LZHS Principal's Newsletter

Good afternoon!!! I hope this week's newsletter finds you doing well. Tonight we have our homecoming game and distinguished alumni event!!! We are excited to see all our alumni coming back to see Lake Zurich High School. They are now coming back to a National Blue Ribbon Award winning school!!! Way to go staff, students, parents/guardians, and the entire Lake Zurich High School community! This is such a great honor and I'm so lucky to be a part of this school.

New Topics

• ACT Informational Night
• PSAT/NMSQT Assessment
• Mini-Portfolio Day
• Important Health Information
• Sip 'n Chat
• School Visitation Rights Act Notification
• Red Ribbon Campaign
• Family Resource Center (FRC)
• PhilanthroPrint Information

Old Topics

• National Merit Scholarship Commendable Students and Semifinalists
• Math Tutoring In Studio C/MST
  

• Lake Zurich High School Spirit wear

• LZHS Attendance FAQs
• Lake Zurich High School Football Game Procedures Update
  
• Athletic Booster Volunteer Survey
• Booster Membership Passes
• Student Celebrations Outside Lake Zurich High School

10/5-Homecoming Dance

10/8-ACT Informational Night

10/10-Picture Retake Day

10/14-Indigenous People's Day-No School

10/21-PTO Meeting @7PM

10/23-PSAT/NMSQT for all 11th Graders

11/4-Teacher Professional Workday-No School

11/5-Election Day-No School

On October 23rd all 11th grade students will be taking the PSAT/NMSQT at school. There will be a special schedule for them that day. Be on the look out for more information specific to this day.

The Art + Design Department is excited to announce that we will be hosting our annual Mini Portfolio Day event on Wednesday, October 9th. This annual event will provide approximately 50-75 students from the North Suburban Conference and beyond, the opportunity to learn about future educational opportunities that can ultimately lead to creative careers. Participating students create a unique schedule for the day that allows them to engage in valuable portfolio reviews and participate in informational presentations from 25-30 of the nation’s top Art + Design schools or Universities with strong Art + Design programs. This event often marks a key moment in these students' lives as they begin to make important decisions about their educational futures. The information students receive and the connections they make at this event often lead to potential scholarship opportunities and future college admissions.

As we head into the cold and flu season, we wanted to share some helpful tips for staying healthy and ways to help decrease the spread of germs:

• Kids should stay hydrated and eat breakfast (either at home or at school)

• Kids should get plenty of sleep and be well rested for the school day

• Kids should wash hands on a regular basis before and after eating, when they are dirty, or after sneezing/blowing their nose

• Remind kids to cover coughs and sneezes with tissue or an elbow

As a reminder, students with a fever of 100.4 or higher, vomiting, diarrhea, or other significant symptoms (i.e., persistent cough, body aches) should be kept home from school. Additionally, please see the notes below:

• Students must be free from fever, vomiting, and diarrhea symptoms without the use of medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school

• For students with an illness that requires antibiotics (such as strep throat), students must be on antibiotics for at least 24 hours before returning to school

Thank you for your partnership as we all work together to decrease the spread of illness in school!

This year, in conjunction with the District 95 Board of Education and administration, the Superintendent has started a new initiative called “Sip ‘n Chat” where up to two Board members, one or more administrators, and Dr. Gallt will be available at various locations in the community for people to drop in for conversations relating to our school district. Key administrators will also be on hand as subject matter experts in particular areas, but discussions are not restricted to only that topic. The hope is to have room for up to 20-25 people at one time, though it is also fine to come and go – please consider stopping by for a cup of coffee and a chat! The next Sip ‘n Chat dates are listed below:

October 16, 2024

Life Time LifeCafe, 400 N. Rand Rd, Lake Zurich

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Subject Matter Experts: Technology, Communications

November 13, 2024

District 95 Young Adult Center, 315 Surryse Road, Lake Zurich

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Subject Matter Experts: College and Career

December 9, 2024

First Watch, 20505 N Rand Rd, Kildeer

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Subject Matter Experts: Supporting Student Needs

In advance of Parent-Teacher Conferences, we want to take a moment to provide information to parents/guardians regarding their rights to participate in school-related meetings for their students - as we believe home-school partnerships are critical to student success.

