02-22-24

D128 Parents and Guardians:

It is time once again for our district to join the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in the statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. The survey provides a unique opportunity for students, parents/guardians, and teachers to have a voice in improving our schools.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring five “essentials” critical for school success:

• Effective Leaders

• Collaborative Teachers

• Involved Families

• Supportive Environment

• Ambitious Instruction

The 5Essentials Survey is incredibly important to all schools, state-wide, especially in that it gives the opportunity for students, parents/guardians, and teachers to make their voices heard. Students will take the survey in school on March 13. Parents/Guardians may take the survey now through March 29. To complete the 5Essentials survey, please click on this link

Visit this link to read the complete details.

Board of Education News

• The February Board of Education Meeting will be held Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the VHHS Library. As always you are welcome to join us in person or watch the live stream of the meeting. Complete details of the meeting, including the agenda, related items and a link to the live stream will be sent to parents on Friday, Feb. 23.

D128 students participating in the My Brother's Keeper Mentoring Group attended a leadership seminar on Thursday, Feb.15, hosted by AON, College of Lake County, and One Million Degrees. The seminar provided students with networking opportunities with minority leaders throughout the Chicagoland area and provided sessions on resume writing and interviewing. Also, the students learned about the apprenticeship program with AON. (Photos courtesy of Greg Ney Photography.)

Congratulations to the D128 students who have been named National Merit Finalists:

LHS: Cameron Huang, Vanessa Zhang, Kyle Li

VHHS: Emir Abdullaev, Sarthak Agrawal, Karen Cai, Christian Choi, Charles Collier, Sahiti Garimella, Noah Kim, Divya Mudimbi, Tyler Park, Rain Weiner

Earlier this month, Transition Pathways students with their teacher, Cory Burns, attended a voter registration experience with students from other Lake County transition programs. The event was sponsored by the Lake County Clerk's Office and the Mundelein High School Transition Center to promote civic engagement and inclusion within our community. The Pathways team is pictured below at the event with Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega. Read more at the Lake County Clerk Newsletter, where the Pathways team is also featured.

Transition Pathways students need your help to select the best catch phrases for the coffee mugs and tumblers produced in their micro business. The catch phrases with the most votes will be available for sale in the near future! Thank you for all of your support!

Visit this link to vote for your favorite catch phrases today!

Saturday at Palatine High School proved to be the perfect culmination of a remarkable gymnastics career for senior Annika Chudy. Her day started with a second place finish in the individual all-around (a sum total of scores from her Friday routines in uneven bars, balance beam, vault & floor). Annika then performed well on day two of the uneven bars, earning another 2nd place medal. But she wasn't done. In the final exercise of the championships, Annika nailed her floor routine with a 9.6750 mark. That score was high enough beat all others, earning Annika a 1st place state champion medal.

Congratulations, Annika!

D128 Special Olympics athletes Abi Nowacki (VHHS) and McKenzie Ruhnke (VHHS/Pathways) competed in snowshoeing at this month's State Winter Games in Galena. They competed in the 50m, 100m and 200m events and we are proud to share that both athletes brought home Silver Medals!

Abi (below at right) earned Silver in the 50m and the 100m. She is the 2nd fastest female in the State in both distances. McKenzie (below at left) earned Silver in the 200m. She is the 2nd fastest female in the state at that distance.

Congratulations Abi and McKenzie!

LHS Physical Welfare Teacher Megan Lavery was named a recipient of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Award of Meritorious Service. She received the honor for her work done at her previous district, and she continues this work with her students and colleagues at LHS. This is Meg's first year at LHS. She previously she taught English in Grayslake D46 (2005-2018) and Health & Wellness in Lake Forest D67 (2018-2023).

In addition to teaching, Megan is the assistant coach for the girls bowling and softball teams. She holds yoga, SEL, Green Dot, and R.A.D. certifications. She is also a Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor through the Lake County Health Department and has served on The Daily Herald’s Diversity Advisory Panel, trained with the School Crisis Recovery and Renewal Project, and was named a 2023-2024 Illinois Policy Fellow through Teach Plus. Megan is a two-time NPR The Moth StorySlam winner and Chicago GrandSlam Champion. She is currently working on a graduate certificate through the International Institute of Restorative Practices and hopes to begin a doctorate in Public Health next year.

Thank you to everyone who generously supported our D128 Foundation for Learning during its 5th Annual Weekend of Giving! This year's campaign raised $8,216.38. All money raised goes to support the students of LHS, VHHS and Transition Pathways.