November 7, 2023

The safety of our students, staff, and faculty is our highest priority. In order to maintain a safe environment for teaching and learning, it is important to practice our emergency and crisis response plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures.

This morning, IMSA conducted a planned violent intruder drill around 9:30 a.m. The purpose of the drill was to allow community members to practice the response options that students and staff reviewed during training sessions in October and to test communication protocols. The drill was observed by the Aurora Police Department (APD). 

During the next week, we will coordinate ongoing training sessions with students and staff to review ALICE violent intruder protocols based on the feedback provided by APD. In the meantime, please make sure you have LiveSafe downloaded. All students and staff should register using their IMSA email address to receive notifications. This is especially important since PA system announcements can be muffled and hard to understand. More information about LiveSafe can be found here.

The LiveSafe messages today included a subject line that indicated that a DRILL was taking place. While the subject line was present in LiveSafe email communication and on cellphone home screens as a “preview” to the message, the DRILL header was not displayed in the text message itself once opened. During future drills, we will ensure DRILL is listed in multiple parts of the message to ensure that all readers can easily identify a drill.

Winter months often bring inclement weather. In the event that weather conditions affect operations on campus, updates and important information will be shared via LiveSafe and email.

With the Thanksgiving Break approaching, please take this opportunity to bring back any coats, hats, gloves, or winter attire you may need.

Medications for November Extended Break

The Health Office will package and send 15 doses of each student's medication for the Thanksgiving Extended break. This is contingent on us having 15 doses to send. Extra doses are included in case a student gets sick and needs to remain home for extra days. You may return the extra doses after the break if they are not used. 

A parent/guardian must pick up the medication when students are signed out. 

Medication can be picked up in the following places:

• Friday, November 17 before 3:00 p.m. - Health Office
• Friday, November 17 after 3:00 p.m. - RC Office
• Saturday, November 18 - RC Office
• If you are taking the Downstate Bus, the Nurse will deliver your medications to you when you get on the bus.

As a reminder, medications should always be delivered by an adult and given to another adult on campus (Nurse or RC) unless the student uses public transportation or the Downstate Bus. 

Cold Weather and Illness

Cold weather can bring respiratory illnesses and colds. Please make sure your student has Kleenex, cough drops, hand sanitizer, masks, a thermometer, and your preference for cold medication. 

Please do not return to campus after the break if you have a fever over 100.0, have been vomiting, or have had frequent diarrhea episodes within 24 hours before return. If you have cold symptoms, please take a COVID test before returning. If you have questions or concerns, please email nurse@imsa.edu.

Speech Team

Congratulations to everyone who competed at the York Invitational Speech Tournament on Saturday. Special congrats to:

David Dickson '24 - 5th place Impromptu Speaking, varsity

Nitya Dixit '26 and Rusha Parikh '26 - 6th place Humorous Duet Acting, novice

Amy Lendi '25 - 7th place Special Occasion Speaking, novice

Sukanya Ghosh '24 - 6th place Poetry Reading, novice

Girls Swim and Dive

Congratulations to the Girl's Swim and Dive team for finishing their season with some personal bests at Sectionals last Saturday.

Gwen Olney '24 finished her senior season with two career-high scores on her last two dives for a total score of 394.05. 

Sophia Atanassov '26 achieved all seasonal best times, with a 2:02.24 in the 200 Medley Relay, a 34.41 split in the 50 Breaststroke, a 2:26.42 in the Individual Medley, a 27.61 in the 3rd leg of the 200 Freestyle Relay, and a 1:15.36 in the 100 Breaststroke. 

Grania Kozlowski '25 had all personal bests with a 2:12.57 in the 200 Freestyle, 5:55.05 in the 500 Freestyle, and a 1:03.27 in the 3rd leg of the 400 Freestyle Relay. 

Caitlyn Nguyen '25 achieved personal best times as the anchor in the 200 Freestyle relay, with a 28.51 and a 1:22.20 in the 100 Breaststroke. 

Congratulations, Titans!

Girls Volleyball

Congratulations to Victoria Nalepka '24 for making the 2023 Little Ten All-Conference Volleyball Team.

November 6 - November 10

Support the Senior Class Club in their efforts to raise money for Prom through a popcorn fundraiser. The hall with the most popcorn orders will win an ice cream party, so select your student's hall when ordering. The popcorn comes in 11 unique flavors and ships directly to your address.

