The last day of school of the 2014-15 school year in Community Consolidated School District 15 was approved by the Board of Education at its April 8 meeting.

In planning the calendar, five emergency days are included, and when they are not used, the Board of Education traditionally shortens the school year by any remaining unused emergency days. This year, however, the District used all five emergency days due to snow and dangerous conditions, so the last day of school will be Friday, June 12, as originally scheduled, and it will be a half-day of classes for first through seventh grades.

Kindergarten and early childhood classes will dismiss for the summer a day earlier -- Thursday, June 11 -- and the school year will end for eighth-grade students after their graduation ceremonies.

SPARK (Special Education Parents Accessing Resources and Knowledge) will hold its next monthly meeting on Monday, April 27, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Junior High, 1100 N. Smith Street, Palatine.

During this meeting, the theme of which is "More Than Sticks and Stones: Bullying Awareness for Families," parents will explore how to tell if their children are being bullied based on a disability. Gina Musielski, a family resource specialist at STAR NET Region II in Morton Grove, will share signs of bullying and "disability harassment." She will explain what parents can do about it, and how they should discuss it with their children.

To register for this event, visit http://bit.ly/1nWJaeI.

In her book, career coach Terri Lee Ryan defines life after age 40 as one big to-do list. Through its first-ever "Inspire U" event, Harper College will offer an escape from that daily grind that inspires adults through massages, performances, and seminars from a variety of experts, including Terri Lee Ryan, herself.

This free event on Saturday, May 4, runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper's main campus located at 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The event will include a keynote address from author and entrepreneur Sam Glenn, a feature presentation from Ryan, culinary demonstrations, a financial management session with an expert financial coach, and free chair massages. Also, mini-seminars will cover everything from harnessing LinkedIn to building a resume, and a host of Harper College's Continuing Education students and instructors will share their talents through a wide variety of presentations ranging from fencing demonstrations to comedy and magic routines and ukulele and jazz performances.

The "Inspire U" event grew out of Harper College's popular College and Career Expo, a just-for-kids day of hands-on activities.

"When parents left that, they'd ask, 'Can you do this for us?'" said Phil Mortenson of the College's admissions office. "This is our answer: a day of inspiration that lets adults take time for themselves. We do a lot of events that are focused on helping adults go back to school or boost their career. This can accomplish that, too, but it can also just be fun."

"Inspire U" attendees can focus on their career (with sessions on getting hired, going back to school, and finding career direction), or themselves (with sessions on financial management and meditation, and a mini-Spanish class). The event will include raffle drawings for such prizes as a new iPad and a wine-and-cheese tasting with a top sommelier.

For more information or to RSVP, call 847-925-6081 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/mysuccess.

Madhav Parthasarathy, a fifth grader at Pleasant Hill School, recently took third place in his rating category at the 2015 United States Chess Federation's (USCF) High School Nationals in Columbus, Ohio.

Roughly 1,500 K-12 students from across the country participated in this tournament. Nearly 800 of them -- including Madhav -- did so at the championship level.

As one of the relatively few elementary students competing against junior high and high school players, Madhav won three of his seven games, finishing 336th overall. However, his overall score was strong enough to rank him third in his category of competitors with pre-event USCF ratings between 1,300 and 1,399.