CONSOLIDATED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 230 THOUGHT MEANING ACTION

V I C T O R J . A N D R E W H I G H S C H O O L N E W S L E T T E R • M A R C H 2 0 1 5

V I C T O R J . A N D R E W H I G H S C H O O L9001 West 171st Street Tinley Park, IL 60487 Phone:708-342-5800http://andrew.d230.org

Cadaver Camp, January 7-10, 2015

Students of Mrs. Julie Johnson's Honors Anatomy & Physiology Course spent 3 days (2 of which were while everyone else was home for school

closings) applying their first semester knowledge and skills dissecting the extremities (arms & legs) of two human cadavers at Northern Illinois

University's Cadaver Lab.

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 11ORLAND PARK

Connor Burns, Chicago White Sox’s

Kenny Williams, Dan Sivak, and Joe

Scott volunteer with emphasizing the

benefits of college to inner-city high

school students.

Dan Sivak, Joe Scott, MTV’s Sway

Calloway, and Connor Burns volunteer

with emphasizing the benefits of college

to inner-city high school students.

Guidance Guidance

Dear Andrew High School Community,

Spring is in the air and we hope March is a time where we awake from our winter slumber and

remind ourselves how wonderful it is to be outside without the risk of frostbite - especially for our

spring athletes! We are also preparing for the longest March - from a student perspective - in

years, since Spring Break has been moved to April. However, March offers a full range of activities

for our school community.

March is a great month for parent engagement. We open the month with our spring Parent-

Teacher Conferences. This event allows for our parents to get a snapshot of their son’s or

daughter's progress before the end of the semester. Also, March brings our 5th Annual Spring

Parent University. This event is well attended and provides up to 12 different sessions (parents

choose three) to provide important information for parents of all grade levels. For our Prom

attendees, our required Pre-Prom Parent Meeting is scheduled that evening. This event contains

important Prom details, but also some guidance for parents about Prom activities. For seniors,

we will also host a graduation informational meeting. Additional topics include a graduate

forum to discuss life after high school, the role of the IEP in college, dealing with teen stress,

and numerous topics that are beneficial to parents. Please look for more information about

this great event.

This March also brings us state testing changes. The Junior ACT is scheduled for March

3rd. This is a test required of all juniors, free of charge. The ACT includes all four

subject tests, plus the writing exam, which allows all of our students to use this for

post-secondary entry. On March 3rd, we will also be testing our freshman on the

PLAN, a predictive exam for the ACT (sophomores and seniors do not attend

school). New for this year, the PSAE for juniors is no longer an assessment

required by the State of Illinois. However, we will be implementing the

PARCC assessment for all freshmen instead. This is a new exam that is

aligned to the Common Core and should allow for tracking student growth

over time. The details are still forthcoming from the state - parents of freshman

should look for information coming soon.

At the time of this letter, I am proud to announce that we have crowned two

conference champions (Girls’ Bowling & Boys’ Swimming and Diving) and

two state qualifiers (Boys’ Bowling and Competitive Dance/Poms). Many

winter sports are winding down in late February and we hope more

success is to come. We also wish the best of luck to our spring sports and

know that our teams will be successful. We also look forward to the Fine Arts

events in March. Our art students begin their series of shows, beginning with

the SWSC Art Showcase at Governors State University. Andrew's Got Talent

will showcase student performances on March 4th at 7 pm. Band and Choir,

as well as our new Orchestra program, will host the Prism concert which is an

amazing combination of all music disciplines on one stage! Project Diversity

will also host their annual show on March 13th and 14th. It is truly a

magnificent month for events and we hope you consider attending these

performances..

Thank you for the continued support of VJA and its programs.

As always, please share any questions, comments or suggestions

at rnolting@d230.org

Robert Nolting

Principal

The Music Boosters Annual Spring Craft Fair was a terrific suc-

cess! Without support from the students and parents, this event

- our second largest fundraiser, would not happen. We whole-

heartedly thank each and every one of them for their time and

effort in making this event a continuous success.

The Andrew Chorale performed in two festivals in February.

The first was the SWSC Festival hosted by Lincoln-Way East.

Choirs from the Southwest Suburbs met and performed for

each other and were able to work with top clinicians from the

Midwest. Dr. Karyl Carlson from Illinois State University worked

with Andrew's Chorale and gave great insights into furthering

the pieces for our Prism Concert. The District 230 Choral

Festival took place on Tuesday, February 24th at Stagg High

School. Top choirs from Andrew, Sandburg and Stagg met to

share their talents and rise up in song for a culminating per-

formance. Dr. Richard Rossi, Choral Director from Eastern

Illinois University, was our guest clinician. Students and direc-

tors had a fun and educational afternoon.

This year's Jazz Concert, featuring the Andrew Jazz Band, VJA

Cappella, and Jazz Ensemble will be held on Thursday, March

12th at 7 pm in the Andrew High School Performing Arts Center.

Admission is free and open to the public! Come hear some

great jazz and pop tunes and support our specialty groups.

The Prism Concert technical rehearsal will be held in the

Andrew Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, March 17th from 6-

8:30 pm. All Andrew music students should be in attendance to

prepare for the concert that takes place two days later.

This year's Prism Concert, featuring all of Andrew High School

music ensembles, will be held on Thursday, March 19th at 7 pm

in the Performing Arts Center. Come witness a slice of colle-

giate-style performing with a stunning grand finale!

This year's spring musical, Beauty and the Beast, has audi-

tioned, is cast, and is now into rehearsals! The performances

will be on April 30th at 7 pm, May 1st at 7 pm, and May 2nd at

3 pm. Come out and see this Disney classic brought to life

before your very eyes!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the first Andrew Winter

Percussion and Guard Community Show of the season. As a

fundraiser we collected donations of clothing, shoes, linens and

many other items that were delivered to Savers in Orland Park.

We raised over $500 for the general music fund. The next

Music Boosters fundraiser is our Pancake Breakfast on Sunday,

March 15th. Come join us for pancakes and entertainment by

our very own band and choir. You may even get a chance to

take your picture with the Easter bunny!

Andrew winter percussion (Jacob Badagliacco, Antonio Balestri,

Kaitlyn Bauman, Todd Bentson, Nick Buckner, Claire

Cavarretta, Pauline Fittanto, Jane Folliard, Mia Folliard, Mason

Garcia, John Hahn, Rebecca Keate, Megan Kinnerk, Elizabeth

Kochniarczyk, Elisabeth Lang, Jaclyn Nicasio, Alex Pedersen,

Martin Polkowski, Justin Rauman, Vivian Reyes, Julia Ricker,

Mike Rickey, Joe Siano, Karl Suarez, Tyler Tebo, Vince Upreti,

Luke VanKleek, and Liam Yore) had much success at the WGI

(Winter Guard International) Regional in Indianapolis on

Valentine’s Day. They head to an IPA competition in Warsaw,

Indiana on Saturday, March 7th and a WGI Mid-South Regional

in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the weekend of March 20-22nd.

Mark your calendar to come out and see this World Champion

group perform their show “When Forever Ends” on Saturday,

March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Main Gym at Andrew High School.

Winter percussion will finish off their season in Dayton, Ohio

April 9-11th at the WGI World Championships. They hope to

bring home another gold medal!

