The Navigator
Principal's Newsletter
November 2019
Pen of the Principal
As we approach the end of the first semester, there is a lot to share and celebrate. As in years past, I will use the belief statements created by the St. Charles North Staff in the fall of 2013 to organize my thoughts.
We are committed to investing in the strengthening of our school community.
The Bullying Prevention Task Force, with 4-5 students from each graduating class, has established three goals around which they are action planning. These goals were generated after the students analyzed the data from last year’s school-wide survey. Increasing communication, providing more information regarding what is right/wrong and how to respond in the moment, and creating avenues to increase involvement in the anti-bullying message are the focal points of the goals. All students will have an opportunity to complete the fifth annual Bullying Prevention Task Force survey in January 2020.
We are committed to on-going learning to continually strengthen our instruction.
Throughout the full and half-day School Improvement sessions this semester, teachers are investing time in furthering their work in Professional Learning Communities (PLC), preparing to administer final exams through the Schoology online platform, expanding their understanding of trauma-sensitive classrooms, and building their repertoire of strategies to support students’ academic and social-emotional skills.
We are committed to striving for excellence in all we pursue.
Our athletes, academic teams, performers, and student activity participants have had a terrific fall. They have raised money for charity organizations, engaged in postseason competition, participated in national training events, and performed for local Veterans. I am extremely proud of the way our students value hard work both in and outside of the classroom.
As we continue to partner together, I invite you to attend PTO meetings. At these meetings, we share information about current and upcoming events and insight into some of the processes, such as student schedules. Also, speakers presenting on urgent topics, such as the dangers of vaping, are scheduled.
I also encourage you to utilize the Let’s Talk platform as a means to get answers to your questions, share concerns, and extend compliments or appreciation to staff for a job well done.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership as we work together to prepare our students for their future pursuits!
College & Career Readiness
Articles
National Merit Scholars
The City of St. Charles Job Shadow Program
Scholarship Opportunities
National Merit Scholars
Approximately 1.5 million high school students take the PSAT each year. Of those, only 3.3% are Commended Scholars. Congratulations to Kyla Lannert, Meghan Lu, Samantha Rydberg, and Tobias Strader on being named National Merit Commended Scholars!
The City of St. Charles Job Shadow Program
The City of St. Charles is offering a career pathway job shadow program to St. Charles high school students interested in exploring a career in municipal government professions. They will be able to explore the worksites, ask questions, see demonstrations, and learn about education and certifications.
Students will have the opportunity to rotate among up to three career pathways and may sign up for more than one job shadow date. The next date is January 6, and the Registration Forms are due by December 16. Space is limited.
Click here for the registration form and a list of possible areas to shadow.
Scholarship Opportunities
Throughout the year, many scholarship opportunities will come into the Office of College and Career Readiness. We encourage students to check these weekly. Students may access these scholarships in one of two ways:
1. The Scholarship Box - located in the office and materials here are regularly updated.
2. Local Scholarship Opportunities
Please see Mrs. Porter in the College and Career Office with any questions.
Student Life
Articles
Breakfast with the Stars
Homecoming
Peer Leadership
Upcoming Events
Breakfast with the Stars!
Congratulations to the following students on being recognized as Breakfast with the Stars recipients: Jacob Barr, Maxley Baxter, Jillian Dennis, Joshua Duncan, Jorge Flores, Veronika Hokrova, Leah Kmiecik, Ashley Landau, Luke Laracuenta, Skye La Rosa, Hilary Rice, Cade Smith, Daniel Tellin, Carly Topf, Rico Vallejera, Hope Woolwine, and Jake Zaccariello. This honor speaks highly of these students' performance, and they are one of the many reasons that St. Charles North High School
is a school of excellence!
Homecoming
On the week of Sept 16, the school was blasted with tones of purple, yellow, green, and red as the North Stars celebrated Homecoming 2019: “Around the World.” Members of each class decorated cafeteria walls, school display cases, and downtown windows throughout the early parts of the week.
During school, students displayed their class spirit during the traditional Pep Assembly, where the entire Homecoming Court was introduced, and the first round of Tug-of-War was battled. Tuesday night held the Co-Ed Volleyball game in the Main Gym, with a close championship match between the Seniors and Juniors leaving the elder victorious. The Small Games Assembly was held on Wednesday to record crowds for this event. Classes competed in the Tug-of-War, Beach Dash, Sumo Wrestling, Balloon Race, and other games.
Our Homecoming Court was be narrowed down to the five organizations earning the distinction of Homecoming Royalty. On Thursday, organizations decorated their golf carts and made ready for the parade on Main Street on Friday. The football team hosted Geneva and Homecoming King, Patrick Obernesser, and Queen, Nikole Custer, were crowned. The Seniors earned the coveted Spirit Flag, winning the “overall” for our Homecoming Week.
