THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• Upcoming Charity Drive Events
• Class of 2025 Graduation Information
• Summer School Registration

Dear Giant Families,

We began this week with another dose of nourishment from our PTO.  Thank you for filling our stomachs with your appreciation! I am so grateful for our school and family partnership, we are all in this together.  

I hope you asked about our pep assembly last week! I had the distinct pleasure to witness pure student joy and community.   It was truly one for the books, DJ'd by none other than JayFunk (the official DJ for the Chicago Bulls, Bears, and White Sox!). We celebrated our athletes with a grand parade, cheered on our nationally recognized Model UN team (2nd place!), gave a shout-out to our amazing ILMEA Band members heading to State, and applauded our Debate team for their impressive showing at the National Sunset Tournament. The energy was contagious!

And that's not all! We had LED big-wheel races, a three-point contest, a hilarious staff dance telephone, and a mind-blowing slam dunk acrobatic show by the Chicago City Tumblers (who perform at Chicago Bulls games!). The grand finale? A house music solo saxophone performance by our very own Eli Fisher, who, by the way, won ILMEA's first chair in state!.  

Part of being a Giant is to embrace all that we can together, because we are stronger together.  As was chanted at the assembly, “WE ARE…HP.”  

As always, thank you for sharing your students with us this week and beyond,

Holly

ACADEMICS

Registration for Summer School 2025 opens on Monday, February 3 at 7:00 AM.  Please visit the Summer School Webpage to view the class offerings in the Summer School Brochure, the instructions on how to register via Infinite Campus, and other important Summer School information.  If you have any questions about the brochure, course offerings, etc. please contact the staff members listed on the webpage.

While we have the new level change procedures for next year (included in our Program of Studies), please know that for the second semester of this school year (24-25), level change requests are due by Wednesday, February 12, 2025.  Students interested in submitting a level change request for the second semester should inquire with their counselor.

GRADUATION

Caregivers of seniors should have received the Student Name Verification Form for the Class of 2025 Graduation via a recent email. If you have not already filled it out, be sure to do so by Friday, 2/7. The information provided on this form is related to how student names will be read at the graduation ceremony and how they will appear on the diplomas and in the program. For more general information regarding graduation, please visit the HPHS Class of 2025 webpage.



CHARITY DRIVE

Charity drive is rolling on next week with our fan-favorite staff bake-off and Taste of HP! Plus, the silent auction kicks off on Wednesday with tons of awesome items to bid on. Thanks for all your support!

ACTIVITIES



Here are a few highlight photos from this past week of Charity Drive events!

ATHLETICS

Saturday was the CSL Boys and Girls Wrestling Championship Invite at New Trier. We are proud of all of our Giants who competed and want to recognize the following athletes for bringing home medals.  Girls: Riley Moore (1st), Dorothy Perez (1st), Dana Holt (2nd) and Lexi Rosenthal (2nd). Boys: Daniel Derbedyenyev (1st), Alex Gudgeon (2nd), Eli Moore (2nd), Justin Lopez (4th) and Brian Martinez (5th). 

Friday night’s Pack the Place was full of energy and excitement. The Pep Band, Poms squad and Jammers team brought great energy to the gym and the games did not disappoint.

Paul Harris was honored at the Girls and Boys Basketball games on Friday.  The surprise was organized by Coaches Ross Deutsch and Jolie Bechtel, with over 70 alumni coming back to shower him with love and gratitude for his everlasting influence on who they are today.

Our Girls Varsity Basketball team continued their winning ways in CSL play defeating Maine East 51-37. They followed that up with a Monday night win against Leyden. The team hosts Niles North on Friday at 7:00pm.

The Boys Varsity team also got a win over Maine East 55-51. They had a quick turnaround with a Saturday afternoon game and they responded to the challenge beating Buffalo Grove in non-conference play 55-34. Tuesday the boys were defeated by a talented team from Lake Forest Academy. Our squad travels to Niles North this Friday Night in the Marquee Sports Network Game of the Week.

Our Girls Gymnastics Program celebrated Senior Night last night versus Deerfield. The team is looking forward to Regionals on Wednesday, 2/5 at Glenbrook South. The team continues to get strong performances from Jillian Mangione, Maddyn Cohen and Amelie Gerber.

Boys Swim & Dive hosts Maine West on Friday in their final home dual of the season. They will travel to Maine East next week before hosting the CSL Championship Meet on Saturday, 2/15. Look for this young team to be at their best in the coming weeks.

The Indoor Track & Field season began on Tuesday. It’s exciting to see so many students come out for Track & Field. A reminder that winter athletes can join Track & Field when their season comes to a close.

A big shoutout to all of our lower level athletes and coaches. It is so rewarding to see our younger athletes make progress over the course of the season. Our Freshman, Sophomore and JV athletes and coaches do an amazing job and are the lifeblood of every athletic program.

National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is Wednesday, February 5th. NGWSD began in 1987 as a special day to recognize women’s sports. The goal was to bring national attention to the promise of girls and women in athletics. We will be sponsoring a breakfast on Wednesday at 7:15am in the student cafeteria for all female athletes, and coaches of female sports, to acknowledge the accomplishments of girls and women in sports, the positive influence of sports participation, and the importance for equality for women in sports. 

Next Saturday, 2/8 is Hall of Fame Day. We will be inducting 5 new members to the HPHS Athletic Hall of Fame that day. There is a reception and ceremony starting at 2:30pm in the Student Cafeteria.

Danny Barnett ‘89 - Football, Illinois State University 

Cathy Nachman ‘73 - Basketball and Field Hockey, University of Michigan - HP Girls Golf Coach

Peter Rudman ‘86 - Basketball, Lehigh University

John Gorleski - Athletic Trainer, Athletic Director, Coach, Contributor (1981-Present)

2011 Girls Golf Team - 3rd Place in State