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Lakes Eagles Excellence
Even though the cold weather persists and the snow continues to fall, there are sure signs that spring is upon us.  Many of our seniors are receiving acceptance letters from colleges and universities, our winter sports season and musical have come to an end while our spring sports have just officially begun with record number of student athletes.  Clocks have been turned ahead and the last big push for the 2007-08 school year is upon us.  As the weather becomes more conducive to outdoor activities, please do not loose sight of the wonderful learning activities which require disciplined study habits that occur during the spring months of school.  I would like to share some of the exciting accomplishments of our students and staff.  We continue to be impressed by our student’s potential and extremely proud of their accomplishments.  The following are some of the things that contribute to our Eagle excellence.

Academics:

  • Nearly 60 student’s had perfect attendance.  It is not surprising that students with good attendance tend to perform better in school.  Thank you for scheduling appointments after school or on weekends, thereby keeping your son or daughter in class.
  • Josh Beckman has been recognized as a finalist from the National Merit.  Only 16,000 students from around the country are selected.  We are very proud of Josh and his elite academic performance.
  • Nearly 80% of the Advanced Placement students are scheduled to take the College Board exam this spring.  Research has shown (www.collegeboard.org) students that not only enroll in AP level courses but also take the exam, tend to perform better during college. Nearly 400 students have enrolled in our AP program for next year.  This represents a 28% increase over this current year.   We strongly encourage our students to take at least one AP course while in high school. The following graph shows encouraging growth trend in our AP programs. 

  • Our curriculum continues to expand to meet the needs of our students. Students have shown strong interest in our new AP course and two new honors courses.
  • 54 senior students received the Prairie State Achievement Award.  The following students exceeded Illinois State academic standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam that was given last spring.  The following students achieved this award:  Josh Beckman, Robert Bock, Eric Breitbach, Adam Camp, Sarah Cleland, Timothy David, Jonathan DeGrave, Colin Drayton, Carol English, Blake Ford, Lindsay Frisby, Kyle Gallagher, Michael Garver, Emily Gebhardt, Timothy Gehrke, Ethan Hahn, Matthew Hamel, Michael Heisel, Kaitlin Hoff, Hans Johansen, Johannah Karstedt, Nora Kenney, Shannah Kluetz, Cody Ksioszk, Paul Latza, Kimberly Lillig, Matthew Lincoln, Chelsea Mayers, Kelsey McGill, William McGrath, Craig Messner, Tia Miller, Ross Morway, Lauren Mruk, Devin Murray, Travis Musich, Megan Nute, Anokhi Patel, Donald Pierce, Lisa Raetzman, Jennifer Ray, Andrew Rehm, Brett Scheffler, Kimberly Smith, Davalyn Stepzinski, Daniel Szuhay, Anthony Thommes, Stephanie Visconti, Daniel Wadzala, Thomas Weber, VanEmmanuel Wilhoite, Hua Xiao, Erica Montes.  All of these students were recognized at our last Eagle Pride breakfast for their academic achievements.  Great Job!
  • Over 80% of seniors that have applied to at least one college or postsecondary institution.

Arts

  • Seven talented singers and musicians traveled to Crystal Lake Central High School to participate in the IMEA District 7 Choir and Band.  Choir students included:  Robbie Bock, Mat Brande, Devin Brookover, Kenzie Conner, Laura Gorski, and Kaela Talley, Kateri Tumminello was the only instrumentalist participating in both the concert and jazz band.
  • It seems like no weather atrocity will stop the drama department this year!  After an extremely successful run of the fall play, Snow Angel, the theater department put on their raincoats, laced up their tap shoes, and twirled their umbrellas for an unbelievable performance of Singin’ in the Rain.  Unlike any production done at Lakes before, Singin’ in the Rain required intense and difficult dance numbers.
  • Congratulations to Robbie Bock, tenor (12) and Kateri Tumminello, tenor saxophone (12) who were selected to attend the IMEA All-State Conference  in late January!  These students travelled to Peoria, IL to rehearse and perform with the best high school musicians in Illinois.

Athletics
Our winter sports seasons have just wrapped up a successful sports campaign in all sports. Now we are entering our spring sports. The following is a list of highlights and happenings with the LCHS athletic programs.

