Feature Archive - April 2008
Urbana School District #116 Teachers Can Win Up to $500 in Grant Money
CUSF Announces New Grant Program
[featured 4/28/08 - 5/1/08]
The Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation (CUSF) will make up to $500 dollars available to every teacher it serves starting this summer, thanks to the new “CUSF Splash Grant Program.” The purpose of the program is to provide “quick cash” to teachers to help offset their out-of-pocket expenses for supplies, essentials, and small unsupported projects.
Photo1: The CUSF Announced at its April 25 Gala that teachers can win up to $500 dollars in grants to offset classroom expenses.
The Splash Grant Program was announced April 25, at the CUSF Annual Gala at the Champaign Country Club. Several District 116 employees, school board members, and administrators attended the event.
CUSF Executive Director Gail Rost says the Foundation is setting up a website to administer the grant. “The application will be entirely on-line and have a very quick turnaround. It will be a simple application. Teachers can join together and apply as a group for their grants as well to leverage a larger project. However, they must all apply at the same time and identify their partners. Of course the teachers benefit because they can use this money for needed supplies, extras for the classroom, materials for a special project, but the real beneficiaries will be our students,” Rost says.
The CUSF will review grant applications each week and grant up to $200,000 total in a school year. Each teacher will receive one grant per year.
Photo 2: Gerber School donated a student-made quilt to the CUSF Gala silent auction.
Rost adds, “The Foundation is thrilled to have this opportunity to provide quick cash for the classroom. It’s a great feeling to help make the classroom experience richer for our kids through the generosity of our donors.”
For more information about the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation, and for more information about the Splash Grant Program, please see http://www.schoolsfoundation.com/.
Low Vision Students Experience “Extreme Makeover”
[featured 4/25/08 - 4/28/08]
Twenty-nine low vision students learned crucial aspects of life thanks to the 14-county Central Affiliation of Special Education (CASE) special low-vision activity Friday. The event, “Extreme Make-Over: Enhancing Your Image for Boys and Girls,” was held at the Phillips Recreation Center. Students learned about hair care, nail care, skin care, wardrobes, and the art of making prosthetic eyes.
CASE is based at Urbana School District #116. Each student was able to stop at different stations to learn about taking care of themselves. CASE Vision Coordinator Pam Duda says this is also a good networking opportunity for low-vision students. “Usually they are the only student in their school with low vision. But, when you have 14 counties come together all of a sudden you have numbers, so our students are meeting other students who have visual disabilities like they do,” Duda explains. She continues, “But the biggest thing is we want them to participate in things that their non-disabled peers participate in.”
CASE holds two low-vision events each year.
Urbana School District Program Uses Legos to Help Students with Special Needs
Community Generosity Helps Students with Emotional-Behavioral Disorders
[featured 4/24/08 - 4/25/08]
The Urbana School District’s program for those students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) is enjoying the generosity of the community. The EBD Program is for students who have trouble functioning in a normal classroom setting. The elementary students attend Yankee Ridge where there is a special wing set up to accommodate their unique needs. The program is using donations of Lego blocks from the public to educate students through using building with blocks.
This past fall, District 116 asked the public to donate new or used Lego blocks for this program (http://www.usd116.org/home/news/featurearchive0711.html). Yankee Ridge Social Worker Laura Haber says people donated thousands of blocks. “We had so many varied pieces, I was surprised at how many varied Lego series there were,” Haber says. “We have so much to share with the kids, and I think that it’s enough to (last) for several years. The response exceeded my expectations. We have a lot to work with,” Haber adds.
The blocks will be used to help students build teamwork skills, socialization skills, and to help students “vent” through play therapy. “From my therapy background we know that it’s important for kids to work with 3-D images and for them to build. A lot of times kids we work with in the EBD program need outlets to work with a 3-D form, and it helps lower their anxiety level. And, it’s great for teamwork. A lot of our kids have trouble with self-control in group settings or cooperation, and it’s a way to do some skill building in that area,” Haber explains. She adds that students can work with the blocks alone or as a group, so it helps students in various ways.
The Legos has been a hit with the students. “The kids just take to building things intuitively. There’s very little teaching that has to happen, and that’s wonderful to tap into,” Haber comments.
Haber also says she hopes to expand the program and collect more Legos to donate to other teachers in District 116 so they can use the blocks in their classrooms. If you wish to donate your Lego collection to the EBD program, you can call Haber at Yankee Ridge Elementary School at 384-3608.
