Principal's Blog 2025-2026 #16

December 5, 2025

Dear Mustangs!Just a quick reminder, here is the schedule for Semester 1 final exam week:

Monday, December 15th

Normal School Day (Regular Start/Dismissal Time)

Tuesday, December 16th (Schedule)

Early Release Day (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:50pm

Wednesday, December 17th (Schedule)

Finals Schedule (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:45pm

Thursday, December 18th (Schedule)

Finals Schedule (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:45pm

Friday, December 19th

No school for students unless emergency day is used.

This information can also be found on our school website.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexandria Taylor

Principal

Mundelein High School

847-949-2200

www.d120.org

ataylor@d120.org

We’ve recently had several vehicles parked in our student lots without valid parking permits, which creates unsafe conditions and congestion. To park in any MHS student lot, a valid permit is required; this is not optional. If your student drives and does not have a parking permit, please speak with them to ensure they are not parking on school grounds. We ask that families reinforce that this is both a requirement and the responsible thing to do.

To Help Ensure a Smooth Start to Everyone’s Day:

1. Parking Permits Required
   All students must have a valid parking permit to park in student lots.
2. Park in Legal Spots Only
   Vehicles must be parked in designated, legal parking spaces.
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 safe, organized, and accessible for everyone.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Winter Solstice - December 21st

Christmas - December 25th

Hanukkah - Begins December 14th at sundown.

Kwanzaa - Begins on December 26th

New Year's Eve - December 31st

It is also a month to remember universal human rights and person with disabilities.

Hope Squad - Monthly Theme is Generosity

December Workshops

View our latest D120 podcast, “Lights, Camera, Mustangs,” featuring Kevin Quinn:

Here, Kevin speaks with Superintendent Corey Tafoya about his position as MHS Director of Facilities and Maintenance, his role in overseeing the construction project and the current progress and status of the project.

This has been our most successful year yet ... we had over 1,200 donated items!

Top Classes:

• 1st place: Mrs. Bonadies’ class with 177 items — congrats on winning the pizza party!
• 2nd place: Mrs. Kolcz’s class with 91 items — congrats on winning the donut party!

Honorable Mentions:

Hogan’s class (76 items), McArthur’s class (77 items), McCarthy’s class (70 items), Sam Rizzo’s class (77 items), Pomerleau’s class (53 items), and Anna George’s class (51 items).

Whether your class brought in 1 item, 10 items, or 177 items, Junior Student Leadership wants to thank you for making this happen!

Times are weird and tough, so the fact that our students, staff, and community can come together and make a difference gives me so much hope.

We appreciate you all!!

Our Honors Jazz Ensemble was asked to perform at the Joint Annual Conference for School Boards in downtown Chicago this past Friday! They opened the entire conference, performing in front of 3,000+ attendees. This marks the second time in 3 years that our fantastic band has been asked to perform for the annual event.

Click here for the event scrapbook.

The Fine Arts team made their way down to West Oak, Fremont, and Carl Sandburg this past week for their annual Fine Arts Tour. The students at each school were welcoming and engaged and our MHS students represented our school and community wonderfully! We look forward to seeing many of these students involved with activities next year!

Click here for the event scrapbook.

Cutler Wyss at his college signing event! Cutler will be committing to Southern Illinois University, where he will continue his education and excel in football.

Congratulations to the six students who received the covered Mustang Pride Award during a special breakfast program Thursday morning.

The award recognizes students for demonstrating one or more of our Profile of a Learner tenets: agile; self assured; proactive; information seeking; resilient; and empathetic.

Those receiving awards were Santiago Quebrado, Darwin Christopher Fletcher, Bridget Kathleen Russ, Bryan Ramirez, Ein Temperance French, and Emma Marie Uribe.

Congratulations to the students - they are setting a high standard for all of our students.

Join us this coming week for some exciting college visits! Register in SchooLinks today!

Check out our weekly newsletter for more important event and scholarship information.

Here is your to-do list for December!

Are you interested in summer school? Our 2026 Summer School Information is now available online.

Click here to see the:

• Calendar
• Course Guide
• Driver Education Info
• Registration Link

Order your cap, gown, and senior swag now to ensure timely delivery!

• Earlybird pricing ends December 5th
• Last day to order is February 27th

Order now at www.HerffJonesIL.com, or Call Herff Jones at 815-756-4743. Herff Jones Office hours are Monday - Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Click here to see the MHS Class of 2026 Graduation Booklet and Calendar

Tickets for our 2025 Spotlight Event are now on sale, and can be purchased here.

Spotlight Tickets

Please note that ticket sales will end at 7:30 a.m., on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. We expect a very full audience, and cannot guarantee the number of seats that might be available the night of the event if you have not purchased tickets ahead of time.

Raffle ticket sales can be found here.

Raffle Tickets

Raffle ticket sales will also be available the night of the event, and there is no limit to the number of tickets you can buy!

Cash, check, and credit card payments (via Omella), will be accepted at the event.

Join in the fun!

