February 7, 2025

Hello Mustangs!

This update is filled with important announcements, upcoming events, and celebrations of student achievements at Mundelein High School. Our calendar is packed with exciting opportunities, including college visits, themed school days, student leadership events, and the highly anticipated Winter Turnabout Dance.

First, congratulations to our Varsity Cheerleading team on advancing to the IHSA State Tournament and to the Girls Track and Field team for an outstanding season-opening victory! Keep reading for more success stories from Girls Bowling, Cheerleading, and Track and Field, along with details on upcoming competitions.

We’re also proud to highlight our Experiential Education program, which is providing students with hands-on career exposure, and the College and Career Resource Center, which continues to guide students on their path to higher education.

Please take note of important reminders regarding campus parking regulations, graduation deadlines, and the early bird special for 2025-2026 school year registration.

Finally, as we celebrate Black History Month, we honor Dr. Valerie Thomas, a pioneering scientist and inventor. With MHS’s strong commitment to STEM education, we are excited to spotlight her remarkable contributions to science and technology.

Stay engaged, take advantage of these opportunities, and let’s make this a fantastic month at Mundelein High School.

Go Mustangs!

Dr. Alexandria Taylor

Principal

Mundelein High School

847-949-2200

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

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!

SENIORS! Don’t miss out! Place your cap and gown order by February 28th.

👉 Order online at Herff Jones or call 815-756-4743. After February 28th, please visit Mrs. Lendino in the Principal's Office for assistance.

For more details on graduation and to download a helpful checklist, click here.

Feb 1 - Registration Opens for the 2025-2026 School Year

Feb 8 - Winter Kids Dance Clinic

Feb 10 - College Visit - Dominican University

Feb 11 - College Visit - Grand Valley State University

Feb 12 - College Visit - Calvin University and Valparaiso University

Feb 13 - Theme Thursday - Black Out

Feb 13 - Student Leadership Winter Breakfast

Feb 13 - College Visit - Mizzou

Feb 13 - Honors Band Concert

Feb 14 - Teacher Institute Day

Feb 17 - Federal Holiday - NO SCHOOL

Feb 20 - Building Tour

Feb 22 - Winter Turnabout Dance

Feb 27-Mar 2 - CSMS Musical

Mar 6 - Winter Choral Concert

Mar 8 - Jazz Invitational

Mar 14 - Late Start

Text courtesy of BlackHistoryMonth.Gov and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

Dr. Valerie Thomas is a physicist, data scientist, inventor, and educational leader. She demonstrated an interest in science and electronics from a young age. Although her father recommended that she should just stick to "girly things", she did not let this discourage her. In high school she learned more about physics and began to answer the question of 'what makes things tick?'. After completing high school, she attended Morgan State College, where she earned a physics degree. She then took a job at NASA helping to lay the foundation for image processing for NASA's Landsat program.

The Landsat program is NASA's longest-running mission dedicated to taking high-quality images of the Earth, to study the impacts of land usage and other human/nature-caused changes on land. She also invented the Illusion Transmitter, a setup of mirrors and cameras that capture an image and transmit it to a different location. This technology prompted the rise of 3D imaging which was later used in some of NASA's satellite applications. This technology has also been adapted for use in surgery, TVs, and video screens…

Read More »

Text and image courtesy of Smithsonian Learning Lab: https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/valerie-thomas-and-the-illusion-transmitter-a-lesson-on-the-reflection-of-light-and-real-vs-virtual-images/eRS4j5Z7MLTt8iaz

Mustang nation gathered Thursday morning to celebrate our cheerleading squad that qualified for the IHSA state tournament that will be held in Bloomington on Friday. Thanks to our Drum Line and Winter Guard for leading the way on this state walk.

If you are going to be in Normal, IL for the State Finals, be sure to stop by Blono Pizza and mention IHSA to help support the IHSA Foundation.

Click here for more pictures.

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.

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

Join us on February 8th for our MHS Winter Kids Clinic!

