During the break, MHS maintenance staff worked hard to make necessary repairs and structural improvements. With the assistance of a $100,000 gift to the football program, the weight room has been drastically improved. New athletic floor, new paint in the entire area, new weight benches and other equipment were added over the winter break! These improvements will help all MHS students either during Wellness classes or athletic practices. May these improvements serve many generations of Mustangs to come!
Recognition
MHS senior named to Daily Herald Leadership Team
Mundelein High School senior Adriana Feijoo, is one of 10 Lake County high school students named to the Lake County Daily Herald Leadership Team. The team recognizes high school students who
Feijoo is the school-wide president at MHS where she is also involved in a number of leadership positions. She previously served as class president her sophomore and junior years, she is the vice president of Future Business Leaders of America [FBLA], two-time Northern Area vice president and state reporter for FBLA, member of the North Central National Committee and Founder of the Frassati Middle School FBLA chapter. She has also been an editor on the school newspaper staff for three years, a member of Model UN for two years, a member of the Band/Marching Band and third chair in Honors Symphonic Winds and a member of Link Crew, later becoming a Link Leader and member of the Executive Board.
Outside of school, Feijoo is an active member of Relay for Life and has held positions as event lead for Mundelein and the event leadership team. She also worked on political campaigns as an intern for US Representative from Illinois, Bob Dold; an intern for Rod Drobinski and Dawn Abernathy.
Feijoo and the other honorees will be featured in a special edition of the Daily Herald’s Neighbor section Thursday, Jan. 12. The section will feature profiles of the winning team members as well as the honorable mentions.
MHS teacher presented with check
The Kirk Players of Mundelein has been part of the community for more than 50 years and is extremely supportive of the high school. On Jan. 4, a check for $500 was presented to Director
Jonathan Meier, as a grant to the Mundelein Theatre organization. Ironically, the check was presented by Jon Lynn, an MHS graduate and former Mundelein Theatre director who is now the president and artistic director for Kirk Players. Brenda Sparks, Kirk Players sales director also took part in the presentation. Meier plans to use the funds to continue the lighting upgrades for the theatre.
Activities
Teacher Institute focuses on Homework
On January 4, Dr. Cathy Vatterott, author of Rethinking Homework, presented about the role that homework plays in the family culture, the research on the impact of homework on student achievement, and effective homework practices. Dr. Vatterott is a professor of education at the University of Missouri- St. Louis. She has written and published a number of articles and books on homework and grading practices. She has also presented to more than 10,000 educators across the country.
"We decided to bring in a consultant on homework following the decision on the bell schedule,” said Stacey Gorman, director of curriculum and instruction. “As students move from 3-4 academic classes to 5-6 per day, we want to make sure we are cautious of homework balance,” she explained.
State Testing
This summer the State of Illinois decided to make the SAT the state mandated accountability test. All juniors will be required to take the SAT exam on Wednesday April 5, 2017. Students will report to school at the regular start time of 7:45 am. All sophomores will be required to take the PSAT 10 (practice SAT exam) on Wednesday April 5, 2017 at 7:45 am. Seniors and freshmen will not be in attendance that day as they will not be testing.
The SAT exam consists of the following sections: reading, writing and language, math, and an essay.
Reading - consists of multiple choice questions that assess students’ understanding of reading passages, both fiction and nonfiction
- Writing and language - contains multiple choice questions in which students have to identify grammatical errors in written statements
- Math - a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions that test students’ understanding of linear equations, problem solving, and the manipulation of complex equations
- Essay – contains a reading passage in which students explain and evaluate the author’s argument using evidence from the passage as support
According to the College Board, the 11th grade college and career ready benchmark scores for the SAT tests are 460 for reading and writing and 510 for math. The SAT exam composite score is based on a range of 400 (lowest)-1600 (highest). The essay is scored separately based on an 8 point scale. Students will receive their scores directly in the mail at their home address one to two months following the April 5th testing session.
It is important to note that Illinois and out of state colleges and universities will accept ACT or SAT scores. Due to the state mandate, we will administer the free SAT at Mundelein High School. Mundelein High School will continue to be a host site for both the National ACT and SAT testing dates. For more information regarding ACT and SAT college admissions testing please visit their respective websites.
ACT – www.actstudent.org
SAT – www.collegeboard.org
You will receive additional information about the testing logistics closer to the test date. If you have any additional questions at this time, please contact Tom Buenik (847-949-2200 X1262) with SAT questions or Stacey Gorman (847-949-2200 X1592) with PSAT (practice SAT) questions.
5Essentials Parent Survey
Beginning November 16, students, teachers and parents across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the fourth annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.
On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:
Effective Leaders
Collaborative Teachers
Involved Families
Supportive Environments
Ambitious Instruction
Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.
All teachers and 6th through 12th grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent. These reports will be sent to schools and districts in March 2017 and will also be included in the State School Report Card.
Additionally, your district has chosen to provide the optional 5Essentials parent survey. If at least 20 percent of District 120 parents complete this survey, a parent supplement will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card.
Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.
The Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be conducted November 16 through January 16, 2017. To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin.
For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ Reports, please visit https://illinois.5-essentials.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 5Essentials Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or 5essentials@uchicago.edu.
MHS to welcome Class of 2021 and parents Jan. 17
The Class of 2021 Curriculum Night and Activities/Athletics Fair will take place at Mundelein High School Tuesday, Jan. 17. Parents/students with last names A-L should arrive at the MHS Auditorium by 6 p.m. for a 30-minute presentation while those with last names M-Z should arrive by 7:15 p.m. for the presentation. Both presentations will be in English and Spanish; MHS students and staff will assist participants with room locations.
The program will include an overview of academic programs, an explanation of the new 8-period bell schedule, orientation to the course selection process and information about new and current academic programs. Incoming freshmen also will receive their academic placements for the 2017-2018 school year.
Following the academic presentation, students and parents will attend the Activities and Athletics Fair where they will learn about the 40 clubs and 29 different athletic teams available at MHS.
Stacey Gorman, director of curriculum and instruction, will host the event.
Athletics
Girls Gymnastics
Over winter break the JV team took fourth place at the MHS invite.
Both Varsity and JV defeated Lake Forest in their conference dual.
Girls Basketball
Shout out goes to Rachel Tipperreiter, who came in over break and shot over 600+ shots!
Boys Wrestling
The Durlacher brothers, Dane & Reese, took 3rd place at each of their weight classes at the 62nd Annual Berman Tournament
Many people have been busy getting the new and improved weight room back together. Stop by and take a look.