November 11, 2025

If you ever need to refer back to a previous Titan Tuesday, visit the Titan Tuesday Archive.

Students and families, please review the following details carefully about the last two weeks of the Fall semester (December 8-12 and December 15-18)

Classes and Summative Assessments

• December 8-12 will maintain a regular class schedule. 
• Deadlines for major summative assessments in English, History/Social Science, World Languages, Wellness, and Fine Arts will be this week. 
• Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science will not have major summative assessments this week (ex, unit exams). 
• December 15-18 will have a modified schedule.
• Major summative assessments for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science will take place this week according to the posted schedule. 
• Summative assessments scheduled for the week of December 15 must be taken during the assigned slots and cannot be taken earlier. 
• If a student has two or more assessments scheduled for the same time slot, please contact the Principal’s Office at prinoffc@imsa.edu. If a student has three or more exams on the same day, they may request that the Principal’s Office reschedule one or more exams to a different date. 
• Thursday, December 18, will be reserved for make-ups and rescheduled assessments, as needed. 

Main Building Access and Move Out

• Students will remain in the academic building on December 16-17. When not participating in a summative assessment, students will have a menu of opportunities to engage around campus, including study halls, games, and physical fitness sessions. The menu of options will be made available before Thanksgiving. 
• Students will move out within 24 hours of their final scheduled summative assessment. 

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our IMSA community, we are excited to share that the Titans Care Dinner program is expanding! Your donations and support have made it possible for us to extend care to more families through a new Titans Care To-Go Weekend Meal option.

Beginning this Friday, November 14, families may now pick up frozen to-go meals that include multiple weekend meal options. Families can select from the Classic Kitchen options on the IMSA menu for the selected date. We ask that families sign up for the frozen to-go dinner option no later than 9:00 a.m. on Thursday for a Friday dinnertime pick up, so we can plan accordingly.

We are so grateful for the kindness and compassion of our community in helping make this expansion possible. Together, we continue to ensure that every member of the IMSA family is supported and cared for.

If you would like to contribute to support this effort, you can donate here and click on Titans Care Dinners in the drop-down menu.

Last week, IMSA was honored to welcome several Illinois legislators and representatives from their offices for a campus tour and luncheon with students from their districts.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Representative Barbara Hernandez, Representative Janet Yang Rohr, Senator Laura Ellman, Senator John F. Curran, Representative Robyn Gabel, Representative Regan Deering, Senator Chris Balkema, and Representative Matt Hanson, as well as members of their offices, for taking the time to visit campus.

Our students greatly valued the opportunity to share their IMSA experiences, discuss their academic and research pursuits, and engage in meaningful conversations with their representatives.

Our advocacy for new halls will continue with parent meetings in legislative offices. If you are a parent who would like to get involved with legislative advocacy in your district, please complete this form.

About Dr. Courtney Wilkerson

Dr. Courtney Wilkerson is a distinguished school leader in the District of Columbia Public Schools and the founder of Before 1954 Inc., an organization dedicated to executive leadership coaching, educational research consulting, and professional development.

Dr. Wilkerson earned a doctorate with distinction from Howard University, where they developed the Ethnocultural Leadership Framework, which is a visionary model for school and system leaders committed to serving Black children with excellence and integrity.

Driven by an unwavering commitment to educational equity, Dr. Wilkerson creates multidimensional metrics that affirm the whole child, empower leaders to adopt culturally grounded practices, and champion the liberation of global majority children from cultural bias.

Attend the event to build a positive racial identity, find solutions to racial injustice, and bring the IMSA community closer through mutual understanding and respect!

Sponsored by ODEI, CCE, BHSC, Poetic Justice, and FOCUS.

AI Bytes
at the New AI Center in IN2

Join us every B-Day for the return of AI Bytes from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the new AI Center, now located in the back of IN2! Meet amazing Alumni working in the AI field and enter for a drawing to win a $25 DoorDash Gift Card.

Here’s the Fall AI Bytes Lineup:

• November 18: "AI and IT" Jake Gerstein '15 (CIBC)
• December 2: "AI in the Legal Profession" Susan Massey '01 (Buckingham Business Law)

Questions? Email aicenter@imsa.edu

Email Angie Richardson at angie@imsa.edu if you have any questions.

IMSA Parent Book Club

Thursday, December 11, 2025

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Zoom

The next book choice for the Parent Book Club will be The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop.

Book Summary

Adolescents are hardwired to explore and grow, and learning is mainly how they do this. But a shocking majority of teens are disengaged from school, simultaneously bored and overwhelmed. This is feeding an alarming teen mental health crisis. As kids get older and more independent, parents often feel powerless to help. But fear not, there are evidence-backed strategies to guide them from disengagement to drive, in and out of school.

All are welcome, whether you read the book or not!

Join us to continue the conversation about food service at IMSA! We will review recent food service changes and continue to discuss feedback from parents. Lexington staff and IMSA staff will be present to answer questions.

Student Spotlight

Empowering Education Across the World

Neil Bose ’28 is making education more accessible for students in rural India. His project, Shruti Gyan, delivers audio-based lessons that reinforce classroom learning without requiring internet access.

