MCHS Newsletter
May, 2021
END OF YEAR DATES
May 14th - last day of senior student attendance
May 20th and 21st - Finals (regular bell schedule)
May 21st - last day of student attendance
May 23rd - Graduation
May 24th - Teacher workday
Our Semester Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (SAKAS)/Final exams will be at the teacher’s discretion and may consist of a written test, project, paper, presentation, etc. The student’s final grade will be determined by their cumulative grades throughout the course of the entire semester; the SAKAS/final will not be weighted higher than any other assignment or project, therefore, a student's grade will be calculated in Infinite Campus with a designation of 100% Coursework for the second semester.
UNDERCLASS HONORS
Congratulations to our Underclassmen Awards Night recipients for the 2020-2021 school year! Honor Roll / High Honor Roll and/or Perfect Attendance are for Semester 2 of the 2019-2020 school year and Semester 1 of the 2020-2021 school year. In addition, several students were nominated for one of four 'A for Excellence' Awards by MCHS staff, several for leadership awards, and our Rensselaer Top Math and Science student was named for 2021. To view the presentation, click this link.
Honor Roll – Brock Adamson, Robel Addis, Meredith Angelo, Isaac Anthony, Collin Aubry, Rebecca Benton, Wyatt Bergbreiter, Alexandra Brackmann, Trevor Bruski, Abigail Burns, Allison Cassan, Cory Castaneda, Wesley Cederlund, Jade Chavez, Bethany Christiansen, Nathanael Cieslak, Kyle Clavey, Morgan Coffman, Alexandra Conroy, Bryanna Corral, Samantha Correa, Karen Cruz, Samantha DiMaria, Bartholomew Dose, Lilly Drolen, Mahala Englehart, Niko Enriquez, Frank Erb, Ruby Escorza, Aubrie Ettner, Avery Fashingbauer, Alexandra Fernandez, Owen Frederick, Hayden Gieseke, Elizabeth Gomez, Mercedes Gonzalez, Bianai Gonzalez Prado, Christian Graves, Mariah Grindle, Anastasia Guzman, Noelle Haas, Nakaria Hall, Evan Hartmann, Jose Herrera, Samantha Hober, Joshua Holst, Royal Hazlerig, Arianna Jaen, Luke Kacprowicz, Nathan Kagan, Anastacia Kalter, Keilee Kimmel, Kayla Klaassens, Christopher Kunzer, Lilly Kunzer, Isabella Laino, Mallory Lesher, Zanfina Ljumani, Ella Logue, Owen Lohff, Crystal Lopez, Gage Lopez, Juan Lopez, Mario Lopez, Perla Lopez, Jordan Lucio, Isabela Magallanes, Evan Maniates, Erin Manning, Ashtyn Martin, Cassandra Martin, Taylor McGibbon, Micah Meade, Erika Montes Xelhua, Samuel Montgomery, Jordan Morosi, Samantha Murray, Cameron Palmer, Riley Pankow, Emily Pedroza, Andrea Perez, Grace Phillips, Samantha Plaza, Gunner Quatroke, Mary Reed, Natalia Rodriguez, Abigail Rohe, Kennedy Salazar, Isabella Sanchez, Savannah Shacklee, Wyatt Shaw, Cooper Simons, Jonathan Snelgrove, Eldarion Sobusiak, Trinity Starks, Bryden Steele, Lynsey Steinke, Ethan Struck, Benjamin Toby, Ashten Valenti, Carson Van Winkle, Nicholas Walter, Grace Wzientek
High Honor Roll – Elizabeth Adams, Karli Adamson, Trace Allen, Gianna Almeida, Michaela Almeida, Sophya Anbar, Sydney Andrews, Meredith Angelo, Michael Ashbaugh, Collin Aubry, Grant Aubry, Preston Bailey, Ambria Baker, Leo Bankel, Evan Barkman, Jason Bloom, Sarah Bohlander, Collin Boorsman, Alexendra Botzoc, Rune Boyd, Alexandra Brackmann, Jordan Borgdon, Trevor Bruski, Abigail Burman, Alexa Calbow, Miya Castillo, Sarah Cederlund, Morgan Cetera, Bethany Christiansen, Madeline Christopher, Ryan Clark, Morgan Coffman, Samantha Conroy, Ella Davis, Samantha DiMaria, Elizabeth Dominguez, Grace Durkin, Alexis Elqunni, Jessica Elqunni, Ruby Escorza, Aubrie Ettner, Jacqueline Euker, Nathan Evans, Avery Fashingbauer, Alexandra Fernandez, Nicole Fitch, Richmond Fredrickson, Alejandro Gerardo, Hayden Gieseke, Priya Gilissen, Almea Giovannini, Chloe Gochis, Julissa Gonzalez Montillo, Lily Goode, Christian Graves, Natuayle Grays, Amanda Griffin, Mariah Grindle, Trever Harp, Amanda Harris, Alana Hartel, Evan Hartmann, Carter