Then on Saturday, school staff welcomed just over 1600 students to the Dance in the Main Gym--a good time was had, and the students especially liked when the DJ played “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire, a fitting anthem given the date.
Peer Leadership
The Noon Kiwanis Club of St. Charles’ goal is to have ongoing projects offering fulfilling service to the children in our community. One of those projects is with the St. Charles Park District to provide ADA compliant swings in community parks in St. Charles. Another is to provide a wheelchair-accessible swing that will be installed at the new playground in Pottawatomie Park.
But playgrounds also need benches. So as a part of the Playground Project, the Kiwanis learned of a program from a company that would provide a bench made of recycled plastic bags. We know that plastic bags are environmentally hazardous, and this is a way to keep them from ending up in our landfills while making productive use of them. To receive a bench, the Club needed to provide 500 pounds of plastic bags.
SCN’s Peer Leadership program saw the opportunity to do the right thing for the environment and help provide a bench for a park that will serve disabled kids. To say they embraced the project would be an understatement as large bags began showing up that first week and continued week after week. After seeing the enthusiasm from their students, North Administrators also contributed to the project with more bags.
The result? With the help of this contribution, in less than two months, the Noon Kiwanis Club was able to collect more than 500 pounds. Peer Leadership is now looking to donate towards a second bench as a school.
Upcoming Events
Rising Stars Leadership Workshop
In December, North Star Council will once again host a leadership workshop for North students with Ted Wiese, known as one of America’s best youth leadership development speakers. Ted works with thousands of students every year to teach and enhance their leadership skills. Each club and sports team will have the opportunity to send a few of their rising leaders to be trained at this workshop.
Make a Difference St. Charles with Feed My Starving Children
On Sunday, January 26th, St. Charles North High School will bring more than 500 volunteers together to fight world hunger during Make a Difference St. Charles, a Feed My Starving Children Packing Event. This community-wide service project gives students at St. Charles North the opportunity to donate their time and resources to make a difference in the lives of starving children. Feed My Starving Children provides logistics for the packing event, while local donors (that’s us) provide funds and labor to pack the meals.
Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 that tackles world hunger by sending volunteer-packed, nutritious meals to 70 countries. They also operate orphanages, schools, clinics, and feeding programs to break the cycle of poverty. This Minnesota-based charity spends more than 90% of total donations directly on feeding the hungry and has earned the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator for 11 consecutive years.
To reach our goal of raising over $12,000 and packing over 55,000 meals, we need your help. Please consider joining us on that day for a 90-minute volunteer shift. You could also donate or fundraise to help us with our goal. Inquiries can be directed to Erin Manheim at (erin.manheim@d303.org) or to the Office of Student Life. More details of this event to follow.
News from the Nurse
Mrs. Amy Boynton - School Nurse
The majority of information we have related to your child’s health status is noted on their freshman physical. If your child is injured or has an ongoing illness, please give us a call. Any information you share regarding your child’s health, whether it is an acute or chronic concern, will help us advocate for your child in the school setting.
Any medications taken during the school day (except for inhalers and insulin) need to be taken in the nurses’ office and administered by a parent or a nurse. This applies to over-the-counter medications like Advil or Tums as well as prescription medications. The required forms for medication administration by a nurse and the administration policy are located on the district website under department: health services.
The Centers for Disease Control encourages every person over the age of 6 months to receive a flu shot. Make your family’s flu shot appointments TODAY!
I.D. Cards
All Students in grades 6-12 are required to wear their school I.D. cards at all times during the school day. Students are also expected to display them upon request of any staff member at any time, including at school-related activities. Students were issued a school I.D. at registration. In the event that a student misplaces their I.D., they will be issued a new I.D. There is no charge for the first replacement I.D. Students will be charged $5.00 for each subsequent I.D.
Finals Information
St. Charles East and North High Schools
Final Assessment Schedule
First Semester
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Period 1 (exam) 7:30 - 9:10
Period 2 (exam) 9:20 - 11:00
Period 7 (exam) 11:10 - 12:50
Buses Depart at 1:10 PM
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Period 6 (exam) 7:30 - 9:10
Period 3 (exam) 9:20 - 11:00
Period 8 (exam) 11:10 - 12:50
Buses Depart at 1:10 PM
Friday, December 20, 2019
Make-Up Exam Time 7:30 - 9:10
Period 4 (exam) 9:20 - 11:00
Period 5 (exam) 11:10 - 12:50
Buses Depart at 1:10 PM
St. Charles North High School
Email: beth.eckard@d303.org
Website: https://north.d303.org/
Location: 255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles, IL, USA
Phone: 331.228.4400