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PARK FOREST-CHICAGO HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT 163
FEBRUARY 2016
Michelle Obama addition opens
Students participated in the
ribbon cutting ceremony.
The main entry at Lakewood.
The addition at Michelle Obama School
of Technology and the Arts welcomed
students following Winter Break. The $15
million addition features six classrooms, a
multipurpose room/cafeteria, warming
kitchen, gymnasium with a high school
regulation basketball court, fitness center
(which will be open to the community
when school is not in session), and a
stage. The gym officially opened in late
January for the SSJHSA 8th grade Boys
Basketball Regional Tournament. Plans for
an open house for the community will be
announced later.
Entrance to the new gymnasium.
The new gymnasium services Michelle Obama
and Barack Obama Schools.
Multipurpose room/cafeteria.
Barack Obama students spread the news
Every morning before school begins,
members of Barack Obama School’s
Broadcast Club meet for 35 minutes in the
STEM/CMA lab to hash out story ideas,
select a leadership quote for the week and
to put the finishing touches on their
weekly broadcast.
“I love the Broadcast Club,” said sixth
grade student Kayley Marrs, a script writer
for the weekly broadcast. “I love writing so
I really enjoy the club.” Fellow student
Damarco Partlow has similar feelings about
the club. He noted, “I like everything
about the Broadcast Club. I love the taping
of a broadcast and I really like the group of
kids. I like the work that is involved.”
Keerie Prasopoulos is the CMA
(Communication Media Arts) lab facilitator
and the sponsor of the club. “The students
love working with the equipment and
producing the newscasts and short
segments,” said Mrs. Prasopoulos. “They
plan the segments, write the scripts and
tape the broadcasts. The students have a
lot of energy and ideas. They talk things
through and give each other some very
insightful feedback.”
The Broadcast Club has the use of
cameras, teleprompters, monitors and
microphones. The eight students in the
club serve as script writers, director,
producer, and reporters.
Read more at www.sd163.com.
Max Malinis, left, and John Hatcher, reporters,
await a taping of an OLS news broadcast.
Students involved in preparing a broadcast
include, from left, Kayley Marrs, Camara
Thomas, Trinity Harris, and Jordan Vanarsdale.
Superintendent’s
Message
As we celebrate the accomplishments
of School District 163, I have many
wonderful things to share with you.
Our students are curious and engaged
in their learning and are exploring
new ideas. We have enhanced our
STEAM rooms, have one-to-one
Chrome Books for students at Barack
Obama, made the X-STEAM summer
program more rigorous, incorporated
more enrichment in our instruction
and offered a wide variety of
Eligibility STEM Field Trips for Barack
Obama School students. Students
meeting specific criteria are eligible
for trips to the Federal Reserve Bank,
Museum of Science and Industry,
Northern Illinois University, Museum
of Broadcasting, and the Peggy
Notebaert Nature Museum.
Our students’ commitment to
attendance last year brought $350,000
in revenue to the School District. Our
students raised attendance rates to 99
percent month after month last year.
As a result of the reconfiguration of
the schools and the concept based
schools of choice, our students are
more invested in their learning and
they love the experiences that are
available to them. As the daily
attendance rate increased, our general
state aid increased.
Finally, I am proud to share that
District 163 continues to be fiscally
responsible. It ended 2014-2015 with a
balanced budget and is executing a
balanced budget for the 2015-2016
school year. Also, the District once
again received Financial Recognition
from the Illinois State Board of
Education. This is the highest level a
school district can achieve.
We are fortunate to have the ability to
offer our students so many wonderful
opportunities, extremely able staff
members, a selfless and dedicated
Board of Education, and involved
parents who strive to be a part of their
children’s education.
Sincerely,
Joyce Carmine, Ed.D.
Superintendent
2
Students, parents face STEM challenges
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math) classes and activities are part of
students’ daily lives at Barack Obama
School of Leadership and STEM. Now, the
students’ families are getting a taste of
STEM with the school’s monthly
STEM -Design Challenge, which brings a
STEM project home for the students and
their families to work on as a team.
Students create program apps, which teaches
coding, for a robotic ball in the STEM lab.
“The challenges are great ways to connect
STEM and critical thinking skills with
the home,” said Dr. Erika Johnson,
co-principal of Barack Obama. “The
aim is to engage families with school,
encourage family time and have an
enjoyable time together. An off-shoot is
the reinforcement of principles and skills
learned in the classroom.”
Algonquin nurtures learning and health
Early Childhood Network family events
are important elements of the Preschool
Program at Algonquin Primary Center.
The school hosts daytime and evening
events each month to engage families in
the educational success of their students,
said Stephanie Lloyd, Algonquin
principal.
Recent events included Fun, Fitness,
and Nutrition Night, which was held in
collaboration with Aunt Martha’s Early
Learning Center in Park Forest. Another
event was designed for grandparents and
special people in the children’s lives.
