February 21, 2025

Hello Mustangs!

This week’s MHS Winter Assembly was a fantastic showcase of school spirit! The event featured performances from the Jazz Ensemble, Winter Guard, and Dance Team, along with appearances from winter athletic teams and activity participants.

Students and staff also faced off in fun, competitive games. A highlight of the assembly was mattress surfing. Have you ever seen a High School Principal mattress surfing? Be sure to check out the video below and catch more exciting videos and pictures on our Facebook page.

In other exciting news, we’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Corey Tafoya as the next superintendent for School Districts 75 and 120. Currently serving as superintendent in Harvard, IL, Dr. Tafoya will officially begin in Mundelein on July 1. Visit our website to learn more about him!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dr. Alexandria Taylor

Principal

Mundelein High School

847-949-2200

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

SENIORS! Don’t miss out! Place your cap and gown order by February 28th.

👉 Order online at Herff Jones or call 815-756-4743. After February 28th, please visit Mrs. Lendino in the Principal's Office for assistance.

For more details on graduation and to download a helpful checklist, click here.

Feb 22 - Winter Turnabout Dance CANCELLED

Feb 27-Mar 2 - CSMS Musical

Mar 6 - Winter Choral Concert

Mar 8 - Jazz Invitational

Mar 14 - Late Start

Mar 18-19 - Spring STAR Testing

Mar 24-28 - Spring Break - NO SCHOOL

Text courtesy of BlackHistoryMonth.Gov and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Image Courtesy of Inc Magazine: https://www.inc.com/ava-mandoli/top-10-wealthiest-black-entrepreneurs-us-how-made-their-fortunes.html

School Boards from both Mundelein School Districts 75 and 120 on Tuesday named Dr. Corey Tafoya as the next superintendent to lead within its shared services model.

Tafoya, currently the Superintendent of Harvard Community Unit School District 50, will take over the leadership of retiring Mundelein Superintendent Dr. Kevin Myers beginning on July 1.

The decision to hire Tafoya was finalized in a unanimous vote Tuesday evening during a special joint meeting of school boards from the two districts.

“We’re thrilled,” said Mundelein High School District 120 Board President Peter Rastrelli. “The more we got to know him, the more we realized he was the one. There’s something very approachable and very outcome-focused with him, but with a balanced approach.”

“Corey will fit into our districts seamlessly,” said Mundelein Elementary School District 75 Board President Kristie Fingerhut. “We have the right person for the job.”

Tafoya has served as District 50 superintendent since July 2017. Prior to that he was assistant superintendent at Community High School District 155 in Crystal Lake for three years. He served as the Woodstock High School principal from 2005 to 2014.

Tafoya, who is bilingual (Spanish), said he was excited to find a pair of school districts that reflected his own values.

Click here to read more.

Our students packed the gym on Wednesday and showed their Mustang spirit with a traditional cheer during our Winter Assembly. The assembly featured winter athletic teams and activities participants, our Jazz Ensemble, our Winter Guard, and our Dance Team. We also held some games with fierce competition between students and staff. We’re happy to report that Mustang spirit is alive and well.

Our staff topped the students in a wild game of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, during the MHS Winter Assembly on February 19.

The students beat the staff in the Tricycle Relay Race during the MHS Winter Assembly on February 19.

Click here to see all the action on our Facebook page.

Another fantastic weekend for Sound, Reverb and Noise! Reverb placed 1st Runner-Up in the prep division, Noise was 1st Runner-Up for Best Band, and Sound was 4th Runner-Up overall!

Always an amazing experience for our students to get to perform in the beautiful Adler Theatre, and they truly rose to the occasion!

This past weekend was a successful weekend for many of our Mundelein Athletic Programs, athletes and coaches. I wanted to send a quick note so you as a staff can congratulate our Coaches and Student Athletes for their success over the weekend.

• Lexi Ede was the IHSA Sectional Champion in both the Vault and Balance Beam and placed 5th in the All Around and will be going to the IHSA State Meet this weekend.
• Our coaching staff is Daniella Strauss (HC), Riley Finnegan and Noe Alcantar.

• Ethan Banda 144 lbs. and Abisai Hernandez 285 lbs. both qualified for the IHSA State Wrestling Meet (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) in Champaign Illinois and Christian Saucedo at 106 lbs. is an alternate.
• Our Coaching staff is Craig Stocker (HC), Brandon Dart, Dave Durlacher, Tony Carlsen, Dane Durlacher, Jesse Goldufsky, Jason Guadarrama.

• Our Coaching staff consists of Vanessa Prorok (HC) and Wendy Inman, Shannon Franklin and Nick Geaslin.

