News

Thank you to everyone who participated in our PTO meeting on January 15!

We were treated to a fantastic video presented by Principal Walsh discussing issues like phones in school and absenteeism. Mr. Walsh was joined by a team of Central Administrators: Ryan Maita (Assistant Principal of Operations), Chris Cirrincione (Assistant Principal of Instruction), Mike Jezioro (Athletic Director), Andrea Ellexon (Director of Special Ed), Jen Regnier (Director of Counseling and Social Work), Sally Philip (Activities Director), and Kimm Dever (Director of Deans).  They each discussed how concerns with phone usage and absenteeism affect students in different aspects of life at Central. Thank you to all of them for the time and wisdom shared with us. 

Mr. Walsh also asked us all to fill out a response form asking for input on the D86 Parent Teacher Conferences. 

Committee Spotlights focused on the College Planning Committee and the Post Prom Committee.

If you missed it, here is a video of the meeting.

Please save the date us for our next PTO meeting which will be on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 7pm on Zoom. “Finishing the Year Strong & Summer Opportunities”.

Help support the PTO!! “Bring Your Fire!” is Hinsdale Central’s call to action. Support the wave of enthusiasm and excellence with pride wherever you drive with your new license plate frame. Available in durable plastic for $15 or shiny chrome for $30. All funds raised from this sale will be used to support PTO-funded initiatives. Go Red Devils!

Purchase your license plate frames HERE.

Registration is now open for the next event of the Community Speaker Series season! We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Michele Borba to share her parenting expertise with our community. Her dynamic approach and deep understanding of empathy will be of interest to parents of all ages of children.

There will be an evening presentation and a morning presentation to accommodate our audience. Both events will be held in person at The Community House. The events are free and open to all. 

This year, local businesses are being invited to support the CSS as community partners by providing hospitality at the CSS events. Come out to connect, learn and enjoy!

Wednesday, February 5th, Evening  Session sign up HERE.

Thursday, February 6th, Morning Session sign up HERE.

Culled from 30 years of research and experience, Dr. Borba shares why empathy is a skill that’s vital for children’s mental health, resilience, leadership skills, and job success and provides useful tools that parents can use to help our children become more empathetic.

Join us for the first PTO meeting of 2025, Wednesday, January 15th at 7pm Zoom only. The meeting will focus on a presentation, “Partnership for an Ideal Learning Environment: Setting Your Student Up for Success”.  The topic of the meeting stems from staff/teacher feedback, as well as overall trends that other high schools are experiencing.  Stay tuned for the meeting link to be sent prior to the meeting.

Spend one Saturday afternoon each month this winter at Hinsdale Public Library to learn about all things money from budgeting to investing. Financial advisors Nora Hernandez and Clare Nawrocki will cover a new topic each month to create money-smart students! A pizza lunch will be served.

This class is open to all high school students and will equip you with the essential life skills to make well-informed financial decisions and effectively manage your money throughout your life.

Topics will include:

January 11: Budgeting and More–We’ll cover savings and checking accounts, vital financial terms and budgeting.

February 11: The Timeline Approach to Investing–We’ll cover short- and long-term investing, tax implications and the benefits of compounding interest.

March 8: Basics of Credit and Debt–We’ll cover credit cards, student loans, loan terms, and credit scores.

This class is intended for high school students to prepare them for financial independence. Parent interested in attending are welcome. We ask that anyone who attends please register.

Nora Hernandez and Clare Nawrocki are financial advisors with Equitable Advisors in Oakbrook.

Finals can be a stressful time for everyone- both students and families. The HC Staff and PTO are committed to supporting you and your students to help prepare them for finals Wednesday, 11/18-Friday, 11/20.  Much of this information is applicable year-round for tests, assessments, and finals and can be found at https://hcpto.org/academic-resources/

First, watch this video with tips on how students can be supported at home. Ms. Kim, Ms. Galich, Mr. Kostro & Ms. Ketterhagen will present on the core areas of English, Math, Science, and World Languages.

Other Academic Resources:

Your student’s teacher! Find out when their free periods are or reach out via email to set-up time before or after school. Our teachers want every student to be successful and will usually go above and beyond to be accessible when a student asks for assistance

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) – The ARC is available for all students.  Students can get help from student tutors in every subject and from HCHS math teachers.  Students can stop in for homework help, review for an assessment, make corrections, brainstorm outlines for essays, proofread papers, and more.   During lunch, no appointment is necessary, just stop in.  Comprehensive information on other school resources can be found HERE

Free Community Study Events & Tutoring:

• Hinsdale Public Library has everything you need to prepare for first semester finals in December! Make sure to stop by starting on December 14th for snacks, stress busters and study spaces. NEW this year–Kick start your finals prep with free help from P.A.S.S. Peer Tutors. The Hinsdale Public Library has partnered with Hinsdale Central’s P.A.S.S. peer tutoring group to offer study sessions during finals week from December 14th through 18th. Tutors will offer help in all levels of Calculus, Trigonometry, PreCalculus, Integrated Math, Algebra, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Spanish, and World History. Visit the HPL website for more details, or sign up for a time slot HERE.

• Clarendon Hills Library provides CHPL cardholders access to free online tutors! The expert tutors at Tutor.com can help your children work through a tough homework problem, improve their writing skills, study for a test, review a difficult concept, and more! For more information, visit HERE. 

Peer Tutoring

• PASS – Peer Athlete Student Scholars (P.A.S.S.) offers free study groups or one-on-one tutoring with a wide variety of student-athlete tutors that can help you manage your schoolwork and sports stress-free! We also offer a variety of times and days that work around the busy schedules of student-athletes.  To sign up, fill out this form.
• Tutor Connect – Started and operated by an HCHS tutor.  Find a private tutor for less than $20 an hour. All tutors are current/former Central students. Visit Tutor Connect HERE.

This information can be found at https://hcpto.org/academic-resources/ Please bookmark the page!

Wishing you all a successful finals week and a safe, restorative, and enjoyable Winter Break!!

Thank you all so much for donating pumpkin pies and volunteering during our 2024 Staff Appreciation Pumpkin Pie Day!! We distributed 376 pumpkin pies to all staff members last Tuesday, November 26^th. The staff was so appreciative! The younger teachers were so excited to be able to contribute to their family’s Thanksgiving dinner. The mom teachers were so grateful, I heard them say many times, “one less thing for me to do!” And the funniest of all…the male teachers who were instructed by their wives to, “not leave that building without that pie!” Without the help from parents and our amazing volunteers, there is no way we could have done all of this. Truly an awesome group effort!!

Thank you so much, and I wish you a wonderful holiday season!!

Kathy Schilder, [email protected]