Prairie Elementary School Celebrates Earth Day
Science, Recycling on Display
[featured 4/22/08 - 4/24/08]
Prairie Elementary School celebrated Earth Day in grand style Tuesday, as the entire school took part in science projects that promote the environment. Each grade level presented their science unit in the school’s gym.
All students participated in recycling at the school. Lynda Wingler teaches fifth-graders at Prairie Elementary, and she says her students oversaw the all-school recycling program. “My class goes around every Friday and picks up the recycling materials,” she says. Other students in her class helped make buttons and other items that promote recycling.
Down the hall from the gym, fourth grade teacher Jackie Martin had her students transform their classroom into a water habitat. The room featured several live animals, including ducklings, turtles, and frogs. Martin says this project mirrors the fourth-grade science curriculum that studies plants, animals, the food-chain, and echo-systems. For this display, not only did Martin’s students have to do research, they also had to be ready to teach what they learned. “Each of my students has a standard that they have to teach, and then they have one interesting or unknown fact that they’re supposed to teach. They are also supposed to tailor their presentations for either a kindergarten, primary, or intermediate student,” Martin says.
Daniel is in Martin’s class and he caught a baby snapping turtle in a creek and taught about the animal for Earth Day. He did quite a bit of research on turtles, and while he enjoys “Spike” the snapping turtle, he says he will release it back into the wild. “I figured out it would be better for him to go back into his natural habitat. He’s just a little baby … there’s no predators for him in the creek, so I know it will be safe for him to go back,” Daniel explains.
Students were also able to go outside and learn more about water at a special rainfall simulator, thanks to a presentation by the Illinois Partners of Conservation. Several other community groups participated in the day, including the Urbana “U-Cycle.”
This is the first year of Prairie having an all-school Earth Day. Wingler says the school lost its science lab last year due to classroom space demands, so she says this Earth Day allows students to view science and the environment up close. She adds, “A science fair is really exciting for kids – there’s a lot of hands-on stuff. If you look around and see all the kids participating, this is what it’s all about.”
Urbana Middle School Art Project Displayed in City Art Festival
Student Art Project Displayed at Boneyard Arts Festival
[featured 4/21/08 - 4/22/08]
Urbana Middle School students had their art displayed throughout Urbana this weekend at the Boneyard Arts Festival. The sculptures of UMS students were displayed at the festival this past weekend.
Urbana Middle School sculpture projects were prominently on display this past weekend during the Boneyard Arts Festival in Urbana
“We made 14 life size figures out of cardboard, and covered them entirely with thousands and thousands of pieces of torn magazine pictures. These figures were on display in our Galleria for the entire first semester,” says art teacher Renee Cooper. She continues, “Everyone loved the display. We received compliments daily. Before long, other people from other buildings were sending me emails, stating how they enjoyed the exhibit, and how real the sculptures looked. The Regional Superintendents’ office wants to display them in their building! In December I received an email from a mentor. She is on the committee for the Boneyard Arts Festival. She asked if we would be willing to exhibit the display in the Boneyard Arts Festival in April. Of course I said yes. She took photos, and presented them to the committee. The Committee was so excited about this venture that they asked if we could make more of them. Instead of displaying the figures collectively as a group, they were interested in using them throughout the Urbana portion of the festival!”
Cooper says that the Boneyard Arts Festival Committee asked Middle School Students to make more sculptures for the festival. The students responded by making 18 more sculptures, so 33 pieces of art work were displayed during the Boneyard Arts Festival all through Urbana.
Congratulations to Ms. Cooper, her students, and the entire Urbana Middle School Community for representing the community through art!
[featured 4/18/08 - 4/21/08]
Urbana School District Wins Major Federal Grant for History Teaching
District 116 Wins Competitive Grant for Fourth Time
Education Department Representative Todd Zoellick (left), joins District 116 administrators Don Owen, Alexis Jones, Cynthia Logsdon, Preston Williams, and Kathy Barbour, in presenting Urbana School District with almost a $1 million Teaching American History grant.
Urbana School District #116 has announced that it has won the 2008 Teaching American History Grant for a total of $999,136 over three years. Urbana School District has won this competitive grant four times – one of the few in the nation to do so. This grant will serve K-12 teachers in Urbana, Champaign, Decatur, Gifford, Heritage, and Tolono. The grant will be administered by District 116. United States Department of Education Regional Representative Todd Zoellick announced District 116 won the grant Thursday evening at Urbana Middle School.
The Teaching American History Grant will provide continued funding for the American History Teachers Collaborative (http://www.americanhistoryteachers.org/), a project that provides history teachers with a variety of professional development activities, focus workshops, summer institutes, experiential learning trips, book discussions, film nights, conference presentations, and teacher fellowships with partner museums and archives across the country.
