October 17, 2023

Earlier this afternoon, the IMSA Community gathered to address the recent increase in bias incidents on campus. IMSA's board-approved Equity and Excellence policy strives to ensure a safe and welcoming learning environment for all students. 

We have a collective responsibility to confront racism, explicit and implicit, and will not tolerate individual and systemic racism in all its forms. To address harm in these situations, we treat bias incidents on a case-by-case basis, with a response commensurate with the severity of the incident.

What can you do if you hear or witness a bias incident?

All students, staff, and faculty have a responsibility to maintain the safety of community members at IMSA. If you see something, say something. Whether you are in the residence halls, the classrooms, or even on social media, it is important to address biased or discriminatory language. Learn more about reporting bias incidents here.

What happens when bias incidents are reported?

When a bias incident is reported, the incident is investigated and, in many cases, the outcome is educational in nature. However, if the biased behavior continues or threatens the safety of students, disciplinary action will occur. This action includes suspension or dismissal from the academy.

Together, we can ensure that all students in our community, regardless of cultural background, faith, gender, gender identity, income, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.

We are seeking students to assist with the presentation of the flag for the upcoming Veterans Day Assembly. If you have experience in Eagle Scouts or presenting the flag in a formal setting, please reach out to Tamara Newquist at tnewquist@imsa.edu. You will receive service hours for your time.

Juniors will be taking the PSAT/NMSQT exam on Wednesday, October 18th at

8:00 a.m. in the Main Gym. Please remember to eat a healthy breakfast beforehand, and bring your laptops, chargers, and IMSA IDs

Thank you to the talented ISP team for putting this together!

Girls Tennis

Congratulations to the Girls Tennis Team for placing 3rd at the IHSA Sectionals last weekend. Best of luck to the following students as they compete at the IHSA State Finals this weekend!

Josie Kim '25

Einsey Socrates '24

Anya Parikh '26

Debate

The IMSA Debate Team competed at the Congressional Tournament at Elk Grove High School and won 1st place Best Legislation, written by Sabriya Attia '24 and Carissa Chen '25.

IMSA also won 3 Best Presiding Officers: Avyay Duggirala '24, Carissa Chen '25, and Sabriya Attia '24.

Go Titans!

MHI Assembly Guest Speaker

Hypnotist Evan Gambardella is an internationally recognized Stage and Consulting Hypnotist and the creator of "Train Your Brain," which brings mental health fitness programming to students suffering from anxiety (especially around exam time), chronic stress, depression, loss, and general PTSD.

MHI Alumni Guest Speaker

Sonia Wisniewski '99 is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Chicago who prescribes medication and provides therapy to clients, with a specialty Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

As part of Mental Health Initiative Week, IMSA students will be taking the RSCA: Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents: A Profile of Personal Strengths. The RSCA measures the personal attributes of the student that are critical for resiliency.

The assessment will be administered to all IMSA students in their 3rd mod class at

9:50 a.m. on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. The assessment will take approximately ten to fifteen minutes, which will be allocated for students during the school day. A consent form will be emailed to families. For more information, please contact Takeisha Rheams, Coordinator of School Counseling.

IMSA is currently seeking individuals to fill the following paid co-curricular sponsor roles.

• FBLA - Sponsor (Future Business Leaders of America)
• Robotics - Sponsor 

If you, or anyone you know, may have an interest or expertise in these fields, please reach out. Interested individuals can email our Coordinator of Athletics & Co-Curriculars - Chris Moment, at cmoment@IMSA.edu.

The IMSA Dance Team will hold auditions next week. If you are interested in joining the team, please see below for the audition schedule.

Learn Routine

October 23, 2023

7:00 p.m.

Main Gym

Routine Review

October 24, 2023

4:30 p.m.

Multipurpose Room

Auditions

October 24, 2023

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Multipurpose Room

Join Mu Alpha Theta and Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall for a celebration of the new Mu Alpha Theta inductees and a conversation with our founding president.

Let's Get MAD: Making A Difference

Aashima Sisodia, Mu Alpha Theta Chapter President, will lead the conversation with questions for Dr. Marshall about the early years, why IMSA was created to push the boundaries of "typical" curriculum, and why the "M" in "IMSA" matters. Dr. Marshall will undoubtedly fascinate you with stories and provoke you with challenges. Don't miss the opportunity to meet this incredible STEM leader!

Read the Chicago Network bio on Dr. Marshall, or visit her website at stephaniepacemarshall.com.

Get ready to feed your mind over lunch! This new Artificial Intelligence (AI) series is your gateway to understanding and applying AI. Even if you don't have any experience in AI, we will learn as we go, starting with generative AI.

Please bring your lunch and laptop to this event. The first 30 minutes will be the lunch and learn portion and then there will be a 30-minute sandbox session to apply what you just learned.

Come hungry to learn!

Resource Workshops

Faculty and staff will host weekly informational sessions on Thursdays to benefit the IMSA Community! Unless otherwise noted, these workshops will occur on Thursdays during the Support and Engagement Period.

Mark your calendar for the next session:

"Supreme Court Decision on Race-conscious College Admissions"

Hosted by the CAC Office

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (Support and Engagement Period)

Room A117

Learn about the Supreme Court's recent decision ending race-conscious college admissions and what this means for IMSA students. 

