The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommend universal indoor mask-wearing in K-12 schools and early education settings in low or medium COVID-19 Community Level areas, announcing the shift in COVID guidelines Friday, Feb. 25. As of Thursday, March 3, McLean County is one of...

Staffing shortages, said Superintendent Kristin Weikle at the Oct. 17 School Board meeting, are “one of the biggest challenges [the district] is facing” this school year. Unit 5’s struggles to staff vacant positions in the food service and custodial departments, and the lack of substitute teachers...

Teen mental health is an ongoing issue, one made worse by the pandemic. Beyond the regular stressors of the teenage years, an estimated 10-20% of adolescents globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), experience mental health conditions. Globally, depression is the fourth leading cause...

Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle announced in an email to Unit 5 families that four-day in-person instruction for 6-12th graders will begin on Monday, April 5. The email, sent Monday, March 8, lays out the plan to replace the two-day-a-week hybrid model Unit 5 junior high and high schools began implementing...

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...

Before IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson’s Nov. 19 announcement that “all high school sports and activities will cease by November 20 for … a short-term pause” low risk winter sports were set to open their seasons Nov. 30. The decision regarding the higher risk winter sports of boys and...

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...

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 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...

Isolation. Stress. Anxiety. Depression.  All side-effects of a global pandemic. Teens across the country face unforeseen challenges as they navigate school, jobs, and relationships during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In March of 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak shut down schools nationwide,...

The longest season in NHL history ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisting the Stanley Cup on September 28, after defeating the Dallas Stars 2-0. After COVID-19 forced the NHL to suspend the 2019-2020 season on March 12, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman ensured the season would somehow be completed. It...

NCHS students return to in-person learning, starting with 9th graders on Monday, Oct. 19, and 10-12th graders on Oct. 26. Unit 5 will be staggering the students’ return over the two weeks to “adjust processes, as needed, with fewer students in the buildings,” Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle...