Senior Ingrid Watts of Lake Bluff has been named a National Merit Semifinalist. About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Watts is in the running for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million that will be offered next spring. *** The…

Former Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart student Rachel McClusky has scored a song placement in Disney’s new film “Prom,” starring an emerging ensemble cast including Aimee Teegarden, Nicholas Braun and Christine Elise. The film, released nationwide on April 29, is already garnering comparisons to Disney's “High School Musical” franchise. McClusky’s song -- a dance remix of her original “Secret Crush” -- is featured in a pivotal scene in the movie. “I was thrilled to be invited to write two songs for the movie, as well as submit two more I had already written, so having a song selected is…

Lake Forest and Lake Bluff students at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart were active participants in the school's annual May Crowning, a long-standing Catholic tradition, on May 13. Senior Blair O’Neill of Winnetka greeted attendees and gave the Call to Worship in a prayer service that celebrated Mary, a woman of exemplary virtue. Senior Allyson Genger of Lake Bluff read a lesson from the Gospel of Luke, and senior Charlotte Elwart of Lake Forest called on seniors Lupe Monterroso of Highwood and Leann Lyden of Lake Forest, along with faculty member Mary Ann Salemi of Deerfield, to provide…

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart’s prestigious performing choirs, Kaleidoscope and Microscope, recently received top honors at the Heritage Festival national competition held in Washington D.C. Under the direction of Elizabeth Kurowski, the 25-member Kaleidoscope received a Gold/Superior rating in the Treble Choir division, and were honored with an Invitation to the Festival of Gold for the 2011-2012 school year for their performance of "How Will I Go Without Ye?" by Andrea Klouse, "Dance On My Heart" by Allen Koepke and "Homeland by Z," by Randall Stroope. Junior Caroline Kagan was …

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest offers summer volleyball, basketball and field hockey camps for girls in grades 7-12. The volleyball and field hockey camps will run June 20-24, while the basketball camp runs June 21-24. The camps welcome all skill levels, and include a mix of skill instruction, game play, speed and agility, and offensive and defensive system dissection. Daily hours for the volleyball camp are 9-11:30 a.m.; noon to 2:30 p.m. for basketball, and 9-11:30 a.m. for field hockey. Space is limited to maximize camper experience, and girls are encouraged to …

Christianne Corbett, one of the authors of the recently published American Association of University Women  research called, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, at 7 p.m.  April 6 at the Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart campus in Lake Forest. Corbett's free presentation is part of the school's Women in Science Speaker Series and open to the public. Corbett will discuss how social and environmental factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering, and how teachers and parents can encourage girls’ achievement and interest…

Members of the Junior Class at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest recently received their school signet rings at the school’s annual Ring Ceremony. This long-standing Sacred Heart tradition, planned by the Senior Class to honor the juniors, invites two seniors to present each junior her ring at the ceremony. The signet ring bears the Sacred Heart crest and the school’s name. Senior Class president Kate Flint of Lake Forest gave the welcome, Alexis Good of Westville read a poem, vice- president Lisa Borosh of Lake Forest explained the symbolism of the rings, and Head of …

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest has announced the first semester Honor Roll. The following students named to the Honor Roll have maintained an overall average of (A-) for the first semester. Senior Class: Kaitlin Donnelly and Hannah Wilson of Winnetka; Charlotte Elwart, Leann Lyden, Christina Osorio, and Riley Parrott of Lake Forest; Allyson Genger and Anne Goodman of Lake Bluff; Minhee Kim of South Korea; Martha Monterroso of Highwood; and Shihua Zhou of the People’s Republic of China. Junior Class:  Karly Anderson of Grayslake; Lauren Bettuzzi of Park Ridge; Anna Burgos…

During the month of March, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart will present the seventh annual Celebration of Women in the Arts, including a Fine Art Exhibition and Artist Lecture Series funded through the generosity of an anonymous donor. This year the celebration features Karen Glaser and Carolyn Ottmers in a two person exhibition opening March 1 and running through March 18 in the Woodlands Academy Fine Arts Wing. Both artists will meet with students and present to the Woodland community; Glaser on March 8 and Ottmers on March 14. The presentations will be held in the Haggerty Center, …

What do you get when you mix taco grease with Lake Forest’s Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart students and Loyola University’s Community Outreach Program? Smarter students with stomach aches, perhaps, but when the university loans its biodiesel processor, you get fuel for buses and glycerol for soap. Last summer, Linda Tilton, a Woodlands science teacher, learned that Loyola had a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to build and loan the equipment to schools to teach students how biodiesel is made. This semester about 50 students from Woodland's Chem Club and her chemistry and …

The Woodlands Academy Celebrating Women in Science Speaker Series presents Thomas Lane, PhD., who will address the student body Jan. 20. Dr. Lane is the immediate past president of the American Chemical Society, which is the largest scientist organization in the world. 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry, and also the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie's Nobel Prize in chemistry. Dr. Lane's will speak to students as part of Woodlands Academy's Celebrating Women in Science, a year-long science focus commemorating the inaugural year of Woodlands' new state-of-the-art Science Center. …

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest recently celebrated the Feast of Mater Admirabilis at a liturgy.The celebrant was Rev. Doug Leonhardt, S.J., former president of Marquette University High School for young men in Milwaukee.The Feast of Mater Admirabilis and the presentation of Mater medals to each sophomore are traditions at Woodlands.This year, 40 sophomores received medals depicting the young Mary set against the background of study, self-discovery, prayer, and work, which symbolize the ideals of student life at Woodlands. By accepting the medal, each sophomore …