• Jazz 17th place (Nationals)
• Our Coaching staff is Maya Gold (HC) Shannon Flynn and Samantha Farmer

Boys Basketball hosted Lake Forest on Friday night and recognized their seniors but also saw Evan Salvador join the 1000 point scorer ranks at MHS.

• Evan Salvador scored his 1000th point on Friday night. Not an easy accomplishment.

The 25/26 Early Registration Fee item has been added to the PowerSchool fee accounts for the Class of 2026, 2027, and 2028. If you choose to pay the Registration Fee by May 1st, 2025, you will receive the $25 discount currently applied in PowerSchool.

Starting May 2nd, the discount will be removed and the regular Registration Fee of $275 will be listed. Please know that all prior Registration and Course fees must be paid off before paying the Early Registration item.

If you have any questions, please reach out to KC Olson in the MHS Payment Center at kolson@d120.org.

Save the date. More info coming soon.

Save the date. More info coming soon.

Save the date. More info coming soon.

Classes begin at 9:40am.

Buses will run one hour later than usual.

Click here for late start schedule.

Entries are now being accepted for the Mundelein Coexist Club 3rd Annual Lip Sync Battle. There is no entry fee. Please contact Mrs Kolcz at lkolcz@d120.org for more information.

We are proud to host visitors to learn more about our programming and facilities. In order to minimize the impact on the educational environment, we have chosen to host visitors on select days throughout the school year.

Therefore, to secure a visitation time, please select from the following options so we are able to provide the necessary information and personnel during your visit.

Our next tour is on April 24th at 4:30pm. Click here to register.

Senior yard signs are now available for $15 each! Each sign comes with yard stakes. All proceeds to benefit the MHS Student Support Fund!

Your student may pick up from the main office at the end of the school day. Please note, we don’t want students walking around the building with the yard stakes for the sign, so please encourage them to specifically pick up after classes. Alternatively, you may stop by the high school during school hours to pick up the sign.

Seniors, it’s time to order the Official Personalized Graduation Announcements!

The announcement will feature the custom foil school crest, the official commencement text, and the School Etching where available.

Orders will ship directly to your home. Order online now at HighSchool.HerffJones.com

The CCRC offers assistance with all aspects of the college application process:

• Narrowing down college choices
• Working through applications
• Checking essays
• Discussing financial concerns and scholarships
• Talking about standardized tests
• Working with potential college athletes
• Discussing military options
• Helping students connect with people at university

Click here to learn more.

Many scholarship opportunities for Mundelein High School Seniors are now open! Ms. Bogseth sends out weekly emails with a list of scholarships but all of the MHS specific scholarships as well as community scholarships are posted in SchooLinks.

Seniors- in your SchooLinks account, click on “Finances” and then “Scholarship Match”. Scholarships posted by Ms. Bogseth will be under the “District-Posted” tab.

Experiential Education describes all opportunities offered to students to give them a chance to explore the world of careers and professions. These include classes like Dual Credit Student Internship, Business INCubator, and Geometry in Construction as well as career treks and featured guest speakers.

When MHS senior and intern Camryn Sheehan takes off for Dublin to study humanities this fall, she’ll be taking with her a wealth of experience in an industry completely unrelated to her major--manufacturing.

Luck figures prominently in Irish folklore, and it seems to have had a hand in her placement with mentor Jim LaCroix, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Larsen Manufacturing, a steel fabrication company located right here in Mundelein. I had originally reached out to Jim to place two engineering interns at Larsen, but the conversation took a turn when he shared a need of his own that needed some fresh talent. “I could really use someone who can make manufacturing exciting to teenagers,” he shared. Camryn immediately came to mind--she is an esteemed part of our media and broadcasting courses. Students see her work each week during the Friday Focus segments shown in place of announcements.

At the moment, Camryn is working on creating a series of video segments promoting Larsen Manufacturing to teenagers. “Her first few weeks were spent walking around our facilities and seeing the different parts that make the company function as a whole,” shared Jim. “We have a global market, so there’s a lot for her to understand.”

Camryn’s task is quite impressive and, in order to execute it, she’s sharpening up her critical thinking skills in order to see the project from start to finish. “I’m interviewing current employees who are also Mundelein High School graduates to document their career stories,” she stated. “From there, I need to film B-roll footage of their day-to-day activities,” she added.

The most interesting part of her experience so far? “It’s the lasers,” she smiled. “All the technology is fascinating, but the lasers are by far the most impressive.”

“In the end, I’ll have one shorter ‘hype’ video and a longer news story-ish video that explains manufacturing careers in greater detail, as well as a slide presentation, and a promotional brochure.” Her confidence in her ability and the trust that she’s placed in her mentor for guidance were impressive.

