-949-2200 x1257

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

Our Finance & Facilities Committee, in conjunction with our School Board, has been working on a plan to address the current and future needs of our high school. We look forward to hosting a pair of town hall meetings. The Town Hall Meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25 in the MHS cafeteria and at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in the MHS auditorium. You’re encouraged to attend.

We also have updated information available on our website: d120.org/mhs-facilities/ as well as a mailing and fact sheet for all registered voters in District 120 (see below).

We’ll do our best to keep you informed and answer all of your questions along the way.

We are so proud of our incredible staff. The following staff members were Mustang Pride Award Recipients for October:

It is with great pride that I announce all the Band & Choir District VII Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) results from this past month! These individual honors are the result of students preparing upwards of 5 musical excerpts that are performed for judges across the state. Achieving a place in these District ensembles is an accomplishment on par with an athletic team advancing to the Sectional level of competition. Please join me in congratulating these dedicated young musicians when you see them. Their selection speaks volumes about their hard work and musical abilities:

All students in these ensembles will find out All-State Honors within the coming months. Much credit goes to Cory Thompson, Andy Sturgeon, and Jerry Shelato for their exemplary work in preparing these students. Under their guidance, the music program continues to reach new heights! We could not be prouder of our students' accomplishments and their representation of the excellence found in MHS' music program.

Oct 23 HallowSTEAM

Oct 23-31 Red Ribbon Week

Oct 25 Picture Re-Take Day

Oct 25 Student Movie Night

Oct 31 Halloween Wellness Boo Bash

Nov 3 Late Start

Nov 20-24 Thanksgiving Break

Nov 27 Senior Cap and Gown Orders Due

Ready for a night of science fun? Come to Mundelein High School from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. for a spooky science adventure for all ages! Wear your Halloween costume!

A few opportunities are upcoming to support MHS families this winter:

• "Hoodie Drive" (see graphic below)
• Nayary Huizar, as a representative of the Jr Class is working on an additional drive where students collect brand new (and very gently used) winter gear...more to come
• Holiday Drive* (where families can be sponsored)- information to come out about this in 3 - 4 weeks. NEW this year- pick-up for families will be hosted at the MHS Annex!

*If you know of District 120 families in need for the holidays, please contact Hector Gonzalez at hgonzalez@d120.org.

In addition, our Welcome Center, housed at the MHS Annex (1500 West Hawley) is run by Veronica Huerta (vhuerta@d75.org). This is a place for families to receive gently used and new clothing and non-perishable food items.

Inventory in that space is RUNNING LOW on: rice, cereal, beans, canned foods, brand-new toiletries, and new/unused children's underwear. We also are low on clothes for kids ages 3 through high school, boys and girls clothes. If you clean out your children's closets and come across clean, gently used winter boots and snow pants we would happily accept those, as well.

Thanks for all of the support of our families!

Monday- Tropical Day or Leis

Tuesday- Jersey Day

Wednesday- Tie Dye

Thursday- Wear RED to support Red Ribbon Week as we honor those who have died fighting back against drugs

Friday- MHS Spirit or Black out

Following Monday- Wear a mustache

Following Tuesday (Halloween)- Costume

DID YOU KNOW?

Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t; yet, only a quarter of teens report having these conversations. Red Ribbon Week® (October 23-31), the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the nation, is your opportunity to get the ongoing conversation started. This year’s theme is Be Kind To Your Mind. Live Drug Free.™ Visit www.redribbon.org to learn more about Red Ribbon Week® and get tips for talking to your kids about drugs. The life you save may be that of your own child or a dear friend.

At school, students will engage in activities that promote a drug free and healthy lifestyle. Each day of the week there will be a dress up theme and an activity during lunch. The week will culminate on October 31st, when the Wellness Center hosts our first Wellness Boo Bash, where students can dress up and go trick-or-treating around the Commons for resources, candy, and raffle tickets. Please partner with us and discuss this message at home.

Halloween Costumes: Halloween is Tuesday, 10/31. Although costumes are permitted, please keep in mind that the following will not be allowed:

• Full face paintings or face-masks (all student and staff must be identifiable)

• Weapons nor their look-alikes

• Fake blood and/or gore

• Costumes that disrespect other cultures, genders, races, or religions

Join MHS Staff for another fun month of self-care activities.

Mila Patel leads the AP Chem study group once a week in the Literacy Center. Want to learn tips for an AP class? Hear what students who’ve taken the course are saying by joining a study group.Quesitons? Reach out to Ms. Babowice in the Literacy Center. The schedule and Remind codes for each group is as follows:

Schedule week of 10/23/23

Submitted by Coaches Willis and Haire

This week was the last week of regular season play for the Varsity volleyball team and the last week of the season for all under levels. We celebrated our senior volleyball athletes on Monday at our last home game against Grant. We are so proud of their hard work and dedication to our school and program the last four years. Congratulations to Skylar Brown, Sarah Feigen, Lindsea Lambrecht, Maggie O’Brien, and Josilyn Wadas! You will be missed!

We would also like to congratulate senior outside hitter Maggie O’Brien for being selected as the 2022 NSC Girls Volleyball Sportsmanship winner at the Lake Forest match on Wednesday! Good luck in the post-season, Mustangs!

