Hinsdale Central Named 2021 National Blue Ribbon School
“Hinsdale Central is honored to be one of 18 schools from Illinois, including Prospect Elementary School in District 181 and Butler Junior High School in District 53, to earn the distinction of being called a National Blue Ribbon School,” said Principal Bill Walsh. “This award is a testament to the tireless efforts of our exemplary faculty and staff, the unwavering support of our families and community, and, most importantly, the passionate commitment to learning that our students exhibit on a daily basis.”
The Education Department recognizes schools in one of two performance categories that are based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates. Hinsdale Central was named an Exemplary High Performing School, which denotes that it is among the highest performing schools in Illinois as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.
“On behalf of District 86, I want to congratulate Hinsdale Central on this incredible achievement,” said Superintendent Tammy Prentiss. “While the award itself is impressive, what truly makes this moment special is that every member of the school community contributed to this accomplishment. We look forward to celebrating this well-deserved honor and the important work that Hinsdale Central is doing to guide our students down the path toward their ideal future.”
All of the 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools will be recognized during a ceremony in early November. In the meantime, Walsh used a familiar phrase to help sum up his feelings about the award.
“We often celebrate our successes at Central by saying ‘It’s a great day to be alive and a Red Devil.’ This recognition epitomizes the spirit of that phrase and the immense pride we have in our school.”
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Commended Students in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program
Congratulations to the following students who were named Commended Students in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program:
Emmelia Anderson
Kelly Baird
Gabrielle Becka
Rama Bhagwat
Louisa Brorson
Nadia Burt
Liam Carden
Matthew Cihlar
Alexandra Collins
Kelsey Condon
Eden Drescher
Rana Dubauskas
Vincent Galassi
Elizabeth Grieve
William Halpin
Mia Hanlon
Tucker Hawthorne
Noah Hernandez
Spencer Hogervorst
Vincent Jia
Sophie Kempenaar
Brett Klovanich
Neha Kumar
Christine Leung
Jacqueline Lopez
Mateo Lopez
Megan Lu
Paton Mehrhoff
Shriya Mehta
Lucas Montesantos
Sarah Nicholson
Matthew Notaro
Daniel Ortiz
Priyanka Patel
Parker Peterson
Maximilian Pohlenz
Anass Qneibi
Zahrah Qureshi
Abhinav Reddy
Serene Safvi
Mia Sekiguchi
Mara Severts
Rohan Shah
Raghav Sharma
Sairaj Shetye
Dylan Tang
Kyle Tausk
Aidan Walsh
Veronica Walsh
Mingxiao Wang
William Zander
Leeland Zhang
Carolyn Zhu
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship competition by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
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National 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month
The contributions of Hispanics in the United States are many. In an effort to recognize and celebrate those who have shaped this nation, President Lyndon B. Johnson instituted National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968. This week-long observance was expanded into a month-long celebration in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th by celebrating the contributions and importance of Hispanics and Latinos to the United States as well as those American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. Sept. 15th is a significant date because it is the anniversary of independence for multiple Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. This year's theme is "Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope". To learn more about how you can get involved, see Ms. Holland in room 147, our Hispanic Student Association sponsor. In the spirit of Esperanza, let us reflect on how great our tomorrow can be if we hold onto our resilience and hope.
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Panorama Student Survey Opt-Out
District 86 is working with Panorama Education to administer feedback surveys to our students, faculty, staff and families. These surveys will provide us with valuable insights and information that will enable us to build upon our strengths. They will also help us better understand our opportunities for improvement and develop strategies and solutions for addressing them. These efforts are being undertaken in conjunction with the mission, vision, values and goals of our strategic plan, which include strengthening connections with our stakeholders and giving them a voice in the work we are doing to guide our students down the path toward their ideal future.
On Oct. 1, we will be administering a school-level survey to all of our students during second period. This survey, which features 48 questions that will take approximately 16 minutes to complete, will cover several topics that are focused on how our students feel about their school, including:
- Readiness for learning (e.g., ability to focus in class, concern about getting COVID-19, confidence in their ability to learn in person, etc.)
- School belonging (e.g., how connected they feel to the adults at school, how well people understand them, etc.)
- School climate (e.g., energy in the school, physical space, student behavior, etc.)
- School engagement (e.g., how excited they are to go to their classes, how eager they are to participate, etc.)
- School mindset (e.g., ability for them to change being talented, putting forth a lot of effort, etc.)
- School teacher-student relationships (e.g., respect, concern for their feelings, etc.)
Participation in this process is completely confidential. Panorama will not share your child’s individual responses with their school or the district.
While we are excited to offer this opportunity to our students, and look forward to getting their feedback on these important topics, we respect that some of you may not want your child to take part in this activity. With this in mind, we want to let you know that you can opt your child out by contacting Assistant Principal Ryan Maita (rmaita@hinsdale86.org) by noon on Sept. 30. Mr. Maita will let your child’s teacher know that they will not be taking the survey.