English | Spanish

MHS students will provide tutoring (English and Spanish) at Fremont Library several times this semester. All K-8 students are welcome for homework or subject help.

Fremont Public Library

1170 Midlothian Rd

Mundelein, IL

December 10th

6:00pm - 7:00pm

For more information, please contact:

Fremont Public Library: (847) 566-8702

Mundelein High School: hbabowice@d120.org

Puertas Club’s annual holiday event, Días Festivos, will be on Friday, December 12th, from 5:00-7:00 PM in the cafeteria! This bilingual, open-house style event is aimed at bringing families into the school to celebrate the spirit of the season with their children and take part in family friendly activities that highlight some of the holiday and seasonal traditions of Latin America. We will have activities such as gingerbread contest, face painting, Holiday Loteria, and more! The event is FREE with food and raffles for purchase. Join us for a night of food, culture, holiday festivities, and fun!

The Best Buddies club would like to extend the invite to all students to attend the showing of Zootopia 2: Saturday, December 13, at 10:15 AM at Classic Cinemas in Fox Lake.

Please purchase tickets through Omella: https://omella.com/5xomy. Please see Ms. Penuel or Ms. Szydlowski with questions and thanks for supporting our BB crew!

We will have an early release for all students on this day to allow them to head home to prepare and “Study With Purpose” for their Final Exams.

Click here for the Special Schedule.

Monday, December 15th

Normal School Day (Regular Start/Dismissal Time)

Tuesday, December 16th (Schedule)

Early Release Day (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:50pm

Wednesday, December 17th (Schedule)

Finals Schedule (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:45pm

Thursday, December 18th (Schedule)

Finals Schedule (Start 8:40am / Dismissal 12:40pm)

Bus departs at 12:45pm

Friday, December 19th

No school for students unless emergency day is used.

Click here for a downloadable copy of the final exam schedule.

The Assessment Center will be open during the following times on Wednesday & Thursday of Finals (12/17-12/18)

• Before School (7:30-8:30am)

• ALL Periods (1-8)

• Makeup Exam Time (1:20-3:20pm)

We will close at 3:20pm each of the final exam days. If you have any questions regarding these times, please don't hesitate to reach out. There will be a printed sign hanging outside the AC and within the room, notifying students of the hours as well.

Emergency day, if needed.

Have a wonderful winter break! Stay safe. We'll see you back here on January 6th!

Students not in session.

Athletics events week of 12/08/2025

Athletic Department Newsletter (coming soon)

2025-26 Sports Season Start Dates

Did you know? You can stay on top of all the MHS athletic schedule changes and reminders for your favorite activities!

With Notify Me!, you can set yourself up to receive automatic text and email notifications. Simply log in to choose the teams and activities you want to track, and we'll send you updates directly to your phone or inbox.

It's easy to use and you can log back in anytime to modify your settings. Don't miss a game or important update again!

Https://as3.rschooltoday.com/public/notify/genie/632/school/632

Submitted by Coach Teipel

Mustangs Girls Basketball is off to a great start at 6-0! They won their Thanksgiving Classic and just won their first conference game at the buzzer verse Waukegan!

Submitted by Coach Strauss

Mundelein Girls Gymnastics had a great start to the year, winning a dual meet on both the JV and Varsity levels against Warren on Tuesday, December 2nd. Special shout-out to freshman Jocelynn Russell for competing for the first time and performing a great floor routine!

We are looking forward to our next home dual on Wednesday, December 10th, at 5:30 in the main gym versus Libertyville. We would love to see some students out to support our gymnasts!

Submitted by Coach Jones

The MHS Girls' Varsity and JV Bowling teams started the season with impressive wins over Stevenson High School. Varsity won by over 500 pins with Morgan Pawlak, Mia Ryan, and Paige Winters leading the way. The teams are looking to carry this momentum into our first invitational this Saturday at the Dundee-Crown Charger Scrambler at Liberty Lanes.

Check out our weekly CCRC Newsletter at: https://app.smore.com/n/uz891

Peer/AP Tutors has updated the link to the Advanced Placement web page where students can access videos that detail nearly two dozen AP courses offered at MHS. We are grateful to senior Sophie Hammer who taped and edited every video, and the cast of seniors and juniors who provided insights behind selecting advanced placement courses.

The link can be found on the Literacy Center and Peer/AP Tutors website.

• Before school, during lunch, free periods, study hall. Staff help and student (peer) tutors available.
• ARC Academic Resource Center B145-147: help with any subject. Mon.-Fri. 7:00am-3:25pm.
• Teacher office hours: contact the teacher for time/day.
• Guidance: Counselors can make arrangements for help. Check Power School for name of assigned counselor.
• Student-led AP and Honors Study Group schedule; Remind codes for each group (Text the code to 81010):

Scan the QR Code below for your weekly menu options.

For those times when you need a little extra support.

• Principal's Blog Archive
• District Developments Newsletter
• The Mustang Newspaper
• The Messenger Newsletter

Website: www.d120.org

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

Phone: 847-949-2200