Mustang News - May 3, 2019

Announcements

AVID Seniors Celebrate Their Four Year Commitment
This week, AVID seniors celebrated four years in the AVID program.  AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.  AVID is a study skills and college track program at MHS offered for ninth through twelfth grades. It has a proven track record in bringing out the best in students and closing the achievement gap.   Learn more HERE!

AVID Class of 2019!

2019-2020 National Honor Society Executive Board Announced

2019-20 National Honor Society Executive Board

Co-Presidents: Dillon Blake and Sofia Feijoo

Vice President:  Ryan Burns

Secretary:  Sarah Parduhn

Tech Coordinator:  Sahil Patel

Events Team Coordinator:  Caitlyn Mathews

MHS Volunteer Coordinator:  Mackenzie Stewart

Community Volunteer Coordinator:  Stephanie Guitierrez

Service Project Chairperson:  Nishi Shah


Parking Permit Process for Fall 2019
Click HERE for all the important information on obtaining a 2019-2020 student parking permit.

Evening of Jazz
Evening of Jazz, May 5, to feature high school, middle school jazz groups and renowned guitarist
Mundelein High School’s instrumental music program will present a free concert on Sunday, May 5 at 5 p.m.  Evening of Jazz, will feature the Mundelein High School Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Combo along with the Carl Sandburg Jazz Band and the Fremont Middle School Eighth Grade Jazz Band and also guest artist, Mike Pinto. The Mundelein Band Boosters will have several silent auction baskets available for bidding throughout the event.

“This is a wonderful event with refreshments and great music,” said Andy Sturgeon who, along with Jerald Shelato, directs the instrumental music program at MHS. “We will celebrate the seniors in the jazz program at Mundelein High School,” he said.

Guitarist Mike Pinto has been playing guitar since age nine. He holds an undergraduate degree from Elmhurst College and a master’s degree from DePaul University. He is currently a member of the jazz faculty at Elmhurst College where he teachers guitar, improvisation, arranging and jazz history in addition to directing several ensembles including Lab Band, Gretsch Electric Guitar Ensemble, Electric Guitar Collective and a jazz combo. In addition to performances at Chicago’s top venues, Pinto has performed at major festivals and conferences in Italy, France, Germany, England, Malta and Croatia.

U.S. News Ranking of Top High Schools in the Nation
MHS is rated #93 on the U.S. News and World Report - Top High Schools in the NATION list.  Click HERE to see the article! 

Important dates to remember

• Thursday, May 9: Regular schedule day. Classes begin at 7:45 am - Senior Finals day
• Friday, May 10: Senior cap/gown and ticket pick up. North Gym, 7:45 am- Noon
• Sunday, May 12:  Graduation day. 3:00 pm Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates
• Doors open for students and guest at 2:00 pm
• Thursday, May 16: Late start day. Classes begin at 9:25 am
• Monday, May 20:  Early release. Student dismissal at 1:40 pm

Final Exams

• Tuesday, May 21: Semester 2 final exams. Student dismissal at 1:00 pm
• Wednesday, May 22:  Semester 2 final exams. Student dismissal at 1:00 pm
• Thursday, May 23:  Semester 2 final exams. Student dismissal at 11:00 am\

• Summer Break! 

Graduation 2019 is quickly approaching.
All seniors and their parents and guardians are invited to the Senior Honors Ceremony on Tuesday, May 7 at 7:00 pm in the MHS Auditorium with a reception to follow in the Cafeteria.

Senior final exams will take place on Thursday, May 9. Thursday, May 9 is a regular schedule day-NO LATE START.  Please check with your teachers for information regarding your final exams.

On Friday, May 10, all seniors must report to the North Gym sometime between 7:45 am and noon to pick up their cap and gown and graduation tickets.  There will be busing available. All school fees must be paid, all library books and textbooks must be turned in, and all Chromebooks must be turned in or purchased in order to pick up the cap and gown and tickets.

To avoid possible lines on Friday, all tasks except cap, gown and ticket pick up may be taken care of before May 10. If you are exempting from finals-turn in or purchase your Chromebook early!

