February 28, 2025

Hello Mustangs!

Welcome to this edition of the Mundelein High School Principal's Blog!

As we move into March, we have an exciting lineup of events, student accomplishments, and important announcements to share, from outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities to upcoming concerts, competitions, and fundraisers, there is plenty to be proud of at MHS.

This month, we also celebrate Women's History Month, honoring the impact of women in education and leadership.

Read on to stay informed about key dates, registration details, and ways to get involved in our vibrant school community.

Dr. Alexandria Taylor

Principal

Mundelein High School

847-949-2200

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

Mar 2-8 - School Social Workers Week

Mar 6 - Winter Choral Concert

Mar 6 - Principal's Student Advisory Council

Mar 8 - Jazz Invitational

Mar 14 - Late Start

Mar 16 - Annual Mattress Fundraiser (Track and Field)

Mar 18-19 - Spring STAR Testing

Mar 24-28 - Spring Break - NO SCHOOL

Women's History Month begins March 1st. “The National Women’s History Month’s theme for 2025 celebrates,“Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” This theme celebrates the collective strength and influence of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. Through their efforts, they have served as an inspiration for all generations — both past and present."

"Throughout history, the process of information sharing has been a powerful catalyst for change. An honest, open examination of new insights and knowledge can create a framework for collaboration. This, in turn, promotes the well-being of groups, businesses, communities, and society as a whole. From classrooms to boardrooms, and from grassroots movements to global initiatives, women educators and leaders have played a pivotal role in nurturing minds and inspiring transformative action. Our 2025 theme spotlights the contributions women have made to the American educational system, the free marketplace of ideas, and the very fabric of our democracy."

Text courtesy of : https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/NWHA-2025-Theme.pdf

Image courtesy of: https://www.flickr.com/photos/152884140@N05/25706581497/

American educator, Helen Adams Keller, both blind and deaf, became one of the 20th century’s leading humanitarians. She was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist, and lecturer. She lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at nineteen months. She communicated primarily using home signs until seven until she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller language, including reading and writing. Sullivan’s first lessons involved spelling words on her hand to show her the names of objects around her. She also learned how to speak and to understand other people’s speech using the Tadoma method.

After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, Keller attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. She worked for the American Foundation for the Blind, during which time she toured the United States and traveled to 39 countries around the globe advocating for those with vision loss.

Keller was a prolific author, writing 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi. Keller campaigned for those with disabilities, for women’s suffrage, labor rights, and world peace. She joined the Socialist Party of America in 1909. Keller was a supporter of the NAACP and an original member of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1933, when her book How I Became a Socialist was burned by Nazi youth, she wrote an open letter to the Student Body of Germany condemning censorship and prejudice.

Keller and Sullivan’s story was made famous by Keller’s 1903 autobiography, The Story of My Life, and its adaptations for film and stage, The Miracle Worker. Her birthplace is now a museum and sponsors an annual “Helen Keller Day.” Her June 27 birthday is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in Pennsylvania and, in the centenary year of her birth, was recognized by a presidential proclamation from U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Text and Image Courtesy of: https://www.compasscharters.org

Construction 1 students started the semester with learning about Demolition tools and techniques. After taking apart a build project from the previous semester classes, we repurposed the materials to make Jiant Jenga sets while learning how to safely use the Chop Saw, Table Saw, Nail Guns, and continued measurement practices. The culmination of this unit has produced not only a Yard Sized Jenga set, but also a Frame to carry and store the set. One skilled student from each class will be crowned 2025 MHS Jenga Champion and another random student from each class will be fortunate to be able to take the set home after the tournament.

Congratulations to our Science Olympiad Team for their amazing performance at Northwestern University the weekend of Feb. 22-23. Once again, too many medals earned to mention them all. Good luck to all at CLC for Regionals next weekend!

The band program hosted the Capital University Jazz Ensemble this past week where students from both jazz bands participated in period-long clinics followed by a brief collaborative performance with the college students. It was a fantastic morning of music making by our students and friends from Capital University.

The Mundelein High School Mock Trial Team had an impressive performance Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Lake County Invitational, where they placed 2nd out of 24 teams.

In addition to the team's overall success, individual team members received high honors. Lily Vander Wal was recognized with the Outstanding Attorney award, while Macie Atleson earned the Outstanding Witness award. The team looks forward to performing at the State Competition in March.

