This year's Glenbrook musical has been cast and rehearsals have started. The musical will be held at GBS. Tickets are $13 and available for purchase either online, in person at GBS or the day of the show at the ticket booth. 

The musical will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday in the Watson Auditorium. For ticket information, call 847-486-4672 or go to www.showtix4u.com.

Glenbrook Foundation hosts "A Night of Glenbrook Theater"

In connection with this year's Glenbrook Musical "West Side Story," the Glenbrook Foundation will host "A Night of Glenbrook Theater" at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

Tickets are $75 and include a dinner, premium ticket seating to the 7:30 p.m. show and a Foundation donation. The Glenbrook High School Foundation raises funds for programs and resources for District 225 students to enhance, enrich and expand their educational experience.

The dinner will be held at Glenbrook South High School, 4000 W. Lake Avenue. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.showtix4u.com.

For more information about the Foundation, click here. For questions, call 847-486-4672 or e-mail aalpert@glenbrook225.org.

During the State competition March 7-9, GBN DECA broke new ground with 30 students qualifying to compete in 19 of the 45 competitive events at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Anaheim, CA next month.

The DECA state winners pose for a picture during the state competition. Photo by Michael Rast

"Michael Rast and I are excited to share the news of the tremendous success of Glenbrook North DECA at State," said Business Education Teacher and DECA advisor Mindy Ingersoll. "We are pretty sure we have the highest number of qualifiers in the state." Rast, a social studies teacher, also serves as a DECA advisor.

In addition, 41 out 45 GBN teams made it in the top 10 during the State competition; 13 were named 1st place winners, 10 were 2nd place winners, and 4 were named 3rd place winners.

For a full list of all the winners or more on DECA, click here.  

During the IHSA Policy state debate tournament, the teams of Natalie Knez/Nathaniel Sawyer and Tommy Donovan/Ethan Matlin met in the finals to tie for first place.

Also, the team of Derek Choi/Josh Tashma finished in the top eight, and the team of Kim Hill/Jacob Kahn finished in 11th place.

Sawyer was named captain of the all-state debate team (top speaker) for the second year in a row, and Knez was named 9th speaker and a member of the all-state debate team.

In Public Forum debate, the team of Sam Korsky and Daniel Newman finished in the top 16. Maya Simkin was 8th speaker and a member of the all-state debate team.

GBN Speech Team members Benji Englander, Amanda Mawrence and Ryan Wagner had an impressive showing during the IHSA State Tournament the weekend of February 15-17.

Senior Amanda Mawrence advanced to the final round in Dramatic Interpretation and earned 3rd in the State. Benji Englander, a junior, ranked 12th after preliminary rounds and Ryan Wagner, a senior, ranked 8th after preliminaries.

The 23rd annual Central Suburban League Art Exhibit will be held April 11-20 at The Art Center in Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road. The public is invited to the opening reception on Thursday, April 11 from 6-8 p.m.  

This exhibit features student art work from 12 participating high schools:  Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Deerfield, Evanston, Highland Park, Maine East, Maine South, Maine West, New Trier, Niles North, Niles West, and Waukegan High Schools.  

Types of media include drawing, painting, digital art, graphic design, photography, ceramics, jewelry, and sculpture.  

As senior Nour Abdelmonem updated the Syrian death toll on the Global Citizens Club bulletin board in the SA Hall, she said that a passing student asked her for reassurance that the increase in numbers was a "good thing."

 

The death toll represents a growing number of casualties in the Syrian civil war rather than suggesting some form of progress. Startled by the evident ignorance about current events, Abdelmonem, co-president of GCC, said she wanted the club to educate people about the Syrian conflict. She feels that while people generally might have an idea that something is going on, "People don't understand what a death toll means and how bad the conflict actually is."

Junior Matthew Bondy puts up an outline of a dead body onto a wall in the Student Center. Global Citizens Club members put these outlines around the school to raise awareness of the conflict in Syria. The body outlines represent casualties from the Syrian civil war. Photo by Arin Kerstein.

 

The current civil war in Syria is a conflict between different religious and ethnic groups, according to Josef Olmert, adjunct professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of South Carolina. He said that because of the historic developments of the country, Syria consists of many different religious and ethnic communities that are "lumped together" and lack a sense of unified nationality.

 

He said the regime in the last 40 years has been totally dominated by a sectarian affiliation of Alawites - non-Muslims who make up about 15 percent of the population. This regime has consisted of a brutal military dictatorship that has "always been resisted by the majority Sunni Muslims," Olmert said.

 

The military regime has gotten away with mass murders in the past, most notably in Feb. 1982 when 25,000 civilians were massacred, he said. As the regime lacked legitimacy in the minds of many Syrians and as the circumstances in Syria gradually worsened, "everything exploded in March of 2011," Olmert said.

 

"Most of the population is fighting against the regime, but there is also fighting between civilians," said Olmert. "There are two levels of violence. One between the military, which is basically Alawite, and the rebels, who are mostly Sunnis, but there is also local crisis all over the place, including fighting between neighborhoods in mixed areas."

 

For more on the Syrian conflict, click here. 

During the Special Olympics state tournament, the Glenbrook United Boys White team beat Palatine Gray 54-26 and Metea Valley 52-28 to earn state gold. This is the second straight gold medal for the White team and all the athletes scored in each game.

As part of its initiatives for 2012-13, District 225 implemented recommendations from grant-funded retro-commissioning studies to help reduce overall energy consumption. These improvements are expected to save the district more than $88,000 annually.

"While the retro-commissioning reports cited our routine maintenance as some of the best they've seen, they also produced a number of simple recommendations to further enhance our efficiency," said Superintendent Dr. Mike Riggle.  "By reducing energy consumption, we save money and help improve the environment."

At Glenbrook North, eight recommended actions have either been completed or are in process and will be completed within the next two months.  The total cost to implement these measures is $31,300, with an annual energy cost savings estimated at $69,515. Numerous cost-saving actions will be implemented, with many centering on the pool area of the school.

At Glenbrook South, implementation is underway on four recommended actions. The total cost is $10,000 with an annual cost savings estimated at $19,098. Cost-saving actions at GBS focus on air handling unit operations and resetting various temperature set points.

The initial study was conducted in spring 2012, and was funded by a $50,000 grant for each school.

The Glenbrook High School District 225 Board of Education discussed on February 25 a recommendation from the administration to freeze student fees at the same rates as last school year, with the exception of the materials fee that would now include a technology cost.

"We understand our local families have been impacted by current economic times. The administration continues to make every effort to keep costs low and yet still be fiscally responsible to our taxpayers who support the District," said Assistant Superintendent for Business Affairs Hillarie Siena.

The following student fees would remain the same as last year: bus transportation; Driver education behind-the-wheel; parking stickers; towels; instrument rental fee; credit card convenience charge; and pre-school tuition.

The Board considered replacing the current materials fee of $15 with a combined materials and technology fee of $30. This is to help cover the increasing costs of items such as e-mail and network services, Internet services, wireless access, library services, testing services and the emergency notification system. 

The District has not raised fees for transportation the last three years, and will also maintain its sibling bus rider discount of 50 percent. The Board will vote on the proposed fees at the March 11 Board of Education meeting.

Proposed fees for 2013-14
* Driver Education Fee (BTW) $350
* Towel Fee $10.50
* Instrument rental fee $20/semester
* Materials/technology Fee $30
* Student parking stickers $285/full year ($142/semester)
* Credit card fee $2.50 per transaction
* NSF check fee $30
* Pre-School Tuition $160/day
* Bus Transportation $675 (before June 3) and $800 (after June 3)