May 7, 2024

IMSA, Fermi STEM Pitch Competition Another Success

IN2’s 2nd annual IMSA/Fermi STEM Pitch Competition was held on Saturday, April 27, and was a great success! The Fermilab judges were enthralled with the quality of the student's ideas and pitches. Congratulations to the winning teams!

FIRST PLACE

SignAll

Aaditya Shah '25, Shridhar Mehendale '25, Sohum Kashyap '25

• An AI-based sign language translation platform.

SECOND PLACE (tie)

Respirolink

Ryan Cho '25,

Aahana Das '25,

Aarushi Das '25

• A sensor-based product that transmits data via Bluetooth to a mobile app, concentrating on early diagnosis of respiratory diseases, and BalanceRx (Arnav Patel '25) An AI-integrated app for the management of Parkinson’s Disease.

THIRD PLACE

Linguist

Tatyana Pronitcheva '24, Shridhar Mehendale '25

• An AI-based evaluator to detect writing disorders.

Girls Badminton

Congratulations to Carissa Chen for taking first place at the IHSA Girls Badminton Sectionals. Carissa will compete at the IHSA State Tournament this weekend.

Girls Soccer

The Girls Soccer team celebrated their seniors last night. Congratulations to these impressive student athletes and the rest of the Girls Soccer team for their accomplishments this season. Fans can cheer on the team as they face Harvard in the Girls IHSA Regional Quarterfinal on their home field this Friday!

Alyssa Abendroth '24

Alejandra Aguilar Ortiz '24

Yanel Gonzalez '24

Katie Jenks '24

Annika Johnson '24

Justina Kostiv '24

Eliana Nungaray '24

Nataliya Stewart '24

Boys Volleyball

The Boys Volleyball team celebrated their seniors last Friday. Thank you to our seniors for their exceptional leadership throughout their time on the team, and we wish them the best of luck on their next adventure.

Arjun Cherukuri '24

Rohan Patkar '24

Jerrick Li '24

Mike Doerries '24

Tate Schneider '24

Jack Osmund '24

National Personal Finance Challenge

IMSA Sophomores Laksh Patel, Aarav Lala, and Neel Shanbhag have qualified for the State Finals in the National Personal Finance Challenge. The National Personal Finance Challenge (NPFC) is a nationwide competition that offers high school students the opportunity to build and demonstrate their knowledge in earning income, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, and risk. 

After earning an almost perfect score on the state qualifier exam, the team was tasked with creating a comprehensive case study that included an economic blueprint for an anonymous family. Their work is now being presented to judges for a chance to advance to Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio.

AP Exams will take place from May 6-17. All students are expected to attend classes when they are not scheduled to take an AP Exam. To check which tests you are scheduled for, please check your MyAP Portal. If you wish to cancel an exam, please contact Reuel Abraham or Karen Gholson with the name of the test you'd like to cancel.

Some helpful reminders as you take your exams:

• Morning exams are from 7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Afternoon exams are from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Plan ahead. Eat breakfast and/or lunch before your morning and afternoon exams. A bagged lunch will be provided if you take morning and afternoon exams.
• You must bring your IMSA ID, #2 Pencils (new mechanical pencils), and pens (black or blue ink only) to each exam.
• Bring a graphing calculator for Statistics and a scientific or graphing calculator for Chemistry. 
• Cell phones are not permitted in testing rooms.
• Mental Health Days (MHDs) must be approved by parents/guardians of students taking AP exams that day. Students who take an MHD will not be allowed to sit for their AP exam that day.

Senior Transition Education Program

May 22, 2024

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Auditorium

The event will include a class of 2023 panel, a financial wellness workshop, and swag!

This is a mandatory event for all seniors. Students who do not attend will not be allowed to go on the Six Flags of Great America Trip. 

College Decision Day

As the traditional deadline for declaring your postsecondary plans approaches, we understand that numerous colleges have extended their commitment deadlines to May 15, with some even pushing further to June 1. We are planning a school-wide celebration on May 24 in light of these changes. This event will honor all seniors, acknowledging your hard work and the decision you have made or are about to make.

