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CCSD66 Notes

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Many Years Ago


I was thinking a few days ago about how much the District has changed in the last 35 years. Over the past 35 years our 4.2 square miles has experienced many changes:


In 1973 the major housing subdivisions included, Bruce Lake, Brookridge, Rose Hill, Lake in the Woods and Knottingham which was new at that time. There was no Farmingdale development west of Lemont Road and south of Boughton Road nor south of 75th Street. There was no Saw Mill Creek or Graceland area. Most of the district was farm land. I can remember coaching football at Center Cass School (83rd and Lemont Road) and watching the farmer plow the fields where the Water Tower Place condominiums are and the original Farmingdale Village was just 6 model homes along Parkview Street.


In those days, roads were atrocious; Lemont Road was a two lane road that was not well maintained and did not connect directly to Main Street, Downers Grove. What is now 75th Street and Main Street was a two lane road with a stop sign. The only thing in the four corners area was the Chase Bank. Woodward Avenue did not connect with 83rd Street and dead ended just north of Edgerton Drive. There was no connection to 87th street via Woodward Avenue. The only stop lights were at Plainfield and Cass Avenue and Lemont and 83rd Street.


We operated two schools in 1973; Center Cass and Elizabeth Ide. Center Cass has now gone the way of the wrecking ball and Ide still continues to serve the community. Center Cass School housed grades 5-8 while Ide had grades K-4. In 1973 we had almost 500 students at Center Cass and it was greatly overcrowded. I remember that the wood shop was in the east wing and the corridor went directly through the classroom. At passing time, the teacher would have to unplug the table saw which was in the hallway to protect students as they passed to their next class. The faculty lounge was in the basement which often flooded during heavy rains. Lakeview was a dream to be built in a vacant field along Plainfield Road. In these days the only activities for students were band, chorus, basketball, football and softball for boys and volleyball, softball and cheerleading for girls. Times have changed!


There was very little in the way of commerce in the area. There was a gas station that remains at Cass and Plainfield and another at 75th and Lemont Road. The main grocery store was the Brookhaven Market which was where the Walgreen store is currently in Brookhaven. The only restaurant in the area with the exception of McDonald's was the Longhorn which later became the Vineyard. Dunkin Donuts currently occupies that location. Memories are fun!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Legislature Returns to Springfield

Did you see that Governor Blagojevich has called for a special session of the General Assembly today to deal with the “Ethics” legislation that he improved via an amendatory veto last month? A couple of weeks ago the House overrode this veto and the world has been waiting for the Senate to decide when and how to deal with the House action. Senate President Jones indicated that he would not call the Senate back to deal with this issue until after the elections. All of this changed when Presidential candidate Barack Obama called and asked Jones to call the Senate into session to deal with the “Ethics” issue.

In the meantime, our Governor has jumped into this special session with both feet issuing ridiculous statements about how he has improved this legislation to protect the Illinois taxpayers from corruption and fraud by elected officials. None of his remarks are credible since he still has not returned a check for $65,000 from a convicted felon who was appointed to a high state government post.

It will be interesting to see what if anything happens in the next two days are the General Assembly is in session. It may be interesting viewing for all of us beginning at 1:00 pm today. Check it out at
http://ilga.gov/senate/audvid.asp.


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Science at Prairieview


Two 5th Grade classes conducted an experiment in Science class to see how best to protect an egg from being dropped off of the roof. Students designed various containers to protect their eggs and developed many interesting plans for the protection of the egg. Among the many designs were insulated packages, parachutes, eggs packed in peanut butter and various packing materials in lunch bags to name a few. Many eggs successfully survived the drop to the ground. Thanks to Ms. Stetka and Miss Trefonas for developing this activity. Pictured are Dr. Tiede, Mrs. Schultz, Mrs. Westra and Mr. Mena on the roof preparing to test the designs on September 16th.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Springfield Update


Speaker Madigan did indeed bring the House back to work this week in Springfield. Just yesterday, they met and overrode Governor Blagojevich's amendatory veto of the long stalled “Ethics” bill with only three votes of support for the Governor's revisions. This has already set off a new round of name calling and partisan battles, as the Governor resumes his bullying attacks via the news media. This may be a moot point, if Senate President Jones does not call the Senate back within 15 days to support the House override of the “Ethics” bill.


