District 208 and
Riverside Brookfield High School
Hallways
October 2017

A parent and community newsletter. 
District 208 News
Superintendent's Message

Dear RBHS Students, Families, Staff, and Community, 
 
Even though the fall season officially began last week, the weather is making it seem more like the start of summer vacation. RBHS celebrated Homecoming last week; all the events were well attended and enjoyed by the students.  The District also hosted the Alumni Achievement Medal awards dinner. We had five medalists this year. Their pictures and biographies can be found on our website.
 
The Building Administration presented their annual academic performance report to the Board of Education on September 26.  The graduating class of 2017 had a composite ACT score of 22.6, which is the second highest composite ACT score over the last six years at RBHS.  The class of 2017 achieved the highest growth in Science and Reading from their freshmen entrance exam (Explore) to their ACT.  The current junior class (class of 2019) will be the last class to take a free ACT test, provided by the District, as the State of Illinois has shifted to the SAT as its required high school exam.  Another exciting note presented was that AP (Advance Placement) courses at RB continue to shine. Last year we had 78 percent of the students enrolled in an AP class pass at least one of their exams, while we also increased the overall AP enrollment and the number of exams taken.  Additionally, 52.8 percent of the class of 2017 took and passed an AP exam sometime in their high school career. This is the second highest percentage in the last six years.
 
To see the overall performance of 2017 in regard to the District Goals, please click the  link . Below are some recent items of interest from our District.
 
Go Bulldogs!!

Cordially,
 
Kevin Skinkis, Ed.D
  Life Safety - Working Cash Bonds
The Board of Education will be conducting a public hearing on October 10. The Board is considering issuing $2 million in Life Safety Bonds to address any of the remaining life safety items that have not been addressed over the last two summers. The Board is also considering issuing $3 million in taxable working cash bonds as a precaution to address any deficit in operating funds and to be used to possibly work out an agreement with Cook County (Chicago Zoological Society) to gain full access to the recreational field adjacent to the north side of the high school. 

  Track Update (Public Use)
The track and tennis courts are open for the public when not being used by our students during the day or for before and after school activities. Please be mindful of the guidelines and restrictions posted at the entrances. The staff and local authorities monitor the track and tennis courts.  The public can access the track from the southwest turnstile and the tennis courts from the gate on the south side of the new parking lot. 

  Budget
The Board of Education conducted a Public Hearing on September 12, immediately before the regular Board meeting. The Board approved the budget, and it can be viewed on the RB website under the Business Services tab.

  Board of Education
The Board of Education will have two meetings in October in Conference Room 201 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The dates are October 10, for the Regular meeting, and October 24, for the Committee of the Whole meeting.  Information regarding Board meetings can be found on the RB website under the Board of Education tab or watch the meetings on   www.rbtv.tv.

RBHS News
Principal's Message                                                        
 
This year, we are excited to host a monthly podcast called Bulldog Insider, as a means to increase communication with parents and the community using a different mode. The podcast, released at the beginning of each month, is co-hosted with Student Association President Kaitlin Gaynor. In each episode of Bulldog Insider, we highlight important upcoming events and activities, and the guest speaker provides insights on programming or events. The podcasts can be found at the bottom of the school's home webpage

Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 26, for parent-teacher conferences. Report cards will be available at conferences. Parents will have an opportunity to hear teacher feedback about student academic and behavior performance in order to celebrate accomplishments and encourage student efforts to improve. Parent training and support for Schoology, our learning management system, will also be available during parent-teacher conferences. Additionally, on-line resources to assist parents with logging onto and navigating Schoology are available on the school's  website. With the end of first quarter rapidly approaching on Friday, October 13, encourage your student to check their grades on Skyward and give his or her best effort to end the quarter strongly.

Kristin Smetana
Principal
 Immunization Requirements for Freshmen and 
 Transfer Students
All freshman and transfer students must have a current physical on file and be in compliance with all required immunizations. Students who do not provide the proper documentation of required vaccinations by Friday, October 13, will be excluded from school. Please contact your health care provider with any questions. For more information, please visit the RBHS website.
  Testing Information
PSAT Exam on Wednesday, October 11
RBHS students taking the PSAT are to report to the door outside of the East Gym no later than 7:45 a.m. No cell phones are allowed in the testing facility. Please make sure that you bring an approved calculator, pencils, and your student ID. More information about the PSAT can be found at:  https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/taking-the-tests.
 
