• Roshni Arun, Grade 5, Jane Addams School
• Calvin Franke, Grade 4, Central Road School
• Brooklynn Hextall, Grade 4, Kimball Hill School
• Reetika Sharma, Grade 6, Marion Jordan School
• Keyana Desai, Grade 6, Hunting Ridge School
• Michael McGinn, Grade 6, Thomas Jefferson School
• Shivani Jayswal, Grade 6, Lake Louise School
• Guntaas Kaur, Grade 4, Lincoln School
• Sumana Dara, Grade 6, Stuart R. Paddock School
• Arnan Gangla, Grade 5, Gray M. Sanborn School
• Shreya Seetharam, Grade 4, Pleasant Hill School
• Arin Lee, Grade 5, Frank C. Whiteley School
• Sravya Konasani, Grade 6, Willow Bend School
• Laura Seeberger, Grade 6, Winston Campus Elementary
• Chandrachur Kesana, Grade 8, Carl Sandburg Junior High
• Tim Okonek, Grade 8, Walter R. Sundling Junior High
• Luis Hernandez, Grade 8, Winston Campus Junior High

Kathy Pluymert, Ph.D., assistant superintendent for school improvement, and Meg Schnoor, Ed.D., assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, were both recently recognized as distinguished alumni of schools where they earned degrees. 

Kathy Pluymert, Ph.D.

The School of Education at Loyola University Chicago presented Dr. Pluymert with its School Psychology Program Distinguished Alumna Award. Dr. Pluymert received her education specialist degree from Loyola in 1984, and her doctorate in 2000.
 
"Her focus, openness to new ideas, and ability to work with teachers, administrators, and parents has made her a go-to person in the profession. In her role as an administrator she has brought her knowledge of human behavior and learning together to help Palatine be a model district for new ideas and training," stated her 2014 Award Citation. "Kathy uses these new ideas with her staff to generate a more enhanced learning environment for the children in the district. She has an impressive resume, but her real mark is in the many children she has impacted and the professional staff she has nurtured to think in divergent ways in order to make changes to enhance learning." 

Meg Schnoor, Ed.D.

The safety of our students, parents/guardians, and staff in District 15 is our first priority. With that in mind, District 15 and the Rolling Meadows Police Department worked together to install video cameras on the stop arms of school buses that serve Central Road, Kimball Hill, and Willow Bend Schools, and Plum Grove Junior and Carl Sandburg Junior Highs.

The cameras will record traffic when bus drivers activate the red stop arms when picking up or dropping off students. If a vehicle passes a school bus with an activated stop arm, the camera will capture and send a video of the occurrence to the Rolling Meadows Police Department. The Rolling Meadows Police Department will then review the video and, where appropriate, issue a citation to the owner of the vehicle.

Through Wednesday, February 11, the Rolling Meadows Police Department will issue warning citations without fines. After this initial trial period, each citation will include a fine. A first time citation will come with a fine of $150. Each citation beyond the first will come with a fine of $500.

Consequently, please be aware of the following two traffic safety laws: 

• When a school bus is traveling on a two-lane roadway and is stopped to pick up or drop off pupils, the vehicles in all lanes of traffic must stop. Vehicles should stop at least 20 feet before reaching the school bus to allow pupils to cross the roadway safely.

• When a school bus is traveling on a four-lane roadway with at least two lanes of traffic traveling in the opposite direction, only those lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction as the school bus must stop.

These safety laws apply on school grounds as well. Please do not pass a stopped school bus with an activated stop arm while in a school parking lot because doing so is both unsafe and unlawful. It may also lead to a citation with an accompanying fine. Additionally, unless directed by law enforcement, please do not pass a stopped school bus with an activated stop arm while in a school parking lot even if you are being directed or encouraged to do so by a bus driver and/or staff member, as this will more than likely result in a citation, as well.

Thank you for your help in keeping our students, parents/guardians, and staff safe in the parking lots of our schools and on the roadways in our community. 

What is the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test?

How is PARCC different from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT)? 

Is my child prepared to take PARCC? 

What can we expect? 

Kathy Pluymert, Ph.D., District 15's assistant superintendent for school improvement, will answer those questions for parents during a PARCC discussion and orientation hosted by the Northwest Suburban Council of PTA/PTSA. 

Titled "Tell Me About PARCC," Dr. Pluymert's presentation will be held Tuesday, February 10, at 7 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Junior High, 1100 N. Smith Street in Palatine.  

Before winter break, students, parents, and staff who participated in Winston Campus Elementary's Latino Family Literacy Project gathered to celebrate the completion of their efforts and arrival of the holiday season.
 
"It was a fun night of reading, food, and presents," said Andrew Tieman, Winston Campus Elementary principal. "The kids had a great time opening up their presents and reading their new books. Santa came early!"
 
The Latino Family Literacy Project is actually offered at multiple sites across the District.  

Regardless of where it has been offered, Latino parents have enthusiastically embraced this initiative, which aims to increase Latino parents' involvement in their kids' education by providing them the literacy training they need to nurture a love of reading within their children.

"It has been an amazing opportunity for our students and their families!" said Mr. Tieman.
 
Read more about the Latino Family Literacy Project. 

Pleasant Hill loves its mentors from Fremd    

Pleasant Hill School recently teamed up with Fremd High School to create a mentor program for each of its classrooms.
 
