Friday Focus
Recognition
Poetry Contest
Amateurs, semi-professionals, professionals and students of all ages were invited to submit original poetry in response to the 2022 Poetry Challenge. This year Highland Park Poetry challenged poets to write a response to one of three prompts, and Mrs. Behrens’s students focused on underwater life. Mrs. Behrens’s Freshmen Honors students: Andrian Afonso and Chloe Winkler were both awarded honorable mentions, and Logan Sill won 2nd place overall! In addition, their poetry will also be featured on the Muses’ Gallery on the Highland Park Poetry website throughout April & May 2022, and they will be invited to read their poems at a venue and date still to be determined.
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| Andrian Afonso |
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| Chloe Winkler |
Activities
Order Graduation Yard Signs HERE!!!
Mattress Sale
It's that time again! The boys' track team is having our World Famous Mattress Sale. If you need a mattress, or know someone who does, this is your opportunity to get a great mattress for a great price! The date is March 13th, and the location is the school cafeteria. All proceeds benefit the boys' track team. Hope to see you there!
5Essentials Parent Survey
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.
We value your opinions about the operations of the high school and are looking for your input. This is your chance to provide input concerning your children’s education. MHS benefits from a strong response rate from parents in order for us to access to the data from the survey. The survey is available to MHS parents now and the deadline to complete the survey is March 22 but we encourage you to complete it as soon as you can.
2022 Illinois Parent Survey
Link to survey: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
- Does my student demonstrate specific strengths in your class?
- How is my student doing in your class: Grades, attendance, missing assignments
- How can my student improve his/her grade?
- Is there some way that I can check my student’s progress in class?
- Are there any upcoming projects or assignments my student should be working on?
Job Fair
On Tuesday, March 15 we are hosting an in-person Job Fair for students 16 years and older. The fair will take place in the commons during 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th class periods.
As you are aware, the workforce has many shortages. Our businesses are excited about the possibility of their recruitment efforts at MHS.
This event will not only offer traditional part-time employment, it will also have employers like Medline Healthcare hiring for internships, and post high school career opportunities.
Athletics
Football (Mundelein Review)
Mundelein High School was chosen as one of three finalists in the state for the inaugural academic excellence award from the National Football Foundation.
A total of 62 finalist schools were chosen across the country for the award, which officials with MHS said was designed to, “inspire and foster a culture of academic excellence on high school football teams throughout the nation.”
The award ultimately went to Cypress Woods High School in Texas, but MHS Head Coach Vince DeFrancesco said to be chosen as a state winner in the award’s first year was still an honor.
“Being one of the first teams to be recognized … I feel like we’re in really good company,” he said.
The other winners in the state were 6A State Champions Cary-Grove High School, who finished an undefeated season this past season. Wheaton Academy in West Chicago was the third school in Illinois, which is a 4A school. MHS is a 7A school.
DeFrancesco is going into his fourth year as head coach of the MHS Mustangs. He said in recent decades the team has struggled to win consistently. As part of that, he said the opportunity to turn around a program made him excited to join on.
This past year, the team went 4-5, but took home some key wins this season that the team hadn’t seen in many years.
Even with more losses than wins, DeFrancesco said it comes down to the purpose of the program, which he said is about developing the players to be hardworking, accountable and good teammates.
As part of that, the academic side of things is imperative for his team. DeFrancesco said the average grade-point average for the team was at 3.1 out of 4.0 this past season. The requirement to apply for the NFF’s award is a 3.0. DeFrancesco called it the most important piece of building the program.
“You can’t win on the field until you win in the classroom and take care of yourself,” he said. “I think you have to start there.”
In addition to the academic requirements, those applying needed to fill out what DeFrancesco called a “lengthy” application. You also needed to have a successful football season, he said. Even though he said, the wins hadn’t added up overall, DeFrancesco said the improvement was noteworthy.
“I felt we belonged (with the finalists),” he said. “You see your name (with others) and you’re obviously excited and proud of the body of work everyone in our program has put in.”
Looking forward, DeFrancesco said the goal is to always raise the bar. He said his players have rallied around getting the team’s GPA up. For his role, he wants to continue preaching the importance of academics and community service, the latter of which he said the team has done a lot.
He also noted some of the leaders that came out of this year’s team, who took home several individual awards themselves. Linebacker Zach Frenzel and Quarterback Brock Paluch took home Academic All-State, meaning they were all-conference players with a 3.5 GPA or higher. Omari Rhinehart took home a 7A All-State Athlete award as well, which was only the second time in the history of MHS, and the first since 2004, DeFrancesco said.
