Dear HSA McKinley Park Families,
I am excited to share that we will be reopening our school for a hybrid in-person learning model that will start in April. We have developed a strong program to help keep our school community healthy and safe. The hybrid model learning plan and information will be shared with families during the next two weeks. We are also planning to host town hall meetings with families to explain the plan. Families will have a choice of either continuing remote learning or having their child come back to school for a few days a week. I am very excited about bringing our students back to school as our Covid cases are dropping throughout our city. We know how difficult these times have been for our students, parents, and teachers.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Women’s History Month and also remind everyone to take the opportunity to share with our children famous women that they may not recognize as icons in American and world history. Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The United States has observed it annually throughout the month of March since 1987.
Also, with the second semester well under way, we want to thank everyone for your continued support of our students, teachers, and school as we collectively strive to provide the best opportunities for learning each and every day. Families are the most significant influence in our student’s schooling. One of the great hallmarks of a great school is the partnership between the school and families who work together for the best interest of the students and I know HSA McKinley Park is one of the best.
Serving you,
Mr. Vedziovski
2245 W. Pershing Rd. Chicago, IL 60609
(O) 773.247.8400 | (F) 773.247.8401
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This Month's Podcast:
Equity Committee
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HSA McKinley Park's Outreach Department is proud and excited to share this month's Community Connections Podcast with our school community. Although we know this platform is to connect our school community with our neighboring communities and partnerships, we wanted to make sure all of our families know what is taking place inside the school with all of our amazing staff.
We hosted HSA McKinley Park's Equity Committee on Thursday, February 18th. This new committee is a great start to something BIG and we couldn't be happier to share with everyone what they are all about and have been doing. Please click on the link below to find out more about our Equity Committee and where we are hoping their efforts can reach and inspire others.
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Celebrating Black History Month |
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In celebration of Black History Month this year we chose to direct our efforts to our own staff in the building! Since we can not celebrate with our students as we have done in the past, we decided to get to know and honor our staff members by highlighting their own stories and posting them on social media for our school community to enjoy. We also decorated our school hallways with staff posters. We just wanted to show our appreciation to our Black staff for all that they have contributed towards the success of HSA McKinley Park! We do miss our annual celebrations with our students and can't wait to continue the tradition once it's safe to do so. Please check out this video we made to showcase our amazing staff members! Click on the link below: |
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This year we honored Black History Month by hosting a school-wide drawing and spoken word contest for our students. This contest is running all month and each participating student who submits their drawing or spoken word entry will be entered into our raffle for a chance to win a great prize filled with books, posters, and BHM gear. Our students have until the end of the month to submit an entry and at the beginning of next month, we will announce the lucky winners. We will also feature all of the submissions in a tribute video that will be sent out next month as well.
We also partnered up with our sister school down the street HSA Southwest and hosted Mama Edie, an African Storyteller virtually for our families this year. We have hosted Mama Edie in the past years and our students enjoyed her performances. We were excited for this opportunity to host her again this year for our whole HSA family community.
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Click the link for our HSA Virtual Choir singing "We Shall Overcome" in honor of Black History Month.
Thank you to all the HSA students and teachers who submitted their video and audio for this project. It will be a happy day when we can all sing together again in person, but until then, this is a pretty cool way we can stay connected through music!
Be on the lookout for more musically virtual projects from Ms. Bearden in the months to come!
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Virtual Science & Engineering Fair |
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This year our Science department hosted our school science fair virtually. Students were designated to submit their projects via an online platform where they were able to upload their video presentations and pdf version of their posters. All projects were due on Friday, Jan 29th.
A special shout out to all of our staff members who volunteered to judge the student's projects. Judging took place on Thursday, Feb 4th - Monday, Feb 8th.
We also want to express our appreciation to our students for adapting and staying committed to their studies as we moved on with this school year remotely. All of our students did a great job at this Science Fair. Pictured above are some of our high school students and their projects.
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***Click on Image for a close up*** |
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HIGH SCHOOL:
FIRST SEMESTER HONOR ROLL STUDENTS
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***Please click on each list for a close up*** |
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2ND QUARTER
HONOR ROLL STUDENTS
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***Please click on each list for a close up*** |
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High School Literacy Event |
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HSA McKinley is continuing to share the love of literacy with all of our students. This month we hosted a high school event, "Blind Date with a Book." Our students had the opportunity to come by on Friday, February 12th to pick up a book and a treat in celebration of Valentine's day. Without knowing the author or title, our students were able to choose their "blind date book" based on a set of clues that were handwritten on the wrapping paper of the book. A special shout out to our PTO for sponsoring the treats that were attached to our books and Ms. Manzella for sphere heading this event. Our students enjoyed this event and we're looking forward to hosting it every year for them. |
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HSA McKinley Park's parent book club, "Chapter Chat" is moving on with their second book, "The five people you meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. We are grateful for the support and participation we have received from our school community. A special shout out to HSA Belmont for joining us and helping us create this new avenue of communication between our schools. We are hoping to read 4 books this year together and looks like we just might reach our goal!