Graduation is Sunday, May 12 at 3:00 pm at the Sears Centre Arena (5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates). Graduates need to report to the Sears Centre by 2:00 pm. Doors open at 2:00 pm. Due to enhanced security at the Sears Centre students will be required to pass through a metal detector and guests may encounter additional security screening. All unnecessary bags should be left at home.

Reference all information regarding graduation and end of the year tasks for Seniors by clicking HERE.

Senior Baby Ads

Senior Baby Ads (a yearbook recognition ad) are a great way to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. 

Seniors should have received a flier about when and how to purchase senior baby ads for the school yearbook earlier this year. 

 If you are interested in making this purchase, please be aware that the deadline is April 26, 2019. (1/8 page colored ad is $50). All sales go through our publishing company, Jostens.  See their website for more information at www.Jostensadservice.com. Please do not contact or send material to the school, as Jostens manages the school’s yearbook ad sales.

Thank you so much for your support of the school yearbook.

Additionally, if you have not yet pre-ordered the 2018-19 book, please do so by placing the order through the website of Jostens, the publishing company: http://www.jostens.com

Golf Outing to support football program June 20; early sign-up discounts
Mundelein High School’s Red Zone Club is sponsoring the Second Annual Mustang Golf Scramble to take place at Steeple Chase Golf Club June 20. This is a fundraising event for the MHS football program and new varsity head coach, Vince DeFrancesco, will be on hand to meet the participants.
Individual Golfer/Early Bird cost is $125 which increases to $140 May 1. For foursomes the Early Bird cost is $450 which will increase to $500 on May 1. Non-golfers are welcome to attend the dinner and reception at a cost of $35.

The event will include a four-person scramble format, box lunch and on-course contests. Golf will be followed by the dinner and awards reception, raffle and a silent auction with many items available.
A number of sponsorships are available ranging from $250 to $3,500 which include various benefits. Among them are $1,000 for a Hole in One Contest with a 2019 Ford Mustang convertible as the prize and $750 for a Hole in One contest with two tickets to Super Bowl LIV in Florida.

For more information or to sign up as a golfer or sponsor visit the website at https://www.planmygolfevent.com/32588-2019Mustang_GolfScramble or contact MHS Red Zone Club President Michael Wing at (773) 294-5314.

Recognition

Students earn awards at MMEA film festival
Three Mundelein High School students earned awards at the Midwest Media Educators Association (MMEA) festival involving 53 schools.

Bri Sierzega and Olivia Cartland earned second place with their music video titled Hostage. In addition, Allan Rodriguez earned a third place on the Seven Day Prop and Line Challenge video titled Flashes.

“I love seeing our students have the opportunity to go against some really great schools and compete with them,” said Kent Meister, media instructor. “I am proud of the work of these three as well as the many other media students who strive for excellence with their videos.

Sierzega and Cartland expressed that they already have ideas for submissions for next year that they will begin working on this summer.

“A festival like this is great because bringing our students inspires them to push the envelope on their creativity as well as the storytelling and video skills,” Meister explained.

The Midwest Media Educators Association formerly known as the Chicagoland Television Educators Council (CTEC), and the Chicagoland Media Educators Network (CMENT), grew out of a need for teachers of media at the high school level to network by sharing ideas, techniques, information and technical knowledge about television curricula and activities.

In addition to the High School Video Festival, the Midwest Media Educators Association sponsors networking opportunities via two meetings each school year, held at various member schools, to meet, support and learn. MMEA offers scholarships in the name of one of the founding members, Mr. Luke Palermo. This year two $1,000 scholarships will be offered to two seniors.

MHS alum earns full scholarship to Harvard’s doctoral program
Oscar Rodrigo Araiza Bravo, a 2014 MHS graduate, was recently granted a full scholarship to Harvard University to earn a PhD in physics. He graduated with a straight A average from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign with degrees in mathematics and engineering physics. A December graduate, he spent the summer of 2018 as a CalTech intern doing computational physics.
What are some of the things that got him to this point?

