Leyden Pride
April 24, 2023
Important dates
May 16 - Varsity Sports Awards
May 18 - Seniors Last Day
May 23 - West Graduation
May 24 - East Graduation
May 26 - Last Day of School
End of semester schedule (freshman, sophmores & juniors)
Teatro Leyden presents Don Quixote
LINK: Buy tickets
Educator workshop and signing day
Students who are interested in a career in education are invited to attend Leyden’s Educator Signing Day Ceremony and Workshop on Friday, May 5, in the East Cafeteria.
This event will include an exciting keynote from Dr. Jung Kim, Associate Professor, Reading and Literacy Lewis University, an educator signing ceremony for any student entering a teacher preparation program, and breakout sessions, including Making the Most of Your College Experience, How to Get Hired, and Q&As with Leyden Alumni who are now teachers. Refreshments and snacks will also be provided.
Participating students will be entered into a scholarship raffle for two $500 scholarships, courtesy of the Mary Sears Children's Academy. Additionally, Leyden is excited to continue our Golden Ticket initiative, which invites successful graduates to come back and teach at our high schools or the elementary school they attended. Leyden students are guaranteed an interview, and if hired full-time, receive a $5,000 signing bonus.
REMINDER: Parent event May 3 at West Leyden
Final part of series for Spanish-speaking families
Dr. Ferney Ramirez will present a session titled, “How to understand child and adolescent depression, anxiety, and other emotional difficulties,” on May 3, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at West Leyden. For more information, visit the West Students Services webpage or contact the Department at (847) 451-3138.
Links:
Senior information
April 25 - Cap and Gown Pickup (Make-Up)
May 18 - Last Day for Seniors
May 19 - Prom
May 23 - Senior Brunch - Fountain Blue
May 24 - Graduation Practice - Rosemont Theatre - 9:00 a.m.
May 24 - Graduation Ceremony - Rosemont Theatre - 6:30 p.m.
Senior information
May 18 - Last Day for Seniors
May 19 - Prom
May 23 - Senior Luncheon - West Leyden High School
May 23 - Graduation Practice - Rosemont Theatre - 9:00 a.m.
May 23 - Graduation Ceremony - Rosemont Theater - 6:30 p.m.
Junior/senior prom information
Information about Prom 2023 will be send out next week, and until then, here are a few important details:
DATE: May 19th, 2023 from 6:30pm to 11pm
LOCATION: Empress Banquets in Addison, IL
ONLINE TICKET SALES: Tickets will be sold online May 1- 5. Credit or debit cards must be used to purchase online tickets
IN PERSON TICKET SALES: Tickets will be sold before and after school on Tuesday, May 9. In person ticket sales will be cash only
COST: Tickets are $75 per person; $150 per couple
NON-LEYDEN GUESTS: Anyone bringing a non-West Leyden guest must fill out a Guest Request Form and have it approved by the Dean's Office by Friday, May 5. These forms will be available starting next week. Non-Leyden students who are not pre-approved will not be allowed into the event and refunds will not be issued
NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR
One Amazing Story - Melanie Lobos
Melanie came to East Leyden as a junior transfer student from Guatemala. She didn't know English and started in EL classes. In one year, through her own self-advocacy, Melanie went from being an EL student to an AP student, (taking many AP classes, loving AP Stats and AP Computer Science Principles and is currently also enrolled in AP Calculus and AP physics. She is also self-studying to take the AP Spanish Literature exam.) She took the AP exams for both Spanish and German language and culture, and is the first student in Leyden history to take the AP German exam….and she got a 5 on both! Melanie has earned the State Seal of Biliteracy, won the Fern Award in Mathematics, is an Inspirational Eagle and is a member of TSI.
Melanie has been accepted into several Engineering programs at different top tier universities. She never wanted language to be her barrier, and it wasn’t, because of her dedication, leadership, self-advocacy, and demonstrating that she could do anything.
