At Uni High, we strive to foster an environment where everyone, inclusive of race, color, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, political beliefs, ability, language, and religion, will feel welcome, visible, and heard.

Uni Winter Choral Concert
Wednesday, Jan. 15
7:30 p.m. Uni South Attic
Featuring: Uni High Chorus and Uni High Madrigals 

Join the library for our first SLACers meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 11:30 a.m. Feel free to bring your lunch or grab a snack from Ms. Arnold and Harrison. See you there!

Join a Japanese cultural activity and celebrate the New Year!
Jan 16: 8th period and 3:15-4 p.m.  
Jan 17: Lunch time, 5th 7th period and 3:15-4 p.m. 
@Uni Gym
Everyone is welcome to enjoy freshly made, delicious mochi! On the Jan. 17 during lunchtime, all students can try the mochi-pounding activity. At other times, while you won’t be able to participate in the mochi-pounding, you can still enjoy freshly made mochi. Please note that the amount of mochi made at each session is limited, so availability may vary depending on the timing. However, fresh batches will be made throughout the event.

The Math Circle students will be hosting a middle school math competition on Saturday Feb. 8 from 9-11 a.m. Uni student volunteers are needed. If you are interested in gaining some volunteer hours, please sign up to help.  You do not need to be a member of Math Circle to participate in this event.  Please sign up using the registration and permission slip here. See Mrs. B with questions.

The students of Uni's Math Circle are hosting a Middle School Math competition on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 9-11 a.m. at Uni High. This is open to any 6-8th grade student, including those attending Uni and those not at Uni (invite your friends).  The event is free of charge. Registration will close Jan, 29. 
Registration and permission slips are available online here.

To celebrate several cultural heritage months in 2025, Uni High and MPAG are hosting a series of student poster competitions. We invite student artists to help Uni celebrate Black History Month this February by submitting original art at https://forms.gle/ZxJkNzZimdCR2Rdi9, where you can also find more information about contest guidelines. Three winning submissions will be selected, and the artists will receive prizes of $50.

The next Math League competition will be hosted on Tuesday, Jan. 14 during Uni period during Math Team. High schoolers are in room 206 and subbies in room 205. All students are welcome!

Campus Connections is an SSO program providing opportunities for Uni students to learn about careers and college majors on the U of I campus. This trip will explore the world of psychology and cognitive neuroscience. The trip is limited to 15 students (grades 9-12 only).
For more information and to sign up, please visit:
https://uofi.box.com/s/kymq2yrfopb2c9uvq4xi54uvo6w8d57o

Uni's annual Poetry Out Loud recitation contest will be Wed, Jan. 22, 2025, during Uni Period. Poetry Out Loud is a national program with contests at the school-wide, regional, state and national levels, with a total of $50,000 awarded among finalists at the national contest in Washington, DC. Sign up to compete at Uni’s contest here. Choose a poem to recite from the huge list of poems at www.poetryoutloud.org (in the "find poems" dropdown menu on the left). The deadline to sign up is tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 14)!

Congratulations to Bruce Tang, who was recently named a Regeneron Science Talent Search scholar!   The Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars were selected from nearly 2,500 entrants from 795 high schools. Scholars were chosen based on their outstanding research, leadership skills, community involvement, commitment to academics, creativity in asking scientific questions and exceptional promise as STEM leaders demonstrated through the submission of their original, independent research projects, essays and recommendations.

If any High School students are interested in participating in the ICTM Math Competition on Saturday, Feb. 22, please fill out this interest form by Jan. 15. The competition is hosted at Parkland College, and students wanting to participate must plan for their own transportation. Please contact Mrs. B with any questions.

A reminder that Uni will have a new in-class cell phone use policy for students starting Monday, January 27, which will continue on a trial basis through the end of the spring semester. Students will not have access to phones during class periods (including breaks) except for instructional purposes and urgent situations. Students will be free to use their phones during passing periods, free periods, lunch, and Uni Period. Phone access included in IEP/504 plans will not be affected.The full policy, which is subject to revision, is viewable here.

Welcome back! Starting off the semester, we want to highlight some evergreen expectations:

• Study hall is an assigned class, not a free period. Not reporting to study halls or leaving/not returning without approval is skipping class and is unexcused.

• Clean up shared spaces. For example, do not leave chairs in the middle of the hall or food/drinks out.

• Be respectful during class breaks. Breaks are to get a drink, use the restroom, etc. Wandering the building/socializing loudly is causing disruption in other spaces.

• Show respect to all teacher/staff directions, even if it is not your current teacher.

Several viruses are going around this winter, but we continue to urge special care in avoiding the spread of COVID-19, a novel virus with the potential to cause serious long-term effects. Please test for COVID when you have symptoms associated with it. Stay home while you are sick with COVID-19 and mask when you return to school as long as you continue to be contagious. Free masks and 2-pack COVID-19 rapid tests are available in the office (you can bring one home in case of need). A reminder that Uni encourages students and staff to stay home and rest when sick with any contagious illness.

We are excited to share the Uni High Scholastic Bowl Team is being sponsored by Greener Impacts LLC.
Greener Impacts develops and applies quantitative tools to analyze economic and environmental impacts, forecasting changes in state and local economies. These tools assess outcomes like job creation, labor income, supply chain disruption, water use, and CO2 emissions, aiding public and private decision-making. 
This sponsorship will support the purchase of new uniforms, a buzzer system, registration fees and travel expenses as the team competes across the nation. THANK YOU, Greener Impacts! 

The PTSA would like to thank the 100+ volunteers who helped make our 2024 Winter Party a huge success! Whether you contributed money for pizza, dropped off a snack or dessert, and/or donated your time to help decorate, serve food, or clean up after the party, please know that your contributions were greatly appreciated! The PTSA would also like to give a big shout-out to Junior Class Parent Rep Alison Smith for coordinating another wonderful party — Thank you, Alison!