Take Flight 🦅

Thanks to those who participated in the "Harvest Hunt", a Thanksgiving-themed scavenger hunt, during the lunch periods on Tuesday, November 26th. Students picked up a game card, took selfies with all six items on their game card, and then won a yummy slice of apple pie hand-made by the FACS Department's catering classes. A good thyme was had by all!

On Thursday, November 28th, Leyden High Schools hosted over 100 recruits from the Great Lakes Naval Base to provide them with a warm Thanksgiving meal with all of the fixings. Thank you to the members of our school board, administrative team, food services, transportation, maintenance, catering classes, and the chamber choir for giving their time and talents to make this a special day for everyone. National Honor Society, Rho Kappa, and Interact students from West Leyden also volunteered to schmooze and play games with our guests. Serving those who have chosen to serve our country was the least we could do to show our appreciation and gratitude.

It's hard to believe that we're a few short weeks away from the end of first semester! Stop by the Commons on Tuesday, December 10th, between 2:45 pm - 4:00 pm to meet up with friends, destress, and unwind. You'll receive a FREE wooden cutout of a word to live by, and you'll get to paint it while sipping on some yummy hot chocolate!

On Saturday, November 23, Leyden High School’s Rocket League team (consisting of West seniors Rodrigo Diaz and Jonathan Rosas, East junior Isaac Merino, and East freshman Ian Giron) won the Illinois High School Esports Association state championship! The team competed in the online tournament against more than 100 Illinois schools. They went into the competition ranked 2nd, going into the double elimination round in the 3A division.

Do YOU have what it takes to compete in Esports? This season, they will be playing Overwatch and Pokémon Unite. If you are interested in competing, complete the linked form for the game you are interested in playing. Matches are played at West once per week with an additional day of practice.

Pokémon Unit

• Practice/tryout - Tuesday 12/10 & Wednesday 12/11 after school at West room 163.

• Registration

Overwatch 2

• Practice/tryout - Tuesday 12/17 & Wednesday 12/18 after school at West room 163.

• Registration

Email Coach McFadden with any questions. Game on!

Friday, December 13th, all three levels of Special Olympics Basketball will be playing home games in the West Leyden Fieldhouse. We are hoping to pack the place with a lot of Eagle fans, so please come out and support our athletes! Games start at 4:00 pm with our transition team, followed by our LIFE team, and then our state champion BRIDGE team! Hope to see you all there!

The Leyden Fine Arts Department will be hosting its 30th Annual Yuletide Celebration on Friday, December 13, and Saturday, December 14, at 7:00 p.m. in the East Leyden Commons. Join us for an evening of delicious warm beverages as our carolers will parade you through our beautiful holiday lighting ceremony. Return to your seat to find a scrumptious treat! Advance tickets are required, so purchase your tickets today.

Leyden's "Strive for 95" campaign offers a lot of cool prizes for students who strive to maintain 90% or higher attendance:

• Monthly raffles to win Leyden clothing, free Prom tickets, Stanley drinking cups, Javaccino dollars, pizza parties for you & your friends, and much more.

For those soaring eagles who maintain 95% or higher attendance:

• $20 off Prom tickets (juniors & seniors only)

Click on the image above 👆 for more information!

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.