670 Crescent Boulevard Glen Ellyn, IL 60137  Phone : (630)469-8600 Attendance : (630)858-5060

We look forward to sharing this commencement with our families and the Class of 2019. Commencement will be an occasion where we reflect the significance of their accomplishments and the pride we all feel on their behalf. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

Chris Mitchell

Assistant Principal for Student Services

IMPORTANT DATES FOR GRADUATION

Wednesday, April 3



Mandatory Senior Meeting in the Auditorium (7th/8th period)

Friday, April 26



Graduation forms completed and due to Student Services (commencement participation/extra ticket request)

Saturday, April 27



Prom 2019 and Post Prom (see below) 

Monday, May 6



Complete Senior Survey

Friday, May 10



Final Exams for Seniors in Danger of Failing

Monday, May 13 thru

Thursday, May 16

iPads return to Bookstore or iPad Buyout

Tuesday, May 14



Senior Honors Convocation 7:30 p.m. (Auditorium)

Wednesday, May 15



All Financial Obligations Due

Friday, May 17



Senior Picnic/Last Day

Tuesday, May 21



Mandatory Graduation Practice 11:30 a m. (Field house)

Thursday, May 23



Mandatory Graduation Practice 11:30 a m. (Field House) 

SENIOR INFORMATION

Mandatory Senior Meeting (April 3) : During periods 7 and 8 in the auditorium, Seniors will hear important graduation and end of the year information. The Senior Class group picture (panoramic photo) will be taken following the meeting by Lifetouch. The panoramic photo can be ordered online at events.lifetouch.com (once the picture has been taken).

 

TextBooks/iPads: Seniors need to return all rented books and iPads before May 16 . Students who do NOT return books/iPad will be fined. 

Cap, Gown & Commencement Tickets: Seniors with all obligations resolved will be issued their cap, gown and commencement tickets after Graduation Rehearsal on May 21. If you have not ordered a cap and gown, please contact Herff Jones immediately at (815)756-4743.  Ordering online is no longer an option .

Commencement DVD : Communication Resource Management will be providing a DVD of Commencement for all interested parties. To order your copy please visit: http://mygraduationvideo.com/

Photographs: GradImages is the official photographer for the Commencement Ceremony. Each graduate will be photographed and the proofs will be available for viewing soon after the event at www.gradimages.com .

Senior Picnic: Starting period 6 (12:01 p.m.) on May 17, the entire senior class will come together to enjoy sharing memories, looking forward to graduation and eating some delicious picnic food. “Senior Most” awards will take place at the end of the picnic and Seniors will leave campus by 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: Each senior participating in commencement will receive four (4) tickets. Students can request up to four (4) additional tickets by completing and returning the extra ticket form by April 26 . More ticket information will be enclosed in the mailing.

COMMENCEMENT GUIDELINES

Commencement Eligibility

         

Students must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony:

1. Successfully complete academic and attendance requirements from Glenbard West High School (as specified in the Castle Keys Handbook) during the first and second semester of the 2018-2019 school year.

2. Clear all financial obligations by 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.   

Responsibilities of Graduates

 

1.      Be sure that you have ordered your cap and gown. If for some reason you have not, you may still do so through Herff-Jones (815) 756-4743.  Ordering online is no longer an option.

2.    Complete the Commencement Participation Form with parent ( Commencement Participation Form Here ) by April 26.

3.    Complete the online Senior Survey in Naviance between April 12 ^th – May 6 ^th .

4.    Clean out your locker by Thursday, May 16, 2019.  Anything left will be donated, recycled, or disposed of.

5.    Clear all obligations and responsibilities by Wednesday, May 15, 2019 to the appropriate personnel.

6.    Attend Commencement Rehearsal.  Report promptly to the commencement rehearsal in the Field House at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 . Participation in the rehearsal is mandatory.  NOTE: Failure to participate in the commencement rehearsal may result in the student being excluded from the ceremony.

7.    On commencement day, remember to wear appropriate attire. Students are expected to dress in a manner appropriate to the occasion. Students should wear dress attire. All students are to wear dress shoes. Note: If a student arrives in inappropriate attire, they will be asked to change or NOT march in the processional.

8.    Maintain the dignity of the commencement ceremony. Be respectful, quiet and attentive during the commencement ceremony so that parents, friends and guests have the opportunity to hear all of the graduates’ names being announced.

9.    When taking the diploma on stage, remember to use a firm handshake; make eye contact with the presenter of your diploma, while taking your diploma with your left hand and shaking hands with your right hand. If you want to assure that your name is pronounced correctly during the graduation ceremony, there will be an opportunity during the commencement practice to speak to those who will be reading names.  

