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Week of February 9 to February 13 2026
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Update from Superintendent Bentsen
Dear Fenton School Community,
We hoped everyone enjoyed their Super Bowl Sunday! I know we all wanted to see the Bears in the big game, but the future looks bright! And so does our past.
As the playoff journey progressed, we were all very surprised to see an article in the Daily Herald about our substitute teacher, Ms. Debbie Lemons, having been a Chicago Bears Cheerleader during the Jan. 26, 1986 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.
Back when the Bears had cheerleaders they were called the “Honey Bears.” If you see Ms. Lemons around, definitely ask her about her experience as a Honey Bear, her trip to New Orleans, and what it was like being in the Super Bowl victory celebrations.
Everyone has a story. Never take for granted the people you see each and every day, for they might have a neat story of their own!
Future Ready Fenton Day
Thank you to everyone who made our February 5 Future Ready Fenton Day a success!
You’ll read more later in this newsletter, but this second annual event allowed us to provide grade-specific activities focused on testing, career exploration, and college readiness.
We better accommodated students taking the mandated ACCESS and Pre-ACT tests by dedicating the entire building all in one day. Meanwhile freshmen visited various local colleges and universities and sophomores went on Career Exploration Field Trips based on their interests, as indicated in School Links. Seniors focused on finishing their Community Service Graduation requirements by contributing to good causes throughout Bensenville and Wood Dale.
This was an exciting opportunity to show our students the possibilities ahead of them, and then work with them to plan and get to those goals while here at Fenton.
Thank you to all our teachers and administrators who organized and executed this great all-day event. Most importantly, thank you to all our students who arrived focused and ready to succeed.
5Essentials Parent Survey
The best method for gathering wide-ranging feedback is through the 5Essentials Survey, which is operated by the University of Chicago. Through various questions, the survey is intended to measure these five indicators that positively affect school success:
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Effective Leaders
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Collaborative Teachers
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Involved Families
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Supportive Environments
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Ambitious Instruction
This survey is handled by an outside organization and they do not share your email address or your answers with Fenton High School. University of Chicago asks if you would like to submit your email address in case you don’t finish the survey and want to continue later. Names are not collected.
The data sent to Fenton is also shown on our State School Report Card if a required number of parents participate, and the information includes general percentages of responding parents who agree or disagree with the stated questions or a percentage of responding parents who selected the multiple choice answers. No identifying information is revealed.
These are just a sample of the survey questions, but they show a good variety of areas where your feedback would be helpful and could make a difference moving forward:
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What grade your student is in,
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Technology available to parents at home,
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How parents think their students feel about school,
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How often parents interact with their student’s teachers,
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How parents feel about the relationship with their student’s teachers,
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If parents believe our school is preparing their students for college,
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How often our school provides updates or invites parents into the school,
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What communication methods (email, phone, text messages) do parents prefer,
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What life factors prevent parents from attending school events,
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How often do parents volunteer for school events or programs,
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Parent opinions on the quality of our facilities,
Please take a few minutes to click on the link below and take the 5Essentials Parent Survey.
Sam Bentsen, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Free Dental Clinic Available on February 27, 2026
Fenton Families are invited to participate in a free dental exams program known as “Give Kids a Smile Day” on Friday, February 27th at the Wheaton Dental Clinic. This event is open to children and teens—including early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students.
Screenings will be performed by DuPage County Health Department dentists. Additionally, children will receive oral health education and a free oral healthcare kit
Appointments are required. If all appointments fill up, additional dates might be created during Spring Break.
To make an appointment, call (630) 221-7776.
20th Annual ‘So You Think You’re All That?’ Talent Show is February 26
All are invited to enjoy the 20th annual talent show next week, on Thursday February 26th in the Auditorium. Tickets are $5 and proceeds go to Students United (STUNT) Club.
We are looking for Alumni from the Class of 2007 to join us in celebrating this milestone show. Plus, Ms. Valente is retiring and this is her last show. Alumni from across the 20 years are invited to send Ms. Valente any photos you have from your time in or preparing for the Talent Show. We're creating a slideshow!
Contact Ms. Valente for more information.
The Highlights Yearbook spread covering Fenton's first talent show in 2007.
Career Week is February 24, 25, 26
Fenton is excited to offer an extensive student experience for the upcoming Career Week, with activities on February 24, 25, and 26th.
Career Spotlights will occur all throughout the day on February 24 and 25. This new offering brings incredible guest speakers from a wide range of career backgrounds to Fenton to share their career journeys, insights, and real-world advice with our students. Many of these speakers are even Fenton alumni who walked these very same hallways. Guest speakers will be featured in the following areas:
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STEM, Health Sciences, Business & Finance
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Human & Public Services, Arts & Communications or Business & Finance
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Skilled Trades & Manufacturing
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Business & Finance
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Human & Public Services or Health Sciences
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Health Sciences
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Arts & Communications
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Arts & Communications, Human & Public Services or Business & Finance
Then on Thursday, February 26 we will host our extensive Career Fair in the ARC during all lunch periods. This is a great opportunity for students to browse tables and meet professionals from all the same career fields in a casual and more approachable setting. Students are encouraged to explore their interests and ask every question they can think of!
These experiences will help students explore and decide upon careers to pursue, and allow opportunities for them to build connections with professionals. We encourage families to discuss these opportunities in advance.
More information will be distributed later in the week and during Bison Time as we get closer to the events.
