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D155 Summer Construction Projects Underway
Shannon Podzimek

With the unexpected transition to remote learning, District 155 summer construction kicked off early this school year. The accelerated schedule will allow for projects to be completed sooner, with time to “deep-clean” to ensure buildings will be ready prior to fall semester. The D155 Board of Education approved approximately 17 major projects across the district to maintain basic upkeep of facilities and improve the learning environment for students. The total approved budget for summer construction projects is $10,872,364. Renovations include cafeteria and auditorium remodels, air conditioning, stadium improvements, safety upgrades, and parking lot replacements. 

“The summer projects were approved in January by the Board of Education as part of the district’s long-term capital improvement projects, and align with our strategic plan to improve safety and enhance learning environments for all students and staff,” said Steve Olson, D155 Superintendent. 

District 155 will publish summer construction videos on its website, www.d155.org, as well as its social media platforms, to keep the taxpayers and community members updated on the progress of the projects.

 

Cary-Grove High School

  • Asbestos Abatement- Floor Mastic

  • Raise Fire Hydrant per Cary Fire Protection

  • Facilities Condition Assessment Work

Crystal Lake South High School

  • Asbestos Abatement- Floor Mastic

  • Facilities Condition Assessment Work

  • Auditorium Remodel 

 

Crystal Lake Central High School

  • Asbestos Abatement- Floor Mastic and Pipe Insulation

  • Facilities Condition Assessment Work

  • Cafeteria Remodel

  • Air Conditioning- Science Wing

  • Collaborative Learning Space

  • Parking Lot Replacements

Prairie Ridge High School

  • Facilities Condition Assessment Work

  • Fire Alarm 

  • Stadium Site Improvements 

 

District Office

  • Parking Lot Replacement

  • Facilities Condition Assessment Work


 

2020-21 Registration Open
Shannon Podzimek

Registration for the 2020-2021 school year is now open. It’s important to follow the three-step process to complete registration to ensure a faster process. Please note, student information can be completed without payment.

If you are new to the district, please contact the Student Services office of the school your child should attend. 

For further registration information, please visit the Registration webpage.

Graduation Updates for the Class of 2020
Alex LeMoine

Dear Class of 2020,

Congratulations seniors! We are so proud of you as you reach the end of your high school career, but we also share your disappointment that you didn’t have the same opportunities as every class before you to participate in end of the year activities, sports, and celebrations. In many ways, the school year feels as if it ended abruptly, and we owe it to you to recognize your accomplishments here at Cary-Grove High School.

Since I can’t see you in person, I wanted to share a video message with you all: https://safeYouTube.net/w/fDs8

Friday Night Lights Parade - Seniors & Their Families

We were overwhelmed with our Friday Night Lights turnout, and we enjoyed seeing so many of you driving by in your vehicles with your families. We plan to host another Friday Night Lights parade for seniors and their families to honor the Class of 2020 on Friday, May 15 at 6 p.m. We are asking participating seniors and their families to enter the parking lot at the First Street and Three Oaks intersection, drive along the stadium fence, and exit back onto Three Oaks at Elden Street. 

Graduation

Our district administration team and Board of Education are committed to honoring your achievements over the last four years. We will reschedule our graduation ceremony for Saturday, July 25, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at Cary-Grove High School. Please understand this ceremony will depend on guidelines from the Governor, CDC, and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Details about the graduation ceremony including arrival times and tickets will be shared by Monday, July 20. In the event that we cannot host a traditional graduation, we have also planned out an alternative option on this date that will allow for a formal reading of each graduate's name, the distribution of diplomas in person, and photograph opportunities with a photographer in each student’s cap and gown.

Cap & Gown Pick Up

For everyone’s health and safety, and to avoid interpersonal contact, we have developed the following schedule for seniors to pick up their graduation items on Monday May 11, 2020.

10 am - 11 am Last name A - F

11 am - 12 pm Last name G - K

12 pm - 1 pm Last name L - P

1 pm - 2 pm Last name R - Z

All cars will drive up to door 2 and display a piece of paper in the front passenger window with your first and last name on it.  You will roll down your back passenger window so that your items can be placed in your car.  

