LZHS Principal's Newsletter
December 8, 2023
Principal's Message
Good afternoon and happy Friday! We are in the final two weeks of the semester, with the second week being a return to finals! I cannot believe how fast the semester has gone. Time flies when you are having fun. As we enter into finals week please reach out if you have any questions at all. Below you will find a topic on finals if you need detailed information. Let's end the semester strong and go into winter break ready to rest and relax!!
New Topics
-Upcoming Important Dates
-Finals
-Changes to Office Hours
-ILMEA All-State
-Swim team accomplishments
-New Year's Card-Contest for D95 Students!
-Prescription Drug Drop Box
-Health Office Logs
-Snowpant and Boot Collection Extended
Previous Topics
-Athletic Booster Club Seeking Volunteers
-Notice Regarding Participation and Outstanding Fees
-Health Updates
-Substance Use & Mental Health Resources Available to Families
-Attendance-Early Dismissal Procedures
-Morning Drop Off
-Attendance Information
-SchooLinks Information
-Spiritwear Sales
Upcoming Important Dates
-December 18, 19, 20-Finals
-December 21-January 8-Winter Break
-January 9-Return to School
Finals
Earlier this school year a communication went out to families concerning the return of finals for the 23-24 school year. You can click here to read that communication.
Below you will find details concerning the administration of finals this school year. If you have any questions please reach out to the appropriate high school staff member. If you do not know who that is please contact the main office and they will direct you to the correct person. Please see below for more details.
-Please click here for the finals schedule. Please note school ends at 1:10 on Monday and Tuesday. School will end at 1:43 on Wednesday.
-Students do not need to be in school for their study hall, open period, or lunch.
-If students are in school for study halls, open periods, or lunch they may sit in the cafeteria or the Hub. The Hub will be a silent work space for students.
-Students must stay in classrooms for the entire period.
-Jazzman's will be open the entire day.
-A grab and go lunch will be available.
-For questions concerning accommodations please contact your child's IEP or 504 case manager.
Changes to Office Hours
Starting second semester students who do not attend office hours with teachers will be housed in the field house. Jazzman's will be available for students in the field house concession stand. We are looking forward to this new practice!
ILMEA All-State
Through an extensive audition process, which began in October, the students below were selected
for ILMEA All-State. They advanced after participating in November’s ILMEA District 7 Senior Festival. We are proud to have these musicians representing Lake Zurich High School at the Illinois Music Education Conference held in Peoria on January 24-27.
Additionally, Maxwell Barboza was selected as the first place winner of the All State Composition Contest in the Remix Category. Maxwell is a senior in our Advanced Music Composition class.
Congratulations to these exceptional student musicians!
All State Choir
Zach Fewkes, tenor II
Kayden Glisson, soprano I
Paige Kutsor, tenor I
Sienna Makhlouf, alto II
Sydney Pine, alto I
All State Honors Choir
Matthew Angelaccio, bass I
Melodi Magluyan, soprano I
Joey Meister, bass II
Anna Roscoe, alto I
Jack Rough, tenor I
All State Orchestras
Jonah Oh, cello
Mira Pietrzkiewicz, cello
Jonathon Rittle, viola
Elise Tyson, violin
Swim Team Congratulations
Congratulations to Alicia Czosnyka who placed 13th in the 500 Free at the IHSA State swim meet. Way to go Alicia!!
New Year's Card-Contest for D95 Students!
Calling all District 95 students! The school district is holding a contest for student-created original artwork, and poems or verses for a New Year's card which will be sent to district employees as well as some community partners at the beginning of January.
All submissions must be digital (JPG or PNG formats only) so if the artwork is on paper, please take a clear photo to submit. The winner(s) will be gifted a small token of appreciation.
Prescription Drug Drop Box
The Lake Zurich Police Department (as well as Hawthorn Woods and Kildeer departments) have prescription drug drop boxes for anyone who wishes to safely dispose of their unused/expired prescriptions. These drop locations are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; please keep these resources in mind as you do any end-of-year cleaning!
Health Office Logs
Parents can access Health Office visit information through ParentVUE. Once logged in (either on the web portal or using the app), select “Health” and “Nurse Visits” to see a log of when your student visited the Health Office. For more serious illnesses or situations, parents can expect to receive a phone call from a Health Office staff member or building administrator. Please reach out to the school nurse with any questions you might have regarding office visits.
Snowpant and Boot Collection Extended
Joanie's Closet is collecting new or gently used, clean boots & snow pants. (sorry we are not accepting any other items at this time)
DROP OFF LOCATION – District 95 Administration Office
832 South Rand Road (next to Walmart)
Collection dates: ends February 1st, 2024
Donation box will be inside the building, please do not drop off anything outside.
Thank you for supporting Joanie’s Closet - providing basic needs to help District 95 students and their families achieve their full potential.
Athletic Booster Club Seeking Volunteers
The ALL NEW Athletic Booster Club is looking for parent involvement. If you have a student-athlete and are looking for a way to contribute, we have multiple positions within the Athletic Booster Club to share your skills and advance the state of our newly formed booster club.
Our biggest need is for volunteers to assist with:
· Fundraising
· Concessions
· Sponsorships
Please respond by completing the survey.
Notice Regarding Participation and Outstanding Fees
We want to inform you of a significant update that will come into effect on January 1, 2024, regarding overdue fee balances and their impact on student participation in fee-based activities within our school community.
Effective January 1, 2024:
Students with overdue fee balances will be excluded from participating in fee-based activities. Families that have a payment plan in place – and are current in their payments - are not considered to have an overdue balance and are exempt from this exclusion.
Any fee-based activities are subject to exclusion including the following:
Athletic participation
Non-curricular fine arts/performing arts events
Extracurricular clubs
Participation in social events such as Homecoming, Prom, and all other dances
Participation in the high school graduation ceremony
Additionally, please note that the following fees are not eligible for any waiver or reduction:
Yearbooks (except for 12th grade)
Parking permits
Replacement ID fees
Replacement planner fees
Summer enrichment classes/camps
Summer athletic camps
Non-district summer school classes
Little Bears preschool
Little Leader's tuition-based preschool
Any fines/fees levied against the student for the destruction of District property, including but not limited to books, devices, or other school-owned materials or school property
We understand that participation in these activities is important for the student’s overall school experience. To ensure uninterrupted participation, we urge all families to address any outstanding fee balances as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your fee balance, apply for fee waivers, or wish to set up a payment plan, please contact the District 95 Business Office at 847-540-4943 or email the Business Office at businessoffice@lz95.org.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.
Health Updates
As we progress further into the fall, we wanted to take this opportunity to share some important health updates:
As a district and as a county, there has been a noted increase in cases of pertussis (whooping cough); please see the document linked HERE for more information about symptoms and health department recommendations
While we have significantly reduced communication regarding COVID cases this school year, there are unique circumstances in which you may receive information about a cluster of COVID cases in your child’s class/program; for reference, the threshold recommended by the Lake County Health Department is 20% of a population for stakeholder notification
As always, please continue to monitor your student’s health, and to reach out to the school nurse with any questions you may have.
Substance Use & Mental Health Resources Available to Families
Attendance-Student Early Dismissal Procedures
-An approved parent/guardian must call ahead for early dismissals during the school day: 847-438-5162
-You can access the ParentVue app and/or 24 hr voicemail for earliest notification of planned student retrievals/departures.
-Please provide detailed reason(s) for departure and if student will return during that day.
-If departing during a class period, student must pick up a yellow pass from the attendance office before the start of class to show their teacher for dismissal.
-Passes are not delivered to students unless a special circumstance arises.
-Students must sign out at attendance before departing and check out with security.
-Parent/Guardian can pull up with their vehicle in the drop off/pick up lane and wait for the student to depart the main entrance.
-Students are not allowed to depart unless the protocol is followed for tracking attendance.
-Students must sign back in with attendance if returning during the same school day.
Morning Drop-Off
Lake Zurich High School is asking for your support during the morning drop-off. Some drivers are creating safety issues for our students as they drive through the upper lot. Please note the two issues we need to address.
-When dropping off students in the morning, please make sure you are using the student drop-off lane only. The drive-thru lane and driveway from the lower lot up to the tennis courts are not available to drop off students.
-Also, please make sure that you are not parking in numbered spots during drop-off because these spots are assigned to specific students, and they wouldn't have any other place to park. If you must park during drop-off time, please use a visitor spot and only stay as long as it takes to complete your business at the school and then vacate the spot so other visitors may use it.
Thank you for your cooperation and support!
Attendance Information
As we prepare to start the school year, it is important that students and families establish regular routines to maximize student attendance to school. Students are expected to be at school daily, and with enough time to navigate to their first period class on time.
Please note that for students who struggle to maintain regular attendance, parents/families will receive additional communication, conference requests, and other interventions to support regular school attendance - in accordance with state law. At the high school level, this may involve one or more of the following:
- having students attend Office Hours to make up work missed due to tardy behaviors or unexcused absences,
- assignment to after school interventions (i.e., staying for a period of time after Office Hours), and
- not being able to make up formative work missed for credit due to attendance concerns.
Parents/guardians and students can find more information regarding attendance in the Parent-Student Handbook.
SchooLinks Information
Welcome to SchooLinks, our new College and Career Readiness platform. We wanted to send out some information that will help you navigate SchooLinks alongside your student.
- To login please click “Forgot my password” and enter the email address that you use for your ParentVue login. From there you will be able to access your guardian account
- You and your student(s) will be automatically connected within the platform alongside your student's counselor and other faculty members who will take part in your student's journey toward College and Career Readiness
- We are always looking for additional industry partners to help bring work based learning experiences to all students. To learn more about how you can help, please email our Director of College and Career Readiness, Ali Finn
- SchooLinks provides extensive support for navigating all it has to offer. You can locate the help center here
- For any additional questions, please reach out to Ali Finn
Thank you for your continued support throughout your student's journey to life after District 95!
Dr. John Walsh and Ms. Ali Finn
Spiritwear Sales
The Bear Booster store has gone LIVE! We are so excited to showcase our NEW line! Start the new school year sporting your trendy LZ Bear Spirit Wear! GO BEARS!!!
SHOP: https://lake-zurich-high-school-bear-booster-club.square.site/
Questions: Lzhsboosterstore@gmail.com