Mundelein High School

History

The first graduating class was the class of 1962.

In 1996, a $32.8 million, 113,383 sq ft (10,533.6 m²). addition and renovations were made to the original structure. For 2015-2016 a $23.6 million 3-story addition is being built to house classrooms, other workspace and two STEM labs. Scheduled for completion in August 2016.

2011 Referendum

In 2011, a referendum was passed allowed the school to make critical repairs and improvements to the existing structure. Critical areas in need of repair include: the 50-year-old wing, football field and track, and the natatorium.

50 Year Old Wing

Football Field and Track Which have been accomplished as of 2012

Natatorium

Academics

Mundelein's course offerings include a range of courses, including honors and Advanced Placement classes. It also offers special education, ELL, and bilingual classes. In addition to the classes on the school's campus, students may be approved to take classes at the College of Lake County or at the Lake County Schools Tech Campus. After graduation, about 94% of graduating students go on to further study at post-secondary institutions.

At one time, the school was home to an "Aviation Technology" class from 1980 until the early 2000s in which students constructed an airplane from a kit for private sponsors. The class prepared future aviation technicians. It was one of the few aviation technology programs in a high school. It was removed from the curriculum due to lack of sponsors and a lack of accredited teachers, as the school required teachers to not only hold an Illinois teaching certificate but also either a pilot's license or an airframe-and-powerplant mechanic certificate from the FAA.

Awards and recognition

MHS recognitions include: In 2015 the school was accepted into the prestigious Schuler Scholar Program which offers motivated, underserved students a competitive advantage in college and in life.

Athletics

Mundelein competes in the North Suburban Conference and the Illinois High School Association. The school's athletic teams are known as the Mustangs. The high school offers 14 varsity sports for boys, 11 for girls, and 1 co-ed (cheerleading). Mundelein athletic teams have won several state titles, including boys gymnastics under the guidance of former coach Doug Foerch (1989, 1990, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000) and girls water polo under the guidance of former coach Jeff Wimer and current coach Andrew Schneider (1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001). Additionally, Mundelein athletes have won individual titles in several sports, including boys gymnastics and boys swimming and diving.

In recent news, 2012 graduate Connor Black broke a state record when he took first place in the 50-yard freestyle at the IHSA state swimming/diving finals held February 22 and 23 in Winnetka. He set state and national records, taking first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.71, which beat the national record of 47.08. Black has also qualified for the National Junior USA Swim Team. He is currently swimming at Stanford University. Rahul Sethna and Russ Gates were Connor's coaches throughout his high school career at MHS.

Mundelein High School has consistent successful seasons in water sports, golf, baseball, gymnastics, lacrosse, and others.

Activities and staff

The school offers a wide variety of extracurricular programs, clubs, and activities, including band, choir, Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, Student Government, Mock Trial, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Chess, among many others.

The school's choir program is an extremely successful extracurricular activity. Its concert choirs include Mixed Chorus (freshman boys and girls), Women's Choir, Select Women's Ensemble and Master Singers. The school also has three show choirs - Lights (girls' unisex), SoundFX (boys' unisex), and Sound (mixed). These choirs have received national recognition in Nashville, at FAME Orlando, and at Showstoppers New York, and compete annually at regional competitions such as Hersey's Chicagoland Showcase. The show choirs have been named Grand Champions at midwest competitions in the past few years.

The band program is also well-known. It includes four concert bands; the highest being the Wind Ensemble, followed by Symphonic Winds, Symphonic Band, and then Concert Band. There is also a jazz program, which was expanded to include Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Lab Band, Jazz Workshop, and Jazz Orchestra. Their marching band, known as the Marching Mustangs, plays during pregame and halftime at football games as well as serving as pep band for other sporting events. The Marching Mustangs are best known for their drumline. The drumline gained the most popularity during the 2014-2015 marching season when the Legion of Boom played. The Legion of Boom consisted of Section Leader Daniel Lorant, Yianni Wiechering, Alfonso Ochoa, Chris Koenemann, and leader Kevin Miyake. The group was known for their hard hitting playing style that broke more than a few drum heads and sticks.

Also in Fine Arts, Mundelein boasts a highly-regarded theatre program. Directed by Jonathan Meier, who joined the MHS faculty in the 04-05 school year, MHS Theatre has tackled some impressive shows at the high school level. Recent productions include "Chicago," A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin, Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, and Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel. Lughnasa was selected to perform at the Illinois High School Theatre Festival at Illinois State University in January 2008. Other productions include an annual student-directed one-act presentation. In 2014, the group presented the play "Trust," co-written by David Schwimmer. It dealt with online predators and had stark messages for the audience. The show earned an award from the Zacharias Center for how well it handled the message of the authors. Schwimmer actually attended one of the performances.

Many other clubs and organizations are active on campus included the After School Coalition, Stand Up, Academic Team, Black Student Union, Temas Latinos and others.