Community Consolidated School District 15 announced this week the appointment of two principals for the 2015-16 school year.

The District chose to fill both positions internally:

Christie Samojedny, Stuart R. Paddock School's principal for the past four years, will serve as Jane Addams School's new principal. She will replace Monica Petersen, who has accepted a principal position in Crystal Lake Elementary District 47.

Mrs. Samojedny's position at Paddock will be filled by Rachel Bland, who has served as the assistant principal at Gray M. Sanborn School for the past two years. Kristin Jares will continue to serve in her important role as Paddock's assistant principal.

Christie Samojedny

"Throughout her career as both a teacher and an administrator, Christie has distinguished herself as gifted educational leader," said Scott Thompson, Ed.D., superintendent of schools. "She has experienced tremendous success while serving as principal at two similar schools in the District, and we're confident she will continue to accomplish great things while working with the Jane Addams community."

Mrs. Samojedny joined District 15 in August 1999, and served as a third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teacher at Virginia Lake School before becoming Lincoln School's principal in July 2007. She served in that capacity for four years before accepting her current principal position at Paddock. Prior to joining the District, Mrs. Samojedny served as a fourth-grade teacher at J. Milton Lewis School in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Mrs. Samojedny holds a bachelor's degree in education from Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia, and a master's degree in educational administration, leadership, psychology, and foundations from Northern Illinois University. She is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in curriculum and instruction at Aurora University.

Rachel Bland

"Rachel is a child-centered educator who has excelled in two different assistant principal positions in large part because she is so adept at building relationships with staff, students, and parents," said Dr. Thompson. "She has proven that she will be an outstanding principal at Paddock, and we're proud to extend this opportunity to her."

Mrs. Bland joined District 15 in 2005, and served for a year as the assistant principal for both Sanborn and Willow Bend Schools, splitting her time between the two buildings. In 2006, she was named the full-time assistant principal at Willow Bend, and she held that position for seven years before moving to Sanborn to serve as its assistant principal in 2013. Prior to joining District 15, Mrs. Bland served for four years within the Low Incidence Cooperative Agreement as an elementary special education teacher working with students who were deaf or hard of hearing.

Mrs. Bland holds a bachelor's degree in special education for the deaf and hard of hearing from Illinois State University, and a master's degree in educational leadership from National Louis University.

Lincoln art teacher named
Illinois Outstanding Teacher of the Year

Lee Ann Langsfeld, an art teacher at Lincoln School, has been named the 2015 Illinois PTA Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" said Ms. Langsfeld upon learning this news. "This is beyond exciting and such an honor."

Ms. Langsfeld joined District 15 in 2007, and served for a year as an art teacher at both Lincoln and Virginia Lake Schools before becoming the full-time art teacher at Lincoln in 2008.

"Over the past eight years of being a teacher at Lincoln, I have been lucky to be surrounded by a great staff, wonderful families, and amazing students," said Ms. Langsfeld. "I have always appreciated the support of everyone around me. As I look at the talented staff I am surrounded by, I am truly humbled that the PTA chose to nominate me for this award. The PTA has always been willing to help with any event I have planned, and I have really enjoyed the relationships I have formed with Lincoln families by being a part of this team. It is inspiring to see their support of the fine arts, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be an educator at Lincoln."

Ms. Langsfeld was nominated for this honor by Lincoln's PTA co-presidents, Jeannette Harris and Gretchen Elzer, who praised Ms. Langsfeld for inspiring her students to think independently and be creative, and for collaborating with the PTA, her colleagues, and the school's administration to improve the educational experience at Lincoln. In particular, they said, Ms. Langsfeld dedicates many additional hours to supporting the school by displaying student artwork online and in the community. This, they said, builds on her relationships with every student, both inside and outside of her art classroom.

"Ms. Langsfeld has a unique ability to connect with students in such a way that every student realizes their artistic talent and creativity, feels respected, and believes that learning is incredibly fun," wrote Mrs. Harris and Mrs. Elzer in their nomination.

Ms. Langsfeld will receive the 2015 Illinois PTA Outstanding Teacher of the Year award at the Illinois PTA's 2015 Outstanding Principal, Teacher, and Volunteer Awards ceremony, which will be held Saturday, April 18, during the 113th Illinois PTA Annual Convention at the Embassy Suites Hotel and River Front Conference Center in East Peoria.

'A Night for the Blue Jays' will
benefit D15 Special Olympics 

The Blue Jays, District 15's Special Olympics team, will host "A Night for the Blue Jays" fundraiser on Saturday, April 11, at The Cotillion, 360 S. Creekside Drive in Palatine.
 
In addition to cocktails, dinner, a DJ, and dancing, the event will offer live and silent auction and split-the-pot raffle opportunities. Items up for grabs include:

• A ride to school in a Palatine Police Department cruiser, complete with lights and sirens on arrival (winning student must live in Palatine)
• A hockey puck autographed by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Sharp
• A football autographed by Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Richard Dent
• A baseball autographed by Chicago White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia
• A photo and CD autographed by famed singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow
• Chicago White Sox tickets
• Chicago Sky tickets and an autographed photo
• Schaumburg Boomers tickets
• Six passes to Brookfield Zoo
• Harley-Davidson wear
• An array of gift baskets that include a variety of tools, a collection of gardening items, a set of margarita supplies, an assortment of Racconto brand Italian products, a selection spicy goods from Pepper Palace, and so much more.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the District 15 Special Olympics program, and will be used to purchase uniforms, equipment, and supplies for the Blue Jays team, which operates strictly on fundraising.
 
Tickets to "A Night for the Blue Jays" cost $60 per person. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m.

Read more about "A Night for the Blue Jays." 

District 15 and Alexian Brothers Center for Mental Health are partnering to screen the documentary film Finding Kind on Tuesday, April 28, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the theater at Walter R. Sundling Junior High.
 
Finding Kind is a powerful documentary that raises awareness of -- and fosters change within -- the "girl world" of bullying. In this movie, individual girls and women share their personal experiences of girl-on-girl bullying and the universal truths about growing up girls. Female students age 11 and older are welcome and encouraged to attend the free screening along with their parent(s) and/or a responsible adult.
 
A panel discussion will follow the film and include a variety of speakers -- mental health professionals from Alexian Brothers, social workers from District 15, and junior high and high school students.  

Read more about the Finding Kind presentation.   

Pleasant Hill's chorus performs at Wolves game

Pleasant Hill School's Cougar Chorus, led by Keeley Nauman, the school's music teacher, did a wonderful job performing at a recent Chicago Wolves hockey game.
 
"It was an exciting event and the kids had a blast!" said David Morris, Pleasant Hill principal.
 
For their performance, the chorus students sang We Go Together from the movie Grease, and included all of the hand jive motions. Also, prior to the puck drop, they got to see their smiling faces on the arena's big screen.
 
"It was a awesome night filled with great things-music and hockey!" said Mrs. Nauman.  

Sandburg staff get pies in their faces
during surprise all-school celebration

As a kickoff to the second half of the school year, Carl Sandburg Junior High's staff recently hosted a surprise all-school celebration.
 
During the celebration, Sandburg's band and orchestra students performed, and students were recognized for their involvement in sports and clubs so far this year. Also, the entire school celebrated that students had met their goal for decreasing tardies during the first half of this year.
 
"As a reward for meeting that goal," said Erika Johansen, Carl Sandburg principal, "several Sandburg staff members and myself took whipped cream pies to the face during the celebration. A good time was had by all!"