District 86 is inviting students, staff, families, alumni and community members to help us celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6).

If you have expressions of gratitude (e.g. kind words, artwork, photos, videos, etc.) that you want to share about any of our teachers, please email them to agroh@hinsdale86.org by noon on May 6. Please note that anything you send us may be posted on the district's social media sites in accordance with board policy.

Registration is still open for the district's summer school program. The first semester will take place June 13-30, while the second semester will be held July 5-21.

Please visit https://d86.hinsdale86.org/domain/641 to register for courses or learn more about our program.

The latest installment of our “Inside the Classroom” video series features Ben Kalal’s Technology Support Internship (TSI) class at Hinsdale Central.

During this class, which is available at both high schools, students receive valuable hands-on learning experience by assisting their classmates with a variety of Chromebook/technology issues. They improve their understanding of how computers are made and function by performing repairs on devices. They also expand their knowledge base by taking online courses and earning certifications in programs such as Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint. 

You can check out the video by visiting https://youtu.be/fc_nsxA1BCo.

We would like to thank Mr. Kalal, junior Adam Schaik and the rest of the class for showing us how the TSI course can help students develop life-long skills that will aid them in their daily lives and help them succeed in whatever career they choose.

Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South both fared well in the 2022 high school rankings that were released last week by U.S. News & World Report.

Central was ranked ninth in Illinois (up one spot from last year), while South was ranked 71st (up 11 spots from last year). In addition, each of them was named a U.S. News Best High School for being ranked in the top 40% in the country (Central was 277 and South was 1,490 out of nearly 18,000 schools). Special shoutout to the Hornets for moving up 449 spots at the national level.

U.S. News & World Report based its rankings on how schools did across the following six indicators:

You can access additional information about the rankings by visiting https://bit.ly/3vk9egE.

We congratulate both schools on their continued success.

The JETS (Junior Engineering and Technical Society) team from Hinsdale Central took first at the state tournament and finished in the top five in the following individual events:

We congratulate the team and Coach Marvin Breig on their accomplishments.

The following student journalists from Hinsdale South earned medals for finishing in the top six in their respective categories at the state competition on April 22.

We congratulate these students on their accomplishments at state, and thank faculty sponsors Jim Kelly and Brian Thelen for all they do to support their success.

The following Hinsdale Central students finished in the top three in their individual events at the state competition for the Illinois Design Educators Association.

We congratulate the Red Devils on their accomplishments at state, and thank teachers Matt Gawlik and Jon Schmidt for all they do to support the growth, development and success of their students.

Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central recently competed at the state tournament for the Science Olympiad. We are highlighting the accomplishments of the team from South in this week's email, and will provide details about the performance by the team from Central in a future update.

The Hornets earned top 10 finishes in the following events:

We congratulate the students from South and faculty sponsors Robb Gotlund, Adam Hallihan, Tom Jacobson, Dave Lapetino and Loren Mann on their success at state.

Fouzaan Amjad and Jenny Pantoni from Hinsdale South and Elizabeth Grieve and Annette Ciupek from Hinsdale Central were recognized for their outstanding leadership as school citizens at the annual Student Recognition Breakfast hosted by the Illinois Principals Association.

We congratulate Fouzaan, Jenny, Elizabeth and Annette on this well-deserved honor.

We created an update video about the renovation projects at Hinsdale Central that features the spaces in the recently completed student services addition. These spaces include:

The video also highlights the current work being done on the school’s new fine arts addition. 

You can check out the video by visiting https://youtu.be/nCRvmAPbWQk, and a recent article in The Hinsdalean about the student services addition by visiting https://bit.ly/3s35fml.

We would like to thank Jeff Dvorak from Pepper Construction for taking the time to update us on the projects at Hinsdale Central. 

We also encourage you to stay tuned for the latest on the work being done at Hinsdale South.

Seniors Kate Haffner from the girls track and field team and Cole Korfist from the boys volleyball team are the latest Hinsdale South Athletes of the Week.

Kate did not let the elements slow her down during the recent Hornet Invite. She overcame the cold, wind and rain on her way to a first place finish and personal best (5:58.9) in the 1600-meter run.

Cole led his team to victories over Leyden, Riverside Brookfield and St. Laurence. He recorded 19 kills, four aces and seven digs during those matches, and helped push the Hornets record to 10-5 on the season.

We congratulate Kate and Cole on this recognition.

Below are links to recent news stories about members of the Hinsdale Central community.

If you missed the edition of Board Briefs for the board of education meeting on April 28, please visit https://conta.cc/3vX0KuZ.

Please visit https://bit.ly/3d93aws to access the latest COVID-19 data for our district, community and county. As a reminder, below are the metrics we plan to update on a weekly basis.