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payton community monthly meeting
6/04
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The monthly Payton Community Meeting is a brief and informative opportunity to hear what is going on at school directly from our principal. The meetings start at 6:15PM. They are generally held on the first Wednesday of every month, but always check the monthly calendar (at right) in case the schedule has changed. All meetings are held in the Library.
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fop fundraising is
a year-round effort
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The Friends of Payton needs your valuable donations to support Payton's educational mission There are three ways to do it:
1. Mail a check payable to FOP at 1034 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL 60610
2. Drop a check into the FOP box in the school office. Make it payable to FOP.
3. Contribute online via credit card by clicking the donate button on Payton's homepage. All contributions are tax deductible and all amounts are equally appreciated.
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lsc meetings are
open, next is 6/23 | |
Parents, guardians, and the public are welcome at Local School Council (LSC) meetings, which are held monthly in the Payton Library at 6PM.
The LSC is an elected body that has three main responsibilities: School Budget, Continuous Improvement Work Plan (formerly SIPAAA), and Principal Evaluation, Retention and Selection.
All are welcome to attend and to make comments during the "Public Comments" portion of the meeting.
For more on the LSC, including a schedule of upcoming meetings, minutes of previous meetings, and a roster of members, please visit the LSC page of the Payton website.
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two more ways to
stay current
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Check the school website periodically (some people set a reminder on their calendars to do this once or twice a week) at www.wpcp.org.
Two other ways to keep up on what's happening at school are to watch the PNN (Payton News Network) OR check Advisory Announcements.
You can also subscribe to receive the announcements via email or RSS.
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check grades & attendance online
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ParentConnection is a secure online portal for sharing classroom attendance and grades between teachers, students, and parents and guardians.
To activate a student on your ParentConnection account you must obtain the student personal identification number (PIN), which you can do on this web page on the Payton sites.
Once you have obtained the PIN you will be able to complete the application process. If you experience any problems while looking up a PIN, please email
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when your student is sick or absent for another reason
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To report your student's absence you must submit a written note, available on the website under the Parents drop down menu. Or you may click here for Reason For Absence Note. Student absences will remain unexcused until a signed Reason For Absence Note is submitted to the Office. |
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gallery 34: payton in pictures
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Find great photos of Payton happenings at Gallery 34. It is continually updated.
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payton alumni
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Please go to
www.wpcp.org/alumni for current news on Payton Alumni Association activities.
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share stories and ideas for this newsletter
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Please send us current Payton news to share with other Payton families. Here are the submission guidelines:
Less is more -- 200 words or less works best in an e-newsletter. If that's not enough room to tell the whole story, include a phone number, email address, or web link to give our readers more details. Send text as a Word attachment or type it into the body of your email.
Include a picture or two if you have them; send pictures as .jpg attachments, do not embed them in your Word document.
All submissions are due the 25th of the preceding month. Send them to: fopnewseditor@gmail.com
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the pptw
newsletter team
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Katie Merrell
President, Friends of Payton
Marcia Matalon May
VP, FOP Communications
Jeanne LamarEditor
Deb Hass
Associate Editor
Susan McColgan
Associate Editor
Jane Barclay
Steve Gallancy
Gaute Grindheim
Susan Pearsall
Rachel Shefner
Marion Shuck
Debbie Shepard
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newsletter
brought to you by friends of payton
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Friends of Payton (FOP)
is a volunteer-run organization that includes all of the parents and guardians of current Payton students. We raise funds and provide volunteer assistance to support Walter Payton College Prep.
Our mission is to enrich educational and extracurricular activities with outside resources to supplement the limited funding allotted to Payton through the public school system.
President
Katie Merrell
Executive Vice President
Jane Barclay
VP, Communications
Marcia Matalon May
VP, Fundraising
Candise Cho
Treasurer
Tracey Lowenthal
Assistant Treasurer
David Laures
Secretary
Lynn Brahin
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walter payton college prep high school
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1034 North Wells Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
773-534-0034
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CALENDAR
Some details were not available at the time of this issue's publication. Contact the Payton administration with questions: 312-534-0034.
