It's Prisms of Winter Concert Time!

Open Letter to OPRF School Community re: UIC Incident

Dear OPRF High School Community,

We have reason to be and often are very proud of our students and how they behave when attending public events in large groups. This year, for instance, we’ve been pleased to see 800-900 students attend our home football games to cheer on their classmates enthusiastically and without incident.

This week, however, we have been working internally to address an unusual and unfortunate incident that took place last Friday evening at UIC Pavilion, where the OPRF boys basketball team played against Fenwick High School. We want to provide you with accurate information about what happened.

This was OPRF’s second year to participate in the annual Chicago Elite Classic high school basketball tournament, which is sponsored by Whitney Young High School and held at the pavilion. Last year several hundred of our students as well as several staff members attended without incident. For this year’s event more than 600 students pre-purchased tickets. We decided to increase the number of our administrators and security staff members in attendance, with the knowledge that in addition, the pavilion would be fully staffed by UIC.

During almost the entire game, our students were, as expected, well behaved and responsive to any requests by our staff or UIC staff. The rivalry between our students and Fenwick was friendly and appropriate. However, during the final minutes of the game, which OPRF lost, some of our students—by no means all—became extremely inappropriate with their chants. OPRF administrators and security worked to curb this behavior. This was difficult, however, as spectators for the next game already were streaming into the pavilion while OPRF-Fenwick spectators and others were trying to leave, and the inappropriate chanting spread.

UIC security asked that OPRF students leave and ushered them out. Fenwick officials were extremely helpful and kept all of their students in the stands until OPRF students had exited the pavilion. Once outside, our students ran to the doors where Fenwick students would most likely come out and continued to create a disturbance. UIC campus police and Chicago police were on site working to move our fans out of the area. Our fans then crowded into a CTA train station. From what we understand, the CTA had to cordon off areas because they were concerned that the volume of fans rushing the station caused a safety issue.

In addition, we believe that some of our students may have been engaged in underage drinking. We will continue to work with our students and our families about how to make better choices.

As of now, we are fortunate that neither UIC nor Whitney Young has barred OPRF from participation in future events. Building administrators and I have been meeting with students since Monday to express our disappointment while using this as a teachable moment for our students. Here are some of the things that both the administration and students have come up with collaboratively: 

·        Meeting between OPRF and Fenwick administration

·        Letter of apology from Spirit Council to Fenwick and UIC

·        Student service hours at UIC

·        Student assembly in early January

·        Follow up discussions in Leadership classes as well as clubs and teams regarding this incident, with brainstorming about how students can spearhead changing the culture/behavior and peer-to-peer leadership

·        Positive events prior to and at the OPRF vs. Fenwick Girls Basketball game on Tues., January 26, at OPRF

·        Additional administrative support at events

In closing, let me state unequivocally that the type of behavior at the UIC event was absolutely unacceptable. We, like our students, do not want this to happen again. As our school motto says, OPRF High School strives to represent “those things that are best.” We are working hard to ensure that this is indeed the case at future events.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel Rouse
Principal

Vote for Natalie!

Hey OPRF....Our Freshman Super Swimmer, NATALIE UNGARETTI, has been nominated for Chicago Tribune's Athlete of the Month! 

This is settled through ONLINE VOTING!  You are allowed to vote once every 12 hours until noon on DEC 10! 

To vote, please click  HERE ! 

 

VOTE FOLLOWING THESE STEPS:

 

1.       Go tohttp://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/athletes/

2.       Click on Athlete of the Month December challenge

3.       Click on Near West December challenge

4.       Click on Natalie and VOTE

Please get your vote on!  

 

All Faculty Meeting

Greetings Huskies!  After school today we had our second Faculty meeting of the year.  Today featured presentations from Mr. Cain and a few of our robotics students who introduced us to Execu-bot!  Robotics is definitely on the rise at OPRF!

This is our town!

Fenwick vs OPRF

In line at the game...

OPRF Hockey Club

Shout out to our Hockey Club for their participation in the assembly today!  Good Luck Sunday vs York!

Here we go....

Who wants some?

While the students are away...

 IT'S SHARE THE WEALTH DAY!

