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Superintendent's Message
Dear RBHS Students, Families, Staff, and Community,
I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break and is rejuvenated as we enter the last quarter of the 2017-18 school year. As this second semester comes to an end, please support your students in all their efforts to finish the school year strong. RB has so much to offer, so encourage your students to take advantage of all the possible opportunities available this summer. The brochure for summer school, academic workshops/camps, and athletic camps is available online.
On another note, it is disheartening to continue to hear and/or see the incidents and threats that are taking place in schools across the country. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and survivors. I can assure you that student and staff safety will continue to be our top priority at District 208 (RB). The Administration and I work closely with all of the local police departments. We review our crisis response manual on a regular basis and are always looking for new ways and means to conduct training with the staff and students. Please encourage your student(s) to report any suspicious activity to a school staff member so that the Administration and the School Liaison Officer (SLO) can investigate accordingly.
Cordially,
Kevin Skinkis, Ed.D
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2018-19 Staffing and Class Sizes
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At the March 13, 2018, Board of Education meeting, the Board approved a staffing plan provided by the Administration. The Administration spent the last month reviewing enrollment numbers and course selections for the 2018-19 school year. Based on current course enrollments and special education needs, in addition to the historical trend of transfer students, the total certified staff count is projected to increase to 104.4. The certified staff count includes an increase in school social workers for the 2018-19 school year.
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There is nothing new to report about the athletic fields since the last newsletter. Preliminary discussions are still ongoing with key representatives from Cook County and the Zoo.
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Track and Tennis Courts (Open for Public Use)
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Now that the weather is becoming warmer, I would like to remind everyone about public use of the track and tennis courts. Please follow the guidelines and restrictions posted at the entrances to the athletic complex and tennis courts. These facilities will be monitored by RB staff and local authorities.
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The Board of Education will have two meetings in April. The meetings will be April 10, 2018, and April 24, 2018, in Room 201 beginning at 7:00 p.m. 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.
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Principal's Message
Spring is here, and the PTO Day of Service is right around the corner! This event is a great way to give back to the community by beautifying areas surrounding the Des Plaines River and the Salt Creek. There are over 22 service projects available, and we hope that you and your student will consider signing up to participate! You can find more information below about how to sign-up for this great event.
Spring also brings standardized tests for students in grades 9-11. From SAT and Advanced Placement to PSAT and MAP, these tests provide students, parents, and teachers important information about an individual's academic progress. Engage in conversation with your student about the importance of these tests and encourage your child to give his or her best effort, to get a full night's sleep, and to eat a healthy breakfast before taking these assessments. More details about these upcoming assessments are included later in this edition.
Kristin Smetana
Principal
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School-wide testing day on April 10 for Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors (early dismissal)
Students testing with regular testing time will finish around 1:00 p.m. More information will be shared closer to the testing date.
All tests listed below are required and free to students. Parents do not have to register their children for any of these tests.
- Freshmen will be taking a PSAT 9 exam*
- Sophomores will be taking a PSAT 10 exam
- Juniors will be taking the state-mandated SAT exam
- Seniors will have a non-attendance, college visit day
*Freshmen were originally scheduled for MAP testing on April 10 and the PSAT 9 on April 17. These dates have been adjusted in order to maximize testing time on the April 10 school-wide testing day and minimize loss of instructional time due to testing on April 17.
MAP Testing for Freshmen on April 17
Freshmen will take the NWEA MAP test in English, Math, and Science classes. Spring MAP tests are used to track student growth from the MAP tests given in August. All three MAP tests are computer-based, and students will need to have their fully-charged Chromebook to complete testing on April 17.
AP Testing
All students registered to take an AP exam must participate in a mandatory pre-administration session in order
to
fill out demographic information on their AP answer sheet
in advance of their exams. These sessions will be conducted within AP classes this year. Please check with your teachers to ensure that you will be completing this step in the AP process.
It should take about 45 minutes to complete. Please bring a #2 pencil.
Any student submitting a portfolio for AP Studio Art and not taking any other AP exams, does not need to attend a pre-administration session. Please contact Mr. Helgeson at helgesonm@rbhs208.net with any questions.
