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Mustang News: Principal's Blog
Mustang Families,
Weather Reminders
Get news about weather-related school closures:
Automated phone call to parents/guardians and MHS staff
Email blast to parents/guardians and MHS staff
Email blast to local media to help share the information
Social media posts on the D120 Facebook Page and on Twitter #mundypride
Posted on MHS website: www.d120.org
Who Decides: It is the superintendent’s decision to cancel school because of bad/dangerous weather. The superintendent, along with the leadership team, will make the best decision for students’ safety.
Timing: The decision to close schools during extreme weather (usually snow, ice or extreme wind/cold) is made as early as possible, often very early in the morning. The decision is based on the best weather information available and how inclement weather will affect students, staff and parents during travel times.
Temperatures: There is no official temperature that closes schools. The superintendent and leadership team consider several factors, including road conditions. Typically, a wind chill of negative 30 degrees will start the conversation about closing schools.
Several different scenarios are possible with bad weather:
Two-Hour Delayed Start: If schools will open on a two-hour delayed start, students should arrive at school two hours later than their normal start times. This option might be used if weather or road conditions are severe overnight but are expected to improve in the morning. On a delayed start day, buses will run their routes two hours later than normal. Likewise, parents who drop their children off at school should do so two hours later than usual. After school activities will continue as scheduled.
School Closed: If schools are closed for the day because of weather, students will remain home. Generally, this also means that all other school activities like after-school clubs, sports, practices, etc. are also canceled for that day. That lost day will need to be made up later to meet State of Illinois requirements for students.
eLearning Alternative: After two days of school are canceled because of weather and are rescheduled for make-up, additional weather days off may utilize eLearning alternatives recently endorsed by the state. Students will have a number of options for completing school work at home and receiving credit for that work. Days off that use the eLearning alternative do NOT have to be made up later. Students will have four days from the day off to turn in the work completed on that day. More details on this alternative are available on the school’s website at eLearning at MHS Guide for Parents and Students
FINAL DECISION: The final decision is always up to the parent/guardian.
In partnership,
Alexandria Rios Taylor
Principal
847-949-2200 x1230
Important Dates
Nov 23 -25 No School (Thanksgiving break)
Friday Focus
Click here to watch this week’s Friday Focus.
Upcoming
SEL Presentation
On November 28, 2022, your student will view a presentation for social-emotional learning. This month’s presentation serves as an introduction to research-based information about depression and suicide, and how to secure support for these concerns. Safety is a top priority at MHS, so learning and practicing these strategies are essential for growth in individuals and our community at-large. It is important to break the stigma related to mental health concerns so individuals may receive the help they deserve. At the end of the presentation are numerous resources available to all. Please engage in conversations about depression and suicide at home to deepen your student’s knowledge and comfort with this topic. Please review this detailed Letter to Families about Depression and Suicide for more information and access to resources. Please send immediate questions or concerns to Stevee Libert, Assistant Principal for Student Life.
2023-2024 Course Selection
Course selection for the 2023-2024 school year will begin on Monday, November 28th with our grade 11 students. Students in grades 10 and 9 will select courses after the winter break. The following resources are available to our families to assist with the course selection process.
The Schuler Scholar Program
The Schuler Scholar Program at MHS is recruiting motivated current 8th and 9th grade students! Our goal is to help academically strong students from underrepresented backgrounds attend top colleges that offer the best opportunities and financial assistance. Some examples of the support we provide throughout high school include individual academic coaching and tutoring, field trips, family events, trips to visit colleges, and individualized guidance in applying to college and for financial assistance. Our program is free of charge to students and families who are selected through our application process. To nominate a student for consideration, please email the MHS Schuler Scholar Program School Director, Melissa Muth Martinez: melissam@schulerprogram.org.
Author event in the Media Center
Recognition
AVID
As we head towards Thanksgiving, We are so thankful for the support that you give our AVID program!
As of today, our 33 AVID students have earned 90 acceptance letters and have been offered over 3 million dollars in scholarships!
On Saturday, senior student, Nicole Torres, will compete for a full tuition scholarship to Carthage’s Nursing Program. We’ve been preparing and today, the AVID teachers, Andrea Rusk, and Stacey Gorman had the opportunity to act as a scholarship panel for Nicole. As a result, she is prepped and ready to do her best! Pictures of the faux scholarship panel:
Band
On Saturday, November 12th the Illinois Music Education Association District 7 Band and Orchestra Festival took place at New Trier High School. Students from across the Northwest suburbs of Chicago from 60 high schools auditioned for selection in the ensembles. We were excited to have eight students selected and participate in the band and orchestra this year.
Band
Leila Moon – Clarinet
Jessica Noncek – Horn
Rey Palacios – Clarinet
Isabella Rodriguez – Trombone
Ciara West – Clarinet
Orchestra
Chloe Langford – Trombone
Nick Proenza – Horn
Mariana Van Eycke – Trombone
Final Exam Information
Click here for final exam information! See schedule below.