Andrew winter guard members (Jeanine Akai, Angel Chan, Desi

Contreras, Natalie Dizon, Stephanie Dreher, Jessica Escalante,

Kyle Gonzales, Sarah Karrson Fitzpatrick, Reilly Marino, Sol

Morales, Katie Packer, and Martina Razo) are going strong.

The team had such an outstanding season last year winning

first place in the Midwest Regional that the group has grown in

size and has moved up into a higher level of competition.

Winter guard performed their show “Words Won’t Bring Us

Down” at the regional competition in Indianapolis on February

21st & 22nd. They are headed to LaPorte, Indiana, for the

Midwest Circuit Competition on March 28th & 29th and will fin-

ish up their season at the WGI Color Guard World

Championships the weekend of April 16-18th in Dayton, Ohio.

Come out and watch the guard perform at the community show

on Saturday, March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Main Gym at Andrew

High School.

Between newsletters you can keep up with the VJA Music

Parents by visiting our website at www.vjamusic.com. Don’t

forget our next Parent Meeting is scheduled for March 10th at

7:30 pm in the Choir Room.

VICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

2014-2015School Calendar

Dates to Remember

March

5 Parent/Teacher Conferences

12 - 8 pm

No Student Attendance

6 School Holiday - No School

April

2 Early Dismissal 1 pm

3 School Holiday

6-10 Spring Break

13 Classes Reconvene

24 Institute Day - All Staff

School Prom

No Student Attendance

May

25 Memorial Day - No School

27, 28, 29 Final Exams*

29 Last Day of School*

*Changed due to inclement weather days used.

Subject to change if additional inclement

weather days are needed.

Printed on Recycled Paper 30% Total Recycled Fiber

CONSOLIDATEDHIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 230Rick Nogal, President

Patrick O'Sullivan, Vice President

Kathy Quilty, Secretary

Susan Dalton

Melissa Gracias

Kate Murphy-Peterson

Tony Serratore

Dr. James M. Gay, Superintendent

Robert Nolting, Principal

Andrew Pride is published by the Consolidated

High School District 230 School Board.

"An equal opportunity employer"

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPALMUSIC BOOSTERS

Guidance Guidance

When March arrives, the spring sports’ teams

look for places to practice and yearn for the

warmer weather that is to come later in the

spring. Sports in the spring have to fight

through the toughest conditions that we place

on our teams. They normally start when

there is snow on the ground, play in freezing

cold, dodge raindrops and gusty winds, and

then when it finally does get nice, the season

is over. This year with the later spring break

and the weather anything but predictable, it is

time to gear up for the season and get ready

for conference runs. When May arrives, our

Thunderbolts will be competing for greatness!

A few updates from the winter season. The

boys’ bowling team again qualified for the

state finals in O’Fallon and found the

competition fierce! The boys battled and they

bowled very well, but could not put the big

games together. However, we are very proud

of their efforts and how well they represented

the school and conference. We also want to

congratulate the varsity poms team for

qualifying for state as well.

Other winter teams have not completed their

season as of this writing. Boys’ basketball is

still in the IHSA state series and will look to

make it difficult for teams who want to

continue into regional play. Boys’ swimming

and diving has the depth and talent to send

some athletes into the state finals and have

high hopes of making the final day in a

couple of events. Girls’ hoops, cheer,

gymnastics, and girls’ bowling all made

Andrew Nation very proud this winter with

their style of play, dedication, and

determination. The grapplers look to

continue to improve as they head to

sectionals and hopefully state!

Just a quick reminder about the Andrew

Athletic social media options:

www.athletics2000.com/andrew is the

location for daily updates, scores, and

cancellations. Additionally, you can find

rosters, pictures and articles about all of our

varsity teams. On the front page is a link to

directions to our playing sites throughout the

year using a Google map. Simply click on a

location, type in your address, and it will find

a route for you to take. Another site to visit is

the SouthWest Suburban Conference

(SWSC) site at ww.athletics2000.com/swsc.

Here you will find the conference standings

for our varsity and sophomore teams, as well

as the rest of the conference schedules. You

can also look through our archives and find

results form the varsity conference seasons

and champions. We are on twitter as well

@vjabolts. Finally, a site that has all of the

information about all high schools in the state

is the Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

website at www.ihsa.org. Here you can

follow all high school teams through the state

series, and find information and directions for

every high school in the state in the school

directory. These sites will help you know

faster and more accurately where and when

the athletes participate. They have a lot of

information to offer.

Summer camp information will be coming

soon, so look to sharpen those skills and

prepare for greatness this summer with our

programs and coaches! A great way to keep

active and enjoy the weather that we know

will turn for the best!

Andrew Athletics Update

VICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

ATHLETIC BOOSTERSPlan to attend our monthly Athletic Booster

Club meeting. All members are invited. It is

also a great way to become involved. All

spring sports team reps are encouraged to

attend. This is how we know about your sports

team. Our meetings are the first Tuesday of

the month. Our next meeting is on Wednesday,

March 11th at 7:00 pm in the teachers’ lounge.

Our April meeting is April 15th.

Wanted: New Directors for 2015-2016

Season. We are currently looking for next

year’s Scholar Athlete Awards Director,

Team Rep Director, Concessions Director,

and Variety Show Director. Please contact

Rena Sheehan at renaespo@aol.com if you

are interested.

Please Join 8to 18: Please join our 8to 18

Cashback program. To raise money for this

season, we have partnered with 8to 18

Cashback, which is now part of the same

company which operates the school’s athletic

website. Register now for 8to 18 Cashback

that directly benefits Andrew Athletic

Boosters. We can earn Cashback every time

one of us makes an online purchase from

among thousands of merchants. Just go to

http://cashback.8to18.com and register.

Spirit-Wear: We have Lawn Signs for all

Sports. Also, we have a wide variety of

t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, lanyards,

socks, hats, mittens and scarves. For more

information, please contact Keri Malone at

kmalone0926@gmail.com or 708-334-1795

or contact Stacy Summers at

ssummers1022@gmail.com or 708-802-

3703. Winter program books will be for sale.

Market Day: INTRODUCING Fresh Produce

Assortments now available at

marketday.com. You will enjoy "farmer's

market fresh" quality produce with the

convenience of ordering and picking it up with

your regular Market Day order. There are 3

assortments to choose from; Family,

Gourmet, or Organic produce assortments.

Look online to see what each holds. Also if

you purchase $90 worth of Market Day

products in March you will receive a FREE 4

pack of chicken steaks, just put MARBONUS

in at checkout. Place your order online and

make sure you check out the clearance

items, great bargains on food, and other

items they carry. Never ordered before,

please add NEWFIVE at check out with an

order of $25 and receive $5 off your order.

Order $40 or more from February thru April

and then in May receive a free set of

collapsible storage bowls at the May sale.

Market Day pick up is Saturday, March 14th,

from 9 am-10 am. Make sure you order for

your spring holidays. Questions please call

Ruth at 708-403-0369.

Athletic Scholarship Forms: Students

whose family has joined the Athletic Boosters

by December 1st can be considered for

scholarships. Attention SENIOR ATHLETES:

pick up, fill out, and turn in your scholarship

application for the Booster Club’s scholarship

drawing. The forms are in the Guidance Office.