Future Ready Fenton Day Another Big Success
On February 5 we had our second annual Future Ready Fenton Day, which is a school-wide event that provides grade-specific activities focused on testing, career exploration, and college readiness.
While some students were at Fenton doing important testing that could shape their future plans, most freshmen and sophomores were on college visits or career exploration field trips with the goal of gaining impactful experiences that led students to thinking about life after high school.
Some of our 11 trips included:
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University of Illinois Chicago
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Columbia College Chicago
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College of DuPage’s Technical Education Center (TEC)
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US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois
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Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital
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IBEW Local 701’s Joint Apprenticeship Center
This was an exciting opportunity to show our students the possibilities ahead of them, and then work with them to plan and get to those goals while here at Fenton.
Celebrating National School Counseling Week
February 2 to 6 was National School Counseling Week, highlighting the unique contributions of school counselors within U.S. school systems, and their impact on student success.
Fenton is very proud and fortunate to have Mr. Cano, Mr. Cuellar, Ms. Georgakis, Ms. Kulze, Ms. McDougal, Ms. To, and Mr. Welsh working with our students and community.
Your counselors provide critical social-emotional and academic supports with one-on-one meetings, groups, classroom lessons, course selection, college and career information, and so much more!
Thank you all for the incredible work you do each and every day to support our students!
Chess Team Goes to State
Congratulations to our Fenton Chess Team as they competed at State on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14. Friends, family, and classmates joined for a State Bound Send Off on Thursday, February 12.
The Fenton Chess team ultimately finished with 3 points overall and placed 14 in the 3A division at the State Tournament. Kacper Grych and Mariusz Gasior led the scoring with 4 points each and Jonah Witt won 3.5 points on Board 2. The team was rounded out by Piotr Szostek, Jasiu Szostek, Agustin Severiano, Sam Stevenson, Niko Grochal, Axel Garcia, Rodolfo Sanchez, Xavier Diaz and Emily Cortez.
Fenton advanced to state by defeating Lakes and Cary-Grove in a very tough Sectional two weeks earlier.
Additionally, Coach Stephanie Downen was nominated for Coach of the Year honors by the Illinois Chess Coaches Association. Thank you Ms. Downen for your many years of outstanding mentorship and the coinciding success. Fenton is lucky to have you.
Speech Competitors Qualify for State!
Fenton Speech is STATE BOUND in 5 events, including our amazing Performance in the Round (PIR) following the Sectional competition at Downers Grove South on Saturday, February 14. We are so proud of all of our finalists and state qualifiers.
Congratulations to...
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Arturo Hurtado Jr. - 1st in Original Oratory (OO) as well as Special Occasion Speaking (SOS),
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Angelina Varghese - 2nd in Informative Speaking (INFO),
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Sebastian Botello and Lucia Sosa - 2nd in Humorous Duet Acting (HDA), and
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Our incredible 3rd place PIR cast of "Bless Me, Ultima" including Jacob Jordan Arguelles, Amelia Bratko, Hailey Durkowski, Emanuel Flores, Noah Joaquin, Damaris Lopez, Maria Mendoza-Garcia, Jayden Mojarro, Eduardo Perez, Javier Quinones Jr, Alonso Romero, Alita Thach, Jason Vargas, Violet Villafana, David Aguilar Zamora, and Mia Otero Roman.
They will be heading down to Peoria this upcoming weekend, where they will compete and hopefully bring back some shiny medals.
As a team, the Bison finished 4th overall at the Downers Grove South Sectional!
Please join us in congratulating these incredible students and their coaches!
Valentine’s Spirit Week
Fenton students enjoyed getting creative while participating in a Valentine’s Spirit Week leading into the weekend holiday. The themes included:
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Monday, February 9: Match Made in Heaven (Twin Day)
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Tuesday, February 10: Dess up as the celebrity you love!
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Wednesday, February 11: Love your team, wear your favorite jersey
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Thursday, February 12: Date Night (dress in your best)
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Friday, February 13: Wear red, pink, or white
Fenton typically hosts several spirit weeks throughout the school year to build community.
Paying Tribute to the Class of 2026
Seniors from the girls basketball team were recognized at halftime of their January 9 game against the Illinois Math and Science Academy. Two days later, seniors on the boys basketball team, Cheer Team, Dance Force, and Pep Band were recognized at center court before the February 11 game against Elmwood Park.
Parents and other family members were invited to join the students on the court for a round of applause, giving thanks to their four years of dedication to representing Fenton High School.
Photos by Matthew Frackiewicz of the Highlights Yearbook Club.
Check our social media accounts for more photos.
Noteworthy Dates
- February 16 – No School - President's Day
- February 19 – Evening of Black Excellence, 6 pm
- February 24 – Career Spotlight Series (all day)
- February 24 – Talent Show Dress Rehearsal
- February 25 – Career Spotlight Series (all day)
- February 25 – Winter Choir Concert, 7 pm
- February 25 – Board of Education Meeting, 7 pm
- February 26 – Career Fair (all lunch periods)
- February 26 – Talent Show, 6:30 pm
- February 27 – No School; Teachers Institute Day
- March 3 – Tri-District Band Fest
- March 5 – Food For Families mobile food pantry, 4 p.m.
- March 5 – Winter Band Concert, 7 pm
- March 8 – Spaghetti with a Song fundraiser, 1 pm
- March 24 – Final NHS Community Service Deadline