Friday Focus
Announcements
Recognition
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| Sriharikrishna Gaddam |
Mundelein High school junior soccer players (JV2) Sriharikrishna (Sri) Gaddam and Diego Prado were recently selected as the two representatives from Mundelein High School for the Congressman Brad
Schneider STEAM Scholars program.
The program aims to connect highly-motivated students interested in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics with hands-on learning experiences throughout the 10th congressional district. In the fall, students selected to participate in the STEAM Scholars program will have the opportunity to join Congressman Schneider on visits to four STEAM-related businesses and facilities during the 2020-2021 school year. On these visits, students will have the chance to participate in discussions with local employees, business owners, and educators, and learn more about the STEAM career opportunities in our backyard.
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| Diego Prado |
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STEAM SCHOLAR PROGRAM?
Please contact Karyn Davidman at our Lincolnshire Office at (847) 383-4870.
MHS art teacher named best in state
Students taking art classes at Mundelein High School this year would be happy to know they are being taught by one of the best teachers around. Actually, the very best art teacher in the state, according to the Illinois Art Education Association.
The IAEA named MHS teacher Jonathan Pruc the 2021 IAEA High School Art Educator of the Year. The group’s awards and scholarship committee cited Pruc’s professional performance, service and
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| Jonathan Pruc |
leadership as exemplary.
“Jonathan is an educator who thinks outside the box, looks at art and education through a critical lens and constantly works to connect and engage his students in their learning,” according to a statement from the IAEA.
In 2021, due to the pandemic, he was instrumental in facilitating the creation of a virtual art exhibition experience. In the last four years, his students have been awarded more than $4 million in scholarships through ArtConnectED. Pruc utilized the challenges of pandemic teaching to connect his students virtually with a diverse array of professional artists through his Visiting Artist Talk series.
In his 12 years of teaching, he has taught AP Studio Art, Honors Drawing Painting, 2D Art, 3D Art, Digital Photography & Graphic Design, and Special Education Art at MHS.
Pruc is a leader in IAEA’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee, co-creator of the Black Creatives Matter and Latinex Creatives Matter curricular resources, director of the Northern Regional Art Exhibition for ArtConnecteED (formerly IHSAE) and former Senior Scholarship Exhibition assistant director.
He earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree with an Emphasis in Art Education from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. He then graduated from Concordia University in Chicago in 2016 with a Master’s of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
60th Anniversary Memory Wall
As visitors enter the main entrance, a new installment has been completed showcasing the changes from 1961 to 2021. Here are a few photos of the installation.
College & Career
College Representative Visits
Due to Public Act 101-0180, instituted in 2020, the Class of 2022 has a new graduation requirement.
On October 1, the FAFSA and Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid will open for students who will be attending college in 2022-23. U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for financial aid from the federal government, state governments and many colleges. The Retention of Illinois Students & Equity (RISE) Act allows eligible undocumented students and transgender students who are disqualified from federal financial aid to apply for all forms of state financial aid.
To follow the new mandate, students must:
(i) file a FAFSA, or if applicable, an alternative application for State financial aid, or (ii) complete this form created by the Illinois State Board of Education, to waive FAFSA completion indicating that the parent/guardian or the student (if 18) understands the FAFSA/ alternative application and has chosen not to file an application.
We strongly recommend all students file a FAFSA or the alternative application for Illinois financial aid (for undocumented or transgender students). If your family will not be filing the FAFSA nor the alternative application, please complete this waiver form and return it to Victoria Lendino (vlendino@d120.org) .
Click here to see some FAFSA Mandate FAQs
Do you need help completing your FAFSA/ Alternative Application?
In order to get FAFSA/ Alternative Application assistance, please follow the instructions below:
1. Create your Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) for the FAFSA as soon as possible (prior to October 1, if possible) for both one parent and student.This takes from 1-3 days to be verified, so please complete this at least 3 days before you intend to do your FAFSA. Select an email that you will have access to for the entire time you are attending college (not your MHS email address!).
2. Start your FAFSA/ Alternative Application that opens on October 1 (be sure to select 2022-2023). The following information for both parents and students is needed:
Social Security Number or Alien Registration Number if you (student) are not a United States citizen. (FAFSA only)
Parent and student 2020 Federal tax returns, W-2’s and other records of income. You may be able to transfer your Federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if you filed electronically
Bank statements and records of investments (if applicable).
Records of untaxed income (if applicable).
3. Complete as much of the FAFSA/ Alternative Application as you can (AFTER Oct 1!) and save your progress.
View Helpful Tips for both the FAFSA and Alternative App from ISAC
View some helpful videos created by Ripon College.
