April 18, 2025

Good Afternoon Mustangs!

Welcome to this week's edition of the Principal's Blog! We still have a lot going on, right through the end of the year. Make sure you don't miss a beat. This blog contains information some of our most asked questions.

• Registration deadlines - Did you know that registration is required for every student, every year?
• Summer school - Can you still get in, yes.
• Parking Allocation for 2025-2026 - It will be a little different this coming year.

SENIORS! Prom and graduation are just weeks away. Make sure these items are on your to-do list:

• Order your Class of 2025 Sign – Pick up in Main Office
• Order your College Yard Sign – Pick up on May 15th
• Graduation Rehearsal Video – To be released on May 5th
• Make sure we have the right pronunciation of your name.
• Honors Medal and Tassels - May 9th - 13th
• Cap and Gown Pick-up Day – May 15th
• Graduation - May 18th

We've had several questions about Graduation tickets. Seniors can pick up ther tickets at Cap and Gown Pick-up Day on May 15th. Each student will receive 15 tickets. Tickets are required for ages 2 and up. If you have additional questions, please email Mrs. Lendino at vlendino@d120.org.

Hvae a great 3-day weekend, Mustangs!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dr. Alexandria Taylor

Principal

Mundelein High School

847-949-2200

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

Now - May 1 - Early Bird Registration - All students must register every year.

Now - May 25 - Summer School Registration

Now - May 5 - 2025-2026 Parking Permit Allocation

Now - Apr 30 - MHS Book Club Book Drive

Now - Apr 23 - Reuse a Shoe Program

Apr 21-24 - Hope Week

Apr 23 - MHS Facilites Improvement Project Groundbreaking

Apr 24-25 - Mundelein All Area Art Show

Apr 24-26 - MHS Musical - Something Rotten

Apr 24 - Careers in Veteranry Medicine - CCRC Period 6

Apr 24 - Building Tour

Apr 29 - Night of Percussion

May 2 - Prom

Register by May 1st, 2025, to receive your $25 discount!

The 25/26 Early Registration Fee item has been added to the PowerSchool fee accounts for the Class of 2026, 2027, and 2028.

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.

Registration for summer school 2025 is now open!

Please visit the following link to register your student for summer school: https://mundelein.revtrak.net/rw-summer-programs/

PLEASE NOTE: If your student indicated interest in a summer school class during their course selection, they are not yet registered. You must follow the registration process in order to secure a spot.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING DRIVERS EDUCATION: Due to the limited number of seats in this course, students are selected for placement based on a lottery. If you indicated interest in drivers education during course selection, you are in the lottery. You will receive additional information regarding your lottery placement later this week. If you are not sure if you're in the lottery, or want your name added to the lottery, please email Yuli Cordova: ycordova@d120.org.

For more information regarding summer school, including course offerings and registration processes, please visit: https://www.d120.org/academics/summer-programs/summer-school/

Stress is something we all face, but how we experience it can vary greatly. While there's no one-size-fits-all definition, it's most often described as a state of physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.

The MHS Wellness Center team is proud to share Mental Health Must-Haves for Mundelein Mustangs, a resource packet filled with tips and tricks to manage emotions and stress, regulate thoughts and anger, improve self-love and self-confidence, increase executive functioning, and enhance overall self-care. Be sure to also check out this month's self-care checklist, newsletter and list of helpful workshops.

April Self-Care Checklist

April Newsletter

April Workshops

Hope Squad

"One of the best things to help prevent and fight loneliness is to get out of your comfort zone by forcing yourself to meet people. Sometimes meeting new people can seem overwhelming, but with time and if you are your authentic self, you will eventually meet others who share similar interests and mindsets. Ways to meet like-minded people include joining a gym, a class such as cooking or art, participating in church groups, or outdoor activities such as running clubs, ski clubs, or participating in races. In addition, it is essential to surround yourself with people who help you grow, as surrounding yourself with those who pull you down can be detrimental to your stress levels and mental health."

Lonliness and Stress image and text courtesy of: AKUA Mind Body

Click here for the Washington Elementary Visit Scrapbook

Spring Signing Day took place Wednesday, April 17th. Congratulations to the following student-athletes!

The Environmental Club is collecting used footwear in collaboration with SWALCO’s Reuse a Shoe program. Starting today, there will be a big red bin outside the main office to collect any shoes you may be getting rid of. Save space in your closet and the landfills and recycle your old shoes!