In Memoriam
Jean Bernstein, past
superintendent of
Park Forest-Chicago
Heights School
District 163, passed
away October 24,
2015.
“Jean was a
brilliant educator,”
said Superintendent
Joyce Carmine. “She was well versed in all
areas of the curriculum and their
components and how to integrate the
disciplines. She continued to share her
expertise with the teachers of District 163
throughout her retirement.”
Julie Bernstein, Mrs. Bernstein’s daughter
said, “My mother loved the people in
District 163. She also enjoyed the challenge
of working with new teachers and
mentoring them so that they would reach
their fullest potential. She never lost sight
of the important goal of educating
children.”
A grandparent
visits a literacy
station
during
Grandparent
and Special
Person Day
at Algonquin.
Retirees’
expertise sought
Retiree Roy Dillard gives his time to the
District’s X-STEAM after school program.
School District 163 wants retirees to
become a part of the school family.
Retirees are sought as volunteers to share
their expertise with the District students.
“We are recruiting more retirees to work
with our students because they are
wonderful resources,” said Superintendent
Joyce Carmine. “Our partnership with
Catholic Charities has enhanced the
relationships that our retirees are bringing
Continued on page 5
Schools are good neighbors
Community members Camille Wright,
from left, Roy Dillard and Nelson Walker
met Michelle Obama School sixth grader
Joshua Harrison.
Algonquin student Jahyzaria Lofton and her
mother Lashonda Lofton were guests at
Barack Obama's Community Day.
Board Member Walter Mosby met Barack
Obama School students Kayla Mullens, from
left, Marcus Rush and Trevon Boyd, who were
food servers for the school’s Community Day.
Townsend related that students would
volunteer to help residents with leaf raking
or snow shoveling and would pick up trash
they see along the sidewalks.
Michelle Obama art teacher Heather Cox
invited people to visit the school and lend
a hand in the art classes. “If you love art,
please come,” said Ms. Cox. “If you don’t
think you are artistic, come and we will
help you.”
Barack Obama students Camara Thomas, left,
and Ravyn Mosby welcomed guests to
Community Day.
Students from District 163’s Barack Obama
School of Leadership and STEM and
Michelle Obama School of the Arts and
Technology who walk to and from school
want the area residents to know they are
good neighbors and plan to be even better
ones. To help the students and the residents
get to know each other a little better, each
school held a Community Day and picnic
for the residents who live within one mile
of the school.
“It was nice for the residents and the
students to meet,” said Quentin Brown,
who lives near Michelle Obama School and
whose son is a student at the school. “This
helps us to identify the kids and help them
if they need it.”
Similarly, residents George and Sandra
Stewart enjoyed Barack Obama’s
Community Day. “We’re new residents so it
is very nice that the school planned this
event,” said Mrs. Stewart.
Michelle Obama students Lenniah Webster, left,
and Faith Vanzant make book marks
with Mary Walker, a community member.
are doing at their schools. Michelle Obama
students sang, danced, played instrumental
music, led art projects, and displayed a
large mural that students had painted.
Barack Obama students invited their guests
to dance with them and then engaged in
projects that incorporated engineering and
science principles.
Read more at www.sd163.com.
Students also let their guests know that
they are there to lend a hand when the
need arises. In welcoming remarks,
Michelle Obama eighth grader Darryl
Michelle
Obama School
student
Camryn
Blair’s father,
Tyrone Blair,
was a
Community
Day attendee.
Superintendent Joyce Carmine, from left,
Board Member Margaret McDannel and Board
President Jacqueline Jordan welcome people to
Michelle Obama’s Community Day.
We want
to help you
“We want to communicate to the area
residents that we appreciate their role in
making our students great. We also want to
encourage the community to get to know
our students,” said Dr. Ericka Patterson,
co-principal of Barack Obama School.
Dr. Erika Johnson also is a co-principal at
the school. Michelle Obama School
co-principals Dr. Cheryl Muench and
Annamarie Dowling added, “Our goal is for
the students to have a relationship with the
people who live in the neighborhood.”
At both events, students introduced
themselves and welcomed their guests as
they arrived. In addition to a picnic lunch,
residents got some idea of what the students
Barack Obama eighth grader Camara
Thomas told her school’s guests, “The
students at Barack Obama School are
always here to lend a helping hand and
support our fellow community members.
We hope that you can take time to see us
in our school environment.”
Barack Obama students make a tower with
marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti.
Students at Barack Obama and
Michelle Obama Schools want to
help their neighbors. If you are in
need of assistance with snow
shoveling this winter or raking in the
fall, please call the schools with your
name, address, phone number, and
indicate the chore with which you
could use assistance. Barack Obama
School’s phone number is
(708) 668-9100 and Michelle Obama
School’s number is (708) 668-9600.
