Vernon Hills High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Vernon Hills High School

motto =
principal = Dr. Ellen Cwick
established = 1999 (freshmen only)
2000 (all grades)
motto = "Excellence is our Standard."
type = Public secondary
grades = 9–12
city = 145 Lakeview Parkway
Vernon Hills
state = Illinois
country = USA
enrollment = 1,208
faculty = 108
campus = Suburban
mascot = Cougars
colors = Royal blue and silver
newspaper = "The Scratching Post"
yearbook = "Continuum"
website = [http://www.vhhscougars.org/ www.vhhscougars.org]
picture =

Vernon Hills High School, or VHHS, is a public four-year high school located in Vernon Hills, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Community High School District 128, which also includes Libertyville High School.

History

Following the successful passage of a $48.5 million bond referendum in 1997, construction on the school began. The doors opened on September 7, 1999 for all freshmen in District 128. Construction continued for the next year, upon which the school opened for all grades in August 2000. The school was formally dedicated on April 9, 2000. The first graduating class was that of 2002. The Cougar mascot was chosen following a poll of the freshmen and sophomore students attending the new school in August 2000.

Academics

In 2005, Vernon Hills had an average composite ACT score of 23.5, and graduated 94.4% of its senior class. The average class size is 30. Vernon Hills has made Adequate Yearly Progress on the Prairie State Achievements Examination, a state test part of the No Child Left Behind Act. [ [http://www.d128.org/files/documents/2005_VHHS_Report_Card.pdf Illinois School Report Card] ]

The staff consists of 108 teachers, of whom 84% hold an advanced degree. [ [http://www.district128.org/files/documents/VHHS_2005_profile.pdf School Profile] ]

In 2005, Newsweek released a list of the best high schools in America. Vernon Hills High School was ranked 696^th nation-wide and 18^th state-wide. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/?sort=Rank&count=1236&start=0&limit=100&year=2005&Search=undefined The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools] ] In 2006, Newsweek ranked Vernon Hills High School 571^st nation-wide and 12^th state-wide. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678?s=400&np=13&sort=sta The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools] ]

Athletics

Vernon Hills competes in the North Suburban Conference. Its mascot is the Cougar.

Vernon Hills placed 3rd in state in boy's bowling in the 2005-2006 season and 14th in state in the 2006-2007 season.

Vernon Hills placed 5th in North Suburban Conference in boy's tennis 2006-2007 season, their best finish yet.

In the 2007 season the Vernon Hills varsity baseball team won in the Sectional Semifinals but lost in the Sectional Finals in a heated battle against the Lake Forest High School Scouts.

The 07-08 Cougar pon-pomers placed first in state in IHSA competition

The 07-08 Vernon Hills cheerleaders placed 9th in the state

The 07-08 Vernon Hills varsity volleyball team won the North Suburban Conference

The 07-08 Vernon Hills boys bowling won Sectionals and placed 12th in state [ [http://www.ihsa.org] ]

Note: By navigating the IHSA.org records, you can find a history of all athletics VHHS has placed in.

Activities

Vernon Hills High School offers more than thirty student organizations, includingcite web|url=http://vhhscougars.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=6&MMN_position=6:6|title=Student Organizations - Vernon Hills High School|accessdate=July 13|accessyear=2006] :

*A.C.E. (Athletes Committed to Excellence)
*Academic Bowl
*Anime Club
*Art Club
*Backlight Theatre
*Best Buddies
*Cougar Lifeguard
*Cougar-T.V.
*DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America)
*F.B.L.A. (Future Business Leaders of America)
*F.C.A. (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
*First Class
*G.S.A. (Gay–straight alliance)
*Interact
*International Club
*Junior States of America
*Jr. National Association Of The Deaf
*Knitting Club
*Literary Magazine (Whispers of Immortality)
*Math Team
*Model United Nations
*National Honor Society
*Orchesis
*Outdoor Adventure Club
*Robotics
*Skills USA- VICA
*S.P.A.R.K. (Supporting Peers and Reaching Kids)
*Special Olympics
*Speech Team
*Spotlight
*Strategy Club
*VH₂0 (A school environmental club)
*V.I.P. (Voices in Prevention)
*W.Y.S.E. (Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering)

