Updates from 86
Weekly news and information from District 86
Schedule for the Week of April 12
This is a reminder that we will be administering the SAT to all juniors on April 13. Below is our updated schedule for this week (April 12-16).

  • Students who selected in-person instruction will be on campus April 12, 14, 15 and 16. They will have class from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (50-minute classes) and eat lunch in school on a daily basis.

  • All students who are learning from home on a full-time basis will use Zoom to access and engage in synchronous instruction April 12, 14, 15 and 16. Unless they receive permission from their teacher, these students will be expected to have their camera turned on and their face visible at all times during class.

  • All juniors will take the SAT at their home school on April 13 starting at 8 a.m. Freshmen, sophomores and seniors will engage in asynchronous learning at home from 8 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. on this day that will be centered around assignments/activities that their teachers post on Canvas. These students will also need to check in to all of their classes via Canvas and record their attendance. 
COVID-19 Data
Below is the COVID-19 data for the district as of Friday, April 9.

  • Current number of positive cases among students and staff - 13
  • Current number of students and staff in isolation - 21
  • Current number of students and staff in quarantine - 51
  • Total number of positive cases among students and staff since the start of the 2020-21 school year - 353

You can access the dashboard where this information is being stored by visiting https://bit.ly/3d93aws.
Zaynab Rehman
In our last edition of Updates from 86, we shared that Hinsdale South junior Zaynab Rehman had earned third place in the BRAIN Initiative Challenge for her essay titled "Brain Organoids isn’t a 'No-Brainer,'" which addresses the ethical questions associated with using stem cells to engineer brain-like structures to study disease.

The Doings Hinsdale recently published an article about Zaynab's accomplishment and what drew her to the topic. You can access the article by visiting https://bit.ly/31WYLbc.

We congratulate Zaynab again on this incredible achievement.
World Language Star Students at Hinsdale Central
The world language teachers from Hinsdale Central select a Star Student two times per semester. These are students who:

  • Demonstrate a strong interest in a world or classical language.
  • Make positive contributions to the classroom environment.
  • Exhibit a passion for learning a second language.
  • Inspire their peers.

Below is the list of individuals who have recently been named Star Students. We congratulate them on this accomplishment.
  • Mahammad Ahmadi
  • Rianna Amin
  • Luna Bitar
  • Sam Chung
  • Abraham Dulli
  • Jack Erickson
  • Kate Ferrino
  • Hannah Florence
  • Sofia Galati
  • Mason Giacchetti
  • Rei Hemmer
  • Peter Hester
  • Danyal Jawed
  • Yousuf Kamal
  • Sabrina Karim
  • Ryann Knapp
  • Liam Kowalkowski
  • Janet Leon
  • Carter Lyons
  • Holly Marcus
  • Katherine Matricaria
  • Caroline Matricaria
  • Daniela McMahon
  • Calista Otterberg
  • Lauren Pang
  • Jack Parkins
  • Simrah Qasim
  • Mikayel Sardaryan
  • Connor Schwarz
  • Griffin Talbott-Swain
  • Hannah Tatum
  • Asritha Tunuguntla
  • Medha Vemparala
  • Calvin Voorhees
  • Lisa Zhong
Technology Center of DuPage A*Team Students
The Technology Center of DuPage (TCD) recently awarded the A*Team certificate to students from Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central who received an “A” for the first semester of the 2020-21 school year. This certificate recognizes outstanding achievement in the programs offered by TCD. It also reflects the hard work of the students and dedicated service of the staff.

Below are the names of the students who earned this honor and the program for which they received it.

Hinsdale South
  • R'Riyell Amerine - Nursing Assistant Training Program
  • Veronica Brown - Cosmetology
  • Melodie Canong - Nursing Assistant Training Program
  • Benjamin Gonzalez - Automotive Technology
  • Natalie Krueger - Early Childhood Education and Care
  • Nathan Lapat - Welding Technology
  • Kaylee Mays - Cosmetology
  • Jordan Rospert - Cosmetology
  • Elvia Strenzel-Gibson - Nursing Assistant Training Program

Hinsdale Central
  • Hailey Ashby - Cosmetology
  • Lucas Bartasius - HVAC and Refrigeration/Residential Wiring
  • Ryan Katsis - Auto Body Repair and Refinishing
  • Hallie Letizia - Professional Cooking, Baking and Service
  • Paule Medziute - Nursing Assistant Training Program
  • Filip Milanovic - Computer Information Systems and Game Design
  • Owen Ricker - Welding Technology
Hinsdale Central Math Team
The Hinsdale Central Math Team had a phenomenal finish to its season that included a dominant performance at regionals and impressive showing at state. Below are highlights from the two events.

  • The Algebra 1 team (Wilbert Chu, Godlyn D'Souza, Elena Koulouris, Anjali Jejurikar, Adele Groom and Sindhu Chalasani) took first place at regionals and ninth place at state. Wilbert Chu placed first out of all the Algebra 1 competitors at the state meet.

  • The Geometry team (Jiming Chen, Sebastian Attan, Alex Jiang, Kevin Zhang, Jeffrey Liu and Alexander Gallagher) took first place at regionals and 10th place at state.

  • The Calculator team (Godlyn D’Souza, Kevin Zhang, Grant Zhang, Alex Jin and Sidh Leekha) took first place at regionals and 10th place at state.

