Registration is now open for the district's summer school program. The first semester will take place June 12-29, while the second semester will be held July 5-20.

Please visit https://www.hinsdale86.org/summer-school to register for courses or learn more about our program.

During its committee of the whole meeting on April 13, the District 86 Board of Education approved the appointments of Chris Cirrincione as the next assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Hinsdale Central and Katie McHale as the next assistant director of special education at the Transition Center. They both received one-year contracts and will start with the district on July 1, 2023.

Cirrincione will be replacing Jessica Hurt, who is leaving the district at the end of June to take over as the new principal at York High School. McHale will be replacing Katie DiCianni, who will begin serving as the Transition Center’s new director of special education at the end of the 2022-23 school year.

Below is information about both new hires.

Chris Cirrincione comes to Hinsdale Central with eight years of experience in education. He has served as an assistant principal at Palatine High School since June 2021. Prior to that, he was a teacher (Spanish and social studies) and held several other leadership roles (club advisor, debate coach, associated student body coordinator and member of the building leadership team) at Prospect and Elk Grove high schools for six years. He was also an adjunct professor at Quincy University for two years.

Cirrincione earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Spanish Language from DePaul University. He is currently working toward a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Katie McHale has spent the past seven years working in the areas of special education and transition programming for Community High School District 94. She has served as the transition and vocational coordinator since May 2022, and was the lead transition teacher for six years.

McHale earned a bachelor's degree in special education from Elmhurst University, an ESL endorsement from St. Francis University and a master's degree in educational leadership from North Central College.

Chris Cirrincione

Katie McHale

Hinsdale South inducted 41 members into its chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) during a ceremony held on April 13. You can access the names of the inductees and photos from the event by visiting https://bit.ly/3MIBouA.

NHS, which was established in 1921, highlights a school's commitment to the values of scholarship, service, leadership and character. You can learn more about the organization by visiting https://www.nhs.us/about/.

We want to congratulate the students who earned this honor.

Hinsdale Central students Cayleigh O'Hare, Aoife Stover and Gracie Massery participated in the 2023 Irish Dance World Championships that were held in Montreal April 2-9. Cayleigh's team took first place in the age 16-19 competition, while Aoife and Gracie's team took first place in the age 13-16 competition.

We want to congratulate Cayleigh, Aoife and Gracie on their world titles. We are very proud of you.

Cayleigh O'Hare

Aoife Stover

Gracie Massery

Tommy Webster broke Hinsdale Central's all-time points record for boys lacrosse (117) during an 11-8 victory over Oak Park and River Forest High School on April 11.

We want to congratulate Tommy on this impressive accomplishment, and wish him and the team continued success this season.

Below are the names of the student-athletes from Hinsdale South who recently signed their national letters of intent. We want to congratulate them on their signings, and wish them continued success at the collegiate level. We also want to thank our coaches for all they do to help our students excel on and off the field.

There was a story about the opportunity that senior Methuli Jayesinge, junior Elia Hsieh and Ella's sister Ammie had to compete at the 2023 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships.

There was also a Q&A with senior Mariella Andrews, who is a member of the girls soccer team.

Arpan Chokshi, who is a social studies teacher at Hinsdale Central and instructional innovation coach for the district, wrote a blog post for the ACSD website titled "Planning Professional Development on ChatGPT." In the post, which you can access by visiting https://bit.ly/3mtbfWd, Chokshi talks about how to "help educators feel heard, supported, and empowered to address the role of AI in education."

On April 14, hundreds of thousands of people participated in the annual Day of Silence. On this day, students and their allies from across the country and around the world took a "vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.”

District 86's efforts to raise awareness for this important issue and show support for our LGBTQ+ students and staff were led by the Gender Sexuality Alliance from Hinsdale Central and PRISM from Hinsdale South. Great job, Red Devils and Hornets.

You can learn more about the Day of Silence by visiting https://www.glsen.org/day-of-silence.

Hinsdale Central's Habitat for Humanity club is collecting gently used furniture, home goods and building materials that will benefit the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Addison, Illinois. If you have items you would like to donate to this important cause, please bring them to the school's main entrance on April 22 between 9 a.m. and noon.

You can access additional information about this event by clicking the image on the right.

Below are reminders about upcoming district events and activities.

The Hinsdale Central Drama Club will be performing "Urinetown" April 21 and 22.

The award-winning musical is a "hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs."

The performance on April 21 will take place at 7 p.m., while the one on April 22 will take place at 5 p.m. Tickets, which are $20 for adults and $10 for students, can be purchased by visiting ticketpeak.co/hcdrama.

Break a leg, Red Devils.

Katie Hurley will be the featured presenter for the final two events being held in conjunction with the 2022-23 Community Speaker Series.

During her sessions, which will take place April 25 from 7-8:30 p.m. and April 26 from 9:30-11 a.m., Hurley will discuss the critical role that empathy development plays in improving a child’s relationships, mental health and ability to work through difficult times. She will talk about the impact of bullying and cyberbullying and provide a proactive approach for empowering empathy and resilience in children. She will also provide attendees with concrete strategies for increasing empathy, kindness and resilience.

Both sessions are free and open to the public, and will be held in person at The Community House (415 W. Eighth Street in Hinsdale).

Please use the links below or visit http://www.d181foundation.org/ to register for the session you want to attend.

If you missed the edition of Board Briefs for the board of education meeting on April 13, please visit https://conta.cc/3GLkkAp.