View some helpful tools from Lake Forest College.
4. Make an appointment (if needed) with our ISAC Corps Member, Alexis, to answer your questions. He will answer your questions with the goal of completing your FAFSA during your scheduled appointment time.
Alexis Alvarez
ISACorps Member: College of Lake County District
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Alexis.Alvarez@illinois.gov
(847)-376-9638
Schedule an appointment:
https://alexisalvarez.youcanbook.me
5. Still needing assistance? Attend the MHS FAFSA Completion Workshop on October 12th from 5-8pm. Register NOW in your student’s Naviance account. After logging in, the students will select “Colleges” then “College Visits” and then “Register Now.”
Please reach out if you need any assistance. We are happy to help!
Mrs. Andrea Rusk
College Counselor
College Representative Visits
College representatives from across the nation are coming to MHS to meet YOU! You can look at a list of upcoming visits by going on Naviance. After you log into Naviance click on the “Colleges” tab at the top of the screen and select “Colleges Home”. Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “College Visits” and click on “Show More”, then find and click on “Register” to attend the visits of your choice. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about college life on multiple schools’ campuses. The more you know about the schools you want to go to, you’ll be able to stand out among the crowd of other college and university applicants.
Click HERE to see what schools are visiting MHS next week!
If you want to see what’s new for 2021/2022, come visit us @ https://bit.ly/MHSCCRC
Financial Aid Assistance: Don’t forget, MHS has a wonderful representative from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission who is happy to help you work through your financial aid questions! Reach out to Alexis any time, or connect with him on Wednesday during his dedicated MHS hours! You can find Alexis’ information in the Virtual CCRC or by using the link below.
Remember, if you have questions at any time you just have to schedule an appointment with Mrs. Rusk, our College Counselor, and we can connect via Zoom to talk through any questions or concerns you may have!
Athletics
Girls Golf
Coaches Corner: Tom Kuhn
Congrats to Senior Kellie Shanahan - 4 time IHSA Sectional Qualifier, shooting an 86 at the Libertyville Regional held at Veterans Memorial. Next up Sectionals on Monday at Timber Pointe Golf Club.
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| Kellie Shanahan |
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| Kellie Shanahan |
Boys Golf
Coaches Corner: Todd Parola
Varsity golf advanced to IHSA Sectionals by shooting a 310 at the Deerfield IHSA Regional. Branden Hinkle placed 3rd with a 73. Kevin Edquiban and Jackson Koenigsknecht both shot 78’s. Sectionals will be played on 10/4/21 at Buffalo Grove Golf Club. Go Mustangs!
Football
Coaches Corner: Vince DeFrancesco
Huge thank you to Mundy Nation for your incredible support this past Friday night! The atmosphere on homecoming night was amazing! Our fans provided a great spark to our team! We hope you all enjoyed our 14-6 win over Libertyville! Please take a moment to enjoy some highlights from the game! We look forward to seeing you all this Friday as we take on the Lake Zurich Bears. Go Mustangs! Link: https://www.hudl.com/v/2Fwtcn
Girls Golf
Coaches Corner: Tom Kuhn
The Homecoming magic continues for the MHS varsity girls golf team, winning the Mustang Invite w/ a score of 351. Congrats to K Shanahan and M Forster who took 1st and 2nd place, shooting 81 & 86. Jr L Vecchie had a career best 18 hole score of a 94. #fab4seniors
Girls Volleyball
Coaches Corner: Dressen & Rossini
Congratulations to the Freshman A team on their second place finish at the Libertyville tournament! After a whirlwind Homecoming week, the girls are preparing to face Grayslake North and Lake Zurich at home this week (games at 5:00 and 6:00 pm). And varsity is looking forward to playing 5 matches at the Lake Forest Invitational on Saturday. Then all levels return to the Mundelein gym to play Lakes on Monday, October 4th. Thank you to all who supported our Chipotle fundraiser on Monday. Mundelein has the best fans!Oct. 6th vs
Upcoming special events for Volleyball
10/6/21 vs Warren is our Staff Appreciation Night.
10/20/21 vs Zion is our Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
10/21/21 Senior Night. JV vs Varsity
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| Girls Volleyball @ Homecoming Parade |
Girls Golf
Coaches Corner: Shelley Majewski
Varsity girls are geared up and ready to play this weekend at the Wheeling Quad! Wishing them a great day of tennis and fun!
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| Girls Tennis |
Boys Cross Country
Coaches Corner: Kurt Rutz
The team has hit the heart of the season which means multiple meets where the results of summer-long, individual training comes together with team strategy and support.
