Kildeer Countryside School Earns Blue Ribbon Recognition

School earned award for high performance by students

Kildeer Countryside Elementary School, a District 96 school located in Long Grove, was among only 219 public schools nationwide to be recognized for academic excellence with a 2012 U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon. Public and private elementary, middle, and high schools receive National Blue Ribbon School recognition in one of two categories–“exemplary high performing” and “exemplary improving.” Kildeer School, serving children in grades 1–5, earned recognition in the high-performing category, as measured by state assessments and nationally normed tests. Kildeer Elementary School is the fourth District 96 school to earn U.S. Department of Education National Blue Ribbon recognition. Middle schools Twin Groves (2007) and Woodlawn (…

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Buffalo Grove Schools Named Among the Region's Best

A Chicago Magazine report that ranks the best elementary and high schools lists some of our area's schools among the top.

Buffalo Grove-area schools are among the best in the region, according to Chicago Magazine’s 2012 Best Public Schools report.  The report ranked Stevenson High School fourth in Lake County and Buffalo Grove High School eighth in Cook County. Local elementary schools also received recognition from the magazine, which featured the top 10 institutions in each county. In Lake County, District 103’s Daniel Wright Junior High was ranked fifth, and District 96’s Twin Groves Middle School and Kildeer Countryside Elementary School were ranked seventh and 10th, respectively.  The rankings are based on 2010-11 state report card data including spending per pupil, graduation rate, student-teacher ratio and standardized test scores. The complete report …

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Ivy Hall Students Win Video Awards

Fifth-graders honored for author projects.

District 96 Learning Center Director Joyce Pavelko assisted 20 Ivy Hall Elementary School students in creating videos for the "Introduce an Author Contest" associated with the Northern Illinois University 32nd-Annual Children’s Literature Conference held in DeKalb.  Two of the Ivy Hall fifth-graders’ videos submitted by Pavelko were contest winners. The video created by Hallie Feldman and Emma Nolan was a contest winner selected to introduce author/illustrator Floyd Cooper. The video created by Chloe Myers, Stephanie Li, and Maya Korol was a contest winner selected to introduce author Sneed B. Collard III.  The students worked in 8 teams to create their videos. To view their videos, visit www.kcsd96.org/IH/LearningCenterWebPages.

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Buffalo Grove's Top Stories of the Week

Here's a recap of this week's headlines. Click the links to join a conversation, find out what others are saying or get caught up the news you missed this week.

Schools Government Business Police The Neighborhood Files

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Snapshots

Principal for the Day

Submitted by School District 96

Prairie School fifth-grader Rachel Becker won the opportunity to be Principal for the Day through a PTO-sponsored pizza/bingo event held on Feb. 25. She carried out her duties on April 8, accompanying Principal Christine Pfaff on classroom visits and attending meetings with staff. Being nervous made her giggle when making morning announcements, she confessed. Meanwhile, Ivy Hall Elementary School fourth-graders Brett and Blake Gitler were assistant principals for the day on April 5. They won the honor through a drawing at the Ivy Hall PTO-sponsored pizza/bingo event earlier in the school year. Accompanied by Principal Jennifer Brown, their responsibilities as assistant principals included leading Board of Education members on a building …

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Woodlawn Students Stage Classic 'Oklahoma'

"It’s just a lot of fun for the kids.”

The flatlands of Long Grove will stand in for the Oklahoma territory of the early 1900s when Woodlawn Middle School presents the musical “Oklahoma.” Under the direction of Linda Rosen, the production, which opened Wednesday and finishes its run at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday), features almost 50 students in acting roles and many more behind the scenes in Rogers and Hamerstein’s landmark musical, their first together. The production is set in the western Indian Territory, in what will soon become Oklahoma, and tells the story of the romance between Cowboy Curly McLain (Jamie Daigler) and farm girl Laurey Williams (Lindsey Micucci). Rosen said she chose “Oklahoma” because of the story it tells. “‘Oklahoma’ is a really wholesome and beautiful …

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Twin Groves Basketball Teams Named Conference Champs

Submitted by District 96

Both of Twin Groves Middle School's eighth-grade boys basketball teams met their goals this season. For the first time in Patriot Middle School Conference basketball history, two Twin Groves teams – Kolts Team Blue and Kolts Team Gold – emerged as conference champions.  The Gold Team, led by first-year Twin Groves Coach Jeff Williams (pictured far left), earned an impressive 11-2 season record. The Blue Team, led by seasoned Coach Les Rimey, boasted a 12-0 season–the first time ever that a Patriot Conference basketball team went undefeated. Rimey, a social studies teacher who will retire in June after 34 years of service, was pleased to wrap up his basketball coaching career working with such an outstanding team. At a Board of Education …

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Giving Back

Fourth-Grader Organizes Toy Drive

Submitted by School District 96

Prairie Elementary School fourth-grader Isabella Przybylo, student of Jeanette Saltzberg, is a leader with heart. In making and delivering "care bears" to pediatric patients at Advocate Condell Medical Center, she recognized a need that she and her classmates could help meet. Isabella organized a week-long collection drive and her peers and their families contributed generously. The books, toys, and games collected were gratefully received by Advocate Condell staff member Tammy Stick, who assured the Prairie School fourth-graders, "You've really made a difference!"

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Stein Elected to Village Board, SHS Incumbents Prevail, Library Referendum Passes

Voters also re-elected Village Clerk Janet Sirabian and chose the residents who will represent them on area school boards for the next four years.

Andrew Stein will be the new face on the Buffalo Grove Village Board, voters decided Tuesday. Stein was elected to a two-year term, beating competitor Denice Bocek 2,909 to 1,284, with all precincts in Cook and Lake counties tallied. Meanwhile, Indian Trails Public Library’s referendum squeaked by, with 2,127 votes in favor and 1,983 against the proposal to raise the district’s tax levy. The funds will be used for a variety of facility improvements. Voters largely decided to stay with status quo when it came to other village and school board positions. Incumbent Village Clerk Janet Sirabian breezed her way to a ninth term with about 82 percent of the vote. Sirabian, who has held the position for 32 years, prevailed over challenger Rob …

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Photo Opp

Submitted by School District 96

District 96 Kildeer Countryside fifth-grade Student Council members wrote a mini-grant for a "point-and-shoot" camera they will use to document school events and the community service work they do with fellow students. Their request was selected for funding by the district's Foundation for Educational Excellence. Kildeer Countryside art teacher Leslie Norman is the student council sponsor.

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