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Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
New Trier seniors graduate in traditional black and white attire
In keeping with tradition, New Trier High School seniors eschewed graduation gowns and mortarboards in favor of white dresses for the girls and white jackets and black trousers for the boys at their June 1, 2025 graduation at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. There were 869 Trevians launching into the world beyond high school at the 125th annual commencement. Handheld long-stemmed red roses stood out against the girls' white dresses, on a mild, sunny spring day. 'They've done an amazing job, an incredibly resilient class and they've accomplished so much over their four years and it's been great to see,' Paul Sally, superintendent of New Trier Township High School District 203, said to Pioneer Press. Graduating senior Olivia Kim of Wilmette said, 'The pandemic was mostly in middle school for us but freshman year, we were still wearing masks and second semester is when we got rid of the masks. 'And that was weird at first, but then I got used to it. 'It was like the new normal, I guess,' said Kim, who added that the pandemic taught, 'definitely flexibility, learning to adapt and change, going with the flow.' The program included the presentation of diploma cases after speeches, including by alumni speaker Cody Fry, raised in Northfield and of the New Trier Class of 2008. Fry is a singer-songwriter and received global attention by being on the hit show, 'American Idol.' 'Be yourself,' Fry told the graduating students. The student speaker was Neil Sanderson from Winnetka. 'As the Class of 2025, collectively, we accomplished a lot,' Sanderson said. 'I can confidently say, we made the most of it.'
Chicago Tribune
22-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
District U-46 construction may push back start of 2026-27 school year
District U-46 could be starting the 2026-27 school year more than two weeks later than normal due to the school construction being planned for that summer. The district school board was briefed this week on the proposed schedule change, which would have classes beginning closer to the start of September than they have for the last decade or more. 'That is because of the planned construction district-wide,' Mark Moore, assistant superintendent of human resources Mark Moore, told the board Monday night. 'Our informal thinking is we would get back to our typical calendar over two or three years.' However, with construction and other variables to consider, it is impossible to say for certain what the calendar would look like beyond 2026-27, Moore said. The district has undertaken an ambitious building project schedule over the next few years in which new schools will be built, some schools will be expanded and others will undergo renovations and improvements. Plans call for work to be done at Kimball and Kenyon Woods middle schools and Century Oaks and Glenbrook elementary schools as the district moves sixth-grade classes into middle schools and adds early learning centers at elementary schools, among other changes. If the proposed calendar outlined by Moore is adopted, the 2026-27 school year would start Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, and end Friday, June 4, 2027, if no snow days are used. By contrast, the current school year began on Aug. 11, 2024, and will end May 20. Moore said high school graduation will likely remain on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, which is how it is currently scheduled for this year and next. 'We will be negotiating a new contract with NOW Arena for graduation dates,' Superintendent Suzanne Johnson told the board. 'So, as an aside, that's something the Board of Education can expect to see come forward (in the future).' U-46 has been holding its high school graduation ceremonies at the Hoffman Estates venue for about 20 years. As for the shift in the calendars, Johnson said, 'When we take a deep breath, everyone realizes that the calendar is being readjusted to be responsive to the construction that is occurring across the system to update learning spaces for our students. ' While appreciating the 'why' behind the proposed change, board member Dawn Martin said she was concerned about its impact, particularly on how high school schedules for testing and advanced placement courses align with other districts. 'If my kids were little, I would have no issue. Having bigger kids, it scares the heck of me,' Martin said. The school board is tentatively expected to vote on the 2026-27 calendar at its June 2 meeting.