Today is an awesome opportunity for faculty and staff members to learn from each other.  I'm participating in a few chemistry experiments with my lab partner Mr Condne.  Our first experiment was confirming the presence of Hydrgen Gas.  The second was Calcium Carbide with Water....we are blowing things up in Room 129!  Thanks to Mr. Bernthal & Mr McKittrick for keeping us safe!!!

It's College Sweatshirt Day!!!

And Happy Birthday Mr. Herbst!!!

 Just in case you were wondering why I have on a red and white huskies sweatshirt.....well it's because I went to Northern Illinois University!  I was born to be a Huskie! 

Coaches Strategizing

Big Rings OPRF Style

We have a really fast team, and they  need some really big rings, they need some really nice things..that better come with no strings...I know you know the rest OPRF!  ARE WE TALKING STATE?  

LET'S GO LADY HUSKIES!  See you at New Trier!  #OUR SWIMMERS ARE FASTER THAN YOURS!!!!

200 Medley Relay (new school record): Hanna Blankemeier, Genna Curry, Samm Neilson, Natalie Ungaretti 
50 free: Natalie Ungaretti 
100 fly: Samm Neilson
100 free: Hanna Blankemeier (new school record)
200 Free Relay (new school record): Hanna Blankemeier, Genna Curry, Samm Neilson, Natalie Ungaretti 
100 breast: Alex Gill (new school record) and Genna Curry
400 Free Relay: Natalie Ungaretti, Genna Curry, Samm Neilson, Hanna Blankemeier 

Hanging out in Hornetville

Good Morning OPRF!  I started my day at Hinsdale South for our monthly West Surburban Conference Principal's meeting.  Our meeting today focused on final exams schedules in the conference.  Currently, over half of our conference has already moved to a schedule similar to ours, and the last few schools are trending to finals before break as well- pending renovations that include air conditioning in their schools!

 

Nous Sommes Tous Francais (we are one with France)

OPRF Students showing their support for France

I had the privilege of attending our exchange trip last spring with French teachers Ms Howell and Ms Mazumdar along with 27 OPRF students.  For those of you who may not be aware, we have a sister school relationship with Lycee Rabelais High School which is located in Paris south of the Stade de France - just north of the cafes and Bataclan concert hall.  Fortunately none of our colleagues were injured during the attacks last Friday but they are obviously very shaken up.  Here are a few pics from the trip last spring.

Vive la France!

PSS Team 2 Hard at work

Our Pupil Support Services Teams meet on a weekly basis to discuss ways to better support our students.  Not pictured is our Reading Intervention/All things to support our students specialist Ms Kristen McKee.  The 5 PSS teams have a social worker, school psychologist (if needed), counselors, and student intervention directors that are broken down by student case loads.  At the helm of these teams is Assistant Principal Ms. Jennifer Hoffmann who doesn't like to be in pictures so I had to snap this one quickly.  If you see her in the halls, stop her and say hello!  She works really hard behind the scenes to make sure that our student services department supports students in every way possible.  Assistant Principal Mr. Dennis was in the mix today as well, along with counselors Ms Ojikutu, Mr. Radziszewski and our new student intervention director Mr. Weintraub

BFF Love @ OPRF

Are You Registered OPRF?

Good Luck @ State!

OPRF Google App 2.0

Last week I blogged about a meeting I held with Emma Thompson and Erin McGuire on a Google app that they are attempting to design for OPRF.  This week I was invited to a meeting where Erin and Emma met with our Ed Tech staff to further develop their project.  

Be on the lookout for a survey from me regarding the different items that we might place on the OPRF Google app!  

Flip Flops...and not the ones you wear:)

Mr. Michalek and students Jared and Julian Miranda working on basic electronic memory circuits.  Do you know what those are?  If not- how about taking the Digital Electronics course offered in our Science and Technology Dept.????

Bike Racks are in!

Thanks to our friends in the Buildings and Grounds Dept., new orange and blue bike racks are being placed around campus for you to use.  Thanks Elvin!  Now can you PLEASE stop locking your bikes to the trees, signs, bleachers, and whatever other objects you've found to lock them to around the school?

We are on to Week 2

Last Friday night our Huskies beat Fremd HS to move on to week 2 in the IHSA State Playoffs.  Remember- it's win or the season is over so why not come and be a part of the best high school football atmosphere around!  A huge shout out to the students and staff that showed up Friday Night to support Coach Hoerster and our team.  Next game is Saturday afternoon at 1pm.