Sycamore High School
Summer Office Hours
8am – 4pm
Monday thru Thursday
(beginning Monday, June 3rd)

Click here to watch a video on Sycamore Athletics and Academics. This video was shown at the last Board of Education meeting.

Sycamore Community Unit School District #427 is one of 539 school districts across 44 of the 50 states in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 3rd Annual AP® District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement® course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP course work. Since 2010, Sycamore Community Unit School District #427 has increased the number of students participating in AP by 43% while improving the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher by 25 students. More than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S. offer college credit, advanced placement or both for a score of 3 or above on an AP Exam — which can potentially save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition. “I am extremely proud of the students and staff at Sycamore High School for this award” said Tim Carlson, Principal of Sycamore High School. “The students have taken on a more rigorous curriculum to improve their opportunity to attend college and at the same time the staff has been willing to open their doors to a wider range of students which offers more challenges to both teachers and students. We are extremely proud to be one of only 22 schools in the state of Illinois to receive this award!” Our data show that among African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students are participating, often because their school does not yet offer the AP course. We call for continued commitment to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds. We must be vigilant about fostering greater readiness for AP, and then must care for students within AP courses by providing support, mentorship and encouragement.

The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org. Media Contact: Deborah Davis The College Board 212-713-8052 communications@collegeboard.org

Click here to see a list of Principal Carlson's Recommended Readings.

Sycamore High School aspires to “Empower all Students to Succeed in their World”. Sycamore High School offers a wide variety of challenging, enjoyable and successful curricular opportunities, athletic programs, performing arts & musical programs with various clubs and activities. Click here to read more.

Congratulations to the WSYE team for advancing to the state competition in their division at the University of Illinois.  This has been an exceptional year for WYSE, they finished first at the regional, first at the sectional and thirteenth at the state competitions.  This is the thirteenth consecutive year the WYSE has made it down to State. At the state competition, Casey Bunge placed 5th in Mathematics and 6th in Physics. The team’s success was due to the hard work and dedication of all the varsity members.

Summer School 2013 Information:

Driver's Education
Course Offering Brochure
Credit Recovery

NI Big 12 Art Contest
The Sycamore High School Art Department participates in The Northern Illinois Big 12 Art Contest.  The schools in our conference all bring 10 pieces of artwork that represent a variety of categories.  Each category is awarded a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon.  Points from the ribbons are added up and the school with the most points places first in the conference.  Sycamore placed in nine out of 10 categories (a new record for us!).  The last time we placed first overall was 2004-2005.

Sycamore-First Place Overall-2013 Conference Champs!!!
Congratulations to these outstanding artists

Twelve Sycamore High School students were selected to participate in the 2013 Illinois Music Education Conferencerecently held at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois.This is the fourth time Sycamore High School has been represented at the prestigious All-State Conference!  Students were selected via a rigorous audition process from the district IMEA festival held earlier this year. Illinois has 9 districts throughout the state, and each district was able to send their top students to be represented at this All-State Conference.  Students, staff, and families spent a long weekend in Peoria in various rehearsals and master classesuntil their performance on Saturday. 

Sycamore Music Department Chair, Scott Mertens, explains, “This conference offers impressive performances and experience for these accomplished musicians in Honors Band, Honors Orchestra, and Honors Choir,the highest level of performance; as well as the All-State Ensembles.”Students from Sycamore High School who have the prestigious honor of being selected for All-State include:

Honors Orchestra:  Sarah Grant, double bass; Lydia Moore, double bass; and Rebecca Vidales, viola.
Honors Choir:  Emily Flowers, Soprano II
All-State Ensemble: Taylor Brady, alto saxophone; Alyssa Gregorec, viola; Seth Kates, bass;Baylie Petit, cello; Paige Phelps, cello; Danielle Pivonka, violin; Alex Riley, Tenor I; and Miranda Van Wienen, viola.

Ken Tonaki, High School Orchestra Director, comments, “It is amazing to see these students develop maturity as musicians and as people at this conference and I enjoy sharing this experience with them.”

Congratulations to the Sycamore High School Pom team for qualifying for the IHSA State Competition.  They will perform on Friday at 3:00 pm in Bloomington.  Good Luck ladies.

Congratulations to Kyle Bonnell on qualifying for the IHSA State Bowling Tournament in O’Fallon.  Good Luck Kyle.

Tomorrow (1/24) Sycamore High School will be hosting a send off at 7:30 in the morning for the SHS Pom team and Kyle Bonnell to wish them well on their trips to State.  Please come join us in the cafeteria to honor these great athletes.

The Castle Challenge is this Friday at the NIU Convocation Center.  The SHS girls will play at 6:00 pm and the SHS boys will play at 8:00 pm.  There will be lots of activities for students of all ages.  Tickets are $6.00 and can be purchased at Sycamore High School and Sycamore Middle School from 1 pm to 4 pm daily, at the YMCA and all Castle Bank locations.

Kishwaukee College

Office of Marketing Services                                               Contact: Laura Chiavini
21193 Malta Road                                                     laura.chiavini@kishwaukeecollege.edu
Malta, IL  60150-9699                                                           815-825-2086, ext. 3100
www.kishwaukeecollege.edu                                                Date: January 29, 2013

For Immediate Release:
KC Engineering Academy student places second in Ford design competition

Dylan Schmidt, a senior at Sycamore High School enrolled in the Kishwaukee College Engineering-Math-Science Academy (EMSA), placed second in the "Designing for the Future" competition sponsored by Ford Motor Company and Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. The international competition drew 250 entries from 26 countries. Dylan, the son of John Schmidt and Karen Stuedemann, received his award at the Main Event held at Orchestra Hall Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit on January 13.

Dylan, who will be pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Transportation Design from Lawrence Technological University (LTU) in the Fall 2013, received a $24,000 scholarship from Ford Motor Co. for his second place finish.  Because of the strength of his design portfolio application, he also received a four-year scholarship of $6,000 annually from LTU and an additional $10,000 scholarship annually for his academic excellence. Dylan said, “I'm grateful for all the people excited for me. I had a great time designing the car and being at the ceremony.”

The "Designing for the Future" competition focused on defining “American luxury.”  Entrants were asked to define luxury for the demographic of 20 – 30 year old affluent car buyers in the year 2025 and then design a car that fit that definition.  Included in the submission were the design of the car itself and images that illustrated the entrant’s ideation process and definition of the target demographic customer.

Dylan designed a 2-door luxury coupe that he named the 2025 Lincoln Obsidian. “I wanted something that was sporty and spacious, but definitely not a family car.  A design that was jaw-dropping, yet functional,” he explained.  “I designed it to appeal to affluent young adults who project their success through their possessions.” 

He explained the inspiration for his design, “I began with the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II – I think that is the coolest car Lincoln ever made. I decided to call it Obsidian because it was what the Native Americans used to create their arrowheads and spear blades. It is one of the strongest materials and lasts a long time. I drew my designs in that color.”

Unlike many of the entrants, Dylan hand-drafted his portfolio submission.  “The other finalists used CAD (Computer Aided Drafting), but I used rulers and Prismacolor markers.  I wanted it to be artistic.” Dylan’s father, John, recalled, “Dylan has always been artistic.  He has probably drawn tens of thousands of cars.”

Dylan was accompanied to the awards ceremony by his parents and brother.  “I thought the competition might be a few students who had applied to LTU and then we found out he had been selected as a finalist,” said Dylan’s father, John. “When they started to explain the competition, they mentioned over 200 entries from 26 countries.  I realized this is a much bigger deal then we thought. And then when Dylan was announced as second…we just thought: wow!” 

Alan Edgecombe, Dylan’s EMSA instructor at Kishwaukee College, was also impressed with Dylan’s accomplishments.  He noted that Dylan had been accepted at LTU in October and found out about the contest through the university.  He said, “He is a great student, but he learned about this competition about a month before the deadline date and that was at the same time as our final exams. When he told me that he won second place, I was so impressed. But not that surprised. He’s a great kid.”

Dylan is preparing to go to LTU, one of the premier institutions for automobile design and engineering in the world, with confidence.  He credits enrollment in EMSA at Kishwaukee for teaching him the skills he needs to handle a college-level workload and better his work ethic. “I enjoy EMSA,” he said.  “It taught me to be a better thinker and problem solver. Plus, the level of coursework is challenging. Some of my classes at EMSA are sophomore level at LTU.”

In looking back over a rapid and exciting month or so, Dylan enjoyed designing the car; going to Detroit; meeting such auto industry luminaries as Lon Zaback, veteran Ford designer, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and Space X; winning second place; and being awarded scholarships. Overall, he summed it up simply: “I had a really good time!”

The Sycamore Music Boosters is hosting a night of jazz and classical music entitled “A Note to Remember” on Saturday, February 9 from 7:00pm – 11:00pm at Blumen Gardens in Sycamore. Musical entertainment includes the Chris Johnson Quartet, our own High School Jazz Ensemble, other school ensembles and Diana Carls.

A limited number of tickets are available for this adult-only event and are on sale now via the High School main office, by calling 815.757.5688, by E-mail: Note2Remember@gmail.com, or at any upcoming school concerts.  Tickets are $20.00 per person which includes musical entertainment, hors d’oeuvres and dessert, coffee bar, raffle and silent auction.  Please visit our web site at:  www.sycamoremusicboosters.com<http://www.sycamoremusicboosters.com and follow us on Facebook for additional information.

This Year in 427 (PDF)