A Reminder For February's FOFA Meeting

This month's Friends of Fine Arts meeting is on Tuesday February 18th at 7:00 pm in the DGN Alumni Room (an earlier email indicated that the meeting would be held in the College and Career Center; that has changed, however, and it will be in the DGN Alumni Room - as usual.)

All are welcome and encouraged to attend as we review finances, address volunteer resources, discuss FOFA Senior scholarships, hear teachers' reports and open the floor to new business. 


DGN FOFA meeting are always concise and informative and well worth your time investment - hope to see you there!

Young Hearts For Life Cardiac Screening at DGN - 2/27

DGN Friends of Fine Arts would like to call your attention to the upcoming Young Hearts For Life (YH4L) Cardiac Screening on February 27, 2020.  

Some think that this event is only important for athletes to attend but ALL North students are encouraged to participate!  An email sent from North High on 1/22/2020 with links on how to register is copied below to refresh you on all of the details of this amazing event!

Don't let your student(s) miss this - it could literally save a life!

Young Hearts For Life Cardiac Screening on Feb. 27

Dear North High Students and Families,

We are pleased to bring the Young Hearts for Life® (YH4L) Cardiac Screening Program to North High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. All students whose parents authorize them to be tested will be screened. 

Please be aware that repeat ECG testing is recommended every two (2) years.

YH4L will provide this free heart screening called an electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify high school students at risk for sudden cardiac death and to increase the public's awareness of this issue. To date, more than 250,000 students have been screened as a result of YH4L and almost 3,000 students have been diagnosed with heart abnormalities, ranging from mild to life-threatening. More information about the screening can be found on the YH4L website (www.yh4l.org).

A simple ECG, when used to screen young adults can detect certain serious heart conditions. Recording the electrical activity of the heart using electrodes attached to the skin with a mild adhesive can detect approximately 60% of the abnormalities or “markers” from these heart conditions that are associated with sudden cardiac death that a stethoscope cannot. Please note that ECG screenings result in less than 2% of the tests being falsely positive. This may require additional evaluation and testing by your physician. We believe that the benefit of this potentially lifesaving screening outweighs this concern.

We encourage you to discuss this screening with your student. Your student’s participation in the screening is your decision. We want to assure you that students’ confidentiality, privacy and individual modesty will be respected throughout all aspects of the program. Only female technicians will test girls and they will be screened in an area separate from boys.

• Click here for the YH4L informational packet.
• To register your child for this Free Lifesaving test, click here. 
• To volunteer at the Downers Grove North screening, click here. 

The Young Hearts For Life® Cardiac Screening is being provided this year to the students by Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, just1mike Foundation, Mark Crabtree Memorial Fund, District 99 Education Foundation, and YH4L Donors. For more information about this program, please visit the Young Hearts for Life website. If you have questions, please contact YH4L at 630-785-4366.

Thank you!

North High School

Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp - DGN Campus Interviews - February 18

The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (in Michigan) is one of the nation’s leading arts immersion camps.  BLFAC is a non-profit summer school of the arts specializing in two-week arts programs for intermediate and high school students. 

Because there is a strong tradition of highly qualified District 99 students attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the institution actively recruits in our schools.  Additionally, BLFAC sends a representative to our building each February to hear interested students play and sing.  From those interviews, BLFAC frequently awards merit-based scholarships to attend the camp.  This year’s BLFAC interviews will be held on Tuesday, February 18th, 4th - 8th periods and for a short time after school.  If you are interested in playing or singing a short audition for the BLFAC rep, please express your interest on a sign-up sheet in the Fine Arts Office (room 131). Please see Ms. Moran or your music teacher to sign up for a time. 

What should you be prepared to play or sing in your audition?  Plan to perform 2-3 min of music that you have been working on with a private music teacher, or in class.  This could be an etude, a solo, or a piece of literature that you have really enjoyed studying.  Pick something that shows off your abilities!

The Blue Lake representative will share some basic information with the student to take home to parents.  In the meantime, you are encouraged to check out Blue Lake’s website at www.bluelake.org.  

Many DGN students have received significant scholarships to attend Blue Lake as a result of these interviews. Please consider this fabulous opportunity!

DGN-FOFA Senior Scholarship 2020

What is the Senior Scholarship?

The Downers Grove North Friends of Fine Arts (FOFA) are pleased to announce our scholarship award program. FOFA will award scholarships to seniors who are planning to continue their education in the fall after their high school graduation. The FOFA Senior Scholarship Committee reviews the applications in a blind format.

Who may apply?

Current DGN seniors who are planning to continue both involvement in the fine arts and their education in the fall of 2020 may apply for a scholarship. The student must be enrolled in Fine Arts curriculum during their senior year and have completed 6 semesters of Fine Arts courses upon graduation from Downers Grove North High School. 

What type of scholarships are available?

There are two different types of scholarships available for submission:

●      Fine Arts Related Major Scholarship – This is awarded to a senior attending a college in the fall where they will be pursuing a degree involving Fine Arts.

●      Continued Fine Arts Participation Scholarship – This is awarded to a senior who is pursuing an area of study outside of the Fine Arts but plans to continue a Fine Arts activity in college during their freshman year.

To what may the award be applied?

Recipients will use this one-time award for tuition at an accredited two or four-year institution of higher learning. The FOFA Senior Scholarship will be administered and awarded in compliance with the DGN Student/Parent Handbook and Code of Conduct Policy.

How do I apply? ---> UPDATED APP, February 5, 2020, to a Google Form application.

Complete the application found HERE.

https://tinyurl.com/DGN-FOFA-SeniorScholarshipApp

The application requires a typed parent/guardian acknowledgement signature. Applications must be submitted electronically, via the Google Form, no later than 11:59 pm, Monday, March 23, 2020. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours that your submission has been received. If you do not receive an email, please re-submit.

Questions about the application may be directed to the FOFA Scholarship Chairperson at scholar.dgnfofa@gmail.com.

What are the criteria for selecting winners?

The student’s name will be removed from the application, an ID number will be assigned, and the application will be submitted to the Scholarship Review Committee for blind review. The Scholarship Review Committee will review the applicant’s grades in the Fine Arts, school activities involving the Fine Arts, other extracurriculars at DGN, the applicant’s activities outside of school involving the Fine Arts, civic/community service, work experience and other outside interests and accomplishments. All of these components will be evaluated equally and scored on a rubric after reviewing the responses of the application’s questions and free-response essays. Semi-finalists may be required to attend an interview with the Scholarship Review Committee in April. The recipients will be presented with the scholarship at the DGN Senior Awards Night on Wednesday, May 6th, 2020.

Please note: If you are the recipient of a full Fine Arts grant or Academic scholarship for college, we ask that you do not apply for the FOFA Scholarship as you will not be eligible.

The application is due by 11:59 PM, Monday, March 23, 2020.