National ACT at RBHS on Saturday, October 28
All students who are registered for the national ACT exam are encouraged to arrive at RBHS no later than 7:30 a.m. on the morning of testing. Additional testing information and test prep help can be found at the ACT website:  http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/taking/.  
  Upcoming Student Services Events and Information
Naviance Lesson with Sophomores

Counselors met with their sophomores in small groups during science classes on September 18 and 19 for a Naviance lesson. Students completed the "Do What You Are" assessment, a personality survey. The results of the survey are used to help students explore suggested college majors and careers based on their preferences and strengths. Parents are encouraged to discuss the survey results with their students.
 
Parent Night for Grade Levels
"Conquering the Challenges of College Costs - Right College, Right Price"
Wednesday, October 18, at 7:00 p.m. in the RB Auditorium
Presented by Frank Palmasani, founder of Financial Fit, a breakthrough tool that helps parents and students keep college affordable and avoid excessive debt. Learn about the latest Department of Education initiatives, finding affordable college options, paying for college without excessive debt, and how to maximize benefits for scholarships and grants.
 
FAFSA Workshop for Seniors & Parents
November 1 at 7:00 p.m. Location TBD
The FAFSA will be available to current seniors and parents on October 1. If you are looking for assistance on how to complete the FAFSA, bring your documents to RB on November 1 and meet with a FAFSA expert.
 
2018-19 Course Selection
Course selection for the 2018-19 school year will begin in early November. Small group pre-course selection meetings and individual registration appointments with counselors will occur during the following weeks. More information regarding the course selection process will be shared with parents and students in October.

Pre-Course Selection Meetings with Counselors 
November 2 & 3  
Class of 2020 - Sophomores (English)
November 20 & 21
Class of 2021 - Freshmen (PE, Band & Dance)
January 9 & 10
Class of 2019 - Juniors (Science)
 
Course Selection Appointments with Counselors
November 6-21
Register Class of 2020 - Sophomores
November 29-December 13
Register Class of 2021 - Freshmen
December 14-18
Make-ups for the Class of 2020 & 2021
January 11-26
Register Class of 2019 - Juniors
January 29 & 30
Make-ups for the class of 2019
 


  Extracurricular Activity Updates 
Activity Fair
On Thursday, September 21, students gathered in the Commons Area before school and during lunches to promote their favorite extracurricular activity. For a listing of clubs and a calendar of meetings/events, visit Clubs & Activities  on our website.
     

Student Association
The Student Association has been off and running since August! First,
FRESHMAN CLASS OFFICERS
Back Row: Treasurer: Lily Adlesick, President: Catherine Glawe, Secretary: Isabella Linarez Front Row: Appointed Officer: Jessica Herrera, Vice President: Katie Culloden  

they welcomed the Freshman Class at Orientation, then had the class of 2021 elect their class officers, and most recently, they sponsored the Homecoming Spirit Week and Dance. There was a lot of school spirit during the week, shown by students participating in the themed dress-up days. Numerous students also attended the many sporting events that week, including the Boys Soccer Game, Girls Tennis Match, Volleyball Game, and the Football Game. More than $930 was raised during lunches from Penny Pinch and the games that the Girls That Code created. All of the money is going to help high school students in Houston, Texas. It was a fun and exciting competition amongst the four grades, and the Spirit Bone was won by the Seniors. 
 
They continue to meet EVERY Wednesday at 7:20 a.m. in Room 201; all are welcome. The next events include Blood Drive on Wednesday, November 1, and more spirit theme days. 

Dodgeball Tournament
Homecoming week kicked off with a dodgeball tournament on Sunday, September 17. Eleven teams represented and raised over $300 for the Sophomore Class. "Team Toolbox" remains the reigning champions. 

Girls That Code
During Homecoming Week, the club created two apps and an Operation Game using Makey Makeys to raise money for charity. The theme of both app games was the Bulldog defeat of the Warriors in the Homecoming Football Game. The first app, Warrior Mash, was inspired by the game Mole Mash. The second game, Bulldog Go, was inspired by Pokémon Go. The Operation Game had the players removing items from the Bulldog to make him healthy for the big game! The group provided these games at lunches during Spirit Week for all Bulldogs to enjoy. Students paid $0.25 per game or $1.00 for five games. The points students earned in the games counted toward class level points for the Spirit Bone Competition. All proceeds from the games were combined with the Penny Pinch money to donate to the Hurricane Relief Efforts. The club raised $104.30 by charging for the games and accepting donations.
 
Homecoming Court 2017
Congratulations to the Homecoming King and Queen, Matt Dwyer and Coretta Dishmon, who were announced at the Homecoming pep assembly. The following ten students were also selected by their peers for the Homecoming Court.
 
