3-18-24: LTHS Principal Update

Dear LTHS Parents/Guardians & Students,

I hope this email finds you having a wonderful weekend and I wish all of our students a wonderful, safe, and relaxing Spring Break next week! Students are off school from Monday March 25- Monday, April 1. We will resume classes on Tuesday, April 2.

Following spring break, I will share a Quarter 3 Attendance/Behavior Summary as well as the final exam schedule/end of semester grading information.

Congratulations to the following groups and individuals that have achieved recent successes:

Congratulations to LTHS Social Studies Teacher Katy Newcomb on her recent recertification as a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). Ms. Newcomb is in her 26th year teaching at LT and first achieved her NBCT distinction in 2019. Please join me in congratulating Katy Newcomb on this accomplishment.
Congratulations to our LTHS Student Council on a very successful Mr. LT event. The event raised over $6,500 for the Jack Kunkle Memorial Scholarship Fund. Congratulations to Alex Edwards for being named Mr. LT and also winning Mr. Popularity after raising over $2,000 himself. Congratulations also to Thomas Townsend for winning Mr. Congeniality.
Congratulations to LTHS Student Counsel on a successful Spring Blood Drive. Seventy-five individuals registered and gave 81 blood products (51 whole blood/30 red cells/39 first-time donors) for local patients, exceeding the 60 products goal. This has been the most successful blood drive for Student Council since October 2017.
Congratulations to all student directors, cast and crew that contributed to making the Donna Mavros Festival of Student-Directed One-Acts successful.
Congratulations to Best Buddies on a successful community Easter Egg Hunt. Best Buddies President Mark DeMonte and all of our Best Buddies members did an excellent job of setting up a fun event for so many kids within our community.
Congratulations to four students that were recognized as part of the Depaul Blue of Best High School Writing of 2023 for their personal essays. Lillian Antczak was published/accepted into the journal while Lucy Dillenbeck, Djordje Negovanovic, Loveleen Sasan were named finalists.
Congratulations to advisor Kaleigh Dolan and our FFA for a successful Envirothon Regional Competition at Morton Arboretum. LT FFA will be representing Cook Country in the State competition!
LION newspaper advisors Jason Scales and Ryan Darrah and LION students attended the annual Northern Illinois School Press Association (NISPA) journalism convention at College of DuPage on Friday, March 14. In addition to attending a keynote speaker and various seminars, LION students brought home many awards based on material that was published from the first semester.
OVERALL NEWSPAPER CATEGORY: LION’s print newspaper won the GOLDEN EAGLE, the highest distinction it could earn (based on three print issues from fall 2023).
OVERALL WEB CATEGORY: LION’s website won “Bronze Medal” distinction
Senior Aero Gartner won BLUE RIBBON in EDITORIAL WRITING for Do your research
Juniors Molly James and Rachel Kowalski won BLUE RIBBON in VIDEO PACKAGE for staff introduction video
Seniors Nina Ivancevic and Ellie Moran earned HONORABLE MENTION in NEWS WRITING for Administration implements new school regulations
Senior Lillian Davis earned HONORABLE MENTION in FEATURE WRITING for 1926-2027: Students carry on 100-year legacy
Senior George Ross earned HONORABLE MENTION in PROFILE WRITING for Athlete of the Issue: Eddie Tuerk
Senior Sadie Ruppert earned HONORABLE MENTION in REVIEW WRITING for Upbeat Life review
Senior Katie Garrity earned HONORABLE MENTION in SPORTS FEATURE WRITING for BRRRR-ing on the cold
Senior Catherine Crousore earned HONORABLE MENTION in GRAPHICS for the page 13 AI graphic in issue #3
Senior Julia Ludden earned Honorable Mention in EDITORIAL CARTOONING for her Halloween cartoon in the Oct. 31, 2023 issue
Junior Molly James earned HONORABLE MENTION in MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE for Boys soccer places second in state story and photo gallery
Junior Molly James earned HONORABLE MENTION in PHOTO GALLERY for Boys soccer places second in state story and photo gallery
LTHS CyberDefense has had another successful season. Congratulations to CyberDefense Club sophomore Alex Cuckovic who earned a $3,000 scholarship applicable to participation in the Cyber Foundations Academy – a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification. Congratulations to Rolando Cahill, Alex Martins, and Lochlan McElroy, members of the LT CyberDefense Club that participated as a team in College of DuPage's Cyber Fire Challenge on Saturday, March 2. They were the only high school team among the seven squads that participated, and won by completing the challenge puzzles in the greatest number of categories. The categories included:
Introduction to cryptanalysis (frequency analysis, guessed plaintext attacks)
Counting in numerical radices (hexadecimal, octal, binary, etc.)
Steganography
Forensic cybersecurity incident investigation\
Protocol and file format cleanroom reverse-engineering
JavaScript deobfuscation
Password cracking / custom brute-force attack generation
Network Archaeology
Malware Analysis
Host Forensics
Incident Coordination

Wind Ensemble Participates in National Concert Band Festival

The LT WInd Ensemble was one of 12 groups selected from a national pool of applicants to perform as a featured ensemble at the 2024 National Concert Band Festival. The group will travel this Thursday to Butler University in Indianapolis, IN for a series of clinics and performances. In preparation for this prestigious performance they will present their program this Tuesday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Reber Center. This performance is free and open to the public and everyone is invited to attend to support the achievements of these students.

The Wind Ensemble will perform on the Clowes Stage at the National Concert Band Festival at 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 22. Information about the schedule and free live stream can be found at https://festival.musicforall.org/2024schedule/.

College and Career Center Update

LT students and families are encouraged to connect with our College and Career Center on Social Media for all event postings, college/career resources and CCC updates. Follow us on Twitter/X @MrDailey204 and on Instagram @ltcollegecareercenter!

PTC Post Prom Raffle

The annual Post Prom event is sponsored by the LTHS PTC. Students extend their evening with a Lake Michigan cruise in a safe, substance-free environment, enjoying music, refreshments, and a view of the magnificent Chicago skyline.

Enter the raffle to win gift certificates, LT swag or the grand prize $1,000! Proceeds from the raffle defray ticket and transportation cost for the students.

Thank you for any contribution to this special event and to the PTC for coordinating! https://lths.revtrak.net/Parents-Community/Parents-Community-PTC#/v/ptc-post-prom-cruise-fundraising

Spring Spirit Week

Student Council has been busy planning. Please see below for themes.

Monday, March 18: Pajama Day
Tuesday, March 19: Jersey Day
Wednesday, March 20: Flannel Day
Thursday, March 21: Crazy Socks Day
Friday, March 22: Blue & Gold Day

Safety Drill - Severe Weather

On Thursday, March 21, LTHS will complete its final emergency drill of the school year. Students and staff will participate in a severe weather drill at both campuses.

Fire Detection Alarm Test - Wednesday, March 27 at LT South Campus

Chicago Fire Detection will be at South Campus on the morning of Wednesday, March 27 to test and make adjustments to the system. The alarm will be set off at approximately 9 am to verify which units need maintenance.

Student Government Officer & Class Boards

Applications to run for 2024-25 Student Government Officer or Class Boards positions are available through Friday, April 12. Student Representative to the Board of Education applications will be available April 2 - April 15. For more information about the application process, visit the Elections webpage.

Thank you and have a great week!

Jen Tyrrell

Principal