Dancers in grades K-8th are invited to learn from our very own Mundelein High School Dance Team. The clinic will be on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 from 10:30-12:00pm in the MHS Cafeteria. All dancers will learn their halftime performance as well as dance technique during the clinic. Following the clinic, all dancers will get picked up by a parent and brought back for the performance later that afternoon. All dancers will arrive back in the Cafeteria, on 2/8, with their clinic shirt and bow on at 3:30pm for the halftime performance at the Boys Varsity Basketball Game.

To view the halftime performance, you must purchase a ticket to the game via GoFan.

The performance will approximately be around 4:15pm and following the performance, all dancers are welcome back to the Cafeteria for cookies and water to celebrate their performance as well as to get picked up by their parent. Dancers can wear jazz shoes or gym shoes and bring a water bottle.

The total cost of the clinic is $40.

Click Here to Register

The College and Career Resource Center welcomes Dominican University during 6th period.

Please register in SchooLinks to participate.

The College and Career Resource Center welcomes Grand Valley State University during 2nd period.

Please register in SchooLinks to participate.

The College and Career Resource Center welcomes Calvin University during 1st period and Valparaiso University during 5th period.

Please register in SchooLinks to participate.

MHS Junior Student Leadership will be selling apple cider donuts, hot chocolate, and conchitas for $2.00 on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

This week's theme is Black Out!

The College and Career Resource Center welcomes Mizzou during 4th period.

Please register in SchooLinks to participate.

NO SCHOOL!

Click here to learn more about the history and traditions of Valentine's Day.

Is it Washinton's Birthday or Presidents Day? If you would like to learn some history on the subject, click here to see what the National Archive has to say about this day.

Join us for a Crafting + Movie Night immediately after school on Thursday, February 20th in the cafeteria. Bring your own crafting supplies, make friendship bracelets (provided), or help us create decorations for the dance. A Google Form will be sent out next week to vote for the movie. If you have suggestions, please complete this Google Form.

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 February 20th at 4:30pm. Click here to register.

Date: Saturday, February 22nd

Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Theme: Disco Nights

Tickets:

On sale via RevTrak 2/5 - 2/20

Cash sales on 2/18 and 2/19

Ticket Cost: $15/each

Guests: Guest forms available in the Dean's Office starting on January 31st, and due back to the Dean's Office by February 18th. When bringing a guest to the dance, tickets must be purchased on RevTrak. You’ll need to see Ms. Olson in the bookstore to receive a guest ID number!

Save the date. More info coming soon.

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.

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.

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.

The 2025 College Ambassadors hosted 21 college related presentations this week! It was impressive to see so many students from the class of 2026 getting excited about college!

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.

One of the best parts of our internship program is giving students the chance to meaningfully engage with mentors who will support them as well as challenge them. Finding the right place for each student takes a great deal of time and care. In addition, ensuring a good mentor/intern match, there is one other element that I try to include--a bit of magic.

I met Hailee Contreras, one of our current internship students, during the spring of her junior year. She shared that she wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but needed to steer clear of any position that would bring her in close proximity with bodily fluids and hypodermic needles. “All that stuff grosses me out,” she shared.

“Then you’d better find a different career path,” I replied. At the end of our conversation, Hailee summed up her career goals--“I just want to help people.”

Fast-forward to September when I am connected with Victoria Kasper, owner of Victoria’s Floral, a brand-new floral shop located in charming downtown Grayslake. In addition to selling gorgeously-arranged fresh flowers, Victoria’s Floral offers customers cute and whimsical gifts as well as event planning services.

Walking away from my conversation with Victoria, I realized that I had met someone whose passion for helping others and offering customers a fantastic experience fueled her professional ethos. Yes, the floral aspect and creative license defined her business, but building community, character, and connection defined her mission.

When it came time to place Semester 2 internship students with mentors, I reached out to Victoria to see if she would be open to mentoring one of our students, and she accepted the offer.

I visited Victoria’s Flowers recently to gather details about this internship experience. While onsite, Hailee shadows Victoria as she interacts with her customers and assists with the setting up of retail displays. “I’m learning that listening to what the customer wants is essential to a successful business,” shared Hailee. “I’m also learning how to ask questions to see if I can get more details that would help define the vision for an arrangement”. Paying attention is essential to taking care of patrons.