April 1st is the deadline for scholarship forms.

Matz Family Scholarship: Attention

SENIOR VARIETY SHOW CAST MEMBERS:

pick up, fill out, and turn in your scholarship

application for the scholarship drawing. The

forms and requirements are in the Guidance

Office. April 1st is the deadline for scholarship

forms. Two-$500 scholarships will be given,

one to a girl and one to a boy.

Special Thanks: Thank you to the directors

for their help in all our winter sports

concessions. Athletic Boosters is also grateful

to the parents and teams who helped with V-

Show, basketball, cheer and poms

concessions. We very much appreciate you

volunteering your time. We could not be a

success without parent involvement. We

hope to continue our success with your help

in the future. If you have any questions or

would like to volunteer, please contact Rena

Sheehan at renaespo@aol.com. Our website

is: www.andrewathleticboosters.org. There is

a link on VJA main website or:

http://www.athletics2000.com/andrew/.

Student Council gets ready for Just Dance "Candy Land" edition.

Student Council hosted their annual Veteran's Day Luncheon.

This year's attendance exceeded all previous years.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

Scholarship applications continue to arrive in

the Guidance Office throughout the spring

months. Students are encouraged to stop in

and review the latest announcements.

Many of these awards have specific require-

ments. If you meet the requirements you

should consider applying. Scholarship infor-

mation is also on the VJA website under

Guidance.

Scholarship Opportunities

March is a great month to have your junior

son or daughter make an appointment with

his or her counselor to discuss college

plans. Students interested in selective col-

leges are especially encouraged to make an

appointment to begin preparing for the appli-

cation process that will begin next August.

Parents are always welcome to join students

for this appointment in order to discuss the

college selection and financial aid process.

It takes time and energy to find the right col-

lege match. Counselors recognize that this

is a family decision. However, they can be

helpful in sorting out the priorities and find-

ing colleges that are the best fit for each

child. Remember, when your child returns

from summer vacation, he or she will be

expected to have a short list of colleges

ready for application. Most applications

should be completed by the end of October

of the student’s senior year.

Prime Time for College-Bound Juniors

If you haven’t already made plans, many

families find that Spring Break provides the

perfect opportunity for juniors to visit college

campuses. Often, families who plan ahead

can visit four to five schools in the same

geographical area over two to three days. It

is important to call schools in advance. In

many cases (especially at private schools)

the college may offer free housing to stu-

dents who want to stay overnight for a sam-

ple of dorm life. Because many schools are

not on break at this time, a visit now is much

better than during the summer when cam-

puses are relatively vacant. If you need a

list of questions to ask when you visit,

please see your counselor.

Juniors and Spring Break

The simple answer to this question is YES!

Statistics show that students who take the

test more than once usually improve their

test scores. We strongly encourage juniors

to sign up for the test administered on April

18th at Andrew. Students can sign up on

line at www.act.org.

Should You Sign Up To Take The A.C.T. MoreThan Once?

Scholarships AwardedIf you have been awarded a scholarship,

please let Mrs. Driscoll know by emailing

her at ddriscoll@d230.org.

Include the following information:

1. Name of University or organiza-

tion awarding the scholarship

2. Title/name of the award or

scholarship

3. Amount of the award for

each year over 4 years

(if applicable)

The amount of the awards will

be kept confidential. The dis-

trict uses the totals for sta-

tistical data. You are not

required to share the

financial information

if you do not wish to do so.

Getting Into College–Some Helpful TipsWhether your child is trying to get into

Harvard or any other college, admissions

committees will be asking five basic ques-

tions. How difficult was the curriculum

chosen by the student? How well did he

or she do in that curriculum? How did the

student do on college entrance exams?

What activities outside the classroom did

the student join? What was the quality of

the involvement in those activities? While

the questions are simple the answers may

be complex. Helping your child stay

focused on these questions will ensure the

greatest number of options after high

school. If you have questions about col-

lege planning please contact your child’s

counselor.

Passing RequiredClassesAs Summer school approaches, parents

are reminded that students must pass

both semesters of a required class in

order to move on to the next level. For

example, students who fail either semes-

ter of Freshman English must repeat the

failed semester before moving on to

Sophomore English. Summer school is

strongly encouraged for students in this

position.

Summer School registration is currently in

progress. Registration information and

course approval may be obtained from the

Guidance Department. Whether your stu-

dent is getting ahead or catching up, it is

wise to register now in order to reserve a

spot in the class. Classes will only be

offered if there are enough students who

enroll. Summer school will be offered at

Sandburg High School this year, with the

exception of a few courses to be held at

Andrew. For more information please ask

your student to pick up a summer school

brochure from the Guidance Office.

Summer School

Parents are reminded that they are always

welcome to share their concerns regarding

the welfare of children with the Guidance

staff. Prevention is the important word on

this topic. If you have a concern, please do

not hesitate to contact your child’s coun-

selor. The Guidance staff is always willing

to contact teachers, speak to their students,

or facilitate a meeting or referral to specific

services when necessary. We work in part-

nership with parents and students to provide

the best possible learning environment for

the children and families that we serve.

Children at Risk

NHS

Andrew’s National

Honor Society

members have

been focusing their

year with the act of

service. In the fall,

NHS represented

Andrew at the

Northern Illinois

Food Drive. NHS

officers precisely

packaged potatoes

for families in dire

need of food. At

the end of the day,

over one thousand

meals were sent to

low-income households.

The weeks leading to

Christmas, NHS members

helped Santa write to chil-

dren who sent him letters.

On December 6th, nearly

160 NHS members volun-

teered at the Crestwood

Providence Nursing Home.

NHS members sang, dis-

tributed gifts, and con-

versed with elderly resi-

dents in order to spread the

holiday cheer and the beginning of the New Year. On Martin Luther

King Day, NHS volunteered in Chicago’s “Get Connected Program”.

NHS students traveled to Malcolm X College to help celebrities

including Kenny Williams, Sway Calloway, and Chance the Rapper

stress the importance of a college education to inner-city high school

students. On January 25th, NHS informed incoming freshmen on

the rigorous guidelines of acceptance in the National Honor Society.

Students must have a 3.8 GPA, participate in at least two activities,

demonstrate leadership, and complete all twenty-four hours of com-

munity service by sophomore year.

Congratulations DECA!

10 Andrew H.S. DECA students

qualified for State at the Regional

competition at Moraine Valley held

on January 22. Qualifiers include:

Connor Brogan, Adrian Duenas,

Kevin Garripoli, Stephen Harrison,

Alex Harrison, James Kut, Brittany

Lewis, Bea Mungal, Peyton O'Neill,

and Brett VonFeldt. Students were

required to take a competency

exam, an economics test, and per-

form in a role-play business/market-

ing scenario with a judge. Good

luck at State everyone!

Speech Team Gives Back with Angel Tree

Philanthropy

As part of the 2014-15 season, the Speech Team decided to support

the Angel Tree outreach program. This program benefits the chil-

dren of prison inmates and their families. The goal is to meet some

of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children. For

many children these gifts may be the only ones under their

Christmas tree. The gifts are purchased, wrapped, and given to

Angel Tree Volunteers who then deliver the gifts to churches or

organizations that sponsor the children. The gift givers are not

named; instead, the gifts the children receive are from their parents.