Girls
Boys
Coretta Dishmon
John Kosner
Kaityn Gaynor
Jason Kenny
Vasara Kulbis
Erik Roedel
Josephine Jacobs
Matt Dwyer
Radka Pribyl Pierdinock
Jacob Garvey

(Pictured L to R) Jason Kenny, Kaitlyn Gaynor, Radka Pribyl Pierdinock, Coretta Dishmon, Erik Dwyer, Josephine Jacobs, Jacob Garvey, John Kosner, Vasara Kulbis, and Matt Dwyer

  Academic Vocabulary Assessment Results and Information
Academic Vocabulary is one of RB's most important academic initiatives. Research shows that improving a student's vocabulary has a significant impact on academic achievement. To support student growth with respect to academic vocabulary, RB has adopted academic vocabulary lists at all four grade levels. The words on these lists come from the Academic Word List (AWL) developed by Averil Coxhead at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The words included on the AWL were selected because of the frequency with which they appear in a broad range of academic texts. 
 
Each year, as a part of our effort to support development in the area of academic vocabulary, students take an academic vocabulary pre-test in August and a post-test in December based on the words lists for their particular grade. Students in 9th grade take their academic vocabulary tests in Biology; 10th grade students take them in English; 11th grade students take them in U.S. History; and 12th grade students take them in English, as well. Each academic vocabulary test is comprised of 60 questions: 45 word-meaning questions and 15 word usage questions. This year, students' academic vocabulary results will be added to the "Test Scores" section of each student's Skyward profile. To see the results of the academic vocabulary testing, simple log in to Skyward and locate the "Test Scores" section of your student's profile. Click on "Academic Vocabulary" once you are on the "Test Scores" screen, and you will see the results of your student's academic vocabulary pre-test. The scores are reported as Word Meaning (your student's score out of 45), Word Usage (your student's score out of 15), and Overall Score (your student's score out of 60). Students who were absent on the testing day and have not made up the test will not have scores in Skyward.          

  Visual and Performing Arts
Fine Arts Survey
This year, RB's Choir Director, Aubrey Prince, has added a ukulele unit to her Fine Arts Survey course. Her intention with this addition was to give students in Fine Arts Survey the opportunity to make and perform music. On September 13, Mrs. Prince's Fine Arts Survey rotation held a ukulele concert in the Little Theater where students performed songs they learned as a part of the ukulele unit. Students performed as an entire class as well as performing in trios and small ensembles. Some students even chose to perform solos. Students selected their own songs for the solos and ensembles. The finale of the event was the whole class playing Let It Be by The Beatles. RB's Madrigal Singers provided vocals for several songs and members of RB's ukulele club joined the performance to support our new musicians. Students from our Life Skills and Core classes, as well as teachers and administrators, were in the audience to enjoy the performance. The students who performed, many for the very first time, showed a fearless commitment to trying something new, and the concert was a success from start to finish. 
 
Music Notes and Updates
The RB Marching band is over 120 members strong this year and is off to a great start. They have performed in two half time shows and performed downtown at the Von Steuben Day Parade on September 9. Check out these pictures from the parade.

               
 
The Orchestras are also off to a terrific start! This is the first time RB has ever had two Orchestras. You can hear both Orchestras on October 5 along with the Hauser Orchestra at the RB Orchestra Festival.

The RB Jazz Department has been busy preparing for several fall engagements. The students performed in combos at the Brookfield Arts Festival on September 23 and sounded amazing. Students will perform their sets again on October 18 at 6:30 p.m. at The Wire in Berwyn as they open for the Heisenburg Uncertainty Players. They are also busy preparing Big Band music for their appearance at the Hauser Jazz Festival on October 19. 

Finally, Fretted Friends is strumming along well this year! We have added to our membership, and we have a brand new set of classroom ukuleles that we can practice on in school. It's a great club that meets every Wednesday after school at 3:15 p.m. in the Choir Room.
To stay up to speed with all of the great things happening in the Music Department, like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RBHSMusicSponsors . You can catch live streams of our concerts, or go back and watch previous concerts and see plenty of great pictures from the Music Department.  

  Rouser Information
The back-to-school yearbook deal ends October 27. Order your yearbook now for $46 before the price increases. Visit www.jostens.com or the Business Office to place your order. Checks should be made payable to RBHS. Contact Mrs. Marsh with any questions ( marsha@rbhs208.net)

Senior Yearbook Ads are on sale now! Go to www.jostensadservice.com to design and order your senior ad. The deadline to complete the order is December 31. Contact Mrs. Marsh with any questions (marsha@rbhs208.net )