ACT
RBHS will host a national ACT exam on Saturday, April 14.
Students do need to register for this exam.
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Sign-Up Now for Summer Academics/Workshops and Athletic
Camps
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Summer academic and athletic offerings for 2018 are posted on the RB website that you can access by
clicking here
. The academic offerings include several academic workshops and camps as well as credit recovery opportunities. The non-credit academic workshops will assist students in transitioning to Advanced Placement (AP) or pre-AP courses. There are also academic camps to provide students with opportunities to participate in band, prepare for the college application process, experience RBTV, and become familiar with Chromebooks. There are several athletic camps throughout the summer.
In order to
increase efficiency, registration for all academic and athletic offerings must be completed online through May 27. Payment can be made either online or in the Business Office. The registration process is not complete until payment has been received. Currently enrolled students will be given priority for registration. All tuition and fees must be paid at the time of registration.
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Day of Service 2018 - Make a Splash
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 Mark your calendars! The RBHS Day of Service event will be April 28, from 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Similar to last year, this year our Day of Service efforts will focus on the areas surrounding the Des Plaines River and Salt Creek including the communities of Riverside, North Riverside, and Brookfield. We have developed 22 service projects involving RBHS students, staff, parents, and community. Sign up by April 6 using the links below and plan to join us to "Make a Splash!"
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On March 12, ten RBHS students attended a
school safety forum at Willowbrook High School, where more than 400 high school student leaders from nearly 30 high schools throughout the
Chicago area came together for a day of conversation and planning regarding school safety. Through this forum, participants shared their voice and thoughts on these national issues, left with an action plan to take back to RBHS, and had an opportunity to speak with local and state civic leaders and legislators, as well as area first responders.
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With March comes March Madness and RB Library's Tournament of  Books. This year the 16 chosen titles were drawn from four different categories: 2018 Lincoln Award nominees, class reads, Bulldog Book Club picks, and popular titles. Students had a chance to fill out brackets to earn the chance to win gift card prizes. And during all lunches, students vote for their favorite title in each match-up to decide the winner of the tournament. It's been very exciting so far, with two popular picks for winners losing in the first round! We can't wait to see which book will win this year's Tournament of Books!
Also during March, students had the opportunity to vote on their favorite title from this year's Lincoln Award (Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award) list. In order to qualify to vote, students had to read a minimum of four books on the list. We even had one student read all 20! There were so many great choices, RB couldn't come up with a clear favorite! The winner of the Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. This book was a favorite of this year's Bulldog Book Club and RB students and staff.
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Prom Tickets are on Sale
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RB's Prom 2018, Tale As Old As Time, will be held on Friday,
 April 20, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. at the Germania Place in Chicago. Tickets can be purchased in the Bookstore during all lunch periods. The last date to purchase a Prom ticket will be on April 13. You will need your RBHS ID and approved outside guest form for any non-RBHS student guests at the time of purchase. Individual tickets will be sold for $90.00 each or $180.00 per couple. Attendance at school on April 19 will be mandatory for students attending the prom. Any student wanting to bring a guest who is not a student at RB must fill out the
guest pass application
or pick one up in the Main Office.
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Student Activities Update
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Ecology Club 
This April for Earth Month, the RB Ecology Club is participating in Project Polar Bear for Polar Bears International (PBI). The mission of PBI is to build student awareness concerning the impact of our actions on global climate change. The club worked for four months to develop an action plan for this international competition that was then submitted on March 15 to the judges. These are the flyers posted around the school and cafeteria to inform students of the plan.
Math Team
The Math Team competed in the ICTM Regional Competition at  Concordia University on Saturday, February 24. Jason Kenny placed 3rd in the Pre-Calculus competition and qualified for the State Competition. The Junior/Senior 8-Person Team of Luka Malovic, Andres Resto, Joey Vitek, Elise Wojack, Kaitlin Gaynor, Mary Clare Greenlees, Radka Pribyl-Pierdinock, and Jacob Wardzala won 1st place and also qualified for the State Competition. The Orals Team of Jackson Hajer and Jason Kenny also won 1st place, qualifying them for the State Competition. It was a very successful season for all members.