After team members sold World’s Finest Chocolate to raise the

money needed to purchase gifts, a highly qualified group of shop-

pers hit the stores! Is there anything more fun than buying a gift for

someone with other people’s money?

When shopping bags were filled with scarves, pajamas, board

games, basketballs, Barbie dolls, coloring books and crayons, it was

time to get the whole team together to start wrapping. We ordered

pizzas, put on Christmas music, and broke out the scissors and

scotch tape. Is there anything more enjoyable than watching a

friend try to wrap a basketball?

The Speech Team looks forward to making our support of the Angel

Tree outreach program an annual event.

Co-Curricular Updates

Connor Burns explains the criteria for accept-

ance into the National Honor Society.

NHS members explain the criteria for

NHS acceptance.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

PE Is Going Polar...With Polar Heart Rate Monitors

As of January 1st, 2012 a new Illinois state law went into effect. HB

3281/PA 97-0340 allows a school board to suspend or expel a stu-

dent who has made an explicit threat on an Internet website against

a school employee, student, or any school personnel. Like the state

of Illinois, District 230 and Andrew High School feel strongly about

social networking harassment and more importantly, educating stu-

dents on appropriate use of these sites.

Facebook currently has 1.23 billion active monthly users worldwide,

and social media like Instagram, Twitter and Snap Chat continue to

reshape the way businesses market and how our students interact.

Unfortunately, some students choose to use social networking sites

to verbally abuse peers or create a negative digital footprint through

inappropriate comments or posts. As educators, we stress the impor-

tance of making positive decisions when using social networking sites

and we reinforce to students how they are responsible for words they

type. Deans also highlight how businesses and universities are look-

ing to social networking sites to determine the best fits for their

organizations. These preventative teachings do not always stop stu-

dents from becoming verbally aggressive on social networking sites;

therefore, educators look to work with parents as a way to stop inap-

propriate use of social networking sites.

Parents are the number one resource

when it comes to monitoring students on

social networking sites. Below are

resources available for parents on how to

monitor their student’s use of social net-

working sites. Also, these resources pro-

vide parents information on how to

approach a situation when their student is

being harassed or doing the harassing.

http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/children/internet.html

This website provides videos, articles, and general tips about how to

instill appropriate use of social media by young adults. The site also

connects to EBully411, which focuses on cyberbullying. EBully411

provides help for students who feel they are being harassed through

technology. The Attorney General’s website also provides additional

links to valuable resources about internet safety for parents and

students.

http://andrew.d230.org/resources/digital-citizenshop-resources/

This link provides information and tip sheets on how to better discuss

and monitor the use of social media. This website provides various

information including cyberbullying, digital relationships and privacy of

our digital footprint.

https://www.staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day/parent-

resources/

This website provides various resources including sections on identity

theft of children. Many interactive tools provide for various ways to

communicate with your students regarding the issues identified

through this website.

Deans’ OfficeMonitoring Social Networking Web Sites

This school year, all Sophomore Physical Education classes and Fitness classes have been

using new heart rate monitor technology as a method of assessing their heart rates during

class. Andrew Physical Education has always used the Polar Heart Rate Monitors but upgrad-

ed to a new program called Polar GoFit.

Polar GoFit uses bluetooth smart tech-

nology allowing the teacher and student

to follow the student’s heart rate online

during a PE lesson. Using this technol-

ogy, teachers provide direct feedback to

students and students use self-assess-

ment during their workout. Data is

saved automatically online for later

analysis and evaluation. Using heart

rate monitors individualizes workouts for

students and helps students of any abil-

ity reach their potential. To learn more

about Polar Heart Rate Monitors,

please visit www.polarusa.com.

Prom Parent Meeting

If your son or daughter is planning on attending Prom, a parent

MUST attend Andrew High School’s Prom Parent Meeting on

Wednesday, March 18th. Please set aside time to join us as we

begin to discuss aspects of positive choices in connection to Prom.

The VJA Smash Society was originally a Facebook

group started by Jake Badagliacco and Dan Wojtowicz.

They wanted to meet up with other people in the area

who played Super Smash Bros. on the Game Cube.

With Administrative approval, Mr. Weis (Applied Tech

teacher at VJA) agreed to be the faculty sponsor for the

new club and they met to decide what should be the

club’s purpose. Through the club, the students agreed

they wanted to promote equality, teamwork, strategy,

leadership, and charity. They agreed that the club

should be open to anyone who has a passion for video

games, especially those who play Super Smash Bros.

This is the game they are currently focused around, but

are expanding quickly to

play Local Area Network

(LAN) games on the com-

puter. Through the months

and years of this club, we hope to

expand to various different games

depending on student interests.

At the end of the school year, the club will

be hosting a charity event in which all the

money raised will be donated to Child's Play Charity. Child's Play is

a charitable organization that donates toys and games to children's

hospitals worldwide. Check them out at www.vjasmash.com and

watch live streaming of tournaments live on twitch.tv/vjasmash.

Interested in being a part of this great new club? See Mr. Adam Weis

for information.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

Beginning with the school year 2015-2016, any

child entering 12th grade in the State of Illinois shall

show proof of having received one dose of

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine on or after their

16th birthday. If you child received a dose of

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine before their

16th birthday, he/she will need a second dose.

The following action is needed from you at this

time:

● If a dose of Meningococcal vaccine was given

on or after your child’s 16th birthday, ask your

doctor to verify that your child has received the

Meningococcal vaccine and the date it was

given. All Junior students were sent a form in the

mail that needs to be filled out by the physician

● If your child did not receive the required

Meningococcal vaccine on or after their 16th

birthday, he/she will be required to have the

immunization prior to the start of school in August

2015.

Proof of having received the Meningococcal vac-

cine should be submitted to the School Nurse as

soon as the vaccine is given. Failing to complete

this process prior to Schedule Pick-Up in August will

result in your child being unable to receive a sched-

ule or begin the school year on the first day of

class.

From The Nurse’s Office All Junior Students

Video Game Club

Special Olympics Basketball took 4th place

in their recent competition!

Students Helping StudentsGot conflict? Who doesn't!! Try peer mediation! The Peer Mediators are trained and ready to help. We all have disagreements, but mediation

is a way to sit down, hear each other’s' sides and reach a solution. It's confidential, voluntary, and no one tells you what to do. No teachers or

Deans are involved - just students communicating and solving their own problems. We make it easy to sign up. Just contact Guidance or ask a

teacher. Pictured, from left to right: Peer Mediators Nowal Shalash, Alyssa Corona, and Hannah Michalczak at Eighth Grade Open House.

Bass FishingStudents from Andrew and

Sandburg are building fishing cribs

for a community service project in

an effort to build up the fish habitat

in Lake Sedgewick. Bass Fishing is

looking forward to an opportunity for

students to pair up with veteran fish-

ermen at an event coming in May.

Members of Andrew's newest club, Gay- Straight Alliance (GSA) greet

parents and students at the 8th Grade Open House Night. From left to

right: Kayla Doody, Leo Borak, Maggie Havlin, Marykate Green, Sofia

Ceballos, and Jake Renje.

The VJA Smash Society was originally a Facebook

group started by Jake Badagliacco and Dan Wojtowicz.