Heimsoth, Jack Heinberg, Samantha Hober, Joshua Holst, Courtney Jasinski, Addie Johnson, Isabella Johnson, Luke Kacprowicz, Sydnee Keller, Emily Kirchhoff, Sydney Koplin, Anna Kunzer, Summer Kunzer, Mia Kuzelka, Jacelynn Lambert, Cadence Leucht, Emma Leucht, Joseph Liebrandt, Zanfina Ljumani, Dylan Locke, Crystal Lopez, Mario Lopez, Jenny Loyo, Jordan Lucio, Mia Lulinski, Erin Manning, Madalyn Mardock, Riker Markus, Emily Martin, Nicholas Martin, Kailey Mazur, Taylor McGibbon, Quinn McGowan, Kathryn Meinecke, Madelyn Miceli, Kylie Miller, Jessica Minogue, Devin Moehrlin, Paola Montes, Tzitlali Montes, Jhonatan Morejon Cortez, Madeline Morse, Alexis Mortimer, Haleigh Moye, Mackenzy Mueller, Kyle Northcutt, Cameron Palmer, Riley Pankow, Diya Patel, Hir Patel, Emily Pedroza, Andrea Perez, Hailey Perez, Jesse Perez, Vanessa Perez, Athan Poggas, Kevin Ponce, Araceli Popoca Leuth, Aspen Rado, Nessa Randall, Marcus Ray, John Riedl, Valeria Rivera, Abigail Rohe, Gilberto Rojo, Christopher Ruiz, Evelyn Ruiz, Kennedy Salazar, Alondra Saldana Padilla, Reese Samuelson, Caden Sauder, Andrew Schermerhorn, Gabriel Schmiegelt, Savannah Scholfield, Audrey Schubert, Ty Sierpien, Patrick Signore, Isabella Simonini, Kalee Skow, Hunter Smith, Johnathan Snelgrove, Lauren Snelgrove, Nikiyasha Sobusiak, Eduardo Solis, Cody Stallings, Bryden Steele, Dylan Stolze, Callahan Struck, Omar Timoumi, Benjamin Toby, Amanda Trotz, Zoey Vallee, Keatyn Velasquez, Matthew Volkening, Tessa Volkers, Elizabeth Webster, Camden Weirich, Cheyenne Welker, Zoe Whetham, Emily White, Grace Wzientek, Marissa Young
Perfect Attendance – Sydney Andrews, Grant Aubry, Preston Bailey, Wyatt Bergbreiter, Jason Bloom, Collin Boorsma, Cadence Burger, Abigail Burman, Abigail Burns, Cory Castaneda, Lesly Castro, Sarah Cederlund, Morgan Cetera, Jade Chavez, Nathanael Cieslak, Alexander Criss, Lilly Drolen, Alexis Elqunni, Jessica Elqunni, Aubrie Ettner, Richmond Fredrickson, Jose Garcia Ramirez, Lilli Ghastin, Kiley Gibbs, Hayden Gieseke, Almea Giovannini, Julissa Gonzalez Montillo, Mariah Grindle, Rachel Grismer, Anastasia Guzman, Trever Harp, Amanda Harris, Carter Heimsoth, Jack Heinberg, Sebastian Hernandez, Fynn Huart, Courtney Jasinski, Nathan Kagan, Keilee Kimmel, Sydney Koplin, Summer Kunzer, Mia Kuzelka, Dylan Locke, Juan Lopez, Mia Lulinski, Ashtyn Martin, Nicholas Martin, Quinn McGowan, Grettell Michonski, Logan Miller, Tzitlali Montes, Samuel Montgomery, Madeline Morse, David Munoz, Samantha Murray, Cristian Ocelotl, Cameron Palmer, Riley Pankow, Diya Patel, Hir Patel, Rayne Pecor, Hailey Perez, Vanessa Perez, Araceli Popoca Leuth, John Riedl, Samara Rivas, Kevin Rodriguez Garcia, Abigail Rohe, Gilberto Rojo, Reese Samuelson, Andrew Schermerhorn, James Scott, Savannah Shacklee, Ty Sierpien, Jonathan Snelgrove, Lauren Snelgrove, Nikiyasha Sobusiak, Andrew Sofie, Eduardo Solis, Cody Stallings, Bryden Steele, Dylan Stolz, Ethan Struck, Conner Swanson, Dasia Taylor Underwood, Trey Torman, Amanda Trotz, Ryan Tuohey, Carson Van Winkle, Rayli Velasquez, Nicholas Walter, Cody Welker, Zoe Whetham, Adam Wigman, Grace Wzientek
“A” for Effort
Outstanding Improvement in Academic Performance – Travis Broederdorf, Mac Elliott,
Andrew Johnson, Rayne Pecor, Aspen Rado, Lynsey Steinke
Outstanding Example to Others – Ella Logue, Wyatt Shaw
Leadership Greater McHenry County – Morgan Coffman
Illinois Leadership Conference Marengo Woman’s Club – Morgan Coffman
Rensselaer Top Math & Science – Michael Ashbaugh
ILLINOIS STATE SCHOLARS
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), the state agency committed to helping make college accessible and affordable for Illinois families, confers this prestigious recognition to top Illinois high school students annually. This year, more than 17,500 honorees join the other top students who have been honored for their academic achievements since the designation was first introduced in 1958.
