Talk of attempting to enroll Chicago Public School students in New Trier high schools due to some perceived racial and funding injustice is infuriating.
School districts which take in enough property taxes to support themselves receive the bulk of their funding from local real estate taxes, with some additional funds coming from state and federal tax sources. Districts which are property poor or have low school tax rates wind up having a smaller portion of their funding come from local property taxes and a large percentage of their funding from state and federal tax sources.
Districts have some local control by holding referendums allowing the residents to decide whether or not to increase their property tax rates to support additional buildings and construction projects as well as to support staff salaries, and occasionally other services like school buses. Local residents get to choose whether they want to support these initiatives with their tax dollars or not.
For a variety of reasons, district residents make choices to build or not build new schools, to provide buses or not, and whether or not to pay more taxes for additional staff and raises. These decisions should not be made at the state level. The taxpayers in the New Trier district have, within their rights, made the choice to spend a tremendous amount of money per student on their children’s education.
My children and thousands of others are receiving an excellent education in Indian Prairie School District 204. The operational expenditure in our district is approximately $8600 per student. This is approximately half of what New Trier spends per student. For starters, this is not an apples-to-apples comparison because New Trier is a high school only district and high school students are more expensive to educate than elementary students. But even if it were, it turns out that kids can be provided a top-notch education for $8600 per year and I do not feel there is any injustice being done to the children in 204. I do not feel that we need or deserve a $17,000 per student education just because someone else has decided to fund their district at that level.
Then there is Chicago. People are complaining bitterly that their schools are funded at only $10,400 per student. I don’t understand the problem. They have more money per student than the average for the state of Illinois ($9488) and if they can’t manage to properly educate their students with that level of funding, then they should be looking into what the real problems are rather than looking at some perceived financial injustice. Is someone looking into whether those dollars are being spent wisely? Are the Chicago Public Schools distributing their funds equitably within their own district? What accounts for variance in student performance from one of their own schools to another?
Even worse, a large amount of the funding for Chicago Public Schools is not coming from their local property taxes. This means that residents of 204 who pay high property taxes for our local schools also get to pay (via income and sales taxes) for Chicago and other districts that can’t support themselves through their own property taxes.
I highly doubt it is money spent by the schools that accounts for the difference in success of students between one school district and another. More likely it has to do with the home life of the students, including the support that parents and community members put forth toward their education. In District 204 and probably most districts that are performing well, there are numerous parent volunteers taking care of a myriad of things. Most parents of successful students make sure that their children go to school every day and have the necessary resources and supplies. They know what’s going on at the school and in their children’s classes. They have met the teachers. They show up at school activities, check their students’ backpacks for homework, fliers, school newsletters, etc. Why are the overall test scores for Chicago students low while the schools are funded at levels higher than higher-performing districts? That is what they should be looking into.
I hope that a district as large as Chicago’s is using some of its vast resources to fund an excellent curriculum tailored to the needs of its students, many of whom come from impoverished households and many of whom may not arrive at kindergarten as prepared to learn as children who have been exposed to colors, number, letters, books and rich language from an early age.
Much more than I can write here can be learned about schools and districts in Illinois from reading the school report cards. I discovered that the latest numbers available (2004) show that the Equalized Assessed Valuation of property per student in the Chicago Public School district and Indian Prairie School District is almost the same! Yet at that time 204’s tax rate per $100 of EAV was 5.00 while Chicago’s was only 3.28. The per pupil spending for 204 was $8639 while Chicago was $10,409. 204’s schools are over 80% funded by local property taxes. New Trier is almost 90% funded by local property taxes, while the Chicago schools are only receiving 44% of their funding from local taxes! What right do they have to complain while they keep their school taxes lower and drain money from other sources? This is a huge amount of money. The New Trier district in 2004 had expenses of around $84 million for an enrollment of 4200, while Indian Prairie’s total expenses were $258 million for just over 28000 students and Chicago’s expenditures were well over $4 Billion for 390,000 students (more recently they have topped $5 billion).
Every proposition for Illinois school funding reform which I have seen appears that it will cost more money for residents of those districts that are mainly self-sufficient now, while sending more of that money out of the district. A tax swap of slightly lower property taxes for greatly increased income taxes leaves many of us paying a lot more money without our districts receiving any benefit for it. I don’t know what the answer is but I pray this is not what eventually happens.
There are many factors that contribute to whether a child will reach their potential in school. All children deserve a quality education and the level of funding does not seem to be what makes the difference in a student’s success. Local property tax support for school districts should motivate local governments to promote growth that will bring in tax dollars to their districts and allow residents continue to have a voice in how their tax dollars are spent. I wish that those who are complaining about the inequity of it all would put their energy into volunteering at their neighborhood schools and ensuring that their own children take advantage of the free public education that is available to them.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
2008-08-08 American Lung Assoc
"If you can't breathe, nothing else matters." This is why I support the work the American Lung Association is doing to fight lung disease through research, education, and advocacy.
When my son Jonathan was just twenty months old, I called our pediatrician's office because he was breathing shallow raspy breaths sixty times a minute. I had never known anyone with asthma and didn't know that he was wheezing. We wound up visiting the doctor's office and Urgent Care many times over the course of that winter and spring. We lived only a few minutes from the clinic but each time felt like a very long drive with my young son in the carseat behind me struggling to breathe.
Finally, after seven months, he was diagnosed with asthma and a home health worker brought a nebulizer to our house and showed us how to use it. A nebulizer is a machine that vaporizes liquid medication so that it can be inhaled. Little did I know then that this machine would be an integral part of Jonathan's life forevermore.
Once we had the machine at home, it was a great relief to be able to treat asthma episodes without rushing to the doctor's office and we were able to continue treatment for several days as needed. We soon had an arsenal of medications at home and still do today.
For a while Jonathan took preventative medication four times a day via fifteen minute nebulizer treatments. If he was having any asthma symptoms, we added nebulizer treatments with Albuterol every four hours as well, so we frequently spent two hours a day using the machine. This was not an easy time. He was little and could not sit by himself for the treatments. We watched a lot of TV while he sat in my lap and I held the mask over his nose and mouth. We hoped in vain that he would "outgrow" the asthma as we'd heard is possible.
Now he is thirteen and his current regimen includes two preventative medicines - a Singulair pill at bedtime and an inhalation of Advair each morning and evening. If he has any asthma troubles he uses his Albuterol inhaler, and when he has more serious problems he takes Xopenex or Albuterol via his nebulizer. When that's not enough, we see the doctor. Jonathan has needed a course of steroids to wipe out an asthma attack approximately thirty times in his life. Prednisone has been his life-saving medication, but used only when absolutely necessary.
We have been fortunate to avoid both the hospital emergency room and any hospital stays for his moderate asthma. Jonathan brings his inhaler with him almost everywhere he goes and we always bring the nebulizer with us when we go away for more than a day. I can't begin to guess how much medicine he has taken in his lifetime and I know the price tag in dollars for that medication has been very high both for us and for our medical insurance providers. I am tremendously grateful that my son lives in a time and place where such treatments exist and are available to him, giving him the opportunity to live a normal, healthy life.
Asthma is the number one chronic disease in children under eighteen, affecting 6.8 million children in the U.S. in 2006. More than 17 million adults have asthma, while 12-24 million adults have COPD or some evidence of impaired lung function. The number of people with asthma continues to increase and asthma is responsible for hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and 4,000 deaths each year. The economic cost of this disease is estimated at $16 billion per year due to both medical costs and causing 14.5 million missed days of work and 12.8 million missed days of school each year.
Lung disease continues to be a lethal killer in the U.S. It is responsible for one six deaths and this death rate has been continuously increasing. It's likely that you or someone you know is struggling with or has had a lung disease. The CDC reports that more than 35 million Americans are living with chronic lung diseases. The most common lung diseases are asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis).
The American Lung Association is doing many things to fight these diseases and there are many opportunities for you to help by volunteering or raising money toward funding their efforts.
Last fall Jonathan and I walked in the Blow the Whistle on Asthma walk. My family will walk in this year's American Lung Association Lung Walk with the Tellabs Red Team in Oak Brook on September 21. You may find more information about the Lung Walk and the work supported by it at www.lungil.org. You can help by participating in the walk and/or making a donation to a team that will be walking.
We walk in honor of my son. We walk in memory of my grandmother, Eva C. Hayton, who loved children and died of emphysema in 1989, a year before my oldest child was born. We walk in memory of my father-in-law, Gabe Tatar, who died of lung cancer in 1996, more than three years before the birth of my youngest daughter.
Please consider supporting the worthy endeavors of the American Lung Association by your gift of time or money. We can make a difference.
When my son Jonathan was just twenty months old, I called our pediatrician's office because he was breathing shallow raspy breaths sixty times a minute. I had never known anyone with asthma and didn't know that he was wheezing. We wound up visiting the doctor's office and Urgent Care many times over the course of that winter and spring. We lived only a few minutes from the clinic but each time felt like a very long drive with my young son in the carseat behind me struggling to breathe.
Finally, after seven months, he was diagnosed with asthma and a home health worker brought a nebulizer to our house and showed us how to use it. A nebulizer is a machine that vaporizes liquid medication so that it can be inhaled. Little did I know then that this machine would be an integral part of Jonathan's life forevermore.
Once we had the machine at home, it was a great relief to be able to treat asthma episodes without rushing to the doctor's office and we were able to continue treatment for several days as needed. We soon had an arsenal of medications at home and still do today.
For a while Jonathan took preventative medication four times a day via fifteen minute nebulizer treatments. If he was having any asthma symptoms, we added nebulizer treatments with Albuterol every four hours as well, so we frequently spent two hours a day using the machine. This was not an easy time. He was little and could not sit by himself for the treatments. We watched a lot of TV while he sat in my lap and I held the mask over his nose and mouth. We hoped in vain that he would "outgrow" the asthma as we'd heard is possible.
Now he is thirteen and his current regimen includes two preventative medicines - a Singulair pill at bedtime and an inhalation of Advair each morning and evening. If he has any asthma troubles he uses his Albuterol inhaler, and when he has more serious problems he takes Xopenex or Albuterol via his nebulizer. When that's not enough, we see the doctor. Jonathan has needed a course of steroids to wipe out an asthma attack approximately thirty times in his life. Prednisone has been his life-saving medication, but used only when absolutely necessary.
We have been fortunate to avoid both the hospital emergency room and any hospital stays for his moderate asthma. Jonathan brings his inhaler with him almost everywhere he goes and we always bring the nebulizer with us when we go away for more than a day. I can't begin to guess how much medicine he has taken in his lifetime and I know the price tag in dollars for that medication has been very high both for us and for our medical insurance providers. I am tremendously grateful that my son lives in a time and place where such treatments exist and are available to him, giving him the opportunity to live a normal, healthy life.
Asthma is the number one chronic disease in children under eighteen, affecting 6.8 million children in the U.S. in 2006. More than 17 million adults have asthma, while 12-24 million adults have COPD or some evidence of impaired lung function. The number of people with asthma continues to increase and asthma is responsible for hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and 4,000 deaths each year. The economic cost of this disease is estimated at $16 billion per year due to both medical costs and causing 14.5 million missed days of work and 12.8 million missed days of school each year.
Lung disease continues to be a lethal killer in the U.S. It is responsible for one six deaths and this death rate has been continuously increasing. It's likely that you or someone you know is struggling with or has had a lung disease. The CDC reports that more than 35 million Americans are living with chronic lung diseases. The most common lung diseases are asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis).
The American Lung Association is doing many things to fight these diseases and there are many opportunities for you to help by volunteering or raising money toward funding their efforts.
Last fall Jonathan and I walked in the Blow the Whistle on Asthma walk. My family will walk in this year's American Lung Association Lung Walk with the Tellabs Red Team in Oak Brook on September 21. You may find more information about the Lung Walk and the work supported by it at www.lungil.org. You can help by participating in the walk and/or making a donation to a team that will be walking.
We walk in honor of my son. We walk in memory of my grandmother, Eva C. Hayton, who loved children and died of emphysema in 1989, a year before my oldest child was born. We walk in memory of my father-in-law, Gabe Tatar, who died of lung cancer in 1996, more than three years before the birth of my youngest daughter.
Please consider supporting the worthy endeavors of the American Lung Association by your gift of time or money. We can make a difference.
2008-07-31 Aurora's Primary
Illinois state law now allows cities to opt out of holding a primary election in cases where there are four or fewer candidates running. Common sense dictates that if there are more than two candidates in Aurora's non-partisan mayoral election that a primary is both desirable and necessary.
Omitting the primary election would come at significant monetary savings, but is this fair?
Some residents may be glad about the cost savings related to having one fewer election, while others may be happy due to how they believe it would affect their candidate of choice in next spring's election. However, we must look at this change for what it is. It is a change in the way votes are counted and whether your vote will matter. This change is not about money or the effect on your candidate, it is about the future of our votes. Regardless of the fact that the law gives this option, we need to look ahead to what this policy means not just this coming spring but for all future elections.
Our mayor holds an important position in our city government, being both the top elected official in our city and in charge of day-to-day operations. This is quite different from the mayor’s position in a city with a hired city manager to oversee the city's ongoing business.
The Aurora Election Commission should not wait for December to make a decision based on how many candidate petitions have been filed. Rather, the commission should decide once and for all that anytime there are three or more candidates for a mayoral election then a primary is necessary and will be held.
With our established system of voting, the winner of the general election must win more than 50% of the vote. We are assured that this winner has gotten the true majority of the voting public. With the elimination of the primary, there is no such assurance. If there are four candidates, the winner only needs to get more than 25% of the votes. For a position as important as that of mayor, this does not seem right and should not be acceptable to the voters.
History has shown that a candidate who comes in second in the primary could wind up winning the general election, but this could never be the case with the elimination of the primary. With no primary, votes against an incumbent or for change would be split among various candidates, and some voters would not have the chance for their vote to be counted in the final decision.
If it is necessary to change our customary method of electing a mayor, there is a fair way to eliminate the primary election and the cost associated with it. That would be to have an instant run-off election. In this type of election, voters would rank the candidates in their order of preference. The lowest vote-getter's votes would be redistributed to each voter's next choice candidate, and this would be done again if necessary until one candidate has more than 50% of the votes or has the highest number of votes when only two candidates remain. This voting system is being used in various places within and outside of the U.S.
Some arguments in favor of instant runoff voting include a reduction in cost, a reduction in negative campaigning, a reduced third party "spoiler effect", and the likelihood of increased choices for voters. However, we are not set up to have this sort of election and there could be some opposition to this new-for-Aurora type of voting. We already have the equipment for and know that having a primary and a general election is something that local voters find acceptable.
The instant runoff voting method is covered extensively at www.fairvote.org/irv and the site notes some current legislation in Illinois to allow instant runoff voting to improve the voting rights for overseas voters including those in the military.
I urge the Aurora Election Commission to either announce their plans now to hold a primary election whenever there are more than two candidates, or to set up a system that allows instant run-off voting. Simply eliminating the primary election does not serve the best interests of local voters.
Omitting the primary election would come at significant monetary savings, but is this fair?
Some residents may be glad about the cost savings related to having one fewer election, while others may be happy due to how they believe it would affect their candidate of choice in next spring's election. However, we must look at this change for what it is. It is a change in the way votes are counted and whether your vote will matter. This change is not about money or the effect on your candidate, it is about the future of our votes. Regardless of the fact that the law gives this option, we need to look ahead to what this policy means not just this coming spring but for all future elections.
Our mayor holds an important position in our city government, being both the top elected official in our city and in charge of day-to-day operations. This is quite different from the mayor’s position in a city with a hired city manager to oversee the city's ongoing business.
The Aurora Election Commission should not wait for December to make a decision based on how many candidate petitions have been filed. Rather, the commission should decide once and for all that anytime there are three or more candidates for a mayoral election then a primary is necessary and will be held.
With our established system of voting, the winner of the general election must win more than 50% of the vote. We are assured that this winner has gotten the true majority of the voting public. With the elimination of the primary, there is no such assurance. If there are four candidates, the winner only needs to get more than 25% of the votes. For a position as important as that of mayor, this does not seem right and should not be acceptable to the voters.
History has shown that a candidate who comes in second in the primary could wind up winning the general election, but this could never be the case with the elimination of the primary. With no primary, votes against an incumbent or for change would be split among various candidates, and some voters would not have the chance for their vote to be counted in the final decision.
If it is necessary to change our customary method of electing a mayor, there is a fair way to eliminate the primary election and the cost associated with it. That would be to have an instant run-off election. In this type of election, voters would rank the candidates in their order of preference. The lowest vote-getter's votes would be redistributed to each voter's next choice candidate, and this would be done again if necessary until one candidate has more than 50% of the votes or has the highest number of votes when only two candidates remain. This voting system is being used in various places within and outside of the U.S.
