On May 18, students and staff from Hinsdale South joined forces with employees from Home Depot to beautify the school's courtyard area. Their efforts included laying rocks, planting, mulching, moving in new picnic tables and planting a sensory garden that will benefit our students with special needs.

This endeavor began last year as part of a service learning project undertaken by a Civics class from South that was interested in identifying ways to make the courtyard a more inviting space. The class partnered with the Home Depot to get it accepted as one of its volunteer projects. This resulted in the company donating thousands of dollars worth of building materials for use in overhauling the space. The class got Ozinga to donate concrete for additional picnic bench areas, which Pepper Construction poured over the summer. The class also spent an afternoon with the school's buildings and grounds staff last year cleaning up the area.

We want to thank the Home Depot, Ozinga and Pepper for the time and resources they contributed to this project. We want to thank the Hinsdale South Booster Club and Darien Rotary Club for their generosity, which included providing grants that helped fund the beautification efforts. We want to thank Zazzo's for feeding the volunteers who were doing the landscaping. We want to thank Mayor Joseph Marchese from Darien for his steadfast support of the school, which included stopping by to check out the work. We also want to thank, commend and congratulate the students and staff from South who led this project. Their hard work, passion, and commitment to giving back to the school and community epitomize what it means to have South Pride.

The accolades continue to roll in for the boys swimming and diving team from Hinsdale Central. Following a highly successful season that included winning their sectional and state championships in dominant fashion, the Red Devils have earned the top spot in the national high school rankings compiled by Swimcloud.

We want to congratulate the team on this well-deserved honor.

Great job, Red Devils. We are very proud of you.

The boys tennis teams from Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South turned in dominant performances at sectionals.

The Red Devils won their 16th straight title after sweeping the top two spots in singles (Alex Kotarski was first; Winston Stangle was second) and doubles (Nathan Hernandez and Bodie Teuscher were first; James Theriault and Aidan Hernandez were second).

Meanwhile, the Hornets won their first championship since the 2018-19 school year thanks to the strong play of their doubles teams, which took the top two spots for their tournament (Ansh Desai and Zeke Bishara were first; Rithik Selvaraj and Rohan Bansal were second).

We want to congratulate both teams on their incredible accomplishments at sectionals, and wish those who are headed to state continued success.

The boys track and field teams from Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South had strong showings at their recent sectional tournament.

The Red Devils took second place overall and had top 10 finishes in the following events:

The Hornets also had several top 10 finishes, including:

We want to congratulate both teams on their success at sectionals, and wish those who are moving on to state the best of luck.

The girls soccer teams from Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central won their respective regional championships on May 19. The Hornets defeated Nazareth Academy 3-2 en route to their title, while the Red Devils claimed their crown by beating Riverside Brookfield 4-1.

Next up for the two teams are the sectional semifinals on May 23. South will travel to Nazareth Academy to take on Lemont High School, while Central will battle York at Reavis High School.

We want to congratulate both teams on their accomplishments at regionals, and wish them continued success in their quest for a state title.

The following members of the Hinsdale Central boys lacrosse team have earned 2023 West Suburban All-Conference selections.

We want to congratulate our Red Devils on this tremendous achievement.

Hinsdale South recently held its annual competition for students that is based on the television show Shark Tank, which features budding entrepreneurs making pitches/presentations to industry leaders in hopes of securing funding for their ideas.

Below are the students who earned the top three spots in this year's competition.

Several other students had ideas that earned them a trip to the finals, including:

We want to congratulate the students on their success, and commend them on the creativity, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit they exhibited throughout the competition.

We want to thank the business leaders who served as the judges/sharks, including Beth McCluskey, Tom Ellis, Mike Munro, Brian Shembeda, Jason Gant and Mike Bolos.

We also want to thank the teachers who lent their time and talents to the event, including Jenny Gilbert, Ben Goodell, Sean Beesley, Lexi Miuccio, Mary Zaleski, Steve Moore, John Richerson, Andrea Smith, Lisa Phillips, Mary Rounce and Ashley Yurchak.

We want to congratulate Hinsdale South's Owen Atkinson and Samantha Mettel on winning the school's annual Fermilab Science Award, which recognizes seniors who have shown outstanding dedication to and enthusiasm for science.

There was a story about senior Ben Monahan and the experiences he has had at Central that have shaped him and prepared him for the future.

There was an article about the performances that the badminton and boys gymnastics teams turned in at their respective state tournaments.

There was also a Q&A with senior Sarah Brosius, who is a member of the softball team.

We want to congratulate the following Hinsdale South students on being named the school's Breakfast Club winners for fourth quarter. Their teachers nominated them for this award based on their academic or extracurricular accomplishments, contributions to the community or school spirit/pride.

Students who receive educational and support services from the district's deaf and hard of hearing department will be part of the cast and crew for the Deaf Drama production of "The End of the World."

The performance will take place in the auditorium at Hinsdale South on May 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $6, and voice interpretation will be provided. You can access a flyer for the show by clicking the image on the right.

The next District 86 Board of Education meeting will be held on May 25. The agenda and packet of materials for the meeting will be posted on BoardDocs (https://bit.ly/394u9as) and shared via email tomorrow (May 23).