Valedictorian and Salutatorian Graduating at the top of their class are valedictorian Marzena Zukowska and salu-tatorian Margaret Wilczek. They both had a grade point average of 4.5 due to weight-ed honors classes.

Elmwood Park High School Class of 2008 Scholarship Recipients Elmwood Park High School graduates were honored for their scho-lastic, athletic, and civic achievements. Scholarships and the stu-dents who earned them include: Jane Aumiller

Memorial Scholarship for attendance at Triton Col- lege—Larisa Bocka. Anastasia Terovolas Scholarship presented by the National Honor Society, Harold Grothen Chapter—Barbara Daniszewski, Kaelee

Kerber. Elmwood Park Women’s Club Scholarship for academic achieve-ment and school/commu-nity involvement—Christine Chiappetta, Kaelee Kerber, Brandon Tillema and Margaret Wilczek. TAPA

Scholarships to the valedictorian, salutato-rian and other seniors who earned a 3.5 GPA, were active in at least one school activity, and whose parents are TAPA members—Kelly Fisher, Lirjon Fisniku, Jennifer Helfer, Daniel Karlovitz, Julie Miller, Loreadana Weber, Margaret Wilczek and Marzena Zukowska. Elmwood Park Educational Team E.P.E.T. Scholarship in memory of James F. Murawska and James H. Roche, to an outstand-ing individual who has excellent grades and

is a good citizen—Jillian Krus. Cynthia Schulze Memorial Scholarship for a female student who is most active in sports and other school activities—Allison

4

www.epcusd401.orgVolume 13 Issue 3 Summer 2008

Elmwood Park High School Elm Middle School Elmwood School John Mills School Early Childhood Center

FOCUSon Education

THE NEWSLETTER OF ELMWOOD PARK COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 401

Class of 2008 Honors and Awards

Continues on page 4

Another school year concludes with a large array of outstanding student efforts and achievements. Highlights include: 20 Illinois State Scholars in the Elmwood Park High School class of 2008; many DECA Business Club award winners in the State Career Development Conference; a Division 1 (high-est) rating for the Elmwood Park High School Band at the Illinois High School Association Band Contest; 18 winners in Triton College’s High School Juried Art Competition; one stu-dent from each school who received a “School Citizen of the Year Award” for being “a good role model for other students”; the elementary school Speech and Drama Team members that earned a first place in the regional Speech and Drama Festival; two fifth grade students who were first place winners for their school in the

National Geographic Geography Bee; two ele-mentary students who won the State of Illinois Zaner-Bloser Handwriting Contest and went on to national competition; 68 fourth through sixth grade students who received awards in their schools’ Newsbowl current events com-petition; about 800 elementary students that participated in a Family Reading Night each month, and the 750 elementary students in the Young Authors Program. Class of 2008 Elmwood Park High School graduates received scholarships to many colleges and universi-ties, including Loyola, Concordia, DePaul, Dominican, St. Xavier, Kendall, Illinois College, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac, Purdue and Triton. Congratulations to all of the Elmwood Park CUSD 401 achievers!

Hundreds of children, parents, and family members flocked to the District 401 art night, “Connecting the Arts in Elmwood Park,” in April. (R): Students learned how to hand-build items with clay, one of the many activities participants enjoyed. Read more about the art night on page three.

2

FOCUSon Education SUMMER 2008

Elmwood Park High School has bid a fond farewell to a dedicated teacher. Judithe E. Schreiner retired at the end of the school year. Mrs. Schreiner began working in the district in 1990. She most recently served as the “READ 180” program consultant, working with ninth through twelfth grade students. (READ 180 is a reading intervention program.) Earlier, she taught social stud-ies and was a Chapter 1 reading teacher at the high school. Her career as a teacher—including time she taught elsewhere—has spanned 30 years.

“I was raised near Osceola and Barry streets, so when I came here to teach, it was like coming home. I have many fond memories here. Our district has become very diverse. This diversity brings children with many different languages and cultures, providing the staff and all of our students with many rich experiences,” Mrs. Schreiner remarked.

“I will miss my students and my colleagues a great deal,” she con-tinued, “teaching is my passion and I will now have to find some-thing to fill a very big hole.”

Mrs. Schreiner looks forward to spending time with her two daughters and with her three grandchildren. Sadly, her husband Norman is deceased.

She has plans for a few trips, hopes to take some classes and learn how to quilt, and will seek out more activities in which to become involved. The entire Elmwood Park

community extends its best wishes to Mrs. Schreiner—a dedicated teacher and friend.

