The next early release Wednesday for Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South (Transition Center does not follow the early release schedule) will be on Feb. 15. You can access the bell schedule for the day by visiting https://bit.ly/3RBrPNK.

Below are the opportunities/resources that students will be able to access if they stay on campus following dismissal.

Please contact your child's school for additional information about the opportunities/resources mentioned above or early release Wednesdays in general.

Reminder - the next Community Conversation will be held on Feb. 15 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Hinsdale South. This session will feature a presentation and discussion about the district's final exam process and the role it plays in preparing students for the future.

If you plan to come to this event, we ask that you please use the form found at https://forms.gle/QgA24EpEEqGKGQXJ6 to RSVP. This will help ensure that we are able to accommodate those who wish to attend. We will also be recording the session for people who are unable to join us. This recording will be posted on the district’s website and YouTube channel, and shared via email, social media, etc.

If you have questions or need more information about our Community Conversations, please contact Dr. Chris Covino at ccovino@hinsdale86.org.

Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central will be offering preschool programs in April and May through their Child Care and Development classes. These programs, which are open and available to all families regardless of whether they live in the community, focus on developmental appropriateness, creativity, safety, independence and social skills. Discounts are available for any District 86 employee who is interested in enrolling their children.

If you have questions or need more information about the preschool program at South, please email Laura Hughes at lhughes@hinsdale86.org. If you have questions or need more information about the preschool program at Central, please email Lisa Sopiarz at lsopiarz@hinsdale86.org.

Hinsdale South's Parth Joshi has won a Junior Travel Scholarship that will help fund a study abroad trip to Costa Rica this summer.

Each year, the National Spanish Examination (NSE), which is a program of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), awards this scholarship to eligible students in order to provide them with the "opportunity to travel to and study the language and culture of a Spanish-speaking country or territory." Parth received his scholarship based, in large part, on his performance on the NSE. His accomplishments the past two years have included earning gold medals on the Spanish II and III exams and scoring in the top 10 of his competition level in the Chicago-area chapter of the AATSP on both tests.

We congratulate Parth on this well-deserved award.

Last week's edition of The Hinsdalean featured an article about the Black Student Union at Hinsdale Central.

In the piece, which you can check out by visiting http://bit.ly/3RJjOY1, senior Jason Yawe and juniors Kevin Osei-Badu and Adjovi Golo share some of the experiences from middle school and high school that motivated them to form the group. They, along with faculty sponsors Gia Maniscalco and Lillie Blackmon, also talk about the club's mission and what they hope the organization will accomplish.

Photo credit to Jim Slonoff from The Hinsdalean.

The chess teams from Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South played masterfully at the state tournament in Peoria. They both finished the weekend ranked in the top 20 (Central was 10 and South was 16) after going a combined 10-4 and outscoring their opponents 623-329. 

Hinsdale South's danceline team had a strong showing at the Illinois Drill Team Association (IDTA) state finals on Feb. 11. The Hornets earned the second place Grand Champion award for the AAA Division. They also took second in the Open Pom category at the AAA and junior varsity levels.

We also want to congratulate Hinsdale South's Destiny Prater on her second place finish in the Poetry Reading event.

Great job, everyone.

Hinsdale South's Anya Patel is headed to state for girls gymnastics following a fantastic showing at sectionals that included a second place finish in the all-around, a third place finish on the uneven parallel bars and a fifth place finish on the floor exercise. She will be joined at the tournament by Hinsdale Central's Audrey Austin, who was selected as an at-large qualifier on floor.

On Feb. 15, the Transition Family Groups for districts 86, 88, 207 and 219 will be hosting a virtual seminar about housing options for people with disabilities.

During the event, which will be conducted via Zoom starting at 6:30 p.m., Kathy Lyons from the Center for Independent Living will provide information about the organization's New Futures Initiative training for families that is focused on creating community-based supported housing. There will also be a representative from the Corporation for Supportive Housing who will talk about accessing and funding supportive housing.

Please click the image on the right to access more information about the seminar.

Below is an update about the free COVID-19 testing services that have been offered at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. There is also a link to the dashboard that features the latest data for our district, community and county.

During the past couple years, Northshore Clinical Laboratories has provided free on-site COVID-19 testing services for our students and employees. While we have greatly appreciated the company's partnership and support, we have decided to discontinue these services given the steady decrease in use.

If we need to resume the testing services at some point, Northshore has shared that its team will be ready to assist us. In the meantime, our health services offices have free rapid antigen tests from the Illinois Department of Public Health that are available for use by our students. Please note, however, that anyone who requests one of these tests must take it off campus and administer it at home.

Please visit https://bit.ly/3B4pHHk to access the latest COVID-19 data for our district, community and county. Below are the metrics we plan to update on a weekly basis.

If you missed the edition of Board Briefs for the board of education meeting on Feb. 9, please visit https://conta.cc/3jVeFiS.