Janik Returns to the Board of Education   
On December 2, Daniel Janik was sworn into office as the newest District 229 Board of Education Member. Janik is no stranger to the District and served on the Board from 2009 to 2013. During his tenure, he served as the president from 2011-2013. Janik was selected to fill the seat vacated by Board Member James Melnik who was in his second term and had served the Board since 2011. Janik will serve in the role until the term expires in April 2017. The position will then be determined by the April 4, 2017, election.

According to Board of Education President Matthew Egan, "Dan Janik was selected among several very qualified individuals but his prior Board of Education experience brought him to the top of the list.  I am very pleased to have him back on the Board of Education. Dan is a hardworking and dedicated member of the community and his prior Board of Education experience puts him in a position to hit the ground running."  <<read more>> 
 
Final Exam Schedule  
Graphic_Final-Exam
Final Exams will be administered on Wednesday, December 16, Thursday, December 17, and Friday, December 18, 2015. Please note: Wednesday, December 16, 2015, is not a typical Wednesday late-start day. Final exams begin each day at 7:55 a.m. The final exam grade is 20% of the semester grade in most courses. On Final Exam Days, students are only required to be on campus for exam and 'review session' periods unless the student is exempt from the final exam or if the exam or 'review session' is a scheduled study hall period.

Students are not required to attend Full-Period Study Halls, Lunch/Study Halls, or Access Period Study Halls. This includes Assigned Resource Rooms, Supported Study Halls, Guided Study Halls, LRP Access, ELL/ESL Access, Spartan Advisory, and as student aides. Students who have a study hall on their schedule that happens to fall in the "middle" of an exam day have the option of leaving the building or staying in the student cafeteria until their next exam. Students who stay on campus during unassigned times must report to the student cafeteria. Final Exam Schedule

If a student is absent during the final exam session, the student should utilize the make-up session on Friday, December 18, 2015, or the afternoon of Monday, January 4, 2016, to make-up the final exam with their teacher. Prearranged absences require the permission of the Attendance Office.  <<read more>>

Emergency Preparedness -Be Sure to Get Text Messages    
OLCHS wants parents to receive school communication in a timely manner, especially in an emergency situation. Parents are strongly encouraged to sign-up to receive text messages. Parents can easily sign-up through the Skylert feature with Skyward Family Access.  Follow these easy steps: 1) Log on to Skyward Family Access; 2) Click on the Skylert Button on the left; 3) Scroll to the bottom of the screen and enter your cell phone number(s) in the "Text Message" Section; and 4) Click Save.

Parents are encouraged to review all of their settings within the Skylert screen and to add additional phone numbers and email addresses as desired. Parents determine what numbers and email addresses receive messages and the type of messages. Parents needing assistance can contact Jill Malkowski at 708/741-5611.
  
First Quarter Perfect Attendance     
The  Attendance Office would like to congratulate the following students on their perfect attendance for the First Quarter.  Seniors:  Fiona Agapito, Allia Aladwan, Brian Baldwin, Sean Baldwin, Sean Beattie, Arieni Cabanas, Cristian Calderon, Kayla Cartolano, Cynthia Cervantes, Joseph Coffelt, Rachel Craig, Luz Cruz, Joclyn Deleon, Nicholas Dellorto, Wilving Delvalle, Jacquelin Dominguez, Ronald Domino, George Duran, Kara Egan, Angela Ehrlicher, Natasha Ehrlicher, Mikayla Elmatari, Shania Enriquez, Marcus James Favila, Hannah Featherstone, John Figus, Arturo Fonseca, Jessica Gavras, Sandra Gonzalez, Aleksandra Gronski, Hannah Gushulak, Jack Hassett, Lamarious Hobbs, Andrei Hurduc, Xavier Jacquez-Flores, Jonathan Jones, Nader Kafe, Natalie Kaminski, Alexander Kenny, Dean Kruk, Megan Kupres, Pawel Las, John Leyerle, Olivia Lizak, Juan Marquez, Shawnee Masters, William Mcghee, Brenna Mcnamara, Kara Melvin, Alexander Miller, Val Molloy, Yasir Muhammad, Nathan Nauseda, Zachary Norris, Miles Obrien, Kellie Oconnor, David Ontiveros, Kaitlyn Osipczuk, Nathan Owen, Madeleine Pagliaro, Molly Pajor, Parth Patel, Leann Peschel, Tyler Pronobis, Brian Prymon, Cole Psik, Alexander Pytka, Ryan Quinn, Jena Rayas, Steven Raybould, Nathan Reeves, Jon Repetny, Linda Reyes, Anthony Rocco, Nova Rudd, Xiomara Salinas, Nayef Samawi, Angel Sanchez, Miguel Sandoval, Eric Sciaky, Doris Serna, Richard Sheppler, Hayle Silva, Taylor Skala, Danielle Smith, Garrett Tameling, Jonathon Toczek, Michael Trybula, Matthew Valenzuela, Kalyn Vasser, James Wiltzius, Amber Woods, Alfredo Zambrano, Michal Zasadni, Stephanie Zavala, and Franco Zuniga.  Reminder!  Attendance...Every Day Matters.  <<read more> 
 
