When I remember the Class of 2017 during the good times of outstanding school spirit, artistic and athletic performances, amazing academic talent, I will remember a class that knows what it means to work hard. And during the difficult times, I will remember how students in this class stepped up to support each others such as when our beloved Mrs. Jerri Craven passed earlier this year.
The following students have committed to serve in the United States military after graduation, to protect our freedom. We are truly grateful for their courage.
United States Army
Martha Ramos
Unites States Navy
Cory Hendricks
United States Marines
Shannon Heiberger
Alexis Irizarry
Rex Kinnaird
MHS to graduate 498 on May 14; ceremony to include 1968 student
Mundelein High School will hold its Class of 2017 Graduation Sunday, May 14, at 3 p.m. at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The ceremony itself will have a couple unique moments.
Class Salutatorian Alexander Frumkin and Valedictorian Anna Balla will give the traditional speeches to their peers and families but a third student speaker has been added to the program. Seniors were invited to “audition” a speech for the ceremony by presenting it to a staff committee. Fernando Roman was chosen as the Senior Speaker for the ceremony.
Just before the graduates are awarded their diplomas, a special presentation will be made to Sergeant Stanley Spooner of the MHS Class of 1968. Spooner never graduated because he enlisted in the US Marines during the Vietnam War. He spent four years on active duty and two additional years in the reserves. He later earned a GED but always wanted to receive a diploma from his high school. On May 14, he will finally receive his MHS diploma after he and family members travel from Utah to do so. It is expected to be an especially poignant moment in the ceremony.
Superintendent Kevin Myers and Principal Anthony Kroll will preside over the commencement ceremony and will join members of the Board of Education to distribute diplomas to the 498 graduates. The ceremony will also include musical pieces performed by the school’s master singers, concert choir and combined honors band. Among the graduates will be 25 cum laude graduates, 24 magna cum laude graduates and 90 summa cum laude graduates. This is the fourth year that MHS has held its Commencement ceremonies at the Sears Centre Arena.
Mundelein High School will hold its Class of 2017 Graduation Sunday, May 14, at 3 p.m. at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The ceremony itself will have a couple unique moments.
Class Salutatorian Alexander Frumkin and Valedictorian Anna Balla will give the traditional speeches to their peers and families but a third student speaker has been added to the program. Seniors were invited to “audition” a speech for the ceremony by presenting it to a staff committee. Fernando Roman was chosen as the Senior Speaker for the ceremony.
Just before the graduates are awarded their diplomas, a special presentation will be made to Sergeant Stanley Spooner of the MHS Class of 1968. Spooner never graduated because he enlisted in the US Marines during the Vietnam War. He spent four years on active duty and two additional years in the reserves. He later earned a GED but always wanted to receive a diploma from his high school. On May 14, he will finally receive his MHS diploma after he and family members travel from Utah to do so. It is expected to be an especially poignant moment in the ceremony.
Superintendent Kevin Myers and Principal Anthony Kroll will preside over the commencement ceremony and will join members of the Board of Education to distribute diplomas to the 498 graduates. The ceremony will also include musical pieces performed by the school’s master singers, concert choir and combined honors band. Among the graduates will be 25 cum laude graduates, 24 magna cum laude graduates and 90 summa cum laude graduates. This is the fourth year that MHS has held its Commencement ceremonies at the Sears Centre Arena.
Recognition
Daily Herald Lake County Academic Team
Two Mundelein High School students, James Corbin and Alexander Frumkin, have made the 2016-2017 Daily Herald Lake County Academic Team and honorable mentions. The team recognizes high school seniors who excel in academics, but who also have shown a sincere commitment to their fellow students and the community at large. Public and private high schools from throughout Lake County nominated up to two students each. Only 10 Lake County students are chosen for the Team.
The entire County-wide team will be featured in a special Academic Team edition of the Daily Herald on May 23. The section will feature profiles of the winning team members as well as the honorable mentions.
 |
| Corbin and Frumpkin |
MHS sophomore earns all-expense paid place in journalism workshop
Mundelein High School sophomore, Madison Parola, has been accepted into the all-expenses paid Illinois Press Foundation/Eastern Illinois University Journalism Workshop for high school students. Currently an assistant editor of the MHS school newspaper, The Mustang, Parola will serve as an editor next year. She has worked on The Mustang both her freshman and sophomore years.