In addition to the state qualifiers listed above, the Pre-Calculus Team received an
at-large
bid to the State Competition. Kaitlin Gaynor, Mary Clare Greenlees, Jackson Hajer, Hailey Jurgens, Jason Kenny, Jacob Wardzala, and alternate Radka Pribyl-Pierdinock are preparing to compete in the ICTM State Math Competition on May 5 at the University of Illinois.
Robotics Team
The Bionic Bulldogs Robotics Team, started this school year by parent  Adam Bowen and physics teacher Mark Schaedel, achieved a win in their first season. The team competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge Northern Illinois Robotics Championships on February 3 in Crystal Lake where they won the Rookie All-Star Award. The team is led by co-captains, Avery Bowen and Rowan Elwart and is open to all students at the high school. One of the team's goals is to turn the Brookfield/Riverside/North Riverside community into a STEM powerhouse. If you'd like to learn more about how you can get involved, please reach out to Avery Bowen at
20bowenae@rbhs208.net
Scholastic Bowl
 The Varsity team had 12 wins and two losses in the Metro Suburban Conference matches. They ended up with the highest total points scored out of all the teams in the conference. Our JV team had 11 wins and three losses in the conference matches and placed 2nd in the MSC tournament.
The following players received all-conference honors: Sophomores-Ben Harrison and Lindsey DeJesus and Seniors-Matthew Michaelson and Erik Robertson.
Honoring The Day of Silence, Friday, April 27
The Day of Silence is a national day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. The Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment and effective responses. The goal of The Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. RBGSA will pass out stickers for students who choose to participate in this day.
In a Harris Interactive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. Additionally nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students experience harassment at school. Students across the country participate in The Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem, let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone, and ask schools to take action to address the problem."
The day is an opportunity for RB students to work toward improving school climate for all of our students. For information visit
www.dayofsilence.org.
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Student Services Events and Information
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What I Wish I Had Known - April 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 201
Juniors and sophomores and their parents are encouraged to attend this yearly event to hear advice on the college admission process from a panel of current RB seniors and senior parents. The panel will share their experiences regarding the application process, college visits, essay writing, scholarship opportunities, completing the FAFSA, and more.
ASVAB Test
If you are a sophomore, junior, or senior and are interested in potentially entering the military after high school, we are offering the ASVAB Test on Thursday, April 12, at 8:00 a.m. in the Alumni Lounge. If you would like to sign up, please register with Ms. Englehart in Student Services by Monday, April 9. If you have any questions, please see your counselor.
Local Scholarship Ceremony on Monday, April 23
All students that are awarded a local scholarship will be invited to attend this event with their parents. The ceremony begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Auditorium followed by a light reception. Invitations will arrive mid-April.
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All Summer Camp dates and times are published and posted on
http://il.8to18.com/RBHS
under Resources. Registration and payments  will be made online. If you need assistance with this, please contact the Business Office. To help keep the Bulldog Community connected, sign up and follow us on TWITTER, @rbhsathletics
The Riverside Brookfield HS Athletic Boosters are always appreciative of help. Please consider joining the Boosters since all of their funds go directly to RB Athletics. You can register for membership online at
http://www.boosterapp.com/rbhs/
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All members are invited to the monthly Booster meetings that fall on the 3rd Thursday of every month at
7:00 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge. Upcoming Booster Meeting Dates: 4/19 and 5/17.
Fall Sports will be here before you know it!
Football and Girls and Boys Golf begin Monday, August 6.
All other Sports- Girls Tennis, Girls and Boys Cross Country, Girls Swimming, and Boys Soccer will start Wednesday, August 8.
Registration for Fall Sports must be completed before any student can practice. Registering online is the only way to complete the registration. A reminder to all is that school physicals are needed before practice starts. Give yourself plenty of time to schedule the physicals. Also, if you are planning vacation time, be aware that the week of August 1 - August 6 is a time that high schools cannot have any official practice.
