The Sequoit Weekly
Week of September 22nd
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Message From Mike
Last week was a fun filled week. Many events and activities provided an opportunity for students to enjoy a very special time in their high school careers. Whether it was the powder puff football game, the parade, the bonfire, fireworks or the pep rallies, the hope was that students made memories that will last a lifetime. We were 4 tickets short of 1000 tickets sold for the final event of the week, the ACHS 2024 Homecoming Dance. A fun time was had by all. Thank you to all that had a hand in making the events of the week truly memorable for the students and the community.
Mike
Important Upcoming Dates
The First Week and Beyond
Thursday, September 26th
- ALICE Drill, see information below
- Semester 1, Checkpoint 1 posted in Infinite Campus
Wednesday, October 2nd
- HonestGame District 117 parent/student webinar
Friday, October 11th
- Parent Teacher Conferences, Non-Attendance Day
Monday, October 14th
- Non-Attendance Day
Tuesday, October 29th
- ACHS Financial Aid Night 6:30pm-7:30pm, Auditorium
Tuesday, November 5th
- Non-Attendance Day
ALICE Drills (NEW)
This is the text of the email sent last week regarding emergency preparedness drills:
D117 Stakeholders,
The mission of Community High School District 117 is to provide a safe environment for all students, staff, and community members. As required by the Illinois School Safety Drill Act (105 ILCS 128/20), during each academic year, schools must conduct a law enforcement lockdown drill (ALICE) to address a VCI or Violent Critical Incident. The drill shall be no later than 90 days after the first day of each school year and address potential VCI scenarios in the school building.
Law enforcement lockdown drills must be conducted on days and times when students are normally present in the school building and must involve participation from all school personnel and students present at school. Administration and school support personnel have discretion and may exempt students from the ALICE drill. The appropriate local law enforcement agencies will observe the administration of the ALICE drill.
Parents and guardians have an opportunity to exempt their child for any reason from participating in ALICE drills. If you wish your student to be exempt from the ALICE drill, please have your student fill out this Google Form using a District 117 email address, (i.e. student account). Students who are exempt will be supervised during the drill and will be asked to report to locations listed below prior to the start of drills.
Students and parents with questions regarding the ALICE drills, can contact their students' Dean during regular school hours.
ALICE Drill Information
All ALICE drills are walk-through drills, with a focus on discussing situational awareness, options available to students and staff along with the principles of ALICE. Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.
Antioch High School information:
Date- Thursday, September 26th at 1:30 pm.
Exempt students will report to the Auditorium during 7th hour
D117 Expectations For Spectators (NEW)
For the safety and security of our Community High School District 117 students and staff, all spectators are required to comply with these protocols while visiting our facilities:
All D117 students will be admitted at no charge after presenting their Vanco ticket or scanning their Student ID
Any student without an ID must purchase a ticket for admission.
All middle school-aged and younger children must be accompanied by an adult attending the game. They are expected to watch the contest as a spectator in the seating areas.
The following items are prohibited from our stadiums during home games:
Outside Food or Drink
Backpacks or Large Bags
Coolers
Artificial Noisemakers
Footballs/Baseballs or other Throwing Implements
Bicycles
Scooters
Skateboards
Pets that are not Service Certified
No Re-Entry is permitted.
All D117 facilities are smoke / vape free environments.
Obscene, demeaning, or inappropriate cheers or taunts directed toward athletes, officials, or fans have no place in high school sports. Any spectator not displaying appropriate behavior will be asked to leave.
If you see any suspicious activity, please contact one of the police officers or administrators on duty as soon as possible. If you see something, say something!
ACHS Financial Aid Night on October 29 (REALLY NEW)
Success in school starts with strong attendance (NEW)
Attendance rate is the best predictor of on-time graduation for high school students. The best thing that families can do to support a student's academic success is to help the student be in school as often as possible. See the link below for tips on what you can do to support your student's attendance and additional info from AttendanceWorks.
Read more from the University of Chicago Consortium of Chicago School Research on supporting attendance here: https://consortium-pub.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/2019-02/8354whatmatters-parentfinal.pdf
Infinite Campus Tips (NEW)
Food Balances in IC
Negative food balances got you down? Set up recurring payments in Infinite Campus today!
Go to My Accounts on the right side of your desktop or the icon next to the cart in the mobile app
🍎Open Recurring Payments
🍎Click View
🍎Select Frequency, Start Date, End Date, Payment Amount, Payment Method
🍎If your Frequency = Low Balance, the minimum Low Balance Amount (what triggers the recurring payment) must be $10 or greater
🍎Enjoy the lack of panic at lunchtime!!!!
Soberano Named Newspaper Adviser Of The Year (NEW)
We are so pleased to announce that our very own, Madelynn Soberano, is the recipient of the Nancy Becker Newspaper Adviser of the Year Award from the Kettle Morraine Press Association (KEMPA). This organization supports scholastic journalism throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. Madelynn will be honored at the JEA Fall Conference and Awards Luncheon on October 17th in Whitewater. Way to go, Sobes!
Mock Interview Volunteers Needed (2nd Week)
Antioch Community High School is again hosting Mock Interviews for students in Personal Finance & Life Resource Management (LRM). Students have been exploring careers, resumes and the interview process. Mock Interviews provide the opportunity for them to make these concepts real.
Mock Interviews will take place on Thursday, Oct. 3. We need YOUR help to make the project a success - can you help us provide this real-world life experience? This process allows our students to be both college and career-ready.