Some arguments in favor of instant runoff voting include a reduction in cost, a reduction in negative campaigning, a reduced third party "spoiler effect", and the likelihood of increased choices for voters. However, we are not set up to have this sort of election and there could be some opposition to this new-for-Aurora type of voting. We already have the equipment for and know that having a primary and a general election is something that local voters find acceptable.
The instant runoff voting method is covered extensively at www.fairvote.org/irv and the site notes some current legislation in Illinois to allow instant runoff voting to improve the voting rights for overseas voters including those in the military.
I urge the Aurora Election Commission to either announce their plans now to hold a primary election whenever there are more than two candidates, or to set up a system that allows instant run-off voting. Simply eliminating the primary election does not serve the best interests of local voters.
2008-07-30 Driver's Edge
Last weekend my daughter got to put the pedal to the metal driving in a BMW with a race car driver. She found this terrifying but I’m hoping she learned something that will help her be a better driver.
Most traditional driver’s education courses in this country do not teach new drivers all they need to know. Officials in our state government are obviously aware of this because in addition to the classroom and required driving time with instructors, a new driver is required to hold a permit for a minimum of nine months and have a minimum of fifty hours of practice with a adult if they are to get a license before the age of eighteen. Oddly enough, once eighteen a person can get a license with almost no practice at all, they only need to be able to pass a test.
This means that in most cases the parents of 15-17 year-olds are teaching their own children to drive but these parents, though usually experienced drivers, are not trained instructors.
Given the startling and scary statistics about teen driving collisions and fatalities, it’s clear that many teens on the road are not adequately prepared for driving situations they face in the real world. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds, accounting for nearly 1/3 of all deaths in this age category. Drivers age 16 to 20 are nearly three times more likely to be in a collision than those age 21 and older. Traffic fatalities due to drunk drivers occur approximately every 30 minutes while deaths due to teen drivers occur about half that often.
Driver’s Edge was founded in 2002 in Las Vegas by professional race car driver Jeff Payne who continues to run the program today along with a highly trained and talented staff of professional drivers/instructors. They travel around the country offering a 4 ½ hour program to drivers aged 15-21 and their parents for free. The $450 per student cost of this program is covered by generous donors and sponsors.
A test is given to the teens before and after the class to find out what they’ve learned. The average score on the pre-test is 34% while the average on the post-test is 80%. The teens and adults learn a lot over the course of the day. The young drivers are treated with respect and are not talked down to in any way. They are told that they have the chance to prove that teens are smart and responsible.
Here’s what happened on our afternoon at Driver’s Edge. Except for the opening and closing sessions the attendees were divided into four groups. Our group went first to the ABS/panic braking exercise, where the kids got to drive BMW’s and practice braking quickly and braking in an object avoidance situation. Our second station was with the Illinois State Police in which we learned about Illinois laws, about what to do if pulled over, were given the chance to ask questions, and there were informational materials available. The hands-on event in this unit was that each teen got a turn in the “Seatbelt Convincer.” This device simulates a 7 miles per hour crash and the kids were shocked at how strong the impact was. They could tell that even a low speed crash without a seatbelt would be deadly, and that a higher speed crash with a seatbelt would definitely be painful.
Next was a skid control exercise where the kids drove quickly around a curve on a wet parking lot to see what a skid felt like and learn how to react. In the fourth module Mike Moser humorously dealt with the serious topics of the hows and whys of proper seat and mirror adjustment, hand positioning on the steering wheel, seat belt positioning, vehicle fluids, and more.
The dates for the local Driver’s Edge program have passed for this year, but you can go to the website at www.driversedge.org to sign up to be notified of next year’s tour dates and to get more information. They suggest that concerned citizens contact their Governor’s office and local school board members to get this program incorporated into driver’s ed programs and be required for all new drivers.
I believe this program makes a real impact on both the students and parents and is a more than worthwhile way to spend a morning or afternoon. Any student is welcome to come back for another session if they are interested in doing so.
The first sentence in the Driver’s Edge Mission Statement is – “Our Mission is to save lives.” Research has indicated the program is highly effective and doing just that. The more people who can be reached by this, the better.
If you are a young driver or parent of one, please take the time to look into this program.
Most traditional driver’s education courses in this country do not teach new drivers all they need to know. Officials in our state government are obviously aware of this because in addition to the classroom and required driving time with instructors, a new driver is required to hold a permit for a minimum of nine months and have a minimum of fifty hours of practice with a adult if they are to get a license before the age of eighteen. Oddly enough, once eighteen a person can get a license with almost no practice at all, they only need to be able to pass a test.
This means that in most cases the parents of 15-17 year-olds are teaching their own children to drive but these parents, though usually experienced drivers, are not trained instructors.
Given the startling and scary statistics about teen driving collisions and fatalities, it’s clear that many teens on the road are not adequately prepared for driving situations they face in the real world. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds, accounting for nearly 1/3 of all deaths in this age category. Drivers age 16 to 20 are nearly three times more likely to be in a collision than those age 21 and older. Traffic fatalities due to drunk drivers occur approximately every 30 minutes while deaths due to teen drivers occur about half that often.
Driver’s Edge was founded in 2002 in Las Vegas by professional race car driver Jeff Payne who continues to run the program today along with a highly trained and talented staff of professional drivers/instructors. They travel around the country offering a 4 ½ hour program to drivers aged 15-21 and their parents for free. The $450 per student cost of this program is covered by generous donors and sponsors.
A test is given to the teens before and after the class to find out what they’ve learned. The average score on the pre-test is 34% while the average on the post-test is 80%. The teens and adults learn a lot over the course of the day. The young drivers are treated with respect and are not talked down to in any way. They are told that they have the chance to prove that teens are smart and responsible.
Here’s what happened on our afternoon at Driver’s Edge. Except for the opening and closing sessions the attendees were divided into four groups. Our group went first to the ABS/panic braking exercise, where the kids got to drive BMW’s and practice braking quickly and braking in an object avoidance situation. Our second station was with the Illinois State Police in which we learned about Illinois laws, about what to do if pulled over, were given the chance to ask questions, and there were informational materials available. The hands-on event in this unit was that each teen got a turn in the “Seatbelt Convincer.” This device simulates a 7 miles per hour crash and the kids were shocked at how strong the impact was. They could tell that even a low speed crash without a seatbelt would be deadly, and that a higher speed crash with a seatbelt would definitely be painful.
Next was a skid control exercise where the kids drove quickly around a curve on a wet parking lot to see what a skid felt like and learn how to react. In the fourth module Mike Moser humorously dealt with the serious topics of the hows and whys of proper seat and mirror adjustment, hand positioning on the steering wheel, seat belt positioning, vehicle fluids, and more.
The dates for the local Driver’s Edge program have passed for this year, but you can go to the website at www.driversedge.org to sign up to be notified of next year’s tour dates and to get more information. They suggest that concerned citizens contact their Governor’s office and local school board members to get this program incorporated into driver’s ed programs and be required for all new drivers.
I believe this program makes a real impact on both the students and parents and is a more than worthwhile way to spend a morning or afternoon. Any student is welcome to come back for another session if they are interested in doing so.
The first sentence in the Driver’s Edge Mission Statement is – “Our Mission is to save lives.” Research has indicated the program is highly effective and doing just that. The more people who can be reached by this, the better.
If you are a young driver or parent of one, please take the time to look into this program.
2008-07-19 College Fun
College looks like a lot of fun. At least this is the impression I have after spending a recent Friday at North Central College in Naperville for my daughter's registration day.
Sure, there was the obligatory talk about finances and course registration, but the rest of the day made me - a person who years ago could not wait to graduate from that very same college as quickly as possible and get on with my life - wish I were eighteen again so I could take part in four years of really good times.
One thing that has changed a lot over the years is that the college does a lot to help commuters, who make up 48% of the undergraduate students, get connected and feel that they really are part of the school. All college amenities and events are open to all enrolled students. Welcome week is full of activities for all incoming students so they get a chance to meet and have fun with other students before classes even begin.
There are dozens of clubs and organizations the students can take part in regardless of whether they are majoring in a related field. If a student has an interest in a club or sport that doesn't currently exist at the college, they only need to find a few other students and a single faculty member in order to start one up. WONC 89.1 radio station operated by students and any enrolled student can be a part of this if they so desire.
There are many intramural and twenty-two Division III sports played by NCC students. NCC's football team is ranked 8th in the nation, so there is a lot of excitement about the upcoming football season.
Study abroad programs are available in countries all over the world every year and taken advantage of by many students each year.
Ministry and service opportunities abound at this United Methodist affiliated college and are available to everyone regardless of religious background. I am amazed at the number of mission trips taken by NCC students annually to locations throughout the country and world. Local community service occurs on an ongoing basis. Additionally, there are weekly worship services and small groups plus Friday evenings at The Union for music, films, and art exhibits.
The College Union Activities Board and Residence Life organizations ensure that there is something to do every Friday and Saturday evening on campus in addition to the above. There are numerous other activities, student trips and events that add to the college experience.
Last year the college provided a few red bikes to be used for travel throughout the campus and the idea was so popular with students that they now keep dozens of bikes all over the property, which the students, faculty, and staff can use anytime as long as one is available.
Another fairly recent change is that freshmen who live on campus and have cars are required to park their cars at a remote lot. This turns out to benefit all of the students at the college because the free shuttle to and from the remote parking lot is available to all students and also includes stops at Brunswick Zone, Nova 8 Cinema, Westfield Fox Valley Mall and several other locations.
Inexpensive hourly car rentals are available on campus as another reasonable transportation option for students.
A new residence hall currently under construction provides student housing and athletic facilities under one roof. The college's honors program offers the option of separate housing for students enrolled in the honors program.
A new concert hall and fine arts center is opening this fall that will be a tremendous asset to the school and local community.
The Dyson Wellness Center provides programs throughout the school year and many hours a week of student access to doctors and nurses at no cost to the student and with no appointments necessary.
It is easy to see why this college has ranked among the top tier of Midwest colleges in U.S. News and World Report for more than a decade.
What an exciting place to be for college! And yes, my daughter did register for classes that day as well.
Sure, there was the obligatory talk about finances and course registration, but the rest of the day made me - a person who years ago could not wait to graduate from that very same college as quickly as possible and get on with my life - wish I were eighteen again so I could take part in four years of really good times.
One thing that has changed a lot over the years is that the college does a lot to help commuters, who make up 48% of the undergraduate students, get connected and feel that they really are part of the school. All college amenities and events are open to all enrolled students. Welcome week is full of activities for all incoming students so they get a chance to meet and have fun with other students before classes even begin.
There are dozens of clubs and organizations the students can take part in regardless of whether they are majoring in a related field. If a student has an interest in a club or sport that doesn't currently exist at the college, they only need to find a few other students and a single faculty member in order to start one up. WONC 89.1 radio station operated by students and any enrolled student can be a part of this if they so desire.
There are many intramural and twenty-two Division III sports played by NCC students. NCC's football team is ranked 8th in the nation, so there is a lot of excitement about the upcoming football season.
Study abroad programs are available in countries all over the world every year and taken advantage of by many students each year.
Ministry and service opportunities abound at this United Methodist affiliated college and are available to everyone regardless of religious background. I am amazed at the number of mission trips taken by NCC students annually to locations throughout the country and world. Local community service occurs on an ongoing basis. Additionally, there are weekly worship services and small groups plus Friday evenings at The Union for music, films, and art exhibits.
The College Union Activities Board and Residence Life organizations ensure that there is something to do every Friday and Saturday evening on campus in addition to the above. There are numerous other activities, student trips and events that add to the college experience.
Last year the college provided a few red bikes to be used for travel throughout the campus and the idea was so popular with students that they now keep dozens of bikes all over the property, which the students, faculty, and staff can use anytime as long as one is available.
Another fairly recent change is that freshmen who live on campus and have cars are required to park their cars at a remote lot. This turns out to benefit all of the students at the college because the free shuttle to and from the remote parking lot is available to all students and also includes stops at Brunswick Zone, Nova 8 Cinema, Westfield Fox Valley Mall and several other locations.
Inexpensive hourly car rentals are available on campus as another reasonable transportation option for students.
A new residence hall currently under construction provides student housing and athletic facilities under one roof. The college's honors program offers the option of separate housing for students enrolled in the honors program.
A new concert hall and fine arts center is opening this fall that will be a tremendous asset to the school and local community.
The Dyson Wellness Center provides programs throughout the school year and many hours a week of student access to doctors and nurses at no cost to the student and with no appointments necessary.
It is easy to see why this college has ranked among the top tier of Midwest colleges in U.S. News and World Report for more than a decade.
What an exciting place to be for college! And yes, my daughter did register for classes that day as well.
2008-06-29 Staying put
A year into our marriage, my husband I went to Florida with my family. I’d made this trip several times before, but it was new to Bill. He fell in love with the beach, the weather, and the palm trees and wanted us to move there.
Move? I’d thought it was a given that like most of both of our extended families we would stay put in the Aurora area, and we could take vacations to places like Florida. Family and friends spend time together and depend on each other for all kinds of things, and this is a lot easier when we live in the same area. I couldn’t imagine depriving ourselves or our families of each other, especially considering the children we were planning to have.
We agreed to stay here and take vacations to Florida, while Bill was probably kicking himself for not finding out before the wedding that he preferred to live in Florida and that I was not willing to move away. Ever.
I think it can be a great experience to live in different places and be exposed to different people and customs and climates. But I know for sure that there are numerous benefits to staying where you started out.
One of the best things about staying here is that my own children have had an ongoing relationship with their grandparents and other relatives in a way that would have been difficult or impossible if we’d moved away. Their grandparents have babysat for them, have been at their family birthday parties, have been at their school events and performances, and can make spur of the moment plans with them.
Having kids is wonderful, but it’s made even better by the fact that there are others nearby who care deeply about our family. Who else really is interested in my children’s report cards, Mother’s Day projects, class performances, and art projects? I am so glad we have others to share these with.
My mom used to say she should have written down the funny things my brother said when he was little, but she did call her mother, who lived just blocks away, and who always got a kick out of whatever he’d said or done. When my kids do or say or make something precious to me, I love being able to share this with others who appreciate it as well. Yes, I know this can be done on the phone or by sending pictures or letters, but there is no substitute for seeing each frequently.
When my older children were small they were fortunate to have two living great-grandfathers and two sets of grandparents. All of them have been included in our day-to-day lives and celebrations over the years for as long as they could. Years ago on Halloween we’d go to Naper Settlement for the Halloween Happening and then trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Next we’d drive to visit Nonno (my mom’s dad) and then both sets of grandparents before heading home to bed exhausted and full of sugar. Everyone loved seeing the little kids in their costumes and taking pictures while we enjoyed bringing the adults a smile and seeing the other kids making the same stops.
Some go through hardships when their loved ones are far away. It can be tough in times of illness and death as well as in times of joy and birth, and just plain complicated when someone needs help. When there is a wedding, baptism, graduation party, retirement party, hospitalization, funeral or even a good-bye party for a niece or nephew going into the military, we can easily be there without making any special arrangements. Our vacation time is not used up going home to visit our family as it would if we’d moved away, and in fact, we frequently go on vacation with our family.
It has been a tremendous blessing to live near most of our family. Our lives and theirs are all the richer for it.
Move? I’d thought it was a given that like most of both of our extended families we would stay put in the Aurora area, and we could take vacations to places like Florida. Family and friends spend time together and depend on each other for all kinds of things, and this is a lot easier when we live in the same area. I couldn’t imagine depriving ourselves or our families of each other, especially considering the children we were planning to have.
We agreed to stay here and take vacations to Florida, while Bill was probably kicking himself for not finding out before the wedding that he preferred to live in Florida and that I was not willing to move away. Ever.
I think it can be a great experience to live in different places and be exposed to different people and customs and climates. But I know for sure that there are numerous benefits to staying where you started out.
One of the best things about staying here is that my own children have had an ongoing relationship with their grandparents and other relatives in a way that would have been difficult or impossible if we’d moved away. Their grandparents have babysat for them, have been at their family birthday parties, have been at their school events and performances, and can make spur of the moment plans with them.
Having kids is wonderful, but it’s made even better by the fact that there are others nearby who care deeply about our family. Who else really is interested in my children’s report cards, Mother’s Day projects, class performances, and art projects? I am so glad we have others to share these with.
My mom used to say she should have written down the funny things my brother said when he was little, but she did call her mother, who lived just blocks away, and who always got a kick out of whatever he’d said or done. When my kids do or say or make something precious to me, I love being able to share this with others who appreciate it as well. Yes, I know this can be done on the phone or by sending pictures or letters, but there is no substitute for seeing each frequently.
When my older children were small they were fortunate to have two living great-grandfathers and two sets of grandparents. All of them have been included in our day-to-day lives and celebrations over the years for as long as they could. Years ago on Halloween we’d go to Naper Settlement for the Halloween Happening and then trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Next we’d drive to visit Nonno (my mom’s dad) and then both sets of grandparents before heading home to bed exhausted and full of sugar. Everyone loved seeing the little kids in their costumes and taking pictures while we enjoyed bringing the adults a smile and seeing the other kids making the same stops.
Some go through hardships when their loved ones are far away. It can be tough in times of illness and death as well as in times of joy and birth, and just plain complicated when someone needs help. When there is a wedding, baptism, graduation party, retirement party, hospitalization, funeral or even a good-bye party for a niece or nephew going into the military, we can easily be there without making any special arrangements. Our vacation time is not used up going home to visit our family as it would if we’d moved away, and in fact, we frequently go on vacation with our family.
It has been a tremendous blessing to live near most of our family. Our lives and theirs are all the richer for it.
2008-06-21 School Board
It is both flattering and an honor when people suggest that I run for school board, something that has occurred a few times even with the election several months away. I am extremely appreciative of those who are willing to take on this time-consuming and thankless job and for this reason have to respect anyone who goes through the effort of candidacy for this office even if their views differ from mine.
We all want people who care deeply about the district in these positions but it’s hard to wish this job upon anyone. I hope that many qualified people do in fact run for the open seats in next spring’s District 204 School Board election, but for several reasons I am not planning to be one of them.
One is time. A friend mentioned that it’s like scouts, it only takes up a few hours a month. Yes, this seems to be true. Both scouts and the school board seem to be organizations that theoretically only take a few hours a month and in reality can suck up dozens of hours in any given month. Although I could almost certainly carve out the time required for regularly scheduled school board meetings and maybe even the too frequently added special school board meetings, so much more time is required. Even in calmer times the school board has a lot of reading and e-mailing to do outside of meeting times, and just last year spent numerous additional hours on the district’s search for a new superintendent.
Though I am glad to help stuff and deliver campaign information and signs and attend candidate forums and take extensive notes to share with people, I have no desire to undertake the commitment of being the candidate. I like to believe that I am fair-minded and able to take a district-wide view of issues but I would not have enough time and energy to live up to my own expectations for a board member at this point in my work and family life.
Another reason is that while I have worked very hard on the issues that are important to me, including referendums and air conditioning for the elementary buildings, the school board has to deal with much, much more than that. Many of the items on the board meeting agendas are issues that I’m glad I don’t have to spend time learning about and helping to make an educated decision on. These include budgets, curriculum, contracts, staffing, federal mandates, etc.
This year with land and boundary and legal issues there have been extra meetings, court dates, decisions made that affect thousands of people for years to come, and thousands of e-mails from people whose opinions cover the entire spectrum and are frequently at odds with each other.
After dedicating countless hours of effort to the school district, how is a school board member compensated? There is no financial reward. Their reward is simply in knowing they have done the best they can for the district. Those who are satisfied with what the board is doing often don’t take the time to let them know, but those who are not tend to voice their opinions, and in this time of electronic communications this is quite easily and often done. A person must have a thick skin to deal with the almost constant criticism and questioning of their motives. Virtually everything they say or do will be seen as wrong by some segment of the population.
In the coming months we need some strong and tireless people to step forward who care deeply about their community as a whole, who are intelligent and interested in the entire range of work required by a school board member, who are not afraid to ask and answer tough questions, whose views remain consistent, who have a history of positive involvement in the district, who can work well with the other board members, and who can brush off the negative feedback and do what they think is best and right. I know there are competent citizens who could become productive school board members and I can only hope that some of them are willing and able to devote themselves to this honorable cause.
We all want people who care deeply about the district in these positions but it’s hard to wish this job upon anyone. I hope that many qualified people do in fact run for the open seats in next spring’s District 204 School Board election, but for several reasons I am not planning to be one of them.
One is time. A friend mentioned that it’s like scouts, it only takes up a few hours a month. Yes, this seems to be true. Both scouts and the school board seem to be organizations that theoretically only take a few hours a month and in reality can suck up dozens of hours in any given month. Although I could almost certainly carve out the time required for regularly scheduled school board meetings and maybe even the too frequently added special school board meetings, so much more time is required. Even in calmer times the school board has a lot of reading and e-mailing to do outside of meeting times, and just last year spent numerous additional hours on the district’s search for a new superintendent.
Though I am glad to help stuff and deliver campaign information and signs and attend candidate forums and take extensive notes to share with people, I have no desire to undertake the commitment of being the candidate. I like to believe that I am fair-minded and able to take a district-wide view of issues but I would not have enough time and energy to live up to my own expectations for a board member at this point in my work and family life.
Another reason is that while I have worked very hard on the issues that are important to me, including referendums and air conditioning for the elementary buildings, the school board has to deal with much, much more than that. Many of the items on the board meeting agendas are issues that I’m glad I don’t have to spend time learning about and helping to make an educated decision on. These include budgets, curriculum, contracts, staffing, federal mandates, etc.
This year with land and boundary and legal issues there have been extra meetings, court dates, decisions made that affect thousands of people for years to come, and thousands of e-mails from people whose opinions cover the entire spectrum and are frequently at odds with each other.
After dedicating countless hours of effort to the school district, how is a school board member compensated? There is no financial reward. Their reward is simply in knowing they have done the best they can for the district. Those who are satisfied with what the board is doing often don’t take the time to let them know, but those who are not tend to voice their opinions, and in this time of electronic communications this is quite easily and often done. A person must have a thick skin to deal with the almost constant criticism and questioning of their motives. Virtually everything they say or do will be seen as wrong by some segment of the population.
In the coming months we need some strong and tireless people to step forward who care deeply about their community as a whole, who are intelligent and interested in the entire range of work required by a school board member, who are not afraid to ask and answer tough questions, whose views remain consistent, who have a history of positive involvement in the district, who can work well with the other board members, and who can brush off the negative feedback and do what they think is best and right. I know there are competent citizens who could become productive school board members and I can only hope that some of them are willing and able to devote themselves to this honorable cause.
2008-06-07 Sibling and Events
In the beginning, all the children were too young to stay home alone and all of them went with us everywhere. They all came with when we went house-hunting, when one needed to go to the doctor, when one had ballet or swimming or scouts. They all came with when one child was performing or being awarded in a ceremony. They all came with to the grocery store every time, which involved each of them asking for several things along the way and constant bargaining as to which items they could and could not add to the cart.
As time went on, this changed. Three of the four reached an age at which they could be left home alone for short and then longer periods of time and then in charge of younger siblings. This meant the parents could shop for groceries or curtains or furniture or a new car without bringing the whole gang along. This meant that the parents could focus on the performance or honor a child was receiving without the distraction of the younger children who had no choice but to join us. This meant the parents could go out to dinner or a movie by themselves (if there were ever a free spot on the calendar to do so).
But this also meant that each child was less a part of the things going on in each other’s lives and more used to being able to do whatever they wanted to do instead.
There have been dozens of activities and events that this school year alone and it’s safe to say that most of the siblings have chosen to stay away from most of these events.
We made the decision that the entire family would attend this month’s high school graduation together because this is a milestone event. We lucked out when Waubonsie Valley’s graduation ticket allocation was increased from four to five per family allowing all of us to attend. I decided that it made sense for all of us to attend one event for each of the children in May, and there were plenty to choose from.
The entire family saw my son perform in “Annie” at Granger Middle School, an absolutely fantastic performance that was not at all appreciated by one daughter who would rather have been anywhere else. The following week we all went to the Waubonsie Valley orchestra’s annual pops concert “Epic Journeys of Hollywood” where that same daughter performed and we were treated to movie music from several well-known movies. There were over two hundred performers and this was an enjoyable and impressive evening. Next weekend we will all attend my youngest daughter’s first Irish Dance concert.
This past Sunday the six of us went out to brunch and then attended WV’s graduation held at College of DuPage. This was a formal and well-attended event in which all of the speakers were excellent. I am so proud of the achievements of the students in this class of 2008 and I will truly miss those who have spent so much time at our house in recent months. Over eight hundred names were read in a very short time (with too much disrespectful noise and behavior out of some families) and the entire ceremony went by much too quickly.
Despite the fact that none of the kids really seem to value this chance to be a part of the lives of the others I believe it’s for the best and will be less lax in the future about allowing them to all skip every event.
While I hope that we all get something of lasting value from these shared experiences, I will still enjoy my trips to the grocery store by myself.
As time went on, this changed. Three of the four reached an age at which they could be left home alone for short and then longer periods of time and then in charge of younger siblings. This meant the parents could shop for groceries or curtains or furniture or a new car without bringing the whole gang along. This meant that the parents could focus on the performance or honor a child was receiving without the distraction of the younger children who had no choice but to join us. This meant the parents could go out to dinner or a movie by themselves (if there were ever a free spot on the calendar to do so).
But this also meant that each child was less a part of the things going on in each other’s lives and more used to being able to do whatever they wanted to do instead.
There have been dozens of activities and events that this school year alone and it’s safe to say that most of the siblings have chosen to stay away from most of these events.
We made the decision that the entire family would attend this month’s high school graduation together because this is a milestone event. We lucked out when Waubonsie Valley’s graduation ticket allocation was increased from four to five per family allowing all of us to attend. I decided that it made sense for all of us to attend one event for each of the children in May, and there were plenty to choose from.
The entire family saw my son perform in “Annie” at Granger Middle School, an absolutely fantastic performance that was not at all appreciated by one daughter who would rather have been anywhere else. The following week we all went to the Waubonsie Valley orchestra’s annual pops concert “Epic Journeys of Hollywood” where that same daughter performed and we were treated to movie music from several well-known movies. There were over two hundred performers and this was an enjoyable and impressive evening. Next weekend we will all attend my youngest daughter’s first Irish Dance concert.
This past Sunday the six of us went out to brunch and then attended WV’s graduation held at College of DuPage. This was a formal and well-attended event in which all of the speakers were excellent. I am so proud of the achievements of the students in this class of 2008 and I will truly miss those who have spent so much time at our house in recent months. Over eight hundred names were read in a very short time (with too much disrespectful noise and behavior out of some families) and the entire ceremony went by much too quickly.
Despite the fact that none of the kids really seem to value this chance to be a part of the lives of the others I believe it’s for the best and will be less lax in the future about allowing them to all skip every event.
While I hope that we all get something of lasting value from these shared experiences, I will still enjoy my trips to the grocery store by myself.
2008-05-18 Diane
For several years I had three best friends – my phone friend, my e-mail friend, and my lunch friend. Ellen and I met in college and wound up having our children at virtually the same time. Over two decades we’ve had infrequent but long phone conversations while going through pregnancy and various stages of motherhood. Nancy and I e-mailed each other a dozen or more times a week.
Diane had been married and working in the medical field in another state, but was now living with her parents and her five-year-old son in Skokie, and was a software engineer who’d joined my department at AT&T while I was on leave with my first baby. We soon found ourselves visiting each other daily and having lunch together most of my workdays.
Diane worked hard at her job and quickly became a sought-after expert, while also taking classes towards earning another degree. She took pride in her work but was also a very modest person. She wanted to be the best mother she could be. She came from a large family and I heard so much about her relatives that I felt I knew them.
We depended on each other for advice on a daily basis. Diane was a bit older and grayer than I and always seemed very wise to me. She was patient and understanding and a good listener. We joked for years about the time we were mistaken for mother and daughter while eating lunch out.
After a re-org and some office moves we wound up in different buildings and going out to lunch just once a week. One Thursday morning she called to tell me she needed to cancel because she’d been in the hospital since Sunday. That very morning Chicago’s Cardinal Bernardin had died of pancreatic cancer, and now my best friend was diagnosed with the same. She had major surgery and several weeks off work for treatment and recovery.
Throughout it all she remained in good spirits, did not complain and continued to be dedicated to work, school and her family. After a while things returned to normal. She and her son went on a cruise and on the morning of disembarkment they won another cruise!
I was concerned that even though the cancer was in remission, it might come back and our time together might be limited. I was able to arrange a transfer to work in the same group with Diane again. My new office was near hers and we worked together and saw each other frequently. It was a wonderful day when we got to go out to lunch to celebrate one year after her last treatment.
Before we knew it, the cancer was back and this time it was fast and furious. Sadly, between the time of her original diagnosis and the cancer’s return, both of her parents had died. While undergoing treatment Diane also worked full-time, attended classes, and took care of her son. They took the cruise they’d won, scheduled carefully between treatments. Diane lost so much weight that the nurses joked about her “elephant pants” and this is something else we laughed about. She viewed the whole thing as an ordeal to get through and then get on with life.
Soon she was hospitalized and we had the news that there would be no recovery this time. I visited her as often as I could. During this time I met the people I’d heard so much about and it was strange, knowing them so well before we met, and knowing their sister better than most of them did. I had hoped that she would be one of the few to beat the odds, but it was not to be.
I got the call about her death one morning just moments before my three-year-old son’s preschool teacher arrived for a home visit to meet us. It was immensely painful to lose a friend, someone who had been a part of my day-to-day life for eight years. And to a mother, there aren’t many things worse than not living long enough to raise your own child.
Diane’s photo and funeral memorial card are framed and on my desk.
Diane was a one-of-a-kind person and friend. Ten years have gone by. The pain has dulled, her son has grown up, and her presence will always be missed.
Diane had been married and working in the medical field in another state, but was now living with her parents and her five-year-old son in Skokie, and was a software engineer who’d joined my department at AT&T while I was on leave with my first baby. We soon found ourselves visiting each other daily and having lunch together most of my workdays.
Diane worked hard at her job and quickly became a sought-after expert, while also taking classes towards earning another degree. She took pride in her work but was also a very modest person. She wanted to be the best mother she could be. She came from a large family and I heard so much about her relatives that I felt I knew them.
We depended on each other for advice on a daily basis. Diane was a bit older and grayer than I and always seemed very wise to me. She was patient and understanding and a good listener. We joked for years about the time we were mistaken for mother and daughter while eating lunch out.
After a re-org and some office moves we wound up in different buildings and going out to lunch just once a week. One Thursday morning she called to tell me she needed to cancel because she’d been in the hospital since Sunday. That very morning Chicago’s Cardinal Bernardin had died of pancreatic cancer, and now my best friend was diagnosed with the same. She had major surgery and several weeks off work for treatment and recovery.
Throughout it all she remained in good spirits, did not complain and continued to be dedicated to work, school and her family. After a while things returned to normal. She and her son went on a cruise and on the morning of disembarkment they won another cruise!
I was concerned that even though the cancer was in remission, it might come back and our time together might be limited. I was able to arrange a transfer to work in the same group with Diane again. My new office was near hers and we worked together and saw each other frequently. It was a wonderful day when we got to go out to lunch to celebrate one year after her last treatment.
Before we knew it, the cancer was back and this time it was fast and furious. Sadly, between the time of her original diagnosis and the cancer’s return, both of her parents had died. While undergoing treatment Diane also worked full-time, attended classes, and took care of her son. They took the cruise they’d won, scheduled carefully between treatments. Diane lost so much weight that the nurses joked about her “elephant pants” and this is something else we laughed about. She viewed the whole thing as an ordeal to get through and then get on with life.
Soon she was hospitalized and we had the news that there would be no recovery this time. I visited her as often as I could. During this time I met the people I’d heard so much about and it was strange, knowing them so well before we met, and knowing their sister better than most of them did. I had hoped that she would be one of the few to beat the odds, but it was not to be.
I got the call about her death one morning just moments before my three-year-old son’s preschool teacher arrived for a home visit to meet us. It was immensely painful to lose a friend, someone who had been a part of my day-to-day life for eight years. And to a mother, there aren’t many things worse than not living long enough to raise your own child.
Diane’s photo and funeral memorial card are framed and on my desk.
Diane was a one-of-a-kind person and friend. Ten years have gone by. The pain has dulled, her son has grown up, and her presence will always be missed.
2008-05-03 IPSD, NSFOC
It’s been like a roller-coaster but much less fun. When your heart is tied tightly to what happens with your children and that is closely tied to what happens in your school district, your feelings go up and down and get twisted all around when things are not going well.
Indian Prairie is an exceptional district and from my perspective, all was going pretty smoothly up until the failure of the 2005 referendum for a third high school. Things began looking up again in 2006 when the referendum passed. However, while in 2005 we had secured the rights to buy property from Brach-Brodie at a negotiated price this was no longer the case in 2006. Hence the beginning of the saga of the land.
