School News

The National Merit Scholarship Competition (NMSC) recently announced the names of over 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Homestead High School is excited to announce that seven of our senior students have qualified as National Merit Semifinalists. Those students include: Camille Chen, Hannah D’Cruz, Maya Graupe, William Harwood, Benjamin Levin, Jasmine Xu, and George Zhu. 

These academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of competition. Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

“The remarkable achievement of these students is a testament to the dedication and excellence of our students, their families, and our outstanding educators here at Homestead and MTSD,” said Eric Ebert, principal of Homestead High School. “These seven scholars have not only demonstrated academic prowess but also a commitment to intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning. We are immensely proud of their accomplishments, and we look forward to seeing them continue to excel as they move forward in their academic journeys.”

Over 1.3 million juniors across 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Students who qualify as Semifinalists based on their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT are the only program participants who have an opportunity to advance to the Finalist level and compete for National Merit Scholarships. From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to Finalist level, and in February will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Finalists will be announced beginning in April 2024.

Find more information about the National Merit Scholarship Corporation at www.nationalmerit.org

The U.S. News and World Report has ranked Homestead High School in the Mequon-Thiensville School District #7 out of 452 (Top 2%) ranked high schools in the state of Wisconsin. The school was also ranked #458 of nearly 18,000 (Top 3%) public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare students for college. By earning a national ranking in the top 40%, Homestead High School has reaffirmed its achieved status as a U.S. News Best High School.

“Our school community knows its value as Mighty Highlanders, but it’s always nice to see the hard work of our students and staff members validated in rankings like this,” said Eric Ebert, Principal of Homestead High School. “I’m proud of the dedication, impressive achievements, and continued successes of our students and educators - all of those things are absolutely reflected in this update from the U.S. News & World Report.”

U.S. News bases rankings on performance on six ranking indicators: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rate. While the six ranking indicators that determined each school’s rank were the same as those used in the three prior years, U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on schools in the 2019-2020 school year. A notable achievement for 2023 was Homestead’s rank as #2 in the state and #397 in the nation in the category of College Curriculum Breadth Index Rank. This indicates the proportions of 12th graders who took and passed AP or IB exams in multiple areas. 

“The collective drive of our students, passion of our educators, and support of our community is evident in this most recent ranking from the U.S. News & World Report,” said Dr. Matthew Joynt, Superintendent of Schools. “This ranking is a testament to the value of high-quality public education and affirms MTSD’s place as a true ‘launchpad to success’ - something that we could not continue to achieve without the support and teamwork of our entire school community.”

Visit https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/wisconsin for additional information regarding the state and national rankings.

Three students at Homestead High School have earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs. The following Homestead students earned a National African American Recognition Award academic honor because of their GPA of 3.5 or higher and outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT or AP Exams.

• Charlise Ness - 12th grade
• Olivia Rembert - 12th grade
• Sara Yesufu - 11th grade

“We’re thrilled to celebrate these students and recognize them for the hard work and tenacious effort they’ve consistently put forth in the classroom,” said Eric Ebert, principal of Homestead High School. “We’re proud of their strong academic performance not just on a daily basis, but also on College Board assessments like the PSAT and AP Exams. There’s so much that makes our students unique, and receiving this honor is certainly an asset for their future.”

The criteria for eligible students include a GPA of 3.5 or higher, PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th, attendance school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply to BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using the College Board’s Student Search Service can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

To learn more about College Board and Big Future, visit: https://www.bigfuture.org

The Homestead High School Latin team, led by longtime World Language teacher, Magistra Marianne Wallach, recently returned from the annual National Junior Classical League (NJCL) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Held each summer, the NJCL is a chance for classics students across the nation to celebrate and compete in a multitude of diverse events to showcase the proficiency, enthusiasm, and talents of students in all that is Latin and Greek.

This year, the Homestead team joined 60 Wisconsin students to compete with more than 1,200 delegates across 30 states. Wisconsin schools represented were Homestead, Brookfield East, Brookfield Central, Brookfield Academy, USM and Divine Savior Holy Angels. Students competed in 12 academic tests (Roman & Greek History, Grammar, Mythology, Literature, Roman Life, Mottoes, and Reading Comprehension), graphic arts, and Latin Oratory. In addition, all states competed in six Olympika sports. In spite of their small size compared to other larger state delegates, Wisconsin won first place in track and field, soccer, swimming, basketball, and second place in volleyball and ultimate frisbee.

The certamen competition, a Jeopardy-like game, pitting each Latin Level (Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) against other states' teams, was also another highlight of the week. All three of the Wisconsin Level teams qualified for the semifinals, with the Latin I level making it to the final championship round. The Latin I level team was comprised of Homestead rising sophomores Charlotte King, Emily Taylor, Addison Drumm, and Luke LaLonde. This team finished in second place, marking the first time since 1992 that a Wisconsin novice team has made it to the Top 3 championship round of this prestigious event!