If you are interested in joining chapter chat there is still time to join before we start a new book next month. Please email Ms. Armouti at [email protected]
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Save the Date for PTO's next meeting on
March 16th at 4pm via zoom!
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RIDE SHARE SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENT |
While HSA McKinley is sympathetic to our families' transportation needs, unaccompanied minors are prohibited from using ride-share services, such as Uber and Lyft. Should you have school transportation concerns in the near future, please contact our school principal,
Mr. Vedziovski at 773-247-8400.
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What's cooking in Middle School? |
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In celebration of Valentine's day, Ms. Portugal hosted a 3 part cooking series for our middle school students. "The Kids Table" launched on February 16th, 17th, and 18th.
Students had to reserve their spot in advance for the cooking classes that were being offered via zoom. Each day, a different menu item was demonstrated and participants were able to cook together virtually. Pictured are some of our students holding up their delicious entrées such as heart-shaped sugar cookies, heart-shaped mini pizzas, and strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting. What a fun way to stay connected with our students this Valentine's Day!
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A Great Start to the Season |
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Pictured above is Coach Krippinger with her high school boys basketball team at the home opener game after receiving the green light for their season by the IHSA Association.
Watch a live stream of games at :
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HSA McKinley Park high school boys basketball team defeated Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy on Monday afternoon. Down 10 points at halftime, they mounted a huge second half comeback to win 32-30 on a layup from Santiago Barba in the final seconds of the game. Christian Navarrete led all Hawks scorers with 10 points. Barba and Thomas Bittings each contributed 8 points in the victory.
The HSA McKinley Park Hawks (1-0) will play at home again on Monday, March 1, at 5 pm against HSA Southwest.
For the 2020-21 basketball season, HSA McKinley Park is not permitting fans in attendance at indoor home games for safety precautions.
GO HSA HAWKS!
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If you have any questions regarding the information posted in our College Corner
please contact:
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*COVID-19 Community Corner* |
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Esperanza health centers have expanded their COVID-19 vaccination services on the Southwest Side. Visit their website to learn if you’re eligible to receive a vaccine at one of their centers. If you don’t meet their criteria at this time, they will make announcements on their Facebook page and website about when you may be able to receive your vaccine at Esperanza.
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Staff Spotlight: Fred Hunter |
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This month's staff spotlight shines on Dr. Fred Hunter!
We want to shine the spotlight on our new Assistant Principal, Dr. Fred Hunter. He started his journey with HSA McKinley Park just last year but we are excited to share his story with our HSA Community. Since January of 2020, he has been serving as the Assistant Principal over the middle school at HSA McKinley Park. He is also an active member on the SEL and Equity committees and also has jumped in and is now the girl’s varsity basketball coach.
Dr. Fred Hunter is a passionate educator who continues to tackle his mission to change the world through education and faith. He is a beloved educational leader that has severed school communities for over 20 years. He has served as Principal, Assistant Principal, middle school math teacher, coach, and mentor. He has also won numerous awards and has been invited to be a guest speaker at Universities around the Chicagoland area. Dr. Hunter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education (Illinois State University), a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership (National Louis University), and a Doctorate in Urban Educational Leadership (National Louis University).
Dr. Hunter is also the owner of both Hunter’s Educational Consulting LLC. and In His Image Photo LLC. In his spare time, Dr. Hunter can be found taking pictures, biking, listening to music, or spending time with his family in his spare time.
We are extremely happy to have Dr. Hunter on our team especially because he is bringing so much to the table. We are looking forward to more great things with Dr. Hunter.
Closing out with his favorite quote:
“Do not get lost in the sea of despair. be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, a year but a struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
-John Lewis
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At HSA McKinley Park our top priority is the health and safety of students and staff, and we will continue to follow the guidance of local, state, and federal health officials in this evolving situation. Should you have any questions or concerns please email our school principal,
Mr. Seat Vedziovski at:
Ms. Armouti, Outreach Coordinator:
Mrs. Vega, Outreach Coordinator:
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Be sure to Follow us on Social Media for daily updates! |
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