The State Scholar Program recognizes students for outstanding academic achievement. State scholar designation provides honorary recognition to those students who have achieved academic excellence, and only the top ten percent of graduates from approved high schools are announced as State Scholars each year. These are students who perform in the top one-half of their high school class at the end of the seventh semester prior to graduation, and score in the 95th percentile on the SAT.
Marengo Community High School is proud to celebrate the recognition of the following students in the Class of 2021: Daniel Antonson, Logan Chanthalansy, Kiley Christopher, Riley Coudal, Dawson Ditzler, William Fischer, Madison Johnstone, Olivia Kalter, Thomas Lulinski, Tyler Mirtl, Aaron Moehrlin, Aaron Phillips, Timothy Scholl, Zachary Secor, Samantha Smith, Savannah Swanson, and Caroline Westmoreland.
While the State Scholar recognition does not include a monetary prize, honorees will receive a congratulatory letter from ISAC and a personalized Certificate of Achievement. Honorees can also download a digital Illinois State Scholar badge that can be displayed on their online profiles and social media platforms, and shared with high school counselors, prospective colleges, employers, family members and others.
SOPHOMORE LEADERSHIP
MCHS staff selected Amanda Trotz to represent our school at the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership event in June. Amanda is involved in several clubs (HOSA and Student Council) along with athletics (Volleyball and Softball). In addition, she participates in club sports and community service. Her post-secondary goal is to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison to become a Speech Language Pathologist in an elementary school.
Each spring, 10,000 high school sophomores from across the country participate in one of HOBY’s 70+State and Virtual Leadership Seminars to develop their leadership skills and learn how to apply them to become impactful leaders. Student representatives are encouraged to become community change-makers and complete 100 hours of community service the year after the event.
MCHS is proud to announce the sophomore representative and alternate representative for the Illinois Leadership Seminar. Sophya Anbar has demonstrated her leadership skills through stepping up and going beyond in the Student Council organization. Her energy is contagious! She believes that, “one of the most rewarding aspects of being a leader...is seeing others reach their full potential…” Sophya is involved in several clubs, theatre, cheer and excels in a rigorous schedule. The virtual event will take place in late June. Activities include identifying personal values and setting goals, developing individual and group leadership skills, and learning from dynamic leadership speakers. This leadership opportunity is funded by the Marengo Woman’s Club.
Mia Lulinski has been selected as the alternate for the Illinois Leadership Seminar. She was selected by staff due to her leadership skills demonstrated in clubs (Student Council and Math Team) and athletics (Golf, Softball, and Volleyball). Her future goals include attending an Illinois University to major in Education.
CONTACT INFORMATION IN IC
It has come to our attention that some of our parents have not received email/phone messages that we have sent out. This occurs when the boxes in your contact preferences have been unchecked in your parent portal. Please log in to your parent portal and click on the person icon in the top right hand corner of the screen. Click on "Settings" from the menu and then click on "Contact Preferences." Your screen will look like this:
Our email and phone messages are sent as "General." If you do not have this box checked under both the phone tab and the email tab you will not receive messages. If the school were to experience an emergency situation, we would use the tag “Emergency” to send the message. The other descriptors are self-explanatory.
Messages will also be sent to your "Inbox" in the "Message Center" of the parent portal (shown below).
If you do not know your user name or password or need help with your contact preferences, please contact Susan McGuire at 815-568-6511 x1501.