The 11-day residential workshop provides a close-up view at journalism as a career. Participants are introduced to the complete process of publishing newspapers: gathering information, writing news, editing, designing and producing a news and online publication. The workshop also includes field trips to cover a county commission meeting, to write a feature story about a regional city and to hike through a state park. In addition, the student journalists will spend three days in a hands-on internship at a newspaper to gain practical, “real-world” experience.“Because Madison has plans to maintain the quality of the school’s journalism program, I am thrilled she is going above and beyond to achieve this goal by attending this summer workshop where she will have some amazing hands-on opportunities,” said The Mustang advisor, Michelle Didzbalis. “I know that she will return from her experience eager to share what she has learned with the rest of the staff,” she said.
The bulk of the workshop is funded by the Illinois Press Foundation with significant contributions from the Eastern Illinois University department of journalism.
MHS Foundation presents grants to staff for projects
The Mundelein High School Foundation provides scholarships for students and grants for staff on an annual basis. Six grants of up to $500 for the 2017-2018 school year were presented to staff members May 4. Steve Figved, chairman of the Foundation, along with Lisa Johnson, secretary and Marcia Patience, alumni representative, presented the grants.
Stevee Bellas, music instructor, received a special grant to purchase instruments for a course that joins the Supported Learning Program [SLP] with choir. Georgi Mendez received a grant to develop literacy for early career/vocational young adults. Brian Goodell, Laura McLaughlin and Morgan Spitz received their grant to start and maintain a school garden on the MHS grounds. Julie Hupp and Maureen Baker earned financial assistance to expand and further develop their sensory corner in the SLP room. Rebecca Plaza received a grant to create and purchase “chill” supplies for the media center. This provides materials for students who go to the library to break away from schoolwork for a time to allow their brains to “recharge.” Mark Michalski and Mike Hickey received a grant to build and use a new and improved trebuchet [catapult] which is used each year by the Village of Mundelein to “launch” pumpkins after Halloween. The device is also created and used by students in physics courses.
The Mission of the MHS Foundation is to generate and provide financial resources to Mundelein High School and to serve as a catalyst in developing educational initiatives that benefit all students. Donations to the Foundation may be made through their website at www.mhsedfoundation.net.
Student newspaper earns first place; editors headed for collegiate journalism
Mundelein High School’s student newspaper, The Mustang, was recently awarded a first place finish in the American Scholastic Press Association [ASPA] school newspaper contest with a score of 900 of a possible 1,000. According to one of the judges, The Mustang is “an excellent school newspaper which shows the creativity and journalistic knowledge of your editors, reporters, writers, photographers, layout/graphic designers and advisor.”
To help the student staff celebrate their accomplishment, the staff spent some time recently with 2011 MHS graduate Jordyn Reiland who works as a courthouse reporter for Northwest Herald. Reiland served as editor-in-chief for both The Mustang and for The Daily Iowan, the student newspaper of the University of Iowa, where she graduated.
Many of the senior editors on staff will continue their careers in journalism after they graduate from MHS. Delaney Appelhans, feature/centerspread editor, will major in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Melissa Burgett, print editor-in-chief, will major in mass media at Illinois State University; Michael Del Rosario, production editor-in-chief, will study journalism and computer science at Northwestern University; Adriana Feijoo, features/centerspread editor, will major in political science and public policy at George Washington University; Alex Loding, sports editor, will study mass communications at Concordia University of Wisconsin; Kate Siltman, management editor, a pre-law student, will major in psychology, and communications; Ben Szalinski, sports editor, will major in political science at the University of Illinois, Springfield; and Stefani Zeiger, online editor-in-chief, will major in communications and political science at Ripon College.