Please note that we will be keeping the survey open until Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. for any students who want to take it, but are absent from school or miss their second period class on the day it is administered.
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Hinsdale Central's Food Service Program
During its meeting on Sept. 16, the District 86 Board of Education received a presentation about the options for operating the district's food service program during the 2021-22 school year. The impetus for this presentation, which you can access by visiting https://bit.ly/3AjBlwb, was the recent announcement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) that the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program will be available to all school districts for the entire year. SSO is a national program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that offers healthy meals to students free of charge.
Later on in the meeting, the board approved the option that calls for the continuation of the district’s traditional food service program, while also offering all students expanded access to free meals from Sept. 20 to Nov. 30. At the end of that time period, the board will discuss whether to continue with this option or pursue a different one.
This change means that any student from Hinsdale Central can receive a Devilish deal meal free of charge. Students who select these meals will still need to present their ID at checkout. However, there will be no charges assessed or money deducted from their PushCoin account.
Please note that this change will not impact or affect any other aspect of our current food service offerings or operations. This includes continuing to charge for any a la carte items that students wish to purchase. It also will not limit the access that students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program have to the Devilish deal.
Please contact Julie Van Ness (630-570-8214) at Hinsdale Central if you have questions or need more information about this change or our food service program in general.
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STEM Speakers Needed
Does your job use science, computer science, technology, engineering, or mathematics? We would love to have you visit our school and give a 20-minute presentation to our students during our lunch periods; 10:45 a.m. through 1:10 p.m. The presentation should include details of your job, how you apply your formal education, and a question and answer session. This would be a 2.5-hour commitment on one day. If you are interested, please fill out this form. Help us show students all the opportunities available to them!
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Senior Tributes
PARENTS OF SENIORS!
Before you know it, your senior will be a graduate! Congratulate your senior in the yearbook with a special message! See how much they have grown by including a picture of them when they were younger!
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National Merit Semifinalists Announced
Hinsdale Central is pleased to announce that the following 21 students have been named 2022 National Merit Semifinalists:
Arnima Agrawal
Jackson Brown
Morgan Carlson
Amy Dong
Henry Flaming
Aishvarya Godla
Killian Hughes
Jui Khankari
Maximilian Lai
Nathaniel Lee
Sophia Lee
Nadir Muzaffar
Emaan Pirzada
Rishabh Ranganathan
Shivani Rao
Shiven Shah
Dmitriy Shvydkoy
Isabella Terry
Rohan Tolani
Emily Wang
Grant Zhang
These academically talented seniors were identified from over 1.5 million junior students that took the qualifying exam last fall and will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships that will be announced in the spring. Additional information about the National Merit Scholarship Program can be found at NMSQT.
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Homecoming Information
We are excited to be hosting the 2021 Homecoming “Dancing through the Decades” this year on Saturday, Oct. 2nd. Here are all the details your student will need:
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Homecoming Dance - The Homecoming Dance will take place on Dickinson Field - Outdoors from 7-10 pm on Saturday, October 2nd, doors will open at 7PM. Students must arrive to the dance prior to 8:00 pm for admittance. All attendees must enter through the main track entrance (East gate) only. Students must show their student ID upon entering.
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Attire: Appropriate attire, or semi-formal dress, is required as well as shoes at all times. Tickets will be sold for $20 individually on pushcoin Sept. 24th - Sept. 30th.
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Ticket Information: Individual tickets will be sold on pushcoin for $20 beginning Sept. 24th - Sept. 30th. Tickets will be sold the day of the dance and billed via puschcoin after checking into the dance. No physical tickets will be issued to students. Please use this link to purchase tickets beginning Sept. 24th: https://store.hinsdale86.org/#!/products/CMQ4ELSDOE
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Guest Information: Guests from outside schools will be allowed with proper forms and approval through the Dean's office by Thursday, Sept. 30th. Once guest forms are approved, guest tickets will be billed directly to the Hinsdale Central student’s pushcoin account with whom the guest is attending.
In the event of inclement weather, socially distanced activities will be available indoors from 7-10 pm rather than a dance.
For more Homecoming week information about Powder Puff, Pep Rallies, Parade and more, please check here regularly.
Some parents have asked to see survey results regarding Homecoming Activities that the Junior and Senior classes were asked to take. To see results, please click here.
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Parent-Teacher Conferences
An email was sent today regarding Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place during the afternoon and evening of Thursday, October 7th from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Conferences during the afternoon time slot from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM will be held in person in teacher classrooms. Conferences during the evening time slot from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM will be conducted by phone. We are hopeful that providing both in-person and phone conferences will allow families the opportunity to participate in a way they are most comfortable. Each conference will be seven minutes in length and while the format has changed, the goal of increasing opportunities for communication between parents and teachers remains the same.