  • The Algebra 2 team (Grant Zhang, Aishvarya Godla, Maximilian Lai, Rana Dubauskas, Kaila Kuo and Hanna Florence) took first place at regionals and 16th place at state. Grant Zhang placed 10th out of all the Algebra 2 competitors at the state meet.

  • Both the Fresh/Soph (Adele Groom, Jiming Chen, Sebastian Attlan, Siddarth Malapati and Arjun Saini) and Junior/Senior (Grant Zhang, Maximilian Lai, Vincent Jia, Aishvarya Godla, Alex Jin, Amer Goel, Aryan Bahl and Bilal Khan ) 8-person Non-Calculator teams took first place at regionals. The Junior/Senior team took eighth place at state.

  • The Pre-Calculus team (Alex Jin, Sidh Leekha, Amer Goel, Aryan Bahl, Amogh Mantri and Stella Dang) took first place at regionals and 11th place at state.

We congratulate the team and coaches Janeen Tomas, Kurt Vonnahme, Steve Wilson, Allison Rogala and Melanie Galich on their success this year.
Kindness Month
The Transition Center created a video that features students from the program delivering popcorn and lemonade to members of our staff in honor of National Kindness Month. You can check out the video by visiting https://bit.ly/3wHmxpM.

We applaud these young adults on their efforts to spread kindness, and thank the staff members who nurture and support their growth and development on a daily basis.
Tenured Staff
The following staff members from Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central have earned tenure.

Hinsdale South
  • Aaron Beale (math)
  • Sean Beesley (technology education)
  • Lance Martin (social work)
  • Jason Rehfeldt (student services for South and Central)

Hinsdale Central
  • Ryan Maita (assistant principal)
  • Jake McClintock (special education)
  • Brigid Walsh (science)

We congratulate these individuals on this incredible accomplishment. We also thank them for their hard work, professionalism, passionate commitment to education, and dedicated service on behalf of our students, schools and community.
National Coach of the Year Finalist
John Naisbitt from Hinsdale Central has been named a finalist for national coach of the year in boys tennis by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA). Coach Naisbitt will be honored with the other finalists during the National Coach of the Year Awards Banquet, which will take place during the NHSACA's national convention in Lincoln, Nebraska July 26-29. You can access additional information about this event by visiting https://nhsaca.org/convention/.

We congratulate Coach Naisbitt on this well-deserved recognition.
Don Vanerka 
Hinsdale South recently celebrated the retirement of Don Vanerka. Don graduated from South in 1977, and started working in the school's buildings and grounds department a year later. He has spent the past 43 years serving our students, staff and families, and exemplifies the true meaning of South Pride.

We thank Don for everything that he has done on behalf of the school, our district and the community, and wish him the best as he begins an exciting new chapter of his life.
Outstanding Activity Sponsors
We want to congratulate Julie Baker and Pat Richards from Hinsdale Central on being named Outstanding Activity Sponsors by the Illinois Directors of Student Activities. Baker, who is the faculty sponsor for Women in Engineering, and Richards, who is the faculty sponsor for SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and the DAWGS Military Support Group, received this award in recognition of the impact they have made on their club or activity, and because they exemplify what it means to be the "ideal advisor."

We congratulate Mrs. Baker and Coach Richards on this well-deserved honor.
National Assistant Principals Week
In honor of National Assistant Principals Week, which was held April 5-9, we recognized and celebrated the following individuals for their hard work and dedicated service.

  • Jessica Hurt, Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Hinsdale Central
  • Ryan Maita, Assistant Principal for Operations at Hinsdale Central
  • Eric Martzolf, Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Instruction at Hinsdale South
  • Dr. Kari Peronto, Assistant Principal for Operations at Hinsdale South

We greatly appreciate all that they do on behalf our students, staff, schools and community.
Day of Silence
On April 23, hundreds of thousands of people will participate in the annual Day of Silence. On this day, students and their allies from across the country and around the world will "take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.”

This year, the Gender Sexuality Alliance from Hinsdale Central, Prism from Hinsdale South and the Transition Center are organizing and hosting the event for District 86 students and staff.

You can learn more about the Day of Silence by visiting https://www.glsen.org/day-of-silence.
Hinsdale Central Spring Musical
Hinsdale Central will host a virtual spring musical titled "The Theory of Relativity" April 30-May 2. The modern, pop-rock musical explores the connection between all of us through a series of songs and monologues.

Tickets are on sale for $15, and can be purchased through April 30 by visiting www.showtix4u.com/events/hcdrama. Student tickets are free. After purchasing tickets, an email will be sent with a code and a link to view the video of the show. The video and code will be activated at 7 p.m. on April 30 and close at 7 p.m. on May 2.
Information Night Hosted by the Transition Family Group
The District 86 Transition Family Group will be hosting a virtual information night on April 15 at 6:30 p.m. that will feature a presentation by Sherri Schneider from Family Benefit Solutions about understanding and applying for benefit assistance programs.

You can access additional information about this event by visiting https://bit.ly/3uAEcOk.
Community Speaker Series - April 20
University of Chicago award-winning psychologist Nicholas Epley will be the next featured presenter for the 2020-21 Community Speaker Series. During a webinar being held on April 20 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., Epley will take the audience on an exploration of one of the great mysteries of the human mind: How good are we at knowing the minds of others?

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 http://conta.cc/2NUlIsc to register for or learn more about the webinar.
Board Briefs
If you missed the edition of Board Briefs for the District 86 Board of Education meeting that was held on April 8, please visit https://conta.cc/3d5SUXH.