“These senior editors have put in countless hours in their four years at MHS to produce a quality print product for the student body as well as to start and maintain an online edition,” said The Mustang advisor, Michelle Didzbalis.”I’ve been inspired by their passion to serve the MHS community through their reporting and writing skills. I am even more inspired by their commitment to serve society beyond high school as many of them continue their education in the field of journalism, communications and political science,” she said.
Kuhn chosen as reader for AP Exams
Mundelein High School Social Studies Instructor Tom Kuhn has been chosen by the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program [AP] and Educational Testing Services to serve as a reader of AP Exams during the upcoming summer. Kuhn teaches AP US History and AP American Government and Politics at MHS. He will be in Tampa, Florida scoring essays and Document-Based Questions [DBQ] for nationwide AP US History exams.
In June approximately 16,000 college faculty and AP teachers from around the world will evaluate and score about 21 million free-response answers. Participants in the AP Reading receive training in consistent application of scoring standards and then use those standards to score student responses. In addition, the scorers interact with members of the AP Development Committee responsible for revising the AP course description and developing the exam, giving and receiving information about the current state of teaching and learning in the discipline. They also discuss achievement, assessment and teaching strategies with college faculty and AP teachers, and develop a network of professionals in their discipline that may last a lifetime.
“The careful evaluation of students’ work is one of the most important aspects of the AP Program,” said Trevor Pacer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at The College Board. “Many thanks in advance for your support of the academic experience of students worldwide,” he said.
Schaefer chosen as reader for AP Exams
Mundelein High School Social Studies Instructor Melissa Schaefer has been chosen by the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program [AP] and Educational Testing Services to serve as a reader of AP Exams during the upcoming summer. Schaefer teaches AP Psychology and also serves as the site coordinator for the AVID Program at MHS. She will be in Tampa, Florida June 12-18 scoring AP Psychology essay exams.
In June approximately 16,000 college faculty and AP teachers from around the world will evaluate and score about 21 million free-response answers. Participants in the AP Reading receive training in consistent application of scoring standards and then use those standards to score student responses. In addition, the scorers interact with members of the AP Development Committee responsible for revising the AP course description and developing the exam, giving and receiving information about the current state of teaching and learning in the discipline. They also discuss achievement, assessment and teaching strategies with college faculty and AP teachers, and develop a network of professionals in their discipline that may last a lifetime.
“The careful evaluation of students’ work is one of the most important aspects of the AP Program,” said Trevor Pacer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at The College Board. “Many thanks in advance for your support of the academic experience of students worldwide,” he said.
Activities
MHS bands to present back to back concerts May 10, 11
Mundelein High School’s band will present concerts on two consecutive evenings, Wednesday, May 10 and Thursday, May 11. Both free concerts start at 7 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium.
The May 10 performance is the Spring Pops Concert featuring the Concert and Symphonic bands and the Honors Symphonic Winds. Titles to be performed include Moorside Suite by Gustav Holst, Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack Highlights by Klaus Badelt and Selections from Disney/Pixar’s “Up” by Michael Giacchino.
The Honors Symphonic Winds’ performance will feature 2017 MHS Concerto Competition Runner-Up, senior tuba player Isaac Walker, performing Øystein Baadsvik’s Fnugg Blue.
The Finale’ Awards Concert on May 11 will feature the Honors Wind Ensemble. They will perform Armenian Dances [Part 1} by Alfred Reed, Selections from The Phantom of the Opera arranged by Warren Barker, and Old Scottish Melody set by Charles A. Wiley.
The Honors Wind Ensemble’s performance will feature 2017 MHS Concerto Competition Winner, senior percussionist Anna Desfor, performing the third movement of Ney Rosauro’s Concerto for Marimba.
The concert will be followed immediately by presentations of 2016-2017 band awards and recognition of 2017 graduating MHS band seniors.
Business Incubator students to present inventions to professionals “Shark Tank” style
Mundelein High School will host a student “pitch night” for students in the Business Incubator Laboratory program Monday, May 15, at 6 p.m. in the MHS Cafeteria. Student groups will present their final business model concepts before a panel of industry experts in competition for an academic scholarship. The winning group of students will then compete for funding dollars at the National INCubatoredu Student Pitch to be held this summer.