The condemnation trial dragged on and on, quick-take did not make it to the floor in the Illinois Senate, and the jury price came in much higher than would be expected based on area comparable sales from the time period in question. Elation that we would soon find out the price was quickly replaced with incredulity at the jury’s decision and wondering how the district might afford this and hoping the Brachs and Brodies might now be willing to negotiate. Negotiating was not possible and due to increases in construction costs, the jury price was outside the realm of possibilities for our district.
Still more ups and downs came when the new site was announced and approved, the new boundaries were announced, barely tweaked, and approved. The environmental reports were made available to our School Board and administrators and they were barred from sharing this information with the public.
Then came the lawsuit. What a slap in the face to the School Board, the administration, and all the parents and students who are depending on this building opening in 2009 to relieve overcrowding and provide additional student opportunities at both the high school and middle school level. This lawsuit was filed by a group of residents who have a very long list of complaints on their website. It appears that they have hung their hopes on whichever of those complaints might have even the smallest of legal basis.
The complaint and amended complaints that were filed are lengthy but the gist is that the district promised during referendum time that the school would be built on Brach-Brodie, and that this needs to happen or they need to return money to the taxpayers and not build a school at all. I think it should have been clear to all that while the district hoped and planned to build on Brach-Brodie, there was a chance that wouldn’t be possible and sometimes plans need to change when circumstances change. The wording in the referendum specified an amount of money to be used to build the school and did not give the location. While some people may have voted for or against the referendum based on expected school location or boundaries, this is now irrelevant. The district found a way to provide the school that the residents voted for. Not building a school would be the most drastic failure to do what was both promised and voted on.
The new school site chosen in January was partially owned by the St. John’s AME church, which was quite unwilling to sell to us in prior years, and Midwest Generation, which is currently dismantling the power plant previously operated on that portion of the land. Many have expressed safety concerns about this land but experts explained to us that nothing unexpected was found, all would be easily remediated, and very little of the land in question would be used by students (it would be under a portion of the tennis courts). Many were satisfied with this. In fact, most whose children would attend this site were satisfied with this while the named plaintiffs on the lawsuit live in areas that are not within the boundaries for the new school.
There appears to be a diverse group of people behind this lawsuit who have many different concerns and have banded together to overthrow the decisions made by both our direct votes and our elected officials. Some like the Brach-Brodie or Macom sites better, or they don’t want their children moved from Neuqua Valley, or if they are to be moved they want to be moved to a new building rather than an older one, or they want to stay at Waubonsie Valley, or they are concerned about safety at the new site, or they are concerned about distance, or they don’t want a third high school at all. Some just seem to be angry with the people in charge or with a perception that some are getting a better deal than others, when in fact we all gain by having more space for our students and smaller class sizes.
Through some confluence of events, Midwest Generation refused to sell their parcel. The district resonated with both joy and sorrow at the loss of this site. Some hoped Midwest Generation would reconsider. Some hoped Brach-Brodie would suddenly be willing to negotiate, despite our experiences with them in recent years. Some hoped Macom would come to the table with a low offer.
The AME church pastor and members made a surprising choice for the welfare of the students in District 204 and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Without knowing when or where they will find another place to build their church, they sold their entire parcel of land to the district so that we may still have our new school opened in 2009. The sale closed quickly and construction work is set to begin once the city approves the revised annexation.
In the meantime, there is outstanding litigation against the district to be resolved as the district continues to move forward with its plans. The words and actions of the lawsuit supporters continue to deepen the divide and make our district a less desirable place to live, rather than promoting healing, unity, and moving forward.
I am constantly amazed at how our students and staff continue to excel in countless areas while this battle rages all around. Thousands of middle school students do not yet know for sure which high school they will graduate from. Kids are resilient and of course will get a fine education in any of our buildings but I am anxious for these kids to know for sure where they’re going so they can be excited about it.
It is unconscionable that our middle-schoolers first got used to one set of boundary changes, then went through a time of having no idea when and where the school might be built and who would go where, to getting used to a new set of boundaries and at this very moment people are working to cause yet another change. I am dumbfounded that two years after the referendum passed we are still required to prove that this building is needed.
For several weeks I avoided writing about the district due to the uncertainty and constant changes but now I am feeling hopeful that in spite of the actions of a very small percentage of district residents, the district can and will come together and be better than ever.
Indian Prairie is an exceptional district and from my perspective, all was going pretty smoothly up until the failure of the 2005 referendum for a third high school. Things began looking up again in 2006 when the referendum passed. However, while in 2005 we had secured the rights to buy property from Brach-Brodie at a negotiated price this was no longer the case in 2006. Hence the beginning of the saga of the land.
The condemnation trial dragged on and on, quick-take did not make it to the floor in the Illinois Senate, and the jury price came in much higher than would be expected based on area comparable sales from the time period in question. Elation that we would soon find out the price was quickly replaced with incredulity at the jury’s decision and wondering how the district might afford this and hoping the Brachs and Brodies might now be willing to negotiate. Negotiating was not possible and due to increases in construction costs, the jury price was outside the realm of possibilities for our district.
Still more ups and downs came when the new site was announced and approved, the new boundaries were announced, barely tweaked, and approved. The environmental reports were made available to our School Board and administrators and they were barred from sharing this information with the public.
Then came the lawsuit. What a slap in the face to the School Board, the administration, and all the parents and students who are depending on this building opening in 2009 to relieve overcrowding and provide additional student opportunities at both the high school and middle school level. This lawsuit was filed by a group of residents who have a very long list of complaints on their website. It appears that they have hung their hopes on whichever of those complaints might have even the smallest of legal basis.
The complaint and amended complaints that were filed are lengthy but the gist is that the district promised during referendum time that the school would be built on Brach-Brodie, and that this needs to happen or they need to return money to the taxpayers and not build a school at all. I think it should have been clear to all that while the district hoped and planned to build on Brach-Brodie, there was a chance that wouldn’t be possible and sometimes plans need to change when circumstances change. The wording in the referendum specified an amount of money to be used to build the school and did not give the location. While some people may have voted for or against the referendum based on expected school location or boundaries, this is now irrelevant. The district found a way to provide the school that the residents voted for. Not building a school would be the most drastic failure to do what was both promised and voted on.
The new school site chosen in January was partially owned by the St. John’s AME church, which was quite unwilling to sell to us in prior years, and Midwest Generation, which is currently dismantling the power plant previously operated on that portion of the land. Many have expressed safety concerns about this land but experts explained to us that nothing unexpected was found, all would be easily remediated, and very little of the land in question would be used by students (it would be under a portion of the tennis courts). Many were satisfied with this. In fact, most whose children would attend this site were satisfied with this while the named plaintiffs on the lawsuit live in areas that are not within the boundaries for the new school.
There appears to be a diverse group of people behind this lawsuit who have many different concerns and have banded together to overthrow the decisions made by both our direct votes and our elected officials. Some like the Brach-Brodie or Macom sites better, or they don’t want their children moved from Neuqua Valley, or if they are to be moved they want to be moved to a new building rather than an older one, or they want to stay at Waubonsie Valley, or they are concerned about safety at the new site, or they are concerned about distance, or they don’t want a third high school at all. Some just seem to be angry with the people in charge or with a perception that some are getting a better deal than others, when in fact we all gain by having more space for our students and smaller class sizes.
Through some confluence of events, Midwest Generation refused to sell their parcel. The district resonated with both joy and sorrow at the loss of this site. Some hoped Midwest Generation would reconsider. Some hoped Brach-Brodie would suddenly be willing to negotiate, despite our experiences with them in recent years. Some hoped Macom would come to the table with a low offer.
The AME church pastor and members made a surprising choice for the welfare of the students in District 204 and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Without knowing when or where they will find another place to build their church, they sold their entire parcel of land to the district so that we may still have our new school opened in 2009. The sale closed quickly and construction work is set to begin once the city approves the revised annexation.
In the meantime, there is outstanding litigation against the district to be resolved as the district continues to move forward with its plans. The words and actions of the lawsuit supporters continue to deepen the divide and make our district a less desirable place to live, rather than promoting healing, unity, and moving forward.
I am constantly amazed at how our students and staff continue to excel in countless areas while this battle rages all around. Thousands of middle school students do not yet know for sure which high school they will graduate from. Kids are resilient and of course will get a fine education in any of our buildings but I am anxious for these kids to know for sure where they’re going so they can be excited about it.
It is unconscionable that our middle-schoolers first got used to one set of boundary changes, then went through a time of having no idea when and where the school might be built and who would go where, to getting used to a new set of boundaries and at this very moment people are working to cause yet another change. I am dumbfounded that two years after the referendum passed we are still required to prove that this building is needed.
For several weeks I avoided writing about the district due to the uncertainty and constant changes but now I am feeling hopeful that in spite of the actions of a very small percentage of district residents, the district can and will come together and be better than ever.
2008-04-30 Jessica's 18
It’s astounding how quickly time goes by. On April 26,1990 my first child was born. I remember this as if it were yesterday and yet she is now turning eighteen. How did this happen?
Jessica was born at Mercy Center five days after her due date. My husband and I had very little experience with babies so everything was new – changing diapers, baby baths, nail trims, changing the clothes of such a small person. We had trouble figuring out the car seat the first time we used it, to go home from the hospital.
She soon grew from a baby who needed to be held for full days of waking hours to a smiling and rolling, then crawling, then walking child at her eleven month birthday. Once she started talking she had so many cute and funny things to say. Shortly after her second birthday Kathy was born and Jessica gave up her only child status to reign as the oldest instead. Upon looking at photos of herself as a baby, she’d proclaim “look, there’s me when I used to be Kathy!” When she was two a neighbor boy came by and gave her a ride around our cul-de-sac in his motorized car. It was surprising that she was picked up by a boy in a car at such an early age!
Jessica was a social being from the start. Anyone could hold her. She made friends everywhere she went. I would joke that she made friends on every trip to McDonald’s or the playground. At age three when she was bored spending a couple days a week in home daycare, we moved her into a daycare center where there was a whole room full of friends for her to play with. There she met Eric, and from age three until sixth grade these two had major plans for a future together.
As scary as it was for us to put her on a bus at age five to head off to school several miles away, to her the ride was just another chance to meet new friends and some extra time to spend with them. Unlike some clingy other children in our household, this one loved going to activities and never had trouble letting go of mom. She did ballet and swimming, Sunday School and Bible School, church choir and Pioneer Club, gymnastics and Brownies, cheerleading and ice skating, acting, singing, dancing, viola and piano all by the age of ten. She grew up with a teddy bear and a few pets – a dog, cats, fish, and frogs.
Her confidence and security were deeply shaken when we moved into a different neighborhood just after her tenth birthday. This was an emotional time of dealing with the loss of the home she’d known for six years and the friends she’d seen daily but now saw only occasionally. Though now she still considers this one of the most painful events of her life, it would be hard to want to go back and undo it because it led her to where she is today.
In middle school she again thrived socially. She played softball one summer, and then couldn’t the next due to a broken wrist. She continued on with scouts and school and church activities. She became interested in pursuing a career in fashion design and drew beautiful pictures of clothing and began taking clothing courses.
High school brought additional new opportunities. Jessica was very active in Student Council for a couple years and enjoyed planning events. She took four years of extremely challenging courses. Her interest shifted from fashion design to becoming a high school teacher. Model UN presented chances to make new friends and participate in interesting events while learning about the United Nations. Anime Club has been a fun weekly meeting to hang out with people similarly interested in anime. She’s currently finishing out her fourth year on Waubonsie’s badminton team where she is playing varsity for the second year and, you guessed it, she has many friends.
This is Jessica’s 11th year of Girl Scouts and she is continuing to work on her Gold Award project. This summer she’ll go on her fourth church mission trip with Wheatland Salem Church. She also will travel to Costa Rica with other WV Spanish students.
I’m grateful she began driving halfway through high school so that her busy-ness is no longer mine. Between school, work, activities, and friends she is leading quite the hectic life.
As senior year draws to a close, the group is counting down their final days of high school and talking about where everyone will be headed to in the fall. There are quite a lot of senior events to commemorate the end of their high school years.
This young woman has continued to surpass the hopes and dreams her parents have had for her from the moment we found out we were having a baby. I look forward to seeing what her future will bring. I am so proud of her.
I can hardly believe that my little baby girl is becoming an adult. That she is turning eighteen and graduating from high school. This all went by much too quickly. What I wouldn’t give to be rocking that tiny girl again, even if was the middle of the night, even if she was crying.
Jessica was born at Mercy Center five days after her due date. My husband and I had very little experience with babies so everything was new – changing diapers, baby baths, nail trims, changing the clothes of such a small person. We had trouble figuring out the car seat the first time we used it, to go home from the hospital.
She soon grew from a baby who needed to be held for full days of waking hours to a smiling and rolling, then crawling, then walking child at her eleven month birthday. Once she started talking she had so many cute and funny things to say. Shortly after her second birthday Kathy was born and Jessica gave up her only child status to reign as the oldest instead. Upon looking at photos of herself as a baby, she’d proclaim “look, there’s me when I used to be Kathy!” When she was two a neighbor boy came by and gave her a ride around our cul-de-sac in his motorized car. It was surprising that she was picked up by a boy in a car at such an early age!
Jessica was a social being from the start. Anyone could hold her. She made friends everywhere she went. I would joke that she made friends on every trip to McDonald’s or the playground. At age three when she was bored spending a couple days a week in home daycare, we moved her into a daycare center where there was a whole room full of friends for her to play with. There she met Eric, and from age three until sixth grade these two had major plans for a future together.
As scary as it was for us to put her on a bus at age five to head off to school several miles away, to her the ride was just another chance to meet new friends and some extra time to spend with them. Unlike some clingy other children in our household, this one loved going to activities and never had trouble letting go of mom. She did ballet and swimming, Sunday School and Bible School, church choir and Pioneer Club, gymnastics and Brownies, cheerleading and ice skating, acting, singing, dancing, viola and piano all by the age of ten. She grew up with a teddy bear and a few pets – a dog, cats, fish, and frogs.
Her confidence and security were deeply shaken when we moved into a different neighborhood just after her tenth birthday. This was an emotional time of dealing with the loss of the home she’d known for six years and the friends she’d seen daily but now saw only occasionally. Though now she still considers this one of the most painful events of her life, it would be hard to want to go back and undo it because it led her to where she is today.
In middle school she again thrived socially. She played softball one summer, and then couldn’t the next due to a broken wrist. She continued on with scouts and school and church activities. She became interested in pursuing a career in fashion design and drew beautiful pictures of clothing and began taking clothing courses.
High school brought additional new opportunities. Jessica was very active in Student Council for a couple years and enjoyed planning events. She took four years of extremely challenging courses. Her interest shifted from fashion design to becoming a high school teacher. Model UN presented chances to make new friends and participate in interesting events while learning about the United Nations. Anime Club has been a fun weekly meeting to hang out with people similarly interested in anime. She’s currently finishing out her fourth year on Waubonsie’s badminton team where she is playing varsity for the second year and, you guessed it, she has many friends.
This is Jessica’s 11th year of Girl Scouts and she is continuing to work on her Gold Award project. This summer she’ll go on her fourth church mission trip with Wheatland Salem Church. She also will travel to Costa Rica with other WV Spanish students.
I’m grateful she began driving halfway through high school so that her busy-ness is no longer mine. Between school, work, activities, and friends she is leading quite the hectic life.
As senior year draws to a close, the group is counting down their final days of high school and talking about where everyone will be headed to in the fall. There are quite a lot of senior events to commemorate the end of their high school years.
This young woman has continued to surpass the hopes and dreams her parents have had for her from the moment we found out we were having a baby. I look forward to seeing what her future will bring. I am so proud of her.
I can hardly believe that my little baby girl is becoming an adult. That she is turning eighteen and graduating from high school. This all went by much too quickly. What I wouldn’t give to be rocking that tiny girl again, even if was the middle of the night, even if she was crying.
2008-03-29 Injury
I am having Thanksgiving thoughts at this Easter time.
As I write this Good Friday morning it is only too easy for me to think back to Good Friday two years ago. It was a typically busy morning for me - I was exercising, boiling dozens of eggs to be colored later in the day, doing some Tellabs work from home despite it being a paid holiday, needing to wake my kindergartner and have her ready for a 10:30am birthday party, all while having my four plus two extra kids in the house.
On what turned out to be my last trip down the basement stairs, I stepped out apparently thinking I was on the last stair, but wasn’t, and landed hard on my right ankle bone. I heard cracking sounds on both sides of my ankle and was immediately in excruciating pain. I quickly called the kids into action to take care of all the things that needed to be done including calling my husband to come home and take me to Urgent Care. There I was diagnosed with a sprain, sent home with an air cast to wear for a few days, and told to use ice and take Vicodin and Naproxin.