Spartans Finish the Mathletes Season On A High Note     
The Mathletes team ended their season on a high note last week with several teams and individuals earning top honors. The Spartans took 3rd place in conference for both the freshman group as well as junior group competitions. The team earned second place for the senior topic of Functions and Limits and for the Junior topic of Congruence and Similarities. The team also took home first place medals in the sophomore group. The sophomores included Adem Osmani, Anthony Gomez-Ledezma, Wojciech Zacherek, Nevin Abdelghani and Al Elamin. 

Several individuals earned perfect scores for the evening, including freshman Matelda Sweis for Systems of Equations, sophomore Nevin Abdelghani for Systems of Equations, junior Cory Brzozowski for Congruence and Similarities, and seniors Shania Enriquez and Marcus Favila for Functions and Limits.

Coach Jodelka and Coach Tyeptanar are very proud of the team and their accomplishments. They are also grateful for the seniors for their commitment throughout the years and the strong effort they put forth in their final meet.  <<read more>>
  
Scholastic Bowl Outsmarts the Competition    
The biggest November snowfall in 120 years wasn't enough to stop the Oak Lawn Community High School Scholastic Bowl team from asserting their dominance at IHSSBCA kickoff tournament at Homewood-Flossmoor. The Spartan B team started slow but rallied to win 3 straight matches and capture a division title. The B team was paced by Danielle Allen with 22 tossups, Brea Brennan with 18 tossups, Rebecca Suarez with 8 tossups and Samantha Izaguirre with 4 tossups.  The team was also helped on many bonus questions by Hannah Spillane and Elizabeth Rodriguez. The Spartan A team dominated the early rounds and playoffs by winning 7 straight matches, and missed out on a chance at the championship due to a tiebreaker.  The team ended up winning 4th place out of 36 total teams, and were paced by Gina Snyder with 8 tossups, Ryan Quinn with 30 tossups and Trevor Spreadbury with a remarkable 69 tossups.  Team members Ayman Salah, Allison Templin, Ryan Alsot and Bernie Muransky also contributed to the team's success. Congratulations Spartans!   <<read more>>
  
Fall Athletes Honored for Successes on the Field   
As the first semester of the 2015-16 school year comes to an end, winter sports are in full swing. However, the fall season deserves its time in the limelight before it gets too late in the year. Oak Lawn Community High School recently had its Fall Sports Awards Night. Leading the way in recognition were the Illinois High School Association Sectional-Qualifying boys and girls cross country teams along with a pair of golfers. Here's how the individual awards broke down.

In Golf, Chris Dunne and Justin Swatek were team Co-Most Valuable Players, while Sean Baldwin and Liam Blake shared the Sportsmanship Award. Dunne was an all-conference selection as well.

In Girls Cross Country, Tasneem Jaber was the MVP and was an all-conference selection, while Jade Ryerson earned the Sportsmanship Award.

In Boys Cross Country, Steve Raybould was the team MVP and Eric Sciaky was the Sportsmanship Award winner. Raybould and Diego Arana were all-conference selections.

In Boys Soccer, team MVPs were Michal Szaflarski and Giovanni Barragan, while Michael Ciezczak was the Sportsmanship Award winner. Szaflarski, Barragan and Mohammad Farraj were all-conference members.

