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North Chicago Community High School
April 2015
Home of the Warhawks
Kr ys tal Th om as, Pr i nc i pal
From the Principal’s Desk…
March has been exciting at NCCHS. Ninety students, as a reward for meeting, or exceeding, the “College Ready” benchmark on
the Winter EPAS spent the morning bowling at Bertrand Lanes. PARCC, a new and daunting test has been administered at the
high school, and we are now able to move on with great relief. Students, staff, and parents have taken the 5Essentials survey,
so that feedback about our performance can be taken into account and we can continue to make improvements on behalf of
our students and community. In March, we hosted a Blood Drive and a Little People’s Competition, as means of giving back and
showing support, which we hold as a priority. We are very excited about our new Math Initiative, Integrated Math. We have,
with the support of NTN, moved to an Integrated Math Model, which will include a new adoption of resources; we are very
excited to see our new program roll out next year. We spent our Teacher’s Institute Day at Rosalind Franklin steeped in
professional growth conversations and materials in order to move our professional practices forward; it was truly a growth
experience, after which we had Parent Teacher Conferences. It was wonderful to engage with all of our parents and family
support figures who find education such a vital part of their children’s lives. Our month of March then ended with Spring Break,
a vital week of rest, rejuvenation, and reflection, so that the remainder of the school year can be spent on inspirational studentcentered educational endeavors.
Schuler Scholars’ Summer Ahead
Juan Mejias and
Anthony Rodriguez
Schuler Scholars are preparing for an exciting summer! The
following Scholars have received scholarships to attend Summer
College Programs across the country: Keionna Badie, Alondra
Balderas, Jevaughn Hartley, Jean-Paul Anyansi, Marco Arteaga,
Maria Ayala, Kenya Cooper, Jose Garcia, Lily Janezich, De’Asia
Kamara, Citlalli Lopez, Karina Martinez, Jose Tenorio, Jasmin
Villasenor, and Shah Washington. These Scholars will be
attending two to four week programs at colleges and universities
including Stanford University, Brown University, Kenyon College,
Smith College, Johns Hopkins University and many more.
Additionally, four of our Junior Scholars - Jose Garcia, Juan
Mejias, Alexander Olvera and Anthony Rodriguez - will be
attending week long educational trips to Puerto Rico, Canada and
New Mexico.
We are also happy to share that Darius Stewart will be attending
a four week international program in South Korea as part of the
Experiment in International Living Peace Studies Program.
We are very excited for the Scholars as they prepare to embark
on these new adventures!
JeVaughn Hartley, Alondra
Balderas, Darius Stewart, Alex
Olvera and Jose Garcia
North Chicago Community High School
Page 2 of 4
Ladellia “TT” Maggett: This lightning-quick point guard
started her career at Zion-Benton, but relocated to North
Chicago after her freshman season. She's had more than
her share of injuries, including problems with both knees.
Yet, her ball-handling, defense, shooting, poise and
leadership have caught the eye of college coaches. She
averaged a team-leading 12.6 points, 4 assists and 3
rebounds for the sectional finalist Warhawks. – Jeff Bonato
Kylah Collins: Literally, she was one of
the hardest-working players in the
area. In addition to starring on the
court, her coach said she also
maintained a part-time job so that
sometimes she went from school to
practice to work. Yet, she was
tremendous on the court, averaging
11.4 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.
She started out at Warren, spent her
sophomore year at Waukegan, and
then played two seasons at North
Chicago. – Jeff Bonato
Zyaire Strowder: She emerged as
a go-to player for the Warhawks
(24-8), and the school has now
won a regional title all three years
she's been in the program. She
averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 assists
and 5 rebounds and figures to be
the go-to scorer on the team next
year. She's already drawing
interest from Division I programs
and is one of the top students in
the school, with a 4-plus GPA on
the 4.0 scale. – Jeff Bonato
Stefany Guzman participated in the Annual Illinois High
Schools Art Exhibition that is organized by Illinois Art
Educators Association of which Art Teacher, Dr. Grace
Wangombe is a member. Stefany was awarded a summer
institute scholarship by one of the Schools of the Art
Institute. As a result, she will spend some of her summer
vacation creating art with college instructors. Her winning
piece is attached her for you to share as well, it is a selfportrait. Four other students took part in the exhibition:
Marissa Irizarry (portrait in chalk pastels), Jonathan
Coleman (Print of a man), Cynthia Reynoso (Beaded 3D
piece of wood), and Noah Quigley (abstract painting).
