From the desk of Principal Kathryn Anderson

School Year 23-24; Issued on February 29, 2024

Things you need to know:

• Next Week's Schedule (Feb. 26-March 1): Monday - No School, Tuesday - 78 day with extended homeroom, Wednesday - 56 day, Thursday - 34 day, Friday - 12 day
• Looking ahead to the Week of March 11. March 11 and 12 are special schedules. Links to the schedules are included in the newsletter.

Dear DHS staff, students, and families,

Happy Leap Day! I hope you've enjoyed your "extra" day. Thanks to Mr. Verisario, Activities Director, students and staff were able to LEAP into some fun today with "old school" games and activities during lunch and free periods. Today's activities were a part of our Winter Spirit Week 2024. Check out the Student Life section to learn about our teams and clubs highlighted in homeroom this week.

Safe Driving on Campus

This week has also been extra busy with the start of spring athletics. With clubs, activities and athletics meeting each evening, I'd like to remind students and families about safe driving on campus and our surrounding areas. First, please be extra mindful when picking up at the Athletic entrance in the evening - we need to allow traffic in and out of the parking lot and this area can become quite congested. It is especially important to stop at the stop sign near the tennis court when exiting the Athletic entrance circle drive. Further, please be cautious when exiting south on to Waukegan Road from the north exit. We experience several accidents in this location in each year - so we ask for your attentiveness when driving. Thank you for helping make our campus safe for all!

Sincerely, 

Principal Anderson

Week of March 4-8

• Monday - No school
• Tuesday - 78 day with extended homeroom (Illinois Youth Survey)
• Wednesday - 56 day
• Thursday - 34 day
• Friday - 12 day

Planning Ahead to the Week of March 11

Monday, March 11 is a half day of student attendance with EB classes starting at 12:00p.m. and 1st period starting at 1:05p.m. Click the link below for the full schedule.

March 11 is a half day so that junior students can take the state required Illinois Science Assessment during the morning hours. Juniors and families have received additional details.

Tuesday, March 12 is a revised cycle 78 day with the school day starting at 10:00 a.m. with homeroom. Click the link below for the full schedule.

March 12 is a revised schedule to allow time for certain juniors to complete their Illinois Science Assessment.

When ALL students start their school day with homeroom, students in grades 9-11 will use the time to prepare their chromebook or personal laptop device for the digital PSAT/SAT which is scheduled for this April. Students should be sure that their devices are fully charged for homeroom. Additional details will be shared with students next week.

Deerfield High School's Inaugral Heart of a Warrior Celebration

Deerfield High School hosted its very first Heart of a Warrior award on Monday, 2/26/24. Departments/areas were invited to nominate a student who personifies the attributes of a heart of a warrior (e.g., demonstrating kindness and respect; modeling a positive attitude). 11 students were honored at the event by the staff members who nominated them! You can view the pamphlet from the event here: Heart of a Warrior Pamphlet (February 2024) We look forward to celebrating another group of students sometime this spring! 

Please help me congratulate our students highlighted below:

DHS Celebrates Winter Athletics and Activities

This week during homeroom, DHS is celebrating Winter Athletics and Activities. Please help me to congratulate and support the following teams and clubs as highlighted in homeroom!

DHS PTO College Scholarship Fund

The Inaugural Arts Festival at DHS ARTS ALIVE! Will Run from April 15 to 20 2024.

Township High School District 113 is proud to announce that after 60 years of Focus on the Arts at HPHS,  Deerfield High School will finally have an arts festival of its own.

Arts Alive! is a new arts initiative developed for Deerfield High School with the input of Deerfield High School Administrators and Fine Arts staff at Deerfield High School,  exposing students to a diverse array of art and artists and celebrating the intersection between arts and academics. 

Over this inaugural session of this biennial weeklong celebration, professional artists from multiple disciplines will be brought into the classroom to present workshops, masterclasses and interactive performances. Throughout the week a muralist and student artists will create a mural representing the message that the current student body would like to leave to future students. The mural will be created on panels in the cafeteria where the entire student body can view the process. On Friday, April 19, two all-school assemblies presenting professional performances in music, dance, and theater will mark the end of festival events for that school week. 

On Saturday April 20, from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM the entire community will be invited to an “Art Expo Open House” where 30 professional artists will show their work, demonstrate their techniques and allow the public to get hands on with projects. In addition, pop up performances will run throughout the day and will include puppet shows, drum circles, an interactive dance performance, as well as a performance by our magnificent DHS Choraliers.

Director of Arts Festivals Tamara Jenkins says,” As an alumna of Deerfield High School, I am honored to have been tasked with shepherding this new arts program for the students at DHS and the Deerfield community. While still in the scheduling and contracting phase, we already have a robust roster of incredible artists who have agreed to be part of this event!”

Among the presenters: Northlight Theater will do an eight-week residency with drama students that will culminate with a 10-minute devised play presented during the all-school assemblies.  World music group Funkdesi and Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre are also slated to perform along with a few other groups yet to be announced.

Jenkins states, “This family-friendly Saturday Arts Expo on the 20th will build a beautiful bridge between the community and the High School, with special outreach to our elementary schools and families. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Like the Highland Park High School Focus on the Arts model, the community will be asked to help support programming through donations and sponsorships. Please email tjenkins@dist113.org if you are interested in sponsoring the event.

Consider serving on the D113 Board of Education



Reminder: the deadline to apply is tomorrow, Friday, March 1 at 3 p.m.

For more information on qualifications and to fill out the application go to this link.