3
Learning is cooking with STEAM
science, life science, earth and space
science.
As they study the trees and forests,
engineering remains a focus. Learning
about weight distribution and other facets
of engineering, the Mohawk students built
towers composed of books, bottle tops and
cans with raw eggs at the bottom. “The
goal was to ensure that the eggs did not
break, and they accomplished that,” said
Angela Davis, facilitator in the Mohawk
STEAM room. Mohawk students build a community around
their tree in the STEAM room.
Initiated last year at Mohawk, Blackhawk
and 21st Century Primary Centers, STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art,
Math) rooms emphasize engineering
concepts at the primary level and provide
STEAM programming that meets the Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and
Common Core State Standards. The
STEAM rooms engage primary grade
students in challenges that incorporate all
areas of the curriculum and support
problem solving, creativity and inquisitiveness. Each room has challenges at centers
that students rotate among and include
technology, art, community, engineering,
science, math, iPads, and puzzles.
During the first trimester, each STEAM
room boasted a life-sized tree that teachers
and students constructed. The trees are
covered in bark and leaves made by the
students. In subsequent trimesters students
will study oceans and deserts. With each
focus, the students will learn physical
At 21st Century, students worked on a
challenge to imagine, plan and create a 3-D
structure with Mag snaps for their forest.
They also created tree and leaf blueprints
and carried that over to drawing blueprints
for the creation of musical instruments.
Using Zoob building sets, Eileen Ward’s
students at Blackhawk put their
engineering skills to work to design a
Blackhawk’s tree, like the other STEAM trees,
is full of leaves.
A
Blackhawk
student
closely
examines
a leaf
with a
magnifying
glass.
bridge that would span a waterway. They
paid close attention to shapes and patterns
in their design that would make the bridge
sturdy.
Andrea Finnan, 21st Century STEAM room
facilitator, related that Lego walls were
purchased for each of the STEAM rooms
with a portion of some $1,700 in funds she
received through private donations and a
donation from Arco/Murray National
Construction Company. “The walls are
something permanent that the students
could explore and expand on,” she said.
21st Century students build a 3-D structure
for the area around their tree.
New science lab opens at Barack Obama
The Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS) lab opened at Barack Obama
School of Leadership and STEM this year.
The lab is based on the new science
standards that have been adopted
nationwide and will provide activities that
incorporate art, math, science, and
language arts into the students’ work.
“A number of activities will highlight
Munchie the gerbil will help students
learn about nature.
4
biomimicry,” said Courtney Albert, the
teacher in charge of the NGSS lab. “The
students will understand how things in
nature can be adapted to solve human
challenges. Olympic swimmer Michael
Phelps had a shark skin swimsuit made for
him that mimicked how sharks repel water.
The Japanese bullet train is another
example. Its design is based on a bird’s
beak. We can learn from nature, so the
students will study different habitats and
determine if they can be used to solve
some of the problems that confront
humans.”
Ms. Albert added, “Animals and plant life
will help students explore and appreciate
nature. The lab will house animals and
plants so that students are able to observe
animals’ life cycles and habits and plants
as they grow. We also will have STEM
challenges that students can work on in
the lab.”
Website revamped
Please visit our new website,
www.sd163.com. It is easy to navigate
and offers valuable information. Access
the site to gain up-to-date information
about Board of Education meetings, school
calendars, upcoming events, news, and
resources for parents. A parent section
includes school breakfast and lunch
menus, information about PARCC, health
forms, the ability to pay fees, and child
care and preschool information.
Construction projects teach math skills
cost of projects based on the type of
materials that are used.”
While this is a math enrichment class, it
also is an elective for students who need
additional help in math.
Mr. Banas’ class works closely with art
teacher Heather Cox’s class, which is next
door to his classroom. His students created
items for the school’s holiday program set
based on a list from Ms. Cox.
Students in the math enrichment class at
Michelle Obama construct work tables
for their classroom.
The students in the math enrichment class
at Michelle Obama School stood back and
admired the four wooden work tables
they constructed for their classroom. The
construction project also was a math
lesson that introduced the students to new
math concepts and strengthened skills they
had already mastered.
“While the class is math enrichment, set
design is the focus,” said Mr. Banas, who
is also a skilled carpenter and cabinet
maker. “The projects, homework and
testing are based on math. During class
the students might study angles, ratios,
proportion, conversion or measurement
while making plans to construct
something. They also figure out the
Prior to building anything, the students
must submit scale drawings of their
projects. “The students are wood shop
designers,” related Mr. Banas. “They have
to translate their ideas onto paper before
they can begin to build.”
not use due to safety precautions and Mr.