Here are some guidelines from SWALCO:

Accepted:

• Dress Shoes, Casual Shoes, Work Shoes, Sandals, Athletic Shoes, Slippers, Crocs, Slip-ons, Boots, Cleats and Light-up shoes
• All sizes (adult, children's, and baby’s)
• All brands
• Any shoes with stains or holes will be accepted

Not accepted:

• Ice Skates
• Roller Blades
• Snow Boots
• Moldy or wet shoes
• Shoes that are so badly damaged, that they are in pieces or have no soles/bottoms

The red bin will be out through the end of the school day on Wednesday 4/23. It is helpful if you tie the laces together for paired laced shoes, the Environmental Club will sort and bind the remaining shoes at the end of the collection.

Thank you from the Environmental Club!

Drop off books at the Media Center.

The application period for the 2025-2026 MHS Parking Permit Allocation will open on Monday, April 14th, at 8:00 a.m. and close on Monday, May 5th, at 11:59 p.m. The online parking allocation sign-up will be available for three weeks, and students may apply at any time within this period.

Please note: Late applications will not be accepted.

Allocation Selection & Payment Information

• Previous year’s attendance will impact priority.
• Following attendance-based priority, seniors will be prioritized over juniors.
• Selected applicants will be notified via email by Thursday, May 8th, at 3:00 p.m.
• The parking permit fee will be added to the student's PowerSchool Student Fee Account, and payment must be completed by Wednesday, August 7th, at 10:00 a.m.
• Failure to submit payment by the deadline will result in forfeiture of the permit.

2025-2026 Parking Permit Options & Fees

• Full-Year Permit: $250 (Non-refundable)
• Single-Semester Permit: $145 (Non-refundable)

Students who plan to park on campus for the entire school year are strongly encouraged to apply for a full-year permit, as no additional allocations will be held during the school year.

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for a parking permit, students must:
✅ Be a Senior or Junior during the 2025-2026 school year (Sophomores are not eligible)
✅ Be in good academic standing
✅ Maintain a good attendance record

✅ Have no out of school suspensions

✅ Have no or limited parking violations while at MHS
✅ Possess a valid driver’s license*
✅ Own or have access to a vehicle
✅ Provide proof of valid vehicle registration and insurance

*Students who anticipate receiving their driver’s license after the registration deadline may still apply. If selected, the permit will be held until the student obtains a valid driver’s license.

Important Reminders

🚗 A valid parking permit is required to park in the school’s student lots.
🚗 Vehicles without a permit will be stickered and towed—no exceptions.
🚗 Only park in designated, legal parking spaces. Illegally parked vehicles will be stickered and towed.

For additional details, please refer to the Mundelein High School website: https://www.d120.org/activities/on-campus-parking-security/.

Themes, activites and prizes!

Green Week: hosted by Environmental Club. Join us for a variety of activities this week to practice sustainable living. Also, don't forget to recycle your old shoes by Wednesday, April 23.

La sesión de abril de la Universidad para Padres se llevará a cabo el 21 de abril en la cafetería de la escuela, de 18:00 a 20:00 h. Para más información, comuníquese con Fred Kliora al 847-949-2200 ext. 1410 o con Joanna Rodríguez al 847-949-2200 ext. 1260.

Celebrating our D120 School Administrative Professionals!

Sign up in SchooLinks.

Join us on April 23rd at 4:00pm for the MHS Facilities Improvement Project Groundbreaking

MHS Theatre presents, "Something Rotten"

Two brothers set out to write the world's first musical in this hilarious mash-up of sixteenth-centry Shakespeare and twenty-first-century Broadway. Click here to view program.

Music and Lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick
Directed by Jonathan Meier

Dates

April 24, 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m.
April 26 at 2 p.m.

Tickets (on sale soon)

$15 for adults

$10 for seniors (65+)

$8 for students/children

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.

Night of Percussion features all of our Percussion students in small and large ensembles 9-12. It is full of energy and allows all of our percussion students the opportunity to be featured in a smaller setting, out from behind the band!

ENTER Special Schedule

The annual Evening of Jazz will take place on Friday, May 16th. This evening is a fun evening featuring music, a silent auction, and a live auction.

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.

Order your college yard sign. Signs will be available for pickup on May 15th at Senior Drop Off/Pick Up Day.

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.

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 4/21/2025

2025 Spring Athletic Department Newsletter

Submitted by Coach Rosales

Submitted by Coach Gold

Come try out for the dance team!

Submitted by Coach Stocker

As the weather warms up, it’s time to get outside and get your yard ready for the summer. Our annual Mulch Fundraiser will be on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27 from 8am-4pm (weather permitting). This year, we will be hosting the fundraiser out of the MHS parking lot. Bags are $4 each. The attached flier has more info. I love this fundraiser because every dollar the kids raise, they must physically earn. It’s a long two days of manual labor, which I believe is good for them.

