Friday Focus
Announcements
Puertas Latino Culture Club to host Dias Festivos Dec. 14
Mundelein High School’s Puertas Latino Culture Club will host a free, new event called Dias Festivos on Saturday, Dec. 14 from 5 to 8 p.m. This bilingual open house style event is aimed at bringing area Spanish-speaking families into the school to celebrate the spirit of the season with their children and to take part in family-friendly activities that highlight some of the holiday and seasonal traditions of Latinos and Latin Americans.
“Due to the heavy Catholicism of the region, the Christmas holidays are an important part of many Latin American cultures and often start near the beginning of December,” said Laura Garcia, Puertas Club advisor. Garcia explained that different Latin American countries celebrate the holidays in different ways throughout Central and South America so this event will highlight a variety of customs for families to learn about those traditions. Some of the events will include Holiday Themed Loteria (board game), Liminaria/Farolito making, Nacimiento coloring, Nochebuena/Poinsettia ornament making, Letters to Santa (PapaNoel)/Los Reyes Magos, Cookie decorating, traditional Mexican Ponche and more.
All area families are welcome to attend any time between 5 and 8 p.m. Activities will run in both Spanish and English.
“Stay for a little while, or stay for a long while!,” Garcia said. “The Puertas students are excited to welcome you and your families during this time of year.
Recognition
December Mustang Pride
On Thursday, December 12, nine students were honored by MHS staff members for being the best example of Mustang Pride! Mustang Pride may have looked like
- doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do
- taking the time to help out another student
- living by the motto "winners never quit...quitters never win"
- Not being satisfied with just doing a job but constantly trying to do the job better
- Representing MHS in a positive way everywhere you go
- Going above and beyond
- Demonstrating the ability to overcome obstacles
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| December Mustang Pride Students (L to R) Juvenal Abarca, Luke DeBord, Zoe Rafalson, Dillon Blake, Nicole Nowicki, Samantha Hockett, Adry Kasemets, Ahmad Koya, and Dylan DeBord |
Mundelein Theatre chosen to perform at State Festival
When the 45th Annual Illinois High School Theatre Festival kicks off at Illinois State University in January, students from Mundelein Theatre will be front and center. Their fall production, The Elephant Man, was selected to perform at the festival. Additionally, two students, Colin Nacion and Becca Panos, were selected as part of the company of the All-State production of the musical Aida.
The Illinois High School Theatre Festival is the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation, and is produced by the Illinois Theatre Association. More than 4,500 students, teachers, university representatives, exhibitors, and volunteers come together to put on theatrical workshops and various high school productions that are selected to perform each year. The All-State cast, crew, and pit orchestra are comprised of top student performers, musicians, and technicians from Illinois.
Three representatives from the Illinois Theatre Association attended the opening night performance of The Elephant Man back in November. They met with the company after the performance to offer them feedback. “We are thrilled to be able to perform our show at the festival,” Meier continued. “Performing a show in a different location is a challenge, but we designed the show to tour, in hopes that we would be selected.”
Activities
Orchesis to present Winter Show
Mundelein High School’s Orchesis Group will present its Winter Show Monday, Dec. 16 beginning at 7 p.m. in the MHS Auditorium. Tickets are $4 for adults and $3 for students with ID.
The Winter Show will include a variety of different forms of dance. It will include ballet, Jazz, hip hop, belly dancing, bachata and Mexican folk dancing. The show will also feature children from the community who have learned a dance created by one of the Orchesis members.
Love Letters Performance to Benefit Mundelein Theatre
Love Letters, a play by A.R. Gurney, will be performed for one night only at Mundelein High School on Saturday, December 28 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is a benefit for Mundelein Theatre, which was recently selected to perform their production of The Elephant Man at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival. Proceeds from the benefit will help cover the expenses of remounting the production for the festival. Admission for the event is a donation to Mundelein Theatre. There will be a reception at the school following the performance.
“The evening will be a celebration of the success of Mundelein Theatre,” said Jonathan Meier. “We are extremely proud of the work our students have done over the years. We want to invite alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and community members to join us for a performance of this funny and moving play, followed by a chance to catch up with friends and swap some stories.”
The Meier’s met while working as actors in Chicago in the mid 1980’s. They have been married for thirty years and have three children. This is the second time the couple has performed Love Letters together, having done it 12 years ago in a benefit performance.
Further information can be found at www.mundeleintheatre.org.
College & Career Center
MHS First Gen Group! Come Join Us, All Are Welcome!
Scholarships Are Open!
Scholarship opportunities, can be accessed through the Scholarship Link found under Colleges Home in Naviance. Additionally, we strongly encourage students to continue checking the MHS Specific Scholarships document to view which additional scholarships that are guaranteed to go to MHS graduates may be opening soon and begin preparing for these.
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, timelines, college athletics, summer opportunities, the college planning workbook, and more! Click HERE to check it out!
Connect with us!
Website: https://www.d120.org/resources/student-success-resources/ccrc/
Instagram: mhsccrc
Twitter: @mundycollege
Athletics
Special OlympicsOn Saturday December 7th, Mundelein High School made history by hosting their first ever Special Olympics basketball game on their home court, beating the District 300 Eagles 47-25! The Mustangs played hard and showed great teamwork passing the ball and communicating with each other. The Special Olympics Mustangs have a full season of competition as they prepare for the regional tournament in January. Special thanks to all of the fans and student athletes that cheered on the team as they earned their first win of the season.
Brust to be inducted into MHS Boys Basketball Hall of Fame
Mundelein High School’s Athletic Department will induct 2010 graduate and University of Wisconsin basketball standout Ben Brust into the MHS Boys Basketball Hall of Fame at halftime of the Mundelein vs. Waukegan home basketball game Friday, Dec. 13. The game will begin at 7 p.m. He will also do his ESPN Radio Show live at MHS from 3 pm to 5 pm.
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| Ben Brust Action by Steve Lundy DH |
Brust attended John Hersey High School his freshman year in 2006-2007 before transferring to MHS for his remaining three years. As a senior, he averaged 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.1 steals per game during his senior season, topping the 40-point mark on four occasions. He originally committed to the University of Iowa, but after a coaching change he revisited his options about where to play and ultimately chose the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
At Wisconsin he started all of the Badgers’ games. In his junior year he led the team in minutes and assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.0 and led the team in scoring for the Big Ten Conference games. In his senior year, 2013-2014, he averaged 13 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 89 total three-pointers through the team’s first 35 games. He also had the second-most three-pointers in a career at Wisconsin.
His senior year at Wisconsin was a big season for Brust. Prior to making it into the Final Four in 2014 the team finished the season 30-8, 12-6 in Big Ten play, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a Number 2 Seed in the West region, their 16th straight trip to the tournament. The Badgers defeated American and Oregon to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There, they defeated Baylor and Arizona to advance to the Final Four where they were eliminated by Kentucky.
After graduating from Wisconsin Brust joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In October of that year he signed a one-year deal with Pieno žvaigždės of the Lithuanian Basketball League.In 39 Lithuanian League games, Brust averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He also averaged 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 14 Baltic League games.
Currently, Brust is a sportscaster for the Big Ten Network. He also has a radio show on ESPN Madison.
Photos from the Week
With final exams approaching, our photos from the week are from the staff! Staff have created and celebrated a Holiday Spirit Week.
