Hillcrest greets two very special visitors every Monday afternoon: Mrs. Trish Borla, and her certified therapy dog, Spencer. They visit students in the District's Developmental Learning Program, or DLP.

The DLP comprises students with known or suspected intellectual disabilities. These disabilities are often combined with behavioral issues or communication disorders. To accommodate these students' special needs, the program offers a low student-to-staff ratio, integrated services and, since last December, dog therapy.

"Spencer is very calming for our students with more significant behaviors," said Anna Demlow, DLP teacher. "His mild manner regulates some of our students with autism. It's almost an unspoken bond between the children and Spencer."

Read more about Spencer's visit to the DLP classroom!

The Henry Puffer Student Council led a walk/run fundraiser on May 22 to support the St. Baldrick Foundation. Thanks to their school community's generosity, they raised more than $1,200 to support childhood cancer research!

For a small donation, participants - students, parents and staff - could run laps around Henry Puffer (it's a farther distance than you might think!).  Donations of $50 or more gave participants the opportunity to shave their head or dye their hair green.

Photo provided by Henry Puffer teacher and Student Council moderator Katie Hurckes. 

Belle Aire students and staff raised $225.66 for the nonprofit Watts of Love. Student Council sponsored a Hat Day on May 8. Students wore their favorite hat and donated $1. Teachers contributed $5 to wear jeans for the week.

Kevin Kuster, from Watts of Love, will travel to devastated Nepal this month to distribute life-changing solar lanterns and headlamps. The people of Nepal do not have electricity in their huts. The solar lanterns and headlamps will improve their quality of life by extending their day for work and education.

Kingsley's Hannah Venzon displays the certificate she received at the Young Authors' Conference.

Thirteen students represented District 58 at the Illinois Young Authors' Conference in Normal, Ill., on May 16. The students were selected among hundreds who entered original stories into the District's Young Authors' Contest.

The conference was a dream come true for young writers. It featured literary discussions, author workshops, book talks and meet-and-greets with published authors. 

 For example, Kingsley student Hannah Venzon and her mom, Kim, enjoyed listening to children's author Jim Aylesworth speak.

"Hannah came away with many ideas to help her further her interest in writing," Kim said.

This annual event exists to celebrate exceptional writing by students in grades K-8.

Congratulations to District 58 Young Authors' Conference representatives! 

Whittier third grade teacher Louise Modine found fun ways to mix things up and incorporate technology into three different projects this spring! Check it out:

Architecture Tours: Modine assigned pairs of students a famous Chicago building to research. With LRC Director Kelly Coleman's help, the students researched and wrote a traditional paper on their building. But that's not all! Here comes the incredibly innovative part:

"They used their iPads to mirror their building on the smartboard, which created an artistic replica of their building. We put all of their buildings together to create the Chicago skyline," Modine said. "Plus, each building has a code on it. If you scan the code on their building with an iPad mini, a video presentation pops up of the students giving a tour of their building as they report on their research!"

Pizza Book Reports: Students took a bite out of a good book for their "pizza book report," a unique spin on the traditional book report. Modine partnered with Kara Jurinek, fellow Whittier third grade teacher, for this project.

"Students read a realistic fiction book that is at their 'just right' level," Modine said. "They created a pizza where each slice contains a literary element that we have studied throughout the course of the year."

The completed "pizzas" then got placed into a real pizza box, donated by the local downtown Downers Grove Giordano's.

Virtual Bookshelf: All Whittier third graders wrote their autobiography using the "book creator" app.

"I created a virtual bookshelf on my smartboard so that at open house, parents and students could simply tap on the book and view it. Amazing!" Modine said.

Keep up the creative work!

Highland fourth graders recently explored the wonderful world of Roald Dahl. They read several of his beloved children's classics and completed related assignments.

Their Roald Dahl classroom unit culminated in a very special Roald Dahl Day celebration. Students could dress up in costume, and they saw a live play version of "The BFG."

"This is our way of rewarding them for all of their hard work," said Diana Springer, Highland fourth grade teacher. "The costumes included Willy Wonka, Matilda, a Giant Peach, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood, Oompa Loompas, Witches and so many more."

After the field trip, fourth graders returned to Highland for more Roald Dahl Day fun. Students played a Roald Dahl trivia game and enjoyed themed snacks, which included peaches to honor "James and the Giant Peach" and Wonka candy.

"Five of the Wonka bars had Golden Ticket Homework Passes hidden in them!" Springer said.

Special thanks to Mrs. Diana Springer for sharing this photo. View the entire story and more photos here!