STUDYING EROSION
Students are experimenting with how different levels of rain and erosion affect the environment in the classroom. Then we toured the ground in our community surrounding the school to see actual examples of what happens when rain or erosion impacts our area.
MCHS' 20th LEGISLATIVE SEMESTER
The 20th Legislative Semester, our senior-level American Government simulation course, is headed to an exciting conclusion as the full Floor Debate is slated for Friday, May 7th and Wednesday, May 12th. Pictured are student representatives speaking and debating the legislation that they have been working on all semester. Bills that passed these student-led "Committee Hearings" are headed for this final floor debate, and include topics like: eliminating standardized testing, streamlining the firearm purchase process, making US citizenship easier to obtain, and reforming our welfare system.
As we wrap up our 10th year of this program, we would like to again thank the MCHS staff for their flexibility and the Marengo/Union community in making this program so successful. Data collected throughout the years has shown us that MCHS's graduating seniors are becoming participants in all levels of democracy around them as a result of the Legislative Semester.
Elected leadership of the 19th and 20th Legislative Semester - (from left to right, back row) 20th Floor Leaders Justin Lechner and Diego Lopez, 20th Speaker of the House Fatimah Becovic. Front row from left to right 19th Floor Leader Zach Secor, 19th Speaker of the House Aaron Moehrlin, and19th Floor Leader Katelyn Shambo.
Rules Committee Members of the 19th and 20th Legislative Semester (from left to right, back row) Connor Ray, Gretchen Casper, Alyssa Volkers. Front row left to right Jack McMenamy, Riley Coudal, and Katelyn Shambo.
SKYLINE NEWSLETTER
The following “Newsletter” is written by Katelyn Shambo, along with co-writers Preston Bailey and Dylan Stolz, who are students in the Entrepreneurship Enterprise Class. Katelyn, Preston, and Dylan are in the Human Resources Department of Skyline, their virtual business.
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
Department: Tech
Chief: Erin Amendt
Members: Collin Aubry, Spencer Slavin, Connor Schroeder, Mitchell Kunde, and
Alex Wigman
The tech crew is in charge of all things social media and online advertising. Their main focus is to branch out to other VE business in spreading awareness about Skyline. Through social media, they are capable of reaching out to other people and companies worldwide about Skyline's product. Their greatest accomplishment is the website and their team motto is, "Do everything to the best of your ability.”
Department: HR
Chief: Preston Bailey
Members: Katie Shambo & Dylan Stolz
The HR department’s main goal is to keep the business running smoothly, encourage employees, and settle conflicts. We also started sending out newsletters this year and updated the employee handbook. It has been a great year and everything so far this year has been good. Our team's big accomplishment was starting up the bi-weekly newsletters that get sent out to other businesses. In them, we highlight team members, employee of the month, what we’re up to, and any major accomplishments we have done. We have also improved and rewritten the employee handbook to make it our own and improve the company. As long as everything is flowing smoothly, you won’t even know that we're doing our job. The team has been awesome this year with getting everything done on time and putting in the extra effort. Can't wait to see what next year brings us.
TRADE SHOW RECAP
The national trade show is coming up on the eighteenth and nineteenth of this month. All members of Skyline will be participating in this trade show by helping with sales. We are to have a very busy two days and are looking forward to it.
This concludes the trade shows for the 2020-2021 business year for Skyline. The national trade show was by far the best, involved everyone, and allowed the team to become closer together. It was also the trade show with the most amount of sales this year. Congrats Skyline and way to go.
WELCOME BACK MESSAGE
Welcome back from Spring break! We are happy to see many of us back in school for four days a week. This is our final push of the year to wrap everything up and finish up strong. The goal for these next few weeks will be to get all of our information transferred over and to complete the annual forms. We hope all of you enjoyed your break and will finish the year strong. Welcome back Skyline!!!
CASSAN STATE FFA PROFICIENCY WINNER!
Congratulations to Katy Cassan, who was selected as the State FFA Proficiency Winner in Dairy Placement! Katy is a member of the Marengo FFA Chapter of the Illinois Association FFA. Illinois FFA recognizes students in fifty different areas based on their work-based learning, also known as Supervised Agricultural Experiences or SAE. FFA members who demonstrate outstanding agricultural skills and competencies through record keeping, leadership, and scholastic achievement may be considered for this award. SAEs allow students to learn by doing by either owning and operating an agricultural business, working or serving an internship at an agriculture-based business or conducting an agriculture-based scientific experiment and reporting results.