While Hailee shadows Victoria, her mentor also gives her creative license to come up with ideas and develop concepts. While Hailee talks out her ideas, Victoria offers guidance and insight to help her think like a florist, a designer, and even a friend. This kind of insight and perspective is exactly the kind of “magic” that I hope finds its way into these mentor-protegee relationships. Hailee is certainly receiving a well-rounded experience.

“I also get a lot of exposure to other professions,” Hailee continued. “I meet so many unique people who come in here and share their stories about their jobs--it’s really eye-opening.”

Opening up students’ eyes, minds, and hearts to the multitude of professions that exist is perhaps the sole purpose of this internship course. Perhaps Victoria’s journey is one that is the most circular--her father was a florist, but she pursued degrees in human resources and project management, ultimately enjoying a rewarding career in the corporate world.

Eventually, her ambition brought her back to the flower industry, and she opened her shop in downtown Grayslake in May 2024. Her personal touch and care is found throughout her store. Walk in you will see it for yourself--there are colorful displays, beautiful floral cases, and even a tiny children’s library.

I’m really excited for Hailee the experiences that await her this semester. We had a great conversation about all that she’s learning from Victoria, but my favorite moment was the comment Hailee made while watching her mentor arrange a bouquet of flowers for a walk-in customer.

“Watch, Mr. Kapotas… she doesn’t even use a book or a guide when she puts flowers together,” she commented. “She just puts them together and they turn out beautiful!”

It could be skill, it could be talent, or… it could be magic.

Victoria’s Flowers is located at 141 Center Street in Grayslake. You can find her on Instagram at victorias_floral24!

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!

Athletics events week of 2/10/2025

Winter Athletic Department Newsletter

Submitted by Coach Prorok

We finished the regular season in 1st place by defeating Libertyville. Mia shot her high series 634. On Friday, Varsity finished first in the regular season and won the NSC finals tournament! The JV team also secured first place in the finals (for the fourth year in a row). Individual shoutouts from Friday- Varsity: Bri was 1st with 1227 6 game series, Reena was 8th, and Melissa contributed an impressive personal high 3 game series 697 series and bowling her high game of 274 in the afternoon. JV individuals: Charlotte in 1st place, Cecilia in 6th place, Paige in 7th and Naomi in 12th. Congratulations to all of the girls on an outstanding season!

Submitted by Coach Billitier

Submitted by Coach Newsome

The Mundelein Varsity Cheerleaders are headed to the State Finals this weekend, February 7th, in Bloomington Normal, IL! With many adversities this season, the team has proven their strength and perseverance by qualifying. With hard work, dedication, and a true love for the sport, they’ve pushed through every obstacle to earn their spot at the championship. Their journey to the state finals is a reflection of their relentless commitment and teamwork. Best of luck to the Mustangs as they compete this weekend!

Submitted by Coach Badgley

Submitted by Coach Kloss

As a new Head Coach at Mundelein High School, I want to start off by saying how grateful I am to be welcomed to the school with such open arms by the staff and the team.

In the pre-season meeting the Girls Track and Field program decided that the team mantra for this year is going to be “all or nothing”, meaning we will always give our 100% in practice and meets. Girls track and field has taken that, seriously, and already started the season off with a bang, taking first place in their first meet on February 3rd against Wheeling, Elk Grove, and Vernon Hills. Despite having minimal practice space, the track-letes have proven to be dedicated and talented.

We scored points in every single event, and it is just the beginning! The team is excited ,but eager to get to outdoor season.

Our next meet will be February 15th, at Proviso West High School. Cheer us on and wish us luck!

Submitted by Coach Rutz

It's not too late to join boys Track and Field. Track is a no-cut sport. We meet each day in Room D18 right after school. Stop by and talk to Coach Rutz if you have any questions.

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 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.

• Principal's Blog Archive
• District Developments Newsletter
• The Mustang Newpaper

Website: www.d120.org

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

Phone: 847-949-2200