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

The Student Library Advisory Council is meeting THIS Wednesday, Nov. 5 during lunch. It will be our first meeting of the year! Join us in the library for snacks while you hear about clubs and programs that we run in the library, like movie nights, escape rooms, dialogue series, and so much more. The most important part of our meetings, though, is getting feedback from Uni students. We want to know what events you want to see in the library this year, what materials you want added to our Uni library, and how we can best serve you. Join us every first Wednesday of the month during lunch to hang out, eat, and have fun!  

MPAG is hosting a game-playing event for Uni students, families, and staff from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13. Please note that we have changed the date for this event, and will not hold it on Nov. 15 as originally announced.
We hope the event will give members of the Uni community a chance to connect while learning to play a new game. For students, this event can be a brain break from end-of-semester projects. 
If you'd like to bring a game to share or plan to attend, please RSVP here. Attendees are welcome to come without RSVPing, but RSVPs will help us with planning.

Uni High will host prospective family informational meetings this November through January. Please join us to learn more about our values, curriculum, programs, and our application process for the 2026-27 school year. Meetings will be held through Zoom and in person at various locations in Champaign-Urbana. Please visit our website to sign up for a meeting: https://uni.illinois.edu/admissions. 

Come to our volleyball event and become a better student for a better world.  Students For a Better World is hosting a Volleyball Tournament on Nov. 8, from 6-8 p.m, in Kenney Gym. Teams must have a minimum of six students in order to play. Admission is $5 per player. Group Leaders sign up and collect money to present at the event using the sign up link below. All proceeds will go to the charity of the winner's choosing! Along with the choice of donation, winners will receive baked goods. Hope to see you there! 
Link to SignUp! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScrM_g43VpCTAjNUOxJbBXHo9AS8ASjk43rgrUBOZmntoT5Bg/viewform

Would you like to be part of a Mafia/Werewolf-inspired murder mystery party? Solve a murder and be hero...or the villain! Join us in the library on Nov. 19 during lunch for food and deadly fun! Here is the link to sign up - registrations are limited, so act fast!! 
https://forms.gle/bTmZzE9fdYWiL9Dp6

Welcome all seniors to a brief workshop focused on exploring your identity in preparation for college applications and college life. Grow tools for self-awareness and sharing your self-knowledge in a college setting. We will be using creative materials in an interactive format. You can choose from three time options: Tuesday Uni Period (Oct. 21), Friday lunch (Oct. 24), or Monday Uni Period (Nov. 3). We will be meeting in the Wellness Room, 312. Contact Lydia Bruhn with any questions or to let her know you will attend: lbruhn@illinois.edu.

The Uni High Research Journal is a STEM and Humanities nonfiction academic journal in which all Uni students can submit their own writings. You will be able to submit class work or your own work as long as it meets the guidelines and requirements. You also must fill out the necessary information in the submission form. Decisions on which submissions were accepted will be sent out around April 2026. The two "best submissions" will be chosen when submissions close — one for STEM and one for Humanities (history, psychology, and so on). Awards will be given out for the top entry in each respective category.

Uni High students are invited to visit Native American House on campus on Tuesday, Nov. 18 after school. We'll depart Uni at 3:25 p.m. and walk over together. Snacks will be provided, and all attendees will receive a t-shirt. Please RSVP to attend: https://forms.gle/9eSpbXyTduz1kRN9A.

Uni's annual Poetry Out Loud contest will be Thurs, Jan 15, 2026, during Uni Period. Info meetings will happen in the coming weeks––read UniWeek for details. If you plan to participate, sign up for Poetry Out Loud here. The sign up deadline is Thurs, Jan 8, but it’s best to start preparing early. As mentioned in last week's Poetry Out Loud post, the list has changed this year, limited to very old poems. We are looking into expanding the list to re-include modern & contemporary poems for our school-wide contest. For the time being, students interested in reciting can explore poems posted by the Poetry Foundation to select a poem to recite.