Professional Development CoursesSchool may be out, but that doesn’t mean that Elmwood Park CUSD 401 educators stop working or learning. Over the summer 14 different sessions to enhance teachers and administra-tors’ professional development will be held in the district. Kindergarten through sixth grade teachers have the opportunity to learn about, work with, and become more acquainted with new materials for elementary students in the areas of writing, reading and vocab-ulary. High school and middle school teachers will continue to learn how to help students become independent learners in all subjects through the use of CRISS (CReating Independence through Student owned Strategies), an effective, highly-regarded program for improving student learning.

Director of Technology Irina Ziemann will help teachers build skills in the instruction of web tools that students are comfortable with. These include Blogging, Wikis, digital storytelling and Podcasting.

In addition to training sessions for new staff on progress monitoring and on the math program, new and vet-eran teachers will have two sessions on curriculum mapping. According to “Education World,” curriculum mapping is a process for collecting and recording curriculum-related data that identifies core skills and content taught, processes employed, and assess-ments used for each subject area and grade level. The completed curriculum map then becomes a tool that helps teachers keep track of what has been taught as well as plan what will be taught.

John Mills School Principal Peter Herbert suggested and is now coordi-nating a “Green” class about conserva-tion.

“Participants in these classes will help impact our practices as an educa-tional community,” stated Dr. Paula Hlavacek, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

Over the summer, renovation projects at Elmwood Park High School will bring updates and improvements. The work will focus on the auditorium, which is more than 50 years old. The updates will include air conditioning and renovated seating. The school will also benefit from new roofing and the remov-al of old carpet.

Watch for news of the completed project in the fall issue of this newsletter.

PHOTO: Mrs. Judithe E. Schreiner, who came to the district in 1990, will miss the daily interaction with her students and colleagues.

Summer Brings Building Improvements

Dedicated Teacher Bids Farewell

3

THE NEWSLETTER OF ELMWOOD PARK COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 401

PHOTOS, clockwise from bottom left: Students enjoy working with clay; karaoke is a popular activity; attendees admire a gallery of student art; a dance lesson; and paper-making is a new experience for many.

Summer Learning for Students The district’s Summer Academy Program is once again offering great programs for students, thanks to the creativity and knowledge of staff members that pro-pose and conduct courses. There are “jumpstart” class-

es for young students designed to help prepare them for the next grade. Another popular class for young students is “Animal Planet,” in which students use technology to go on an African safari, visit a Brazilian rainfor-est or travel to the Arctic. Classes that are both educational and exciting are scheduled in the areas of math, science, social studies and reading.

This year, a majority of the Summer Academy Program classes are for high school level students. Eighteen classes are in the works. Students who fail a math, English, science or social studies class must repeat the class dur-ing the summer. The district is also offering a great opportunity for stu-dents to increase their skills and knowledge through the ACT Preparation Course.

For the second year, the Summer Academy is directed by teachers Yatin Brahmbhatt and AmyLynn Degel. All classes will be held at John Mills School, 2824 N. 76th Avenue. For further information, please call (708) 583-2212.

Registration for the 2008-2009 School YearCurrent District 401 students must be registered for the new school year either by mail or in person. Registration pack-ets will be mailed in early July. Parents can complete the information and mail the packet back to the district so it is received no later than August 7. Or par-ents can choose to register their children by coming to Elmwood Park High School on Wednesday, August 6 or Thursday, August 7, from 2:00 to 7:00 P.M.

Students new to the district must be registered by appointment. Parents can make an appointment by calling (708) 583-6262. New student appointments will be held during the summer.

A unique artistic experience took place throughout Elmwood Park High School on April 24. From 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. the school was packed with families and children of all ages who came to experience “Connecting the Arts in Elmwood Park.” They participated in hands-on activities, creating items such as jewelry, paper, kinetic sculpture, prints and pottery; saw dancers perform a variety of dance styles—and learned dance steps— from ballet to hip-hop; experienced live broadcasts from the school’s TV station and learned about video editing; enjoyed performances by the Mills and Elmwood schools’ Speech and Drama Team as well as musical performances from the schools’ bands and swing choir; learned about careers in the arts and viewed demonstrations of digital art. A “gallery” of student art was on display for all to see. Children liked having their faces painted with brightly colored designs and everyone was invited to belt out their favorite songs to the accompaniment of a karaoke machine. Participants could peruse and purchase items related to the arts at the

book and craft fair, enjoy refreshments, and even win prizes in a drawing. The support and hard work of many teachers, administrators and student volunteers made the evening an exciting, memorable event. A creative, fun-filled time was had by all!

