Monday, November 26, 2012

ISBE Announces Irving School a Recipient of National Distinguished School Award



Congratulations Irving School and principal Mary Havis on being named a 2012 National Title I Distinguished School!  Only 2 schools per state are awarded this honor.  Irving was selected for their success in narrowing the achievement gaps amongst its diverse student body.  

Congratulations to Pricipal Mary Havis, the Irving staff, the wonderful students and the parents who work hard to make Irving School in Berwyn an extraordinary place to learn!  

Jefferson PTO Feeds Families in Need

The Jefferson School Parent Teacher Organization worked to create Thanksgiving baskets for needy families.  With the help of donations from local businesses including Meijer, Turano Bakery, Taco Yo, Dave's Pets,  Double Olives, Romani Flowers, Lucky Dog, Capri and Culver's,  a group of Jefferson volunteers was able to create 33 full Thanksgiving meals for local families.  Teachers, parents and students came together after school to assemble the meals in the spirit of Thanksgiving!  What a wonderful lesson for our children and a blessing for the families who received the baskets.  Together they made a difference!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Giving Thanks!

There are many, many wonderful accomplishments to celebrate here in Berwyn when it comes to our schools.  Kids in our community are doing extraordinary things!  Teachers are working hard and witnessing small moments of victory every day in their classrooms, moments that build on each other one after the other and make that hard-to-measure difference in kids' lives.  This is what makes education a wonderful calling and what makes the job fulfilling.  Parents are struggling to provide the support necessary at home, to prioritize their family values when trying to manage the overwhelming opportunities that are presented in our modern American lives.  My child said those dreaded words a few weeks ago, words I suppose every child mutters eventually.  "I hate school"  I don't think he really meant it because he is generally happy and engaged at school (though I fear I may have had a glimpse into his adolescent years).  It happens that he said this in the same week that the little girl in Pakistan was attacked for encouraging girls to go to school.  You can imagine that the juxtaposition of his declaration and her incredible sacrifice made for a less than sympathetic response from me.  Our kids are so very very lucky to be growing up here.  And, as with all youth for so many generations, they don't know how lucky they are.

I am grateful this Thanksgiving for all of the teachers in my life for not only imparting knowledge onto my children, but for helping them to become good citizens, respectful collaborators, and encouraging them to make a difference in the lives of others.  Teachers nurture the moral character of a generation and, since that is not measurable, we rarely include such efforts in our evaluation of effectiveness.  Educators consistently instruct children in fairness, friendship, responsibility, respect, perseverance and honesty.  And yes, they teach them to read and write and do math, too!  The same child who "hates school", loves to go to the younger classroom where he is a reading buddy to a special needs first grader.  On those reading buddy days, school has meaning to him.  Teachers make that happen.  Kids are working together on projects, learning about the academic subject but also how to negotiate, divide up work, listen to each other, revise based on feedback, respect each other's opinions.  Teachers make that happen.  Students are writing their opinions about current events, making connections to their own lives and struggling to understand the world.  They ponder questions by their teachers...questions about why WWII happened?  why food that is bad for you is so cheap?  why people lost their jobs during The Great Depression?  how choices affect our environment?  why a 2 by 4 is not 2 by 4?  Their answers will change the world.  Teachers make that happen!

I am grateful this Thanksgiving for a country that provides a free and appropriate education for all children.  We spend a lot of time discussing the need for reform, how to make education more equitable, how to raise achievement scores, how to manage social issues outside of schools that directly impact the classroom.  All of those are legitimate, important questions.  But for today, I am thankful for what we take for granted:  warm classrooms in the winter, books and computers, professional teachers, social workers and support staff, music and arts education, extracurricular activities and UNIMAGINABLE opportunities for our children.

What are you thankful for?  Do you know of some small victory that happened in a Berwyn classroom?  An educator that made a difference? A program that should be recognized?  Send us your story to info@berwyncares.org.  We will post some here in the next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Boogers Rocked

The 7th Annual Berwyn C.A.R.E.S. Kids Concert was a huge success. The money we raised will be donated to Berwyn classrooms. We would like to thank the following donors for their generous raffle prizes: Dan's Bike Shop, Feedback School of Music, 16th Street Theater, The Boogers. Thank you also to Fitzgerald Nightclub for the amazing venue, the Boogers of course for rockin' the house, Over the Rainbow for the delicious treats and donation. Special thanks to volunteers Amanda Perryman, Norah Utley, Marie Kieskowski, Bridget Juister for helping me make this event come to life. Photo Credits: Miro Jedajaks To see more about the Boogers: www.meet-the-boogers.com

We Picked 3 Winners.....

....for the first Berwyn C.A.R.E.S. "If I Were a Rock Star" Art Contest The winners were announced at our 7th Annual Fall Kids concert featuring The Boogers. We challenged Berwyn Districts 98 and 100 Pre-K thru 5th grade students to create their own concert poster and was it a blast to see the results. All of the entries were displayed at the November 11th Boogers concert and the 3 winners were announced. Thanks to all of the entrants for to all of your wonderful submissions. Congratulation to: Viktor Laubis, Kindergartner at Jefferson Anthony Barragan, 4th grader at Irving Jamil West, 1st grader at Komensky Each winner will be awarded with great art supplies provided by Blick. Special thanks to Amanda Perryman and Norah Utley, the amazing volunteers who helped make this happen and to Blick for providing the prizes for this contest.