HF FYI

Homewood School District 153, Flossmoor School District 161 and Homewood-Flossmoor High School are joining forces to conduct a community-wide survey to gather input about the districts’ communications efforts. All staff, parents/guardians, and community members are invited to take a 15- minute confidential online survey here by Monday, March 25.

By participating in the survey, you play an active role in shaping how each of the school districts communicate with you. Please take a few minutes to let us know how we are doing.

HF's Debate Team traveled to Illinois State University last weekend for the IDC Varsity State Tournament, and after two days of competition, our Vikings came out on top as HF's first-ever Lincoln-Douglas State Champions! Congrats to Senior Kevin Gibek, 1st Place & Captain of the All-State Team; Sophomore Zavier Scott-10th Place Overall; Sophomore Max Benitez; and Freshman Aliya Gaskin.

In Public Forum, Seniors Tarendran Heyward and Undra Pillows finished as quarterfinalists and ultimately 7th Place in state making them the most successful Public Forum team in HF History!

Also competing in Public Forum this past weekend were Seniors Nehemiah Holmes and Natilee Benson, Junior Everett Van Til, Sophomore Gregory Mitchell, and Freshman Jada Cherry and Philip Dickey.

Up next: The Vikings are on to Nationals! HF Debate is coached by Katie Cole, Emily Carroll, Beverly Lenore, Dan Bush, and Tiana Sharpe.

Over the past two weekends, our Mock Trial & Youth and Government teams showcased their exceptional skills and dedication at state-level competitions in Springfield.

Junior Arel Wiggins and Sophomore Taj Scott made history as the first HF students in a long time to participate as mock legislators at the Illinois YMCA Youth and Government state event. Their dedication and passion for civic engagement were evident as they crafted, debated, and presented a bill aimed at amending the Illinois Sherman Antitrust Act in order to improve economic diversity in Illinois.

Our Mock Trial team delivered their best performance of the season, leaving a mark with their exceptional prowess in the courtroom. Senior Kavi Richmond earned the coveted title of Best Attorney, while Arel Wiggins demonstrated remarkable talent as the Best Witness.

We're immensely proud of all our state participants for their remarkable achievements and commendable efforts. The rest of our state team included: Ari Bauer (Senior), Owen Harrison (Senior), Anthony Mancha(Senior), Cameron Massatt (Senior), Maya McNeil (Junior), Rylee Miller (Junior), Sami Obaidat (Senior), Niah Tibbs-Turner (Junior), Donte West (Junior), Kavi Richmond (Senior), and Arel Wiggins (Junior).

HF's Mock Trial teams are coached by Libby Day, Sara Youssef, and HF Alum Colleen Gorman.

Under the guidance of New Head Coach and HF Alum Wesley Stewart, HF's Steppers have three top-three finishes at competitions last weekend, including two 1st Place Trophies!

Season 2, Episode 6 of Walking the Path features HF Senior Jazmin Rhodes. She can often be found on the stage in the Performing Arts Center or Auditorium in lead roles for musicals.

Jazmin is a State Speech Champion, accomplished singer, actor and kind person. She will pursue a degree in musical theater after graduation and after an illustrious acting career hopes to become a theater professor at an HBCU.

Walking the path between the north and south buildings is a unique experience for Homewood-Flossmoor High School students. Superintendent Dr. Scott Wakeley walks the path with a member of our school community to learn about their Viking voyage and how the competencies of the Profile of a Viking are evident in their lives.

This week's Profile of a Viking features Special Education Teacher Mrs. Shanté Jackson on Communication & Collaboration. "You can't have one without the other...two heads are better than one. We have to collaborate with each other--it just makes everything better," she says. Check it out here.

HF's Viking Broadcasting students came in strong in the Illinois Women's Press Association Contest. Catch up on the entries and winners here:

Radio / Television Interview or Talk Show

Tim VanEtten, Redesigning Learning - FIRST PLACE (watch here)

Jasmen Walker, Viking Insight With Jasmen Walker - SECOND PLACE (watch here)

Video News Story

Emmanuel Wright, Harry Komorowski, Witches Night Out - SECOND PLACE (watch here)

Video Feature Story

Charlie Wachtel, Nikolai Lawrence, Student of the Week - HONORABLE MENTION (watch here)

Charley Dieringer, Tristan Lewis, Bridging the work force skills gap - FIRST PLACE (watch here)

Cameron Williams, Community Podcasts - HONORABLE MENTION (watch here)

Video Sports Story

Declan Klyn, Macy Hamer, Baseball’s Newest Coach - HONORABLE MENTION (watch here)

Kymora Scott, Chris Tompkins, Volleyball Perseverance - SECOND PLACE (watch here)

HF Field Hockey- Starting Success- FIRST PLACE (watch here)

Congratulations to the following Mathletes who achieved SWSC All-Conference honors this year:

• Freshman Oreoluwa Owolabi
• Sophomores Taylor Alexander, Douwe Groen, Nikolai Lawrence, Greg Mitchell, Alexander Wettstein
• Juniors Tolani Babawale,Everett Van Til, Jackson Willis
• Seniors Asha Garrett, Nathan Legardy, Jack Piros

Special congrats to Jack Piros for being named to the Scholastic Bowl All-State team. Jack becomes only the third HF player in school history to be All-State twice. He will be honored at the IHSSBCA banquet at Illinois State University on April 20.