JUNE
6/2 Class of 2014 Graduation, 4:30-7PM, Moody Bible Church
6/4 Last Payton Community Meeting, 6:15-7PM, Library
6/9-11 Semester Finals
6/13 Seminar Day/Last Day of School: Field Day
6/23 Local School Council Meeting, 6-8PM, Library
JULY
7/7-24 Algebra 1- Semester 2 Summer Course, 9AM-12PM
7/8 Local School Council Meeting, 6-8PM, Library
7/21-8/1 Chicago/China Innovation Incubator, 9AM-3PM
AUGUST
8/13 Fall Sports Tryouts (times TBD by team)
8/18-22 Freshmen Connection, 1-4PM
8/18 Senior Registration, 9AM-12PM
8/19 Junior Registration, 9AM-12PM
8/19-21 Math Team Training Camp, 10AM-12PM
8/20 APUSH Boot Camp, 11:30AM-3PM
8/20 Sophomore Registration, 9AM-12PM
8/21 APUSH Boot Camp, 10AM-12PM
8/22 Freshmen Parent Orientation and Pizza Dinner, 4-7PM
*PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the year, the Payton calendar may differ from the online Chicago Public Schools calendar. For the Payton calendar, please click here.
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 A LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Another Great Year
Draws to a Close
Dear Payton Parents and Guardians,
This is a unique time of year in the life of a high school. Payton is filled with excitement for the conclusion of a fine year of academic growth, and for students to move forward to their next level of education. And there is notable melancholy because, in a few short days, we will hold commencement exercises for our seniors, a collection of fine individuals who are well-prepared to confidently move onward to new endeavors, and thus their kind and enlivened spirits will no longer be with us each day. We-the Payton faculty-have come to know and deeply care for each of them. We will miss our daily doses of them and we are eminently thankful to all of our students, and their families, for making our lives more joyful and for making Payton such a remarkable community.
Updates:
-2014-15 Budget and Programs. Facing sizable initial faculty and staff cuts, we proffered arguments to CPS about our budget allocation and needs. The result is an amended budget that places us in a far better position to continue to offer powerful academic programs. No faculty positions will be cut, one staff position will be cut, and we will continue to offer our current courses along with some new options - Honors Sociology, Personal Fitness and Wellness, Honors Dance, Honors Formation of the Contemporary World. These will complement our current 65 honors courses and 19 Advanced Placement courses (next year, we will have a record-high 1,400 spots in AP courses), Enrichment, Seminars, the Payton Advanced Studies Program, Global Education Program (21% of Payton's students traveled abroad this year), and a host of extracurricular activities. Good things await our 880 students next year.
-Campus Expansion. Plans continue to unfurl for the new building and I will present them at the Jun. 23 LSC meeting. Please join us.
34 Cheers to:
-National Merit Scholarship winners Anna Christensen, Alex Mine, Eduardo Plascencia, and Julia Szromba, and to Gersham Johnson, a National Achievement Scholarship winner.
-The Payton National History Fair contingent: Elena Johnston, Julia Porter, Karla Solis, Polly Hochman, and Xiomara Rodriguez.
-Michele Mowery, the Senior Steering Committee, and the dozens upon dozens of parents who have done so much to send our seniors off in style.
-The Best Buddies Program, named the top Best Buddies Program in Illinois.
-Donnie Campbell, named Special Olympics Athlete of the Month. Check out the news feature video here: Donnie Campbell.
-The Science Department for holding Physics Day for all of our freshmen and many upperclassmen.
-The current junior class, who posted an average ACT score of 29.6 (last year's average was a 29.5, and the previous year's was a 27.5)
-Paul Karafiol (Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Coordinator) for earning the Fred Felener Award from the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics, which is presented to an educator who "engages students in math beyond the classroom."
-Rileigh Luczak, Gersham Johnson, and Alex Mine, who won significant scholarships at the City Science Fair.
-The many juniors honored during our inaugural Junior Book Awards program, and to the coordinators of the event: Lance Paulsen (Counseling) and parents Kaarina Solovaara, Cathy Nardi, and Gretchen Decker.
