Key Upcoming Dates

What a week! Window painting, Mamma Mia on the field, bonfire, Powder Puff, Assembly, Parade, and Dance oh my! Thank you to student council for creating an amazing experience for our students and community!

To look at more pictures from Total Image click on this link

Hispanic Heritage Month goes through October 15th. Sociedad de Latinos teamed up with Mixtape Club to select the music in the halls as well as with Academic Team who ran trivia in the cafeteria! We love celebrating each other!

October is also Global Diversity Month and every Rams Block will visit our world map and push a pin to represent where they were born, their background, or where they would like to travel some day.

November Food Drive Important Dates

Nov 9 - Bag drop off within the community
Nov 16 - Pick up day
Nov 23 - Delivery through our community and Avon

Fall Blood Drive is October 29th! Students who are 16 or older can sign up with this link.

Lake County STEM for Girls sponsors a conference for middle school girls each fall. This year, Grayslake Central is excited to host the conference on November 2, 2024, from 8am-12pm.

Female GCHS students interested in volunteering at this event can notify us of their interest by completing this form. Families are also encouraged to share information about this conference with middle school girls in the area. More information and middle school student registration can be found on the Lake County STEM for Girls webpage.

Join the Excitement at the 2nd Annual Multicultural Fair!

We want YOU to be part of our vibrant celebration on April 17th, 2025! Students, staff, and community members are invited to participate in this unforgettable event coming this spring. Share your culture through food, art, dance, music, education, and more! It’s the perfect opportunity to showcase your heritage and connect with others. Don’t miss out on this incredible experience—contact drepp@d127.org with any questions or sign up today!

Click here for detailed instructions on how to sign-up for appointments.

PTC Signup: Opens October 8

We cordially invite you to attend our Parent Teacher Conferences. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to become acquainted with your child’s teachers and to discuss their achievements throughout the semester. To accommodate your schedule, teachers will be available for appointments both virtually (via Zoom) or in-person at Grayslake Central for 10-minute conferences on two different dates.

Thursday, October 17, 2024 (4:00 pm – 8:00 pm)
Friday, October 18, 2024 (8:00 am – 12:00 pm)

The event signup opens Tuesday, October 8 at 6:00pm and closes at 11:59 pm on Tuesday, October 15th.

Seal of Biliteracy Testing at Grayslake Central

The Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy is awarded to graduating students that demonstrate fluency in English and another language. A seal is placed on the student's transcripts and diploma, and students can receive college credit from Illinois state universities.

To qualify for the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy, students need qualifying scores in both English and the second language. Scores include an English ACT composite score of 21 (or ELA score of 20 if the written portion of the ACT was completed), or SAT score of 480 or higher for the English component. For the second language, a score of Intermediate High or higher is required on the second language exam.

Students that earn Intermediate Low on all portions of the second language test qualify for the State Commendation in Biliteracy. The Commendation award in a second language can be shared with employers and universities to show a student's skill, but does not normally result in college credit.

Exams take approximately 4 hours to complete, and test second language skills in writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Juniors & Seniors with second language experience are invited to register and test.

Registration must be completed by October 11, 2024.

Seal of Biliteracy and registration information can be found here.

Class of 2025 Cum Laude Information

In the pursuit of our mission, and following our important departure from sorting students using class rank, we are excited to announce a new system of recognition that honors all students who meet high expectations. Honored students excel in the areas of dedication, character, volunteerism, responsibility, pride, and excellence while earning a high G.P.A. Students recognized for this achievement at Senior Honors and Awards Night will receive a special demarcation to wear on graduation day. Students can also add their Cum Laude status to college or employment applications.

Seniors, please visit the Cum Laude page for further information.

Use this link to create your portfolio.

Rams Passes: Grades 10-12

The second cycle of Rams Passes have been distributed! To leave a Rams Block after Advisory, students must be wearing their lanyard with both their student ID and orange Rams Pass Students in Rams Block periods 1 and 5 with a Rams Pass do not need to report until Advisory time, 9:25am (M/T/Th/F) or 10:10am on Wednesdays.

Cycle #3 Important Dates

Data collected & reviewed between September 26 and October 30
Monday, October 28: Rams Pass Student Application opens
Wednesday, October 30
- Rams Pass Grade Review, Grades 10-12pm, 6:00pm
- Rams Pass Student Application Due, 6:00pm
Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1: Mandatory Rams Block (full 90 minutes)
Monday, November 4: new Rams Passes handed out

The important dates for the next cycle can always be found on our Rams Block + Advisory webpage.

Transition News for Families

Families of students with IEPs and 504s, please be aware of the following upcoming postsecondary planning events.

Students with learning differences who are college bound may be interested to attend this year's Choices fair. Choices 2024 will be hosted in person at Niles North High School on October 8th. Choices is a postsecondary planning night that allows students to explore different college disability/accessibility services and college experience programs. For further information, please checkout their website.