Prices range from $9 to $12 a bag. Feel free to share the order form with friends and family!

If you are interested in joining the Boys Swim Team, please make sure to attend the informational meeting. Please enter the pool through Door #14 (outside near the West Gym door).

Resource Workshops

Faculty and staff will host weekly informational sessions on Thursdays to benefit the IMSA Community. Unless otherwise noted, these workshops will occur on Thursdays during the Support and Engagement Period.

Mark your calendar for the next session:

"How to Become a Better Writer"

Presented by Ms. Micklo

November 9, 2023

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Ac Pit

Does writing make you anxious? Do you need help figuring out where to start? This session is for you! Hear from Ms. Micklo, Writing Center Director and English Faculty, on ways to minimize frustration and improve this vital skill! 

The opportunity to struggle creates great learning opportunities because our brains are engaged in active problem-solving and exercising to be resilient. Through active problem-solving, students recognize failure and try to learn from it. I would say this kind of productive struggle is healthy because students develop a better set of heuristics to solve problems by reconciling their mistakes.

Unproductive struggle occurs when students keep working at something without awareness of a plan or why their previous attempt was unsuccessful. They start spending a lot of time on a problem without understanding why they are stuck. They become frustrated and possibly develop a sense of helplessness with the content. We want students to experience productive struggle, so here are some tips to encourage students:

• Ask for help. I know this recommendation sounds trivial, however, a decent number of students are afraid to ask for help because of personal pride or fear of how they may be judged. After all, most students were incredibly successful in the past, and that initial self-doubt challenges their self-efficacy.
• Ask for a hint. Sometimes, students may not know what questions to ask or even how to get started. There's nothing wrong with asking for a hint to move into a productive struggle zone. Those hints can come from human or AI sources, but keep in mind that those trusty hint sources should not be asked to provide full answers and should be just enough to gain momentum in their learning engagement.
• Talk to a counselor. Unproductive struggle can involve anxiety, procrastination, ethical conflicts, and more. Whether it's a mental health counselor, academic/strategies counselor, or residential counselor, students should know they should never have to worry alone. A trusty counselor might offer the best tip for the situation.

If you have thoughts on this topic or wish that I discuss others, don't hesitate to reach out to me at eglazer@imsa.edu.

Dr. Glazer's math help will continue during A-days mod 2, and he has also added after-school help on November 1 and November 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the Science Study Area.

Student Spotlight

Joshua Lee '24 will also attend the International Students Science Fair (ISSF) with last week's Student Spotlight, Divya Brahmbhatt. The students will travel to the Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology in Australia this December to present their research projects. This prestigious event brings together students who are passionate about innovative research and allows them to meet and collaborate with students from across the world.

Joshua's project, "Soil Carbon Sequestration for Climate Change Mitigation: Understanding Enzyme Temperature Optimum and Function for Soil Organic Carbon Stability" aims to tackle climate change by lowering the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the air by storing carbon in vegetation, soil, and oceans.

Please complete the Spotlight Submission Form if you have been recently recognized in your field, celebrated for your academic or professional achievements, or are working on a project you'd like to share. If you have any questions, please contact Alex Johnson at ajohnson2@imsa.edu.

Did you know that in the United States alone, approximately 1,500 plastic water bottles are discarded every second? That adds up to a staggering 38 billion bottles a year, which is the equivalent of 912 million gallons of oil, and takes hundreds of years to decompose. This week, let's take a step towards a more sustainable future by saying goodbye to single-use plastic water bottles and hello to reusable ones. This also saves money in the long run. Grab your favorite reusable water bottle and stay hydrated while helping to protect our planet—one sip at a time!

During the week of Thanksgiving, IMSA will have Virtual Engagement Days on Monday, November 20, and Tuesday, November 21. This allows students to return home before Thanksgiving week while still having the opportunity to engage in their academics and academic support remotely.  