-Janina Goncalves, named the Perspective Gallery's Student Member, which allows her to receive mentorship from the gallery's artists, and to exhibit in the Gallery. And to Jacob McCarthy, who was part of a juried show at the Perspective Gallery.
-To our expert teachers who have done so much to make the above...and many other elements of successful growth...possible.
As the academic year draws to a close, a wholehearted thanks to all of you for supporting our students - often not just your own child - by opening your heart, home, wallet, and refrigerator to other Payton students, and offering them cheers, counsel, a ride home, a high five, encouragement, and sometimes a shoulder or an ear-all towards the selfless end of making Payton a more vibrant family.
Go Grizzlies!
Tim Devine, Principal
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PARTICIPATE
Enjoy your kids this summer!
Watch the school calendar for August registration dates
VOLUNTEER:
August: Incoming Family Welcome Team, for the welcome dinner and ongoing support.
August: Registration Volunteers, every day of registration week.
DONATE:
Mon. Jun. 16: Baked goods for Teacher Appreciation Lunch!
To let us know how you will help, email us at FOP.
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 STUDENT SERVICE
National Honor Society
Fall Book Drive
The National Honor Society is having a book and school supply drive starting in September. We are asking for books to be age appropriate for 5 to 14 year olds. All of the books will help build a library for Real Men Read, which is a program that has adults of different backgrounds read to elementary students to promote literacy. Their goal is to show that reading is cool no matter what age you are. All of the school supplies will go to KIPP Ascend Primary School, which has many families that do not have the money to buy school supplies for their children. When you are doing summer cleaning, and buying school books and supplies for this coming year, please don't forget about the National Honors Society's book and school supply drive and all the students we can help together.
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 FRIENDS OF PAYTONA Message From
Katie Merrell
Dear Payton Families:
I can't resist taking advantage of this final newsletter of the school year to thank everyone who has participated, volunteered, and donated this year! Through FOP, Payton families provided an extraordinary amount of support throughout the year. Nearly 200 people volunteering at events and our fundraising activities raising money for student activities and travel, teacher professional development, technology, and other things that help make Payton great. While my family's Payton career ends with graduation on June 2, I can't help but worry about the challenges the school faces in the coming school year, primarily in the form of gaps in the budget provided by CPS. I'm hopeful that the families of the Class of 2014 will participate in the inaugural Outgoing Class Challenge, creating a challenge grant for the FOP's Annual Appeal in the fall. The school will be relying on FOP for support not only for the things we've traditionally helped provide, like professional development for teachers, technology, international travel, and technology, but for things that have historically been covered by the CPS budget, like textbooks. By creating a challenge fund for the fall Annual Appeal, the Outgoing Class Challenge is a chance for the Class of 2014 to give back to a school that has done so much for us. If your child is graduating Monday and you haven't committed to the Challenge yet but would like to, please email me at kamerrell@gmail.com. To those families graduating with mine on Monday, good luck at college! To those who will be back at Payton in the fall, I hope you have a great summer and come back ready for another terrific year. Best,
Katie FOP President
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 PAYTON SPORTS
Grizzly Men Make Tracks,
and Field
You may see them practicing in the hallways, or running around the block outside school. You may see them doing sprints at a local park or jumping on the beach. Anyway it can, the boys track team works out and works hard to achieve outstanding results across a spectrum of events. Under long-time Head Coach Thaddeus Rego and Assistant Coach Darryl Townsend, the team continues its season, having qualified in multiple events for the Illinois State Track Meet in Charleston, IL.
In travels to the University of Wisconsin, the University of Dayton, around Illinois, and within Chicago, they saw tough competition that forced them to perform at their very best. Last week those efforts paid off when they won the Chicago 2A Sectional Meet with a team score of 157 points, outscoring St. Patrick's and Ridgewood (tied at 93 points) to post a commanding victory. This is the third Sectional win for Payton Boys Track in six years!