You will receive:

Cap and Gown 

Yellow tassel if you have a GPA of 4.0 or higher

Cords for NHS students

Medal if you qualified for Cum Laude (information on this will be sent out soon)
 

Signing Day/Decision Day

Singing Day/Decision Day is always an exciting time to celebrate your next chapter. For any senior wishing to be featured in a Signing Day video, please complete the form that was emailed to you by May 1st. When the video is complete, it will be posted to our webpage and emailed to all seniors. 

Honors Night

In lieu of an Honors Night ceremony, we will be creating an Honors Night video to recognize seniors that have earned various scholarships from school and community organizations. The video is planned to be released on our website on May 13. 

Locker Clean-Out and Pick-Up of Belongings

Information regarding how seniors will be able to obtain the remainder of their belongings from the school will be communicated in the near future. 

Senior Last Day of Attendance

The last day of senior attendance for remote learning is May 13, 2020. The deadline submitting assignments and projects is Monday, May 18, 2020. 

We look forward to saying goodbye to the Class of 2020, honoring your accomplishments, and coming together to celebrate you. Remember that wherever life takes you, you will always be able to call Cary-Grove High School home. 

 

Sincerely,

Neil Lesinski

Principal

Cary-Grove High School

 

This Week on #WorkforceWednesday: Meet the Co-Founder of Project Front Line
Alex LeMoine

Watch Devon's #WorkforceWednesday video here!

Devon Hubbard Tessmer, a 2001 Crystal Lake Central graduate, has co-founded Project Front Line McHenry County, a grassroots coronavirus relief effort with a mission to aid local restaurants and give back to workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response. Tessmer and a committee of four other community members have raised nearly $45,000 towards the cause. 

After recognizing this area of need in the community, the Project Front Line team began collecting donations that have been put towards meals for healthcare workers all across the county. 

“The idea was to raise money from the community and deploy that money at local restaurants to bring a little bit of happiness, joy, a smile to the front line workers,” said Tessmer.

To date, the team has supported 35 to 40 local restaurants and delivered food to approximately 4,000 front line workers. Tessmer and her team aim to raise $50,000 by the end of the Illinois stay-at-home order. 

The project also collaborated with Crystal Lake Central art teacher, Kerry Parrish, who enlisted her art students to create thank you messages that appeared on hundreds of donations, and the deliveries aren’t done yet. 

“We’re hoping to do one last final push, where we deliver to all of the hospitals in the county and all of the employees,” she said. 

Aside from her career in business development at Exemplar, her family’s wealth management firm, Tessmer has always had a passion for philanthropy and giving back. 

“I grew up with the ethos that you give back to your community more than you take, so I was lucky to be raised in Crystal Lake,” she said.

D155 Students Partner with Project Front Line: McHenry County COVID-19 Support
Alex LeMoine

Art students across district 155 have partnered with Project Front Line, a grassroots coronavirus relief effort, to design thank you notes for front line workers across McHenry County during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Kerry Parrish, an Art teacher at Crystal Lake Central High School, has collected 200 designs from students at all four high schools. These designs and messages of thanks have accompanied deliveries of food from local restaurants to frontline workers in a variety of fields.

“I feel like it’s been a great way for kids to feel like even though there’s a lot of negativity out there, that this is something they can do to give back,” said Parrish.

In addition to all four district Art departments, Parrish reached out to other organizations at Crystal Lake Central. Students from Kim Scherrer’s choir classes, the National Honor Society, and Interact Club have been asked to make designs, as well. 

Project Front Line has made over 40 food deliveries using nearly 30 local restaurants. Those deliveries have gone to over 3,000 frontline workers, and the need for thank you messages is still high.  

Initially, Parrish offered her students the opportunity to create thank you cards for extra credit points, but said that making the designs has helped many of her students focus and become more motivated while continuing remote learning.

“We’re trying to connect to bigger, global projects so that kids feel connected,” said Parrish.