Here’s the best part, we can also deliver and spread it for you! No yard is too small or large for us to complete. Email me (don’t reply all), if you would like to place an order.

Not sure if you want to order yet, that’s ok. Feel free to just drive by and pick up what you need on the day of, we will have extra bags available. I have attached our flier with more info.

If it's not too much trouble I would love for you to help us get the word out. Please share our flier on your neighborhood Facebook groups and any other social media platforms. Please reach out if you have any questions. Thanks for your support.

Submitted by Coach Willis

It was a strong week for our boys volleyball program, with all three levels finding success on the court—including a clean sweep in our first conference matchup! Varsity, JV, Frosh/Soph and Freshman all came away with wins in our conference opener against Zion which was a great way to kick off conference play. The energy across all teams was electric.

Despite being short-handed, the JV team showed grit and determination as they battled through the Grayslake Tournament. They secured wins against Waukegan, Grant, and host Grayslake Central to claim a well-earned third-place finish. Great teamwork and resilience were on full display! Our Frosh/Soph team also had a strong showing at the Lake Forest Invitational, finishing with a 3-2 record and bringing home third place. The team continues to grow each week, showing promise and competitive spirit in every match.

This week brings a busy stretch with all teams playing our second conference match against Stevenson at home on Tuesday. Then all teams hit the road for a couple of non-conference games making it three matches in three days. Wednesday we travel to Round Lake and Thursday we head to Wheeling. While Varsity hosts a Quad at home on Saturday, all underlevels will hit the road again for tournament play.

We’re proud of all our players for their hard work and dedication. Let’s keep the momentum going—good luck to all teams this week!

Submitted by Coach Rutz

Boys’ Track competed in their first two outdoor meets of the year over the last week. On Saturday we competed in the Schaumburg Invite against a quality field. Top performances at the F/S level were in the 1600, as freshmen Erick Cordova and Nathan Sweet went 1-2, with very strong times of 4:39/4:43, both among the top times in the State for freshmen.

At the Varsity level, top individual performer was junior Nathan McCreight in the 800m. Nathan took 2nd overall with a time of 1:59.43, the first time Nathan has broken 2 minutes. Nathan then came back with teammates Andrew Weaver, Izic Miller, and Connor Tector to take 3rd in the 4 x 400m Relay. Their time of 4:35.29 is their fastest of the season.

On Monday we traveled to a very windy Lake Zurich HS to compete in the season’s first conference quad. Our boys beat Zion Benton 77-65 and Libertyville 82-64, while losing to the host 102-44. Top performers included Ethan Connelly in the Triple Jump. Ethan took 2nd while jumping over 42’ for the first time this season. Nico Osorio also took 2nd in the Pole Vault at 10’6”.

Nathan McCreight won the 400m in the brutal wind after running the 3200m. Andrew Weaver took 2nd in the 300m hurdles, running 43.05 in his first hurdle race of the season. Nathan and Andrew came back with Izic Miller and Connor Tector to win the 4 x 400m Relay in 3:38, a great time in the cold and windy conditions.

Our busy week continues Thursday at Lake Zurich in the Pizza Battle, and then travel to Springfield for the Capitol Classic on Saturday.

Submitted by Coach Ryan

The Mundelein softball team defeated rival Libertyville on Tuesday by a score of 13 -11. Great pitching by Sophia Zepeda, Claire Connelly, and Bella Vega. Freshman Sarah Benes had 2 homeruns in the game and sophomore Taylor Pyke sealed the win for the Mustangs with a three run walk off homerun in the bottom of the 7th. The Mustangs are currently 10 - 2 on the season.

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!

Due to construction, the D120 Welcome Center is now located at Carl Sandburg Middle School, 330 Ridgemoor Avenue, Mundelein, and is accessible from the back area.

A brown bin is available for dropping off clean, gently used, or new donations.

We accept small household items such as pots, pans, and dishes.

Clothing donations for children and adults are accepted, provided they are in excellent condition and clean. This includes shoes, coats, and boots. Undergarments must be brand new.

We also accept non-perishable food items.

Donations can be dropped off in the brown bin located on the south side of the building, in front. Staff is available weekdays from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

For questions or to contact the Welcome Center regarding donations or to assist a family in need, please contact Veronica Huerta at 224-261-0645.

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 Newspaper

Website: www.d120.org

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

Phone: 847-949-2200