Art Night is a Creative Experience for All

Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 8201 W. Fullerton Avenue Elmwood Park, IL 60707

4Non-profit

Organization

U.S. Postage

PAIDRiver Grove, IL

Permit No. 18

Postal Customer Local Elmwood Park, IL 60707

Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 8201 W. Fullerton Avenue Elmwood Park, IL 60707 (708) 452-7292 www.epcusd401.org

Board of Education marzullom@epcusd401.org Michael Marzullo, President Angela Stranges, Vice President Susan Capraro, Secretary Mary Bruscato Patricia Cleary Albert Fang Jr. Frank Parisi

Dr. Douglas Rudig, Superintendent (708) 583-5831 rudigd@epcusd401.org

Dr. Paula Hlavacek, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction (708) 583-5836 hlavacekp@epcusd401.org

Tom Zelek, Business Manager (708) 583-5840 zelekt@epcusd401.org

Irina Ziemann, Director of Technology (708) 583-5710 ziemanni@epcusd401.org

Elmwood Park High School 8201 W. Fullerton Avenue (708) 452-7272 James Jennings, Principal ephsinfo@epcusd401.org

Elm Middle School 7607 W. Cortland Street (708) 452-3550 Dr. Joan McGarry, Principal elminfo@epcusd401.org

Elmwood School 2319 N. 76

th Avenue

(708) 452-3558 Susan Ponzio, Principal ewinfo@epcusd401.org

John Mills School2824 N. 76

th Avenue

(708) 452-3560 Peter Herbert, Principal millsinfo@epcusd401.org

Early Childhood Center 4 Conti Parkway (708) 583-5860 Nancy Serpico, Director eccinfo@epcusd401.org

Honors and Awards

Continued from page one...

Orr. Peter N. Silvestri Scholarship for academic achievement, school/commu-nity involvement and planning a public service career—Marzena Zukowska. Mont Clare-Elmwood Park Kiwanis Club Scholarship—Patrick Hurst. Infant Welfare Society Scholarship for students with a 3.0 GPA minimum planning a career in education or child-care— Teal Briner, Kelly Gazer. John Mills PTA Scholarship for a student who plans a career in education and has a 3.0 GPA— Jaclyn Zagorski. EPHS 50th Anniversary Committee Scholarship to a boy and a girl involved in school activities, with a minimum 3.0 GPA, who exemplify the TIGER spirit—Jonathan Norris, Samantha Spitzock. Elmer Conti Memorial Scholarship presented by Regular Republicans Women’s Club for academic achievement and planning a public service career—Dominic Rubino, Arek Sierant. Carl Fiorito Memorial Scholarship presented by Leyden Township—Daniel Jaroc. Auxiliary of Regular Republicans Voter League Scholarship for academic achievement and extracurricular involvement—George Lako. Raymond Roehri Memorial

Scholarship to a community-minded student pursuing math/science in college, emphasis on engineering— Daniel Jaroc. Dr. Sharon J. Kaczmarek Scholarship for a student’s special achievements—Jacqueline Accolti. DECA Scholarship, presented by the Illinois Foundation for Marketing Education—Lirjon Fisniku, Daniel Karlovitz.

Athletic ScholarshipsThe Maroons Soccer Club Scholarship considers students with a 3.0 GPA, who are involved in sports for four years—Dan Jaroc, Christopher McNulty, Julie Miller, Joseph Promisco, Samantha Spitzock. Dr. Frank McKinzie

Scholarship to students who signifi-cantly contributed to the sports program, put the team first over self, and had the respect and encouragement of fellow team members— Daniel Karlovitz, Anna Strozik. Booster Club Scholarship, for-merly known as the Coaches Scholarship, for outstanding students who were involved in two sports each year of high school and will attend a four-year col-lege—Christine Chiappetta, George Lako, Brandon Tillema, Margaret Wilczek. The Elmer Severson Scholarship named after a long-time teacher who coached baseball and basketball— Lirjon Fisniku, George Lako.

Eighth Grade Graduates’ AwardsEach year, as they graduate middle school, outstanding eighth graders are rec-ognized in the areas of academics and citizenship. Congratulations to these Elm Middle School Class of 2008 award recipients: Language Arts—Layla Alazawy, Andrea LaGreca, Adrianna Maron. Math—Jonathan Berrospi, Tea Gjon, Miranda McNeilly. Science—Felicia Howard, Amanda Sek. Social Studies—Rafal Barabas, Thomas Lanza. ELL—Brisilda Bylykbashi. Physical Education—Ivan Filipov, Courtney Plackner. Art—Christopher Rowells. Computer Applications—Timothy Cleary. Spanish Language—Justin Widd. Band Director’s Award—Alexander Nichol. Cougar Pride Award—Megi Aliaj, Melody Betancourt and Catherine Conte.