  

10. Save cheering for after the ceremony.

11. Avoid gum chewing, food or use of cell phones.

12. Please do not bring purses. There is no place to put them, you’ll be holding a diploma.

13. Enjoy the ceremony!    

NOTE: Seniors who do not wish to adhere to these responsibilities are entitled to not attend graduation and to pick their diploma from the registrar after June 3, 2019.   

                  

Responsibilities of Parents

1.    Complete the Commencement Participation Form ( Commencement Participation Form ) by April 26.

2.    Be aware of the extra ticket request form, if needed. The form is included in the graduation packet that will be mailed to the student's home immediately after spring break. This form is due by April 26.

3.    Arrive to graduation early. The gates will open at 4:30 p.m. There will be no prior saving of seats (first come, first serve basis).

 

4.    Avoid shouting out or clapping between the reading of names. We want everyone to hear each graduate’s name announced and this can only be accomplished if everyone remains quiet during the ceremony. Please hold your applause until all names have been read.

5.    Avoid bringing large bouquets, latex or Mylar balloons, or umbrellas please.

6.    Once the home side bleachers are filled to capacity or at 6:00 p.m ., all spectators will be asked to sit on the visitor’s side bleachers or the air-conditioned Auditorium where closed-circuit viewing is available.

7.    In the event of inclement weather and the graduation is held indoors, there will be limited seating in Biester Gym due to the size of the graduating class, therefore ONLY the GREEN (all admission) tickets and limited WHITE (inside special seating) will be recognized in Biester Gym. All other tickets WHITE (outside special seating) and ( GOLD ) will be designated for the auditorium. 

8.    The complete ceremony will take approximately 2 hours.

Dr. Monaghan with members of our Student Council Executive Board, Max Dikker,

Brennan Dougherty, Alex Frazer, Abby Hoffman, Delaney MacIsaac, Robbie Matthew, Caroline Morawski, Maggie Pasterz at the Student Council Valentine's Day Breakfast.

Congratulations to Glenbard West’s girls gymnastics team winning the IHSA State Championship!

Glenbard West student Maddie Diab won the All-Around, finished 1st on vault, uneven parallel bars, and balance beam and finished 2nd on floor exercise. Glenbard West student Maia Lee finished 4th on the uneven parallel bars. Glenbard West team members include: Alina Bhagwakar, Anna Diab, Maddie Diab, Audrey Harrington, Katherine Hoban, Maia Lee, Claire McGurk, Abby Myers, Taylor Ramirez, Nina Samuta, Haley Trippel, Carlos Fuentes is their head coach.

Also, Carlos Fuentes was named Illinois High School Gymnastics Coaches Association Coach of the Year and Maddie Diab was named Senior Gymnast of the Year.

Congratulations to Glenbard West’s performance in the round team for taking third place at the forensics state final tournament. Pictured are: Matthew (Finn) Bender, Tommy Sear, Maxwell Alexander, David Benjamin, Annie Feazel, Elyssa Fischer, Treeya Desai, Luisa Metz, Shae Regan, Deepa Phuyal, Kathleen Taback and Colleen Shanahan. Kimberly Gwizdala is their coach.

Matter of Pride is a recognition award given to students who demonstrate through their actions, quality character that promotes Glenbard West. Nominations come from 

staff  members as well as individuals within our communities. Ten nominees are 

selected monthly and presented with certificates and t-shirts.

Back Row: Patricia Madel, Xavier Phillips, Gio Rivera, Isaiah Townsend, Matthew Epstein

Front Row: Allyn Gordon, Eowyn Keaton, Melanie Quinones, Haydee Cruz, Natalya Marines

Glenbard West's Spring Performance

Still Life With Iris

April 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m.

April 13 Matinee at 2:30 p.m.

Purchase your tickets HERE

April 9th and 10th will be important testing days for freshmen, sophomores and juniors. The State required SAT college admission test will start for JUNIORS on April 9 . On April 10th FRESHMAN and SOPHOMORES will take the PSAT test . The SAT test is a requirement for graduation so any senior who did not take the test last year will need to sit for the test this year. On April 9th, Juniors will report to school at their normal start time of 7:35 a.m. and will be released at approximately 12:30 p.m. after testing is completed. In preparation for this test, juniors should consider four colleges they would like their scores sent to for free. They will complete this as part of a pre-administration session in school after Spring Break. Freshman, sophomores, and seniors will not be in attendance on April 9th. On April 10th freshmen and sophomores will report to school at the normal start time of 7:35 a.m. and will take the PSAT test. They will be released at approximately at 11:30 a.m. Seniors are encouraged to use both days as College Visit days. Visits can be easily scheduled on any of the college websites.

