Celebrating the 125th anniversary of Evanston Township High School has been very exciting this year. 2008-09 started off with a bang when we received official notification that our students had achieved the highest scores ever on the Illinois Prairie State Achievement Examination and the highest ACT scores, but for one year, in the 36 years we have been keeping track of the results. Not a bad beginning to our anniversary year.
A Guest Essay By Eric Witherspoon, ETHS Superintendent
As we celebrated the year, one event after another brought a crescendo of
excitement: abundant school spirit at Homecoming and the Friday Night Lights dedication at the Lazier Football Field; Silent Movie Night; an all-staff
and retirees’ reunion party; a holiday concert with a celebratory composition commissioned by the ETHS Alumni Association; the Barnes Pipe Organ Recital in our beautiful auditorium; the 125 Years of ETHS Athletic Excellence banquet and reunion; and the 125th Anniversary All-Class Reunion that filled ETHS with energy as alumni from eight decades converged on their alma mater for an all-out, fun-filled, jam-packed celebration.
And, while we were celebrating 125 years of excellence and Wildkit
traditions, our students who fill our classrooms today continued to excel.
They raked in major awards in math and physics competitions, in debate and
chess competitions, in athletic competitions, in National Merit and scholarship competitions, in visual arts and journalism competitions. Our seniors were accepted into the top colleges and universities in the nation. And our music department won a third Grammy award, one of only 14 high schools in the nation (out of more than 37,000 high schools) to win this prestigious award this year.
Yes, it has been a remarkable and fun year at ETHS, another year of high
achievement for our students. You would think after 125 years we might be
getting a little tired. But that’s surely not a problem. We are energized
and dynamic. We wear the orange and blue with pride. We are building on our
rich traditions standing on the shoulders of all those alumni, teachers, and
staff who have come before to make ETHS such an extraordinary school and we are achieving a 21st century vision of continued achievements and increased excellence.
“E-T-H-S, we will fight for you, for the right to do everything for you.”
Those sentiments have rung true for 125 years, and we are doing our best to
make sure those words ring true for the next 125 years. Go Wildkits!