Additional Details:  

• Virtual Engagement Days will not be regular, full class days via Zoom. Each faculty member will have an appropriate plan for their course and students, which may or may not include some synchronous meeting times via Zoom.  
• Assignments and assessments can be given and/or due on the Virtual Engagement Days.
• For attendance, if a student cannot participate in any synchronous meetings during the Virtual Engagement Days, the family must notify the Attendance Office, just as during a normal day of class. If a student has an unexcused absence from a required meeting during the Virtual Engagement Days, it will be marked as such in the attendance records. 
• Faculty and Academic Support (CACs, Learning Strategies Coordinator, etc.) will communicate any synchronous meeting requirements or opportunities to students as early as possible but no later than Friday, November 17, 2023.
• The B-Day (Monday) and C-Day (Tuesday) schedules will remain in place so that faculty who want to schedule synchronous meetings have a designated time to do so without creating scheduling conflicts.
• Faculty may still host office hours/drop-in Zoom time outside their regularly scheduled class times, just as during normal class days.

Any questions about the Virtual Engagement Days can be directed to Paul Gaszak, Dean of Academics and Equity, at pgaszak@imsa.edu. 

Culture Show Volunteers Needed

Alma Latina Student Association has asked the Parents Association Council to support the upcoming Casa de Los Muertos at IMSA on November 10. Learn more.

The Student Show is on Friday, November 10, and features a potluck following the show to showcase foods from the culture. All parents are invited to attend the Parent Show on Saturday, November 11 at 4:00 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.). There is no potluck following the Parent Show. The show will also be live-streamed for those unable to attend.

Monthly PAC meeting

Join the PAC before the culture show for our first in-person PAC meeting on campus! 

The meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. on November 11 in IN2. The meeting will also be live-streamed for those unable to attend. If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP below so we have enough morning refreshments and seating.

IMSA is launching a hybrid Object Oriented Programming pilot class this spring which also offers college credit for participating students. At the same time our Academy students are enrolled in the in-person course at our Aurora campus, we are inviting 11th and 12th graders excited about advanced computer science. If you have an 11th or 12th grader in your home or community that would enjoy this experience, please pass along this information to learn more.

Class of 2026

Your next LEAD elective module (COREX) will be an extended module and will take place on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, from 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Please bring a laptop, notebook, and writing utensils to every LEAD session. Please read through the 2023-24 LEAD Syllabus before Wednesday to review the attendance policy and upcoming modules. If you need an excused absence, email LEAD Program Coordinator, Ms. Emma Wilson, by Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Questions or concerns? Contact LEAD Program Coordinator Ms. Emma Wilson.

National Student Leadership Diversity Conference

IMSA students Reaggan Kelley '26 and Trinh Yong '25, as well as, IMSA staff member Emma Wilson Parker recently attended the National Student Leadership Diversity Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. The students had the opportunity to attend workshops centered around social justice, leadership, embracing differences, and bias. They were also able to share experiences they had here at IMSA with other high schoolers and college students around the country.

Attendees also had the opportunity to meet Jane Elliot, a renowned American educator, diversity trainer, and lecturer, who is most famously known for her "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise. This exercise labels participants as "inferior" or "superior" based solely on the color of their eyes and gives other students a glimpse into the experience of being a minority.

Thank you to the IMSA Fund for Advancement of Education for providing this opportunity for our students.

Check out the new search engine from the Illinois of Gifted Children for local STEM enrichment opportunities for all ages. This search engine was developed by IMSA Senior, Michael Meng!

Titan To Go is a resource for students to discreetly order basic toiletries when they cannot replace them before a trip home. Students may select from the following items:



• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Toothpaste and Toothbrushes 
• Dental Floss 
• Deodorant 
• Menstrual products
• Hand soap 
• Body lotion 
• Facial tissues
• Lip balm  
• Contact lens cases

Requests are confidential and can be made by clicking on the button above. Requests received by 8:00 a.m. will be processed daily, Monday through Friday. You will pick up your items in a Smart Locker once you receive a notification that your package has been scanned in.

For more information, contact Michelle Bemis, Volunteer Coordinator for Titan To Go at mbemis@imsa.edu.

Mark Your Calendars! 

November 10 - Veterans Day Assembly

November 18 - Halls Close at 1:00 p.m.

November 20 - 21 - Virtual Engagement Days

November 22 - 26 - Thanksgiving Break

November 26 - Halls Open at 3:00 p.m.

ILLINOIS MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY



1500 Sullivan Rd., Aurora, IL 60506-1000 |  630.907.5000 |  imsa.edu

To ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific

minds that advance the human condition.