In other action, the House did indeed pass a bill authorizing the sale of the Illinois State Lottery after two long years of wrangling by 75 votes. This bill was designed to fund a capital projects bill that does not currently exist. Many details remain as to how leasing the Lottery will provide additional and sustainable money for education in Illinois. Further action will depend on whether or not the Senate supports this bill. Watch this one!


Finally, the House also voted to allow the “sweep” of about $200 million from special state funds to restore cuts made by Governor Blagojevich. Funding would be directed toward alcohol and drug abuse services and state park sites that were recently cut by the governor.


The fall session this year will be exciting after the elections are over.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Activities


You still have several opportunities to connect with your school this week.


  • Wednesday night is Curriculum Night at Ide School for 1st and 2nd graders beginning at 7:00 p.m. Street parking is allowed on the east side of Manning Road for this event.

  • Thursday night is Curriculum Night at Prairieview School for 4th and 5th graders beginning at 7:00 p.m. Take these opportunities to visit your schools and meet the staff.

  • Closing out the week will be the annual Music Boosters Dance-A-Thon held at Lakeview from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. This event is a fund raiser for the music program and very popular with the students. There will be several raffles and many prizes for the students.


Monday, September 15th begins the PTO Magazine Sale! This is one of our oldest fund raisers for the PTO. Simply renewing your existing magazine subscriptions earns the PTO 40% of the cost of your magazines. This is a great way to help your PTO support your schools!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Helpful School Bus Safety Tips…




School is back in session and yellow school buses are out in full force. Most of our children ride the bus each day and we will be conducting safety refresher drills for all students via PE classes in the next few weeks. In the meantime, here are some safety reminders to review with your child. Remember that the safety of our children is a responsibility we ALL share.



According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, riding a bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school. But everyone has a responsibility to discuss important safety rules with their children to make their ride to school on a school bus the safest it can be.
First and foremost, inform children to make eye contact with the driver. Staying ten giant steps away from the outside of the bus when entering or leaving the bus is one of the safest guidelines to reinforce. Additionally, tell them to:



NEVER run after the bus – if you drop something, WAIT until the bus leaves or ask the driver for help.
NEVER cross in front of the bus until the driver says it's OK.
ALWAYS look both ways when crossing the street.
WAIT for the bus to stop completely before you get on.
STAY SEATED until the driver says it’s OK to get up.
BE COURTEOUS to the driver – unruly behavior can cause distractions.
NEVER put head or hands out of the window and DON’T dangle things out of the window.



The Lakeview Marching Spartans made their annual appearance in the General Von Stueben Day Parade in Chicago on Saturday afternoon. The band looked sharp and sounded great! It was wonderful to have the opportunity for our children to play in this parade and to see so many parents and families at the parade. Congratulations to Mr. Olsen, Mr. Tedeschi and our young musicians!


Thursday, September 04, 2008

Political Doings

Do you believe that Speaker Madigan will really call the House of Representatives back to Springfield to talk about a new plan to lease the lottery to fund a capital plan? It appears this is now more crucial than school funding reform and it may well be for the State of Illinois at this time which stands to loose a great deal of federal dollars without a capital plan soon. Senate President Jones says he won't bring the Senate back until November but that could change at any time.

The rumor today is the Governor Blagojevich will be meeting with Senator Meeks about funding reform after Meeks has called off his boycott of the Chicago Public Schools. I doubt that there will be a meeting.

In the meantime, school continues to operate very well for us in District 66. Students and teachers have gotten off to a great start and Open Houses and Parent Links are just around the corner with an outstanding informational presentation regarding the RtI program tonight at Prairieview. Come and check it out!