The Messenger
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iDISTRICT 120 UPDATE MAY 2020 THE MESSENGER Dedicated to academic excellence for all learners through the core values of equity, growth, and collaboration. We are MHS. #mundypride Honoring the Senior Class of 2020 amid the Covid-19 crisis What’s inside SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE At Mundelein High School, we are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, Historic school year comes to a close— supporting our students’ particular Looking back on the past school year it would be difficult to needs and interests, and developing imagine what a year this has been! We have experienced two the skills they need to succeed in life. major events together: the first year of the Shared Services Our faculty is dedicated to inspiring Model, and of course, the historic pandemic. Each has affected our students to grow into unique KEVIN MYERS, PHD us both individually and collectively; however, we can proudly individuals. DISTRICTS 75/120 SUPERINTENDENT say “We made it!” It has been my honor to serve as Superintendent for both District 75 and District 120. What I have witnessed and experienced during the past year has been inspiring. Since the first day of school, our staffs have come together on the U.S. News & opening Institute Day and immediately began to form bonds. World Report We look for ways to work together on a common goal— 2020 Mundelein a top-notch education for all our students, from Pre-K High School through grade 12. rankings Under the leadership of building administrators and with cooperative work amongst both staffs, many great educational Best College experiences have been bringing our programs together. Prep or Public While in any major change there are bumps along the way, High School: the atmosphere in our buildings continues to remain positive. #57 of 651 I am looking forward to our second combined year together as we continue to provide the best educational experiences Best Public possible for all of our students and staff. High School in Illinois: And then came the pandemic! Whether you are a new #85 of 689 employee or a soon-to-be retiree, a parent or community member, none of us have ever experienced anything like this Most Diverse before. The Stay-at-Home Order placed us in a position where Public High we were challenged with implementing remote learning In this issue, School procedures. The cooperation of the staffs was immediate and learn how we... #82 of 832 thorough, and I have been in awe of how everyone pitched in to make the best of the circumstances. ➤ Insure the safety of our students, faculty and staff during the Continual communication among various groups including Covid-19 crisis school personnel, parents, students, village officials and many more have brought our community together. Special thanks ➤ Celebrate our students, staff to those who gave so much of their time in distributing food and alumni success to our families in need and by seeking donations for many critical items. ➤ Become inspired by the There has been a lot of disappointment with the loss of spring accomplishments of others sports seasons, fine arts performances, activities and events. Even promotion and graduation ceremonies are still being ➤ Are grateful to our charitable rescheduled well into July. But we are resilient, and we will community meet our challenges head-on thanks to all of you. To our seniors who were unable to finish their final semester in ➤ Celebrate the arts person and attend milestone events: our plans and hopes are to celebrate with you soon. Let’s also hope we can have a more “normal” summer and come back together in August with a continued resolve to provide the best education possible for all our students. We are proud of My sincere gratitude to all of you. the rich tradition in our community. #MundyPride —Kevin Myers, PhD Districts 75/120 Superintendent 2 | MUNDELEIN HIGH SCHOOL Students and staff stay connected during the Covid-19 crisis Though our world was turned upside down due to the Covid-19 virus, students and staff work to stay connected in meaningful and engaging ways while our faculty continue to educate students. These unprecedented times have brought out the best in our students, staff and community. E-Learning began in late March and will continue to the end of the school year. Students and staff alike are making adjustments to our “new normal,” while trying to make the best of this situation. While there was much disappointment in the canceling of the school year, spring athletics, clubs and activities, fine arts, music and theatre performances, prom, award ceremonies, and more, the main focus will always be, the safety and well being of our Mundelein nation. THE MHS COMMUNITY LIT UP THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IN A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY AND #MUNDY PRIDE ON APRIL 17. Plans are ongoing for possible Senior Honors Day, prom and graduation, all dependent on safety recommendations