CCRC
Students! MHS Alumni (College Ambassadors) are coming back to talk to YOU about their college experiences on TUESDAY, November 22! You are invited to join us in the CCRC to talk to these remarkable students throughout the day. We are hosting focused discussions to encourage some useful conversation and we hope that you will leave feeling ready for anything!
We will have Ambassadors here representing The University of Illinois, New York University, Bradley University, Illinois State University, Purdue University, Lake Forest College, Augustana College, The College of Lake County, Northwestern University, and The University of Nebraska Lincoln.
See the above advertisement for what discussions are being offered each period. Don’t forget to register in Naviance!
Athletics
Girls Swim/Dive Coaches Corner Rahul Sethna
Congratulations to Riley Routledge and Amelia Willis for their performance at the IHSA State Swimming and Diving Meet this past weekend. Riley competed in the 200 Individual Medley and 500 Freestyle where she placed 21st and 14th respectively. In the 500 Freestyle, Riley missed qualifying for the state finals by 14/100 of a second. Amelia competed in the 100 Backstroke where she placed 17th and just missed qualifying for the state finals by 31/100 of a second. Overall, it was a great season in which the team placed: 2nd at IHSA Sectionals, 3rd in the NSC, and were top 5 in many Invites. The Mustangs graduate 4 Seniors but return the bulk of their team next year as they hope to continue to build on the success of this year.
Wrestling Coaches Corner Craig Stocker
MHS Wrestling Alums and Parents, We have three days to go before our opening red and gray scrimmage "wrestle offs", Saturday, November 19th, 9:o0 in the North Gym. It is an introduction of what a wrestling meet will look like. The scrimmage will help the coaches know who will be a Varsity Starter and what level they will be competing at. We will provide coffee and donuts for parents to enjoy as they support our program. We will have a table if parents or athletes want to buy some wrestling spirit wear and or support our program by sponsoring a weight class. This event will be free admission.
We have roughly 2 weeks of practice under our belts. It was a good few weeks though getting our wrestlers certified so they can wrestle. Our first meet will be at home in the North Gym Monday, November 21st against Coach Stocker's alma mater, Lakes High School. Please come out and support our program.
Henry Ortiz (Whitewater)
Boys Cross Country Coaches Corner Kurt Rutz
The end of the high school season does not mean the end of competitions nor does the colder weather mean our athletes are staying indoors. Congratulations to our competitors who ran at the Nike Cross Country Regional (NXR) Midwest meet held in Terre Haute, IN this past weekend. Our guys, running in the F/S race, took 6th as a team. The squad was led by Javier Mata who took 4th overall. Alberto Diaz was next at 40th. Finn Keegan took 120th, Nathan McCreight and Logan Ramirez were 128th and 129th, and Andrew Weaver took 209th. Our guys were the 2nd Illinois team and finished 6th out of 24 teams from 4 states. That's what I call getting it done!
Alumni Weekend Update:
At various venues around the greater Midwest, our alumni all contributed to their teams’ successes at their respective NCAA DIII Regional Meets. At the Midwest Regional, Kaleb Carlson helped lead his Greenville University team to a 13th place. Kaleb was his team's 2nd man, taking 62nd overall and running 26:45. At the North Regional, Michael Keegan helped his MSOE team to an 11th place finish by taking 96th place overall. Michael was his team's 7th man, running 26:37. At the Great Lakes Regional, Robert St Clair had his best race to date, helping his Case Western Reserve University team take 2nd, and earning a trip to Nationals next week in Lansing, MI. Robert took 10th overall and was his team's 3rd man, running a massive PR of 24:34. This will be Robert's 3rd trip to Nationals.
Congratulations to all our alumni, you always make us proud!
Previous Reminders
Attendance
Regular school attendance is required and necessary to develop the academic and intrapersonal skills needed for success. Students are expected to attend each class and be on time. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. If your student is going to be absent from school, please call the Attendance Line 847-949-2200 ext. 1998 (Spanish) ext. 1999 (English) by 10:00 am.
What is Good Attendance?
Our MHS Attendance Committee felt it was important to create a simple and clear visual that students and families can reference to understand our expectations surrounding what good attendance looks like. See below for more information.
Bus Notifications
Would you like to know when your student’s bus is going to be late? For Mundelein bus routes, Lakeside Transportation is using the Bus Bulletin notification system to notify parents and students when there are bus delays and schedule changes. For more information, or to sign-up and start receiving notifications, please visit:
www.busbulletin.com/parents (Find Mundelein Area Schools when prompted for a district) *Note - This is managed by Lakeside Bus Company and not MHS.
Technology Use
Students will utilize technology to support their learning in class. Students are reminded to use their Chromebooks and cell phones appropriately at all times. For further information about technology use, please refer to the student handbook located on the District web page - 2022-2023 Student/Parent Handbook
Go Mustangs!
The Principal's Blog: Mustang News is available weekly at
http://mundypride.blogspot.com/