More details will be shared in an upcoming Titan Tuesday and through Naviance. Let's all come together and make this a memorable celebration for all our incredible seniors as they embark on their futures!

Tickets are not required for this event. We invite all family members to come and celebrate with our graduates. We ask that families review the prohibited items for the NIU Convocation Center.

Please look for additional details about graduation in the coming weeks, or contact the Principal's Office if you have any questions.

Service Hours

Please remember to log your service learning hours in HelperHelper and check in to make sure they are approved. Data transfers and email blasts will be sent out monthly until graduation. As a reminder, students who do not complete the graduation requirement for service learning, as stated here, will not receive their final transcripts until they have done so. All hours must be submitted and fully approved (present in PowerSchool) by May 21, 2024.

The Intersession 2025 Travel Study opportunities are here!

Applications for Travel Study are due Wednesday, May 8 at 11:59 p.m.

Self-Care Saturday

Saturday, May 11, 2024

10:00 a.m.

1504, 1505, 1506, and 1507

Join Counselor Alex Pratt for a day of painting, snacks, relaxing music, and mental health resources! Students will also be able to visit with therapy dogs in E121 or on Yare (weather permitting). The exact times will be announced soon!

Finals Study Session

Sunday, May 19, 2024

1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

B Wing and the IRC

Work with classmates and peer tutors to finish your end-of-year assignments and prepare for final exams. PAC will provide pizza!

Parents: If you want to donate to PAC's pizza order, please use the link below or send Zelle payments to Treasurer@IMSAPAC.org. 

Last summer, I was reminiscing with some old high school friends, and since they know my livelihood is in education, they shared memories of their favorite teachers. I offered that they should thank them for the lasting impact in their lives. It may seem odd, many years later to reach out and offer thanks, however, I assured them it's not. Educators love hearing from their former students and want to know what they're doing with their lives, and it's quite a delight to know you have inspired their future.

This week is National Educator Appreciation Week. I'd like to thank our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) for making our educators feel recognized at IMSA with a variety of treats and thank you messages. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any faculty or staff at IMSA who you feel have inspired a difference to make your child's IMSA experience memorable. And, of course, reach out to any of your former teachers -- yours or your children's. 

Working in schools with students can be exhausting because there are a lot of demands. It's also inspiring work, where we are motivated to make a difference. However, there are days when you wonder whether those efforts are yielding an impact. Receiving a thank you note and understanding the difference you've made is often fuel to keep going. It's never too late to recognize an educator and it's certainly appreciated.

Please reach out to me at eglazer@imsa.edu if you have thoughts on this topic or wish that I discuss another in a future Titan Tuesday.

All students should complete the end-of-the-year tasks for ITS. Review their email for more details.

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Time TBD

Pride Rock

Celebrate Pride Month early with a viewing of Heartstopper. Color, relax, and enjoy snacks and a movie before heading into Finals Week.

Check out the new search engine from the Illinois of Gifted Children for local STEM enrichment opportunities for all ages. This search engine was developed by IMSA Senior, Michael Meng '25!

Titan To Go is a resource for students to discreetly order basic toiletries when they cannot replace them before a trip home. Students may select from the following items:



• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Toothpaste and Toothbrushes 
• Dental Floss 
• Deodorant 
• Menstrual products
• Hand soap 
• Body lotion 
• Facial tissues
• Lip balm  
• Contact lens cases

Requests are confidential and can be made by clicking on the button above. Requests received by 8:00 a.m. will be processed daily, Monday through Friday. You will pick up your items in a Smart Locker once you receive a notification that your package has been scanned in.

For more information, contact Michelle Bemis, Volunteer Coordinator for Titan To Go at mbemis@imsa.edu.

Mark Your Calendars! 

May 6 - May 16 - AP Exams

May 17 - Prom

May 22 - Center for AI Grand Opening

May 24 - Community Cookout

May 27 - Memorial Day (Academy Closed)

May 29 - 31 - Final Exams

May 31 - Graduation Rehearsal and Senior Banquet

June 1 - Graduation

ILLINOIS MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY



1500 Sullivan Rd., Aurora, IL 60506-1000 |  630.907.5000 |  imsa.edu

To ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific

minds that advance the human condition.