Rodrigo

“I’m sharing this story not to brag but to put it out there as a source of encouragement to similar Latino and other minority background kids,” he explained. “MHS has one of the largest ESL (English as a Second Language) programs in the area. That initial push from my ESL teachers was key to what has followed in my journey. As such, I share my accomplishment as an accomplishment of the ESL program and hope that other students will feel encouraged by this story,” he said.

After completing doctoral studies he hopes to become a college professor who does both teaching and research. “I enjoy teaching. If you ever want to find out whether or not you know a subject, teach it,” he said.

Born in Mexico City, Araiza Bravo arrived in the U.S. in 2011 when his father, a senior engineer, was transferred to Libertyville. There, Araiza Bravo attended and graduated from MHS. He said it was a challenge but a necessity to learn English immediately. He recalled an incident that he told to The News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana. “When you can’t ask for a doughnut at Dunkin’ Donuts, that’s when you know you have to learn the language,” he said.

After graduating from MHS, Araiza Bravo enrolled in the Engineering Pathways program at the College of Lake County (CLC). He explained that the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was a perfect fit because of its affordability, proximity to his Chicago-area family and Illinois’ reputation in engineering, math and physics.

Besides being an award-winning teaching assistant in the Illinois physics department, Araiza Bravo enjoys bowling and playing soccer. While at Mundelein High School, Araiza Bravo branched out into other areas besides math, earning the lead role of Romeo in the school’s production of Romeo and Juliette and winning the title of Mr. Mustang his senior year.

“This is just another example of one of the many young people who use their Mundelein High School education to go out into the world and make a difference,” said Kevin Myers, MHS District 120 superintendent. “We’re very proud of Rodrigo’s accomplishments,” he said.

Four juniors chosen for Boys, Girls State
Two junior boys and two junior girls have been selected to represent Mundelein High School at the 2019 sessions of American Legion Premier Illinois Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Illinois Girls State. The weeklong programs, to be held at Eastern Illinois University this summer, provide immersive instruction in the democratic process.

The four students selected are Flavio Diaz, Christopher Hill, Caitlyn Mathews and MacKenzie Stewart.

The MHS representatives look forward to attending the sessions and are hopeful of making their marks.

“There should be popular elections for appointees using a ranked voting system,” Hill said. Diaz hopes to address increasing polarization which he believes is hampering voter turnout. For Stewart, “Rehabilitation and educational programs for inmates” is her issue while Mathews, who worked during midterm elections as an election judge, is inspired by the voters she encountered who made time to participate in the electoral process.

Operating with the same general focus, the Boys and Girls State programs were established in 1935 to help students gain a thorough understanding of the functions of government. Doing business as the mythical 51st state, students will join hundreds of representatives from across Illinois to run for office and draft legislation. Illinois was the first state to offer the Boys State program which can lead to participation in Boys/Girls Nation in Washington, DC.

Activities

Night of Percussion
The Mundelein Night of Percussion on Tuesday, April 30th was fantastic! Bravo to all the performers. A special shout out to MHS Sophomore Hannah Cho for bringing her Korean Drumming Group, SoriBeat, to share their talents!The Mundelein Night of Percussion on Tuesday, April 30th was fantastic! Bravo to all the performers. A special shout out to MHS Sophomore Hannah Cho for bringing her Korean Drumming Group, SoriBeat, to share their talents!

MHS to host People’s Choice Awards along with “Pitch Night” May 8
Mundelein High School will host a People’s Choice Awards Wednesday, May 8, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by “Pitch Night” for Business Incubator students at 6:30 p.m. Both are free, open to the public, and will take place at the District Office Building at 1500 W. Hawley ST, adjacent to the high school.

The People’s Choice Awards will begin at 5:30 p.m. where attendees will be able to vote for the student project they would like to see at the Pitch Night event later. Only three projects will be presented at Pitch Night, two chosen by the student mentors and the third voted on by the People’s Choice attendees.

