Take Flight 🦅

The Bridge Special Olympics basketball team won the State Tournament this past weekend at Illinois Wesleyan University! The team finished the season with a 7-0 record. They won their first tournament game against Vernon Hills 40-13. In the championship, the team won 55-49 against Oak Lawn’s Adult Transition Program. Leyden Bridge are THE 2024 State Champions!

Congratulations to the team and coaches Lyke and Sereleas for all of their hard work this season!

Best Buddies is hosting a FUNdraising event on Wednesday, March 13th... Just in time for Pi Day (3.14)! During the lunch periods, anyone can make a donation to support Best Buddies' "Ending the 'R' Word" campaign. In return for the donation, they will receive a raffle ticket. At the end of each lunch period, raffle tickets will be selected and the winners will get to pie participating staff, faculty, and administrators in the face! Thank you in advance on behalf of Best Buddies!

On Friday, March 15th, during the lunch periods, find a hidden shamrock (4-leaf clover) somewhere in the Student Cafeteria / Commons, take a picture with it, and show your pic to the student volunteers in front of the Student Activities Office. If you are the first person during that lunch period to take a picture with THAT specific shamrock, you will receive a bag of chocolate gold coins! Are you feeling the luck o' the Irish? Happy hunting!

Junior Olympics is an annual tradition at Leyden. In the weeks leading up to Spring Break, the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes can participate in various events and earn points. Then the day before Spring Break, Junior Olympics takes place in the fieldhouse. During Junior Olympics, the four classes compete against each other in a variety of olympic-style games. Points are awarded to the winners of each game. At the end of the games, the Junior Olympics winning class is announced and gets bragging rights until next years' games.

Back in December, StuCo ran a Penny Wars competition benefitting Leyden Township and Leyden Family Services. The juniors won Penny Wars, so they will start Junior Olympics with 500 points. Be on the look-out for other pop-up opportunities to earn points for your class!

This year's events combine old-time favorites with new traditions:

Relay Race: Overcome a series of challenges before the other classes do.

Hungry, Hungry Hippos: Collect the most amount of balls in your basket.

Steal The Bacon: Grab an item without getting tagged by the opposing team.

Musical Chairs: Be seated in a chair when the music stops.

Dodgeball: Hit opponents with foam balls while avoiding to get hit yourself.

Your class sponsors will send out an email soon for participants to sign up. Check your email regularly to not miss the chance to compete!

Class of 2024 (Seniors) - Ms. Pregler and Ms. Ratini

Class of 2025 (Juniors) - Ms. Talsma and Mr. VanRoeyen

Class of 2026 (Sophomores) - Ms. Kraft and Ms. O'Connor

Class of 2027 (Freshmen) - Ms. Dewey and Ms. Uremovic

The days leading up to Junior Olympics are a Spirit Week. Every day you should dress to get into the spirit of Junior Olympics:

Monday, 3/18 - Gymbros vs. Pilates Princesses (athletic wear)

Tuesday, 3/19 - Celebrity Lookalike (your 'wannabe')

Wednesday, 3/20 - Country vs. Country Club (rural chic or bougie sleek)

Thursday, 3/21 - Generation day (freshmen - babies; sophomores - middle schoolers; juniors - young adults; seniors - senior citizens)

Friday, 3/22 - Class shirt (You should have ordered yours already! You class sponsors will let you know when and where to pick it up)

Attention writers, artists, designers, and creatives! Do you want your work highlighted in Leyden's Literary Art Magazine?

If so, use this QR code to submit your sculpture, pottery, 3D design, architecture design, fashion design, creative writing, poetry, short stories, screenplay, songs or anything creative.

Deadline is April 15th. Contact Mr. Stong with any questions!

The Student Activities webpage continues to improve! Now you can view a month-at-a-glance calendar and see when and where West Leyden's clubs are meeting. You can also get there from the Leyden website > Activities and Arts > Clubs - West > Activities Calendar.

Now there's even less reason to not get involved! Check off one of your New Year's resolutions as 'done' by going to a club meeting this month!

We Are... Awards nominees can qualify to receive Javaccino (students) / Gold and Bold Café (staff members) gift cards. In addition, students may be recognized at Student of the Month breakfasts and staff members may be recognized at staff meetings.

To nominate a student or staff member, you need to fill out this We Are... Awards Google Form.