Tiger Times
CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION
We are excited to share that our staff has recently completed the cycles of professional development focused on classroom learning intentions, success criteria, and making lessons relevant for students. These practices are designed to enhance clarity in the classroom and support effective teaching and learning.
As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, our instructional leadership team will be conducting Learning Walks in classrooms. These Learning Walks allow us to observe how these strategies are being implemented and gather information that will help guide our ongoing planning to ensure high-quality instruction for all students.
Student Services Team
As you may have seen in recent communications, our Student Services Team has been working tirelessly all semester to improve student attendance. Last year, 37% of our students were considered chronically absent—meaning they missed 10% or more of the school year (about 9 days). Additionally, our average daily attendance rate was 90%, meaning on any given day, only 90% of students were present.
This year, our goal is to reduce chronic absenteeism to 27% and raise our average daily attendance to 91%. So far, we’ve made progress! Currently, 30% of students are chronically absent, and our average daily attendance has increased to 92%. While we’re headed in the right direction, there’s still more work to do—and we need your support to achieve these goals.
How Parents Can Help:
Set a routine: Help your child establish a consistent morning and evening routine to ensure they’re well-rested and ready for school.
Schedule wisely: Try to plan vacations, medical appointments, and other events outside of school hours whenever possible.
Stay informed: Keep track of your child’s attendance and communicate with teachers or staff if there are barriers to getting your child to school.
Why Attendance Matters: Chronic absenteeism can negatively impact a student’s academic and social development. Here are some key effects:
Academic struggles: Missing school makes it harder for students to keep up with lessons, assignments, and tests.
Social disconnection: Frequent absences can make it difficult for students to form friendships and feel part of the school community.
Long-term consequences: Studies show that chronic absenteeism in early grades can predict struggles with graduation and future success.
We are here to partner with you to ensure every student attends school regularly and thrives academically, socially, and emotionally. If you have questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your student’s Tiger Team. Together, we can achieve our goals and set our students up for success. Thank you for your continued support!
SECOND SEMESTER TESTING
All-School STAR Testing: STAR testing is administered 3 times a year and it is used as a universal screener to see how our students are doing on Math and English/Language Arts. ALL students take this two-part exam three times a year. The first was in September, and we re-administered this past week on Wednesday. The final administration will be on Wed., Apr. 30. We use the scores from these exams to see if our students need to be put in any intervention classes to help support them in these two integral areas.
Illinois Science Assessment [ISA]: Now that the high schools in the state of Illinois have switched back to a spring administration of the ACT -- instead of SAT like in the past few years -- there is no need to administer the ISA. As a result, there will be no further administration of this exam while we provide the spring ACT test.
ACCESS Testing (for English Language [EL] students: As noted in last week's issue, ACCESS testing will be done during the month of February. Any student who has an EL label is obligated to test, even if they have rejected or refused EL services. Students will be getting hand reminders in the coming weeks to let them know where they need to be during testing. Please remind them that they need a 4.8 to pass out of having to take this exam; and, if they achieve a 4.8 this year they will be rewarded with a trip to Great America on a school day prior to school letting out.
Seal of Biliteracy Testing: The Seal of Biliteracy administration began in semester 1. Any student who speaks a language other than English was able to sit for an exam in that alternate language. If the student scored high enough, they will now need to sit for the English portion to make a full determination as to whether the student truly is biliterate. Some students may be exempt from the test in English due to classes and AP tests that they have taken here at EPHS. If a student needs to take the English portion of things, they will be notified and testing will occur on Thurs., Mar. 6 (with make-ups on Wed., Mar. 19). This year EPHS proudly tested in some new languages, those were: Albanian and Russian. A bulk of our testers, as in most years, were in Spanish and Polish.
ACT: As you may have heard, Illinois has transitioned from the SAT to the ACT as the state assessment for high school students. The ACT is a standardized assessment designed to measure students’ readiness for college and career opportunities. It evaluates skills in English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing. The ACT is widely accepted by colleges and universities across the U.S. and is often used for admissions decisions, scholarships, and placement in postsecondary programs.
Scoring well on the ACT can open doors to scholarships, advanced coursework, and greater access to a variety of educational and career pathways. By aligning with postsecondary goals, the ACT helps students identify strengths, areas for growth, and opportunities to prepare for their future success.
All 9th, 10th and 11th grade students are scheduled to take the school offered ACT on Wednesday, April 15th at Elmwood Park High School. This day will be a Non-Attendance Day for Seniors. Please mark your calendars and ensure your child is present and prepared for this important day. Please look out for further details to come as we plan for the day of administration.
See below more information regarding the ACT and additional prep resources.