The highly anticipated Business Incubator Pitch Night will start at 6:30 p.m. Business Incubator offers students an authentic entrepreneurship experience. In the year long course, students create and fully develop their own products or services with real entrepreneurs and business experts serving as volunteer coaches and mentors.  They help to guide the student teams through the processes of developing their business.

“Final Pitch Night is a high-octane event where INCubatoredu student teams present their final business concept before a panel of industry experts,” Fiore explained.  The board of advisors, made up of local business leaders, facilitate the event by asking each team a series of questions to determine if a business concept is worthy of investment.  Students have a chance to earn scholarships and also gain exposure for their business idea.  The winning group of students will then compete for funding dollars at the National INCubatoredu Student Pitch to be held this summer.

“As the final milestone of the year-long academic program, these inspiring events are open to the community and they celebrate student achievement,” said Michelle Sherwin-Petrucci, business incubator class instructor.

Honors Anatomy Field Trip
Students in Honors Anatomy traveled to Marquette University’s cadaver lab on Monday, April 29.
The students had an amazing hands on experience. They got to speak with students in pre-med, pre-dental, physical therapy and biomed about careers, college life, coursework and more!

Honors Anatomy Class at Marquette University

College & Career Center

MHS College Planning Guide
The MHS College Planning Guide is a comprehensive guide through the college planning process. It covers where to get started, financial aid options, scholarships, timelines, college athletics, summer opportunities, the College Planning Workbook, and more! Check it out HERE

Connect with us!
Website: https://www.d120.org/resources/student-success-resources/ccrc/
Instagram: mhsccrc
Twitter: @mundycollege

Athletics

Baseball
Baseball players who are continuing their athletic careers at the next level signed this past Wednesday in the DMR with their families and teammates close by. Congratulations to the following players.
Justin Binz-Hope College, Rahul Champaneri-Concordia University Chicago, Jake Devine-Augustana College, Jared Dorfman-Illinois College, Dylan Tessitore-College of Lake County and TJ Yakimisky University of Illinois-Springfield.

Track & Field
Boys & Girls 
Other than the IHSA state meet itself, the Palatine Relays are the longest running track meet in the state of Illinois with the first meet dating back 87 years to 1932. So despite the fact that there was quite a bit of wet snow and rain, temperatures in the mid-30s to mid-40s throughout the meet, and some treacherous running conditions, the show had to go on, as the old saying goes, Saturday at Palatine.

Girls
Mundelein finished fourth in the 3,200 relay behind Leslye Rodriguez, Andrea Cordova, Jocelyn Gomez and Jeanelle Jimenez.
The Mustangs also got a third-place finish from Jordyn Miller in the 1,600. She was also fifth in the 800, as was Khari Thompkins in the 400. High-mileage Mustangs: Mundelein distance runners aiming for state success

Khari Thompkins

Boys
With a lot of wet snow and rain in very late April, the 87th Annual Palatine Track & Field Relays will probably go down in history more for the weather conditions than anything else when people look back at this meet.

The legendary meet had it all, with a few teams not showing up to compete due to the weather, some teams leaving early, and the final two events being called off due to the unbelievable weather for a month into spring.

But when all was said and done and the official scoring was straightened out, it was Barrington that outlasted the host Pirates 116-109 for the championship while Mundelein (102 points) took third place under temperatures that hit 34 degrees by the end of the meet at noon.

