District 58 will open its Infosnap online registration tool for the 2015-16 school year on Wednesday, April 15. This helpful online system lets families securely submit their children's registration information and pay any applicable fees online.

All District 58 families will receive a general email with basic Infosnap registration information on Friday, April 10. Review this email to prepare for online registration.

In addition, returning District 58 families will receive a personalized message with individualized instructions on how to access the system on Wednesday, April 15. This email will include your child's "snap code," which serves as a password to enter your child's registration account.

Please note: only returning families may register online this year. New District 58 families must visit their child's school in person to complete registration. 

DGEEA President Marla Gilbert (left) and DGEEA Teacher of the Year Chairwoman Janice Conboy (right) congratulate 2015 Teacher of the Year Tasha Squires (center).

The Downers Grove Elementary Education Association, or DGEEA, selected O'Neill LRC Director Tasha Squires as the 2015 District 58 Teacher of the Year. Congratulations! 

Squires served as the mastermind behind last year's inaugural "Conquest of the Realm." This innovative program used creative games and contests to motivate 80 percent of O'Neill students to voluntarily read more books. This school year, Squires entered "Conquest of the Realm" into the national Follett Challenge competition, where it won $30,000 in academic goods and services for District 58.

This year's Teacher of the Year nominees include Christine LaPointe, Hillcrest; Gloria Tatar, O'Neill/Fairmount; Tiana Kurko, Indian Trail; Kristin Cantrell, Pierce Downer; Jennifer Woods, Henry Puffer; Taffy Sanger, Indian Trail; Maura Vivona, El Sierra; and Jennifer Rodriguez, Fairmount.

Squires and the nominees will be honored at the annual Celebrate 58 teachers' banquet on May 1. 

Children's author Barb Rosenstock speaks at the 2014 Author Fest.

District 58 invites the community to a book signing and photo opportunity with four prominent children's authors and illustrators: Blue Balliett, Laura Huliska-Beith, Barb Rosenstock and Tom Watson. The event will take place Friday, April 17 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Downers Grove Public Library, 1050 Curtiss St. Books will go on sale at 6:30 p.m., and the book signing starts at 7 p.m.

Friday's book signing will conclude the District 58 Author Fest celebration. The annual PTA-sponsored Author Fest event alternates each year between north side and south side schools. This year, El Sierra, Fairmount, Indian Trail, Kingsley and Whittier will host the event from April 15-17. The authors will visit these schools and talk about how they became writers and/or illustrators, discuss their craft, answer students' questions about writing and/or illustrating, and share insights about careers in literature.

Learn more about Author Fest and the visiting authors.

O'Neill's gymnasium and cafetorium were packed with bowling and DDR demonstrations, obstacle courses, dance classes, hula hoopers and family lacrosse games. Meanwhile, local health-oriented organizations filled the hallways, sharing information about nutritious food, healthy lifestyles and exercise. 

Pierce Downer School won this year's Fit Fair banner, a coveted prize annually awarded to the school with the highest Fit Fair turnout. Congrats!

The Fit Fair is coordinated by PE Teacher Mary French, with assistance from other District 58 PE teachers.

View more photos of the fun here!

Belle Aire sixth graders implore the District 58 community to participate in the Water Challenge. Learn more about their message with this video!

"The average person spends around $1-$4 per day on everything from coffee to soda and juice," said Annika and Paige, Belle Aire sixth graders. "The money that is saved would be donated to Water for South Sudan. It would be greatly appreciated by the people without clean water all over the world."

Patricia Miller, Belle Aire sixth grade teacher, leads the Water Challenge. She said she's impressed by her students' initiative.

"From emails to data spreadsheets, videos to class presentations - they have done it all with our supervisory guidance only," Miller said. "They are so excited to see what they can achieve and as a teacher I couldn't ask for anything more!"

Learn more information about the Belle Aire Water Project at http://bawaterproject.weebly.com/. Send donations to the Belle Aire Water Challenge to Belle Aire School, c/o Patricia Miller, 3935 Belle Aire Lane, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Thank you for your generosity! 

Learn more about how Hillcrest is supporting Water for South Sudan in the last issue of Communicate 58 or on the District 58 website .