Awards & Accolades
Recognition Highlights
Congratulations to our A Cappella Groups
A HUGE CONGRATS to the members of High Fidelity & Tonal Eclipse! High Fidelity placed 2nd & Tonal Eclipse placed 3rd out of 7 participating schools in the 2022 International Championship of High School A Cappella(ICHSA) Quarterfinals! Tonal Eclipse won the following awards: Zucchious Kerl Rosal won Outstanding Arrangement & Chantal Polusca won Outstanding Choreography. High Fidelity will now move forward to Semi-Finals on 3/12/22 in Milwaukee. Click here for event details.
Congratulates to our All-State Honors Jazz Band Performer
Congratulations to Socrates Hwang Kim on his performance with the All-State Honors Jazz Band on January 28, 2022. To learn more about the state's rigorous audition & scoring process, click here. To read more about this incredible & gifted senior, click here.
ISBE Launches Sabbatical | Teacher of the Year
In July of 2021, the Illinois State Board of Education launched a new year-long paid sabbatical for the Illinois Teacher of the Year as part of its commitment to elevating educators. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Illinois’ top teacher will elevate the prestige of the title and allow the Teacher of the Year - in this case, Justin Johnson - to maximize their impact as Illinois’ ambassador for the teaching profession. Read the full article here.
Spring Showcase of Bands | May 2021
Although the show was cut short due to inclement weather, there are many people to recognize, congratulate, and thank for all of their hard work. Even with the rain & winds, the performances were nonetheless spectacular - everyone involved put their hearts & souls into it & deserve a huge round of applause. A special "Congrats!" goes out to all the graduating seniors! Please Click Here to view the full program.
A Cappella Groups, Tonal Eclipse & Echo Effect
Juan Crespo, Adrien Herrera, and Ian Soriano awarded “Best Arrangement”
In April, our a cappella groups, Tonal Eclipse and Echo Effect, competed in the ICHSA Great Lakes Semi-Finals! This is a huge honor and we are beyond proud of the amazing work they put into their music, videos, editing, and mixing. Click Here to check out the award winning videos from all three of our groups.
Marching Wolves crowned Grand Champions
In 2020 the Niles West Marching Wolves were crowned Grand Champion at the Metamora Marching Band Invitational for classes "A, AA, and AAA". The marching band was named class "AAA" best winds and auxiliary while earning high scores in 8 of the 10 adjudicated captions across the 3 classifications.
Justin Johnson named Teacher of The Year
Justin Johnson, Niles West Bands Instructor, named 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year |
Read more in the Chicago Tribune
ISBE names Justin Johnson of Niles West High School 2021 Illinois Teacher of the Year.
(ISBE honors 233 additional educators and school personnel with Those Who Excel awards).
Niles West Jazz Band invited to New Orleans
The NW Jazz Band took a trip to New Orleans in 2020 for the Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference where they participated in the Jenerations Jazz Festival & also served as the clinic demonstration band for Dr. Todd Kelly's "All Ears" clinic, performed in front of a standing room only crowd. The Jazz Ensemble visited L.H. Marrero Middle School in Jefferson Parish and experienced a unique exchange with those students. Through the generosity of a donor, West students attended a Bulls vs. Pelicans basketball game.