by the government and health officials. Since the shutdown, students and staff have volunteered to help the community with collecting and distributing food and other goods and services. SALT and Student Leadership groups collected funds and donations to help local families with food security. “The Mundy Project” feeds 120 local families through donations collected via www.gofundme.com/f/the-mundy-project. Our community has also shown their VOLUNTEERS ELLA BRANDT AND DAMIA ALI COLLECT FINDING THE FUN IN E-LEARNING, MIA MARSHALL KEEPS #MundyPride with “Friday Night Lights” DONATIONS FOR THE MUNDY PROJECT FOOD DISTRIBUTION. COMFORTABLE WHILE GETTING HER SCHOOLWORK DONE. and hanging posters in their windows. COMPUTER VIEW OF AN E-LEARNING “CLASSROOM” MOD PIZZA OF VERNON HILLS DONATED 40 PIZZAS TO THE ART TEACHER DAVID MORK CONDUCTS E-LEARNING FROM MHS FOOD DONATION PROJECT. HIS BACKYARD OFFICE. Mundelein High School is ranked one of the best Illinois public high schools for the second year in a row. U.S. News and World Report ranked high schools based on their performance in college readiness, college curriculum breadth, math and reading proficiency, math and reading performance and graduation rate. #MundyPride Read more at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools 2 | MUNDELEIN HIGH SCHOOL WWW.D120.ORG | 3 Honoring MHS alumni ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME Ben Brust ‘10 inducted into Mundelein’s Boys Basketball Hall of Fame Mundelein High School’s Athletic His senior year at Wisconsin was a big Erin Falconer ‘15 Department inducted 2010 graduate and season for Brust. Prior to making it into University of Wisconsin basketball standout the Final Four in 2014, the team finished inducted into Lake Ben Brust into the MHS Boys Basketball the season 30-8, 12-6 in Big Ten play, and County High Schools Hall of Fame during halftime of the received an at-large bid to the NCAA Mundelein vs. Waukegan home basketball Tournament as a Number 2 Seed in the Sports Hall of Fame game on Dec. 13. He also broadcasted his West region, their sixteenth straight trip Erin Falconer, Class of 2015, was ESPN Radio Show live at MHS that day. to the tournament. The Badgers defeated American and Oregon to advance to the inducted into the Lake County Brust attended John Hersey High School Sweet Sixteen. There, they defeated Baylor High Schools Sports Hall of Fame in his freshman year in 2006-2007 before and Arizona to advance to the Final Four December. While at MHS she was a transferring to MHS for his remaining three where they were eliminated by Kentucky. member of the State Champion years. As a senior, he averaged 24.6 points, 200 Free Relay Team (2013), Second 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.1 steals per After graduating from Wisconsin, Brust in State in both the 100 and 200 Free, game during his senior season, topping joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2014 Third in State 200 Free (2014), the 40-point mark on four occasions. He NBA Summer League. In October of that Second in State 100 Free (2014), and originally committed to the University year he signed a one-year deal with Pieno many other top finishes. She was of Iowa, but after a coaching change he Zvaigždės of the Lithuanian Basketball an All-State and All-American revisited his options about where to play League. In 39 Lithuanian League games, multiple times. and ultimately chose the University of Brust averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds During her years at Auburn Wisconsin-Madison. per game. He also averaged 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in University, she was SEC Champion in At Wisconsin, Brust started in all of the 14 Baltic League games. the 200 Freestyle and 400 Free Relay Badgers’ games during his time there. In and an NCAA All-American many his junior year he led the team in minutes times. In 2019 she was fifteenth in and assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.0 and the 200 Backstroke, and tenth in the led the team in scoring for the Big Ten 200 Free. She has multiple Top 10 Conference games. In his senior year, places in 400 Free Relay, 800 Free 2013-2014, he averaged 13 points per game, Relay and 400 Medley Relay. She 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 89 total left Auburn University as one of the three-pointers through the team’s first most decorated swimmers in 35 games. He also had the second-most Auburn history. three-pointers in a career at Wisconsin. Currently, Brust is a sportscaster for the Big Ten Network. He also has a radio show on ESPN Madison. 4 | MUNDELEIN HIGH SCHOOL Celebrating student achievement Swetha Chandrasekar to conduct cancer research at University of Illinois at Chicago If universities are able to open their doors this summer, MHS Junior Swetha “I’m immensely Chandrasekar will be paired with a faculty grateful for my research mentor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and work full-time on a cancer experiences at research project.