Peer Tutor Review Session

Thursday, October 19

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Rooms A110, A112 and A114

Peer Tutors will be available to help in a variety of subjects. Snacks will be provided.

Several years ago, my family developed a friendship with a family who grew up in Israel. After the events this past week, I was relieved to hear their family is safe. The turmoil developing in Israel and Gaza is a reminder that we have a responsibility to condemn violence that harms and displaces innocent lives. Regardless of a person’s position on the conflict, citizens deserve dignity as Israelis and Palestinians work through their differences. I would like to express our compassion to those families currently struggling during this difficult time.

While we may not be able to quickly understand the complexity of the conflict, IMSA students can seek understanding through their inquiry about history and understand themselves better. IMSA students are routinely confronted with differences. Their hall and wingmates have grown up in different cities, experienced different cultures, have different identities, and share different political viewpoints. Now is the time in their lives to appreciate those differences, understand how their identity shapes a person’s livelihood, and come to terms with how we can be a more tolerant society. Our progress in advancing the human condition depends on our ethical and compassionate will to embrace our differences. In doing so, students effectively open the door to the possibility of seeing the contextual and cultural base of knowledge with new eyes. Above all else, through gaining critical thinking skills at IMSA, students strengthen their confidence in their ability to expand their understanding of the world.

If you have thoughts on this topic or wish that I discuss others, don't hesitate to reach out to me at eglazer@imsa.edu.

Dr. Glazer’s math help will be online on October 23 rather than the math resource center. Please email him to schedule an appointment.

Harvest Home Friday Fest - October 20, 2023

We are seeking volunteers for the first Friday Fest of the year, to be held on Friday, October 20, 2023, at IMSA. The theme for this Friday Fest is Harvest Home. We aim to welcome the students back to school and share the fruits of our harvests, whether from our gardens, local farmer markets, or the grocery store!

Remember, the students look forward to having home-cooked meals at Friday Fest, and we need everyone to participate for it to be successful! Contact fridayfest@imsapac.org with any questions.

Virtual PAC Meeting

Saturday, October 21, 2023

10:00 a.m.

All parents are invited to join the monthly PAC meeting to hear updates from our PAC Committees and IMSA administrators.

Did you know skipping one serving of beef every Monday for a year saves the equivalent emissions to driving 348 miles in a car?

Going vegetarian or vegan once a week is a great way to lessen the demand for meat and animal products, and it can also serve as a great transition if you want to become entirely vegetarian or vegan! Try hopping on the Meatless Monday (or any day of the week) trend next week to improve your heart and kidney health!

Alumni Spotlight

James Valadez '99 is an operations and talent management professional, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. Based in Chicago, the former McMaster-Carr, Office Max, and Fooda executive is the founder and CEO of Startup Rocket, which offers the best-in-class learning resources to help founders build desirable products and accelerate growth. Startup Rocket provides comprehensive and customizable operations frameworks, a collaborative web app, practical business coaching, and a multi-city investor network.

Before creating Startup Rocket, James attended Dartmouth College and participated in the Stanford University Exchange Program. James still volunteers as a Dartmouth College Alumni Admissions Interviewer and serves on the IMSA Alumni Association. Most recently, James returned to IMSA via Zoom to share how IMSA changed his trajectory with faculty and staff at a Symposium Day on October 11, 2023.

Please complete the Spotlight Submission Form if you have been recently recognized in your field, celebrated for your academic or professional achievements, or are working on a project you'd like to share. If you have any questions, please contact Alex Johnson at ajohnson2@imsa.edu.

VNA Health Care will be on campus Wednesday, October 25 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. and Friday, October 27 from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. to administer flu shots for students and any staff members who do not have health insurance through IMSA.

Staff members on IMSA's health insurance plan should wait for more information about the flu shots set up through HR.

Class of 2026

Your next LEAD elective module will take place on Wednesday, October, 18 2023, from 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Please bring a laptop, notebook, and writing utensils to every LEAD session. Please read through the 2023-24 LEAD Syllabus before Wednesday to review the attendance policy and upcoming modules. If you need an excused absence, email LEAD Program Coordinator, Ms. Emma Wilson, by Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Class of 2024

Please remember to be vigilant about logging your service learning hours and meeting the 200-hour service learning hour requirement. Emails indicating current service hour breakdowns are coming soon. If you have received an email from Ms. Emma Wilson regarding concern about your hours, please schedule a meeting or email as soon as possible!

Questions or concerns? Contact LEAD Program Coordinator Ms. Emma Wilson.

IMSAs Center for Teaching and Learning is introducing Saturday STEM enrichment opportunities for Kindergarten through Second Grade students! The next session will take place in November and includes an owl pellet dissection activity to learn about animal waste. December's programming will be a space-themed line-up and allow students to create a model of a gas giant (Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, or Uranus).

Registration is open now. Spots fill up quickly, so sign up today!

IMSA employees can enjoy free or reduced pricing for students in their households. Spots are limited. Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning to learn more.

Do you know a qualified 8th or 9th grader interested in attending IMSA? Applications for the Class of 2027 are open now through March 1, 2024.

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! 

October 20 - Leon Lederman & Alumni Awards Assembly

October 22 - Admissions Preview Day

October 22 - 27 - Mental Health Initiatives Week

October 23 - Mental Health Assembly

October 27 - Band and Orchestra Concert

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.