Hoffman Estates HS Newsletter
August 2023
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From the Principal's Desk
Parents and Guardians:
The start of the 2023-2024 school year is just days away! We look forward to welcoming our newest Hawks and reconnecting with our current Hawks on August 14th. The excitement and energy our students bring to the building is a cornerstone to our delivery of valuable academic, extracurricular and social experiences for all students. We look forward to that energy returning to the building after a well deserved summer break. We also look forward to our partnership and collaboration as it is necessary to reach our collective goals for all of our students. We believe that parent involvement is instrumental in student success and we desire to communicate and connect with you on a regular basis.
In order to communicate effectively in guiding our students towards a successful experience at Hoffman Estates High School, I offer the following tips through a parent perspective:
As a learning community we will work to foster the following in support and empowerment of all students:
Building a culture and climate of student connection, acceptance and involvement
Supporting student physical and social-emotional wellness
Increasing student academic growth
Ensuring college/career readiness for all students
We appreciate the opportunity and power that exists in our collective efforts in creating an amazing high school experience for all Hawks.
Sincerely,
Mike Alther
Principal
Principal's Spotlight
What’s Attendance Have To Do With It?
One of the most common questions that parents ask me is “what can I do as a parent to increase my child’s academic success?” You may think that the answer is highly specific based on that student’s skills and strengths, but it’s actually a very simple answer. My response to this question is: “Ensure that your student is in attendance for school every day and emphasize that they are on time to every class.”
The most helpful thing that you can do as a parent is to ensure that your student attends every one of their classes at Hoffman Estates High School every single day. That’s the simple truth. Encouraging good attendance and promptness are two of the most powerful ways that you can prepare your student for success in life after high school. We all want to set up good patterns of behavior for future college and career success.
You likely already know that research tells us that when you make school attendance a priority for your family, your student will have:
higher academic achievement,
feel a stronger sense of community at school,
- have the opportunity to participate in engaging instructional activities, and
- have higher levels of social-emotional health and well-being.
What you may not know is how detrimental even a few absences a month and being routinely tardy can be to your student’s success. There have been thousands of scientific studies completed on the importance of attendance, and the results are clear:
Having an absence rate of 10% or more is what educators define as the ‘breaking point.’
If your student misses more than 10%, or eighteen school days, during a school year, we see strong negative effects in their academic performance and social-emotional health.
Additional information can be found through this website: Attendance Works
What may surprise you is that many parents don’t know that their students miss this much school whether it be entire classes or portions of classes related to one being tardy. Here are a few suggestions to stay informed of your student’s attendance:
Have a conversation with your student about their school day on a regular basis.
Access your student’s daily attendance through your Infinite Campus account.
Connect with your student’s counselor or administrator for absenteeism concerns sooner rather than later.
Our consistent message, of the importance of regular school attendance, is just one way we can work together to support our students in their high school experience.
Thank you in advance for your partnership!
Community Connections
HEHS Parent Open House
Student Activity Spotlight
In each edition of this newsletter, a student extracurricular group(s) will be put in the spotlight for the HEHS Community to meet and learn about.
As we begin a new school year, I would like to highlight unique leadership opportunities our students can engage in, lead and make a difference. Through the Student Principal Advisory, modifications to our bell system were made to include a tardy bell, the Student Wellness Team has provided valuable strategies and techniques to prepare for and reduce the stress around final exams and our Student Equity Team took on balancing classrooms with neutral desks to meet the needs of our left handed students. These are just a couple of the projects our students have completed this past year.
Shortly after the start of the school year, I will send out an email with the description of each group (as you see below) to all students seeking any student’s interest in participating.
Student Principal Advisory
The principal's advisory board provides a conduit between students and the HEHS Administrative Team. These students will meet directly with Mr. Alther to provide feedback on all things Hoffman Estates High School. The principal's advisory board is a great option for students who want to discuss many different topics throughout the year, offer student voice and learn leadership strategies.
Student Wellness Team
At Hoffman Estates High School we seek to support student mental health, social-emotional wellness, physical wellness, and safety. The student wellness committee will provide a platform for students to share ideas for how to support the development of our school community in all areas of wellness. Additionally students will work on school specific, student driven initiatives to support the whole student.
Student Equity Team
We want all students to feel safe, welcomed, and valued at Hoffman Estates High School. The equity team will provide students the opportunity to lend a student voice towards the goal of advancing equity and inclusion in our school. In addition to providing a platform to listen to students, being a member of this team will also provide students an opportunity to work on school specific, student driven initiatives regarding equity.
Senior Specific
Senior Sunrise - August 31, 2023 @ sunrise on the stadium.
All seniors are invited to participate as we kick-off our celebration of the Class of 2024 with our Senior Sunrise. Breakfast will be served, music played and several raffle prizes awarded…we hope to see your senior student there.
Parking Lot Safety
As one of the many functions of a high school, in addition to our academic focus, the safe use of our parking lot for our students, staff and visitors during normal school hours warrants the following information as the 2023-2024 school year begins.
Throughout the summer, a review of last year’s parking lot practices and use was conducted. The following conclusions were made and are addressed in this letter to insure the safety of all who use our parking lots.