To view and purchase fall sports photos, visit  https://www.vipis.com/. You will need your student's ID number. For candid photos, go to  www.lifetouchevents.com and use the password Riverside Brookfield.   
   Athletics Department 
Fall Sports Update
Fall Sports are in well into their season schedules and will soon be competing in IHSA State Tournaments. Below are some updates on each team, as of September 20.
  • Boys Cross Country Team has won their own Bulldog Invitational and are ranked 4th in 2A and will build up to Conference and the IHSA Regionals that we will host on October 21.
  • Girls Cross Country is having a good year. Most girls' times have improved over last year and as a team the average times have steadily gotten better this year when compared to last year.
  • Football is off to a great 4-0 start and hosted their Homecoming game on Friday, September 22. The 2017 Bulldog Football team has finished its non-conference/cross-over campaign by going 4-0. This year's team is paying homage to all personnel who have participated in our great sport at RBHS over the past century. "HIT100" Honor-Inspire-Transform - celebrating 100 years of Bulldog Football.
  • Girls Golf is currently 5-4 overall with a Third Place finish at the Willowbrook Invitational. In Metro Suburban Conference, we are 2-2 heading into the conference tournament on September 28.
  • Boys Soccer current record is 6-4-3, with 6 wins and 3 ties in their last 10 games, with 5 shutouts.
  • Girls Swimming started their season with 40 strong this year with a good mix of upper and lower classes. They are led by senior captains Chloe Marello, Autumn Schweer, and Alyssa Schwartz. The team started off well with a win at Hinsdale South and have been placing better than last year at the invites we have attended.
  • Girls Tennis is off to a great 11-2 start and a 1st place finish at the Elk Grove and the Bolingbrook Invites.
  • Girls Volleyball has a current record of 8-4 overall with a 7th place out of 16 finish at the Maine East Invite.    
  • Boys Golf has been improving all season, and their conference tournament was on September 27 and the IHSA Regional on Tuesday, October 3.
  • The Poms will be holding their Annual Little Poms fundraiser on October 20 at the Football game, and their competitive season begins October 23. 
To help keep the Bulldog Community connected, sign up and follow us on TWITTER, @rbhsathletics.
 
Winter Sports Are Rapidly Approaching
Winter sports will be here before you know it. Riverside Brookfield offers the following sports in the winter with these starting dates: Competitive Cheerleading (10/23), Competitive Dance (10/23), Girls Basketball (10/30), Girls Gymnastics (11/6), Boys Basketball (11/6), Wrestling (11/6), and Boys Swimming (11/20). Be active and stay engaged!
 
Registration will be online only on the RB Athletics Website. The Website continues to grow and has many links and school forms for parents and community. Please check it out at  http://il.8to18.com/RBHS  and sign up now for email alerts from the Athletic Department regarding important information regarding our athletic contests.
 
Athlete Recognition and Leadership
RB "Athletes of the Week" are highlighted on this site. So far this year's winners are:  Jacob Wardzala, Boys CC; Madeline Wenig, Girls Swim; Nicolas del Nodal, Football; Radka Pribyl-Pierdinock, Girls Tennis; Tara Janney, Girls CC; Stefan Giminski, Football; Isabel Hughes, Girls Golf; Max Alvarez, Boys Golf; and Hunter Hughes, Football.
 
We sent 14 Athletes to Iron Oaks for a Leadership Conference, on  Wednesday, September 13, to represent Riverside Brookfield. Our Students got to share their experiences with other athletes from the other 13 Metro Suburban Conference schools.     
  Student Recognition
Joseph Kinnan has been named a Semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 1.6 million juniors from more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) and approximately 16,000 Semifinalists throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

He will have an opportunity to continue in competition for approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program 
Rachel McLean, Benjamin Schulte, and Jacob Wardzala have been
( Pictured L to R) Ben Schulte, Rachel McLean, Jacob Wardzala

named Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. A
pproximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2018 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Excellence and Ethics
in Education

 
Important Dates
Please check our website for the dates and locations of all performances and events.
________________________
 
October 9
Columbus Day
Non-attendance day
 
October 10
Board of Education Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
 
October 13
End of 1st Quarter
 
October 14
8th Grade Placement Exam
8:00 a.m.
 
October 16
Music Sponsors Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Band Room
 
October 18
Financial Fit Night
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
 
October 19
Fall Choir & Jazz Festival
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
 
October 24
Board of Education Meeting-Committee of the Whole
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
 
October 25
Fall Band and Orchestra Concert
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
 
October 26
Parent Teacher Conferences
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Field House
 
October 27
Institute Day
Non-attendance day for Students
 
November 1
Blood Drive
8:00 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
East Gym
 

Contact Us
(708) 442-7500
newsletter@rbhs208.net
See our website for individual staff email addresses
Event Schedules
Check the website for:

Athletic Event Schedules/Updates