In Girls Swimming, sisters Hannah and Ellie Featherstone shared team MVP honors. The Sportsmanship Award went to Alyssa Bitner and Nayomi Delvalle. All-conference awards went to Ellie Featherstone in the 200 freestyle, Shannon Mottl in the 100 backstroke, the 200 freestyle relay team of Hannah Featherstone, Ellie Featherstone, Olivia Lizak and Alyssa Bitner, and the 200-medley relay team of Hannah Featherstone, Ellie Featherstone, Bitner and Mottl.

In Girls Tennis, team MVP awards went to Julia Kasprzak and Giana Thorell, and LeAnn Peschel was the Sportsmanship Award winner.

In Girls Volleyball, team MVP was Alli Yacko and Sportsmanship went to Rebecca Suarez. Yacko was All-Conference, and Sam Lesiak was Honorable Mention all-conference. As the team, the Spartans were voted the 2015-16 South Suburban Conference Red Sportsmanship Award.

In Football, team MVP was Luca Jimenez and Sportsmanship winner was Joe Quigley. All-conference selections were Jimenez, Quintin Prince, and David Ward.  <<read more>>

Fall Athletes Excel on Field, In Classroom    
The Illinois High School Association and the South Suburban Conference announced their Academic Award Recipients for fall athletes. These seniors needed to achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Here is a list of athletes who were recognized. In Boys Cross Country the recipients were, Nicholas Dellorto (3.725), Steven Raybould (4.395), Eric Sciaky (4.158). In Football it was Vinnie Caprio (3.816). In Girls Cross Country winners were Fiona Agapito (4.158) and Linda Reyes (3.95). In Golf it was Danielle Allen (4.778), Sean Baldwin (3.892), John Roberts (3.632), Michael Rodriguez (4.769), Ayman Salah (4.0), Trevor Spreadbury (4.732), Justin Swatek (3.842), and Jimmy Wiltzius (4.061). In Swimming it was Brianna Castrogiovanni (4.238), Hannah Featherstone (4.211), Jenna Galka (3.564), Shannon Mottl (3.732). In Tennis the winners were Luz Cruz (3.553), Julia Kasprzak (3.875), and LeAnn Peschel (3.949). In Volleyball the recipients were Brea Brennan (4.55), Jessica Gavras (3.975), Danielle Matteson (3.795), and Rebecca Suarez (4.462).  <<read more>>
 
Campus Safety and Security Update:  AM Building Access  
OLCHS has a tradition of providing early morning building access to students for prearranged teacher assistance, Media Center services, and to offer parents an opportunity to drop-off students to accommodate their family schedule. The building will continue to be open for these purposes but as part of the ongoing enhancements to campus safety and security, effective on Monday, December 7, 2015, entry into the building in the morning will be limited to the Spartan Lobby Entrance until 7:15 a.m.  Students arriving to campus before 7:15 a.m. will be required to enter the building through the Spartan Lobby Entrance or meet their coach at an assigned entrance. The Spartan Lobby Entrance will be monitored by a staff member. On late-start Wednesdays, students arriving to campus before 8:30 a.m. will be required to enter the building through the Spartan Lobby Entrance. Please adjust your morning drop-off routine as necessary.

The Spartan Lobby Entrance is located on the south end of the campus. Use the newly renovated south parking loop by entering from Austin Avenue and following the loop around to the doors of the Spartan Lobby Entrance. Although the change will provide better supervision and more controlled building access, our students, parents, and staff members remain the frontline eyes and ears for school and campus safety. Students and parents are reminded to report any suspicious activity, threats, rumors of planned violence, and inappropriate social media posts immediately to a staff member. Students are also reminded not to open doors for others or to prop doors open at any time.  <<read more>> 
 
Did you See Our Facebook Posts this Week?   
Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, Oak Lawn, Illinois

Mission Statement.  
Oak Lawn Community High School exists to: inspire, challenge, and empower students and staff in a safe, supportive environment; maximize individual potential through academic and personal growth;  and graduate students who attain the high standards set forth by our community.    

 

Board of Education:Webpage-Spartan-Logo 
Matthew Egan, President
Robert Loehr, Vice President
Kathleen Berry, Secretary
Timothy Burke, Member
Stephen Greene, Member
Daniel Janik, Member
Margaret Nugent, Member   
   
Administration:
Dr. Michael Riordan, Superintendent/Principal
Richard Hendricks, Assistant Superintendent
Joseph McCurdy, Assistant Principal
Dr. Jeana Lietz, Assistant Principal