Sectional results in Varsity track and field events include First Places in: 4x100-Meter Relay (Evan Lowry (SR)-Juan Aguirre (SR)-Mike Kalanik (soph)-Myles Davis (frosh)); the Mile Relay (Lowry-Aguirre-Sam LaSota (JR)-Arturo Simental (soph)); Alejandro Vargas (frosh) in the 3200-Meter Run; Lowry in 110-Meter High Hurdles and 300-Meter Intermediate Hurdles; LaSota in 800-Meter Run; Wesley Chan (JR) in the 1600-Meter Run; Earl Schultz (SR) in High Jump, and Alex Shields (SR) in Shot Put and Discus Throw.
Payton Records set in 2014:
F/S Long Jump - Mike Kalanik - 19'11"
Varsity 800 Meter Run - Sam LaSota - 2:00.31
Varsity 110 Hurdles & 300 Hurdles - Evan Lowry - 14.86 & 41.15
Varsity Discus - Alex Shields - 127'1" 
Michael Kalanik takes the baton from Juan Aguirre in the 4x100 relay.
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 CLUBS & ENRICHMENT
Payton Math Team:
The Year in Review
The 2013-14 academic year has been a fantastic and fun-filled one for the Grizzly Math Team! A full year of competition has included the following:
City Of Chicago Math League (5 contests)
Overall 2nd place finish for Payton. Lev Kendrick(JR) placed first overall for the Algebra II team and Alex Mine (SR) placed first overall for the Pre-Calculus team.
North Suburban Math League (5 contests)
Overall 6th place finish for Payton. It is notable that in this league we out-competed much larger suburban schools, such as Evanston, Glenbrook North, Libertyville, and New Trier.
Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics Competition (state finals)
Overall 7th place finish for Payton. Alex Mine (SR) took 2nd place in the Pre-Calculus competition. The Calculator Team of Will Barclay (SR), Rileigh Luczak (SR), Peter Williamson (JR), Abby Wolfe (soph), and Shijia Hu (frosh) also took 2nd place. Other top finishes included the freshmen and senior teams placing 3rd.
Illinois Mathematics League (6 contests)
Overall 1st place finish in the state for Payton. First place finish in state for Alex Mine (SR) and Lev Kendrick (JR).
Two teams of four students each received a "meritorious" ranking at the Annual High School Mathematical Competition in Modeling, an international competition that takes place over a 36-hour period in February. Five students will represent the Chicagoland All-Star Team at the American Regional Mathematics League Contest in Iowa City, Iowa on May 31: Alex Mine (SR), Cormac Slade-Byrd (JR), Lev Kendrick (JR), Sam Detmer (soph) and Amy Liang (soph).
Special and profound thanks for the hard work of our dedicated coaches from the Math Department: Mr. Scott Galson (Dept. Chair), Mr. Michael Caines, Mr. Ben Hyman, Mr. Paul Karafiol and Mr. McKendry Murano!
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 PAYTON COMMUNITY
Fall Parents Night Out
Hosts Needed
A Payton tradition, Parents Nights Out are informal potluck dinners hosted by Payton families and are for parents and guardians only - no kids! We're looking for a volunteer to host this fall's PNO. You need only open your home, FOP provides the volunteers, paper goods, and attendees bring dishes to share (appetizer, entrée or dessert). BYOB. Contact FOP if you are interested in hosting!
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 GLOBAL CONNECTIONS 2014 Student Travels:
Costa Rica Reflections
Sixteen students recently returned from a science immersion trip to Costa Rica. The trip was a total immersion in Costa Rica's history and language of the locals, as well as the science, environment and overall culture of the country. The weather was hot, humid, and sometimes very rainy. The group spent most days out of the sun, under the canopy of the rainforest. Students continually commented on how much they got to do, including collecting data on tree growth and climate change, removing invasive coffee species (800 square feet!), and zip lining through the rainforest. They also visited a coffee plantation, an active volcano, and a waterfall garden. The scientists at the research facility even discovered a new species of dragonfly while we were there! Overall, the trip was a great success.