If Jim LaCroix was looking for someone to capture the appeal of manufacturing careers to high-schoolers, Camryn Sheehan is indeed the perfect intern to bring make this project a reality. He even trusted her with selecting the promotional merch the company will use at upcoming events--see the photo below for the items she chose!

In the end, I think everyone lucked out with this experience… especially those who will see Camryn’s work.

“I know that Camry’s work will make this industry exciting to her peers,” stated Jim, a longtime supporter of our experiential education programming. “Her take on our company will definitely shift people’s perspectives of manufacturing.”

If you’re interested in learning more about our Dual Credit Student Internship course or any of our Experiential Education programs, contact Alexander Kapotas at akapotas@d120.org or at (847) 949-2200 x1092.

Check out this promo video that captures the spirit of the experiential education program here at Mundelein High School. Your epic future awaits, Mustangs!

Peer/AP Tutors has updated the link to the Advanced Placement web page where students can access videos that detail nearly two dozen AP courses offered at MHS. We are grateful to senior Sophie Hammer who taped and edited every video, and the cast of seniors and juniors who provided insights behind selecting advanced placement courses.

The link can be found on the Literacy Center and Peer/AP Tutors website.

Athletics events week of 2/24/2025

Winter Athletic Department Newsletter

PreVenture is a mental health program that screens students for personality related risk factors that may indicate increased risk for future participation in high-risk behaviors, including using drugs and alcohol. This does not evaluate for current high-risk behaviors, rather this is a preventative program to support the development of coping skills and self regulation strategies.

Omni utilizes the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) to screen students for eligibility. To learn more about PreVenture, click below.

English/Spanish

Quest is proud to be your dining partner and we are committed to providing the best experience possible to every student, including nutritious food, a wide variety of choices, and a seamless dining experience. We wanted to share a few important reminders about the dining program and we welcome your questions and feedback. Click here for more information.

New Year, New Look! Elevate Your Mustang Pride! Exciting news! We've expanded our spirit wear lineup with premium brands Under Armour and Champion at Mymustangnation.com.

Customize your gear with official school logos using our state-of-the-art DigiSoft printing for a smoother feel. Shop online 24/7 or see our printed merch at Mundelein High School. Visit us at mymustangnation.com or linked through the d120.org website.

Our MHS Portrait of a Learner tenets affirm student identity through schoolwide values, expectations and practices.

English | Spanish

We have had a number of vehicles park in our student lots without parking permits. We want to ensure a smooth start to everyone's day, so please note:

1. Parking Permits Required: All students must have a valid parking permit to use our student lots.
2. Legal Spots Only: Please park only in designated legal parking spots.
3. Consequences: Vehicles without permits or parked illegally will be stickered and towed at the owner’s expense. No exceptions!

Let's work together to keep our parking areas organized and accessible for all!

We are excited to announce that our parent calendar has gone electronic. The MHS 2nd Semester calendar is now online in both Flipbook and PDF downloadable format.

A big thank you to Kameal Myrie, Class of 2025, who designed this semester's calendar! Very nice job! You can see more of Kameal's work at www.artisticallymira.com.

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, leave early or arrive late, please submit the attendance via the monitor application within Power School in lieu of calling the attendance line and leaving a voicemail.

Please log on to the Power School parent portal at the MHS website https://www.d120.org/ to record your student’s attendance.

Attached you will find instructions on how to submit your students attendance.

Power School Attendance Instructions

Guardians will be receiving an email with your parent Power School log in instructions if needed.

If you need further support please call 847-949-2200.

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 Bus Bulletin (Find Mundelein Area Schools when prompted for a district) *Note - This is managed by Lakeside Bus Company and not MHS.

Although we take great pride in a dress code that encourages self-expression, we do want to remind students of our student dress code policy as found in our student handbook.

• Clothing must cover all undergarments (waistbands and straps excluded).

• Fabric covering all private parts must not be seen through.

• Clothing that depicts, advertises or advocates the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other controlled substances is prohibited.

• Clothing that depicts pornography, nudity or sexual acts is prohibited.

With the increased enrollment in recent years, we have been unable to provide a locker for every student at MHS. Since many students do not use a locker, we are assigning lockers to students upon request. Click below to request your locker!

Sign up for a Guardian SchooLinks Account! Be a part of your student’s college and career exploration. Understand more about the benefits of a Guardian Account with this video. If you need assistance creating your Guardian Account, email akroll@d120.org with your student’s name and ID number. A claim code and directions will be provided in response.

• Principal's Blog Archive
• District Developments Newsletter
• The Mustang Newpaper

Website: www.d120.org

Location: 1359 West Hawley Street, Mundelein, IL, USA

Phone: 847-949-2200