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Special Olympics goes to State
Special Olympics headed to Illinois Wesleyan for the state championship on Friday, March 16. In the first game, they were defeated by the Southside Eagles, 38-10. They were a tough team, but the Bulldogs played hard the entire time and never showed any self-defeat. For the second game, the team pulled a win 40-36 against Grayslake High School. It was a close game the entire time, and the Bulldogs came back from a 10-point deficit in the first quarter! They had such an awesome turnout of fans that we even got the compliment of having the most spirited fan group. The Bulldogs came back with 3rd place medals placing 3rd in the state for their division!
UIC German Day Competition 
The students had a great time at the UIC German Day competition. They watched some wonderful performances by 15 regional German High School programs. Our RB students had a chance to see a German college course, participate in poetry, spelling bee, German language advertising video, culture essay, and cover art. They also had a chance to view German city guides and skits.
 They won the following prizes:
2nd place - Poetry - Viktoria Hanson (German I student)
3rd place - Spelling Bee - Evan Dunbar (German III)
3rd place - Cover Art for UIC German Day Program - Allison Beatty (German I)
State-wide Art Award
Congratulations to RB artists Natalia Valenzuela, Isabel Montefinese, Fiona Satterfield, Will Gerena, and Michaela Esposito for being selected to exhibit their work in the
Illinois High School Art Exhibition.
 Will Gerena was further awarded an Honorable Mention in the Drawing category for his inking Biker along with a scholarship to attend a summer course at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Natalia Valenzuela won a scholarship to attend a summer workshop at Kendall College of Art and Design for her photography.
This show is the state's premier exhibition featuring student visual artworks from the top city, suburban, public, and private
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Repeated Object by Michaela Esposito
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high schools at Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport. Sunday, February 25, was the closing reception for this Best of the Best competition for which each school submitted 25 artworks into eight categories: Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Design, Photography, Ceramics, Sculpture, and Time Arts for a total of over 2,500 artworks for consideration. These are then juried down to the best five pieces from each school for the final 500 exhibited works.
Student of the Quarter - 3rd Quarter Recipients
On March 19, we celebrated students who were selected by their
teachers and/or administrators as the Students of the 3rd Quarter from each academic department, as well as a Building leader. These students were nominated by faculty for excelling in two areas: academics and character.
Pictured L to R: John Gorski, Julianna Fields, Jatzirit Hernandez, Vince Ventura-McKinney, Angela Przybylski,
Julian Franco, and Daniel Sablich.
Not Pictured: Breanna Dangerfield, Justin Padilla, Greg Suarez, and Michael Vela.
School Citizen of the Year (SCOTY) Award
Patrick Hanley
, a junior at RB, was recognized by the West 40 Intermediate Service Center as a recipient of the 2018 SCOTY (School Citizen of the Year) Award. Patrick was recognized for his steadfast commitment to his own academic success as well as his positive contributions to his school community through his leadership in and out of the classroom.
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Excellence and Ethics
in Education
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Important Dates
Please check our website for the dates and locations of all performances and events.
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April 2
Classes Resume
Snow day Make-up
April 9
PTO Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
April 10
Testing Day
Freshmen (PSAT 9)
Sophomores (PSAT 10)
Juniors (SAT)
Seniors (College Visit Non-Attendance Day)
April 10
Board of Education Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
April 11
What I Wish I Had Known
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
April 12
Madrigal Concert
6:30 p.m.
Little Theater
April 16
Music Sponsors Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Band Room
April 17
Freshman MAP testing in classes
April 19
Athletic Boosters Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Alumni Lounge
April 19
RB's Got Talent
7:00 p.m.
Little Theater
April 20
Institute Day
Non-attendance day for students
Germania Place, Chicago IL
April 23
Local Scholarship Night
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
April 24
Josten's Announcement Delivery
During lunches in the Cafeteria
April 24
Board of Education Meeting Committee of the Whole Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Room 201
April 26
Jazzapulooza XI
7:00 p.m.
Little Theater
April 26 - April 28
Orchesis
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
April 28
Day of Service - "Make a Splash"
8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
May 2
Senior Awards Ceremony
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
May 3
Band/Orchestra Spring Concert
7:00 p.m.
Auditorium
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Contact Us
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(708) 442-7500
newsletter@rbhs208.net
See our website for individual staff email addresses
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