They wanted to meet up with other people in the area

who played Super Smash Bros. on the Game Cube.

With Administrative approval, Mr. Weis (Applied Tech

teacher at VJA) agreed to be the faculty sponsor for the

new club and they met to decide what should be the

club’s purpose. Through the club, the students agreed

they wanted to promote equality, teamwork, strategy,

leadership, and charity. They agreed that the club

should be open to anyone who has a passion for video

games, especially those who play Super Smash Bros.

This is the game they are currently focused around, but

are expanding quickly to

play Local Area Network

(LAN) games on the com-

puter. Through the months

and years of this club, we hope to

expand to various different games

depending on student interests.

At the end of the school year, the club will

be hosting a charity event in which all the

money raised will be donated to Child's Play Charity. Child's Play is

a charitable organization that donates toys and games to children's

hospitals worldwide. Check them out at www.vjasmash.com and

watch live streaming of tournaments live on twitch.tv/vjasmash.

Interested in being a part of this great new club? See Mr. Adam Weis

for information.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

Beginning with the school year 2015-2016, any

child entering 12th grade in the State of Illinois shall

show proof of having received one dose of

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine on or after their

16th birthday. If you child received a dose of

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine before their

16th birthday, he/she will need a second dose.

The following action is needed from you at this

time:

● If a dose of Meningococcal vaccine was given

on or after your child’s 16th birthday, ask your

doctor to verify that your child has received the

Meningococcal vaccine and the date it was

given. All Junior students were sent a form in the

mail that needs to be filled out by the physician

● If your child did not receive the required

Meningococcal vaccine on or after their 16th

birthday, he/she will be required to have the

immunization prior to the start of school in August

2015.

Proof of having received the Meningococcal vac-

cine should be submitted to the School Nurse as

soon as the vaccine is given. Failing to complete

this process prior to Schedule Pick-Up in August will

result in your child being unable to receive a sched-

ule or begin the school year on the first day of

class.

From The Nurse’s Office All Junior Students

Video Game Club

Special Olympics Basketball took 4th place

in their recent competition!

Students Helping StudentsGot conflict? Who doesn't!! Try peer mediation! The Peer Mediators are trained and ready to help. We all have disagreements, but mediation

is a way to sit down, hear each other’s' sides and reach a solution. It's confidential, voluntary, and no one tells you what to do. No teachers or

Deans are involved - just students communicating and solving their own problems. We make it easy to sign up. Just contact Guidance or ask a

teacher. Pictured, from left to right: Peer Mediators Nowal Shalash, Alyssa Corona, and Hannah Michalczak at Eighth Grade Open House.

Bass FishingStudents from Andrew and

Sandburg are building fishing cribs

for a community service project in

an effort to build up the fish habitat

in Lake Sedgewick. Bass Fishing is

looking forward to an opportunity for

students to pair up with veteran fish-

ermen at an event coming in May.

Members of Andrew's newest club, Gay- Straight Alliance (GSA) greet

parents and students at the 8th Grade Open House Night. From left to

right: Kayla Doody, Leo Borak, Maggie Havlin, Marykate Green, Sofia

Ceballos, and Jake Renje.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

PE Is Going Polar...With Polar Heart Rate Monitors

As of January 1st, 2012 a new Illinois state law went into effect. HB

3281/PA 97-0340 allows a school board to suspend or expel a stu-

dent who has made an explicit threat on an Internet website against

a school employee, student, or any school personnel. Like the state

of Illinois, District 230 and Andrew High School feel strongly about

social networking harassment and more importantly, educating stu-

dents on appropriate use of these sites.

Facebook currently has 1.23 billion active monthly users worldwide,

and social media like Instagram, Twitter and Snap Chat continue to

reshape the way businesses market and how our students interact.

Unfortunately, some students choose to use social networking sites

to verbally abuse peers or create a negative digital footprint through

inappropriate comments or posts. As educators, we stress the impor-

tance of making positive decisions when using social networking sites

and we reinforce to students how they are responsible for words they

type. Deans also highlight how businesses and universities are look-

ing to social networking sites to determine the best fits for their

organizations. These preventative teachings do not always stop stu-

dents from becoming verbally aggressive on social networking sites;

therefore, educators look to work with parents as a way to stop inap-

propriate use of social networking sites.

Parents are the number one resource

when it comes to monitoring students on

social networking sites. Below are

resources available for parents on how to

monitor their student’s use of social net-

working sites. Also, these resources pro-

vide parents information on how to

approach a situation when their student is

being harassed or doing the harassing.

http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/children/internet.html

This website provides videos, articles, and general tips about how to

instill appropriate use of social media by young adults. The site also

connects to EBully411, which focuses on cyberbullying. EBully411

provides help for students who feel they are being harassed through

technology. The Attorney General’s website also provides additional

links to valuable resources about internet safety for parents and

students.

http://andrew.d230.org/resources/digital-citizenshop-resources/

This link provides information and tip sheets on how to better discuss

and monitor the use of social media. This website provides various

information including cyberbullying, digital relationships and privacy of

our digital footprint.

https://www.staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-day/parent-

resources/

This website provides various resources including sections on identity

theft of children. Many interactive tools provide for various ways to

communicate with your students regarding the issues identified

through this website.

Deans’ OfficeMonitoring Social Networking Web Sites

This school year, all Sophomore Physical Education classes and Fitness classes have been

using new heart rate monitor technology as a method of assessing their heart rates during

class. Andrew Physical Education has always used the Polar Heart Rate Monitors but upgrad-

ed to a new program called Polar GoFit.

Polar GoFit uses bluetooth smart tech-

nology allowing the teacher and student

to follow the student’s heart rate online

during a PE lesson. Using this technol-

ogy, teachers provide direct feedback to

students and students use self-assess-

ment during their workout. Data is

saved automatically online for later

analysis and evaluation. Using heart

rate monitors individualizes workouts for

students and helps students of any abil-

ity reach their potential. To learn more

about Polar Heart Rate Monitors,

please visit www.polarusa.com.

Prom Parent Meeting

If your son or daughter is planning on attending Prom, a parent

MUST attend Andrew High School’s Prom Parent Meeting on

Wednesday, March 18th. Please set aside time to join us as we

begin to discuss aspects of positive choices in connection to Prom.

Guidance GuidanceVICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

Scholarship applications continue to arrive in

the Guidance Office throughout the spring

months. Students are encouraged to stop in

and review the latest announcements.

Many of these awards have specific require-

ments. If you meet the requirements you

should consider applying. Scholarship infor-

mation is also on the VJA website under

Guidance.

Scholarship Opportunities

March is a great month to have your junior

son or daughter make an appointment with

his or her counselor to discuss college

plans. Students interested in selective col-

leges are especially encouraged to make an

appointment to begin preparing for the appli-

cation process that will begin next August.

Parents are always welcome to join students

for this appointment in order to discuss the

college selection and financial aid process.

It takes time and energy to find the right col-

lege match. Counselors recognize that this

is a family decision. However, they can be

helpful in sorting out the priorities and find-

ing colleges that are the best fit for each

child. Remember, when your child returns

from summer vacation, he or she will be

expected to have a short list of colleges

ready for application. Most applications

should be completed by the end of October

of the student’s senior year.

