HF FYI

The day is almost here: Voyage to Excellence is happening tomorrow, Thursday, November 30! We're excited to welcome our local 8th graders as they prepare to journey into Viking Country! We can't wait to see you in the North Fieldhouse:

5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Session 1: Parker & IJP

6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Dinner Break

7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Session 2: Hart & Brookwood

Check out this sneak peek:

HF's Music Department took 17 students to perform at the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) District 1 Senior Festival at Elmhurst University on Saturday, November 18. Of these students, two have been named to the All-State Music Ensembles. Please join us in congratulating Seniors Jazmin Rhodes (Soprano 1, All-State Honors Chorus) and Charisma Boler (Alto 1, All-State Chorus)!

For the first time since 2009, we have a student composition that was named a winner of the ILMEA All-State Student Composition Contest! Ave Van Til's original composition for chorus and piano, Orpheus, was selected as the state champion student composition for vocal ensemble.

Our Viking Ensemble is spreading holiday cheer around the community! They performed at the Flossmoor Tree Lighting on Saturday, and you can also catch them at the Homewood Holiday Lights this Friday!

The Viking Choir performed at our Interfaith Community Thanksgiving Gathering held at The Emmaus Community in Olympia Fields on Sunday, November 19. About 350 people were in attendance at the event that featured faith leaders and musicians from the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions in the South Suburbs.

Senior Jazmin Rhodes also was selected by audition to perform the national anthem at the Girls Volleyball State Championship on November 11. She performed at five games during the championship series.

HF's newest program Bring Change 2 Mind is a place for students to promote and discuss mental health, as well as plan mental health awareness events throughout the school year. BC2M will meet again on Tuesday, December 7 at 3:15 p.m. in Room G5. All students are welcomed, and be sure to bring a friend! Contact Mrs. Cowan jcowan@hf233.org or Mrs. White lwhite@hf233.org with any questions.

Students are also invited to sign up for Wellness Wednesdays! Happening 4th Period in Room G5, students can discuss a variety of wellness topics such as stress management and participate in wellness activities like cardio drumming and more. The next Wellness Wednesdays for students are:

• Wednesday, December 6: Mrs. White will be hosting a discussion on Relationship 101.
• Wednesday, December 13: Get tips to help you prepare and do your best for Finals Week.

Congratulations to our Scholastic Bowl Varsity Team, as they finished 17th out of 70 team--a top 25% finish, qualifying them for the IHSSBCA NAQT State tournament in February. The team was led by Senior Jack Piros, who scored the 3rd most points per game in the preliminary rounds of the tournament (out of over 350 competitors) and being part of the All-Tournament 1st team. The team competes next in Conference Play today, November 29 at Stagg.

The SAT is still important for college planning as it is used not only for admissions, but also for placement and scholarship money. Illinois will be paying for every student in the Class of 2025 to take the SAT in April 2024. To prepare the junior class, HF has invited ExcelEdge to offer SAT 1600. You can sign-up now through January 14, 2024. Check out the attachment below to learn more.

Our student-athletes didn't let the Thanksgiving Break slow them down. It was an awesome week of wins across Athletics.

Our Varsity Girls' Wrestling Team competed in the Normal Invitational on Saturday. Against 38 teams, the Vikings took home 2nd Place!

Seniors Jazaria Akins and Basirat Sodiq took 8th, Junior Amirat Lawal took 6th and Sophomore London Gandy took 5th. Junior Nina Hamm and Senior Autumn Pace both took 4th, and Sophomore Evie Regas took 3rd. Special shoutout to Ini Odumosu on being named Tournament Champion!

The next competition will be an eight team dual tournament in Schaumburg on Saturday. Make sure you catch the girls here at HF on Thursday, December 14 when they wrestle against Lockport.

Congrats are in order to Boys' Track & Field Coach Nate Beebe on being named the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (ITCCCA) Coach of the Year!

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.

Homewood-Flossmoor High School distributes the caps and gowns for graduates at the graduation rehearsal in May. In preparation for distribution and the ceremony, we are collecting gown sizes and colors. If you haven't done so already, please fill out your cap and gown form here.

On a typical day at HF, you'll likely see students testing what they learn in a real-world scenario. Check out Ms. LaPlante's Honors Forensics students, who are investigating the relationship between height and Spatter patterns.

Our American Stories is a nationally syndicated radio show that airs on over 330 radio stations throughout the country and has an estimated audience of 10 million listeners monthly. It also is distributed by iHeart Radio in podcast form. The show is a two-hour daily program that features great stories. No news, no current events. HF's Social Science Teacher Jon Elfner has been working for the program for five years as a regular contributor and producer, often taking the best stories from his history classroom for production.

His latest aired last week: It's a story about Sarah Josepha Hale, the most famous woman in America thanks to her role as editor of the most popular subscription magazine in America. She used her notoriety to conduct a 37-year letter-writing campaign to presidents to designate Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Check out the episode here.

The host of the show, Lee Habeeb, used the story as the basis for his weekly column in Newsweek--you can read that here. VTV student, Junior Cam Williams, will be producing a segment on this for the state broadcasting competition. Stay tuned!

Holiday Lights is a treasured event in Homewood, capturing the joy, excitement, and traditions of the season in one memorable evening. This free event is happening this Friday, December 1 from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. You'll have the chance to watch Santa flip the switch for the annual tree lighting ceremony, decorate holiday cookies, shop Homewood's unique stores, enjoy an ice sculpture demonstration, the grand holiday carousel, an antique car parade and so much more! Learn more here.

See Janet Gustafson’s annual gingerbread village for yourself! Tours are open to all and free of charge, but registration is required here. Enjoy the holiday scene and then hit the town.

Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 with Consolidated High School District 230 is hosting a Planning Is Essential (PIE) Presentation on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). PDA is an emerging profile for individuals with autism, characterized by a strong desire to avoid demands. Strategies for PDA differ than those widely considered effective for individuals with autism. Set your reminders: The presentation is Wednesday, December 13 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Reserve your spot here.

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