Every class at Pleasant Hill has been paired with two Fremd students who are serving as classroom mentors. These Fremd students visit their classrooms twice a month to speak in-person to students about positive behavior, help students with their school work, assist teachers in the classroom, and build positive relationships within the Pleasant Hill community. The Fremd mentors will also be writing to the students in their classes, sending the classes "check-in" videos throughout the school year, and encouraging students to read more by promoting the Read and Connect program that Pleasant Hill participates in with Fremd each year.
 
"Students at Pleasant Hill are very excited to have this connection, and they look forward to their mentors' visits," said David Morris, Pleasant Hill principal.

Fifth graders at Jane Addams School recently brought to life the great accomplishments of early explorers and inventors throughout history. Students chose a person of interest to research, and wrote a biography and a speech explaining their historic figure's impact on society. Then they presented their work in a "wax museum" format. Research and recordings were done using the students' iPads, and costumes were a creative component that helped bring history to life!

Winston Campus Junior High collects
more than 2,100 cans for food pantry

The seventh- and eighth-grade Scholars classes at Winston Campus Junior High organized a food drive at school and in the community during the month of December. Food items were collected in homeroom classes each day, with the incentive of a free breakfast for the homerooms that collected the most goods before winter break.

Additionally, with the help of Service Club, Choices Club, and Peer Leaders, students went door to door in the neighborhood one afternoon after school and collected more than 300 items.

In all, Winston Campus collected more than 2,100 cans to donate to the Palatine Township Food Pantry.

Lincoln fourth graders treated to field trip
to BMO Harris Bank

Students in Melissa Teuscher's fourth-grade class at Lincoln School recently learned about money management when they took a field trip to a BMO Harris Bank in Palatine.
 
Students were able to stand in the official vault to see where the money is kept, and explore the safety deposit box room and learn what can be put into these boxes.  

They went behind the scenes at the customer drive-up window to learn how money is transferred into and out of the bank, and they also went behind the tellers' desks to observe coins being counted by a machine.
 
They even learned a bit of interesting bank trivia. For instance, there are 40 coins in each roll of quarters -- that's $10.
 
Students walked away from the field trip with more than just new knowledge about the banking business.

BMO Harris Bank also gave them pencils, bags, and a little stuffed animal version of the bank's mascot, Hubert Lion.

For the past three years, Dustin Sublett, the physical education teacher at Willow Bend School, has facilitated a unit on floor hockey with the support of the professional hockey team, the Chicago Wolves.
 
The Wolves supply jerseys, equipment, and certificates. They even provide every student with a voucher for one free ticket to a Wolves game, as well as opportunities to purchase additional tickets at reduced prices.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Sublett leads students in developing stick-handling, passing, and shooting skills, as well as elements of fitness, endurance, sportsmanship, and cooperation.
 
Over time, this four-week unit has become one of Willow Bend students' favorite activities of the school year.

Lake Louise staff
lent 'Helping Hands'
to families during
the holiday season       

The staff at Lake Louise stayed busy helping students' families over the holiday season.
 
Lake Louise staff adopted three Lake Louise families through the school's own Helping Hands holiday program, which solicited toy donations from throughout the school community.  

Approximately 750 toys were distributed to 112 Lake Louise families through the Helping Hands program.
 
Additionally, staff connected 61 Lake Louise families with such programs as Palatine Township's Adopt-A-Family program, Buehler YMCA's Giving Tree program, and the Palatine Police and Fire Benevolent Association's annual Toys for Tots collection effort.

Kimball Hill has Heart program helps
34 families celebrate the holidays     

This holiday season, the Kimball Hill School community came together to provide gifts for 34 of its families in need through its Kimball Hill has Heart program.

For the program, the school's staff and student council collected donations of toys from community resources and the school's annual toy drive. They then set up the school's multi-purpose room to look like a toy store, and invited parents from these families to "shop" for their children's presents.

In all, the effort provided gifts for 88 Kimball Hill students.

"A heartfelt thank you to the Kimball Hill staff and community for their generous support of the Kimball Hill has Heart program," said Patricia Lopez-Pullman, a social worker at the school. "Special mention to the Oak Park Firefighter's Union and the Community Church of Rolling Meadows for their donations. Our program would not be possible without the extensive help and support that has been dedicated to this program."

Lake Louise fourth-grade teachers get
into character for Greek mythology unit    

To kick off to their Greek mythology unit, Lake Louise School's fourth-grade teachers recently transformed themselves into key characters from Greek mythology: Cupid, Medusa, King Midas, and Athena.
 
In costume, the four teachers -- Shelley Angelaccio, Catherine Caldera, Kelly Coconate-Brown, and Laura Franz -- treated their students to a skit that identified the character traits of each of the mythological figures, and then a PowerPoint presentation that connected many present-day name brands to Greek mythology. Finally, the students were asked to supply a new fact they learned in the form of an exit slip.
 
This high-interest unit had all students on the edge of their seats.

Jane Addams students find
pen pals among their peers   

Students at Jane Addams School needed to look no further than the other side of their school to find pen pals among their peers.
 
In December, Eydie Guerrero's bilingual first- and second-grade class and Karen Dorado's fourth-grade class kicked off a unique pen pal project. Students from both classes wrote letters to each other, and, prior to winter break, they met their respective pen pals and became reading buddies.
 
Now that these relationships have formed, the pen pals will continue to write letters and meet for reading activities every month for the rest of the school year.