District 116 Director of Staff Development Kathy Barbour says,
District 116 Director of Staff Development Kathy Barbour accepts the grant that will benefit the American History Teachers Consortium.
Urbana School District #116 Superintendent, Dr. Preston Williams, Jr., is grateful the grant has come through a fourth time saying, “We’re excited about the grant. We’re looking forward to doing real, creative activities with the funds that we have. We have a track record of really producing fantastic results through this particular American History Grant and we have some quality people that really have become know nationally for what we’ve been able to do with the American History Grant. We’re really excited and we think it’s a wonderful opportunity for all the districts involved.”
Thomas Paine Elementary Teacher Wins Prestigious State Award
Kindergarten Teacher Elaine Harmon Wins Golden Apple
[featured 4/16/08 - 4/18/08]
Thomas Paine Elementary Teacher Elaine Harmon is one of only 10 teachers in Central Illinois to win the highly coveted Golden Apple Award that honors excellent teaching. The award recognizes teachers from 18 central Illinois Counties. Over 600 teachers were nominated in Champaign, Christian, Coles, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Livingston, Logan, Macon, McLean, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Sangamon and Tazewell counties. Harmon was picked as a winner after she was named as one of the 30 finalists.
For more information, please see http://www.goldenapple.org/pages/golden_apple_central_illinois/27.php.
Harmon, a 31-year teaching veteran, was informed she was a Golden Apple winner in her classroom today when Golden Apple Officials, Superintendent Dr. Preston Williams, Jr., and Harmon’s family paid her a surprise visit. Harmon says she was “surprised, overwhelmed, and very humbled” to win this award. “There are so many good teachers out there. Just to be chosen as one of (the winners) is just an honor and a privilege,” Harmon adds.
Thomas Paine Principal Sandra Cooper says, “We are so proud of Elaine. She epitomizes our mission statement ‘meeting the needs of children and preparing them for the future.’ She walks the talk.”
Golden Apple Central Illinois Award-winning teachers will receive a sabbatical to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a laptop computer, $3,000, and the opportunity to create educational programs that will positively impact students.
Golden Apple will honor Harmon and all the winners June 7, 2008, at a special ceremony at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Champaign.
Urbana School District Celebrates Young Authors
[featured 4/12/08 - 4/16/08]
The Urbana School District is always on the lookout for good young writers. This past week, District 116 hosted the 30th annual Young Authors Celebration at Eastland Suites. Students (grades K-8) submitted writing entries and were nominated to attend the celebration by a special committee in his or her school building. Superintendent Dr. Preston L. Williams, Jr., presented each student a certificate for taking part in the Young Authors Celebration.
The top stories from each school this year were announced at the workshop. They are:
- King, Psychic Man, by Jae-Mo Kim
- Leal, A Forest, Dark and Cold, Demons in the Trees, by Mary Kate-Feser
- Prairie, Flame and Thing Go to the Principal's Office, by Sidney Wood
- Thomas Paine, A Beautiful Country Remembered, by Mia Radanavong
- Wiley, Poems, by Eva Rothenberg
- Yankee Ridge, Dandelion, by Adina Johnson
- Urbana Middle School, Until the Day I Die Again, by Izzy Fitzpatrick
The day featured writing workshops, breakout sessions, a keynote address by storyteller Linda Gorham, and a dramatic interpretation of young author stories. Gorham had the kids (and adults!) participating in her stories, and she also told the students that if they can write, they can do anything.
"The whole day is about getting kids motivated to write, getting kids excited about writing, and celebrating their own writing," says Alexis Jones, coordinator of the Young Authors Celebration. "The day is so much fun. There are a lot of students who come back year after year…and they keep writing. When I was a classroom teacher, I found that the kids would go back and tell the other kids at the school about all the fun they had and I think that helps other kids want to start writing more," Jones adds.
The school district will choose five young authors to go on to the state level and participate in the state writing competition May 17.
Young Authors is partially funded by the Title V Grant Program, the Title I Grant Program, and the Illinois Arts Council.
Washington Early Childhood School Dedicates New "Learning Center" Playground
[featured 4/9/08 - 4/12/08]
Washington Early Childhood School students now have a new learning center playground to hone developmental skills through play. The school dedicated the new playground this week after private funds paid for the entire project.
The school still has a traditional playground with swings and a jungle gym, but Washington Early Childhood Principal Crystal Vowels says this learning center is crucial to the students’ development. "What we want to do is bring some of the central work they do inside outdoors. So, we've set up a music center, a drama center, a lot of imagination centers (and) the teachers will bring some props and things from the classroom which will help build on the things that they do out here," Vowels says.