Palatine Invitational – September 25th
One of the best meets in the State, we saw great competition over a quick course. If you can finish in the top 10, you're really doing well, and our F/S team did just that as they took 10th out of 23 teams. Tom Russ led the way, taking 15th and medaling with a new PR. Jake Hall was our 2nd man in, taking 45th out of nearly 300 runners. Marco Delacruz pitched in with a PR, taking 60th. Alberto Diaz and Mariano Rodriguez also PR'd, taking 84th and 109th to close out the scoring.
Home Meet – September 28th
Our boys took it on the chin, losing to Lake Forest 20-41, despite a winning effort from sophomore Tom Russ who notched his first win in a varsity meet. Marco Delacruz took 7th, Alberto Diaz took 10th, and Mariano Rodriguez and Finn Keegan took 12th and 13th to close out our scoring.
Middle School Invite – September 23rd
On a perfect CC weather day, the guys hosted the first ever middle school invitational which was designed to spark an interest in high school running. Attended by Carl Sandburg, West Oak and Prairie Crossing we hope to grow this meet to include all feeder schools. Besides being cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, the middle schoolers were treated to the full CC experience including race bibs, electronic timing, Athletic trainers on hand and a complimentary meet t-shirt proclaiming, “Future Mustang”! The smiles on these young runners’ faces have us hopeful that they will continue running at MHS!
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| Boys and Girls Middle school meet with Coach Rutz being the official starter |
The coming week will see plenty of action as well. On Saturday, October 2nd we will have a split squad, as our top 7 will travel to Peoria to run on the State Meet course, as the rest of the team will travel to Fox River Park in Wisconsin to compete in the Pat Harland Antioch Invite. Tuesday, October 5th will see action on Stevenson’s home course while on Thursday, October 7th the team travels to the Lakes Invitational.
Girls Golf
Coaches corner: Tom Kuhn
Kellie Shanahan placed first and Maddy Forster took second at the Mundelein Mustang Invite held at Countryside Golf Course. Kellie shot an 81, and Maddy an 86. Natalie Altenhoff took 6th place with a score of 90. Junior Lucy Vecchie added a 94 for her best career 18 hole score. McKenzie Begg added a 95. The Mustangs took first place as a team, winning the event by 12 strokes over the 8 team field.
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| Girls Golf |
Girls Cross Country
Coach corner: Carsyn Rodriguez
Sept. 28th: 1 Season PR, 1 Lifetime PR, 4 girls that crushed last year’s home dual times, 1 Race Champion (SR Jocelyn Gomez), & a conference win against LF make for a great Senior Night! Such a fun and emotional night celebrating team improvement and our amazing seniors! Love you all!
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| Girls Cross Country Senior Night |
Sept. 25th: Congrats to this week’s Runner of the Week: ‘25 Alea Sweet! Alea has shown so much physical and mental toughness this season and is consistent in her self-care and work ethic! She’s always positive, a good teammate, and we can’t wait to see her continued growth!
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| Alea Sweet |
Sept. 25th: So much fun at the crazy competitive Palatine Invite today! 2 lifetime PRs, 2 season PRs & all of our F/S ran a new avg pace in their 2.5 mile race. (All this while taking care of the child development baby as a team!) Super proud of the growth & perseverance from these girls!
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| Girls Cross Country |
Sept. 24th: One of the best Friday Fundays: Celebrating Homecoming and representing Girls XC in the Mundelein Homecoming Parade! So much excitement and team-bonding in this special and memorable experience!
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| Girls Cross Country @ Homecoming Parade |
Photos from the Week
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| Students participate in the Poetry Slam during lunches on the outside stage. |
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| Staff members sporting superhero fashion! |
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| Before first period on Tuesday, Sept. 28, Jenna Klein '22 admires the new mural in the A-wing hallway.- Alexandra Brimmer ‘22 |
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| Starting up the game, Natalie Cisneros '24 serves her first serve in the second set versus Lake Forest High School for JV Tennis on Tuesday, Sept. 27, on the home courts. - Brianna Richards ‘22 |
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| The MHS varsity football team taking the win against Libertyville Highschool on Friday, Sept. 24 at a home game.- Ivanna Rosillo ‘24 |
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| The school's mascot, Maverick the Mustang, appeared in the assembly last Friday, Sept. 24, to get students more who attended the event in the school's stadium excited and involved.- Addison Klein ‘25 |
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| During astronomy class on Tuesday, Sept. 28, Science Teacher Mark Michalski shows the new class pet gecko. - Adrianna Nuzzo ‘22 |
