District 58 Education Foundation awards more than $26,000 in grants to schools

Students browse Addie Kostellic's classroom library at O'Neill Middle School. Kostellic received a Foundation grant to purchase additional volumes for the collection.

Books for classroom libraries, IdeaPaint, WhisperPhones for fluency improvement, physical activity monitors, books and materials for a second grade Genius Hour, and a half-sized bass for the instrumental music program were among the 16 grant requests funded by the District 58 Education Foundation for 2013-14.   

Altogether the Foundation, which was founded in 2002 to enhance the education of students in District 58 and its 13 schools, gave away more than $26,000 in grants this year. Over the past 11 years the Foundation has donated more than $400,000 to benefit District 58, most of that in the form of grants. The Foundation also sponsors the Sneak Preview seventh-grade orientation program, Select 58 eighth-grade service awards, Distinguished Service Awards for staff, and the annual new teacher luncheon. Fundraisers over the past several years have included the Harlem Wizards vs. District 58, an evening with Poi Dog Pondering at the Tivoli Theatre in partnership with WXRT, and the Kelly Miller Circus. 

In partnership with the Downers Grove Public Library, the district is hosting a series of parent education sessions focusing on how digital devices can be used to support learning. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the unique opportunities that digital tools provide, including executive functioning skills such as calendaring, task management, reminders, communication, and organization. Participants also can learn more about accessing the library's digital materials, as well as Internet safety and digital citizenship.

Digital Learning workshops are scheduled on the following dates/times at the Downers Grove Public Library, 1050 Curtiss St. 

• Friday, November 15, 1 p.m.
• Monday, December 2, 7 p.m.

The events are open to all interested parents and community members.   

 Visit our Parent Tech Support page to check out resources shared at previous workshops!  

Debbie Krygeris's sixth grade class at Whittier School is currently reading a few chapters each week of the young adult novel "Out of My Mind," by Sharon Draper--along with children their age around the world through the Global Read Aloud Program.

Facilitated by a teacher in Madison, Wis., the six-week program, which Krygeris discovered on Twitter, brings together students around the world to read the same book at the same time and discuss that week's chapters with partner classrooms using digital platforms. "Out of My Mind" is the story of Melody, who cannot walk or talk due to cerebral palsy but has a photographic memory and will not let her disease define her. 

 

Krygeris's class will be discussing the book in small groups with a fifth-grade classroom in California and a fifth-grade classroom in North Carolina using a tool called Edmodo. They have spent the past two weeks getting to know one another by participating in writing prompts based on the book and responding to one another's posts.

The class also has been participating in other activities based on the book. Each student wrote down on a construction paper fish -- a prominent symbol on the book's cover -- a prediction about the book's ending. Students predicted that she would talk and stand up, that she would "find her voice," and that she would make a friend. They created a communications board like the one Melody uses and tried to communicate with each other using only that tool. It was very challenging to get their points across, they said. They also talked about what Melody might say if she were able to use text-messaging as a form of communication.

For more information about Global Read Aloud Day, visit www.globalreadaloud.com. 

O'Neill celebrates Red Ribbon Week

In honor of Red Ribbon Week Oct. 21-25, O'Neill Middle School classes designed ribbon posters to hang outside their doors highlighting students' talents and skills. They also participated in Spirit Days to help promote alcohol/drug prevention and awareness. Monday was Mix and Match Day, Tuesday was Superhero Day, Wednesday was Neon Day, Thursday was Favorite Team Day, and Friday was Red Day in honor of the school's colors.

Click here for more photos! 

El Sierra students go on 'bug hunt'

  

Second-grade students at El Sierra School recently went on a "bug hunt" right inside their classroom! Their teacher, Mark White, hid around the room pieces of construction paper on which were written the names of various parts of bugs (thorax, abdomen, etc.) Students looked up, down and all around until they had all of the "parts" they needed to assemble their unique bugs using glue, scissors, tape, crayons and other tools. They then created videos about their bugs.