 Lisa St. Clair from Mundelein cheering on the team

More Boys Track
Steve ReavenPioneer Press
Every time the Mundelein boys track and field team begins a new season, Dillon Blake’s goals become more difficult to achieve. So far, he’s been able to meet most of them. The Mundelein junior distance runner was content with serving as an alternate on the Mustangs’ state-qualifying 3,200-meter relay as a freshman in 2017. And he was pleased to qualify for state in the individual 3,200 last spring. This spring, Blake will only be satisfied if he’s contending for Class 3A all-state honors in the 3,200. That will require a significant improvement from last season, when he finished in 40th place. “Last year wasn’t the best race for me, but it was a great experience and gave me something to build off of,” said Blake, who was 12th at the Class 3A state cross country meet in November. “It also put a chip on my shoulder.” That motivation, combined with what coach Kurt Rutz called a “workhorse” mentality, gives Blake a formidable combination. Becoming an elite runner is the culmination of a process he began as a freshman, when he devoted himself completely to the sport. “That’s when I decided I wanted running to be ‘my thing,’ ” he said. “Doing all the little things, too, like getting enough sleep and eating right.” Blake also benefits from having a number of elite distance runners as teammates and training partners. The camaraderie he and his teammates enjoy makes long and grueling workouts much more palatable. “Having those guys to keep pushing me is a real advantage,” he said.

While Blake chases individual accolades, the Mustangs are also poised to make noise downstate with their 3,200 relay team. The exact composition of the relay is still being fleshed out, but there’s no shortage of viable candidates. The recent success of the Mustangs’ distance crew stems from its talented seniors who have been running together since middle school. The group had high aspirations as Mundelein freshmen and are making good on their plans. This fall, they led the Mustangs to their first North Suburban Conference title in boys cross country. They also have enabled the 3,200 relay success at state. “The program was a little bit in transition when we got here, but the seniors, and now the guys behind us, have built a strong foundation,” senior captain Aidan Afonso said. “We’d like to leave a little legacy behind and for the younger guys to follow suit.”

Despite being on the state-qualifying 3,200 relay team last spring, Afonso isn’t guaranteed to have a spot this year. He’s in the mix with classmates Robert St. Clair and Sean Finerty for the fourth leg, with senior Mike Parduhn, senior Dario Carrillo and junior Carter Schorr likely running the first three legs.

St. Clair (3,200), Afonso (1,600) and Schorr and Carrillo (800) also have a chance at qualifying for state in individual events. The 3,200 relay will take center stage, though, and anything less than a berth in the state final would be a disappointment. Mundelein ran a time of 8 minutes, 13.49 seconds in a state preliminary heat last season, but that was 15 seconds slower than the last team that made the cut for the final heat.

Rutz said this year’s group has the talent to make it to the finals, and that improvement process continued Saturday with a comfortable victory in wet, snowy conditions at the Palatine Relays. “To have this many people running at such a high level is exciting,” Afonso said. “It should be a really fun end to the season.”

Boys Volleyball
Prep Sports
Boys volleyball: Mundelein downs Antioch
By Bill Pemstein
Daily Herald Correspondent
4/26/2019 9:02 PM

Hitting in volleyball is generally reserved for tall players. Mundelen's Eric Morales doesn't fit the profile.
"I'm 5-foot-9 on a good day,'' Morales said. What's obvious is that Morales has been injected with a great case of the hops. On a night that advocated for pediatric cancer research, Morales and the Mustangs (10-16) took down visiting Antioch, 25-20, 25-15. "I started playing volleyball with friends,'' Morales explained. "By seventh grade, I decided to stick with it." The first set was close the whole way. With Morales serving in set one, an ace and a Ricky Osornio kill opened a 10-8 lead. Antioch (4-14) answered back. With a block and a kill from Joey Whittall, the Sequoits pulled ahead. "He's a three-varsity starter,'' said Antioch coach, Jaime Atkinson of Whittall. "He's a phenomenal volleyball player and person." This set was knotted at 18-18. Mundelein closed the first set with Morales back at the serving line. Andrew Gibbons put one down as did Morales. Both players notched 5 kills in the two sets. Mark Rey (6 kills), who will play next season at Marian University in Wisconsin, felt the Mustangs didn't have a great start on Friday night. "We were kind of sluggish in that first set,'' Rey noted. "We had a hard time connecting." Mundelein coach George Dressen admitted his team is not known for great starts. "We have an issue with starting out slowly,'' Dressen said. "And give Antioch credit. They had a little different tempo tonight." On a Rey kill, the second set was all Mundelein. It was 11-3. Morales was again serving as Gibbons, Osornio and Tyler Vander Ploeg put balls away. It was 20-8 when Dressen cleared his bench. Whittall led Antioch with 8 kills and 3 blocks. Teammate Josh Lahti added 6 kills and 4 blocks.

