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Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE) presented OH alum and former teacher Michael Leali with the Illinois Author of the Year Award this week at the IATE Conference in Palos Hills. Although there was no specific book that won him a reward, his debut novel “The Civil War of Amos Abernathy” had already won an award: the prestigious Golden Kite Award in 2023, and he was set up to win in 2026. “I mean, I'm really excited and honored," Leali said in an online interview. "It comes from the Illinois Association of Teachers of English... [so] as a former high school English teacher [and student] at Oswego High School, this feels just so big and special.”

OE won the food drive in the school districts competition to earn donations, at the Crosstown football game on Friday, Oct 16. The contest raised over 413,000 total items. A food drive is an opportunity for a school community to come together and support people in need. At the SD#308 high schools, though, we use a friendly competition to motivate donations and celebrate the school that collects the most, all as part of an annual district-wide food drive for the Kendall County Community Food Pantry (KCCFP). The KCCFP is an organization that distributes food and other donations to give to anyone in need for no cost. The KCCFP is constantly seeking volunteers to help. Students can sign up to volunteer through the Kendall County Food Pantry, where they can participate on certain Friday evenings in roles like Set Up, Food Room Assistants, Hallway Monitors, Outside Cart Attendants, or assisting with the Drive-Up Line. All of these roles have benefited the food drives outcome.  “I just want to help the community in the way that I can, and I feel like this is a way that I can pretty easily,” Food Drive organizer and OH science teacher Lauren Landando said.

OH hosted its fourth year of Mini Portfolio Day last week, giving student artists the opportunity to connect with college representatives, earn feedback and explore future careers in the art field.  “Mini portfolio is essentially where we have a bunch of colleges that are art schools or have art programs come in and review our portfolio so that we can share, get feedback, and improve our artwork,” said OH senior National Art Honor Society (NAHS) President Leona Bateman. During the event, students presented their portfolios and sketchbooks to college representatives, who offered feedback and suggestions for improving their work.