District 128 notes

District 128 includes Vernon Hills High School, 145 N. Lakeview Parkway, Vernon Hills, (847) 932-2000; and Libertyville High School, 708 W. Park Ave., Libertyville, (847) 327-7000. For more information, visit the Web site, www.district128.org

Seniors dinner and show: Senior citizen residents of Community High School District 128 are invited to attend the annual senior citizen dinner and show event at Vernon Hills High School, 145 N. Lakeview Parkway, Vernon Hills. This year's event will take place Feb. 20. Dinner will be served at 4 p.m. in the VHHS foyer, followed by a 4:45 p.m. performance of the school's musical production, "The Wiz," in the auditorium. Seating is limited and tickets are free. Tickets may be picked up at the senior centers in both Libertyville and Vernon Hills. Tickets are also available on a limited basis at the District 128 Administration Center, 50 N. Lakeview Parkway Suite 101, Vernon Hills. For details, call the District 128 Administration Center at (847) 247-4500.

WYSE team takes first: The Vernon Hills High School Cougar Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Team competed in Regional testing Feb. 2 at the College of Lake County. The team captured first place, with a score of 491/500 overall. In addition to the team score, there were many individual medal winners: Allen Ni and Michael Wagner tied for first in biology; Sean Hogan took second in biology; Mansi Kathuria and Claire Snyder tied for third in biology; Evan Kozil took first in chemistry and in physics; Colleen Rhoades took second in chemistry and in math; Jingyu Lee took first in math; Zach Wheeler took third in math; and Kazuma Gunning took third in physics.

The team will advance to the sectional competition on March 14, which it is also hosting at VHHS. The team is coached by VHHS science teacher Joshua Ravenscraft.

Summer school: Community High School District 128 will hold its 2008 summer school at Vernon Hills High School. Students from Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools interested in taking classes in summer school should see their counselor. Students planning on taking driver education must sign up with their counselor by March 14. Those who live in District 128 but do not attend LHS or VHHS who would like to take driver education in summer school must register by March 14. Registration forms are available in the student center at LHS. Openings in the driver education summer school session will be filled by a priority system based on birth dates, the oldest being accepted first. Fees will be paid and the selection of class time and road time will be done from 8 to 11 a.m. April 26 in Room 151 of LHS. Driver education will run from June 16 to July 25, with no school on July 3 and 4.

The following courses will be offered if a sufficient number enroll: consumer management, keyboarding/typing, English, film studies, introduction to high school English, Algebra 1, geometry, trigonometry, computer science honors-Visual Basic, astronomy, environmental science, government, United States history, research and writing skills for social studies, and Spanish Bridge Program. Class enrollment will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis. Classes will run June 12 to July 31. There will be no school on July 3 and 4.

Summer school brochures are available in the main offices of Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School. Information is also available online at www.d128.org. Students from outside of District 128 should check with their own schools prior to enrolling.

For information, call Trudy Kulefsky at (847) 327-7006.

Awards and accolades: The Daughters of the American Revolution has named Libertyville High School senior Lisa Branding and Vernon Hills High School senior Irene Ginakakis recipients of the Good Citizenship Award. The faculty of each high school selected a winner who demonstrates the qualities of a good citizen in their homes, schools and communities with the emphasis on dependability, service, leadership and patriotism.

• Libertyville High School Band Director Don Shupe has been chosen Bandmaster of the Year by the music fraternity Phi Beta Mu. He will receive this honor at the organization's annual meeting which coincides with the All-State Convention in three weeks.

• Vernon Hills High School senior Heather Gray has been named to the Daily Herald 2007-08 Student Leadership Team. Honorable mentions were also given to Libertyville High School seniors Pat Fischl and Margaret McCall, and VHHS senior Sylvia Kim.

• Libertyville High School 2007 graduate Siena Baldi was one of 142 finalists in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts' youngArts competition in Miami, Fla. She is a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis.

• Vernon Hills High School English Department Supervisor Paul Kemp recently received an Outstanding Teacher Award from the University of Chicago. He was nominated for this honor by one of his former VHHS students.

• The Zebras of Northern Illinois athletic officials organization has given the Libertyville High School Girls' Varsity Volleyball Team its Outstanding Sportsmanship Award for the 2007 season. The teams selected each season best exemplify the ZONI criteria for good sportsmanship. District 128 is pleased to have had both the LHS and the Vernon Hills High School girls' varsity volleyball teams recognized this year.