Recently, Neil’s initiative was accepted by the Education Department in the State of West Bengal, India, with a pilot program launching at a local girls’ high school. Through this project, Neil exemplifies the IMSA spirit of using creativity and innovation to make meaningful, real-world change.

Leading the Way in Climate Action

Mahima Krishnan ’25, Shreshta Ghanta '25, Krish Sav ’26, Solomone Somani '26, and Valentina Gallegos ’26 recently helped plan and lead the Youth Climate Justice Summit, held at DePaul University’s Loop Campus.

The event brought together more than 60 students and teachers from across the region to collaborate on Climate Action Plans that each school could take back to implement in their own communities. Designed to produce zero waste, the summit modeled sustainability in action, right down to the vegan ice cream and compostable spoons served at the end of the day!

These students exemplify IMSA’s commitment to environmental stewardship, innovation, and community leadership.

Girls Swim Team

The IMSA swim team wrapped up an exciting season with nine competitions, including five dual and tri meets, three invitationals, and the Conference meet. The Titans earned four dual-meet wins over South Elgin/West Aurora, St. Francis, Oswego, and West Aurora/Morris.

The team dominated at the Blackhawk Invitational, taking first place in both Varsity and Junior Varsity, and also secured first in Varsity and second in JV at the IMSA Invitational. At the Conference meet, JV finished third and Varsity fourth.

Notable performances included Sophia Atanassov '26, seventh in the Varsity 100 Backstroke, and Lisa Choi '27, Jingyan Lu '28, and Chloe Feng '28, who earned multiple top-10 Varsity finishes.

Congratulations to all swimmers on a season marked by teamwork, growth, and excellence in the pool!

Speech Team

The Speech Team has another strong showing at the Wheaton North Speech Tournament. Congratulations to the following students who placed in their events:

Molly Federici '26, 3rd place, Radio Speaking, finals 

Sullivan Olson '28, 6th place, Impromptu Speaking, finals

Molly Federici '26, 5th place, Special Occasion Speaking, Next-in finals

IMSA is incredibly diverse, which creates great opportunities for our students to understand and appreciate differences among their classmates. Celebrating through culture shows is one way, as demonstrated through Diwali this past weekend. We cheer for cultural stories, songs and dance, and also love the great cultural food provided at the end, thanks to parent contributions. I'd like to express my appreciation to ISA for putting on a great show, our student performers for their participation, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for supporting our students' culture shows.

What I love about these events is that we cheer for each other. Not only is there appreciation for the preparation our students make to put on a great show, but also the broad participation across cultures. Diwali is meant to recognize the "Festival of Lights," and why that's important to descendants of Indian and South Asian Heritage. It's also a chance for students from other heritages to get involved and enjoy the experience right next to their peers. Through that participation, I believe students learn why these traditions are so important and, as a result, develop an appreciation for our diversity.

At IMSA, we hope to create opportunities to bring external inspiration directly into our community. We firmly believe that the most powerful lessons in lifelong curiosity come from observing real people navigating the complexities of the real world.

We are currently seeking guest speaker recommendations to bring real-world inspiration to our community. We’re looking for individuals—artists, innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, or community leaders—who embody persistent curiosity and a passion for learning. Think of someone in your network who models lifelong curiosity through creativity, adaptability, or problem-solving. If you know anyone who models these qualities who may be interested in speaking to our students, please let us know using the link below.

Apex America Initiative:

High School AI Championship

Put your AI and STEM skills to the test in America’s first national high school AI competition! This competition is created by Correlation One, the experts behind programs that connect students with top companies like SpaceX, Google, and Tesla. All experience levels are welcome to enter!

How It Works

• Phase 1: Online skills assessment (Python, math, data reasoning)
• Phase 2: Team challenge round — solve real-world AI problems with peers and mentors
• Phase 3: Grand finale — compete for scholarships ($25,000 for first place!) and network with industry leaders

Help is available at IN2 from IMSA.ai and the AI Center Staff.

Competition: March - April 2026

Application Deadline: November 30, 2025

Show your entrepreneurial and AI skills in the Stevens High School Entrepreneurship and AI Video Pitch Competition! Create a 2-minute video that identifies a problem, presents your solution, and shows how AI powers it.

Open to Sophomores and Juniors only.

Prizes: 1st – $500 | 2nd – $250 | 3rd – $100

Deadlines:

• Register by January 7, 2026
• Submit video by January 15, 2026

Need help with your pitch? Email Mr. Goldblatt at sgoldblatt@imsa.edu.

Use the peer tutor website to find out more information about IMSA's peer tutors and how to get in touch with them. 

Contact Caleb Schlessler or Ms. Keck with questions about the Peer Tutor Program. 

November 15 - Admissions Preview Day

November 21 - Halls close at 7:00 p.m.

November 24 and 25 - Virtual Engagement Days

November 26 - 29 - Thanksgiving Break

November 30 - Halls reopen at 3:00 p.m.

Notice of Nondiscrimination: IMSA prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator.