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District 70 school notes
Updated: January 14, 2013 2:28PM
Board members honored
Libertyville Elementary District 70 board members Laura Beltchenko, Jennifer Lund and Maryann Ovassapian were honored by the Illinois Association of School Boards this month for their dedication to board work.
The Illinois Association of School Boards honored all three members during an Oct. 10 dinner meeting. Veteran board member Beltchenko maintained a Master School Board member status, and was honored for all her hard work.
Lund received a Level 1 award in the Master School Board Member Program.
School Board President Ovassapian reached her Master School Board member status, and also was recognized for reaching Level 1 and Level 2.
Julie Damenti, the District 70 board’s newest member, and Superintendent Guy Schumacher also attended the dinner.
A Master School Board Member earns 200 credits through a variety of means, which include attending conferences, meetings, participating on committees and working on board self-evaluations, district officials said in a press release.
The honors recognize board members who serve and participate in various IASB and/or NSBA activities within and beyond their local boards.
Halloween read-in
Copeland Manor students will hold a Halloween Read-In from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Oct. 30 at the school, 801 S. Seventh St., Libertyville. The Copeland Chorus will perform Halloween and fall songs before the winner of the annual Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin Contest is announced. Students may wear crazy hats or pajamas as teachers, staff and parents read a variety of Halloween stories out loud.
Fire safety contest
Libertyville Elementary District 70 Adler Park third-grader Noah Valencia recently was the grand prize winner in the Fire Prevention Poster contest for the Libertyville Fire Department.
Trophy winners included Copeland Manor second-grader Samantha Chen and Noah Valencia.
Students board the Mayflower Copeland Manor students are turning into Pilgrims just in time for Thanksgiving and will board the Mayflower in their classrooms to enhance a study unit on the first European settlers.
Second-graders throughout Libertyville Elementary District 70 study Pilgrims and, to enhance their unit, try to recreate some of the action in November. Many students bring in old clothes and costumes to help turn them into Pilgrims. They pretend to board ships that are 6-foot-by-3-foot rectangles outlined on the classroom floor with tape.
The unit will end when the Copeland second-graders hold a bartering session.
Second-grade classrooms at Adler Park and Rockland also do the same unit.
The project at Adler Park School will start the first week of November and goes through December. They also have a “Patriotic Party” at the end of the unit, district officials said in a news release.
Learning about voting
Taking advantage of a presidential election, Butterfield fifth-graders will host an election in November. Fifth-graders are learning about the voting process, the road to the Presidency, the electoral college, the history of the two main political parties, and the history of voting and women’s suffrage, said Libertyville Elementary School District 70 teacher Amy Nemmers.
“It is a great look at our country’s past, and encourages them to become interested in voting and politics at a young age,” Nemmers said. “We try to target the Character Counts! pillar of Citizenship, and what better way than by learning to be a United States voter.”
The school will have voting booths set up for the actual election on Nov. 1, while the presidential election is Nov. 6.
Village President Terry Weppler will visit with students Nov. 1 to greet voters and talk to fifth-graders about his role in the community.
Student art work
The artwork of Libertyville Elementary District 70 students will be on display at the Libertyville High School Art Gallery, under the theme of “Community,” on Nov. 8.
Student artwork from Adler Park, Butterfield, Copeland Manor, Rockland and Highland Middle schools will be featured.
