During a special meeting on Monday, August 24, at 6 p.m. at the Joseph M. Kiszka Educational Service Center, the District 15 Board of Education will continue its discussions regarding the role of a construction manager to oversee projects related to its new 10-year Life Safety Study, and begin discussing funding options for completing those projects.

The District's construction manager will represent the District's interests as it works with an assortment of contractors to complete the $21.6 million of projects that are categorized as requiring completion within two years. During a special meeting on July 23, the Board heard from two firms in the running to manage the projects -- Gilbane Building Co. and IHC Construction. At its August 12 meeting, the Board selected Gilbane to serve as its construction manager for the construction work beginning next summer.

The Board also adopted the District 15 Facilities Plan Committee's recommended strategy to accomplish the life safety report's requirements. The committee presented its recommendations during the Board's June 17 meeting.

In the short term, the committee suggested that the Board commit to a two-year plan to complete the $21.6 million of high priority projects. The committee also suggested that the Board begin to conceptually determine how to address the $112.5 million of projects that are categorized as requiring completion within 5 years. Because these projects are larger in scale, impact, and cost, the committee proposed completing two to four buildings per summer until the list of projects is completed.

Read more about the Decennial Life-Safety Report.

Last fall, District 15 fielded its first boys' and girls' soccer teams at each of its four junior highs. This fall, it is set to expand that incredibly successful program.

In fact, this expansion will double the size of this popular new interscholastic athletic offering, as each junior high will now field boys' and girls' teams at both the seventh- and eighth-grade levels.

In its first year, nearly 500 students tried out for the new soccer teams. However, each school fielded just two teams -- a boys' team and a girls' team, each of which was comprised of a combination of 18 seventh- and eighth-grade students. So unfortunately, just 144 students were able to play on the new soccer teams.

This year, with each school fielding four teams, 288 students will be able to participate.

Boys' teams will continue to compete in the fall, girls' teams will continue to compete in the spring, and their schedules will still be comprised of a six-game regular season featuring three home-and-away series for each school, and a two-day, season-ending District tournament.

Coaches, students, and parents who participated in the new soccer program's first season reported nothing but positive experiences. Students showed tremendous sportsmanship, congratulating each other and shaking hands with their opponents and the referees after each match. They also expressed great pride in wearing their schools' uniforms and representing their schools as members of an organized athletic team for the first time in their lives. Simply being a part of one of the teams enhanced the school experience for many of them, and increased school spirit, as many excited spectators watched the teams' games, too.

Tryouts for this year's boys' teams begin next week -- seventh graders on Tuesday, August 25, and eighth graders on Wednesday, August 26. Contact you junior high for more information on trying out for one of the teams this year.

Also, remember that annual health examinations are required for interscholastic sports participation. Junior high athletes need physicals before they can try out for an interscholastic sport. The exam form, completed and signed by a doctor, must be dated within one year prior to the start of practice or tryouts, and must be filed in the school nurse's office before the student can try out. Physical forms (Certificate of Child Health Examination forms) are available in the school office and online (English PDF / Spanish PDF).