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.

Are you interested in school leadership? Join the Principal's Student Advisory Council. Our next meeting is in the District Meeting Room on March 6th at 7:45am.

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.

Mustangs, if you’re a loyal reader of the Experiential Education blog posts, you’ll remember last week’s update about Camryn Sheehan, a student in the Dual Credit Student Internship course, and her experience with her mentor Jim LaCroix at Larsen Manufacturing.

Jim has big hopes for Camryn and invited her to join in on the networking event prior to the appreciation breakfast hosted by the Mundelein Economic Development Commission on Wednesday, February 26 in order to give her a chance to meet representatives from other manufacturing companies as well as local entrepreneurs, politicians, and businesspeople. Camryn got an inside view of the strong relationships that drive the Mundelein community to success, and experience that will be the first of many that await her in the years ahead.

Check out the shot of Camryn (in her Larsen-branded polo shirt) with her mentor speaking with Chris Piazzi, Branch President of Mundelein Community Bank!

On Wednesday, February 26th, Lake Forest Fire Chief Andy Rick (MHS Class of 2002), along with Dan Buhmester from the Mundelein Fire Department, came to MHS for two back-to-back presentations on Careers in Fire Fighting.

Students who attended were treated to exciting stories of adventure as well as glimpses into the realities that firefighters face on a daily basis. Rick and Buhrmester came with prepared slides and information, but the best part was the chance that aspiring firefighters had to ask questions and receive advice and encouragement on their own career journeys.

Below is a quick shot of our heroes presenting to our students, as well as a QR code that students can scan to learn more about this exciting career path!

On Thursday, February 27, Mundelein High School hosted its first-ever career panel in celebration of Black History Month. Eight professionals from a wide range of industries--law, government, information technology, art, and entrepreneurship, to name a few--spoke to over 120 students over two class periods. Additionally, they participated in meet-and-greet luncheon with the leaders of Black Student Union.

The event was filled with applause, smiles, laughter, and plenty of conversation. At the end of the event, several students rushed to greet the panelists and thank them for their time before heading off to their next class.

Those who attended certainly felt the inspiration these individuals shared. If you missed it, you definitely want to make sure you’re there for the next one!

A sincere thank you to our panelists, George Bridges, Sam Cunningham, James Harris, Michael Jackson, Tony Mull, Dawn Schofield, Lloyd Tanner, and Sherrise Trotz! A word of gratitude also to staff member and sponsor for Black Student Union, Shirlese Locke, for her help in organizing this event!

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 3/3/2025

Winter Athletic Department Newsletter

Submitted by Coach Dressen

Boys Volleyball tryouts start Monday, March 10th at 3:30 pm in the MHS main gym for all levels. They will last all week with the final teams being chosen by Friday the 14th. Registration is open on the MHS Athletic Website. Please register as soon as you can and be sure your physical is up to date with the school nurse. Physicals are good for 13 months from the day it was taken. Any questions please contact me by email; Coach Dressen at gdressen@d120.org

Submitted by Coach Stocker

The MHS Wrestling program just finished another highly successful season. The Varsity team finished with a 14-4 dual record vs Illinois opponents, beat Libertyville in a dual meet for the first time in almost 40 years, qualified 8 individuals for the IHSA Sectional meet, and 3 of those wrestlers (Christian Saucedo -106lbs, Ethan Banda – 144lbs, Abisai Hernandez – 285lbs) qualified for the IHSA Individual State Finals. Three State Qualifiers ties the program record for most in a single season. This feat has only been achieved three other times in school history. Senior Abisai Hernandez also became a 2x State place winner with his 6th place finish downstate. He is only the second wrestler in MHS history to be a 3x State Qualifier and 2x State Place winner. Two wrestlers also cemented themselves in MHS history with total victories throughout their high school careers. Kevin Hernandez finished with 95 wins (#12 all-time) and Abisai Hernandez finished with 118 wins (#5 All-Time).

Submitted by Coach Teiple

Girls Varsity had their 1st winning season since 2013- and a 19-win season! Finished 19-13 and made huge strides as a program!

Casey Vyverman was NSC All-Conference.

7 of the 8 Girls earned NSC All Academic All-Conference.

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.

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Website: www.d120.org

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

Phone: 847-949-2200