During the board of education meeting on Oct. 29, Superintendent Prentiss announced that we will be changing the rotation of our A, B, C and D groups for the rest of first semester so that students who are in the hybrid model will be on campus for in-person instruction every other week instead of one week per month. Below is information about the schedule and activities for this week.

Below is the updated COVID-19 data for the district as of Friday, Nov. 6.

We have also added several metrics to our dashboard that we will be updating on a regular basis. These metrics include:

The dashboard where all of this information is being stored can be accessed by visiting https://bit.ly/3d93aws.

Some of our families from Hinsdale Central reached out to the school to find out what academic, social and emotional resources are currently available for students. In response to these inquiries, the school's administrative team created a flyer that includes:

You can access the flyer by visiting https://bit.ly/2TYU9xm.

Last week, Hinsdale South celebrated the accomplishments of its Hornet Scholars for the 2019-20 school year. This group includes students who made the dean’s list both semesters and/or received a score of 3 or higher on at least one Advanced Placement (AP) test. You can access the list of individuals who earned this honor by visiting https://bit.ly/2U0jzuH.

We congratulate all of the students who were recognized for their academic accomplishments.

Students from Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South have earned All District selections for band, chorus, jazz band and orchestra from the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA). You can access the names of the students from Central who received this honor by visiting https://bit.ly/352FeZj, and the names of the students from South who received this honor by visiting https://bit.ly/2GH3Nlm.

We congratulate all of our students on this tremendous accomplishment. We also want to recognize and thank teachers Chris Gumban, Kirk Hickman and Kat Vukson from South and Jennifer Burkemper, Matthew Kurinsky, Matthew Goeke and Serge Penksik from Central for the time, effort and energy they dedicate on a daily basis to helping our music students learn, grow and achieve.

Hinsdale Central's National Honor Society and Business Professionals of America are co-sponsoring a Thanksgiving “Stuff the Truck” event on Nov. 13 that will benefit the People's Resource Center (PRC) and serve as a celebration of World Kindness Day. There will be a delivery truck parked by the flagpole near the entrance to the school, which is where the two student organizations will be collecting items from 12:50 p.m. to 2 p.m. You can learn more about the event by visiting https://bit.ly/3mUW9Db.

Please help us spread the word about this important endeavor, and consider stopping by on Nov. 13 to donate items that will benefit the people served by PRC.

The Hornets for Wounded Warriors, which is a student organization at Hinsdale South that is led by faculty sponsor Mike Moretti, does a great deal of work on an annual basis to honor and recognize local veterans, and bring attention to some of the issues and challenges they are facing. Past activities have included raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project, celebrating the members of our armed forces on Veterans Day and remembering the victims of 9/11.

Given the restrictions and limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has focused its time and attention this semester on sending letters of gratitude and care packages to veterans to thank them for their service.

Well done, Hornets.

The following members of Hinsdale Central's Latin Club used various photos of Roman history, culture, etc. to create a mosaic that depicts a scene from the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

We congratulate the students on the completion of their masterpiece, and cannot wait to see it on display in the Latin classroom.

We want to congratulate the members of the Hinsdale South Theatre Department and faculty sponsor Danny Yuska on the tremendous success of their special one night radio performance of "The Wizard of Oz." You can check out a video of the performance by visiting https://bit.ly/3564yxK.

We thank the department for taking us on a fun-filled adventure somewhere over the rainbow, and cannot wait to see what this talented group of performers has in store for us next.

This month, Kim Estoque will begin her 30th season of coaching girls gymnastics at Hinsdale Central. Estoque spent 15 years as an assistant coach before taking over as the head coach. Last year, her peers voted her the West Suburban Conference Coach of the Year. You can check out an article about her that appeared in the Devils' Advocate in December 2019 by visiting https://bit.ly/3mZDXIH.

We congratulate Coach Estoque on this tremendous milestone, and wish her and her team the best of luck this season.

Abby Petersen from the girls cross country team and Jake Schilling, Aaron Koehler and Owen Atkinson from the boys cross country team were named the Hinsdale South Athletes of the Week for Oct. 26.

Abby was the top runner for her team throughout the season. She finished in 11th place at Regionals and 12th place at Sectionals. Her performance at Sectionals helped South finish in a tie for seventh place overall. 

Jake, Aaron and Owen were among the team's top five runners this year, and finished within eight seconds of each other at Sectionals. Jake was a four-year member of the team and the most improved runner last year, while Aaron has been on the varsity team for two years and Owen ran high school cross country for the first time this year. 

We congratulate Abby, Jake, Aaron and Owen on this recognition.

New York Times best-selling author and science writer David Epstein will be the first featured presenter for the 2020-21 Community Speaker Series. During a special webinar being held on Nov. 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., Epstein will discuss the keys to achieving high performance in any domain. He will also talk about how generalists triumph as the world around them becomes increasingly specialized.

The webinar is free and open to the public. However, registration is required if you want to take part in the livestream of the event, or watch the recording of it afterward.

Please visit www.d181foundation.org to register for or learn more about the webinar.