At least five different groups will present their ideas. For example, PropStop is a revolutionary and sophisticated sensor that utilizes sonar technology that will keep passengers and their boat safe while saving thousands of dollars. LikeU is an app that connects college students through their interests and similarities. ‘Sign up, create, connect and meet up with people LikeU’ is their slogan.
The board of advisors, made up of local business leaders, will facilitate the event by asking each team a series of questions to determine if a business concept is worthy of investment.
“The Business Incubator course at MHS provides students with authentic, rigorous, problem-based academic experiences where they acquire the necessary skills for the 21st century,” said Stacey Gorman, director of curriculum and instruction. Amy Amber and Michelle Sherwin-Petrucci are the instructors in the course.
Summer Reading at MHS
Why?
Summer reading is about holding a book in your hands. Summer reading is about kicking off shoes, staying up much too late, reading all day with no one caring that’s what you’re doing. It’s about rushing through one to get to the next or lingering as long as you want. It’s about vicarious experiences that let us become a girl in the attic, a boy in the wilderness, a kite runner in a far-away land. And that type of reading begins with personal choice. Kylene Beers, 2014
What?
Incoming freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students are required to read one book of their choice over the summer. Students in Honors and AP classes have additional books they also need to read. Students will participate in a book talk discussion with their peers from other English classes at the beginning of the year.
When?
Students should read their book before the first day of classes in August and be prepared to discuss their books with other students in English class.
Who?
All MHS students read one book of their choice.
All students enrolled in honors or Advanced Placement English courses have additional reading requirements. Go to the following link for more honors/AP information: http://www.d120.org/academics/english/ap_and_honors_additional_summer_reading.aspx
2017-2018 Registration
Online registration for the 2017-2018 school year has begun. Information and registration codes (Snap codes) have been mailed home to all current students. Please make sure you also register for fall, winter and spring sports if that applies to your child. To complete registration, follow this link: http://www.d120.org/registration/default.aspx. You may upload proof of residency documents via the online registration program, mail them in, or have your student bring them into the Main Office. Parents and guardians of current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors must complete registration online and provide residency documents by May 26, 2017. Please call 847-949-2200, ext. 1260 with any questions regarding registration.
2017-2018 Parking Permits
Attention: Juniors and Sophomores - Only a few days left to enter the parking permit lottery for the 2017-2018 school year. Instructions are on the MHS student webpage, please read carefully the purchase options and payment due date. Remember to print the completion verification form. Good luck!
College and Career Resource Center
Summer Plans?
If you have students who are still looking for ideas of what to do with their summer please note that there are still summer programs at a variety of colleges with openings. Research your options through Naviance (https://goo.gl/0cv4LW) under the Colleges Tab using the Enrichment Programs link found under the College Research heading, check out the Google Document put together by our Literacy Center (https://goo.gl/ekxgpH) or use the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling database found here: https://www.iacac.org/summer-programs/.
Final Transcripts
MHS Seniors who are going off to 2 or 4 year institutions, technical or trade schools or other programs that require notification of their final grades must fill out a final transcript request form to let us know where to send their final transcript. These forms were provided to seniors during homeroom presentations and graduation practice, along with being available in the CCRC for pickup. Electronic copies of this form are available here: http://www.d120.org/assets/1/ccrc/Final_Transcript_Request.pdf
Athletics
MHS Booster Club
The MHS Booster Club is starting up again and our goal is to celebrate, support and encourage our fantastic Mustangs through social media and fundraising! Because we are in start up phase, we are need of volunteers to chair (or co-chair) some key committees: Designing and maintaining our website, Fundraising, Grants and Awards, Scholarships, Social Media, Corporate Partnership, and Sports Program Brochure to name a few. We welcome current parents, alumni, and community members to get involved. Our next Booster Club meeting is May 17th at 6:30pm at MHS. Please contact us at mhsmustangboosters@gmail.com if you are interested in any of these positions or if you have any questions! Eileen LeFevre, President. If you would like to follow the MHS Booster Club here are some great ways:
Facebook: Mundelein Booster Club,Twitter: MustangBoosterClub@MundBoosterClub
Girls Soccer
Mundelein High School will be hosting the Girls 3A Soccer Regional
4:00pm – Tuesday, May 16 Barrington vs. TBA
6:00pm – Tuesday, May 16 Mundelein vs. Highland Park
4:30pm – Friday, May 19 Winners of Tuesday’s games
Admission is $5.00 for all spectators (no passes allowed)
Summer Camps
Now available on-line. Visit www.d120.org/athletics/default.aspx
Good Luck
Boys gymnastics traveling to state this Friday & Saturday @ Hinsdale Central H.S.
