York High School News

November 23 - 25 No School - Thanksgiving Break
November 29 - World Language Departmental Seminar 7:00pm
November 30 - Student Late Arrival Day 9:25am
December 1 - Holiday Orchestra Concert 7:30pm
December 7 - Student Late Arrival Day 9:25am
December 8 - Holiday Band Concert 7:30pm
December 14 - Student Late Arrival Day 9:25am
December 15 -  Holiday Choral Concert 7:30pm
     Winter Art Show 6:30pm
December 20 - Relearning & Development (periods 4, 3, 2 and 1)
December 21 - Relearning & Development (periods 5, 7 ,8 and 6)
December 22 - January 4 -  No School, Winter Break
January 5 - Classes Resume - 2nd Semester Begins

November 18, 2022

On Thursday, December 1, at 7:30 PM, the York Community High School Orchestras will present a Holiday Concert, including performances by the York Cadet, Concert and Symphony Orchestras conducted by Ray Ostwald. The orchestras will offer a mixture of classical and seasonal favorites. Featured works include the Thunder and Lightning Polka of Johann Strauss II, the Overture to G. F. Handel’s Messiah, Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival and more. Student Concerto Competition winner Lauren Capuno will perform the first movement of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto. York Assistant Director of Bands Will Ernst will be featured on Alan Hovhaness’ Prayer of St. Gregory for trumpet and string orchestra.

Students are also collecting non-perishable food and donations for the Yorkfield Food Pantry in the lobby at the concert. Donations can also be made through this link: Food Pantry Donations 

The concert will be in York’s Merle E. Baker Auditorium. Admission is free.

This is your final reminder to order Your Official Graduation Announcements and Senior Products! The deadline to order is December 1, 2022. You must ORDER NOW to ensure timely delivery in the Spring. Orders received after December 1st will incur late fees.

Order Now at www.HerffJonesIL.com or call Herff Jones at 815-756-4743

We are excited to announce that we adopted a new form of school-to-home communication called ParentSquare. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection and replaces our School Messenger platform. So what does this mean for you?  If you would like to continue receiving messages from us in your email, as you always have, you do not need to do anything at all. Messages from your school and the District will continue to be sent to you via your email. If you would like to dive further into the communications tool, you can do so by downloading the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices) and customizing your communications to best meet your needs.   You will be receiving an email from ParentSquare* that will request you to register your account. If you choose to download the app, once you have registered your account, you can modify and customize features such as how and when you receive messages, what language you would like to receive messages and much more!  You can download the apps by visiting: iOS App - Apple Store or Android App - Google Play Store

Have questions?  Once you have logged into the app, click the question mark in the top right corner of the desktop version or the Help tab on the app (tap the triple bar icon at the top left) to find answers to most of your questions. You will receive more information in August from your child’s school that will specify further how each of them will be using the new platform.   We look forward to launching this new platform and are excited about the new features and increased communications with our families. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@elmhurst205.org   Sincerely, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205

In accordance with Illinois statute, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 will destroy temporary records for students who left or graduated from the District before 2016.  Additionally, the District plans to destroy permanent records for students who left the District prior to 1962. This destruction of records will occur on July 1, 2022.

Parents/guardians or adult students who have graduated, transferred or withdrawn from the schools and would like to take possession of their temporary records (Class of 2012) or permanent records (1962) may do so by contacting 630-834-4530 and asking for Micki Dobrowski prior to July 1, 2022.

The talent in the York High School Drama Department has been recognized as some of the best in Illinois. 

Senior Owen Espinosa and junior Regan Wright are among the nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress in the 2022 Broadway in Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards (IHSMTA), which celebrates excellence in high school theatre throughout Illinois. IHSMTA is the regional program that feeds into the National High School Musical Theater Awards, also known as The Jimmy Awards. 

"We are so proud of Owen and Regan for these extraordinary nominations, it's truly an honor for them and for the program,” said Rebecca Marianetti, Performing Arts Instructor at York High School. “York Drama's motto is "be the good", and Regan and Owen certainly exemplify this belief on stage and off, as their stunning talent and hearts shine bright.”

Owen and Regan will travel to Chicago with the other 22 nominees later this month to participate in a Broadway workshop hosted by the cast of “WICKED”. They will also participate in an awards program held at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

York’s spring musical “Godspell” concludes the 2021-22 season, which also included productions of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” and “Ace”. 

“York Drama has had quite a beautiful year, and we celebrate all of the students who have contributed to the heart and soul of our season,” Marianetti said. “We are truly grateful for the love and support shown by our administration and community as we continue to embrace and celebrate the arts in new and vibrant ways.” 

For more information on the Illinois High School Musical Theater Awards, visit http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/about/ihsmta/

For more information on The Jimmy Awards, visit www.jimmyawards.com.

Earth Day is extra special this year for the York High School Eco Club, a 15-member student organization. Since October, this group has worked tirelessly to promote the importance of recycling to their peers and the community. The group was recognized today as a Trex Film Recycling Challenge Champion and awarded $2,500 and a Trex bench by the organization. Notified by an email that stated, “Your hard work and dedication throughout the Plastic Film Recycling Challenge has paid off. From extreme plastic collection to explosive content creation, to incredible community outreach...there was never a dull moment,” the group was recognized today in a virtual ceremony.

The student organization, led by York teacher Robert Blaus, began their project after Mr. Blaus discovered the challenge and knew it would be perfect for the Eco Club. Blaus, who is retiring at the end of this year after 23 years in District 205, said he was inspired to do this with the students because, “I wanted to share with my students and show them that if people do just a little bit, mountains can be moved.”

“We had lots of help from our parents, too,” said Erin Pahl, York student and member of the Eco Club, whose father helped by reaching out to Target and picking up plastic from the retailer. “One day, there was 70 pounds and the loads just kept getting bigger and bigger.” In total, the Eco Club collected 4,442 pounds of plastic.

“I wanted to teach people proper recycling techniques and what you can and can’t recycle - like plastic bags,” shared Madison Brown, York student and president of the Eco Club. “It was really nice to see lots of people dropping things off.” 

The group will be utilizing the award money to install two more water bottle fillers in York High School… continuing their efforts to reduce plastic.

Recently, 11 York Community High School student-athletes signed Letters of Intent or made a commitment to participate in athletics at the collegiate level next year. 

Congratulations to Ethan Cancel (baseball at McKendree University), Emily Fujiwara (softball at University of Toronto), Jack Gazdacka (baseball at Ottawa University, AZ), Nick Hesch (basketball at Lawrence University, WI), Nolan Korzeniowski (football at Drake University), Anna Mapes (lacrosse at Wooster College), Aidan Nawrocki (football at North Central College), Eric Rutherford (cross country/track at Loras College), Jack Schroeder (water polo at Occindental College, CA), Rock Smith (baseball at Elmhurst University), and Katelyn Winton (cross country at University of Indiana). 

Go Dukes!