Scholastic Bowl:
High School Scholastic bowl has started, please reach out to head coach Ms. Simpson with any questions - simpso15@illinois.edu. Subbie Scholastic bowl season will begin after Christmas Break. There is a $200 fee to join the team, which can be paid at the school office. 
Chess Team:
Uni High is bringing back the Chess Team. To officially be on the team there is a $200 fee to join to help pay coaches, tournament fees and travel. Please reach out to coach Mr. Kiesel with any questions - tkiesel@illinois.edu

Kruthi Ramanath finished off her high school tennis career earning all-state honors all four years.   Ramanath was 7th as a freshman, 4th as a sophomore and junior, and capped off her senior year finishing 3rd, the highest placing at IHSA state for a Uni High tennis athlete in the schools history.  
Boys Soccer made it to IHSA Regional Finals before falling to SJO 4-0.  Robert Tu led the team in scoring with 26 and Yuto Inoue chipped in 10 scores.  Senior Aldo Zepeda's return to the team was welcomed, leading the team with 12 assists and 9 goals.  Neil Choudhary assisted in 10 goals for the season. 

Uni High will have an archery team again this year.   This is not an IHSA sport so there is no fee or required practices, but an opportunity for students interested in archery to practice and compete together. The coach and organizer of the club is Grace Taluson, mother of sophomore Mattox Pugh. Grace can be reached at gracetalusan@comcast.net or you can email athletic director Kyle Hummel KHummel@illinois.edu with questions.  There is a parent/student meeting at Kenney on Saturday Nov. 8 at 3 p.m.   Please enter doors from parking lot on North side of building to the gym.      

Students: please drop by Uni's Library this week to sign thank you cards for poet Dr. Jenny Davis and the performers of Mariachi Libertad for joining us as guest presenters for Uni's 2nd Quarter assembly. The cards will be available in the library through Friday, Nov. 7. 
There are cards for the faculty to sign in the faculty lounge. 

Sprabitat Club is running its annual Chores for Clarksdale fundraiser, raking leaves and doing other yard work in return for donations to Fuller Center for Housing in Clarksdale, MS — an affiliate that Uni students have partnered with for more than 25 years. Uni student volunteers will be raking every Saturday and Sunday of November from 1-3 PM. If you are interested in having your yard raked, please fill out this form! If you are a student looking to volunteer, sign up here!
We are almost at capacity for chores and have nearly all our volunteers, but this way we can gauge further volunteer/chore interest. 

A reminder to all members of the Class of 2026 that your senior items for the yearbook are due by 8 a.m. Nov. 5.  Due to new deadlines by our publisher, this will have to be a firm deadline this year.  You should have received a few emails on this including one from your yearbook staff contact with the form to be completed.  Also you can submit your photo and baby photo at any time via email.  If you have questions reach out to the staff.

The PTSA would like to thank the following individuals for donating their time and/or delicious dishes to our recent conference meal for teachers: Jessie Bhalerao, Martin Burke, Jaya Chandrashekhar, Kelly Clark, Viviana Deltas, Sheree Denham, Steffi Dong, Jing Hao, Vidya Haran, Danielle Hendricks, Sri Kannan, Sarah Liu, Hyun Jung Noh, Sisa Renie, Joy Wilson Sanchez, Amy Saupe, Kathy Shang, Mohammad Ullah, and Elizabeth White. These volunteers (and their families) outdid themselves!  Thank you for treating our teachers to such a delightful and bounteous feast!

New episode drop! Continuing on in our current series: "Hold Up... Who Dis??" We spend some time with our Muslim students who talk about traditions they value, experiences they've had, beliefs they hold true to and the community they love. Come share a time to listen from our community as we grow to appreciate one another.
https://media.rss.com/20152020/feed.xml

We’re hearing more sniffles around the building as we enter the winter respiratory virus season. Remember the following guidelines:

• Get your updated vaccines for influenza and COVID-19.
• Stay home when you are sick to rest and avoid infecting others.
• Test for COVID-19 if you have symptoms including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or headache.  
• If you think you might be getting sick or are recovering from a respiratory illness, please wear a mask to avoid infecting others.

Masks and COVID-19 tests are available in the Main Office. For more information, see Uni’s policies on contagious illness (including COVID-19).