Boys Tennis entering the North Suburban Conference tournament this Friday & Saturday at Lake Forest.
 |
| 5-11-17 Coach Piland, T.Collins, Y.Wiechering, G.Godellas and W.Ferro heading to state! |
Boys/Girls Track & Field
The boys were at the Lake County Invite hosted by Lake Zurich. Our Mustangs took 4th out of 21 teams with 58 points, best finish in many years. The night began with the 4 x 800 relay, and even a last minute substitution couldn't slow them down, as the team of Dario Carrillo, Aidan Afonso, Mikey Parduhn, and Ben Krauss won with a season's best tome of 8:09. The 4 x 100 relay followed... that up with a 3rd place finish behind the efforts of Isaiah Wellman, Sal Roman, Aaron Woolford, and Bobby Nuzzo.
Sal Roman came back shortly after that to take 8th in the 100 HH with a time of 15.92. Bobby Nuzzo then stepped up with the first of his two wins in the 100 meters, winning with a time of 10.75. The quartet of Woolford, Wellman, Roman and Nuzzo returned to take 5th in the 4 x 200 relay. Sal Roman finished his night with a fourth medal, taking 7th in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.30.
Dario Carrillo scored in the 1600, taking 8th with a PR of 4:30.35. Bobby Nuzzo followed Dario with his 2nd victory of the night, this time in the 200, cruising to his win with a time of 22.10.
In the field events, Aaron Woolford took 3rd in the long jump with a jump of 21' 3/4". Mitch Sharer finished the scoring with big points in the discus, taking 2nd with a throw of 146'2.5".
The girls were at Zion-Benton High School for the NSC Conference Meet, competing at both the Varsity and JV levels. The Varsity squad took 5th with 65.5 points, and the JV team took 6th with 43 points. The Varsity team in particular showed huge improvement over last year, where we were last with a grand total of 6 points. Starting with the JV squad, here are the highlights-
The pole vault was held Wednesday at Warren HS as Zion doesn't have pole vault facilities. We had our first medalist in this event in several years, as Katie Miller took 5th with a vault of 5'9". Thursday night the 4 x 800 relay of Annie Corbin, Emily Bauman, Katie Atkinson and Abby Ambrose got things started with a 6th place finish in the JV race, with Katie contributing a PR of 3:02.
Claire Schoenfield followed that up with the first Mustang win of the night, winning the 3200 meters with a time of 12:50.77, an 11 second PR. Jessica Reisman was next up, taking 2nd in the 100 HH with a PR of 17.89. Ahtziry Samano surprised with a 6th place finish in the 100 meter dash, running 14.57.
Next up Abby Ambrose came up with a monster PR in the 800, taking 6th with a time of 2:43.86. Grace Heintz followed that with another surprise, taking 6th in the 400 meters with a PR of 1:10.97. Jessica Reisman came up with the best JV race of the night next, coming from behind and running like her hair was on fire, winning the 300 hurdles in a time of 52.80, a nearly 3 second PR! The final point on the track came from the 4 x 400 relay as the foursome of Dasha Stepaniouk, Andrea Amador, Rachel Argomaniz, and Heidi Siren took 6th. I was especially proud of how hard Andrea fought back after a bad handoff- lots of heart in that girl!
In the field events, Jessica Reisman scored another surprise medal as she took 5th in the high jump with a PR of 4'3". Dasha Stepaniouk scored the final point of the night for the JV squad by taking 3rd in the long jump with a leap of 13'2.75".
