Vernon Hills High School

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Vernon Hills High School

Motto	Excellence is our Standard.
Established	1999 (freshmen only) 2000 (all grades)
Type	Public secondary
Principal	Dr. Ellen Cwick
Faculty	108
Students	1,208
Grades	9–12
Location	145 Lakeview Parkway Vernon Hills, Illinois, USA
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Royal blue and silver
Mascot	Cougars
Yearbook	'Continuum'
Newspaper	'The Scratching Post'
Website	www.vhhscougars.org

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.

Contents 1 History 2 Academics 3 Athletics 4 Activities 4.1 Math Team 4.2 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and DECA, An Association of Marketing Students 4.3 Music 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.^[1]

The staff is comprised of 108 teachers, of whom 84% hold an advanced degree.^[2]

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.^[3] In 2006, Newsweek ranked Vernon Hills High School 571^st nation-wide and 12^th state-wide.^[4]

[edit] 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 unfortunately 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

[edit] Activities

Vernon Hills High School offers more than thirty student organizations, including^[5]:

• 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)

[edit] Math Team

VHHS Math Team placed third in the 2007 ICTM State Math Competition.^{[citation needed]} Its freshmen team and junior team took home 2^nd place for each of their written competitions.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and DECA, An Association of Marketing Students

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^[6]. Also, one of DECA's written events by senior Cody Meltzer placed 8th at the competition ^[6].

[edit] 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 follows^[7]:

• 2001: 4th
• 2002: 4th
• 2003: 2nd
• 2004: 3rd
• 2005: 3rd
• 2006: 2nd
• 2007: 1st
• 2008: 1st

In 2006, the VHHS Wind Ensemble placed 1st in their class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-sponsored SuperState band competition, effectively making the VHHS Wind Ensemble one of the best bands in Illinois^[8].

[edit] 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/

[edit] External links

• Official Website

v • d • e North Suburban Conference Lake Division: Lake Forest • Lake Zurich • Libertyville • Mundelein • Stevenson • Warren • Zion-Benton Prairie Division: Antioch • Grant • Lakes • North Chicago • Round Lake • Vernon Hills • Wauconda

Community High School District 128