Three weeks later after a few more doctor visits and x-rays I wound up with a better diagnosis and was put into a hard cast for a few weeks, and then another one for a few more weeks. It was exactly nine weeks before I was able to put even an ounce of weight on that foot. That whole time I had to keep my foot elevated above my heart as much as possible. When down for even a short time my foot and toes turned purple and swollen. The hard casts were followed by a few weeks of a walking cast, then a brace, then orthotics. A few months and a couple dozen visits to physical therapy later I was walking short distances with a limp. I was first able to drive thirteen weeks after the misstep.
I’m not a sports person and had never before had any kind of major injury, had never been in a cast or on crutches. Months of not being able to walk or drive gave me new appreciation for what handicapped people have to deal with every day. One day at a local department store I was unable to shop upstairs because the elevator wasn’t working and I was in a wheelchair. I found that when both hands are on the crutches and one foot can’t be set on the ground, it’s difficult or impossible to move anything from one place to another. Getting through doorways with automatically closing doors required help from another person. Many normally simple tasks were beyond the realm of my new reality. This was worse than just inconvenient.
I learned that injuries frequently don’t heal as good as new. Mine is known as a Lisfranc injury and is basically several torn ligaments and several dislocated bones, but no fracture. It turns out the cracking sounds I’d heard were not bones breaking but the most unpleasant sound of ligaments tearing from bone. My doctor told me I was lucky to escape the need for surgery. Yet two years later I still don’t have a full range of motion, I still can’t run without problems, I still need to wear gym shoes most of the time, and I still haven’t had my doctor’s wish come true - that I would at some point have a day in which I don’t have to think about it at all. Yet I can walk and drive and I can now walk barefoot (this was a major and important accomplishment).
The schedule at my house has been known to make people’s heads spin. During this time my husband was both traveling for work and had a completely inflexible work schedule when he was home. Jessica, my oldest, had a driver’s permit and wound up getting a lot of driving time in chauffeuring me and the other kids. However, she had her own busy schedule and frequently needed rides as well. I depended heavily on my husband, family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers during this difficult time.
While I was laid up we of course had to keep up with the usual household things like groceries, dishes and laundry. Our schedule was as always, crowded with the kids’ activities. Jessica at the time participated in badminton, Model UN, Student Council, Girl Scouts, and Anime Club. Kathy had orchestra rehearsal four mornings a week before school, Christian Club, and Confirmation. Jonathan was in chess club, band, and chorus, and Allie had swimming lessons and Daisies.
On top of that there were orchestra, band, and chorus concerts, Easter, a wedding shower hosted at my house, my brother-in-law’s wedding in which half my family was in the wedding (and shopping for clothes for several of us to wear for the special day), four of our six birthdays, Mother’s Day, a sick cat to the vet for surgery, orthodontist visits, piano lessons, school field trips, special end of the school year events for my children finishing kindergarten, fifth, and eighth grades, a fashion show which featured clothing Jessica had made, the district’s annual Fine Arts Festival in which my children’s performances were spread throughout the day, Kathy’s Confirmation, and birthday and graduation parties. Once the school year ended there were Girl Scout camps, Vacation Bible School, music camp, sports camp, Father’s Day, a church mission trip, more doctor and orthodontist visits. During this entire time I continued to work full-time from home except for occasional trips to the office for meetings. A long-planned and much anticipated major family vacation wound up being more difficult than fun.
On this Easter weekend, I am exceptionally grateful that I live in a time and place where this injury is treatable, that I was able to recover in comfort with help from so many people, that I have insurance that helped with the cost, that I have a job that can be done remotely, and most of all I’m so very, very happy that I can walk and drive. Most of all I’m thankful that it’s this year and not that one.
As I write this Good Friday morning it is only too easy for me to think back to Good Friday two years ago. It was a typically busy morning for me - I was exercising, boiling dozens of eggs to be colored later in the day, doing some Tellabs work from home despite it being a paid holiday, needing to wake my kindergartner and have her ready for a 10:30am birthday party, all while having my four plus two extra kids in the house.
On what turned out to be my last trip down the basement stairs, I stepped out apparently thinking I was on the last stair, but wasn’t, and landed hard on my right ankle bone. I heard cracking sounds on both sides of my ankle and was immediately in excruciating pain. I quickly called the kids into action to take care of all the things that needed to be done including calling my husband to come home and take me to Urgent Care. There I was diagnosed with a sprain, sent home with an air cast to wear for a few days, and told to use ice and take Vicodin and Naproxin.
Three weeks later after a few more doctor visits and x-rays I wound up with a better diagnosis and was put into a hard cast for a few weeks, and then another one for a few more weeks. It was exactly nine weeks before I was able to put even an ounce of weight on that foot. That whole time I had to keep my foot elevated above my heart as much as possible. When down for even a short time my foot and toes turned purple and swollen. The hard casts were followed by a few weeks of a walking cast, then a brace, then orthotics. A few months and a couple dozen visits to physical therapy later I was walking short distances with a limp. I was first able to drive thirteen weeks after the misstep.
I’m not a sports person and had never before had any kind of major injury, had never been in a cast or on crutches. Months of not being able to walk or drive gave me new appreciation for what handicapped people have to deal with every day. One day at a local department store I was unable to shop upstairs because the elevator wasn’t working and I was in a wheelchair. I found that when both hands are on the crutches and one foot can’t be set on the ground, it’s difficult or impossible to move anything from one place to another. Getting through doorways with automatically closing doors required help from another person. Many normally simple tasks were beyond the realm of my new reality. This was worse than just inconvenient.
I learned that injuries frequently don’t heal as good as new. Mine is known as a Lisfranc injury and is basically several torn ligaments and several dislocated bones, but no fracture. It turns out the cracking sounds I’d heard were not bones breaking but the most unpleasant sound of ligaments tearing from bone. My doctor told me I was lucky to escape the need for surgery. Yet two years later I still don’t have a full range of motion, I still can’t run without problems, I still need to wear gym shoes most of the time, and I still haven’t had my doctor’s wish come true - that I would at some point have a day in which I don’t have to think about it at all. Yet I can walk and drive and I can now walk barefoot (this was a major and important accomplishment).
The schedule at my house has been known to make people’s heads spin. During this time my husband was both traveling for work and had a completely inflexible work schedule when he was home. Jessica, my oldest, had a driver’s permit and wound up getting a lot of driving time in chauffeuring me and the other kids. However, she had her own busy schedule and frequently needed rides as well. I depended heavily on my husband, family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers during this difficult time.
While I was laid up we of course had to keep up with the usual household things like groceries, dishes and laundry. Our schedule was as always, crowded with the kids’ activities. Jessica at the time participated in badminton, Model UN, Student Council, Girl Scouts, and Anime Club. Kathy had orchestra rehearsal four mornings a week before school, Christian Club, and Confirmation. Jonathan was in chess club, band, and chorus, and Allie had swimming lessons and Daisies.
On top of that there were orchestra, band, and chorus concerts, Easter, a wedding shower hosted at my house, my brother-in-law’s wedding in which half my family was in the wedding (and shopping for clothes for several of us to wear for the special day), four of our six birthdays, Mother’s Day, a sick cat to the vet for surgery, orthodontist visits, piano lessons, school field trips, special end of the school year events for my children finishing kindergarten, fifth, and eighth grades, a fashion show which featured clothing Jessica had made, the district’s annual Fine Arts Festival in which my children’s performances were spread throughout the day, Kathy’s Confirmation, and birthday and graduation parties. Once the school year ended there were Girl Scout camps, Vacation Bible School, music camp, sports camp, Father’s Day, a church mission trip, more doctor and orthodontist visits. During this entire time I continued to work full-time from home except for occasional trips to the office for meetings. A long-planned and much anticipated major family vacation wound up being more difficult than fun.
On this Easter weekend, I am exceptionally grateful that I live in a time and place where this injury is treatable, that I was able to recover in comfort with help from so many people, that I have insurance that helped with the cost, that I have a job that can be done remotely, and most of all I’m so very, very happy that I can walk and drive. Most of all I’m thankful that it’s this year and not that one.
2008-03-11 First grade
First grade was an unforgettable year for me and this is in no small part due to having had the world's best first grade teacher, Miss Rosa Jackson, at C.M. Bardwell School.
At the end of kindergarten we all walked to the first grade rooms to meet our new teachers and get a look at the classrooms. In Room 8 I was given a butterfly colored by one of that year's first-graders welcoming me to first grade. We learned how much fun first grade would be and that turned out to be completely true.
Learning to read has to be one of the most significant occurrences in one's education and most of us at that time were taught to read in first grade. I loved reading from the start and was quickly one of the best readers in the class. Reading has continued to be one of my great joys in life.
Miss Jackson made learning fun and cared about all of her students. She handed out play money as rewards, and this money could be used to buy items that were displayed around the classroom. I made it my goal to be the first to have enough dollars saved up to buy the most expensive item in the classroom - a large inflatable pink dog with green spots. How magnificent it was when I got that dog!
Our classroom put on a first-grade play that was fairly unusual. The scenery was projected from the rear onto a screen behind the actors and the props were painted with fluorescent paint to glow in black light. The play itself was an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood and I got to star in it with Steven Doyle. I still have the playbill and Beacon photo from this performance.
It is easy to conjure up memories of first grade - using the System 80 “computer” that had only a few buttons and was not remotely like the computers of today, Ricky Cepeda teaching us how to count to 10 in Spanish, the class dancing to songs including "The Candy Man," being a Brownie, walking home for lunch, getting my first lunch box and bringing lunch to school for the first time to eat in the cafeteria and participating in outdoor recess.
In the spring I had to have my adenoids out. In those days this meant a stay in the hospital. I was admitted Wednesday evening, had surgery on Thursday morning, and went home on Friday. Luckily I remember more about the fun of having 7-Up, Jello and ice cream for dinner than about being in pain. While I was in the hospital I received a letter from my first grade class. Miss Jackson wrote several pages, the students each made a page, and they were taped end-to-end. I loved this letter and cherish it to this day. At about fifteen feet long it is easily the longest letter I’ve gotten in my life.
Jack Pool was assistant principal that year and became principal the following fall, a position he held for several years. He says that Rosa Jackson “was one of the most outstanding teachers I’ve ever worked with.” He mentioned that she had opportunities to work in another district but remained dedicated to helping children at Bardwell. She was very highly organized and respected by parents, staff, and students and was once named Kane County Teacher of the Year.
I have seen Miss Jackson several times since I was her student. On the last day of school each year of grade school I visited all of my former teachers. I was delighted to have the opportunity to help out in Miss Jackson's class during my lunchtime when I was in sixth grade. As an adult I visited her classroom with my own children (one of whom continues to insist that her first grade teacher was better than mine). We ran into each other again at Bardwell's 75th anniversary celebration in 2005.
I had many wonderful teachers at Bardwell. Here is a public note of appreciation and thanks to them all. Mrs. Wallo – kindergarten, Miss Jackson – first grade, Mrs. Barbee – second grade, Miss Travis – third grade, Mrs. Kellett – fourth grade, Mrs. Hanley – fifth grade, Mrs. Proczko – sixth grade, Mrs. Weber – librarian, Miss Shoger – music, Mrs. Breese (Miss Koperski) – student teacher.
At the end of kindergarten we all walked to the first grade rooms to meet our new teachers and get a look at the classrooms. In Room 8 I was given a butterfly colored by one of that year's first-graders welcoming me to first grade. We learned how much fun first grade would be and that turned out to be completely true.
Learning to read has to be one of the most significant occurrences in one's education and most of us at that time were taught to read in first grade. I loved reading from the start and was quickly one of the best readers in the class. Reading has continued to be one of my great joys in life.
Miss Jackson made learning fun and cared about all of her students. She handed out play money as rewards, and this money could be used to buy items that were displayed around the classroom. I made it my goal to be the first to have enough dollars saved up to buy the most expensive item in the classroom - a large inflatable pink dog with green spots. How magnificent it was when I got that dog!
Our classroom put on a first-grade play that was fairly unusual. The scenery was projected from the rear onto a screen behind the actors and the props were painted with fluorescent paint to glow in black light. The play itself was an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood and I got to star in it with Steven Doyle. I still have the playbill and Beacon photo from this performance.
It is easy to conjure up memories of first grade - using the System 80 “computer” that had only a few buttons and was not remotely like the computers of today, Ricky Cepeda teaching us how to count to 10 in Spanish, the class dancing to songs including "The Candy Man," being a Brownie, walking home for lunch, getting my first lunch box and bringing lunch to school for the first time to eat in the cafeteria and participating in outdoor recess.
In the spring I had to have my adenoids out. In those days this meant a stay in the hospital. I was admitted Wednesday evening, had surgery on Thursday morning, and went home on Friday. Luckily I remember more about the fun of having 7-Up, Jello and ice cream for dinner than about being in pain. While I was in the hospital I received a letter from my first grade class. Miss Jackson wrote several pages, the students each made a page, and they were taped end-to-end. I loved this letter and cherish it to this day. At about fifteen feet long it is easily the longest letter I’ve gotten in my life.
Jack Pool was assistant principal that year and became principal the following fall, a position he held for several years. He says that Rosa Jackson “was one of the most outstanding teachers I’ve ever worked with.” He mentioned that she had opportunities to work in another district but remained dedicated to helping children at Bardwell. She was very highly organized and respected by parents, staff, and students and was once named Kane County Teacher of the Year.
I have seen Miss Jackson several times since I was her student. On the last day of school each year of grade school I visited all of my former teachers. I was delighted to have the opportunity to help out in Miss Jackson's class during my lunchtime when I was in sixth grade. As an adult I visited her classroom with my own children (one of whom continues to insist that her first grade teacher was better than mine). We ran into each other again at Bardwell's 75th anniversary celebration in 2005.
I had many wonderful teachers at Bardwell. Here is a public note of appreciation and thanks to them all. Mrs. Wallo – kindergarten, Miss Jackson – first grade, Mrs. Barbee – second grade, Miss Travis – third grade, Mrs. Kellett – fourth grade, Mrs. Hanley – fifth grade, Mrs. Proczko – sixth grade, Mrs. Weber – librarian, Miss Shoger – music, Mrs. Breese (Miss Koperski) – student teacher.
2008-03-07 Boundaries
The topic of boundary changes in Indian Prairie School District is a painful one for many people. Those of us who have been here throughout much of the growth have gone through frequent boundary changes as we opened eighteen new elementary schools and five new middle schools in the last twenty years. There was a major boundary change in 1997 when Neuqua Valley opened and our district went from one to two high school buildings.
We are in a long-awaited yet difficult time now that we finally have relief for overcrowding on the horizon with a new high school and new middle school scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. As the district approaches build-out it seems we are reaching the point at which we will have adequate space for all of our students and can stop constructing new buildings.
When you look below the surface you will find that this does not come without a huge price for the district in terms of not only finances but in a great deal of boundary shifts that will be painful to families in an ongoing manner, and in the loss of trust and respect for the School Board and the administration. Our district is in an angry and divided state at the moment.
I believe that the School Board and administration have done their homework all along and have made what they considered to be the best decisions they could at each time with the information and options available. In hindsight a third high school would have been a better option than the freshman centers that we opened in 2003. Although I was a big supporter of the 2005 referendum, apparently many did not feel they had enough information to support a third high school at that time and that no vote, whether blame falls on the people in charge or the voters is a huge part of what led directly to the mess of the past couple of years.
We no longer had the option to buy the Brach-Brodie land (which many residents thought was a bad site for a high school anyway) at a negotiated price and had to go through the courts. Had the court case gone more quickly, had we been granted quick-take, or had the jury price come in anywhere near comparable sales in the area in the specified time-frame, we would have a school building underway at that location. However, none of these things happened and we were stuck with a too-high price too late to absorb the cost differential due to rising construction costs.
The new site has been chosen, is under contract, and the new boundaries have been decided upon. The Brach-Brodie site had always been considered the “least bad” of the available pieces of land in the district. Now we have something that most would consider worse. The new site that has been chosen on Eola Road at Molitor was not available until recently. It is in an area that will allow several neighborhoods a much shorter commute to high school but it will cause many more neighborhoods to have a longer commute to school.
The Brach-Brodie site allowed the new school to be made up fairly equally from both Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley attendance areas. Middle school boundaries were never drawn up for that site. The new site requires the school be filled entirely from within the Waubonsie Valley attendance areas, with a large number of students shifting from the Neuqua attendance area to Waubonsie.
Many more students are moved under the new boundary plan that this new site required. Many students who had a very short commute will now have a long one, and some who had a long commute will have an even longer commute. Several schools will find their student bodies split into different schools as they move from grade school to middle school or from middle school to high school. In the first years, some students will move from one overcrowded building to another, some will stay in their same overcrowded building, and some will move into an incomplete but not crowded building of freshman and sophomores only that will not have varsity sports the first year (and may not have fall sports at all that year).
Several district residents submitted boundary plans and some appeared to me to be superior to the one selected by the School Board because they minimize school splits and/or distance. While several areas seem to have gotten the short end of the stick, it seems the School Board tried to do what they could given that each move of one area would cause another area to move as well. In an effort to avoid the boundary fiasco of two years ago they rushed this decision through quickly without giving residents the benefit of hearing the thought processes that caused them to address the concerns of some areas but not others.
I do not think this is a laughing matter. The lives of parents and children are planned around where these students will go to school. People bought their homes based on school locations, even though in a growing district boundaries are known to change. I have a great deal of sympathy for the changes many families will be dealing with and could easily have been in their shoes. Too many are reacting as if this boundary shift is the worst thing that could ever happen to their family. If this is the worst, then they are truly blessed.
All Indian Prairie students will continue to get an excellent education and access to fantastic extra-curricular programs. I am both thrilled as a Metea parent and sad as a Waubonsie parent that the new school will be led by Waubonsie Valley’s current principal. It is time to move on and look forward to the new space and additional opportunities that will be available. It is time to come together as a district and support all of our children, all of our families, all of our neighborhoods, all of our schools, and our School Board and administration.
We are in a long-awaited yet difficult time now that we finally have relief for overcrowding on the horizon with a new high school and new middle school scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. As the district approaches build-out it seems we are reaching the point at which we will have adequate space for all of our students and can stop constructing new buildings.
When you look below the surface you will find that this does not come without a huge price for the district in terms of not only finances but in a great deal of boundary shifts that will be painful to families in an ongoing manner, and in the loss of trust and respect for the School Board and the administration. Our district is in an angry and divided state at the moment.
I believe that the School Board and administration have done their homework all along and have made what they considered to be the best decisions they could at each time with the information and options available. In hindsight a third high school would have been a better option than the freshman centers that we opened in 2003. Although I was a big supporter of the 2005 referendum, apparently many did not feel they had enough information to support a third high school at that time and that no vote, whether blame falls on the people in charge or the voters is a huge part of what led directly to the mess of the past couple of years.
We no longer had the option to buy the Brach-Brodie land (which many residents thought was a bad site for a high school anyway) at a negotiated price and had to go through the courts. Had the court case gone more quickly, had we been granted quick-take, or had the jury price come in anywhere near comparable sales in the area in the specified time-frame, we would have a school building underway at that location. However, none of these things happened and we were stuck with a too-high price too late to absorb the cost differential due to rising construction costs.
The new site has been chosen, is under contract, and the new boundaries have been decided upon. The Brach-Brodie site had always been considered the “least bad” of the available pieces of land in the district. Now we have something that most would consider worse. The new site that has been chosen on Eola Road at Molitor was not available until recently. It is in an area that will allow several neighborhoods a much shorter commute to high school but it will cause many more neighborhoods to have a longer commute to school.
The Brach-Brodie site allowed the new school to be made up fairly equally from both Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley attendance areas. Middle school boundaries were never drawn up for that site. The new site requires the school be filled entirely from within the Waubonsie Valley attendance areas, with a large number of students shifting from the Neuqua attendance area to Waubonsie.
Many more students are moved under the new boundary plan that this new site required. Many students who had a very short commute will now have a long one, and some who had a long commute will have an even longer commute. Several schools will find their student bodies split into different schools as they move from grade school to middle school or from middle school to high school. In the first years, some students will move from one overcrowded building to another, some will stay in their same overcrowded building, and some will move into an incomplete but not crowded building of freshman and sophomores only that will not have varsity sports the first year (and may not have fall sports at all that year).
Several district residents submitted boundary plans and some appeared to me to be superior to the one selected by the School Board because they minimize school splits and/or distance. While several areas seem to have gotten the short end of the stick, it seems the School Board tried to do what they could given that each move of one area would cause another area to move as well. In an effort to avoid the boundary fiasco of two years ago they rushed this decision through quickly without giving residents the benefit of hearing the thought processes that caused them to address the concerns of some areas but not others.
I do not think this is a laughing matter. The lives of parents and children are planned around where these students will go to school. People bought their homes based on school locations, even though in a growing district boundaries are known to change. I have a great deal of sympathy for the changes many families will be dealing with and could easily have been in their shoes. Too many are reacting as if this boundary shift is the worst thing that could ever happen to their family. If this is the worst, then they are truly blessed.
All Indian Prairie students will continue to get an excellent education and access to fantastic extra-curricular programs. I am both thrilled as a Metea parent and sad as a Waubonsie parent that the new school will be led by Waubonsie Valley’s current principal. It is time to move on and look forward to the new space and additional opportunities that will be available. It is time to come together as a district and support all of our children, all of our families, all of our neighborhoods, all of our schools, and our School Board and administration.
2008-02-15 Internet friends
We often hear what a dangerous place the internet can be, yet it also offers a unique opportunity to develop deep and long-lasting friendships with people throughout the world.
I have been an active e-mailer and participant in newsgroups, message boards, and e-mail lists for almost twenty years. I have made dozens of friends whom I have never met in person, and quite a few whom I’ve met in real life after having known them online for years. I have attended gatherings both near and far. People have visited me from out of town, out of state, and even from other countries.
Shortly before my first daughter was born I joined a small and growing online community where I looked to the more experienced parents for assurance, advice and information. In the earlier days of the internet when access was text only and pictures were not yet digital, photo sharing was not easy as it is today. About once a year a small group of people would put together a photo album of participants with copies for each of us.
I wrote to the newsgroup in 1992 that I was overwhelmed with a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. I heard from dozens who had been in similar situations. One person who responded has children two months older than each of mine and she and I really clicked. Our daily e-mails were an integral part of life for the next several years and she became one of my very best friends even though she lived over 700 miles away in Maryland. Her Colorado ski trip included a planned layover at O’Hare so we could meet in person for the first time in 1996. Once our family stayed at her house when we took a trip east, another time we planned a Disney World trip together, and later still she and her kids came to stay at my house for a few days when my youngest was a newborn.
As internet usage exploded in the mid-nineties several of us left that larger group and formed a private e-mail list that remains active today. We continued the photo album tradition for several years, always assembled at a big gathering in some part of the US each year for a weekend. I always had at least one small child and felt it would be difficult or impossible and too expensive to attend.
A photo album party was scheduled for late September 2001 in Minneapolis, the closest one ever. But schedules at my house are always complicated – the older kids had school Friday and my son had a Cub Scout campout, and it seemed that it couldn’t work out. Then the world changed on September 11. The next week we were still in a daze and I suddenly felt the need to connect in person with my online friends. I took my two oldest out of school and the girls and I spent the weekend in Minneapolis while my son and his dad stayed home went to the campout. It was just what I needed. It is always a wonderful experience spending time with people you know well, even if their faces are unfamiliar at first.
In 1999 I joined a group for women expecting babies in January of 2000. We have continued to share the ups and downs of parenting over the years and are always there for each other. We exchange Christmas cards and photos and have done some gift exchanges. Sometimes the January 2000 children become pen pals with each other. This group includes people all over the United States as well as Canada, Iceland and Australia.
More recently I have gotten involved in a local online community with a group of people who have a shared interest. We don’t begin to agree on everything but we find value in our discussions. We have the added bonus of living in the same area and can easily set up gatherings and even run into each other at local events.
E-mail has helped me keep up with friends from these groups as well as people whom I already know in real life but may or may not see very often. A very close friend and I have kept in touch regularly via e-mail even though she moved out of state several years ago and we see each other about once a year.
The internet has been the source of many wonderful things in my life, the most rewarding of which are the friendships it has made possible.
I have been an active e-mailer and participant in newsgroups, message boards, and e-mail lists for almost twenty years. I have made dozens of friends whom I have never met in person, and quite a few whom I’ve met in real life after having known them online for years. I have attended gatherings both near and far. People have visited me from out of town, out of state, and even from other countries.
Shortly before my first daughter was born I joined a small and growing online community where I looked to the more experienced parents for assurance, advice and information. In the earlier days of the internet when access was text only and pictures were not yet digital, photo sharing was not easy as it is today. About once a year a small group of people would put together a photo album of participants with copies for each of us.
I wrote to the newsgroup in 1992 that I was overwhelmed with a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. I heard from dozens who had been in similar situations. One person who responded has children two months older than each of mine and she and I really clicked. Our daily e-mails were an integral part of life for the next several years and she became one of my very best friends even though she lived over 700 miles away in Maryland. Her Colorado ski trip included a planned layover at O’Hare so we could meet in person for the first time in 1996. Once our family stayed at her house when we took a trip east, another time we planned a Disney World trip together, and later still she and her kids came to stay at my house for a few days when my youngest was a newborn.
As internet usage exploded in the mid-nineties several of us left that larger group and formed a private e-mail list that remains active today. We continued the photo album tradition for several years, always assembled at a big gathering in some part of the US each year for a weekend. I always had at least one small child and felt it would be difficult or impossible and too expensive to attend.
A photo album party was scheduled for late September 2001 in Minneapolis, the closest one ever. But schedules at my house are always complicated – the older kids had school Friday and my son had a Cub Scout campout, and it seemed that it couldn’t work out. Then the world changed on September 11. The next week we were still in a daze and I suddenly felt the need to connect in person with my online friends. I took my two oldest out of school and the girls and I spent the weekend in Minneapolis while my son and his dad stayed home went to the campout. It was just what I needed. It is always a wonderful experience spending time with people you know well, even if their faces are unfamiliar at first.
In 1999 I joined a group for women expecting babies in January of 2000. We have continued to share the ups and downs of parenting over the years and are always there for each other. We exchange Christmas cards and photos and have done some gift exchanges. Sometimes the January 2000 children become pen pals with each other. This group includes people all over the United States as well as Canada, Iceland and Australia.
More recently I have gotten involved in a local online community with a group of people who have a shared interest. We don’t begin to agree on everything but we find value in our discussions. We have the added bonus of living in the same area and can easily set up gatherings and even run into each other at local events.
E-mail has helped me keep up with friends from these groups as well as people whom I already know in real life but may or may not see very often. A very close friend and I have kept in touch regularly via e-mail even though she moved out of state several years ago and we see each other about once a year.
The internet has been the source of many wonderful things in my life, the most rewarding of which are the friendships it has made possible.
2008-02-12 Gretchen
Gretchen Mitchell Anderson had the good fortune to celebrate her 100th birthday in December. Masses were held in her honor at local Catholic churches, she had a birthday lunch with friends and family, and many came to offer birthday greetings at an open house at Holy Angels Church.
When I was growing up, Gretchen lived across the street from me. I’ve recently discovered that she has many interesting tales to tell and I love listening to her stories. Her family has been in Aurora a long time - both of her parents were born here. A couple of interesting facts are that Mitchell Road and Hermes School were named after her relatives.
Gretchen was born on December 4, 1907 to John F. and Anna (Hermes) Mitchell in a house on Forest Avenue, on the north end of Aurora at the time. When she was just three months old her family moved to New York Street, where she grew up with her older sister and two younger brothers. Dr. Dreyer was a neighbor and he made house calls for her frequent bouts with bronchitis, which was sometimes very serious.
Gretchen attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from the all-girls St. Mary’s High School. When she was in school the children walked from school to the Fox Theater downtown for programs for Civil War veterans. It is incredible to think of this time when there were many surviving Civil War veterans and yet World War II was still decades away.
One of Gretchen’s great loves in life was the theater. She enjoyed participating in plays and shows at school. After high school she directed plays with the Lafayette Players, sponsored by Sacred Heart and drawing participants from all over the area. Even now she says one of her favorite memories is that of coaching plays because she loved bringing words to life.
She has always spent a lot of time with her relatives. They went to dances and parties and took vacations together. She enjoyed the many recreational opportunities available in Aurora and lately has been enjoying the “Entertaining Aurora” book that brings back these memories.
After the deaths of Gretchen’s parents, she moved from her childhood home into an apartment at her brother’s home on Mountain St. She became a surrogate grandmother to her nieces and nephews. One great-niece was named after her. She continues to enjoy relationships with generations of nieces and nephews and she appreciates them greatly.
At Detweiler Conservatory she helped children with speech impediments. There became less need for this as public schools took over this function so she went to secretarial school and entered the business world. While Gretchen had hoped to go back to working with children and directing plays, she wound up taking the train to work in downtown Chicago instead.
When Gretchen applied for her Social Security card she found out she didn’t exist! Her birth certificate had not been properly registered by the doctor (it simply said female, without giving any name) and getting this straightened out was complicated by the fact that she had been baptized as Margaret Mary Mitchell, a name she had never gone by. At the time, her mother was still living and able to attest to Gretchen’s identity.
For some time Gretchen worked in automobile financing at Northern Illinois Finance. (Ironically, she had never yet driven a car at the time she held this job and she first drove in the 1950s.) Her boss left to work at Old Second National Bank and she stayed for several weeks working discontentedly for the new boss. Eventually she could stand it no longer and resigned without having a new job in place. That very day on her lunch break she happened to run into her former boss, who offered to take her out to lunch. Amazingly, it turned out there was a job opening at Old Second and he walked her right over to get her set up.
Her first job at Old Second was checking securities in the trust department. She was a dedicated employee and many times worked late hours, especially during the war. She was promoted several times and eventually became one of the first female trust officers in the area.
One day there a party was being held for an attorney and the bankers were required to attend. It was a beautiful September day and Gretchen really didn’t want to spend her day there. Her sister told her to go and even told her which clothes and jewelry she should wear. This turned out to be a life-changing decision. There she met Ture Anderson. They hit it off from the start and enjoyed each other’s company at the party. She and some of Ture’s relatives went over to his house afterward, and his sister-in-laws drove her home.
Ture called and asked her out to dinner the next Saturday night. Though she was in her fifties and rarely dated, she already had a date for that evening. On the third attempt Ture was able to get a date with her for a Sunday. Ture promised Gretchen’s nephew, whom he had known previously, that he would have her in by midnight. They had dinner at a place on the river in Oregon, IL and arrived home four minutes before midnight. Ture apparently thought this was too early since he’d promised 12, and drove around until he could bring her home at exactly 12:00.
They had a New Year’s Eve date in New York City. Shortly after that he romantically presented her with an engagement ring at her home. They were married in May of 1963 and moved into the home where Ture had been living for several years on Fourth Street. They were unable to go on a longer trip to Europe due to work commitments so had their honeymoon in Williamsburg. Gretchen recalls spending one day learning about early American history and the same evening watching news about the space program.
The following year they had the first of their trips to Europe together. Over the years they visited many places including Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Copenhagen, England, and Ture’s homeland and family in Sweden. They had good times on their trips and encountered many interesting people and places in the course of their travels.
Although Ture had grown up Lutheran, he converted to Catholicism before he met Gretchen. She came to Our Lady of Good Council with Ture and has loved it there ever since.
Their priest had written to The Vatican and Gretchen and Ture hoped to have a visitation with Pope Paul VI while they were in Rome. Each night when they returned to their hotel they hoped to have received in invitation. Finally on the fourth night a small gold box inviting them to a reception with Pope Paul VI had arrived. The man at the hotel had already arranged their transportation to St. Peter’s for the visit the following day. Gretchen wore special shoes on this trip due to a back problem and was not able to battle the crowds to get a close spot inside. Lo and behold, when she made it to the room behind everyone else, a woman from Wales whom she’d never before met waved her over and said she’d saved her a seat because she noticed her difficulty.
In Paris Gretchen had a chance encounter with a nun she’d met on a family trip to Colorado decades earlier. Once they took a boat from New York to England and while there they visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. In the airport in Milan they met a woman whose husband was working on the German trials. His family had been killed in the concentration camps and somehow he had survived and wound up living in Canada.
After Ture’s death Gretchen and her good friend Helen Redding enjoyed many winters in Florida with a group who traveled together by bus. Gretchen has been able to remain living in her own home with the help of her caregiver, Pepa.
Gretchen’s family and friends have always been and still are an integral part of her life and she continues to enjoy life because of them. We should all be so lucky as to live such a long and healthy life full of rich experiences and rewarding relationships.
When I was growing up, Gretchen lived across the street from me. I’ve recently discovered that she has many interesting tales to tell and I love listening to her stories. Her family has been in Aurora a long time - both of her parents were born here. A couple of interesting facts are that Mitchell Road and Hermes School were named after her relatives.
