Reminder - District 86 is inviting students, staff, families, alumni and community members to help us celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week (May 8-12).

If you have expressions of gratitude (e.g. kind words, artwork, photos, videos, etc.) that you want to share about any of our teachers, please email them to abarry@hinsdale86.org by 7 p.m. on May 11. Please note that anything you send us may be posted on the district's social media sites in accordance with board policy.

Reminder - 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, sign up for bus transportation (available to all students at no additional cost) or learn more about our program. Those who want to register and pay for courses will need to log in to the parent portal for Infinite Campus and select Activity.

The latest installment of our “Inside the Classroom” video series features the district's English Language Learners (ELL) program.

In the video, which you can check out by visiting https://youtu.be/YdgVJDZ9C6o, we learn how the program is structured to help students who speak different languages become proficient in reading, writing, listening in and speaking English.

We hear from Treacy O'Keefe, the district's ELL coordinator, who talks about the growth of the program and how it is being expanded over the next few years to further meet the needs of students.

We also hear from sophomore Yanlang (Eric) Shao, who describes how the support he receives from his teacher and fellow ELL classmates positively impacts his ability to learn English and excel in his content classes at Hinsdale Central.

We want to thank Ms. O'Keefe, Yanlang and the ELL class for showing us the critical role this program plays in the development and success of our English Language Learners.

District 86 had a strong showing at the national competition organized by the Business Professionals of America (BPA).

Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South combined for 18 top 25 finishes in their individual events, and had several students compete in a number of the challenging open events. In addition, South had five students who passed their Certiport Certification Exams. You can access a summary of the district's accomplishments by visiting https://www.hinsdale86.org/our-district/news-and-announcements.

We want to congratulate all of our students on their success at the national competition. We also want to thank faculty sponsors Ashley Yurchak from South and Leah Giarritano and Ken Shum from Central for their hard work and leadership this year.

The following District 86 students finished in the top three in their individual events at the state competition for the Illinois Design Educators Association.

We want to congratulate Brynn, Kelan and Joseph on their accomplishments at state, and thank teachers Matthew Swedko from South and Jon Schmidt and Brad Smith from Central for all they do to support the growth, development and success of our students.

A couple weeks ago, we shared that senior leaders from Hinsdale South's Environmental Concern Organization (ECO) had participated in the 17th annual Sustainable Design Challenge that was hosted by SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) and the DuPage County Stormwater Management. We also mentioned that the results of the competition would be announced this month, and want to congratulate the following students from South who won awards:

Well done, Hornets.

We want to congratulate Hinsdale South's Nicole Jason and Sophia Yen on being nominated in the Best Performer in an Actress Role category for the 2023 Broadway In Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards. Both students earned this honor for their outstanding performances in the school's highly successful production of "Carrie: The Musical" (Nicole played Carrie White, while Sophia played Sue Snell).

You can access additional information about the awards, including the full list of nominees, by visiting https://bit.ly/42r8c00.

The girls badminton teams from Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central continued their impressive run at sectionals.

The Hornets won their third straight sectional title, and took the top two spots in singles (Maggie Chen was first; Megan Tai was second) and doubles (Amelia Hoch and Savannah Morford were first; Abigail Lu and Eva Louis were second).

Meanwhile, the Red Devils won their ninth straight sectional championship, and also took the top two spots in singles (Jessica Han was first; Ivy Shen was second) and doubles (Rachele Cameli and Maria Jiao were first; Hannah Fang and Tiffany Tu were second).

During the past 23 years*, South has taken first at sectionals 21 times, while Central has done it 19 times. There have been 17 instances when the two schools have been sectional champions in the same year. In addition, the Hornets won 18 consecutive titles from 1999-2017, while the Red Devils' current streak of nine in a row is the longest in program history.

We congratulate both teams on their success at sectionals, and wish them the best of luck at state.

*Sectional results on the IHSA website date back to the 1999-00 school year. There were no sectional or state tournaments during the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The boys gymnastics teams from Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South performed well at sectionals. The Red Devils took third at the tournament hosted by John Hersey High School, while the Hornets took sixth at the tournament hosted by Lyons Township. Both teams also had several student-athletes finish in the top 10 in their individual events, including:

*Automatic state qualifier in the event

We congratulate both teams on their success at sectionals, and wish those who are headed to state the best of luck.

We want to congratulate the following District 86 Special Olympics track athletes on their success at regionals.

Great job, everyone. We are very proud of you.

Hinsdale Central's Tommy Webster broke the school's single-season scoring record for boys lacrosse when he notched his 47th goal of the year during a 10-9 loss to Huntley on May 3.

We want to congratulate Tommy on this incredible achievement.

The Hinsdalean's latest student-athlete profile features a Q&A with Hinsdale Central senior Jack Treiber, who is a captain of the boys tennis team. In the piece, Jack talks about when he got hooked on tennis, what he loves most about the sport, what it means to play for Central's program, his goals for this season and his plans for after high school.

You can check out the profile on Jack by visiting https://bit.ly/3nzCVcl. Photo credit to Jim Slonoff from The Hinsdalean.

Below are reminders about upcoming district events and activities.

On May 17, the Hinsdale South Foundation is hosting a magic show featuring world-famous illusionist Jeanette Andrews. The event will be held in the school's auditorium at 7 p.m., and will include an opening performance by the Hinsdale South Jazz Combo.

Tickets for the show, which is open to the public, are $20 for adults and $12 for students. There are also VIP tickets available for $30. Proceeds from the event will support the foundation's goal of providing scholarships for seniors.

Please visit https://www.hshsfoundation.org/ to purchase tickets, access additional information about the show or learn more about the important work of the foundation.

The Community House is hosting the 17th Annual Walk the Walk for Mental Health on May 21 from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is a 1-mile Color Walk that will celebrate "mental and physical wellness, access to mental health services, and ending the stigma associated with discussing mental health with friends, family and community."

You can learn about, register for or donate to the walk by visiting https://bit.ly/3Lik25J.