"If you ever want to get over your fear of bugs, go to Costa Rica!" - Daisy Arellano (JR)
"Pura vida!" - Agustin Bello (JR)
"Going to Costa Rica was completely different than China. Both were great experiences, but Costa Rica was more about science and environment. whereas China was more about the history and people." - Grace Cooper (SR)
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 FINE ARTS
Music News and
Performance Dates
The Payton Jazz Orchestra performed for the 16th annual CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy) Chicago Event at Navy Pier, hosted by David and Susan Axelrod. Over 1,000 people were in attendance including Gov. Pat Quinn, Ald. Ed Burke, the Chicago Bears General Manager; Phil Emery, and Sen. Richard Durbin, who graciously came up to the bandstand and spoke with the students. The students received numerous compliments from the attendees (and the wait staff!) on their performance.
Students are encouraged to practice instruments over the summer. Information will be passed out for students wishing to use school instruments over the summer. Private lessons are greatly encouraged and information identifying teachers and area summer programs can be found in the band office.
Concert Choir and Sounds of Sweetness will be singing at the Graduation ceremony Mon. June 2. SOS will give its "last hurrah" and entertain all at Field Day on Fri. Jun. 13.
A special message from Ms. Kate Johnston (Music), Director of Choirs, "All the best to the ten Payton Choir seniors. We will miss them. . . Nnenna Anosike, Christian Bourdon, Rachael Cohen, Marisa Cullnan, Adam Galowich, Musa Killins, David Kula, Evan Lowry, Erick Masias, and Marianna Oharenko. And congratulations to Rachael Cohen and Erick Masias for receiving the senior choir awards this year!"
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 PAYTON SPORTS
The Grizzlies Heat It Up
in May Play
Boys Baseball: This season, despite missing two starting players during the CPS playoffs, the team made it to the second round before losing to Simeon, 5-8.But the tides have turned as Ubaldo Castillo (JR) threw a rare no hitter May 28 in Payton's win over Corliss, advancing the Grizzlies to the 3A State Regional Finals. Striking out five and walking only one, Castillo retired the last 19 batters, and notched a 6-0 victory.
On May 31, the team battled back from a 0-1 deficit at the start of the 5th inning to clip in 4 runs and take control by the end of that inning. "It really was a great pitching matchup", said Coach Huerta, with Zac Vietch (soph) on the mound giving up only 4 hits, 1 run, and sending the rest of the his batters packing. Chris Huerta (JR) stole home in a dramatic dash to ratchet the lead up to 6-1 in the 6th inning, the Grizzlies' momentum was then unstoppable with a 7-2 win over Brooks College Prep. The next two weeks will be busy, as they head to the Sectional Semifinals on Thurs. to face the Harlan Falcons, at Brooks. Then with luck and pluck, onward to Crestwood Stadium the following week.The 3A State Championship takes place Jun. 13-14 in Joliet.Wherever this run may end, it will have been a fantastic season for these guys! Go Payton!
Girls Soccer: After beating Northside 3-0 in early May, the JV Soccer team had a fantastic group of city playoff games, trouncing Kennedy 6-0, then Whitney Young 1-0 in an overtime shoot-out! In City Semifinals they shut out Juarez 3-0. Matched up against Lane Tech in the City Finals, they played a hard fought game but lost 1-4. It was one amazing ride for the JV Girls!
The Varsity team finished a great 12-5-2 season with a Regional championship in the State tournament before losing a wrenching battle in double overtime 2-1 to #1 seeded Northside in the Sectional finals. Their impressive state run came after a successful trip to the semi-finals of the City tournament where they held the #1 seeded Lane Tech team to a 0-0 tie in regulation and two overtimes before losing 4-3 on penalty kicks. The team was led by its 4-year varsity seniors: defenders Allie Forst and Alyssa Marron, goalie Sophia Mehdizadeh, and mid-fielders and co-captains Ellie Vachuska and Jaclyn Shifrin. Congratulations to the whole team!
Girls Softball: The Lady Grizzlies, in a rebuilding year, went to a regional championship for the first time since 2007. With a final record of 11-10, the team bounced back from a loss in the City playoffs and advanced to the State playoffs, beating Noble before ultimately falling to Jones, 4-10. The team will greatly miss departing pitcher
Maya Rodriguez, as she heads to the University of Chicago next year. Great season, ladies!
