03-13-24

Note: Beginning in 2016-17, VHHS evolved its curricular offerings by replacing its 9th-grade Honors courses with AP courses. LHS, with a larger student population, has maintained 9th-grade Honors and AP offerings.

Equal Opportunity Schools

The third change to note is that D128 has partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools to increase enrollment by students of color and low-income students in more advanced courses. Diversity in these courses promotes equitable access to challenging educational opportunities for students from various backgrounds, fostering a more inclusive learning environment and preparing all students for greater postsecondary success. This work is aligned with and complements the statewide Accelerated Placement Act being implemented this school year.

At the March Board of Education Committee Meetings, D128 Director of Equity and Inclusion, Larry Varn, provided the board and community with a presentation addressing Accelerated Placement and Heterogenous Classes in detail. Visit this link to view the slide presentation shared at the March 11, 2024, Board of Education Program and Personnel Committee. Visit this link to view the video of the March 11 presentation to the D128 Board.

The Accelerated Placement Act, heterogeneous classes, and EOS initiatives will enhance the breadth and depth of the overall learning experience of all students. If you have additional questions, please share them on the form at this link. We will add questions and their answers to our FAQ which we will post on our website shortly.

Denise Herrmann, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Congratulations to the D128 Special Olympians who brought home the state championship on Saturday, March 9. This completed the basketball season which included the following achievements:

Unified Team - State Title

Chase Miller, Xavi Granados, Ben Pedersen, Marko Pastar, Alex Perez-Guzman, Haziel Morales, Noah Hewitt, Brendan Larson, Devin Ratajczk, Aarav Sheth, Ty Schiff, Zach Henderson, Jack Wasser, Connor Brockway and Parker Nuttall

Traditional Team - 3rd in State

Daniel Granados, Xavier Granados, Mckenzie Ruhnke, Liana Fuhrman and Chris Morozin

State Skills Competitors - Joel Smith - Gold, Hanna Kreitsch - Bronze, and Rishi Arun, Bronze

Well done athletes and coaches!

VHHS

The Spring testing for the Seal of Biliteracy will be via the AAPPL, STAMP or ALTA test, depending on your student's language. Students need to register on the webstore. Registration opened March 6 and closes March 20.

For questions please contact World Languages Department Chair Tammie Black.

For more information, please visit our Seal of Biliteracy website, VHHS

LHS

AAPPL Test

AP Spanish

AP French

April 11, 8:30 - Noon, LHS Studio Theatre

Taking full test

Retaking part(s) of test

AAPPL Test

Spanish 4 Honors

French 4 Honors

Taken during class

Taking full test

Retaking part(s) of test

AAPPL Test

retaking part(s)

German 4 Honors

German 3 Honors

Taken during class

Retaking part(s) of test

AAPPL Test

listening & reading only

Spanish 3 Honors

French 3 Honors

Taken during class

STAMP Test (ASL, Hebrew, Hindi, Polish)

AAPPL Test (Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian)

ALTA Test (more info here)

April 11, 8:30 - Noon, LHS Studio Theater

Taking full test (AAPPL & STAMP

Retaking part(s) of test (AAPPL & STAMP)

ALTA test

More information can be found on the LHS Seal of Biliteracy website.

For questions please contact World Languages Department Chair Jenny Goettsche

District 128 students attend Operation Snowball

Prevention & Wellness Program Coordinators Amy Dillon (VHHS) and Brenda Nelson (LHS) brought 100 LHS and VHHS students to the Operation Snowball event on March 6 at Camp MacLean in Burlington, WI. This year's theme was "ALL IN" and students focused on building connections, leadership, team building, communication, and establishing and strengthening community.

Thank you to our staff who helped facilitate small & large group activities: Melissa Amerine (VHHS), Juan Avila (VHHS), Samantha Avila (LHS), Tony Avila (LHS), Doug Dusthimer (VHHS), Tiffany Heinlein (VHHS), Teddy Kelley (VHHS), Dan Mead (VHHS), Nikki Olszewski (LHS), Pete Olszewski (LHS) Kevin Phelan (VHHS), Lauren Purchatzke (VHHS), Jan Sancho (VHHS), Cam Wieczorek (LHS), Jesse Wolter (VHHS), and Brian Zyrkowski (LHS).

Also a special thank you to our small group student leaders: Olivia Balos (LHS), Makenzie Brull (VHHS), Alex Clark (LHS), Henry Clasin (LHS), Grace Funke (VHHS), Daniela Gomez Anez (VHHS), Bridget Graham (LHS), Haley Kalinowski (VHHS), Ryan Klene (VHHS), Caden Longdon (VHHS), Kasandra Medina (LHS), Andrea Miron Ortiz (LHS), Anvi Narula (VHHS), Griffin Nichols (VHHS), Zoe Osornio (LHS), Kayla Ponchak (LHS), Ashley Sanchez (LHS), Peter Sieks (LHS), Tyler Singer (VHHS), and River Thompson (LHS).

And a huge shout-out to our amazing student directors who poured a lot of energy and heart into this memorable event: Hailey Baffico (LHS), Megha Patel (LHS), Caden Psaras (VHHS), & Natalia Robles (VHHS).

Check out the video our student directors put together here!

FREE Community Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

The Josselyn Center is hosting a FREE Youth Mental Health First Aid training for any adult who interacts with teens In Northbrook on April 18. This training is appropriate for any adult in any role - parent, coach, etc. Please see the & reach out to knahrwold@josselyn.org with questions and to register.

In partnership with OMNI Youth Services, we invite you to discuss the information provided in these posters with your kids. Perception matters - most teens OVERestimate how many of their peers are binge drinking. In reality, far less are actually partaking in underage drinking than our kids think! Which is encouraging.

Sixty one-minute conversations are better than having one 60-minute conversation.