Prime Time for College-Bound Juniors

If you haven’t already made plans, many

families find that Spring Break provides the

perfect opportunity for juniors to visit college

campuses. Often, families who plan ahead

can visit four to five schools in the same

geographical area over two to three days. It

is important to call schools in advance. In

many cases (especially at private schools)

the college may offer free housing to stu-

dents who want to stay overnight for a sam-

ple of dorm life. Because many schools are

not on break at this time, a visit now is much

better than during the summer when cam-

puses are relatively vacant. If you need a

list of questions to ask when you visit,

please see your counselor.

Juniors and Spring Break

The simple answer to this question is YES!

Statistics show that students who take the

test more than once usually improve their

test scores. We strongly encourage juniors

to sign up for the test administered on April

18th at Andrew. Students can sign up on

line at www.act.org.

Should You Sign Up To Take The A.C.T. MoreThan Once?

Scholarships AwardedIf you have been awarded a scholarship,

please let Mrs. Driscoll know by emailing

her at ddriscoll@d230.org.

Include the following information:

1. Name of University or organiza-

tion awarding the scholarship

2. Title/name of the award or

scholarship

3. Amount of the award for

each year over 4 years

(if applicable)

The amount of the awards will

be kept confidential. The dis-

trict uses the totals for sta-

tistical data. You are not

required to share the

financial information

if you do not wish to do so.

Getting Into College–Some Helpful TipsWhether your child is trying to get into

Harvard or any other college, admissions

committees will be asking five basic ques-

tions. How difficult was the curriculum

chosen by the student? How well did he

or she do in that curriculum? How did the

student do on college entrance exams?

What activities outside the classroom did

the student join? What was the quality of

the involvement in those activities? While

the questions are simple the answers may

be complex. Helping your child stay

focused on these questions will ensure the

greatest number of options after high

school. If you have questions about col-

lege planning please contact your child’s

counselor.

Passing RequiredClassesAs Summer school approaches, parents

are reminded that students must pass

both semesters of a required class in

order to move on to the next level. For

example, students who fail either semes-

ter of Freshman English must repeat the

failed semester before moving on to

Sophomore English. Summer school is

strongly encouraged for students in this

position.

Summer School registration is currently in

progress. Registration information and

course approval may be obtained from the

Guidance Department. Whether your stu-

dent is getting ahead or catching up, it is

wise to register now in order to reserve a

spot in the class. Classes will only be

offered if there are enough students who

enroll. Summer school will be offered at

Sandburg High School this year, with the

exception of a few courses to be held at

Andrew. For more information please ask

your student to pick up a summer school

brochure from the Guidance Office.

Summer School

Parents are reminded that they are always

welcome to share their concerns regarding

the welfare of children with the Guidance

staff. Prevention is the important word on

this topic. If you have a concern, please do

not hesitate to contact your child’s coun-

selor. The Guidance staff is always willing

to contact teachers, speak to their students,

or facilitate a meeting or referral to specific

services when necessary. We work in part-

nership with parents and students to provide

the best possible learning environment for

the children and families that we serve.

Children at Risk

NHS

Andrew’s National

Honor Society

members have

been focusing their

year with the act of

service. In the fall,

NHS represented

Andrew at the

Northern Illinois

Food Drive. NHS

officers precisely

packaged potatoes

for families in dire

need of food. At

the end of the day,

over one thousand

meals were sent to

low-income households.

The weeks leading to

Christmas, NHS members

helped Santa write to chil-

dren who sent him letters.

On December 6th, nearly

160 NHS members volun-

teered at the Crestwood

Providence Nursing Home.

NHS members sang, dis-

tributed gifts, and con-

versed with elderly resi-

dents in order to spread the

holiday cheer and the beginning of the New Year. On Martin Luther

King Day, NHS volunteered in Chicago’s “Get Connected Program”.

NHS students traveled to Malcolm X College to help celebrities

including Kenny Williams, Sway Calloway, and Chance the Rapper

stress the importance of a college education to inner-city high school

students. On January 25th, NHS informed incoming freshmen on

the rigorous guidelines of acceptance in the National Honor Society.

Students must have a 3.8 GPA, participate in at least two activities,

demonstrate leadership, and complete all twenty-four hours of com-

munity service by sophomore year.

Congratulations DECA!

10 Andrew H.S. DECA students

qualified for State at the Regional

competition at Moraine Valley held

on January 22. Qualifiers include:

Connor Brogan, Adrian Duenas,

Kevin Garripoli, Stephen Harrison,

Alex Harrison, James Kut, Brittany

Lewis, Bea Mungal, Peyton O'Neill,

and Brett VonFeldt. Students were

required to take a competency

exam, an economics test, and per-

form in a role-play business/market-

ing scenario with a judge. Good

luck at State everyone!

Speech Team Gives Back with Angel Tree

Philanthropy

As part of the 2014-15 season, the Speech Team decided to support

the Angel Tree outreach program. This program benefits the chil-

dren of prison inmates and their families. The goal is to meet some

of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children. For

many children these gifts may be the only ones under their

Christmas tree. The gifts are purchased, wrapped, and given to

Angel Tree Volunteers who then deliver the gifts to churches or

organizations that sponsor the children. The gift givers are not

named; instead, the gifts the children receive are from their parents.

After team members sold World’s Finest Chocolate to raise the

money needed to purchase gifts, a highly qualified group of shop-

pers hit the stores! Is there anything more fun than buying a gift for

someone with other people’s money?

When shopping bags were filled with scarves, pajamas, board

games, basketballs, Barbie dolls, coloring books and crayons, it was

time to get the whole team together to start wrapping. We ordered

pizzas, put on Christmas music, and broke out the scissors and

scotch tape. Is there anything more enjoyable than watching a

friend try to wrap a basketball?

The Speech Team looks forward to making our support of the Angel

Tree outreach program an annual event.

Co-Curricular Updates

Connor Burns explains the criteria for accept-

ance into the National Honor Society.

NHS members explain the criteria for

NHS acceptance.

Guidance Guidance

When March arrives, the spring sports’ teams

look for places to practice and yearn for the

warmer weather that is to come later in the

spring. Sports in the spring have to fight

through the toughest conditions that we place

on our teams. They normally start when

there is snow on the ground, play in freezing

cold, dodge raindrops and gusty winds, and

then when it finally does get nice, the season

is over. This year with the later spring break

and the weather anything but predictable, it is

time to gear up for the season and get ready

for conference runs. When May arrives, our

Thunderbolts will be competing for greatness!

A few updates from the winter season. The

boys’ bowling team again qualified for the

state finals in O’Fallon and found the

competition fierce! The boys battled and they

bowled very well, but could not put the big

games together. However, we are very proud

of their efforts and how well they represented

the school and conference. We also want to

congratulate the varsity poms team for

qualifying for state as well.

Other winter teams have not completed their

season as of this writing. Boys’ basketball is

still in the IHSA state series and will look to

make it difficult for teams who want to

continue into regional play. Boys’ swimming

and diving has the depth and talent to send

some athletes into the state finals and have

high hopes of making the final day in a

couple of events. Girls’ hoops, cheer,

gymnastics, and girls’ bowling all made

Andrew Nation very proud this winter with

their style of play, dedication, and

determination. The grapplers look to

continue to improve as they head to

sectionals and hopefully state!

