Polo Community Unit School District

Centennial's Veterans Day Program begins at 12:45 today. The doors will open at 12:15 Students will be released at 2:00

Our October student of the month has been selected! Gage Zeigler was voted on by school faculty because he displays exemplary citizenship, leadership, and academic achievement! Gage has earned a $100 scholarship that is provided by the Polo Community School Foundation and is picture here receiving that scholarship from Foundation member, Alissa Zeigler. Gage has answered a few questions about himself here: Name: Gage James Zeigler Age: 17 Parents: Mark and Alissa Siblings: Bekah and Coley Favorite class: AP Chem Favorite teacher: Toss up between Mr. Bargar and Mr. Alston School activities in which you participate: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Spanish Club, FCCLA, FFA, Student Council, National Honor Society, B.L.I.N.D. What will you do after high school? Go to a 4 year college, haven’t decided major What is something you learned in high school that you think you’ll never use? Calculus If you could create any new class at your school, what would it be? Basic Life Skills 101 What does it take to be a successful high school student? Do your homework, pay attention in class, and be nice to your classmates Do you have a job? Yes, I operate Triple G Lawn Care and work as a lifeguard during the summers How would you describe your group of friends? Fun, funny, chill What do you do in your free time? Mow lawns, hangout with friends, and get food What kind of music are you listening to? Rock and rap If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would it be? Hawaii What is your favorite childhood memory? Winning 3rd Grade Class President Do you have any pets? Yes. 2 cats, Peppermint and Midnight and 1 dog Remy. What is the best way to cheer you up? Ice cream or Remy What is your life’s philosophy? When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. What would you do if you received $1 billion all of a sudden? Buy a nice lakehouse and start a foundation that build recreation centers in rural areas Is there anything else you want people to know about you? I don’t like Calculus. Your favorite: Number: 34 Movie: Bruce Almighty TV Show: Office Color: Blue Food: Sushi Song: Country Roads Longer Newspaper Questions: ● What class do you find really engaging and why? Please add details, including but not limited to teachers (using full name), classmates, material or interesting projects. I find AP Chemistry really engaging and interesting because it’s going in more depth into the same concepts we learned in Chemistry 1. Mrs. Cole keeps the class at a steady pace, but slows down if we need more explanation or get confused which helps a lot. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Chemistry 1. ● What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned? After high school, I plan on attending a 4 year college, most likely at the University of Alabama, but that could change. During the summers, I plan on maintaining Triple G Lawn Care. ● What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in? Explain why for each and what you’ve learned or gained from being involved. Besides sports, the two extracurricular activities I’m involved in the most are Boy Scouts and B.L.I.N.D. In Boy Scouts, I’ve learned all sorts of things such as knots, fire building, winter camping, and scuba diving. B.L.I.N.D. has really helped me get out of my comfort zone and talk to other people from different schools and backgrounds. ● Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable. I really enjoyed field day last year. I was a leader and it was fun meeting all the kids and playing games with them. ● What is your hope for the future? After college, I hope to find a solid job and settle down somewhere in the Midwest. I hope to get married at some point and have a few kids.

This week's playoff game will be against West Carrol @ Polo starting at 1:00 PM The game can be watched on youtube https://youtube.com/live/RUORJq-S81Q?feature=share and also NFHS. Good luck to boys

The first round of playoff's will be Friday, November 1st at 7:00PM. Please remember you can NOT use season passes for playoff games. The cost is $5.00 per person

Volleyball Regionals will played this week at Indian Creek. Polo plays Tuesday, October 29th at 7:00 against Amboy. Here is the link to purchase tickets online GoFan Link - https://gofan.co/app/school/IL15530. Good luck girls!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Polo Marching Band will not be participating in the Galena Parade on Saturday, Oct. 26th.

Whiteside Area Career Center in Sterling will be hosting an Open House on November 7th from 5:30 pm -7:30 pm. If you want to see the options at Whiteside Area Career Center, please attend.

Save the date for our Veterans Day Program: Veterans Day Program November 11, 2024 12:45-1:45pm (doors open at 12:15pm) Centennial Elementary School Gymnasium Guest Speaker: Becky (Grobe) Davis

In recognition of School Bus Safety Week, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our dedicated bus drivers, van drivers, and mechanic. Your unwavering commitment to ensuring the safe transportation of our students to and from school, sporting events, and other activities is invaluable. Thank you for your exceptional service.

The JV Football game scheduled on Monday, October 28th has been cancelled. It has not been rescheduled at this time.

Thanks to the Illinois Retired Teachers Foundation, Sarah Schlegel received grant money for the purpose of purchasing literature that would help diversify her 8th grade classroom collection. The books selected include representation from historically oppressed or marginalized communities. Some books will be used with literature circle groups and some will be available as free-reading selections. Mrs. Schlegel and her students are grateful for the addition of new literature to the classroom bookshelves.