This year's Options Fair will be splitting up into multiple in-person panels. The first one takes place on October 16th at Glenbard North High School from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. The Options Fair offers students with an IEP or 504 plan and their families to meet with college degree programs, college experience programs, trade/certificate programs, and adult agencies/services that can provide help after high school. The second one will take place on October 21st at the Lake County Center for Independent Living, 377 N Seymour Ave, Mundelein, IL 60060 from 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm. This will be a Post-Secondary Educational Options Panel and will explore programs such as Lancer Explorer Institute and Judson Rise. Registration is required for this Post-Secondary Educational Options Panel, and can be done here. For further details, please see their website.

For further questions about resources for individuals with disabilities, please reach out to Grayslake Central's Transition Specialist, Beth O'Hara, at eohara@d127.org.

Entrepreneurship skills are essential in all career pathways. Several Grayslake High School classes apply their skills learned in classes through small business ideas.

The spring Engineering a Sustainable Future class planted pumpkins that are now available for picking! The fall Engineering A Sustainable Future class will offer additional farm treats for sale. The Entrepreneurship class is building on their successful microgreens sale earlier this fall. Agriculture interns welcome you to visit the "Animal Educators" they help to care for.

Students from classes will be present at pick-up and then take their experiences back to the classroom. Thank you for helping make learning REAL for our District 127 students!

Geometry in Construction is a new class at GCHS this year. In this class, students take the geometry they are learning and apply it to a variety of projects. Our first project was building crates for Liberty Farms’ farm stand. In this project, students applied geometry concepts such as measurement, similarity, and scale factor. They are currently getting ready to apply their knowledge of surface area to plan for and paint the new student life space.

Check out PSP's Ram Jam on October 18th @ 8pm

Don’t miss Public Service Practicum's (PSP) upcoming "Ram Jam" Lip Sync Battle on October 18th at 8 PM in the GCHS Fieldhouse! Held right after parent-teacher conferences, it’s the perfect chance to unwind and enjoy some fun performances. Proceeds from the event will benefit pediatric cancer research, so join us for a great cause and an unforgettable night!

PSP Backpack Drive

Thank you to our incredible community for your generous support of the PSP Backpack Drive! With your help, PSP students were able to donate over 150 backpacks filled with essential school supplies to local families in need. Your kindness has made a real difference, ensuring that students are ready and equipped for a successful school year. We truly appreciate your continued support!

Last week, School Counselors guided freshman students through their first experience with Schoolinks, an essential platform for career exploration and academic planning. Meanwhile, Mrs. Oddo, our Internship Coordinator, worked closely with sophomores, juniors, and seniors on resume building and exploring post-secondary opportunities.

Schoolinks offers a wealth of resources for GCHS students, from career exploration and job boards to college searches. Seniors, in particular, will benefit from the College Application Manager, which helps streamline the application process by managing transcripts, recommendation requests, and more. We’re excited to see our students take full advantage of these tools as they plan their futures!

Guardians are able to create their own accounts and access certain functions of the Schoolinks platform. The capability to research career pathways and college admissions data is especially helpful in supporting families to make informed decisions alongside their students. Schoolinks guardian login information is at the bottom of this newsletter.

Click here for the Zoom hyperlink from above. Questions about Parent University: Schoolinks Overview? Please reach out to Gina Schuyler at gschuyler@d127.org.

Manufacturing Month Apprenticeship Awareness

The College of Lake County has invited our students and parents to attend one of our Manufacturing Month Apprenticeship Awareness programs. The programs will be held Oct. 14, 16 or 17th, 4:30 -5:30 pm on the College of Lake County Grayslake Campus or the CLC Advanced Technology Campus (ATC) in Gurnee. Students may choose ONE of the five sessions to learn more about that program and have some hands-on experience during the session.

The college encourages parents/guardians to attend the session with their students. The number of students in each session will be limited. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to apply is October 7th.

Register using one of these links:

English - https://forms.office.com/r/njwyWVXgvd
Spanish - https://forms.office.com/r/CSwLE5s1mR

Caregiver and Student Resources

PowerSchool Parent Portal Account Instructions: Access current course grades and attendance

Schoology Parent Portal Instructions: View course materials and agendas

Schoolinks Parent Accounts: Access to the bigger picture of your student's future

Directions to Access to Guardian Dashboard: Since accounts have already been built for Parents/Guardians using the emails you have on file with the district, choose either 1. “log in through Google” or 2. select “Forgot Password” and log in using the email you have on file with the district.
If you don’t know what email you have on file with the district, you can email helpdesk@d127.org to ask what parent email you have on file with the school.
Video on how to use the tool

Varsity Tutors: free 24/7 chat tutoring

The Ram Roundup: October 2024 Edition