At the Varsity level, the 4 x 800 relay matched the JV finish, with Beth Clow, Leslye Rodriguez, Jeanelle Jimenez, and Sarah Ouimet took 6th with a time of 10:46.84. Andrea Cordova scored next, taking 3rd in the 3200 meters with a PR of 11:51.88. Kalli Majewski scored her first medal of the night next, taking 3rd in the 100HH with a time of 16.32.
Khari Thompkins was next as she scored the first of her 3 wins on the night. Khari won a suprisingly easy race in the 100 meters, running 12.71.
The 4 x 200 relay was able to score in their race, with the foursome of Yax Sanchez, Ryann Ray, Natalia Ozymko, and Bree Park took 6th with a time of 1:59.31.
Khari made a really strong statement in her next race, the 400 meters. Khari beat a heavily favored opponent by over a second, running an impressive 58.23, a PR of over a second! The 300 hurdles found us with 2 medalists, as Kalli Majewski took 3rd with another PR (47.58), and Megan Schlebecker took 5th with a time of 50.26.
Andrea Cordova narrowly missed placing in the 1600, taking 7th, but managed to get her 2nd PR of the night, running 5:29.71, an 8 second drop.
Khari finished her night with a nail-biter, winning the 200 meters by only .01 second, running 26.14, again over strong competition.
The 4 x 400 managed to come up with a 5th place finish, with Megan Schlebecker, Kalli Majewski, Bree Park, and Leslye Rodriguez doing the honors.
In the field events, Ryann Ray tied for 5th place with a jump of 4'7". Kalli Majewski closed out the scoring with our last win, taking the triple jump by over 2 and a half feet, leaping a State-Qualifying distance (and PR) of 36'2.25".
Dance-Tryouts
2017 Spring Clinic Dates
Tuesday, May 9: 3:45-5:45pm
Wednesday, May 10: 6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, May 11: 3:45-5:45pm
Friday, May 12: Tryouts! 4:00pm
Cheerleading-Tryouts
2017 Spring Skill Evaluation Dates
Monday, May 22: 6:30-8:45pm
Tuesday, May 23: 6:30-8:45pm
Wednesday, May 24: 6:30-8:45pm
Senior Athletic Awards
Congratulations to all our seniors who received athletic honors (insert list pics here)
 |
| 5-11-17 Athletic signing with Joseph Kreis with parents. Joseph will be playing Lacrosse at Augustana |
 |
| 5-11-17 Athletic signing with Leah Goldman Leah Goldman, father and coach Billittier. Leah will be playing Soccer at Michigan Tech |
 |
| 5-11-17 Athletic signing with Marissa Richards and Coach Rutz. Marissa will be running for the Bradley braves |
 |
| 5-11-17 Athletic signing with Sarah Ouimet and parents. Sarah will be playing baseketball at College of St. Benedict |
 |
| 5-11-17 Athletic signing-full house in attendance. Thank you for all your support. |
Photos from the Week:
 |
| Before their game the girls JV soccer team warms up on Tuesday May 9. The girls played against Crystal Lake Central but lost 2-0. Photo by Paige Corrigan. |
 |
| During a game, Elise Bernett '20, gets ready to run towards home base on May 10th. Girls softball played against Vernon Hills high school, which ended up getting canceled, because of the rain, with the Mustangs in the lead. Photo by Hailey Cleveland. |
 |
| Crouching on the stage, Skylar Booth '19 prepares to start her dance during the orchesis show in the MHS auditorium on May 8. The show consisted of 23 different dances performed by Orchesis club members and PE dance students. Photo by Kyle Ehemann. |
 |
| During the final meeting of book club on May 9, Rebecca Engelhardt '17 reads the back of a book brought for the book swap. The club decided to have a party for their seniors, as well as a book swap for summer reading. Photo by Sheridan Mcguire. |
 |
| Before the game, the boys varsity lacrosse starters are announced and shake hands with the other team on senior night, May 8. The refs also talk to them about the rules of sportsmanship during the game. Photo by Meghan Ehemann. |
