LZHS Principal's Newsletter
December 20, 2023
Principal's Message
Good afternoon and happy Wednesday!!! The semester has really went by fast. There were so many exciting events and opportunities this semester. Lake Zurich High School excelled in so many ways this past semester and continued to excel during our finals week! Way to go LZHS students!!! Please take the next two weeks to rest, relax, and enjoy the holiday season! Enjoy time with family and friends. We will see everyone back on January 9, 2024.
New Topics
-Upcoming Important Dates
-Changes to Office Hours and Resource Spaces
-Informational Night for 2024/2025 LZHS Students
-Horizon Testing
-PTO Fundraiser
-School Resource Officer (SRO) Information
Previous Topics
-Prescription Drug Drop Box
-Health Office Logs
-Snowpant and Boot Collection Extended
-Athletic Booster Club Seeking Volunteers
-Notice Regarding Participation and Outstanding Fees
-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 21-January 8-Winter Break
-January 9-Return to School
-January 11-Horizon Testing for 9th and 10th graders
-January 11-Asynchronous Learning for 11th and 12th graders
-January 15-Martin Luther King Jr. Day (District Closed)
-January 18-Informational Night for 2024/2025 LZHS Students
Changes to Office Hours and Resource Rooms for Second Semester
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!
Both the Literacy and Math/Science Resource Rooms will be moved to Studio C for second semester. There will be signs posted on the old resource rooms pointing students to the new rooms.
Informational Night For 2024/2024 LZHS Students
On January 18, 2024 at 7PM we will be hosting an informational night on course selections for the 2024-2025 school year. With the Accelerated Placement Act, placement is based upon a students standardized scores. This is a change from past practice. Families will decide what courses their child should enroll in. Teachers and counselors are available to give feedback to families, but the decision will rest with families. The informational night on January 18th will give more information and give parents an opportunity to ask questions. This night will also be live streamed. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Horizon Testing on January 11, 2024
On January 11, 2024 all 9th and 10th graders will be taking the PSAT 8/9 or the PSAT 10 through the Horizon platform. 11th and 12th graders do not need to report that day. This is a full day of school. Students will attend Horizon testing 1st through 4th period and then attend the rest of their courses.
January 11th is a full day of school for 9th and 10th graders. They will test in the morning and go to classes in the afternoon. Please ensure that your child is in school all day long.
PTO Fundraisers
The LZHS PTO has created monthly opportunities to raise money by working with restaurants to receive a percentage of the profits at the restaurants below on a specific date. Below are the dates and restaurants. I will also send out reminders the day of the event. Thank you to LZHS PTO!!!
1/9/24-MOD Pizza
2/6/24-Chipotle
3/7/24-Panera
4/18/24-Noodles
5/20/24-Flavor It
School Resource Officer Update
Our School Resource Officer (SRO) Angie Lonski will be starting a leave, effective after winter break, to prepare for a new addition to her family! While she is on light duty and maternity leave, Detective Mark Frey will be supporting our school community. Please join me in welcoming Detective Frey back to LZHS, as he covers the leave.
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.
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