The School Visitation Rights Act permits employed parents/guardians who are unable to meet with educators because of a work conflict the right to time off from work to attend necessary educational conferences at their child’s school. The full act can be found HERE; please inquire with your employer if you have questions about your eligibility to access time off for conferences.

Red Ribbon Week is a national drug awareness campaign that started in 1988, and that continues on today. The Red Ribbon is a symbol to show that ribbon by ribbon, neighbor by neighbor, we are united in our stand for drug-free youth and communities. With more than 100,000 schools and organizations taking part, Red Ribbon Week is the largest anti-drug awareness event in the United States.

In District 95, we plan to celebrate Red Ribbon Week October 21st through October 25th with a variety of activities designed to teach the importance of making healthy choices. Families can click HERE to learn more about the Red Ribbon Campaign and activities for the week across all levels. For families with students in grades 6 through 12, information about a poster design contest can be found HERE.

Thank you for all your support and partnership on this important topic!

The district is working to build its resource library for families in several high-interest areas. Over the summer and early this fall, the resource center has been expanded to include more topics - such as safety topics and resilience-building resources. This center will also serve as a “hub” where families can find recordings and presentation materials from family workshops.

In order to access the Family Resource Center from the district website, families can select the “Parents” tab - followed by the “Family Resource Center” tab (they can also directly access the center by following the link HERE). Be on the lookout for future communications when we add more resources to the FRC!

It is with my pleasure to introduce to you a Lake Zurich student-led, startup business, founded in our INCubator program: PhilanthroPrint! This business designs 3D printed keychains that students can wear on their lanyard or backpack. Furthermore, each of these keychains are tied directly to a ‘cause’. The company takes a percentage of the proceeds from that particular design, and donates toward a charity that supports the ‘cause’. We are happy to announce that PhilanthroPrint will be selling their keychains at our next two home football games. They will be showcasing their new designs of a LZ Football Jersey & Bear Claw, which will be available for pre-order and customization. Additionally, they will have other products, such as a Pink Ribbon for breast cancer awareness. PhilanthroPrint will take 50% of all their profits from these two games and donate them to the Best Buddies Program. Come support your Bear’s while supporting an excellent cause. We look forward to seeing you this Friday at Mel-Eide field.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2025 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2025 competition by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their education opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”

Below are the Lake Zurich High School Seniors who are Commended Students:

The students below will continue in the competition for 2025 National Merit Scholarships awards. Our semifinalists are:

Aarushi Bhagath

Leo Michels

Shireen Singh

Jeanne Yu

Everyday there is math tutoring available in Studio C/MST until 5PM. If you are in need of math support please utilize our tutoring. We would love to see you!

Have you seen our new line of student-approved LZHS Spiritwear? Check out our new designs, sports signs/decals, and save some money in the Clearance section! Show your Bear Pride!! Pick-up on Fridays in the cafeteria at lunch.

https://lake-zurich-high-school-bear-booster-club.square.site/

Attendance is key for academic success in school. Regular attendance can help build good habits as students mature and get ready for life after high school. Additionally, regular attendance has been shown over and over to be one of the biggest indicators for student success. Please click here to access an FAQ document about LZHS attendance practices.

As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, we have updated our procedures for LZHS Football games, effective for the 24-25 season. Please see the article HERE for more detailed information about bag procedures on gameday.

If you are interested in volunteering with the LZHS Athletic Boosters please fill out the survey below.

2024-2025 Athletic Booster Volunteer Survey

Please click on the link below to purchase LZHS Athletic Booster membership passes which allow families entry into contests for the 2024-2025 school year.

https://gofan.co/event/1541036?schoolId=IL15549_2

We would like to highlight Lake Zurich High School student experiences that happen outside of Lake Zurich High School. If a student has an experience outside of Lake Zurich High School and you would like us to highlight it in a future newsletter please write a brief description of the experience. You can do that by filling out this google form. Thanks and if you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to John Walsh.