- Students were parking without proper authorization (purchased permit hang tag)
- Students and staff were parking outside of their designated parking areas
- Students and staff were parking on end caps of parking isles (non-designated parking stalls)
- Students and staff were parking in designated visitor parking stalls
Student Drop-Off Reminder
Morning student drop-off prior to 7:15am - I’d like to encourage parents to drop off in the designated parent drop-off lanes near the media center (the drive north of Higgins). Parents should not drop off along the curb near the marquee as it provides a safety hazard both for pedestrians and other vehicles entering the parking lot off Higgins.
At 7:15am student drop-off by bus concludes and you may use the bus lanes to drop your student on the sidewalk nearest the building.
On late start days the bus lane will be open at 8:40am and I strongly encourage drop-off using the bus lane to avoid creating traffic congestion at the entrance to the main lot.
Student Pick-Up Reminder
After school pick-up I’d like to encourage parents to pick up in the designated parent pick-up lanes near the media center (the drive north of Higgins). Parents should not pick up along the curb near the marquee as it provides a safety hazard both for pedestrians and other vehicles entering the parking lot off Higgins. After buses depart (typically at 2:57pm), the bus lane may be used for pick up.
Evening student pick-up can occur in the bus lanes except for the following times:
3:50 – 4:10 p.m.
5:05 – 5:25 p.m.
*Athlete pick-up is preferred at Door 9 (Athletic Entrance)
Calendar Handbook
Your Hoffman Estates High School calendar handbook will be delivered by mail soon.
Currently, it can be viewed in its entirety online here.D211 Updates
Attendance
Daily classroom attendance directly influences students’ academic success, social development, and overall well-being. High School District 211 encourages seven or fewer days of absence (for any reason) in a single academic year.
This ensures your student has consistent engagement in the new lessons, discussions and activities that occur in our classrooms on a daily basis. The rigorous academic environment and interactions that happen between students and educators in our classrooms are difficult to recreate. You may not realize missing about two days a month – or 18 days a year – is considered chronically absent by the state of Illinois.
Daily attendance is important to school success, access to Harper Promise scholarships and making the most of opportunities available during your four years in high school.
We know there are a variety of reasons why your student may be absent from school. However, we want to begin this school year with a clear message and strong partnership to ensure your student’s success. We look forward to working with you in a renewed proactive effort to positively instill the importance of attendance in our learning community. Additional information is forthcoming.
Food Delivery
As part of our continued work to maintain safe school campuses, schools are not accepting food deliveries from restaurants or delivery services at our building entrances. This is a safety measure to reduce the number of people who approach and enter our buildings. Parents will continue to have access at the main entrance to drop off items for their students.
Security Personnel
We’ve recently added safety and security personnel to our schools because buildings are in constant use -- well before classes begin and also into the late evening. These individuals, who are not police officers and are not armed, will assist school resource officers and administrators and help ensure the continued safety and support of all students and staff.
These individuals will be wearing shirts with security lettering. If you see them, please say hello, and of course ask for help if that is needed. We look forward to having them on our campus from the early morning into the late evening and having our students get to know them, trust them and use them as a resource whenever they need help.
PSAT/NMSQT: October 11
On October 11, we will offer the PSAT/NMSQT during the school day. This exam is used to qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship program. Only students who participate in this exam during their junior year will be eligible for this scholarship. Information regarding this test can be found on the College Board website, www.collegeboard.org. Information regarding how to register for the exam will be available on school websites later this month, or contact your school counselor.
Important Events
August 7 IHSA Fall Sports Begin
August 10-11 Teacher Institute Day
August 14 First Day of School
August 16-17 Yearbook Pictures in PE/Wellness Classes
August 18 Yearbook Picture Make-Up
August 22 Student Late Start (8:50 a.m.)
August 31 Early Dismissal (11:50 a.m.)
August 31 Hoffman Estates High School Parent Open House (7:00 p.m.)
September 4 Labor Day - No School
September 5 Student Late Start (8:50 a.m.)
September 7 HEHS Talent Show (3:00 p.m. Auditorium)
September 7 Latino Parent Meeting - Reunion de Padres Latinos (6:00 p.m. Media Center)
September 8-9 HEHS Talent Show (7:00 p.m. Auditorium)
September 13 D54/D211 Orchestra Concert (7:00 p.m. Auditorium)
September 14 Parent Principal Meeting (6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Media Center)
September 19 Student Late Start (8:50 a.m.)
September 22 Homecoming Soccer v. Palatine HS (5:00 p.m.)
September 22 Homecoming Football v. Palatine HS (7:30 p.m.)
September 23 Homecoming Dance HEHS Main Gym (7:00 p.m.)
September 26 Choir Concert HEHS Auditorium (7:30 p.m.)
September 27 Directions College & Career Fair (SPED) Harper College (6:00 p.m.)
September 28 Early Dismissal (11:50am)
September 28 D211 College Night Palatine High School (6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.)
October 9 No School
October 10 Teacher Institute Day No School
October 12 Parent Principal Meeting Media Center (6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
Hoffman Estates High School
Website: hehs.d211.org
Location: Northwest Suburbs, 1100 West Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL, USA
Phone: 847-755-5600