Homestead High School Alumni Newsletter | Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | Vol. 8
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Hello again! How are you?
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After two(ish) years, the Tartan Review is back! Like most of you, the pandemic threw us for a loop and things got a bit crazy there for a bit. But, we are ready to get back at it and connect with one of our most important stakeholder groups - our fantastic Homestead grads!
This bi-monthly newsletter will feature Alumni spotlights, information about upcoming events, and what's new at Homestead High School. Want to be part of the excitement? Submit a suggestion, tell us what you or a fellow Highlander alumnus have been up to, or be featured in an upcoming Tartan Review. Email us at communications@mtsd.k12.wi.us to submit an event or nominate someone for an Alumni Spotlight.
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Alumni Spotlight: Mackenzie Alston, Class of '10 |
Former Highlander Mackenzie Alston is an assistant professor of economics at Florida State University, currently on leave to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In February of 2020, Mackenzie was featured on a Women in Economics Podcast produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Click the link below to find out more about Mackenzie, including what her Homestead experience was like, and what she misses most about the Midwest.
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2021 Brought Big Changes to Homestead: Districtwide Referendum Project Provides New Common & Collaborative Learning Spaces |
On April 7, 2020, voters in the Mequon-Thiensville School District approved a $55.7 million referendum to address facility needs across the Mequon-Thiensville School District. After a 12-month planning and design phase, we broke ground in April 2021. Presently, construction is complete at Homestead High School and will be wrapping up at our elementary and middle schools in the summer of 2022.
Construction at all school sites focused on improving safety, creating additional space for projected enrollment growth, and bringing facilities up-to-date from accessibility and collaborative learning standpoints. Gymnasium and classroom additions and cafeteria expansions were added to the elementary schools. Other projects include updating restrooms to increase accessibility and general functionality, safety enhancements including improving car and bus traffic flow, and improvements to better control visitor access to the buildings during and after school hours.
At the middle schools, we added expansions to the cafeterias and renovations to specialty classrooms including music and specialist/support areas to enhance the educational experience of our students. Improved traffic circulation and connection to municipal water will make our school buildings and grounds safer for our students, staff, and visitors while protecting the community’s investment.
Improvements at Homestead High School included relocation of the school office and renovation of the secure entry sequence. Restrooms were updated to increase accessibility and general functionality, a new driveway was added from Mequon Rd. to improve parking lot traffic circulation and make the school building and grounds safer for our students, staff, and visitors. Most exciting for our students were the creation and renovation of large group instruction areas (LGIs), outdoor classrooms, and a common cafe area for students to snack, study, and collaborate together. Click here to see more photos of the Homestead renovations.
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Celebrating the Outstanding Achievements of Our Current Mighty Highlanders |
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Isaac Bloomgarden - AP Computer Science A Exam Ace
HHS junior Isaac Bloomgarden earned a perfect score on his college-level Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science A Exam in spring 2021. Bloomgarden not only received the top score of 5, but was also one of only 356 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Computer Science A Exam, receiving the maximum score on each portion of the exam.
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Abigail Horwitz - United States Senate Youth Program Delegate
HHS junior Abigail Horwitz has been selected as one of two students from the state of Wisconsin to represent the state as a delegate to the United States Senate Youth Program. As part of the program, Horwitz will get firsthand experience of the inner workings of our government, in addition to a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate studies.
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Blair Martin - National African American Recognition Program Scholar
HHS senior Blair Martin was recognized by the College Board, which administers the national PSTA and SAT assessments and recognizes academic excellent, as a National African American Program Scholar. Students selected for this prestigious honor have excelled on their PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or AP Exams and in their classwork.
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Ilia Mikhailenko - Achieved Perfect Score on ACT
HHS junior Ilia Mikhailenko recently scored a perfect 36 on the ACT exam. The ACT is a national college entrance exam that tests in the areas of English, reading, math, and science.
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Ethan Wang - Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar
HHS senior Ethan Wang was identified as one of 300 scholars in the 2022 Regeneron Science Talent Search, which identifies the nation’s most promising young scientists who are creating the ideas that could solve society’s most urgent challenges.
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Have guitar, will travel. This summer, we caught up with Homestead alum and renowned musician Willy Porter at Music in the Park in Thiensville's Village Park on August 7. Willy was kind enough to sport a Homestead hat and strum a few notes for the camera. This wound up being a particularly memorable show, as severe thunderstorms blew in towards the end of the night. Did you catch this wet and windy set? Thanks to Willy for providing a night of great music and allowing us to snap some photos! |
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The Mequon-Thiensville School District operates a robust Academic & Career Planning program for our students in grades 6-8. As part of this program, we offer Coffee with a Career Mentor and Career Path Series. The purpose of these series is to provide students with opportunities to interact with individuals from a variety of backgrounds and occupations. They also help students understand and draw connections between what they are currently learning in school and their future career identity. |
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Styles have changed, but that Highlander spirit remains the same! |
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Spend the evening at the Theater! Come out to the HHS production of Cinderella. February 10, 11 & 12th at 7:00 pm or a Feb 13 Matinee at 1:00 pm. Tickets are available online here. |
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Next Generation Highlanders |
Thinking about 4K for the 2022-2023 school year? MTSD 4K online
pre-registration opens on Feb. 14.
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Follow Us on Social Media! |
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