HF Summer Sports Camps provide student-athletes in our community with a foundation of fundamental skills, knowledge, character, leadership and love for athletics. Recognizing that while skills and drills are critical to the improvement of an athlete, making the sport fun is essential to developing the passion for the game. We hope you’ll join the tradition of HF athletics this summer by training and learning from some of the best coaches in high school athletics in some of the best facilities in the country! Register on hf.8to18.com. Browse the camp offerings in our brochure here.

Celebrate your 2024 Boys' Basketball State Champions in style: Visit the online team shop here to buy your swag! Orders will be mailed directly to you.

Homewood-Flossmoor High School and Honest Game have partnered to provide students and families with an easy-to-use College Athletic Pathway software and additional educational resources. We know that accessing scholarships and college athletics requires not only a commitment to athletic training and competition but also a commitment to academic success.

Honest Game’s online platform provides students and families with individualized tracking across FIVE college athletic opportunities, including NCAA DI, DII, DII, NAIA, and Junior College pathways. Learn more and get started by clicking the link below.

Donate today through April 12 to support HF Softball! Your support helps offer a higher quality experience for all participants. Raising dollars for extra curricular activities can be very difficult to do but is vital for the program's success. Your Vikings appreciate your generosity!

HF's Guidance Office along with the HF Foundation and HF Parent Association are happy to announce the release of the HF Foundation Scholarships! The scholarships will be available starting Monday, March 18 through Sunday, April 7.

All applications will be accessible and completed through a Google Survey. There will be no paper or hard copies available in the Guidance Office. Please find the 2024 Foundation Scholarship application here.

For additional scholarship applications and general information regarding scholarships please visit our scholarship page. Any scholarship questions should be directed to the Post-Secondary Counselors Mr. Kain (bkain@hf233.org) or Mr. Coy (kcoy@hf233.org).

Tuesday, April 2

• University of Missouri-Columbia (3rd Period, 9:52 a.m.)
• Illinois Institute of Technology (4th Period, 1:55 p.m.)

Thursday, April 4

• Northern Illinois University (3rd Period, 9:52 a.m.)
• University of South Florida (4th Period, 1:55 p.m.)

The Guidance Office is hosting college reps visiting with our students during the spring semester! Please have your child log onto SchooLinks to register. Once logged in (they log in with their HF Gmail account), they will simply click on "School Events", where they will see the list of colleges signed up. They can click on the college that they are interested in visiting. After that, click on "register for this event", and that's it!

Please have your child make sure that they discuss this with their teacher whose class they're missing and ask for a pass for the day they will be meeting with the college rep. Please know that visiting with college reps is a privilege, not a right, and your teacher has the discrepancy to say no. If that's the case, have your child reach out to Mr. Kain (bkain@hf233.org) or Mr. Coy (kcoy@hf233.org) and they can get them some information and send it their way. Any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Kain or Mr. Coy.

Our Guidance Department has been working to inform Seniors and their families about issues regarding financial aid award letters from colleges. Please see this letter below for more information and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our Post-Secondary Counselors Mr. Kain at bkain@hf233.org or Mr. Coy at kcoy@hf233.org.

HF is offering Driver Education this summer:

• Behind-the-Wheel: For students who have completed the classroom requirement.
• Classroom & Behind-the-Wheel: For students who will be 16 years of age before November 1, 2024, and have sophomore status.

Visit our Driver Education page here and complete the pre-registration form here.

HF School Counseling Department held a webinar for families of rising 9-12th graders about the course selection process for next school year. A recording of the session has been uploaded to the HF website, and you can re-watch it here. Check out the 2024-25 Course Offerings here.

As the Class of 2028 prepares to begin their Viking Voyage, this guidebook provides all the information families and students need to get started. You can also re-watch the Course Selection Informational Meeting here. Please share this with any eighth graders and their families that will be Vikings next school year.

As you prepare to become a Viking, you may be interested in ways HF's Special Education Department can best serve a student's individual needs. Click here to watch the informational presentation by our Director of Special Education David Dore.

Join the HF Special Education Department on April 10, 2024, at 6 p.m. for a presentation on "Let's Learn About Self-Advocacy and The Alliance".

Self-advocacy is like a puzzle. Tavarus Wesley, Advocacy Coordinator, and Krescene Beck, Organizational Advocacy, from the Illinois Self-Advocacy Alliance, Inc. will help participants solve the self-advocacy puzzle by putting together the pieces - who, what, when, where, how, why- needed to speak up and speak out for their lives.

Click here to join the presentation (Passcode: 459980)

Check out the Transition Resource Library for supplemental resources. QUESTIONS? Contact the Homewood-Flossmoor Special Education Department at (708) 335-5691.

23-24 Academic Calendar

23-24 Handbook

Athletics

Bell Schedule

Bus Information

HF Directory

Lunch Information

Parents' Site

Student Resources

Students' Site