Please SIGN UP HERE for the individual period(s) you are available. There will be approximately 165 students interviewing over the day. The specific schedule for volunteers is as follows:
Classes
Period 2 8:55-9:45 6 volunteers needed
Period 3 9:50-10:40 7 volunteers needed
Period 6 12:35-1:25 15 volunteers needed (2 classes)
Period 7 1:30-2:20 6 volunteers needed
Period 8 2:25-3:15 7 volunteers needed
In our current economic times, many companies are looking for ways to connect with potential employees. If your company would like to participate in this Mock Interview opportunity, please feel free to share this information. We are eager to partner with the community to provide real connections for our students and local businesses.
Further information including student expectations, potential interview questions and a rubric “scoring guide” will be provided to confirmed volunteers before the Mock Interviews.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact donna.corcoran@chsd117.org.
Sequoit Pride News (2nd Week)
A great way to help provide phenomenal experiences for the students of ACHS is to join our booster club, Sequoit Pride. In the past 2 years, Sequoit Pride has partially or fully funded over $100,000 in numerous experiences for our Sequoits. Students have traveled to journalism and film conferences in Boston and New York. Our Storytellers Series through our English Department is partially funded by Sequoit Pride. Our Back To School Bash was also funded by Sequoit Pride. Even our new mascot will be purchased by Sequoit Pride. There are so many experiences funded by Sequoit Pride to list and we would certainly be lost without their support.
Please consider joining. Sequoit Pride will be distributing membership bags and selling memberships Thursday and Friday for Homecoming, memberships can also be purchased online at Sequoit Pride Parent Booster Club. A $150 Superfan membership makes a big impact in how you can continue to help as well as items that are purchased from our school and stadium stores.
Thanks so much for your help and support!
Sequoit Pride Helped Buy 3D Printers
Sequoit Pride Helps Send Students to Journalism Conference
Sequoit Pride Helps Send Students to Model UN
HonestGame Webinar For Potential College Athletes! (2nd Week)
District 117's partner Honest Game is hosting a webinar for District 117 families and students on October 2nd to overview how student-athletes can use the Honest Game tool for awareness of eligibility for college athletics and for additional tools and resources to best represent themselves to potential college coaches and athletic program representatives.
Join us on October 2nd at 7pm via Zoom. See the flyer attached below for information and a QR code for registration or register directly by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Td6DfYNBR4uBKzeJcwkFKw#/registration
Service Dog notification (2nd Week)
A service dog supporting an ACHS student will be a familiar sight to our returning ACHS students but freshmen and other students new to ACHS may have questions. See the attached letter for information that we hope addresses those possible questions and contact Scott Leverentz, Assistant Principal for Student Services, at scott.leverentz@chsd117.org or 847-838-7767 with any additional questions.
Rotary Dinner and Auction, October 5th (3rd Week)
The Rotary's main fund-raising event, the Annual Dinner and Auction is right around the corner. The proceeds are used to support a variety of community organizations that assist residents in Antioch and our neighboring communities such as Lake Villa, and Lindenhurst. Over $20,000 is annually provided back into our communities. Here is some more information about the event and a QR code to order tickets.
STEAM Scholars Program (3rd Week)
The STEAM Scholar Program is an exciting educational opportunity launched by Congressman Brad Schneider in 2018 for high school students in our community. The program aims to connect highly-motivated students interested in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics with hands-on learning experiences throughout our district.
In the fall, students selected to participate in the STEAM Scholars program will have the opportunity to join Congressman Schneider on visits to four STEAM-related businesses and facilities during the 2024-2025 school year. On these visits, students will have the chance to participate in discussions with local employees, business owners, and educators, and learn more about the STEAM career opportunities in our backyard.
WHO CAN BE A STEAM SCHOLAR?
This program is open to all rising Sophomores and Juniors who live in or attend high schools located within Illinois’s Tenth Congressional District.
HOW DO I APPLY?
Applications are open now and the deadline to apply is September 30th.
- Expression of Interest - Why are you interested in the STEAM Scholar program and what do you hope to learn? (max. 250 words)
- Essay - What is a challenge facing youth that merits greater public attention? (max. 500 words)
- Resume - including a list of activities, accomplishments, and awards
- Letter of Recommendation - from a teacher or a mentor (if your teacher or mentor prefers to send the letter directly to our district office, please have them email the letter to Ari.Botbol@mail.house.gov and/or fax to our district office at 847-793-0677). If your teacher is sending a recommendation directly to Ari (ari.botbol@mail.house.gov)– please upload a word document or PDF stating your letter of recommendation will be sent directly to the district office.
- Signed Parental Authorization Form - parental consent and photo authorization. Please print, have a parent or guardian complete this form, and create a digital copy by scanning a PDF or taking a picture.
The link to the application is here: https://schneider.house.gov/students/STEAM-scholars
Please reach out with any questions, and feel free to give my contact information to any students who may be interested
Health Guidance for Going to School (NEW)
Unsure if your student is too sick to go to school? Save and reference the handout below!
See a Spanish version here.
Pics From Around Campus
A Full House On Thursday
Boys Soccer at the Pep Rally
Bonfire
Basketball Relays At The Pep Assembly
Soaring High At The Basketball Relays
Dance Team Performs
Useful Links and Documents
Important Phone Numbers
Main Office:
847-395-1421
Attendance:
847-838-7187
Dean's Office:
847-838-7626
Nurses Office:
847-395-9176 (phone)
847-701-4828 (fax)
Student Services:
847-838-7762
College & Career Center:
847-838-7763