Katy was selected as the State Winner by a committee of agriculture teachers knowledgeable in this work-based area, who reviewed their records online and then conducted virtual interviews from their homes and offices throughout the state.
Receiving this honor now makes Katy eligible to compete in the National FFA Awards Selection process in July, 2021. Katy was previously chosen as the Chapter, Section, and District awardee is this area. Katy has been involved in the following other agriculture education and FFA activities: Chapter Secretary, Parliamentary Procedure and Public Speaking Teams.
On Monday, April 26, 2021, the Marengo Community High School Board of Education recognized Katy for her achievement. Congratulations again and good luck at Nationals!
READING CLUB HAS AFTER-SCHOOL MEETING
The Reading Club was finally able to physically meet at an after-school meeting on Thursday, April 22nd! We have been meeting virtually every other Wednesday at 3 pm, but it was wonderful to finally meet in person.
Ten members were able to come to the meeting, and all members who attended had snacks, and were given several free books! We all shared the best books we have been reading this past year, and members also learned about new movies and series coming up based on YA books we have in the library. We discussed possible upcoming events for the last month of school, and we are hoping to have an end-of-year celebration before school ends. It has been a challenging year for all the clubs, but we are hoping that the Reading Club will be able to have our usual meetings, field trips and parties next fall.
TRACTOR DAY
GUIDANCE NEWS
Class of 2022: Any student planning on attending a post-secondary school after high school must fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) form. This form will be available October 1st, 2021 for the 2022-23 school year and should be filled out as soon as possible thereafter. Parents and students will use their 2020 tax returns to complete this form. For more information, please visit the FAFSA website and/or contact your student's counselor.
Mrs. Olson (A-G) olsonm@mchs154.org
Mr. Rode (H-P) roden@mchs154.org
Mrs. Schultz (Q-Z) schultzn@mchs154.org
Parents are invited to watch “The Future Belongs To You” video that was shown in all Junior Advisories. Counselors are available to have one on one meetings to discuss Post Secondary plans.
Freshman & Sophomore Tips for College Planning:
- Review your 4-year plan to make sure you have the correct classes for graduation, college admission, and to explore career options.
- Identify your interests in every area. Do you like to work inside or outside? Sit at a desk or move around? Work with people or things? These questions (and more) will help you identify what you like to do.
- Look at jobs, volunteer positions or summer camps to explore interests and gain skills.
- Tour local college campuses to learn about the wide variety of “fit."
Junior Tips for College Planning:
- Visit college campuses to find a good fit, learn about academics and admissions requirements. Colleges are doing Virtual Tours that will help during this time.
- Research financial aid options including scholarships and state aid.
- Sign up for a fall SAT (or register for the ACT).
- Create a list of schools or programs to explore. You are encouraged to begin applying to schools in August of your Senior year. Check each post-secondary school for application availability.
Seniors please be aware there is no decorating your caps for graduation! Also only stoles and honor cords that were earned at MCHS may be worn at graduation. Any questions, please stop in student services
Summer Hours: A counselor will be available throughout the summer by appointment only. Please contact Mrs. Gorter at 815-568-6511 x1303 to set up a time.
All students who failed a class 1st semester - MAP Credit Recovery is offered to all students this summer. It is a great way to make up a core course to stay on track to graduate in four years. Also, you can free up a class period to take an elective. If you don't pass the class in MAP - you will have the class in your schedule. MAP is set up as an online class where you come on-site from 8-12:30 for 15 days in June. If you have questions, please reach out to your counselor. Follow this link for the form. Paperwork and fees are due 4/30.
Freshmen - Health Summer School is offered virtually this summer. It is a great way to complete a graduation requirement and open up your schedule to take another elective. Follow this link for the form. Paperwork and fees are due 4/30.
FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE
Vaccinations
Please be reminded that students who have chosen to receive a COVID-19 vaccination should submit proof of their vaccinations to the school nurse. Students/individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose. Fully vaccinated students/individuals who have submitted this documentation are not subject to quarantines if identified as close contacts to someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Fully vaccinated students/individuals who become ill are still subject to isolation and testing.
COVID-19 Testing
The McHenry County Department of Health recently released new testing guidance for individuals who are symptomatic. If your student has symptoms and gets tested with a rapid COVID-19 test and the results are negative they will be asked to confirm with a PCR (lab) test. Therefore, in some cases a PCR test may be more prudent. At this time, we cannot accept results from at home testing or mail in testing of any kind for COVID-19.
If you have questions about vaccination or testing feel free to reach out to Katie Palek, School Nurse at 815-334-5852.