Just a quick reminder about the Andrew

Athletic social media options:

www.athletics2000.com/andrew is the

location for daily updates, scores, and

cancellations. Additionally, you can find

rosters, pictures and articles about all of our

varsity teams. On the front page is a link to

directions to our playing sites throughout the

year using a Google map. Simply click on a

location, type in your address, and it will find

a route for you to take. Another site to visit is

the SouthWest Suburban Conference

(SWSC) site at ww.athletics2000.com/swsc.

Here you will find the conference standings

for our varsity and sophomore teams, as well

as the rest of the conference schedules. You

can also look through our archives and find

results form the varsity conference seasons

and champions. We are on twitter as well

@vjabolts. Finally, a site that has all of the

information about all high schools in the state

is the Illinois High School Association (IHSA)

website at www.ihsa.org. Here you can

follow all high school teams through the state

series, and find information and directions for

every high school in the state in the school

directory. These sites will help you know

faster and more accurately where and when

the athletes participate. They have a lot of

information to offer.

Summer camp information will be coming

soon, so look to sharpen those skills and

prepare for greatness this summer with our

programs and coaches! A great way to keep

active and enjoy the weather that we know

will turn for the best!

Andrew Athletics Update

VICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

ATHLETIC BOOSTERSPlan to attend our monthly Athletic Booster

Club meeting. All members are invited. It is

also a great way to become involved. All

spring sports team reps are encouraged to

attend. This is how we know about your sports

team. Our meetings are the first Tuesday of

the month. Our next meeting is on Wednesday,

March 11th at 7:00 pm in the teachers’ lounge.

Our April meeting is April 15th.

Wanted: New Directors for 2015-2016

Season. We are currently looking for next

year’s Scholar Athlete Awards Director,

Team Rep Director, Concessions Director,

and Variety Show Director. Please contact

Rena Sheehan at renaespo@aol.com if you

are interested.

Please Join 8to 18: Please join our 8to 18

Cashback program. To raise money for this

season, we have partnered with 8to 18

Cashback, which is now part of the same

company which operates the school’s athletic

website. Register now for 8to 18 Cashback

that directly benefits Andrew Athletic

Boosters. We can earn Cashback every time

one of us makes an online purchase from

among thousands of merchants. Just go to

http://cashback.8to18.com and register.

Spirit-Wear: We have Lawn Signs for all

Sports. Also, we have a wide variety of

t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, lanyards,

socks, hats, mittens and scarves. For more

information, please contact Keri Malone at

kmalone0926@gmail.com or 708-334-1795

or contact Stacy Summers at

ssummers1022@gmail.com or 708-802-

3703. Winter program books will be for sale.

Market Day: INTRODUCING Fresh Produce

Assortments now available at

marketday.com. You will enjoy "farmer's

market fresh" quality produce with the

convenience of ordering and picking it up with

your regular Market Day order. There are 3

assortments to choose from; Family,

Gourmet, or Organic produce assortments.

Look online to see what each holds. Also if

you purchase $90 worth of Market Day

products in March you will receive a FREE 4

pack of chicken steaks, just put MARBONUS

in at checkout. Place your order online and

make sure you check out the clearance

items, great bargains on food, and other

items they carry. Never ordered before,

please add NEWFIVE at check out with an

order of $25 and receive $5 off your order.

Order $40 or more from February thru April

and then in May receive a free set of

collapsible storage bowls at the May sale.

Market Day pick up is Saturday, March 14th,

from 9 am-10 am. Make sure you order for

your spring holidays. Questions please call

Ruth at 708-403-0369.

Athletic Scholarship Forms: Students

whose family has joined the Athletic Boosters

by December 1st can be considered for

scholarships. Attention SENIOR ATHLETES:

pick up, fill out, and turn in your scholarship

application for the Booster Club’s scholarship

drawing. The forms are in the Guidance Office.

April 1st is the deadline for scholarship forms.

Matz Family Scholarship: Attention

SENIOR VARIETY SHOW CAST MEMBERS:

pick up, fill out, and turn in your scholarship

application for the scholarship drawing. The

forms and requirements are in the Guidance

Office. April 1st is the deadline for scholarship

forms. Two-$500 scholarships will be given,

one to a girl and one to a boy.

Special Thanks: Thank you to the directors

for their help in all our winter sports

concessions. Athletic Boosters is also grateful

to the parents and teams who helped with V-

Show, basketball, cheer and poms

concessions. We very much appreciate you

volunteering your time. We could not be a

success without parent involvement. We

hope to continue our success with your help

in the future. If you have any questions or

would like to volunteer, please contact Rena

Sheehan at renaespo@aol.com. Our website

is: www.andrewathleticboosters.org. There is

a link on VJA main website or:

http://www.athletics2000.com/andrew/.

Student Council gets ready for Just Dance "Candy Land" edition.

Student Council hosted their annual Veteran's Day Luncheon.

This year's attendance exceeded all previous years.

Guidance Guidance

Dear Andrew High School Community,

Spring is in the air and we hope March is a time where we awake from our winter slumber and

remind ourselves how wonderful it is to be outside without the risk of frostbite - especially for our

spring athletes! We are also preparing for the longest March - from a student perspective - in

years, since Spring Break has been moved to April. However, March offers a full range of activities

for our school community.

March is a great month for parent engagement. We open the month with our spring Parent-

Teacher Conferences. This event allows for our parents to get a snapshot of their son’s or

daughter's progress before the end of the semester. Also, March brings our 5th Annual Spring

Parent University. This event is well attended and provides up to 12 different sessions (parents

choose three) to provide important information for parents of all grade levels. For our Prom

attendees, our required Pre-Prom Parent Meeting is scheduled that evening. This event contains

important Prom details, but also some guidance for parents about Prom activities. For seniors,

we will also host a graduation informational meeting. Additional topics include a graduate

forum to discuss life after high school, the role of the IEP in college, dealing with teen stress,

and numerous topics that are beneficial to parents. Please look for more information about

this great event.

This March also brings us state testing changes. The Junior ACT is scheduled for March

3rd. This is a test required of all juniors, free of charge. The ACT includes all four

subject tests, plus the writing exam, which allows all of our students to use this for

post-secondary entry. On March 3rd, we will also be testing our freshman on the

PLAN, a predictive exam for the ACT (sophomores and seniors do not attend

school). New for this year, the PSAE for juniors is no longer an assessment

required by the State of Illinois. However, we will be implementing the

PARCC assessment for all freshmen instead. This is a new exam that is

aligned to the Common Core and should allow for tracking student growth

over time. The details are still forthcoming from the state - parents of freshman

should look for information coming soon.

At the time of this letter, I am proud to announce that we have crowned two

conference champions (Girls’ Bowling & Boys’ Swimming and Diving) and

two state qualifiers (Boys’ Bowling and Competitive Dance/Poms). Many

winter sports are winding down in late February and we hope more

success is to come. We also wish the best of luck to our spring sports and

know that our teams will be successful. We also look forward to the Fine Arts

events in March. Our art students begin their series of shows, beginning with

the SWSC Art Showcase at Governors State University. Andrew's Got Talent

will showcase student performances on March 4th at 7 pm. Band and Choir,

as well as our new Orchestra program, will host the Prism concert which is an

amazing combination of all music disciplines on one stage! Project Diversity

will also host their annual show on March 13th and 14th. It is truly a

magnificent month for events and we hope you consider attending these

performances..

