Fall 2025 Finals Week -- Dec 15-19.

• Monday, Dec 15 -- ODD BLOCK day.
• Tuesday, Dec 16 -- EVEN BLOCK day.
• Wed, Dec 17-Fri, Dec 19 -- FINALS. Follow the finals schedule (emailed again today). 
• Students are free to go home AFTER Winter Party. (We usually finish a bit early on that day!)

Finals Details- Dec 17-19

• All classes are in their normal classroom, except when noted. For detailed class listings click here: Finals Class Room Assignments.
• Bagged/Self-Serve lunch options between classes
• Study halls DO NOT meet on finals days

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 coffee hour originally scheduled for today (Dec. 15), has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Uni Gym.  
Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Earls will present some financial data and hold a Q and A session afterward. We welcome your participation!  
The PTSA will provide coffee, tea, and cookies, and attendees are also welcome to bring a brown bag lunch.  
Please remember that parents are not allowed to park in the Uni Gym lot during the school day, but there is metered parking available to the east as well as in the parking garage to the north.  

Need to fuel up on caffeine and yummy breakfast items the day before finals start? Want to take a hot beverage to the person that drives you to school every day? The scholastic bowl team has your back! Coffee, muffins, breakfast casseroles and much more will be available for purchase on the first floor from 7:30 a.m. through lunch or until sold out on Tuesday Dec.16, the last day before finals.

On Tuesday Dec. 16 in room 301 from 3:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m, five students will be presenting their findings and progress on their independent study research projects. The presentations will include Praachi Mudar on The Theory of Mind and Down Syndrome, Kruthi Ramanath and Ella Ylagan on Brain Parcellation Techniques, Kyle Fan on Human AI Systems and Education, and Max Wang on Immunotherapy Applications.  We hope you will stop by to support our students and learn about their amazing research!  All are welcome.

Parents please join us on January 5 from 3-4 p.m. at 2405 Siebel Center for an important presentation on online safety. Karilyn Orr, Prevention Specialist from the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, will be presenting on:
• The impacts of screen time
• Predatory Tactics
• Sextortion Scams
• Generative AI
• Safety Resources
We encourage all parents to sign up here and join us for this important conversation.
https://forms.gle/uc679q5eCeBzCivv8

The PTSA invites all sophomores and their families to a class party on Sat., Jan. 10, from 7-9 p.m. in the ARC.  We’ll have four courts plus all the equipment to play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, badminton, spikeball, and even some fun activities for younger siblings!  We invite everyone to bring a nut-free snack or dessert to share:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0445AEA92AA64-61210323-sophomore.  The evening will end with our traditional parents vs. kids massive indoor snowball fight!  Questions? Contact Mary Kate Arend at uniptsa2021@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!

As part of our in-service programming for Uni faculty on Monday, Jan. 5 from 9:15-10:15am, Uni is hosting a presentation by Ross Wantland (Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) focusing on supporting immigrant students and families who may be affected by current federal immigration policies. We'd like to open this session up to Uni families who are interested in this topic. We have space for 10 parents to attend the session in person, and we will offer a Zoom option for additional parents. If you'd like to attend, please complete this form. Dr. O'Brien will email attendees with location details and a Zoom link.

Poetry Out Loud is a nationwide poetry recitation competition. Uni's contest is Thurs, Jan 15, 2026, during Uni Period. It's great fun, and if you do well you could go on represent Uni at the regional, state, or national level. Or, join us to recite a poem without the pressure of competing! Sign up here to compete or to recite for fun––the deadline is Jan 8, but it’s best to select a poem early. Choose a poem from the Poetry Out Loud list (a big list with older poems) or the list at Poetry 180 (with more modern poems). We've also created a smaller list of the most promising poems from the big list to help students find poems more easily. 

The Ecological Restoration Coalition has been awarded two grants to begin renovating Uni’s green space. They will receive $33,681 from Illinois Green Fund (U. of I. Student Sustainability Committee) and $5,000 in a 2025-2026 High School PTSA/PTA Youth Engagement Capacity Building grant. The group is designing a 3000 sq. ft. native mixed prairie in the southeast corner of the green space, with planting to begin in the spring. ERC meets Fridays at lunch in room 302 and is sponsored by science teacher Christian Millan-Hernandez. Join us on Instagram (@uiunihigh) to follow along as the green space is transformed!

Uni senior Simrah Khan was profiled in The News-Gazette for her work on this year's weekly High School Confidential feature. The article is here!

Congratulations to the following participants of the Small Works art show.  
First Place Junior, Sophomore, Freshman winner: Charlotte Lin - $950 Scholarship to attend FAA Summer Intensive in June.
Honorable Mention: Karina Berceanu and Ashton Hetherington
Visitors are invited and welcome for our 16thAnnual FAA Illinois High School Art Show in Link Gallery on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 1–3 p.m. The exhibit continues to be open to the public through Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. 

In their inaugural competition as a team, Uni's newly reconstituted chess team took second place on Saturday December 6th at the Bolingbrook Raider Invitational chess tournament.
In a field of 31 teams, Uni went undefeated for all four rounds of the tournament, despite being one player down.  In the final blitz chess tie-breaking match, Uni was defeated by the winning team from Nequa Valley.  If you see a member of the chess team in the halls, congratulate them on games well-played!

Our Lost and Found is overflowing-- water bottles, lunch boxes, coats, and more! We will be setting out items in the North end of the first floor hallway during Fall Finals, Dec 17-19. 
Please check the items and claim anything that is yours!

We are excited to share that the Uni High Scholastic Bowl Team is being sponsored by Greener Impacts LLC for the second year in a row.
Greener Impacts develops and applies quantitative tools to analyze economic and environmental impacts, forecasting changes in state and local economies. Their tools assess outcomes such as job creation, labor income, supply chain impacts, water use, and CO₂ emissions, helping inform both public and private decision-making.
This sponsorship will support the team’s travel expenses and costs associated with tournament participation. 
THANK YOU, Greener Impacts, your gift makes a meaningful impact on our students! 

Nominations for the Wylde Q. Chicken award are now open. Please take the time to nominate a person or a group for this legendary award today! What is the WQC award? the Wylde W Chicken FAQ's Page explains all the details. Click HERE to submit your nomination. The deadline for Wylde Q Chicken award nominations is Wednesday April 1st, 2026. Contact Dr. Majerus for more information.

Many thanks to everyone who has signed up to donate food, money, or time towards this year's Winter Party!  The SignUpGenius is almost completely filled!  Please remember to drop off food donations on Fri., Dec. 19, between 8 and 9 a.m. in Uni Gym. We look forward to a wonderful celebration with all our students and staff! Questions about the event? Contact Senior PTSA Rep Alison Smith at aliso22@gmail.com.

The Wellness Room is available for students who want to take a short break or need a quiet place for a reset to sit, color, breathe, and relax. This room is located on the 3rd floor in 312 and will be open during the hours below. Please sign in using the QR code on the door or through the paper sign-in sheet also located near the door. An agreement to abide by the rules of the room will be available during sign-in.
Mondays/Wednesdays 1-3 p.m.
Tuesdays/Thursdays 9-11 a.m.