Boys Tennis: The team finished a tremendous season with third place in the CPS city championships. For the first time in six years, a doubles team, Peter Williamson (JR) and Jack Coletto (JR), qualified for state competition. Several highly-ranked incoming freshmen players are expected to join this maturing team, which is poised to be a formidable force in city tennis.
Girls Track & Field: The girls finished the season strong with many personal bests at the Sectional meet at Hanson Stadium. The team earned 24 medals for their top 6 performances at the meet. Top performances for the team - with both missing the state qualifying by one place - was the 4x800 relay team Katelynn Jankowiak (soph), Esha Kular (soph), Elizabeth Shirk (JR), Samantha Foster (JR) and in the 100m dash, Nia McFall (frosh).
Boys Football: The coaches and players are working toward the opening game on Aug. 31 at 3PM at Toyota Park versus St. Ignatius. Click here to view the 2014 season schedule. If your son would like to play football in the 2014-2015 school year, contact Head Coach Ton Faltin at tfaltin34@gmail.com.
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¡Gracias! Gratias tibi! Merci! Xièxiè 谢谢 Thank You!
Simply put - our Payton community is amazing! Thanks to the Fundraising Team and their generous supporters, Friends of Payton ("FOP") had an amazing year and exceeded this year's fundraising goal. This was made possible by our unwavering group of dedicated volunteers to whom we extend heartfelt thanks for sharing their talents, time, and energy throughout the year. Your immeasurable support is irreplaceable!
The school year and the fundraising efforts may be winding down for this year, but the Fundraising Team is looking forward to next year's challenge. Please feel free to email us with your comments and suggestions or to let us know that you want to be involved in planning next year's events. FOPFundraising@gmail.com.
What It Takes to Raise Funds for Items CPS Will Not Cover:
Number of Volunteers Needed: 100+
Number of Hours Needed: 1,000+
Number of Supporters Needed: Infinite
Community Coming Together to Celebrate Our Amazing School: PRICELESS!
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 STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student Government in Session
Reported with the help of Eleanor Musick (SR), VP of Student Government
Student Government has had an eventful final month! We have elected an entirely new executive board and are rearranging the entire Student Government Congress to work more closely with the Payton administration. Our goal is to become a more effective and efficient organization; the new Congress is designed to respond more quickly to student needs. We're proud to have elected the following rising seniors to the Executive Board:
President - Olivia Greenfield
Vice President - Amy Hoke
Secretary - Annie Brandstrander
Treasurer - Wendy Wu
PR - Sammy Cousino
Diversity Chair - Kiarra Harris
We also wish to congratulate the following class representatives:
Junior Chair - Daniela Estrada
Sophomore Chair - Hubert Mysliwiec
We're thrilled to wish the 2014-15 Student Council the best of luck!
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 NEXT MEETING ON JUNE 23
Local School Council (LSC)
At the LSC meeting on May 12, Principal Devine reported that after months of work and weekly meetings, the 2015 Budget and the 2014-2016 CIWP have been approved by the LSC, and the 2014-2015 calendar has been approved by the Leadership Team. U.S. News and World Report named Payton one of the top 50 high schools in the United States (#49) and Payton was also named the 2nd most rigorous high school in Illinois. There have been several developments in the Special Education department. Payton is trying to clarify its program/curriculum with CPS Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services (ODLSS) for next year. Payton is not sure if it will have an Onboarding Program (14 - 18 year olds) + a Transitioning Program (18 - 22 year olds), or just a Transitioning Program (14 - 22 year olds). A new neighborhood restaurant, Hashbrowns, is working with Payton students and is in the process of hiring a student for the restaurant. Additionally, our Best Buddies program has been named the top Best Buddies Program in the state. Finally, the Special Olympics were held during the week of May 5. One of the days rained out, but the students had a great time overall.
Please join us at the next LSC meeting on June 23 at 6PM in the Library.
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