Abram Garcia is the 2024 IESA 1A Boys Cross Country State Champion!! Congrats to our boys for finishing 14th as a team!

Our Aplington students and faculty are wishing the best of luck to the JH Cross Country Boys as they head down to State!!

Mr. Gorzny generously rewarded the students who volunteered to help clean up after football games with delicious pizza. Their dedication to our school community is greatly appreciated.

Playoff shirt forms will be available to pick up in the High School and Junior High office. They will be sen t home with the Elementary students. Orders with payments are due on Wednesday, October 23rd. Please return the forms along with payments to the High School office. Pick up date is Thursday, October 31st. Please make out checks out to PCHS. Prices are as followed: T Shirts $20.00 Long sleeve tshirts $24.00 Crew neck sweatshirts $26.00 Hoodies $30.00 XXL and XXXL are $2.00 more GO MARCOS

There will be Middle School Boys Basketball and Academic Team pictures today at 3:30 at Centennial. There is NO cheerleader pictures today in which that will be rescheduled at a later date. We will let you know as soon as they get back to us. 6th grade boys basketball will get their uniforms before pictures today. There were no order forms sent out as they will send an email when the pictures are ready to view. You may order online.

Congratulations to our JH Boys Cross Country Team who finished third at their Sectional today qualifying them for State next weekend! Congrats to Abram Garcia who finished first overall and set a course record!!

Congratulations to our JH Boys Cross Country Team for their 2nd place finish at the Route 72 Conference! Abram Garcia finished 1st overall with a course PR of 8:56.

Our September student of the month has been selected! Each month, high school staff members vote on a senior that they feel displays exemplary citizenship, leadership, or academic achievement. That senior is awarded a $100 scholarship which is provided by the Polo Community School Foundation. Alayna Young was selected as our September winner and has answered a few questions about herself here! Name: Alayna Young Age: 17 Parents: David and Andria Young Siblings: Justin Young What will you do after high school? Go to Sauk Valley Community College then transfer to a four-year university and major in nursing. What is something you learned in high school that you think you’ll never use? How to build a roller coaster out of cut-up pool noodles. What does it take to be a successful high school student? Get involved! You need a balance between schoolwork and school events. It is easy to get burnt out with homework alone. Participate in things you enjoy. Do you have a job? In the summer I am a lifeguard at the Polo Pool. Year-round I answer the phones at Ciminos on Sunday nights. What do you do in your free time? I don’t have a lot of free time, but when I do, my favorite thing to do is spend time with people that I love. What kind of music are you listening to? I mostly listen to pop music. If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would it be? If I could go anywhere in the world I would go to Hawaii. What is the best way to cheer you up? Surprise me with an Alani and I will love you forever. (Except cherry slush) What is your life’s philosophy? Live life to the fullest and don’t let other people bring you down. Do you have any pets? I have a dog named Cooper. What would you do if you received $1 billion all of a sudden? I would split it with my family. With my half I would buy a white Ford Bronco, a case of Kimade Alani, and then the rest I would either save or donate to charities. Your favorite: Number: 9 Movie: 10 Things I Hate About You TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy Color: Pink Food: Orange Chicken ● What class do you find really engaging and why? The class I find most engaging is my CEO class through Whiteside Area Career Center. This class is taught by our facilitator, Mrs. Emily Zimmerman. It is unlike any other class I have had. CEO is a student-led program that teaches students how to use critical thinking skills and improve public speaking, leadership, and knowledge of entrepreneurship. One of our main focuses at this time is our class business which will take place early next year. Then in April, every student will showcase their individual businesses at the annual trade show at the Northland Mall in Sterling, IL. ● What are your career and post-graduation plans? After high school, I plan to go to Sauk Valley Community College and then transfer to Northern Illinois University to pursue a career in nursing. My long-term goal is to become a nurse practitioner specializing in endocrinology. ● What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in? My two favorite extracurricular activities are Track and Field and Student Council. Track has taught me how to be a valuable teammate. Our track team is combined with Forreston, so I have many opportunities to meet new people. My favorite part is meeting someone new at every meet. Student Council has allowed me to show my leadership skills through various events. I’ve gained creativity, responsibility, and confidence by being a part of the Student Council. ● Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable. My favorite event in high school was my sophomore year track season. I met so many new people that year which include some of my closest friends to this day. A specific moment that year was when all of my friends and I got to compete in big meets such as conference and sectionals. Experiencing big meets together brought us all closer together and it was the highlight of my year. ● What is your hope for the future? My hope for the future is to be happy and healthy while also having a family. I also want to be a successful nurse practitioner and help people the way my nurse practitioner helped me.

Students in Mrs. Wolber’s World Civilizations class have been learning about the Roman Empire. Students got to explore the Colosseum and watch a gladiator fight on the VR headsets. Students also got to build towers and practice their engineering skills just like the Romans!