Gretchen was born on December 4, 1907 to John F. and Anna (Hermes) Mitchell in a house on Forest Avenue, on the north end of Aurora at the time. When she was just three months old her family moved to New York Street, where she grew up with her older sister and two younger brothers. Dr. Dreyer was a neighbor and he made house calls for her frequent bouts with bronchitis, which was sometimes very serious.
Gretchen attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from the all-girls St. Mary’s High School. When she was in school the children walked from school to the Fox Theater downtown for programs for Civil War veterans. It is incredible to think of this time when there were many surviving Civil War veterans and yet World War II was still decades away.
One of Gretchen’s great loves in life was the theater. She enjoyed participating in plays and shows at school. After high school she directed plays with the Lafayette Players, sponsored by Sacred Heart and drawing participants from all over the area. Even now she says one of her favorite memories is that of coaching plays because she loved bringing words to life.
She has always spent a lot of time with her relatives. They went to dances and parties and took vacations together. She enjoyed the many recreational opportunities available in Aurora and lately has been enjoying the “Entertaining Aurora” book that brings back these memories.
After the deaths of Gretchen’s parents, she moved from her childhood home into an apartment at her brother’s home on Mountain St. She became a surrogate grandmother to her nieces and nephews. One great-niece was named after her. She continues to enjoy relationships with generations of nieces and nephews and she appreciates them greatly.
At Detweiler Conservatory she helped children with speech impediments. There became less need for this as public schools took over this function so she went to secretarial school and entered the business world. While Gretchen had hoped to go back to working with children and directing plays, she wound up taking the train to work in downtown Chicago instead.
When Gretchen applied for her Social Security card she found out she didn’t exist! Her birth certificate had not been properly registered by the doctor (it simply said female, without giving any name) and getting this straightened out was complicated by the fact that she had been baptized as Margaret Mary Mitchell, a name she had never gone by. At the time, her mother was still living and able to attest to Gretchen’s identity.
For some time Gretchen worked in automobile financing at Northern Illinois Finance. (Ironically, she had never yet driven a car at the time she held this job and she first drove in the 1950s.) Her boss left to work at Old Second National Bank and she stayed for several weeks working discontentedly for the new boss. Eventually she could stand it no longer and resigned without having a new job in place. That very day on her lunch break she happened to run into her former boss, who offered to take her out to lunch. Amazingly, it turned out there was a job opening at Old Second and he walked her right over to get her set up.
Her first job at Old Second was checking securities in the trust department. She was a dedicated employee and many times worked late hours, especially during the war. She was promoted several times and eventually became one of the first female trust officers in the area.
One day there a party was being held for an attorney and the bankers were required to attend. It was a beautiful September day and Gretchen really didn’t want to spend her day there. Her sister told her to go and even told her which clothes and jewelry she should wear. This turned out to be a life-changing decision. There she met Ture Anderson. They hit it off from the start and enjoyed each other’s company at the party. She and some of Ture’s relatives went over to his house afterward, and his sister-in-laws drove her home.
Ture called and asked her out to dinner the next Saturday night. Though she was in her fifties and rarely dated, she already had a date for that evening. On the third attempt Ture was able to get a date with her for a Sunday. Ture promised Gretchen’s nephew, whom he had known previously, that he would have her in by midnight. They had dinner at a place on the river in Oregon, IL and arrived home four minutes before midnight. Ture apparently thought this was too early since he’d promised 12, and drove around until he could bring her home at exactly 12:00.
They had a New Year’s Eve date in New York City. Shortly after that he romantically presented her with an engagement ring at her home. They were married in May of 1963 and moved into the home where Ture had been living for several years on Fourth Street. They were unable to go on a longer trip to Europe due to work commitments so had their honeymoon in Williamsburg. Gretchen recalls spending one day learning about early American history and the same evening watching news about the space program.
The following year they had the first of their trips to Europe together. Over the years they visited many places including Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Copenhagen, England, and Ture’s homeland and family in Sweden. They had good times on their trips and encountered many interesting people and places in the course of their travels.
Although Ture had grown up Lutheran, he converted to Catholicism before he met Gretchen. She came to Our Lady of Good Council with Ture and has loved it there ever since.
Their priest had written to The Vatican and Gretchen and Ture hoped to have a visitation with Pope Paul VI while they were in Rome. Each night when they returned to their hotel they hoped to have received in invitation. Finally on the fourth night a small gold box inviting them to a reception with Pope Paul VI had arrived. The man at the hotel had already arranged their transportation to St. Peter’s for the visit the following day. Gretchen wore special shoes on this trip due to a back problem and was not able to battle the crowds to get a close spot inside. Lo and behold, when she made it to the room behind everyone else, a woman from Wales whom she’d never before met waved her over and said she’d saved her a seat because she noticed her difficulty.
In Paris Gretchen had a chance encounter with a nun she’d met on a family trip to Colorado decades earlier. Once they took a boat from New York to England and while there they visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. In the airport in Milan they met a woman whose husband was working on the German trials. His family had been killed in the concentration camps and somehow he had survived and wound up living in Canada.
After Ture’s death Gretchen and her good friend Helen Redding enjoyed many winters in Florida with a group who traveled together by bus. Gretchen has been able to remain living in her own home with the help of her caregiver, Pepa.
Gretchen’s family and friends have always been and still are an integral part of her life and she continues to enjoy life because of them. We should all be so lucky as to live such a long and healthy life full of rich experiences and rewarding relationships.
2008-02-05 Change of Plans
Often in life changes that appear to be wonderful can still come with a sense of loss and grief.
My family learned this eight years ago when we moved to a new house. Instead of being happy we had more space, we faced months of grief over the loss of our old house, friends, neighbors, and school. Now that many new friends, neighbors, and schools have become part of our lives it would be hard for any of us to want to go back and undo that move.
We recently found out that we’ll be facing another big change. This one was not by our own choice. When I worked to pass the Indian Prairie referendum to build a third high school it was with the expectation that this school would be built at the Brach-Brodie location on 75th Street west of Route 59. The impact on our family would be minimal as we would not be changing schools and due to the ages of my children at the time of the school opening, they would not be separated from any of their friends. After living through two overcrowded years at Waubonsie Valley, the building would be at or under capacity from then on out.
My family is a Warrior family. We’ve lived in the Waubonsie attendance area since before our oldest started kindergarten and before our younger two were even born. We have attended events at Waubonsie for several years now. My oldest daughter will graduate from WV this spring and her sister will do the same in two years. My son is halfway through Granger and fully expected that he and all the others at Granger would be attending Waubonsie together. We love Waubonsie.
When the jury price for Brach-Brodie came in much higher than anticipated, I hoped the district would still find a way to buy the land as I believed this to be the best possible site for the district as a whole. This did not happen and a new site needed to be chosen.
On Tuesday, January 15 the district announced the administration’s recommendation for the new site for Metea Valley High School along with information about the other sites considered and the advantages and disadvantages of each site including financials. I had heard rumors to this effect but was still surprised to find out the chosen site was the St. John African Methodist Episcopalian land on the east side of the Eola Rd. and Molitor Rd. intersection just a mile from my house.
That afternoon as I drove my son home from Student Council I told him that he may be attending a brand new high school starting in ninth grade. His immediate reaction was negative. He was happy to be headed to Waubonsie, why would he want to attend a different school? He hoped all of Granger would be going with him to the new school. This doesn’t seem likely since some of Granger attendance areas can walk to Waubonsie. The new high school’s colors and mascot had already been chosen by the group of students who would have been attending the school at the Brach-Brodie site. He felt his plans had been changed mid-stream and didn’t know what to make of it.
It didn’t help that on that first day I was lamenting the loss of an established school with excellent programs across the spectrum. I was not happy about the need to start up a brand new school with new everything. The fact that there would be no experienced juniors and seniors to lead the clubs, no varsity sports the first year, no Grammy winning music program, a brand new PTA. Parts of the school will not yet be complete upon opening. I wondered whether we would still have district provided transportation. I wondered how others in the district will be impacted because the new boundaries will certainly cause some areas to go to a further away high school than they now attend, while others of us will have a shorter commute. We have opened new buildings before and would rather not do it again. If the school opens in 2009 I will have one year with a daughter in a very overcrowded Waubonsie and a son in a much under capacity Metea.
The first days were all about grief but slowly shifted to acceptance. I adjusted my outlook to the positives. The new school is close and it will be much easier to get my younger children to and from extra-curricular activities, performances, and games than it has been with the older two. My son and his classmates will get the chance to help shape the school from the beginning. The district may even allow this new group of students to redo the color and mascot choice to give them a feeling of ownership and belonging. The school will have the same excellent curriculum that is taught in Waubonsie and Neuqua.
Having children in two different high schools at the same time will not be greatly different than the preceding year when one of them is at Waubonsie and the other at Granger. My son will experience being in a high school of fewer than 1500 students that first year rather than a building overflowing with more than 3500. The students in this smaller school will have vastly more opportunities for leadership and leading roles in all of the clubs and performing groups.
This school will be created from Warrior families, just as Neuqua was a mere ten years ago. Metea will be great from the very start.
My family learned this eight years ago when we moved to a new house. Instead of being happy we had more space, we faced months of grief over the loss of our old house, friends, neighbors, and school. Now that many new friends, neighbors, and schools have become part of our lives it would be hard for any of us to want to go back and undo that move.
We recently found out that we’ll be facing another big change. This one was not by our own choice. When I worked to pass the Indian Prairie referendum to build a third high school it was with the expectation that this school would be built at the Brach-Brodie location on 75th Street west of Route 59. The impact on our family would be minimal as we would not be changing schools and due to the ages of my children at the time of the school opening, they would not be separated from any of their friends. After living through two overcrowded years at Waubonsie Valley, the building would be at or under capacity from then on out.
My family is a Warrior family. We’ve lived in the Waubonsie attendance area since before our oldest started kindergarten and before our younger two were even born. We have attended events at Waubonsie for several years now. My oldest daughter will graduate from WV this spring and her sister will do the same in two years. My son is halfway through Granger and fully expected that he and all the others at Granger would be attending Waubonsie together. We love Waubonsie.
When the jury price for Brach-Brodie came in much higher than anticipated, I hoped the district would still find a way to buy the land as I believed this to be the best possible site for the district as a whole. This did not happen and a new site needed to be chosen.
On Tuesday, January 15 the district announced the administration’s recommendation for the new site for Metea Valley High School along with information about the other sites considered and the advantages and disadvantages of each site including financials. I had heard rumors to this effect but was still surprised to find out the chosen site was the St. John African Methodist Episcopalian land on the east side of the Eola Rd. and Molitor Rd. intersection just a mile from my house.
That afternoon as I drove my son home from Student Council I told him that he may be attending a brand new high school starting in ninth grade. His immediate reaction was negative. He was happy to be headed to Waubonsie, why would he want to attend a different school? He hoped all of Granger would be going with him to the new school. This doesn’t seem likely since some of Granger attendance areas can walk to Waubonsie. The new high school’s colors and mascot had already been chosen by the group of students who would have been attending the school at the Brach-Brodie site. He felt his plans had been changed mid-stream and didn’t know what to make of it.
It didn’t help that on that first day I was lamenting the loss of an established school with excellent programs across the spectrum. I was not happy about the need to start up a brand new school with new everything. The fact that there would be no experienced juniors and seniors to lead the clubs, no varsity sports the first year, no Grammy winning music program, a brand new PTA. Parts of the school will not yet be complete upon opening. I wondered whether we would still have district provided transportation. I wondered how others in the district will be impacted because the new boundaries will certainly cause some areas to go to a further away high school than they now attend, while others of us will have a shorter commute. We have opened new buildings before and would rather not do it again. If the school opens in 2009 I will have one year with a daughter in a very overcrowded Waubonsie and a son in a much under capacity Metea.
The first days were all about grief but slowly shifted to acceptance. I adjusted my outlook to the positives. The new school is close and it will be much easier to get my younger children to and from extra-curricular activities, performances, and games than it has been with the older two. My son and his classmates will get the chance to help shape the school from the beginning. The district may even allow this new group of students to redo the color and mascot choice to give them a feeling of ownership and belonging. The school will have the same excellent curriculum that is taught in Waubonsie and Neuqua.
Having children in two different high schools at the same time will not be greatly different than the preceding year when one of them is at Waubonsie and the other at Granger. My son will experience being in a high school of fewer than 1500 students that first year rather than a building overflowing with more than 3500. The students in this smaller school will have vastly more opportunities for leadership and leading roles in all of the clubs and performing groups.
This school will be created from Warrior families, just as Neuqua was a mere ten years ago. Metea will be great from the very start.
2008-01-02 Complaint Column
My final column of 2007 is some complaints of the recent past, present, and future.
A big problem in my area, and probably in many areas of the Fox Valley, is under-engineered left turn lanes. Many times one has to wait through several lights to make a left turn and the lane backs up so far that it causes problems for those going straight as well.
These are some that cause the biggest delays for me and apparently many others. North-bound Eola Rd. turning left onto Indian Trail, a route used by many to get to Granger Middle School. West-bound North Aurora Rd. turning left onto Eola Rd. East-bound Diehl Rd. turning left onto Rt. 59. East-bound New York St. turning left onto Rt. 59, which makes the short distance from the mall shopping areas to those on the opposite corner take a very long time.
Grade-level railroad crossings are a minor concern at the moment but with the proposed sale of the EJ&E railroad these will potentially become a major headache. Thousands of drivers cross the tracks at Diehl Rd., Liberty St., Ogden Ave., and 83rd/Montgomery every day. The slow-moving freight trains take several minutes to clear the intersection.
If the railroad is sold there will be a huge increase in the number of trains daily as well as a tremendous increase in the number of hazardous material car loads annually. If the grade-level crossings are not converted to over and underpasses this will have a significant impact on everyone who drives these routes, including school buses and emergency vehicles. The public has the opportunity to comment on the Canadian National Railroad’s plans through Jan. 28.
One crossing scheduled to be revamped is the North Aurora Road underpass. I don’t know when this will happen but I can only hope that it will lead to some improvement for vehicles coming and going from All Seasons Ice Arena. The parking lot is extremely difficult to exit during evening rush hour for even a right turn.
Another big complaint is lack of parking for downtown events where one can be assured their vehicle will not be towed. All lots that are not in use for a business that is open during the event should be available for free parking with no danger of towing. Many lots that have been available in the past aren’t any more.
Red light cameras were in use in Bolingbrook for several months and many are unhappy with the implementation. Naperville has plans to install them at 2-4 intersections before possibly moving forward with the plan for several busier intersections. Aurora City Council has this on their agenda yet again in January with plans to put them into service at many intersections all at once.
There are widely varied opinions and many concerns about these throughout the country and our City Council should take a step back and decide whether this is something necessary for the safety of our community, or a “money-generating trap” as they were called by a state senator in New Mexico. A better solution to the safety issue may be to delay each green light by one second so that all sides of the intersection are red for that time.
I don’t live in U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert’s district but most of my family does. Everyone I’ve discussed this with agrees that it was rotten of him to resign in the middle of this term and force a costly special election. When he was re-elected he should have been committed to serving out his term for his constituents. What a disappointing end to his Senate career.
I am upset to have the largest Planned Parenthood in the country right here on the east side of Aurora. It would be great if they could simply provide women’s health services excluding abortion.
I am saddened at some of what massive immigration has done to my hometown and the school district from which generations of my family are proud graduates.
Issues that I’ve been involved with in my school district have come with mixed results this year. The candidates I supported were elected to the School Board. Our district did not get quick-take for the land needed for our third high school and we had an adverse outcome in the condemnation case. Thousands of families in the district do not know which high school their children will attend because we don’t know where the new school will be nor when it will open.
I supported daytime classroom Halloween parties but several schools now have much less-inclusive evening parties instead. I supported air conditioning for our impossibly hot elementary school classrooms but that has been tabled for now for numerous reasons.
All day kindergarten will be a reality in our district next year. State law requires districts to provide half day kindergarten as well and I hope that many families will choose to go that route. I am sad for all the kindergarteners being pushed to do more while having less opportunity to just be a little kid. I am sad for the elementary students who will lose their art or music rooms and/or will be forced to learn in cramped quarters or in a busy place like the school library. This will be reality in some schools as they carve out space for these additional kindergarten classrooms.
Whew! Now I’m ready for a new year and a fresh start. I wish you all good health and prosperity in the coming year.
A big problem in my area, and probably in many areas of the Fox Valley, is under-engineered left turn lanes. Many times one has to wait through several lights to make a left turn and the lane backs up so far that it causes problems for those going straight as well.