“Our kids do a great job of stepping up,” he said. “I want to find more ways of how we can help Mundelein. We’re very fortunate to live in a community of the support we get.”
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| MHS Football Coach Vince DeFrancesco said academics, community service and building accountable people is what his program is about. MHS was recently recognized as a state winner for the NFF's inaugural Ac |
Softball
Boys Swim/Dive
Coaches Corner: R. Sethna
State bound: Congratulations to the Boys Swimming and Diving team for their 4th place finish at the Stevenson sectional this past weekend. The team had a great day and had individuals and relays swimming in 7 of 12 events at the State meet this weekend.
A special congratulations to: Michael Romero, Aaron Anastos, Matt Willis, and Omar Fathallah for breaking the school record in the 400 free relay and posting the 6th fastest time in the state at the sectional meet.
Members of the state team include: Aaron Anastos, Johnny Anno, Omar Fathallah, Cameron Gilbert, Michael Romero, Edwin Serrano, Alec Sethna and Matt Willis.
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| 200 Free Relay 2nd Place A.Anastos, E.Serrano, O.Fathallah, M.Romero |
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| 200 Medley Relay 3rd Place C.Gilbert, M.Romero, O.Fathallah, A.Anastos |
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| 400 Free Relay 2nd Place A.Anastos, M.Willis, M.Romero, O.Fathallah |
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| Aaron Anastos 2nd Place 50 Free |
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| Cameron Gilbert 6th Place 100 Back |
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| Cameron Gilbert 6th Place 200 IM |
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| Edwin Serrano 6th Place 500 Free |
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| Johnny Anno 5th Place Diving |
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| Michael Romero 5th Place 100 Fly |
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| Omar Fathallah 1st Place 100 Free |
Boys Track
Coaches Corner: Kurt Rutz
Boys' Track competed in 2 meets over the long weekend and had some great performances. Sohan Karuturi led the way, winning the High Hurdles in both meets. Marcel Siepko was the top sprinter, taking 2nd in the 200m on Friday, and then 8th in the 60m on Monday, and Jake Prejna took 4th Friday and 5th Monday in the Shot Put. Next up- Saturday at Lakes HS in a HUGE invitational.
It's that time again! The boys' track team is having our World Famous Mattress Sale. If you need a mattress, or know someone who does, this is your opportunity to get a great mattress for a great price! The date is March 13th, and the location is the school cafeteria. All proceeds benefit the boys' track team. Hope to see you there!
Wrestling
Coaches Corner: Craig Stocker
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| Bryce Durlacher and Coach Stocker |
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| Bryce Durlacher takes 5th at State 113lbs |
Wrestler Bryce Durlacher finishes his Junior Season as an ALL STATER.
Bryce Finished this Season @ 113LBS for the Mustangs with a record of 40-4
All Conference, All Area and All State. 5th place in state.
Girls Basketball
Coaches Corner: Greg Dorgan
Congratulations to Rylan Foster (So), Diana Nanos (Jr), Kate Hill (So), and Madison Werner (Sr), for competing in the IHSA Three-Point Contest. Rylan Foster finished with 10 made shots and advanced to the Sectional Round on Thursday, February 24th at Warren Township High School. Great job to all and good luck to Rylan on Thursday!
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| Girls Baksetball 3-point shooters |
Congratulations to the Boys Basketball seniors and our senior Cheerleaders. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
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| Dominick Williams Cheerleader |
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| Alex "Buckets" Brown Basketball |
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| Omari Rhinehart Basketball |
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| Broch Paluch Basketball |
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| Tyler Moenning Basketball |
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| Toni Senise Cheerleader |
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| Teresa Navarrete Cheerleader |
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| Monse Gomez Cheerleader |
Photos From the Week
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| During AP Art class on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Remy Loerakker '22 continues working on her painting in the Art Room.- Ashley Wolverton ‘23 |
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| During 5th period spanish class, students Felix Navarrete '24 and Edwin Lorenzano-Matias '24 study for their next test on Wednesday, Feb 23.- Ivana Rosillo ‘24 |
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| On Wednesday Feb. 23, Michael Zukhar ´22 and Diego Gonzalez ´22 work on their memoir book club analysis in english class during 7th period.- Keely Murphy ‘22 |
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| On Tuesday Feb. 22, Ap Art student Megan Rinzel ´22 works on her painting during first period in the art room.- Adrianna Nuzzo ‘23 |