Vowels says the pieces of equipment on the playground serve several purposes and will help the 3-5 year-old children develop their creative, imagination, and learning skills.
The new playground did not cost the taxpayers a dime. "All of this was funded through our community. We've had Sam's Club and Wal-Mart donate a large amount of money towards (the playground) as well as Carle and Provena," Vowels explains. She adds that families also contributed money towards the project.
The Washington Early Childhood students were eager to get on the playground and try out the new learning centers. Vowels says the students were able to watch workers build the facility and she says, "The kids watched all the building and the digging so they learned a ton. And, they were thrilled; they were so excited to get out here and make use of what they saw going in."
Leal Elementary School Celebrates the Arts
[featured 4/7/08 - 4/9/08]
The Leal Elementary School Community took time last week to celebrate the arts with a special school and community presentation. The Leal Arts Night displayed the talents of community artists and the students of Leal Elementary School. The arts on display at Leal Elementary included music, dance, and visual arts.
Parent Laura O'Donnell coordinated the evening. She hopes that the night showed students that there are a variety of arts that they can participate in and appreciate. She also says the arts have been a benefit for her children that have attended Leal. "It's a way that kids can express themselves. At school it's an opportunity to do it; maybe (students) won't want to dance again, but at least they can give it a try," O'Donnell says.
Students in each grade performed a music or dance number for the visitors. There were also parent-artists on hand to display and demonstrate their art. Kids got the chance to see the art of book illustrations, animal drawing, wood/stone carving, pottery, quilt-making, knitting, and drumming. The evening also featured a performance by the student/community group the "Bow-Dacious String Band," and wrapped up with a Multi-Cultural Dance that featured students working with Ayda Parra.
The night was sponsored by the Leal PTA. For more information about the Leal PTA, please see http://lealpta.org/.
Yankee Ridge Elementary Students Learn Tornado Safety
Fire Department Safe House Teaches Kids to Be Safe in Severe Weather
[featured 4/4/08 - 4/7/08]
You've probably heard that a tornado sounds "like a freight train." Well, Yankee Ridge Elementary School students were able to experience what a tornado sounds and feels like, thanks to the Urbana Fire Department safe house. Firefighters taught students tornado safety and used the safe house as a demonstration tool.
Firefighters taught the children what places in the house were safe places in the event of severe weather, and they also taught the students how to crouch down and be protected. The students went class by class into the safe house where they practiced tornado safety. The TV in the safe house came on with a tornado warning. The kids crouched in their safe places, and speakers in the house made the sounds of a tornado.
Firefighter Phillip Edwards says, "We're teaching them (the students) tornado safety - doing what your parents say when they say to do it, knowing where your tornado safe place is, what stuff to put into a disaster kit … and basically how to get into the tornado-safe position." Edwards also taught the kids the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. "A lot of stuff is redundant that they already know, but we know that in an emergency you're going to do what you remember and you remember what you do over and over. So, we're trying to get it where it's second nature with them," Edwards adds.
Edwards says he enjoys teaching tornado safety one class at a time in the safe house. "We have them go through the tornado simulator which is real interesting because it's like they are in a real tornado. We emphasize it's just practice so that when a real (tornado) happens they are not overwhelmed," Edwards explains. The Urbana Fire Department has had the simulator to teach children for at least five years.
Yankee Ridge Principal Mary Beth Norris says it is important that students receive safety training - and that includes severe weather safety training. "Phil (Edwards) really relates to the kids well …and (he) really presents it at the children's level and the kids understand what he's saying and remember it. The benefit of doing this year after year are our fifth-graders have done this several times now and they actually know (tornado safety)," Norris says.
If you have any questions or if you need information about tornado safety, please contact the Urbana Fire Department at 384-2445. Urbana School District also has a webpage of Tornado Information with tips and links.
Photo 1: Yankee Ridge Elementary students enter the Urbana Fire Department safe house to practice tornado safety.
Photo 2: Urbana Firefighter Phillip Edwards teaches tornado safety to Yankee Ridge Elementary students.
April 2008 Urbana School District #116 Monthly Online Newsletter
[featured 4/1/08 - 4/4/08]
Stay up-to-date with current events in District 116 with the "Urbana School District Monthly" online electronic newsletter.
The April 2008 issue features a message from Superintendent Dr. Preston Williams, an article about professional development for teachers, an article on the first-annual UMS Science Fair, the District calendar and more.