F E B R U A R Y 2 4 , 2 0 1 9
Franklin Vanderbilt, drummer for Lenny Kravitz, talked with our Global Citizenship and Guitar students about the importance of arts education, pursuing your passion, and his love of Chicago. Franklin finished his visit by playing "Sweet Home Chicago" with Mr. Peek's 5th period guitar class!
When absent from PE class due to illness, a student loses all of the possible points for the day, even is a note is turned into the Attendance Office. Is there a way this can be altered so sick students don’t fail gym for simply having the flu or a bad cold? 
Physical Education classes at Whitney Young are graded with an emphasis on student participation in class. It is unfair for a student with numerous days out of class to receive the same participation grade as a student who is in class and participating each day. The Physical Education staff is well aware that in some instances a student may miss class due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. Any points lost because of excused absences can be made up. Please refer to your course outline or talk to your teacher to get the procedure for making up points from excused absences. It is not our policy to allow students to make up points for unexcused absences or tardies. 

I know Whitney Young does what it can to make sure the LGBTQA+ community is accepted and treated fairly. However, some Christian students have been mocked and made to feel uncomfortable.
No student should be a target of any type of abuse physical, mental, or verbal. Every student should be able to walk our halls and feel proud of who they are regardless of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity. We have a no tolerance policy for this type of behavior. Please let us know what student(s) is involved and we will address it asap. Students, please be reminded if you don't say anything the behavior will continue! Yes, I know some students are saying incidents in the past have occurred and nothing was done. I am doing everything I can to address all issues. If I made a mistake in the past, I apologize. In life we all have and will make mistakes. For me the most important thing is we are able to recognize those mistakes, correct them, and move on!

Are our PE teachers allowed to give us a grade based off of or physical performance in gym class? I understand they can for our effort shown but what if they are giving grades based off our physical ability?
There are no rules forbidding a teacher from using skill acquisition to assess a student's Physical Education grade. The Physical Education staff at Whitney Young uses a combination of participation, written work and skill acquisition to asses students mastery. Classes based in the gym are highly weighted in participation (being prepared and participating in a sportsmanlike and cooperative way.) Our Physical Education staff is also trained to understand the physical differences in individual students and assess grades on an individuals' development. An example would be how swimmers are broken into groups and different skill acquisitions are used for each groups grades. All students must show some form of skill competence in order to get credit for that individual test. 

Dr. Kenner is soliciting questions for the Whitney Young Weekly. She will select and answer questions each week. Note: By submitting your question, you agree that the question and answer will be published and sent to the whole school community. Not all questions will be able to be answered/published. Due to the popularity of Kenner's Korner, questions may take at least four weeks to be published. If you have an immediate concern, please contact the Main Office during regular school hours at  (773) 534-7500 .

Congratulations Scholarship Winners
Oxbridge Academic Programs partnered with Whitney Young to offer partial scholarships to three students valued at over $4000 each! 
Freshman: Ricky Chen
Sophomore: Rebecca Schnitz
Junior: Lauren Ayala
Course Updates: AP World and AP European History
The College Board, which designs and administers all AP courses, is changing AP World History starting next year to start during the 1300s instead of with the rise of hunter-gatherers and early civilizations 10,000 years ago. AP World History will now be known as AP World History: Modern, and will only cover 60% of the current curriculum. In the future there might be another AP course covering the earlier half of the curriculum known tentatively as AP World History: Ancient. Also Whitney Young will be offering AP European History next academic year for qualified sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This course will not be offered again until autumn of 2021.
Scholastic Bowl Success
Congratulations to the Scholastic Bowl team for placing 4th at the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl Tournament at Fenton High School this past Saturday (2/16/19). Special thanks to coach, Mr. Pritchett for helping to make this achievement possible.

Pictured- Top Row: Dejah Morrison (10), Eldon Bradfield (10, Co-Captain), Mercy Oladipo (12, Captain), Abigail Winn (9), Jeanette Woo (9).
Bottom Row: Manuel Abril (11), Sharon Li (12), Amilie Wong (10)
Boys Swim and Dive Success at Sectionals
Congratulations to the boys swimming and diving teams who competed in the February 16 IHSA sectionals. The team won sectionals and the following seven athletes won their events and qualified for State:

Seniors
Tadzio Kurka (4 events): 200-Yard Medley Relay, 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, 200-Yard Freestyle, 100 backstroke (with a Sectionals record-breaking time)
Julian Green (3 events): 200-Yard Medley Relay, 400-Yard Freestyle Relay, 200-Yard Individual Medley, 200-Yard Individual Medley
Xander Struyk: Diving

Juniors
Tristan Stevens: 200-Yard Medley Relay, 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Dan Williams: 200-Yard Medley Relay
Sean Chen: 400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Tim Fanning: 500-Yard Freestyle

Congratulations to all of the swimmers and divers as well as Coach Alex George!
Friends of WY Event: Wine Tasting
Join other Whitney Young parents at a wine tasting Thursday, February 28 from 6:30 - 8:30 at LUSH Wine and Spirits. This pop-in social event is a chance to meet other Whitney Young parents, pick up a bottle or two for yourself, and help stock the Wine Pull for Spring Bash. We will have little something to snack on and great wine to sample. LUSH is located at 2232 W. Roscoe Street. Hope to see you there!
Academic Center Science Bowl
The Academic Center Science Bowl Team (Arnav Goel, Ritvik Viniak, Jack Edwards, Riya Joshi and, Maya Joshi) won Regionals on Saturday, February 16th, and have qualified for the National Middle School Science Bowl Competition in Washington, DC in April.
University of Illinois College Tour
90 Whitney Young students visited the University of Illinois last week.
Black & Multicultural Greek Life Panel Discussion
Attention Seniors: We are hosting a panel discussion led by WYHS Alum on College Greek (Fraternities/Sororities) Life. It will take place during Long Advisory on Wednesday, February 27th. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to this form by Tuesday, February 26th.
Fair Trade Campaigns National Conference
Fair Trade Campaigns National Conference is being held in Chicago this year! Whitney Young students and teachers who are interested in learning more about ethical consumption, social justice and sustainability should consider attending! The event is March 1, March 2 and March 3. If you are interested and available, email Ms. Boyle for more details and a special discount code only available for Whitney Young students and teachers!
Upcoming Spring Musical: City of Angels
Parents, with the end of product life of Edline, we have transitioned parent accounts to Mobile ID. Last week, parents with Edline accounts were sent an email with details to activate their Mobile ID. If you did not receive the email or need the email resent, make sure to call the Main Office at 773-534-7500 and request access. 

Parents have access to Mobile ID at: https://mobileidplus.com/wyparent/

Students have access to Mobile ID using their CPS username and password at: https://mobileidplus.com/wy/

A detailed AP Fees statement has been added to the School Fees section of Mobile ID for students who are currently enrolled in an Advanced Placement course. AP Fees and outstanding student debt may be paid by credit card, mailed check or in the school store no later than March 15, 2019. We highly encourage a user to choose the credit card payment (option 1) or mail a check (option 2) as students can avoid the long lines when paying through the school store (option 3).

The School Fees link is found under the Resources menu in Mobile ID.
Donate to the Silent Auction
Help support your student's favorite activities by submitting an item to the Spring Bash Silent Auction. All funds raised from the silent auction go directly to the club, team or department that you designate. Spring Bash is March 29 so secure those auction items soon! Deadline to submit the auction form is March 16. For more information or to donate click here.

Thursday, March 7
Third Thursday Bell Schedule
NAEP Testing (selected students)

Friday, March 8
Third Quarter Progress Reports Distributed in Advisory






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