LZHS Principal's Newsletter
November 10, 2023
Principal's Message
Good afternoon!! We have a busy weekend this weekend!!! If you are coming to either Elf Jr. or the football game this Saturday, please allow yourself time to get to either activity on time. Below, you will find parking options and a map of where those options are located. I'm looking forward to a fantastic Saturday. Have a great Friday and a better weekend!
New Topics
-Upcoming Important Dates
-Parking for 11/11/23 Events
-Post-Secondary Planning for Juniors and Parents
-Athletic Booster Club Seeking Volunteers
-AP Honor Roll
-Notice Regarding Participation and Outstanding Fees
-Health Updates
Previous Topics
-Substance Use & Mental Health Resources Available to Families
-Attendance-Early Dismissal Procedures
-Morning Drop Off
-Attendance Information
-SchooLinks Information
-Spiritwear Sales
Upcoming Important Dates
-November 22-Non-Student Attendance
-November 23-Thanksgiving
-November 24-Non-Student Attendance
-December 18, 19, 20-Finals
-December 21-January 8-Winter Break
Parking for 11/11/23 Events
This Saturday, 11/11/23, there is a 1 PM quarterfinal football game and a 2 PM matinee production of Elf Jr. Due to the overlap of these events, there will be multiple options for parking. Below you will find details about parking and a map of parking options. Please allow yourself enough time to park and get to either event on time.
-The Performing Arts Center (PAC) parking lot/North parking lot will only be available for attendees of Elf Jr. This lot will not open until 1:20 PM.
-The Lower parking lot, the Knigge parking lot, the May Whitney parking lot, the St. Peter parking lot, and the Arlington Plastics parking lot are all available for football and Elf Jr. attendees.
In the top corner of this section you can find a map of where all the parking lots mentioned above are located. Have a wonderful day!
Post-Secondary Planning for Juniors and Parents From Mr. Krause
From Mr. Krause (College and Career Counselor)
I would really appreciate it if parents and students shared thoughts about the upcoming planning process. I am asking for your Hopes and Dreams regarding students’ future plans. Here is the short form with questions for both the students and parents. I hope you enjoy this chance to share your thoughts. I will be referencing these answers during the presentation. Thanks for participating!
On Tuesday night, November 14, I will give a presentation on post-secondary options for juniors and their parents. I will also speak a little about what colleges are looking for, a timeline of the process, personal traits, and some job outlook research. This presentation will be presented live but also recorded and livestreamed. We will be in the PAC at 7 pm. Here is the link to the livestream. https://livestream.com/accounts/23583809/events/11015038
I want to ensure that you get the information you want and need from this presentation, so please feel free to come with any questions you have. Some possible topics are testing, selective admission, financial fit, scholarships, letters of recommendation, and essay writing.
If you and your student would like to meet about college planning or would like help putting a list together, I would be happy to do so. All I would ask you to do is fill out a College Planning Worksheet.
I look forward to talking to you on Tuesday, November 14, and getting the opportunity to help your student with their post-secondary journey.
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.
AP Honor Roll For Lake Zurich High School
Lake Zurich High School is proud of this honor! Keep up the good work!
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