Rising unemployment rates and a record-breaking hurricane season increased food insecurity nationally in 2020, with more people relying on food pantry donations than in recent years.  Midwest Food Bank, which distributes over $23 million of food each monthly, has found the increased demand for food...

NCHS is undergoing major cosmetic renovations as custodians paint the first floor of the building. With students returning to remote learning in November, the custodial staff began painting the atrium in early December. The ground floor is planned to be finished by the end of the school year. The...

COVID-19 forced this year's Madrigal singers to perform their 20th-anniversary concert without an audience, recording an emergency performance on Nov. 17 in preparation for Unit 5's return to remote learning. Madrigals director Mr. Ben Luginbuhl, then in his fourth year teaching, and the court singers...

The Electoral College voted Monday, Dec. 14 to certify the Presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden. Biden’s 306 electoral votes surpass the 270 required to win the presidency. President Donald Trump had continued to contest Nov. 3’s election results by requesting recounts and filing lawsuits...

Multiple Google services and applications began experiencing a significant outage early Monday morning, with users encountering error messages when attempting to access the affected services. The platforms -- including Gmail, Google Classroom, Google Drive, YouTube, Google Meets, and Docs -- are applications...

With Illinois reverting to Phase 3 of the ‘Restore Illinois Resurgence Mitigation Plan’ on Friday, Nov. 20 for the unforeseeable future, small businesses face another round of mitigation requirements. The requirements, coming as a new wave of COVID-19 surged statewide, “aims to limit gatherings...

“As a teacher it feels like I’m drowning and instead of throwing me a life preserver the district is throwing me lead weights,” Mr. Patrick Lawler, a social studies teacher at NCHS, said at the Unit 5 board meeting on December 9. Lawler was joined by Normal Community seniors Conner McClelland...

NCHS alum Jarrett Johnson, a member of the Class of 1997, was nominated for Best Arrangement - Instrumental or A Capella at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” arranged and performed by Johnson and ten-time Grammy award winner Alvin Chea of Take 6 was released in...

With stay-at-home orders and social distancing mandates, college-bound seniors planning their futures in an uncertain world are finding the process difficult to manage.  “The pandemic has upended the whole system of college admissions,” Jenny Rickard, Common App CEO, said in an interview with CBS...

Unit 5 will continue remote learning for the remainder of the fall semester, according to a district email sent to parents this morning. When Unit 5 returned to remote learning on Wed., Nov. 18, the district had initially planned for students to return to in-person learning on Dec. 7; however, remote...

Dr. Jackie Lanier would love to see her five siblings on November 26. However, there will be no holiday get together this Thanksgiving. “It’s going to look really different, and it should unfortunately,” she said.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control recommends that...

When it comes to mental health, teens don’t often reach out for help. According to a June 2020 National 4‑H Council survey, 65% of teens reported that they deal with their feelings on their own, while 67% pretend to feel better to not worry others. 3/4ths of the teenagers surveyed recognize “there...

When faced with the inability to perform on stage this year, the Bloomington-Normal high school theatre programs proved "the show must go on," according to NCHS theatre director Mrs. Kevin Vernon as they participate in the digital theatre fest "Everywhere is a Stage." "Everywhere is a Stage,"...

Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle announced Friday, Nov. 13, that the district would return to remote learning effective Wednesday, Nov. 18. Students will not be in attendance Wednesday to allow teachers and staff time to prepare for change. The “adaptive pause” to hybrid learning is tentatively...