College Board Suite of Assessments

The Suite of Assessments that your student will be taking has been redesigned to be more student-friendly and more relevant to the world they know. In reviewing the content of these exams, they are closely aligned with many of the instructional shifts we are making as a high school including:

You can find more information about the SAT Suite of Assessments at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org

One of the key advantages of the Suite of Assessments that excites us is the availability for students to receive free, high quality exam preparation through Khan Academy online. Students are able to take practice tests, receive immediate feedback, learn from online tutorials, and store and retrieve previous exam scores they have taken to track their progress. This may be especially helpful for those juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT exam in October, as it will give a benchmark that Khan Academy will use to customize SAT prep for the student. You can access Khan Academy's SAT support at https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat

Some parents may still choose to have their student take one or more ACT exams during the Spring. These are offered on specific Saturdays nationwide. To register for one of these exam dates visit www.actstudent.org.

Feel free to contact your student’s counselor with any questions regarding test ing.

Carter Lindstrom competed in the IHSA 3-point contest in March at the IHSA Boys Basketball State Finals in Peoria. On Friday, March 15th, he won the Class 4A championship by hitting twelve 3-pointers and on Saturday, March 16th, he won the "King of the Hill" competition by hitting eleven 3's and defeating the 1A, 2A, and 3A champions. Head Coach is Tim Hoder.

Last month, we held our first meeting with our Profile of a Graduate Committee -- a group of more than 60 students, parents, community members, teachers, administrators and Board of Education members. Their energy and feedback were overwhelmingly positive.

Committee members participated in several activities to learn more about graduate profiles and recent trends in the workforce and society. They also started building consensus on what our Profile of a Graduate will look like.

A Profile of a Graduate is a collection of capabilities or qualities that characterize our graduates. We’re working with EdLeader21 to identify the knowledge, skills and experiences our students must gain in high school so they are prepared for college, careers and life.

Our Profile of a Graduate will guide our work to prepare students for their future in a changing world. It will help answer:

What should our graduates be able to do?

What should they know?

What are they ready to do?

How will they view themselves?

During the Profile of a Graduate Committee’s first meeting, we reviewed the ThoughtExchange report, which outlines the ideas and trends from our community-wide survey conducted in November. Our Thoughtexchange asked people to answer two open-ended questions and rate other people’s comments through a star rating system. We appreciate so many people taking time to share their thoughts and opinions. There were more than 32,000 ratings of the 1,413 thoughts shared in our Thoughtexchange. You may see the Top Thoughts and Top Themes that emerged from the Exchange by reading the report at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cGCGE2eOAclkpv6g9UTrzv2J9n7ROuar/view?usp=sharing

The Profile of a Graduate committee met this month and will meet again in April. We will update you after these meetings.

We plan to have a finished Profile of a Graduate this summer. We are excited about the direction we’re moving in to best prepare our students for their future.

Congratulations to Jaylen Timms. Jaylen (pictured on the left) represented Glenbard West in DuPage County’s ACT-SO competition on Saturday, March 16th at the College of DuPage and placed S ilver in Earth and Space Science and Bronze in Art.

Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019

All Student Bus Check in at: Ackerman Sports Complex

Post Prom Change of Clothes Check-in: 5:00 p.m.

Time: Busses will have a staggered release starting at 5:30 p.m.

Prom Location: The Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, 2950 Golf Rd, Rolling Meadows, IL

This year there will be ONE prom experience ticket that includes

prom tickets, parent sponsored Post-Prom tickets and a luxurious coach

bus ride from Ackerman to prom and back to post prom.

TICKET SALES SCHEDULE

Prom Experience tickets will ONLY be sold during all lunch periods on The Bridge.

April 8 (ONLY): Discounted tickets & VIP seat selection ($75 per person/$150 per couple).

April 11-12: Full price tickets with VIP Seat Choice ($80 pp/$160 per couple)

April 15-18: Full price tickets ($80 pp/$160 per couple)

April 22-26: Post-Prom only ($20) ($25 at the door)

What is the difference in ticket options?

The VIP tickets include the following privileges and extras (APRIL 8TH ONLY):

The second tier of tickets include the following privileges and extras (APRIL 11-12TH)

The third tier of tickets includes the following (APRIL 15-18):

During Spring Break, the Main Office will be open March 25th - March 29th with office hours from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Classes will resume on Monday, April 1st. 

Attendance AFTER HOURS (630) 858-5060 

Bullying Tip Line (630) 942-7406