Osornio and Rey led the Mustangs with 4 blocks. •Each year, nearly 16,000 children (0-19) are diagnosed with cancer. That number in Chicagoland is 400. Each day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer. One in five children will die in five years.

More Boys Volleyball
Last week we played in one of the most important matches of the season, the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation Match vs Antioch.  Raising awareness and funds to fight cancer.  We played well and won 25-20, 25-15: Marc Rey lead the team with 6 kills and 4 blocks, Andrew Gibbons had 5 kills, Eric Morales had 5 kills and 8 digs, Ricky Osornio had 4 blocks, Talon Clausen had 12 assists and Ty Brua had 10, Martin Carrillo had 7 digs. Next was Grayslake North: we won 25-17, 25-21 Andrew Gibbons and Eric Morales both had 6 kills,  Andrei Varanic and Tyler Vander Ploeg had 5 kills each, Marc Rey and Ricky Osornio both had 3 blocks each, Talon Clausen had 10 assists and Ty Brua had 12.

Then one of our biggest rivals Libertyville: We won 26-24, 21-25, 25-19. Marc Rey lead the team with 8 kills and 6 blocks, Andrew Gibbons and Eric Morales both had 5 kills, Talon Clausen had 13 assists and Ty Brua had 10, Martin Carrillo lead the team with 14 digs and Marc Rey had 12, Ty Brua went 16/16 serving and Talon Clausen went 12/12.
We look forward to Grayslake Central Thursday the 2nd as it will be Senior Night.

Photos of the Week

During their meeting before school Tuesday, May 1, the SADD club meets to talk about prom. Every year, SADD informs students about the dangers of driving under the influence. Photo taken by Claire Kim 

In front of an audience the Concert Band Percussion Ensemble performs their piece titled Escape Artist at the Mundelein Night of Percussion on April 30. MNOP is an all percussion concert where percussionists from all bands get to showcase their hard work. Photo taken by Lindsay Nootbaar

After the Mustangs win on their home court, the varsity boys volleyball team stands in a line while congratulating Antioch on the night of Friday, April 26. The boys varsity volleyball team were even more motivated to win because the game was played in dedication to all MHS families who have lost relatives to cancer in recent years. Photo taken by Emma Aculado 

After a conditioning workout on April 30, Skylar Lucich '19, stretches out her legs to be prepared for our conference game against Warren. The ladies played at Warren's home field and took the victory 15-4. Photo taken by Cayla Manaligod 

Information Needed When Calling Student in with Illness
At MHS we have students who, for medical reasons, are highly susceptible to infections and are at a significant risk for their lives due to a rare genetic immune deficiency.  We ask for your help in keeping your students home if they have been running a fever with a frequent cough or painful throat.  When calling the attendance line for students who need to stay home, please leave a detailed message that includes the specific symptoms and reason for their absence. Please alert the school nursing staff of any new diagnosis of an illness that can be contagious. The families of these highly susceptible students are then able to get added medical treatment to help boost their ability to avoid getting sick if they are aware of a current infectious process.  We highly recommend students experiencing illness should not return to school until they are 24 hours fever or symptom free.  Students are encouraged to stay in touch with their teachers by email when they are home sick.  Accommodations can be made for missed work due to illness.
Thank you very much for your care and cooperation.

Class of 2020 Meningococcal Vaccine Requirement Announcement

All current 11th grade students are required to have documented proof of receiving the meningoccal vaccine prior to the start of 12th grade year.  We ask that you check your records and/or contact your doctor’s office for this proof to turn into the school as soon as possible. Supplies become depleted in late summer and early fall. Please do not risk having your student excluded from school at the beginning of their senior year. You can turn in your documented proof directly to the school nurse or to the front office.  Thank you very much for your prompt attention to this important matter.