Math Team

VHHS Math Team placed third in the 2007 ICTM State Math Competition.fact|date=June 2008 Its freshmen team and junior team took home 2^nd place for each of their written competitions. fact|date=June 2008

VHHS Math Team won the division 3AA 2008 ICTM State Math Competition. All 13 VHHS teams placed somewhere in the top six in state giving a 70 point lead over the second place team. Moya Chen placed first in the state on the Algebra I test. VHHS had the first place Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II teams led by high scorers Moya Chen, Brynan Qiu, Paul Juhn, Max Candocia, and Daniel Fong. The Frosh/Soph 8-Person Team of Sean Hogan, Paul Juhn, Angela Cao, Bryan Maldonado, KennyShaevel, Moya Chen, David Kim and Brynan Qiu took first place honors. Also taking first place was the Relay team of David Kim, Brynan Qiu, Parin Kadakia and Paul Juhn. The Junior/Senior 8-Person and Relay teams both took second in state.cite web|url=http://www.viebach.net/ictm/HS/STATE/results/DIV3AA08.pdf] .

FBLA and DECA

VHHS also sponsors two award-winning business clubs. FBLA this year sent five state-winners to compete in the National Competition in Chicago in the summer of 2007. DECA sent 13 state-winners to the International Competition in Orlando. VHHS's DECA Financial analysis team, which consisted of two freshmen, Sean Hogan and Jake Dinkel, placed 7th at the International Competition out of the over 150 teams competing in 2007cite web|url=http://www.deca.org/pdf/FMDM2007.pdf] . Also, one of DECA's written events by senior Cody Meltzer placed 8th at the competition in 2007cite web|url=http://www.deca.org/pdf/ENPI2007.pdf] .

Music

VHHS has always had a strong music program, placing 4th in the state in its first year of existence. The complete record of music department state finishes, according to IHSA, is as followscite web|url=http://www.ihsa.org/activity/mu/records/index.htm|title=IHSA Music Records Menu|accessdate=July 13|accessyear=2006] :
*2001: 4th
*2002: 4th
*2003: 2nd
*2004: 3rd
*2005: 3rd
*2006: 2nd
*2007: 1st
*2008: 1st

In 2006, the VHHS Wind Ensemble was selected as the Honor Band of their class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-sponsored SuperState band competition, effectively recognizing the VHHS Wind Ensemble as one of the best high school concert bands in Illinoiscite web|url=http://vhhscougars.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=330&MMN_position=209:209|title=Music Department - Band - Vernon Hills High School|accessdate=July 13|accessyear=2006] .

=WYSE= The Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering club at VHHS continues to be successful in their 1500 division. They have placed in many years past, but usually taking 2nd to Richmond-Burton. VHHS does not have classes to teach students and give the knowledge to compete in Graphic Engineering and Computer Science events, so a team of 14 students compete in the events of Math, Biology, Chemistry, English, and Physics, with each student taking two tests, and at least two students per each subject. The competition takes place at a regional, sectional, and state level. Regional and sectional levels are usually successful, with wins in 1st place. State rankings are as follow.

2002: 3rd

2003: Did not place

2004: 2nd

2005: 2nd

2006: 3rd

2007: 2nd

2008: 2nd

[ [http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/wyse/AC/results/index.html] ] .

References

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380

http://www.ictm.org/links/contest.html

http://www.deca.org/hswinners_index.html

http://www.ihsa.org/activity/mu/x2006-07.htm

http://vhhs.district128.org/

External links

* [http://www.vhhscougars.org/ Official Website]

Community High School District 128