Thank you for the continued support of VJA and its programs.

As always, please share any questions, comments or suggestions

at rnolting@d230.org

Robert Nolting

Principal

The Music Boosters Annual Spring Craft Fair was a terrific suc-

cess! Without support from the students and parents, this event

- our second largest fundraiser, would not happen. We whole-

heartedly thank each and every one of them for their time and

effort in making this event a continuous success.

The Andrew Chorale performed in two festivals in February.

The first was the SWSC Festival hosted by Lincoln-Way East.

Choirs from the Southwest Suburbs met and performed for

each other and were able to work with top clinicians from the

Midwest. Dr. Karyl Carlson from Illinois State University worked

with Andrew's Chorale and gave great insights into furthering

the pieces for our Prism Concert. The District 230 Choral

Festival took place on Tuesday, February 24th at Stagg High

School. Top choirs from Andrew, Sandburg and Stagg met to

share their talents and rise up in song for a culminating per-

formance. Dr. Richard Rossi, Choral Director from Eastern

Illinois University, was our guest clinician. Students and direc-

tors had a fun and educational afternoon.

This year's Jazz Concert, featuring the Andrew Jazz Band, VJA

Cappella, and Jazz Ensemble will be held on Thursday, March

12th at 7 pm in the Andrew High School Performing Arts Center.

Admission is free and open to the public! Come hear some

great jazz and pop tunes and support our specialty groups.

The Prism Concert technical rehearsal will be held in the

Andrew Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, March 17th from 6-

8:30 pm. All Andrew music students should be in attendance to

prepare for the concert that takes place two days later.

This year's Prism Concert, featuring all of Andrew High School

music ensembles, will be held on Thursday, March 19th at 7 pm

in the Performing Arts Center. Come witness a slice of colle-

giate-style performing with a stunning grand finale!

This year's spring musical, Beauty and the Beast, has audi-

tioned, is cast, and is now into rehearsals! The performances

will be on April 30th at 7 pm, May 1st at 7 pm, and May 2nd at

3 pm. Come out and see this Disney classic brought to life

before your very eyes!

Thanks to everyone who came out for the first Andrew Winter

Percussion and Guard Community Show of the season. As a

fundraiser we collected donations of clothing, shoes, linens and

many other items that were delivered to Savers in Orland Park.

We raised over $500 for the general music fund. The next

Music Boosters fundraiser is our Pancake Breakfast on Sunday,

March 15th. Come join us for pancakes and entertainment by

our very own band and choir. You may even get a chance to

take your picture with the Easter bunny!

Andrew winter percussion (Jacob Badagliacco, Antonio Balestri,

Kaitlyn Bauman, Todd Bentson, Nick Buckner, Claire

Cavarretta, Pauline Fittanto, Jane Folliard, Mia Folliard, Mason

Garcia, John Hahn, Rebecca Keate, Megan Kinnerk, Elizabeth

Kochniarczyk, Elisabeth Lang, Jaclyn Nicasio, Alex Pedersen,

Martin Polkowski, Justin Rauman, Vivian Reyes, Julia Ricker,

Mike Rickey, Joe Siano, Karl Suarez, Tyler Tebo, Vince Upreti,

Luke VanKleek, and Liam Yore) had much success at the WGI

(Winter Guard International) Regional in Indianapolis on

Valentine’s Day. They head to an IPA competition in Warsaw,

Indiana on Saturday, March 7th and a WGI Mid-South Regional

in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the weekend of March 20-22nd.

Mark your calendar to come out and see this World Champion

group perform their show “When Forever Ends” on Saturday,

March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Main Gym at Andrew High School.

Winter percussion will finish off their season in Dayton, Ohio

April 9-11th at the WGI World Championships. They hope to

bring home another gold medal!

Andrew winter guard members (Jeanine Akai, Angel Chan, Desi

Contreras, Natalie Dizon, Stephanie Dreher, Jessica Escalante,

Kyle Gonzales, Sarah Karrson Fitzpatrick, Reilly Marino, Sol

Morales, Katie Packer, and Martina Razo) are going strong.

The team had such an outstanding season last year winning

first place in the Midwest Regional that the group has grown in

size and has moved up into a higher level of competition.

Winter guard performed their show “Words Won’t Bring Us

Down” at the regional competition in Indianapolis on February

21st & 22nd. They are headed to LaPorte, Indiana, for the

Midwest Circuit Competition on March 28th & 29th and will fin-

ish up their season at the WGI Color Guard World

Championships the weekend of April 16-18th in Dayton, Ohio.

Come out and watch the guard perform at the community show

on Saturday, March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Main Gym at Andrew

High School.

Between newsletters you can keep up with the VJA Music

Parents by visiting our website at www.vjamusic.com. Don’t

forget our next Parent Meeting is scheduled for March 10th at

7:30 pm in the Choir Room.

VICTOR J. ANDREW HIGH SCHOOL (708) 342-5800 | andrew.d230.org

2014-2015School Calendar

Dates to Remember

March

5 Parent/Teacher Conferences

12 - 8 pm

No Student Attendance

6 School Holiday - No School

April

2 Early Dismissal 1 pm

3 School Holiday

6-10 Spring Break

13 Classes Reconvene

24 Institute Day - All Staff

School Prom

No Student Attendance

May

25 Memorial Day - No School

27, 28, 29 Final Exams*

29 Last Day of School*

*Changed due to inclement weather days used.

Subject to change if additional inclement

weather days are needed.

Printed on Recycled Paper 30% Total Recycled Fiber

CONSOLIDATEDHIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 230Rick Nogal, President

Patrick O'Sullivan, Vice President

Kathy Quilty, Secretary

Susan Dalton

Melissa Gracias

Kate Murphy-Peterson

Tony Serratore

Dr. James M. Gay, Superintendent

Robert Nolting, Principal

Andrew Pride is published by the Consolidated

High School District 230 School Board.

"An equal opportunity employer"

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPALMUSIC BOOSTERS

CONSOLIDATED HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 230 THOUGHT MEANING ACTION

V I C T O R J . A N D R E W H I G H S C H O O L N E W S L E T T E R • M A R C H 2 0 1 5

V I C T O R J . A N D R E W H I G H S C H O O L9001 West 171st Street Tinley Park, IL 60487 Phone:708-342-5800http://andrew.d230.org

Cadaver Camp, January 7-10, 2015

Students of Mrs. Julie Johnson's Honors Anatomy & Physiology Course spent 3 days (2 of which were while everyone else was home for school

closings) applying their first semester knowledge and skills dissecting the extremities (arms & legs) of two human cadavers at Northern Illinois

University's Cadaver Lab.

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 11ORLAND PARK

Connor Burns, Chicago White Sox’s

Kenny Williams, Dan Sivak, and Joe

Scott volunteer with emphasizing the

benefits of college to inner-city high

school students.

Dan Sivak, Joe Scott, MTV’s Sway

Calloway, and Connor Burns volunteer

with emphasizing the benefits of college

to inner-city high school students.