Submitted by Coach Crawford

The JV1 & JV2 Boys Soccer Teams celebrated great seasons filled with success and growth. JV1 soccer completed the year with a record of 9-9-1 while enjoying a huge win trailing by 3 goals to Crystal Lake South to win 4-3 early on in the season and a huge win on the road at Libertyville winning 1-0 later on to cap off a great year of memories. JV2 soccer had a phenomenal ending to their season, upsetting Stevenson in Pks to pick up the huge WIN in the JV2 NSC Tournament and advanced to the final where they ultimately fell to Warren. Second place finish in the NSC Tournament was a great way to end a competitive season and exciting year. Both teams exemplified what it means to be "relentless" and we are excited to see where the future takes them. Great Season!

Submitted by Coaches Dayton and Falinski

MHS Athletic Director, Troy Parola, celebrates another successful season for the MHS boys soccer program. The varsity boys finished with an overall mark of 10-9-4. The record earned the team a 2nd place finish in the very competitive North Suburban Conference. Head Coach Sebastian Felinski was very complimentary of this year's team saying "This is one of the most technically gifted teams I have coached. I expect we will begin hearing about college commitments very soon and no one should be surprised when we hear about the great things they are doing in college."

Submitted by Coach Rodriguez

Congratulations to our Sportsmanship winner Jeni Bolanos! Jeni is one of our Captains and a great role model for others! She works hard, encourages and supports others, and does everything with a positive attitude! A great athlete and person all around!

Tough races in some brutal conditions at Conference Saturday. Despite the rain, wind & mud, our team collectively ran 3 lifetime, 1 season & 8 course bests! Congrats to Brooklyn (13th) & Chloe (16th) for earning All-Conference honors! Congrats to JV medalists, Alicia & Rey, as well!

Last week’s Runner of the Week: SO Chloe Engelbrecht! Chloe has been working hard since June & it’s shown as she’s been dropping time all season! She is a dedicated runner & a gritty racer! She earned All-Conference honors Saturday, and additionally is a great teammate to all!

Submitted by Coach Rutz

Saturday the Varsity Boys' Cross Country Team took 4th in the Conference. We did have 3 All-Conference runners- Tom Russ in 6th, Elijah Mendoza in 11th, and Izic Miller in 13th. Alberto Diaz also medaled, taking 21st. Nathan McCreight finished the scoring for us in 26th place. We will have our chances at redemption at Regionals and Sectionals. The F/S team ran a pretty solid race, taking 3rd. We also had 5 medalists in the race, with Nathaniel Mendez leading the way in 7th. Also medaling was Logan Vale in 10th, Mason McMurray, in his best race of the season, in 13th, Arturo Vargas in 17th, and James Glaskin-Clay in 18th. Great job, guys!!!

Last night our guys competed in the Buffalo Grove Race Car Rally F/S meet. This is a great meet that features some of the best programs in the State. It is unique in that for awards, individuals receive Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars instead of medals. The guys love it. Our runners fared well, with the Freshmen taking 4th out of 12 teams, and the sophomores taking 6th out of 12th. In both races we had 4 runners earn their race cars. In the sophomore race Nathan McCreight and Elijah Mendoza took 10th and 11th, with Andrew Weaver taking 21st, Nathaniel Mendez taking 29th, and James Glaskin-Clay taking 53rd. In the freshmen race, they were led by Izic Miller, who was the individual champion. Logan Vale took 18th, Mason McMurray took 21st, Arturo Vargas took 24th, and Adrian Pacheco-Reyes took 64th. Great job everyone, proving once again, that It's A Great Day To Be A Mustang!

Saturday we will be competing in the IHSA Regional meet at Grant. Hope to see you all there!

Submitted by Coach Winter

Girls Tennis finished the season with a 10-9 record , most wins in a long time. Winning the Wheeling invite and 2nd place at Vernon Hills Invite. At sectionals Gabi Lipske and Adrianna Trotz made it to quarterfinals and Alina Ahmed/Holly Scaramella won 1st match 6-0, 6-0.

Look for summer camp info, we encourage all new and returning players to attend.

Each week we will feature a student, staff member or department at our school (Or all three at once), to give Mustang Nation a closer look at these wonderful folks! “We are MHS”! To nominate yourself or others for this feature, please email Mr. Gonzalez – hgonzalez@d120.org

The Mundelein Foundation is seeking new members! Do you have one night a month to make a difference? Contact Jennifer for more information on how you can have some fun helping the next generation: 847-987-7955 or brunkow4@sbcglobal.net

ASPIRE

Our MHS Portrait of a Learner tenets affirm student identity through schoolwide values, expectations and practices.

Student Supports

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.

Monthly Building Tours

We are proud to host visitors to learn more about our programming and facilities. In order to minimize the impact on the educational environment, we have chosen to host visitors on select days throughout the school year.

Therefore, to secure a visitation time, please select from the following options so we are able to provide the necessary information and personnel during your visit.

Click here to schedule your tour.

Go Mustangs!

Past blogs are available at:

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

Email: ataylor@d120.org
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