 Whittier Jaguar Jog a success

More than 300 people turned out for the second annual Jaguar Jog September 22. The Jaguar Jog, which served as both a fundraiser for the Whittier Elementary School PTA and as a community-building event, featured a 5K walk/run and a 1-mile kids' race through the Randall Park neighborhood. It also included a raffle and themed intersection contest, and the fun-filled morning culminated with a post-race party for participants and spectators at Gatto's Restaurant in downtown Downers Grove.

In addition to its fundraising function, the Jaguar Jog also served to promote fitness among students and their families. Whittier students were encouraged to participate in a "My Mile(s)" challenge to train for the race. As part of the challenge, students were asked to walk or run at least one mile in advance of the race day and document details of their training on personalized cards that were then displayed around the school. Students logged well over 100 miles just in the week leading up to the race! Students also participated in a "ME + 3" program which challenged them to invite three other people to join them in the fitness-filled fun.

Click here to see the names of this year's winners!   

Lester to host clothing resale Oct. 25-26 

The Lester School PTA will host its annual clothing resale Friday, Oct. 25 from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 26 from 8-11 a.m. at Lester School, 236 Indianapolis Ave.  The sale features gently used fall and winter clothing for children and infants, boys, girl, juniors, plus costumes, formalwear, boots, hats, shoes and skates. The clothing resale is a community service event that also serves as a fundraiser for the PTA to provide Lester students with educational enhancements. 

Board Briefs 

Highlights from the October 15 meeting of the District 58 Board of Education

Flag Salute

Representatives of the Hillcrest School student council led the flag salute and reported on the organization's activities.

Spotlight on our Schools

School Board President Sallie Lupescu chats with El Sierra second-grade teacher Mark White about Facetime.

Board and audience members visited the 21st Century classroom, a new professional development and collaboration space at Longfellow Center. About a dozen staff members were on hand to share how tools such as Twitter and Facetime are revolutionizing their collaborations with colleagues and transforming their teaching.

Demographer Study Update

Superintendent Kari Cremascoli provided an update to the demographer study that was conducted last year. She reviewed enrollment data district-wide and by school, as well as building capacity analyses and data from last year's demographer study. The District's overall enrollment is up by more than 160 students this year, a more significant increase than expected and the largest one-year jump the District has experienced in more than 20 years. However, classes throughout the District have been balanced successfully, and most class sizes remain close to the District average. Cremascoli

recommended that the board not pursue boundary adjustments in the next two years. Staff will conduct a space and enrollment analysis annually and keep a close eye on the numbers, particularly for schools that experienced larger-than-expected enrollment increases and/or are close to capacity. It will be important to ascertain whether this year's jump in enrollment is a one-time event, or the beginning of a trend of in-migration to the District, she said. This is a good sign for the District and community, but a trend that needs to be carefully monitored for District planning purposes.  

Policy Committee Update

Cremascoli reported that the policy committee had conducted its annual review of the bullying, harassment and intimidation policy, and recommended no changes. The committee also has begun its review of the District's transportation policy, including consideration of fees for eligible riders as well as paid ridership options.

ELL program improvement update

Terry Martin, Assistant Superintendent for Special Services, provided an overview of the District's progress as it moves through its second year of program improvement for its English Language Learner/bilingual program. The District convened an ELL committee this year, and the spotlight presentation at the March Board of Education meeting will be a report on the work of the committee and their recommendations for program improvement for ELL services across all District 58 schools.

2013 tax levy overview

Controller James Popernik provided an overview and historical perspective on the District's property tax levy, which accounts for approximately 80 percent of the District's revenue. The District is proposing to request a levy of approximately $52 million for 2013. This would account for the limited increase allowed for the District by the 1.7 percent Consumer Price Index and approximately 1 percent in anticipated new growth. The District will hold a public hearing regarding the levy on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Longfellow Center.

Life Safety architect work and asbestos abatement

The Board authorized the employment of ARCON Associates and Wight and Co. to provide architectural services for 2013-14 Life Safety Work. The Board also authorized the employment of Wight and Co. to provide asbestos abatement consulting services at Herrick, Highland and Whittier.