HEHS Principal's Newsletter

HEHS Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary!

Watch your email, our website and our social media

for updates on our celebrations throughout the 2023-2024

school year!

Chess Team: A Class Act Above Winning

During this year’s IHSA Team Chess State Finals, our Chess team showed remarkable sportsmanship and compassion during its first round of play. During play, one of our opponents experienced a significant medical issue in the middle of a match. This halted play while the student was attended to by medical personnel. Once play was able to resume, members of the HEHS Chess Team chose to take draws, instead of playing the matches to completion, out of respect for the student who fell ill and his teammates who were concerned about the health of their teammate. We are incredibly proud of our Chess Team and its coach, Mr. Patrick Swanson, who have since been recognized by our building Leadership Team and the IHSA and highlighted in the Daily Herald for commendable actions.

Let’s Get Involved!

The purpose of the Hawk Boosters is to support school curricular and extracurricular activities, bringing home and school into a closer relationship.

Thank you to our many Booster volunteers for their time in recognizing and supporting our amazing teachers and students! A special thank you to all Booster parents who helped us with our Young Hearts for Life event held on January 30th. Young Hearts for Life is the largest ECG screening program in the United States and recognized internationally as a leader in screening for conditions that can cause Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). This year 688 of our students took advantage of this opportunity. We couldn’t have done it without our Booster volunteers! Thank you!

An additional HUGE shout out to Mr. Heisler, Wellness Department Chair and the HEHS Student Wellness Team for all of their efforts in making this event accessible and organized. You all ROCK!

Learn more about Boosters and how you can be involved here.

Thank you to our many volunteers for their time recognizing and supporting our amazing teachers and students! A special thank you to all Boosters who helped us celebrate our 50th in October.

Boosters and Student Wellness Team members Supporting Our Young Hearts for Life Event!

A Culinary Super Bowl Showdown!

Ms. Citron’s and Ms. Giglio’s Culinary 3 Independent Study students completed a Super Bowl-inspired appetizer challenge along with a commercial to advertise their dish. The project was completed on February 8th and 9th; where they prepared samples and launched their commercials. HEHS Staff served as judges and scored taste, presentation and commercial creativity!

Winter Academic Success and Recognition

At the conclusion of each athletic season, we celebrate our Hawks who have earned recognition for their academic and athletic achievements. Follow this link to see these Student-Athletes:

2024 Winter Student-Athlete Accolades (List still being updated as our winter season concludes.)

Getting Things Started at State Cheer

Nina Oliver, a multi-talented Hawk, cheer team member and vocalist, was selected for the honor of singing the national anthem at the prestigious 2024 IHSA State Cheer competition last month. As Nina took center mat, her soulful rendition of the anthem resonated through the arena, creating an atmosphere of unity and pride. The audience was moved by Nina's performance, setting the perfect tone for the commencement of the highly anticipated state cheer competition.

Nina takes center mat at State!

Always a Teacher and Always a Coach

Coach Heyse delivered an informative presentation at the prestigious Chicago Playbook Clinic, drawing the attention of thousands of coaches nationwide. Focusing on the Pin n' Pull run game, his insights provided a deep understanding of strategic offensive plays that left an indelible mark on the coaches in attendance. The Red Zone packages he discussed showcased his expertise in tailoring game plans for crucial situations. Coach Heyse's ability to lead and teach extends beyond the field, making him a great mentor to students and also a phenomenal educator of the game.

Coach Heyse Surveys the Field

In each edition of this newsletter, a student extracurricular group(s) will be put in the spotlight for the HEHS Community to meet students from our various clubs and activities.

Friday & Saturday, Jan. 26th and 27th: The 2024 HEHS Dance Show, sponsored by the HEHS Dance Club, Varsity Hip Hop Club, and Orchesis Dance Troupe, celebrated the many dance talents of the student body at Hoffman Estates High School with a variety of music and dance styles and genres. A 50th anniversary pre-show slideshow featured photographs going back to the very first Hoffman Dance Club all the way to this year's show. Many alumni from over the years were in attendance to remember, celebrate, and continue to support the arts at HEHS. The opening number of the show featured songs from all five decades of HEHS's history and included the Orange Krush Majorettes, the HEHS Dance Club, the Varsity Hip Hop Club, and the Orchesis Dance Troupe. All-school auditions were held in early January to allow for any student or group to participate as well. We are so proud of all of the dancers, tech crew, and HEHS Theater Guides volunteers who worked to make this annual winter performing arts showcase another success!

2024 HEHS Dance Show

PROM 2024 - Save the Date
Saturday, May 4, 2024

Senior 2nd Semester Final Exam Exemption

Seniors and parents of seniors…District 211 and HEHS allows its graduating seniors to exempt from their second semester final exams if they meet the following criteria:

• have at least a “C” average in the course

• have less than six absences from the class

• have no truancies from the class

• have not been suspended from the class

• are not incomplete on required assignments

Seniors not qualifying for the exemption will be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies but will not receive a diploma on that day. Senior finals will be administered concurrently with all other scheduled final exams on May 22, 23 and 24. Diplomas will be given to students required to take final exams following the processing of final grades. An email was sent to your senior student asking for their understanding of the Senior Final Exam Exemption Policy on Monday, February 12.

Senior Scholarship Opportunities

Many of the scholarships available to students at Hoffman Estates High School are provided through this link. The listing is not complete as scholarship information is updated all of the time.

If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school counselor.

PROM 2024 - Save the Date

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Spring SAT and Illinois Science Assessment

Wednesday April 10 and Thursday April 11

SAT

The Illinois State Board of Education’s required high school level assessment, The College Board Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT), will be administered throughout Illinois this spring. This state-funded SAT fulfills the requirement of the Illinois School Code that students take the state’s required assessment to be eligible to receive a regular high school diploma, unless eligible to take the alternative assessment or otherwise exempt from testing. The assessment measures student knowledge related to state standards with respect to examination purposes. This state-funded SAT can be used as a college or university entrance exam score. Hoffman Estates High School will administer the SAT to 11th grade students on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

Students can choose to take an additional SAT on a national test date to improve test scores. This option may be discussed with your child’s school counselor to determine the benefits of additional testing and to receive information about national SAT tests, the dates and costs. You can find detailed information about the SAT online at http://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat. Fees charged by College Board for testing on national test dates are the responsibility of the individual students and/or parents.

PSAT 10

Sophomores will be administered the PSAT 10 on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.

PSAT 9

Freshmen will be administered the PSAT 9 on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

Illinois Science Assessment (ISA)

The Illinois Science Assessment will be administered to students in 11th grade on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The assessment is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards for Science incorporating the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Please Read to Understand HEHS Parking Lot Guidelines and Expectations

Student Drop-Off Reminder

Morning student drop-off prior to 7:15am - I’d like to encourage parents to drop off in the designated parent drop-off lanes near the media center (the drive north of Higgins). Parents should not drop off along the curb near the marquee as it provides a safety hazard both for pedestrians and other vehicles entering the parking lot off Higgins.

At 7:15am student drop-off by bus concludes and you may use the bus lanes to drop your student on the sidewalk nearest the building.

On late start days the bus lane will be open at 8:40am and I strongly encourage drop-off using the bus lane to avoid creating traffic congestion at the entrance to the main lot.

Student Pick-Up Reminder

After school pick-up I’d like to encourage parents to pick up in the designated parent pick-up lanes near the media center (the drive north of Higgins). Parents should not pick up along the curb near the marquee as it provides a safety hazard both for pedestrians and other vehicles entering the parking lot off Higgins. After buses depart (typically at 2:57pm), the bus lane may be used for pick up.

Evening student pick-up can occur in the bus lanes except for the following times:

3:50 – 4:10 p.m.

5:05 – 5:25 p.m.

*Athlete pick-up is preferred at Door 9 (Athletic Entrance)

The annual Illinois 5Essentials Survey is now open and available for families.

We encourage you to participate. Your input will help guide our school’s improvement efforts. The survey assesses the following five components of success:

• Effective leaders

• Collaborative teachers

• Involved families

• Supportive environment

• Ambitious instruction
  
  

The survey is in English and Spanish at http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/.

This short survey is administered by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. It is important to us that each student’s family complete this survey, as we are then provided helpful information and feedback for improvement.

February 21 D211/D54 Band Concert

HEHS Main Gym - 7PM

February 22 End of 6-Week Grading Period

February 23 Amy Rudolph Basketball Tournament

Main Gym - 7PM

February 27 Student Late Start (8:50AM)

Parent Principal Meeting

Media Center - 6PM

March 6-9 HEHS Musical - Urinetown

Auditorium - 3/6 - 3PM; 3/7-9 - 7PM

March 9 D211 Honors Band

Palatine High School

March 12 Student Late Start (8:50AM)

March 22 Spring Break Begins

April 1 Opening Day of School After Spring Break

April 2 Student Late Start (8:50AM)

April 9 Masterworks Choir Concert

Prince of Peace - 7:30PM