Free ACT Prep Resources
A full-length practice test (including writing prompt)
ACT Subject Practice Questions
An overview of the ACT and what to expect on test day
General test-taking strategies for test day
Counselors can provide a paper copy of the Practice Test
Free practice test - Scroll down in the blog, put in your email, and start the test
Free practice test
Official SAT prep program
Similar material covered on ACT
This one-time test is provided free of charge for all 9th-11th grade students as well as any 12th grade student that did not take the ACT in 11th grade. Families do not need to sign students up to participate. The official test score can be used for college admissions and other postsecondary purposes.
Additionally, students may take the ACT or SAT on other national test dates by registering online. There is a fee for these additional tests, but fee waivers are available for eligible students through the school counselors. Colleges that require test scores for admission will accept either the ACT or SAT.
ACT Website - Register for upcoming tests here
SAT Website - Register for upcoming tests here
AP Testing: AP testing will be during the first two full weeks of May 2025. To see a schedule of when those exams will be, please click here. As noted in last week's issue, at the top of February all families who have a student in an AP test will be charged for those tests.
CULTURE & CLIMATE
Resetting Expectations for Second Semester
On Friday, January 10, 2025 the deans -- Ms. Andrews & Mr. Moffett -- presented "Resetting Expectations" to ALL students, during advisories in the auditorium to refresh and remind as we head into second semester. Some of the more important topics covered were as follows:- Students are to not share lockers nor their combinations; and, that all bookbags, coats and hats should be kept in their lockers throughout the day.
- Guidelines for when hall passes (bathroom/locker) should be requested/granted (5 minutes after the beginning of class and 5 minutes prior to the end of class). Passes for destinations (ex. deans' offices, nurse, counselors, social workers, etc.) are to be the yellow passes that teachers write on.
- Cell phone policy and guidelines and what will happen if they do not follow through on the expectation.
- Audible alarms now found on all of our exterior doors and what will happen if the exit without permission and the alarm goes off.
From there the presentation ended with a Kahoot! to ensure students had a full understanding of what they had been presented on.
Elyssa's Mission/Signs of Suicide
School staff at EPHS are working to teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. For the seventh year in a row, we are partnering with SOS: Signs of Suicide. This program teaches students about this difficult topic and encourages them to seek help.
SOS has been used by thousands of schools over the past few decades. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.
Through the program, students learn:
● That depression is treatable, and they are encouraged to seek help
● How to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend
● To ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or a friend
● Who they can turn to at school for help, if they need it
Students will watch age-appropriate video clips and participate in a guided discussion about depression, suicide, and what to do if they are concerned about a friend. Following the video, students will complete a response slip which asks whether they would like to talk to an adult about any concerns. School staff will conduct brief meetings with any student asking to talk.
If a student indicates they need to speak to someone after the lesson, the family must be reachable so follow up services and support can be implemented. If a student/family is unreachable after indicating the need for services, standard crisis protocol procedures will be implemented.
Our school will be implementing the SOS program on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025 during Freshmen students' Science classes. Please reach out to a student's Tiger Team should have concerns, need help or have questions.
POST-SECONDARY PLANNING
We are excited to share updates about the ongoing efforts to support our students' college and career readiness! Middle and high school counselors, along with CTE staff and administrators, recently partnered with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to review the PACE framework and establish key priorities for our students. This framework is designed to help students explore postsecondary options, plan for future careers, and navigate the process of accessing financial aid.
Seniors and their families are encouraged to join us for our second FAFSA Completion Night on January 28th 6-8 PM, where we will provide hands-on support with completing the FAFSA and answering any questions about the process. In addition, we are continuing to assist seniors through the college selection process by reviewing and interpreting financial aid award letters and helping them make informed decisions about their options. On February 5th, Triton College will be visiting to host an application workshop for students interested in attending, providing a valuable opportunity to complete applications and ask questions about their programs.
Juniors will be focusing on ACT preparation in their English classes as they begin to plan for their next steps after high school. We are also excited to announce that we are transitioning to the SchooLinks platform for college and career readiness for students in grades 9-11, which will offer enhanced tools and resources for exploring future options.
We are planning several exciting opportunities for students across grade levels. Juniors will have the chance to visit Northern Illinois University in early March to explore college life and resources, while all grade levels will be invited to a trip to the Plumbers Union Training Center to learn about careers in skilled trades. In May interested female students will be invited to participate in Girls in Economics at Northwestern University, providing a unique opportunity for female students to explore careers and leadership opportunities in economics (these dates are all listed down below permanently).
We are committed to supporting all students in achieving their postsecondary goals and look forward to these exciting opportunities!
ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES
Athletic Booster Club: Interested in keeping up to date with what's going on with our Booster Club? they have a new website that you can access in the button below. As well, in an effort to raise money for our athletes, they're currently running a Super Bowl Square competition. Use the QR code in the upper right hand corner to access that directly. Win big money (while also supporting our athletes)!
Athletic Interest Survey
During second semester as we do every year, we will be doing an athletic interest survey to see what our students, who will be here again next year, are interested in participating in. This survey directly impacts the after school athletic programs that we run. Please keep in mind though that as we administer this survey, many different factors are taken into consideration in making that final determination as to whether EPHS can effectively initiate having another sport for either girls or boys. Students will be given this survey to fill out (including 8th graders who will be here next year) during the month of February.
This Week's Focus: Social Studies Club & Boys Varsity Basketball
Social Studies Club: This year our Social Studies Club has transitioned to being a Model United Nations [MUN] focused club. MUN is an international organization that students can participate in while in high school or at the collegiate level. The focus on MUN's in the school setting is to engage students in helping them to learn more about the principles of the United Nations and how it functions. Many of today’s leaders in law, government, business and the arts – including at the UN itself – participated in Model UN as students. The premier activity of any MUN is participating in simulations where students get to act in the character of particular country. This year the two advisors who were responsible for really transitioning this group are Social Studies teachers Vanessa Cleys and Jeni Harrell. Their club includes sixteen students, ten of whom are seniors: Yeimi Alday, Alonso Arceo Romero, Miguel Castorena, Natalia Ciura, Justus Escarpita, Adam Saker, Lisandra Lopez, Lismarie Lopez, Jayden Vazquez and Sebastian Roman.
This team meets every Wednesday afterschool. Up to this point their focus has been raising money in order to go to the Model UN Conference that will be held here in Chicago in February. It was actually Justus Escarpita and Sebastian Roman who went to a Board of Education meeting for District 401 to pitch this idea. Once passed they have been rigorously fundraising to off-set the costs of going to this. With all the fundraising that they have done, three individuals will actually pay nothing to go on this field trip.
Now that fundraising is done and with the conference around the corner, the focus of meetings has been on preparation. Our school will represent the countries of Greece and Switzerland. Students for our school will represent one of those two and then will also have to participate in two committee meetings that they must become experts on (to see a list of those committees, click here). They then must act in the character of their country as they sit in those committee meetings and make decisions and plans for the future. Students have to dress up, maintain a particular decorum and follow particular rules as they participate. Prior to actually doing all of that though, students must write two position papers where the student must write about their country's ideas around a particular problem. From there they must then discuss what that country has done thus far to mitigate it and what they propose they should do moving forward.
We are very anxious to hear how their very first conference goes next year. Once they have this experience under their "belts" the goal is to begin to recruit for next year, especially given how many seniors are involved in this group.
Boys Varsity Basketball: Our overall basketball program here at EPHS is composed of three levels. The freshmen are coached by DaJon Harris (interestingly enough, a former athlete of mine and my husband's from when we coached Track & Field), the sophomores by Jacob Benke; and, Varsity team is lead by Coach Antwon (AJ) Jennings and assisted by Mr. Marlon London.
This year on the varsity team there are four seniors on this team of fifteen: Jordyn Boatman, Josh Ruiz, Khalil Shaw and newcomer Nathan Nyarko who transferred from the United Kingdom to be with us (EPHS draws people in from around the globe!). The three captains for the team: Josh Ruiz and his brother Scotty (10), as well as Sammy LaBarbera (11).
This year the Boys team played in a Thanksgiving tournament here at home. They made it to the championship round, but lost by 2 in the final game against Francis Parker (Chicago). During winter break they competed in Elgin's Holiday Tournament. While playing in a brand new conference this year, Coach Jennings has stated that this is probably one of the best teams that the high school has had and that people should really come out to watch. On that note, most recently Captain Josh Ruiz just eclipsed 1000 points. The school's record is 1081. Should you like to hear more about that, click the button below. Coach Jennings said that his goal this year is to win a Regional Championship (Fri., Feb. 28; team is TBD).
Other highlights for the team is that Coach Jennings regularly engages them in community work because he feels it is important for them to do things like this. As well, he stated that, to date, none of his athletes had been academically ineligible. Finally, as a way to continually bond as a team, they have take two outings. One was to Brookfield Zoo and the other was to see a movie: Deadpool & Wolverine.
If you want to come out and see these guys play soon, Senior Night will take place on Mon., Feb. 10 against IMSA! To see their post-season schedule, please check out the list below along with all other winter sports' schedules.