  • The wrestling team had two sectional qualifiers in Kyle Gibson and Matt Holmes. Matt Holmes became Lakes first Sectional wrestling champion and qualified for the state meet that was held in Champaign. Matt, only a junior, went 2-2 in Champaign.
  • Boys Basketball won a game in the United Center this year over Mundelein, the eagles won the Grant Holiday Tournament Title and played for the Regional Championship for the second year in a row. The final record for the Eagles was a school record 20 victories against 8 losses.
  • The girl’s basketball team finished the season on a positive note by getting the schools elusive first victory in the first round of the regional played at Lakes. The schools first victory made the front page of the Chicago Tribune sports section as the Eagles won the game 70-21. The joy in the gymnasium that night made you think that the Eagles won the state title; this was one victory that the girls truly deserved.
  • The girl’s gymnastics team had a successful season. One individual that truly shined was Cody Ksioszk who qualified for state in two events. Cody was also voted as one of the senior gymnasts from the state of Illinois that will get the honor to participate on the State team that will compete at the National meet in Florida in May. The state of Illinois will go up against many other all state gymnastics teams from around the country at this meet.
  • The Eagle dance team qualified for state in two categories and finished 6th in both at the state meet held in Peoria a few weeks ago.
  • The bowling team set a school record for team victories in a season.
  • Our spring sports season has begun with record numbers. Over 400 student athletes are participating in 7 spring sports. This is an increase of 14.3 percent over last year. The numbers last year were 336 participants and our first year we had 240 kids out for spring sports. Lakes is currently the only one of seven schools in the NSC Prairie division that has the numbers to play all levels that are offered in the 7 spring sports. This is a compliment to the community that we live in and the school that we have.

Community

  • Lakes Community High School and Open Arms Mission of Antioch (www.openarmsmission.org) have established a strong partnership that will benefit our students and community.  A variety of programs will be adopted by the school and will ultimately become a part of the curriculum.  On Saturday, March 8th more than 200 students, staff and parents assembled approximately 3000 baskets to give to local needy families.    This is an important partnership that will help us achieve our goal of providing opportunities for our students to give back to our community.  We are very proud of the students who have demonstrated leadership throughout this activity.
  • State Representatives JoAnn Osmond and Sandy Cole will be sponsoring a Town Hall meeting at Lakes Community High School on Monday, March 31st at 6:30pm in the auditorium.  Look for more details on our website.

Board Update
5-22-2008

  • Our Average Daily Attendance is 92.9%, approximately the same as last year.
  • Monday evening, May 19th, our Honors Night had 60 recipients earning over 70 scholarships worth approximately $47,400.
  • Currently, approximately 85% of our seniors have applied to some form of post secondary education.
  • Celebration Day which was last Friday, May 16th,  was a big success.  Students displayed art work, the Jazz Band and Choir performed in the court yards and the drama kids put on some skits.  The student band Stormy Monday performed to a large crowd as well.
  • As a part of the pre-prom assembly we had the Lake Villa Police Dept. and Rescue simulate a car accident. This simulation always keeps the attention of students.
  • Frozen in Time was the theme of our prom which was held at the Hyatt Regency OHare.  The students had memorable evening without any incidents.
  • No drugs were found in our spring drug search which included searching the backpacks of students.
  • Josh Beckman has been admitted to the Campus Honors Program at the University of Illinois, and was awarded the designation of Chancellor’s Scholar.
  • Cecelia LaRonge won first place in photography at the Skills USA competition which was held in Springfield.  Senior Ashley Page and Erika Gallegos – Farias will be competing nationally in Kansas City.
  • Seniors Kimi Lillig and Alex Hawkins will speak at graduation this year.  Kimi’s speech is entitled What We’ve Found, and Alex’s speech will highlight the successes of the first class to experience all four years at Lakes.
  • The Lakes Eagles Booster Club raised over $20,000 at their second annual Booster Bash.
    • The Boosters also showed their support of our teachers during Teacher Appreciation week by providing a breakfast and a lunch.
  • Our girls Varsity Softball team was awarded a Sport A Winning Attitude award from the IHSA for not showing up a significantly inferior team.
  • Lakes won the NSC Prairie Division in Boys Track for the second year in a row and finished 3rd at the NSC Track meet out of the 14 teams in the conference. They captured the team title at both the Varsity and JV Bulldog invitationals this spring. Jon DeGrave and Andrew Stein both qualified for the state track meet that is being held this weekend, May 24th and 25th  in Charleston.
  • Lakes won the NSC Prairie Division in Girls Track and finished in 2nd at the NSC track meet out of the possible 14 schools and also finished in 2nd Place at the Sectional Track meet. The girls track program sent 9 girls down to the state track meet, a record number for the school. Ariel Butzine became the girls first ever state medalist by finishing in 8th place in the 800 M Run last weekend in Charleston.
  • Lakes won the Prairie Division in Boys Tennis and placed 4th in the Conference out of the 14 schools and finished in 3rd place in the sectionals. Charles Scuppham and Justin Shea both qualified for the Tennis State Tournament that is being played this weekend.
  • The Girls Soccer Team at Lakes finished the season strong by placing 2nd in the Prairie Division losing out on the title by ½ of a game in the division standings. The girls team finished the season on an 11-1-1 record.
  • Boys Baseball and Girls Softball both finished the season with a school record number of wins and both also placed 3rd in the Prairie Division. They both are currently playing in Regionals.
  • The Boys Volleyball Team had a record number of participants out this spring.
  • Cody Ksioszk is currently participating with the Illinois State Gymnastics Team at the National Gymnastics meet in Florida this weekend. This is a high honor for the top female senior gymnasts each year in the state of Illinois.
  • Lakes baseball team won our first ever Regional title. Outstanding.