M. Irizarry’s portrait
In chalk pastels
N. Quigley’s
abstract painting
S. Guzman’s self portrait
J. Coleman’s print
of a man
C. Reynoso’s
beaded 3D piece
of wood
DISTRICT-WIDE UPDATES
A message from Dr. Martindale, Chief Education Officer
It is hard to believe that we only have two more months of school left in the 2014-2015 school year. The last day for
Jivaja
students this
year is Monday June 1.
This has been a very busy and a very successful year. We have been very pleased with the successful transition of
converting our six elementary neighborhood K-5 schools into four grade level attendance centers. Our students, staff,
and parents have expressed many positive comments about the improvement in curriculum and sensitivity to
individual student needs.
In addition, we continue to see progress at North Chicago High School. Student attendance rates are dramatically
improved to where in many months we have been at or over 90% attendance. In addition we currently have 98% of
our seniors accepted into a post secondary educational or military experience after they graduate from high school
this year.
We have also seen dramatic improvement in the “climate and culture” at Neal School. We are nearing the end of our
first of three years of a Federal School Improvement Grant that has allowed providing many additional positive
educational supports to contribute to this dramatic improvement.
Finally, we are very excited about the recent receipt of another Federal Grant that will allow us to expand our early
childhood education program to an all day program and will also allow us to increase the overall number of students
we serve. Next year, all early childhood classrooms will be housed at Green Bay School. In next month’s newsletter we
will provide additional details on that new program.
I do want to express my appreciation and admiration to all of the parents and others who provide the support and encouragement
to their children each day. Without this support we could not make the improvement that we are making.
Student Support
The D187 Social Workers, Psychologist, and the Pupil Services Department have
been working together to create presentations and activities for each of our
buildings to teach our students about Erin’s Law. Erin’s Law is named after
childhood sexual assault survivor, author, speaker and activist Erin Merryn. After
Erin introduced the legislation in her home state of Illinois, the bill was named
“Erin’s Law” after her by legislators and it has caught on nationwide.
“Erin’s Law” requires that all public schools in each state implement a preventionoriented child sexual abuse program which teaches student appropriate
techniques to recognize child sexual abuse and tell a trusted adult, school
personnel about child sexual abuse, and parents/guardians the warning signs and
referral information.
Our social workers and psychologists have completed training through the
Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center and have begun making their rounds throughout all
of our district schools to teach students these important precautions and educate
staff on appropriate responses to student disclosures and child sexual
abuse. While it can be an uncomfortable conversation, we are ensuring that our
students and staff have this vital information and professional development to
ensure we are doing our part to prevent child sexual assault.
Grade Level News
Page 3 of 4
School Newsletter
Events this Month
North Chicago Community High School
1717 17th Street
North Chicago, IL 60064
Phone:
(847) 578-7400
Fax:
(847) 689-7473
Check out our new
Webpage!
http://ncchs.d187.org/
@NCCHS_Warhawks
Wednesday, April 22
Monday, April 13
Baseball vs Vernon Hills @
Track (B) vs Lakes/Vernon Hills
Grosche Field
4:30 pm
4:30 pm
Tuesday, April 14
Soccer (G) vs Rickover Naval Acad
Baseball vs Grant @ Grosche Field
6:15 pm
4:30 pm
Thursday, April 23
Wednesday, April 15
Volleyball (B) vs Mundelein
Volleyball (B) vs Stevenson
6:00 pm
6:00 pm
Tuesday, April 28
Soccer (G) vs Lakes
Tennis (B) vs Lakes
6:15 pm
4:30 pm
Thursday, April 16
Baseball vs Lakes @ Grosche Field
Soccer (G) vs Grant
4:30 pm
6:15 pm
Wednesday, April 29
Monday, April 20
Soccer (G) vs North Shore Country
Track (B) vs Lake Zurich
Day
4:30 pm
5:00 pm
Baseball vs Zion Benton @ Grosche
Thursday, April 30
Field
Tennis (B) vs Round Lake
4:30 pm
4:30 pm
Tuesday, April 21
Tennis (B) vs Grant
4:30 pm
Volleyball (B) vs Guerin College
*Dates subject to change due to inclement weather
Prep
6:00 pm