These are some that cause the biggest delays for me and apparently many others. North-bound Eola Rd. turning left onto Indian Trail, a route used by many to get to Granger Middle School. West-bound North Aurora Rd. turning left onto Eola Rd. East-bound Diehl Rd. turning left onto Rt. 59. East-bound New York St. turning left onto Rt. 59, which makes the short distance from the mall shopping areas to those on the opposite corner take a very long time.
Grade-level railroad crossings are a minor concern at the moment but with the proposed sale of the EJ&E railroad these will potentially become a major headache. Thousands of drivers cross the tracks at Diehl Rd., Liberty St., Ogden Ave., and 83rd/Montgomery every day. The slow-moving freight trains take several minutes to clear the intersection.
If the railroad is sold there will be a huge increase in the number of trains daily as well as a tremendous increase in the number of hazardous material car loads annually. If the grade-level crossings are not converted to over and underpasses this will have a significant impact on everyone who drives these routes, including school buses and emergency vehicles. The public has the opportunity to comment on the Canadian National Railroad’s plans through Jan. 28.
One crossing scheduled to be revamped is the North Aurora Road underpass. I don’t know when this will happen but I can only hope that it will lead to some improvement for vehicles coming and going from All Seasons Ice Arena. The parking lot is extremely difficult to exit during evening rush hour for even a right turn.
Another big complaint is lack of parking for downtown events where one can be assured their vehicle will not be towed. All lots that are not in use for a business that is open during the event should be available for free parking with no danger of towing. Many lots that have been available in the past aren’t any more.
Red light cameras were in use in Bolingbrook for several months and many are unhappy with the implementation. Naperville has plans to install them at 2-4 intersections before possibly moving forward with the plan for several busier intersections. Aurora City Council has this on their agenda yet again in January with plans to put them into service at many intersections all at once.
There are widely varied opinions and many concerns about these throughout the country and our City Council should take a step back and decide whether this is something necessary for the safety of our community, or a “money-generating trap” as they were called by a state senator in New Mexico. A better solution to the safety issue may be to delay each green light by one second so that all sides of the intersection are red for that time.
I don’t live in U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert’s district but most of my family does. Everyone I’ve discussed this with agrees that it was rotten of him to resign in the middle of this term and force a costly special election. When he was re-elected he should have been committed to serving out his term for his constituents. What a disappointing end to his Senate career.
I am upset to have the largest Planned Parenthood in the country right here on the east side of Aurora. It would be great if they could simply provide women’s health services excluding abortion.
I am saddened at some of what massive immigration has done to my hometown and the school district from which generations of my family are proud graduates.
Issues that I’ve been involved with in my school district have come with mixed results this year. The candidates I supported were elected to the School Board. Our district did not get quick-take for the land needed for our third high school and we had an adverse outcome in the condemnation case. Thousands of families in the district do not know which high school their children will attend because we don’t know where the new school will be nor when it will open.
I supported daytime classroom Halloween parties but several schools now have much less-inclusive evening parties instead. I supported air conditioning for our impossibly hot elementary school classrooms but that has been tabled for now for numerous reasons.
All day kindergarten will be a reality in our district next year. State law requires districts to provide half day kindergarten as well and I hope that many families will choose to go that route. I am sad for all the kindergarteners being pushed to do more while having less opportunity to just be a little kid. I am sad for the elementary students who will lose their art or music rooms and/or will be forced to learn in cramped quarters or in a busy place like the school library. This will be reality in some schools as they carve out space for these additional kindergarten classrooms.
Whew! Now I’m ready for a new year and a fresh start. I wish you all good health and prosperity in the coming year.
2007-12-21 Christmas
A friend recently had some negative things to say about Christmas and this got me thinking about why Christmas is so important to me and my family.
To me Christmas is so much more than just one holy day; it’s a celebration that goes on for several weeks.
This year the season began for us Thanksgiving weekend when we decorated our Christmas tree, hung our stockings, and put up a multitude of old and new indoor decorations. A week and a few trips to American Sale later our best ever outdoor display was complete. Don’t believe my second-grader when she says we spent $800 on lights. That is not true. It is true that her Christmas wish list is the longest we’ve ever seen.
Why is Christmas important to me? Or course most significant is the celebration of Christ’s birth. The other reason is that this is a time of year rich with tradition including numerous social events. There are parties with friends, neighbors, and family, parties at work, church, and school. Church events include celebrating Advent during Sunday services, the annual children’s Christmas musical, the Silent Choir’s amazing performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, and the Christmas Eve candlelight service.
There are numerous opportunities to donate time, food, money, or gifts to those less fortunate. We, like many, have our favorite charities and organizations to support. Our children perform in magnificent concerts at school and in nursing homes.
I took a Christmas card photo of my children when I finally found a day that everyone was home at the same time, not sick, somewhat agreeable, and looking halfway decent. This is harder than it sounds! Our 118 cards are now in the mail. I love receiving beautiful cards and photos and Christmas letters, some from people I haven’t seen in years and some whom I’ve never met in person. The inside of our front door is quickly filling up with these greetings from all over.
There are dozens of gifts to be bought and wrapped. We visit Santa at Phillips Park and he always has plenty of time to talk with us and coax a shy child into a photo. This year there was the added bonus of the new light display at the park. My family has an annual Housewalk including a progressive dinner and a chance to see everyone’s Christmas decorations. There are opportunities to see Christmas plays, drive around looking at outdoor light displays, make cookies with relatives, and help decorate Christmas trees at Grandma and Grandpa’s and Aunt Becky’s.
There are several Advent Calendars in use at my house to count down to the big day. One daughter also keeps count on her white board starting long before December, and this same girl starts playing 93.9 FM on November 1 when they begin playing Christmas music around the clock. The high-schoolers aren’t happy to have finals just before Christmas but all are glad for the two week break from school.
Christmas is a magical time for us. On Christmas Eve my husband bakes oatmeal cookies, we do any last minute preparations, watch some traditional Christmas movies, go to church, and celebrate with the Tatar family before visiting Lehnertz Avenue. When we get home the kids each open a gift from their dad and me, we read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and put out milk and cookies for Santa. Some people are so excited they have a very hard time falling asleep.
The kids like to bargain for a wake-up time. They aren’t allowed to wake me at 3:30am even if they are ready to open presents then! I joke that I need to sleep until ten. Luckily for them, Santa leaves their stockings bursting full of goodies at their doorways so they can be entertained until it’s time to get everyone up. No one is allowed downstairs until then.
The fire is burning and Christmas music playing while we take turns opening gifts. What could possibly be more exciting than opening presents on Christmas morning? Later we head to the hall for the Hayton family Christmas gathering. It’s fun to see everyone and hear about their mornings. Tthe food is delicious and in addition to the children’s gift exchange, Santa visits to bring a gift for each child. In the evening we relax and exchange gifts at my parents’ house. It is an exhausting and wonderful day. A few days later we celebrate with the Hard family.
We enjoy giving and receiving. We enjoy the religious aspect of the season, the good food, music, parties, and time with friends and family. What’s not to love?
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
To me Christmas is so much more than just one holy day; it’s a celebration that goes on for several weeks.
This year the season began for us Thanksgiving weekend when we decorated our Christmas tree, hung our stockings, and put up a multitude of old and new indoor decorations. A week and a few trips to American Sale later our best ever outdoor display was complete. Don’t believe my second-grader when she says we spent $800 on lights. That is not true. It is true that her Christmas wish list is the longest we’ve ever seen.
Why is Christmas important to me? Or course most significant is the celebration of Christ’s birth. The other reason is that this is a time of year rich with tradition including numerous social events. There are parties with friends, neighbors, and family, parties at work, church, and school. Church events include celebrating Advent during Sunday services, the annual children’s Christmas musical, the Silent Choir’s amazing performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, and the Christmas Eve candlelight service.
There are numerous opportunities to donate time, food, money, or gifts to those less fortunate. We, like many, have our favorite charities and organizations to support. Our children perform in magnificent concerts at school and in nursing homes.
I took a Christmas card photo of my children when I finally found a day that everyone was home at the same time, not sick, somewhat agreeable, and looking halfway decent. This is harder than it sounds! Our 118 cards are now in the mail. I love receiving beautiful cards and photos and Christmas letters, some from people I haven’t seen in years and some whom I’ve never met in person. The inside of our front door is quickly filling up with these greetings from all over.
There are dozens of gifts to be bought and wrapped. We visit Santa at Phillips Park and he always has plenty of time to talk with us and coax a shy child into a photo. This year there was the added bonus of the new light display at the park. My family has an annual Housewalk including a progressive dinner and a chance to see everyone’s Christmas decorations. There are opportunities to see Christmas plays, drive around looking at outdoor light displays, make cookies with relatives, and help decorate Christmas trees at Grandma and Grandpa’s and Aunt Becky’s.
There are several Advent Calendars in use at my house to count down to the big day. One daughter also keeps count on her white board starting long before December, and this same girl starts playing 93.9 FM on November 1 when they begin playing Christmas music around the clock. The high-schoolers aren’t happy to have finals just before Christmas but all are glad for the two week break from school.
Christmas is a magical time for us. On Christmas Eve my husband bakes oatmeal cookies, we do any last minute preparations, watch some traditional Christmas movies, go to church, and celebrate with the Tatar family before visiting Lehnertz Avenue. When we get home the kids each open a gift from their dad and me, we read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and put out milk and cookies for Santa. Some people are so excited they have a very hard time falling asleep.
The kids like to bargain for a wake-up time. They aren’t allowed to wake me at 3:30am even if they are ready to open presents then! I joke that I need to sleep until ten. Luckily for them, Santa leaves their stockings bursting full of goodies at their doorways so they can be entertained until it’s time to get everyone up. No one is allowed downstairs until then.
The fire is burning and Christmas music playing while we take turns opening gifts. What could possibly be more exciting than opening presents on Christmas morning? Later we head to the hall for the Hayton family Christmas gathering. It’s fun to see everyone and hear about their mornings. Tthe food is delicious and in addition to the children’s gift exchange, Santa visits to bring a gift for each child. In the evening we relax and exchange gifts at my parents’ house. It is an exhausting and wonderful day. A few days later we celebrate with the Hard family.
We enjoy giving and receiving. We enjoy the religious aspect of the season, the good food, music, parties, and time with friends and family. What’s not to love?
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
2007-12-07 IPSD Music
My family lucked into an absolutely incredible music program when we moved into the Indian Prairie School District. My children were young and I didn't know that the district had a great music program, nor would I have even known it would matter to us. The music program in our schools continues to astound me year after year.
Over the years, my children have participated in orchestra, band, chorus, and a variety of musicals. I've been to dozens of performances and have always been impressed. The district is teeming with musical talent.
The elementary school music program has an impressive curriculum and includes an evening musical performance each year for each grade in every school. Fourth and fifth graders have the opportunity to take part in chorus and a large number of students participate. Fifth graders can join band or orchestra after spending a few weeks learning about all the instrument choices and deciding on the one that's right for them.
The middle schools continue on with strong band, orchestra and chorus programs. Among the several concerts performed by Granger students each year is the Kaleidoscope concert. This beautiful concert is held in December and all of the music students perform in the decorated gym. Extra-curricular music groups such as Fiddlers, Select Strings, Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble meet before school and perform several times each year. Students especially enjoy taking part in the spring musical. District students from sixth grade on have the opportunity to audition for Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) festival and to participate in annual solo/ensemble festivals.
This extensive preparation in the earlier grades leads these gifted musicians into our Grammy Award winning high school music programs. Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley have been honored by the Grammy Foundation numerous times.
About 20% of Waubonsie students participate in curricular music. There are several small groups and extra-curricular performing groups available as well. Dozens of concerts are held at Waubonsie and other locations each year. Our students have done particularly well at IMEA and this year we have 21 students attending the All-State Conference.
I'm usually not the sort of person to gush, but I’m absolutely amazed at the quality of the concerts I've attended at Waubonsie. The most well-known and attended district concerts of the year are Waubonsie’s Prism concert and Neuqua’s Crystal Concert. These concerts are held each December. At Waubonsie all curricular music students in grades ten through twelve participate as well as freshman in extra-curricular music groups.
This is the sixteenth year the Prism concert has been held. There will be at least six hundred performers in twenty-six musical ensembles as well as some pre-concert soloists and ensembles. This is a musical experience I wish I could invite all of you to witness for yourselves, but tickets are very hard to come by. The concert is performed four times over two nights to a total audience of almost 3600. After students and staff have acquired their tickets during the week-long well-coordinated distribution, the public is welcome to stand in line in the hopes of obtaining some of the remaining fifty or so tickets, or they may be lucky enough to get some turned-in tickets at concert time.
The Prism concert features a dazzling array of exceptional performers in every possible location throughout the auditorium with no breaks between songs. The audience attention and lights shift from song to song to locations in front, back, center, one side or the other. The finale is absolutely incredible and includes all of the concert participants filling the stage and aisles and providing an unforgettable ending to an incredible evening. This concert would not be possible without the directors, auditorium staff, dedicated music students, and numerous parent helpers.
Another huge event every year is the Fine Arts Festival, held at each high school in May. This day-long event features musical performances and art work from students at every grade level. I am amazed each year by the high quality sewing projects and architectural drawings, the furniture, drawings, paintings, and 3-D art projects. This is an excellent chance to see and hear the talents of our students, with no tickets or fees required.
Waubonsie and Neuqua each have a large and active Tri-M club. Tri-M is an honors music society that does community service. This year's Waubonsie club goal is to raise $50,000 to help start music programs in some schools in Chicago.
It would take a book to fully describe the district’s music program and all of its concerts, awards, and honors. Many thanks are due to all the people who work so hard for this success.
Over the years, my children have participated in orchestra, band, chorus, and a variety of musicals. I've been to dozens of performances and have always been impressed. The district is teeming with musical talent.
The elementary school music program has an impressive curriculum and includes an evening musical performance each year for each grade in every school. Fourth and fifth graders have the opportunity to take part in chorus and a large number of students participate. Fifth graders can join band or orchestra after spending a few weeks learning about all the instrument choices and deciding on the one that's right for them.
The middle schools continue on with strong band, orchestra and chorus programs. Among the several concerts performed by Granger students each year is the Kaleidoscope concert. This beautiful concert is held in December and all of the music students perform in the decorated gym. Extra-curricular music groups such as Fiddlers, Select Strings, Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble meet before school and perform several times each year. Students especially enjoy taking part in the spring musical. District students from sixth grade on have the opportunity to audition for Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) festival and to participate in annual solo/ensemble festivals.
This extensive preparation in the earlier grades leads these gifted musicians into our Grammy Award winning high school music programs. Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley have been honored by the Grammy Foundation numerous times.
About 20% of Waubonsie students participate in curricular music. There are several small groups and extra-curricular performing groups available as well. Dozens of concerts are held at Waubonsie and other locations each year. Our students have done particularly well at IMEA and this year we have 21 students attending the All-State Conference.
I'm usually not the sort of person to gush, but I’m absolutely amazed at the quality of the concerts I've attended at Waubonsie. The most well-known and attended district concerts of the year are Waubonsie’s Prism concert and Neuqua’s Crystal Concert. These concerts are held each December. At Waubonsie all curricular music students in grades ten through twelve participate as well as freshman in extra-curricular music groups.
This is the sixteenth year the Prism concert has been held. There will be at least six hundred performers in twenty-six musical ensembles as well as some pre-concert soloists and ensembles. This is a musical experience I wish I could invite all of you to witness for yourselves, but tickets are very hard to come by. The concert is performed four times over two nights to a total audience of almost 3600. After students and staff have acquired their tickets during the week-long well-coordinated distribution, the public is welcome to stand in line in the hopes of obtaining some of the remaining fifty or so tickets, or they may be lucky enough to get some turned-in tickets at concert time.
The Prism concert features a dazzling array of exceptional performers in every possible location throughout the auditorium with no breaks between songs. The audience attention and lights shift from song to song to locations in front, back, center, one side or the other. The finale is absolutely incredible and includes all of the concert participants filling the stage and aisles and providing an unforgettable ending to an incredible evening. This concert would not be possible without the directors, auditorium staff, dedicated music students, and numerous parent helpers.
Another huge event every year is the Fine Arts Festival, held at each high school in May. This day-long event features musical performances and art work from students at every grade level. I am amazed each year by the high quality sewing projects and architectural drawings, the furniture, drawings, paintings, and 3-D art projects. This is an excellent chance to see and hear the talents of our students, with no tickets or fees required.
Waubonsie and Neuqua each have a large and active Tri-M club. Tri-M is an honors music society that does community service. This year's Waubonsie club goal is to raise $50,000 to help start music programs in some schools in Chicago.
It would take a book to fully describe the district’s music program and all of its concerts, awards, and honors. Many thanks are due to all the people who work so hard for this success.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)