Link: Watch Video
West Leyden Activities Director honored by state organization
Congratulations to West Leyden Teacher and Activities Director Joe Ruffolo (and his beautiful daughter Kayleigh and wife Kim) for his Distinguished Service Award from the Illinois Directors of Student Activities.
Leyden students compete in the Future Business Leaders of America conference
The East Leyden chapter of FBLA sent 21 members to the State Leadership Conference in Springfield, IL (24 total competed). As a chapter, they received two awards for chapter growth, they were the Presidential Membership Award - 8th place and Local Chapter Members - 10th place. 24 students placed in the top 10, and 13 of their members qualified for the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA this June.
The thirteen students who were named National Qualifiers are Julia Augustyn, 2nd Place Intro to Business Presentations, Michael Dermody, 3rd Place Computer Problem Solving, Dominic Irla, 4th Place UX Design, Hailey Keeton, 3rd Place Intro to FBLA, Viktoriia Kulinich, 2nd Place Intro to Business Presentations, Lesley Martinez, 4th Place Agribusiness, Matilde Merlos, 3rd Place Spreadsheets, Desiree Morad, 3rd Place Advertising, Steven Nguyen, 4th Place Word Processing, Mark Pineda, 4th Place Cybersecurity, Nick Radomski, 2nd Place Networking, Sorin Valeanu, 4th Place Accounting II, and Matthew White, 2nd Place Database Design.
Students who placed in the Top 10 but didn't qualify for Nationals are Kamil Bak, 9th Place - Public Speaking, Mariana Calderon, 6th Place - Graphic Design, John Kasongo, 8th Place - Help Desk, Gabi Lencewski, 9th Place - Publication Design , Val Ly, 6th Place - Digital Animation, Vlad Modnyy, 6th Place - Digital Animation, David Niznik, 9th Place - Insurance and Risk Management, Arianna Pardo, 10th Place - Human Resources Management, Om Patel, 10th Place - Personal Finance, Shivesh Patel, 7th Place - Supply Chain Management and Dario Verria, 3rd Place - Management Information Systems.
Congratulations Future Business Leaders of America. Good luck to those heading to the National Leadership Conference in June!
West Leyden Snowball wins award
The West Leyden Operation Snowball was recognized as “Outstanding OS Team” for the state at the Snowball Showcase conference hosted by Snowball Inc. and the Illinois Association of Behavioral Health (IABH). In addition, West Leyden Snowball member Maya Rubio was awarded the "OS Youth Excellence" award.
Leyden Talent Show winners announced
After 15,000 views and many votes, Alina Vaccaro won the talent show! In 2nd place, Natalia Binczycki, and in 3rd place Elina Amaya.
In the Community
Leyden Community Health Fair
Leyden Township Community Health Fair will be held on Saturday, May 20, at Bradley A. Stephens Community Center, 2620 N. Mannheim Road, Franklin Park, IL 60131. This event runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is a free community event, open to all Township residents.
ReferralGPS
Leyden launches service to connect our school community with local resources
As a way to help our students, staff, families and communities connect with mental health and substance use treatment support services, Leyden has launched ReferralGPS to complement the district’s existing resources.
This web-based service offers a searchable database of treatment options, assists families with assessing the situation, appointment setting and follow up care. It takes into account all types of private and public insurance including PPO, HMO, Medicaid, Medicare, and families who are uninsured or underinsured. The platform also filters by age, gender, zip code, and special requests. This tool is free, completely confidential and securely stored.
School families may access ReferralGPS in two ways:
1) Contact Student Services (counselors or social workers) to seek out treatment options;
2) Visit ReferralGPS directly online to search for treatment resources or connect with a Care Navigator anonymously; LINK: ReferralGPS
For additional assistance, please reach out to the Student Services Department at East and West or contact counselors directly.
Connect with us:
Email: pr@leyden212.org
Website: www.leyden212.org
Location: 3400 Rose Street, Franklin Park, IL, USA
Phone: 847-451-3000
Facebook: facebook.com/leydenpride212
Twitter: @leydenpride212