Several HHS students also placed in the top five in the nation for the 12 academic tests in their Latin Level, including: 

• Sophomore Luke LaLonde placed second in the nation for Latin 1 Grammar and Vocabulary and fourth in Derivatives
• Sophomore Charlotte King placed second in Classical Art and third in Geography 
• Sophomore Addison Drumm placed third in Classical Art 
• Sophomore Emily Taylor placed fifth in Myth
• Seniors Olivia Rembert and Brian Franks achieved second and fourth places in the NJCL Essay Writing contest, respectively
• Junior Matthew Seiberlich won first place for the 2023 Digital Scrapbook Contest 

In addition, sophomore Ian Godden swept all eight swimming events that he competed in at the Olympika swim competition, earning him a second place medal in the Overall Olympika competition and eighth place in Overall Sweepstakes. Junior Owen Gudex was chosen as one of the ten performers at the 2023 That's Entertainment talent show the final evening of the convention. Rounding out the achievements for the Homestead program was a first place finish in Graphic Arts by Addison Drumm for her drawing of the myth Narcissus.

“The LXX National Junior Classical League Convention was a venue where Homestead Latin students displayed talent, spirit and keen knowledge of the ancient classics while gathering with their Wisconsin companions to promote enthusiasm and foster growth and community for the Latin language,” said Magistra Wallach. 

As the 2023-24 school year begins, Homestead Latin will begin preparing for next year’s NJCL event at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Homestead High School is proud to announce that juniors Eli Devorkin and Jasmine Xu are recipients of the Jay Miley “Service Above Self” award. This award is given to students who have gone above and beyond in service and commitment to others. Devorkin and Xu were honored in April during a luncheon sponsored by the Milwaukee North Shore Rotary Club.

Both award recipients have been inspired by their parents and mentors to jump into action to make a difference in the lives of others through service. Jasmine and Eli are honor students at Homestead High School and actively participate in numerous clubs and activities both in school and in their community.

“Eli and Jasmine have answered a calling to enrich the lives of others through their kindness, compassion and service to others,” said Homestead High School counselor, Sarah Robinson. “I’m inspired by their service to others - our world certainly needs them.”

Devorkin is passionate about working with and supporting children with physical and mental disabilities. He dedicates his time at All-Star Health Center in Mequon, training and exercising with children and young adults who need extra support. Devorkin plays for the Homestead baseball team, works a part-time job at Les Moise sporting goods store, and is considering a career in physical therapy.

Xu is involved with a non-profit organization called ENGin that connect volunteers with students in Ukraine to teach them English via Zoom. In her teaching role, she meets individually with her students once a week to monitor their English progress and teach new topics. In addition, Xu creates
individualized lesson plans for each student based on their progress and she shares supplemental resources and websites with her students to promote their learning. She also takes time during the week to maintain informal communication with her Ukrainian learners to build a positive relationship with them and support them socially. Additionally, Xu plays the cello with Homestead’s chamber orchestra, is a member of Homestead’s programming club, math team, and golf team. She has recently been selected to attend The Summer Science Program, a highly competitive and academically enriching summer program offering students research opportunities in the STEM fields.

Homestead is excited to announce the winners of the HHS 2023 National Latin Exam!

Pictured in front, left to right:

• Magistra Marianne Wallach
• Emily T. (Gold Medal)
• Anya M. (Magna cum Laude)
• William H. (Gold Medal)
• Luke L. (Gold Medal)

Pictured in the back row, left to right:

• Michelle I. (cum Laude)
• Anna P. (Silver Medal),
• Addison D. (Silver Medal)
• Charlotte K. (Gold Medal)

Other National Latin Exam winners not pictured are:

• Will S. (Gold)
• Rosalie K. (Gold)
• Aleksey M. (Silver)
• Peter C. (Silver)
• Lucas M. (Magna cum Laude)
• William G. (Magna cum Laude)
• Eliana P. (Magna cum Laude)
• Sara W. (cum Laude)
• Wolf S. (Silver)
• Matthew S. (Silver)
• Hanna M. (Silver)
• Lauren S. (Silver)
• London B. (Magna cum Laude)
• Joseph E. (Magna cum Laude)
• Emersyn S. (cum Laude)
• George Z. (Gold)
• Olivia R. (Silver)
• Mary G. (cum Laude)
• Drew T. (Magna cum Laude)
• Brian F. (cum Laude)

The NLE is a test given annually to Latin students across the United States and around the world. The NLE is not meant to be a competition but rather an opportunity for students to receive reinforcement and recognition for their accomplishments in the classroom. Depending upon their score, students may earn certificates, medals, and may even qualify for scholarships.

Congratulations to these outstanding Latin scholars!