Registration; September 19th through September 27th
Login to https://ptc.odynsolutions.com/centralptc with your user name and password provided previously in email to request conferences. Please remember that you are NOT scheduling conferences, only making the requests. If you do not make a request, you will not be scheduled for any conferences.
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MAP Testing Information
The MAP testing window is now open for all freshmen and sophomores who will be taking NWEA-MAP assessments in reading and algebra. These yearly assessments provide our teachers and administrators with valuable information about learning readiness and content mastery in these core academic areas. Unfortunately, we had to postpone the testing last fall because we began the school year in a remote instructional model. However, our return to in-person instruction on a full-time basis this year has enabled us to resume this practice.
We know that the pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on our students academically, physically and emotionally. That is why we want to remind you that the MAP test is just one data point we will use to make academic decisions about curriculum, both in terms of intervention and enrichment. The results we receive will be reviewed by our core course teams in order to provide a more personalized instructional experience for each student. They will also be reviewed by our Curriculum Leadership Team so that we can identify and address larger areas of academic need.
Our schools will send out a communication when MAP scores are available in the Home Access Center (HAC). In order to view your student’s scores, you will need to log into HAC, click on “Grades” at the top of the screen, toggle the “Test Score” tab and scroll down to MAP scores. The RIT and percentage for each of the MAP tests your child completed will be listed in this area.
In order to ensure the continuity of instruction, we have provided our course teams with the option and ability to administer the MAP assessments in a time and manner that will minimize disruption to their current lessons or units of study. As a result, students will be taking the tests at different times throughout the testing window. These times will be based, in part, on a child's grade level and the specific English, social studies, algebra or geometry course in which they are enrolled.
We look forward to sharing the macro-results of the MAP assessments, as well as any recommendations for intervention or enrichment programming, during our annual academic reports to the board of education this fall.
Sincerely,
Dr. Chris Covino
Assistant Superintendent for Academics
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Senior College Application Information 2022
Counselors are busy meeting with seniors to begin college application processing. To help seniors and their families navigate the process, we invite you to watch our Senior College Application Process video. We hope that providing the college application process information via video will allow you to watch it as a family when it best fits your schedule and then reach out to your individual counselor with any follow-up questions. You can also access the slide presentation at Senior College Application Slide Presentation. All seniors are also encouraged to schedule an individual meeting with the counselor in the coming weeks to ensure they are on track for finalizing applications and sending transcripts.
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Counseling Department Reminders
Each year we encourage students to sign up for reminders from the Counseling Department via our Counseling Remind 101 accounts. Students, if you have not yet signed up, please do so as soon as possible!
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Habitat ReStore Event
Fall cleaning? Stuff in the basement or garage you're looking to unload? Hinsdale Central's Habitat for Humanity club is holding a donation drive on Saturday, September 25 from 10 am to 2 pm. All donations will benefit the DuPage Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The ReStore accepts used household items and leftover construction materials, resells them to the public, and invests the proceeds into local Habitat housing projects.
For a list of acceptable items for donation, please visit
If you have large items difficult to bring to Central, please consider scheduling a pick-up (HERE) with DuPage Habitat for Humanity.
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Attendance Procedures
Our 24-hour Attendance Line phone number is 630-570-8090.
Please use this number to report all absences, including late arrivals and early dismissals. Failure to call within 24 hours of the absence will result in an unexcused absence. If you need to call your student out unexpectedly, your student will first need to be excused from the Dean's Office before leaving school.
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Community Speaker Series
Districts 86 and 181 are teaming up again to present the Community Speaker Series, which provides families with information and advice about a variety of important issues in education, wellness, and parenting.
Below is the lineup of experts for this year's series, and the topics they will be discussing.
- Jamil Zaki will present "The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World" on Oct. 5, 2021, at 7 p.m.
- Ron Lieber will present "The Price You Pay for College" on Feb. 1, 2022, at 7 p.m. Lieber will also present "How to Talk to Your Kids About Money" on Feb. 2, 2022, at 9:30 a.m.
- Jessica Lahey will present "The Addiction Inoculation" on April 5, 2022, at 7 p.m.
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Retake Day for Yearbook Photos
October 19, 2021, has been scheduled as our retake day at Hinsdale Central from 8 - 3 PM in Room 216.
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Technology Help Desk
Students having difficulty with technology, should contact the Hinsdale Central Tech Help Desk at helpdesk@hinsdale86.org or call 630-655-6180. The IT staff can help students reset passwords or repair Chromebooks as well as many other tech issues.
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Get Your COVID-19 Vaccine in DuPage
COVID-19 vaccines are free and available to anyone 12 years or older. There are now many locations available to get your COVID-19 vaccine in DuPage County. To find a COVID-19 vaccine provider near you, visit www.vaccines.gov.
The Dupage County Health Department also offers COVID-19 vaccinations on a walk-in basis in Wheaton, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, visit dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccineclinic.
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