Banas handles that equipment. The
students can use drills, hammers, nails,
and screwdrivers. “The kids like using the
tools. The girls do awesome work and they
are good with the tools,” Mr. Banas said.
“We work on real life projects; authentic
activities that focus on real life problems
and the students are enjoying it.”
One parent recently let Mr. Banas know in
an email how the class was benefiting her
family. She wrote, “I purchased a new
table for our home and it came while I was
still in the hospital, so Mia had to help my
mom put it together. Well, my mom
thought she needed to explain the tools
they needed to Mia. Not so much, because
Mr. Banas had taught her. Proud mommy
moment. I love Michelle Obama.” There are several tools that the students do
A student works on a prop for the
winter program.
Some finished props await
their stage debut.
Skype expands classroom walls at Michelle Obama
Eighth grade students at Michelle
Obama School recently spent a morning
Skype brought international students into
Michelle Obama classrooms.
Retirees, from page 2
to our children.”
The retirees would mentor adolescents,
read with young students, and assist
students with math facts. “The time they
could donate to our students is priceless,”
said Dr. Carmine.
Please call (708) 668-9470 to register as a
volunteer retiree.
conversing face to face with students in
Monterrey, Mexico; Nicosia, Cyprus; and
Brampton, Ontario in Canada.
With a webcam, Skype connection and a
Smart Board, students of reading teacher
Dee Stonis joined more than 100,000
students from across the world for
Adventure ’15, an international cultural
exchange program. The eighth graders
were able to view their Mexican, Cypriot
and Canadian counterparts and ask them
questions about their daily lives. Students
learned about the music their counterparts
liked, their studies, weather conditions,
and sports activities.
Gertherene
Matthews,
of Catholic
Charities
Senior Aide
Program,
assists 21st
Century
students.
The Cypriot students showed their flag to
the Michelle Obama students and
explained what the various parts of it
symbolized. The students in Monterrey
were happy to hear Mrs. Stonis speak
Spanish and to learn that her mother was
from Michoacan, not far from their school.
The Canadian students were impressed
with the amount of classes and
extracurricular activities Michelle Obama
students have available to them.
Read more at www.sd163.com.
Retiree
Melvin
Pumphrey
volunteers
his time at
Barack
Obama
School.
5
Park Forest - Chicago Heights
School District 163
242 S. Orchard Drive
Park Forest, Illinois 60466
(708) 668-9400 • www.sd163.com
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
Board of Education
Jacqueline Jordan - President
Allison McCray - Vice-President
Tammi Braxton - Secretary
Cheryl Franklin Margaret McDannel
Judy Hawthorne Walter Mosby
Superintendent
Dr. Joyce Carmine
Denise Faris - Editor
2014
Communicator
Award Winner
for Design
NON PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PARK FOREST, IL
PERMIT NO. 30
Like us on Facebook,
www.facebook.com/
groups/pfchsd163
and follow us on Twitter
@PFCHSD163
Our retirees are here for us.
See page 2
Spirited production welcomes holidays
Michelle Obama School’s students’ gift to
classmates and the community this holiday
season was “Dear Santa, I Can Explain.”
Written by students with teachers Nicole
Kalvig and Jemika Edwards, the colorful
production, staged at the Rich South High
School auditorium, featured students’
acting, dancing and singing skills.
21st Century Primary Center
Blackhawk Primary Center
240 S. Orchard Dr. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9490
130 Blackhawk Dr. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9500
Algonquin Primary Center
Mohawk Primary Center
170 Algonquin • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9200
301 Mohawk • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9300
Barack Obama School of Leadership and STEM
Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts
401 Concord Dr. • Chicago Heights, IL 60411 • (708) 668-9100
215 Wilson St. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9600
Park Forest - Chicago Heights
School District 163
242 S. Orchard Drive
Park Forest, Illinois 60466
(708) 668-9400 • www.sd163.com
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Park Forest, IL 60466
Board of Education
Jacqueline Jordan - President
Allison McCray - Vice-President
Tammi Braxton - Secretary
Cheryl Franklin Margaret McDannel
Judy Hawthorne Walter Mosby
Superintendent
Dr. Joyce Carmine
Denise Faris - Editor
2014
Communicator
Award Winner
for Design
NON PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PARK FOREST, IL
PERMIT NO. 30
Like us on Facebook,
www.facebook.com/
groups/pfchsd163
and follow us on Twitter
@PFCHSD163
Our retirees are here for us.
See page 2
Spirited production welcomes holidays
Michelle Obama School’s students’ gift to
classmates and the community this holiday
season was “Dear Santa, I Can Explain.”
Written by students with teachers Nicole
Kalvig and Jemika Edwards, the colorful
production, staged at the Rich South High
School auditorium, featured students’
acting, dancing and singing skills.
21st Century Primary Center
Blackhawk Primary Center
240 S. Orchard Dr. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9490
130 Blackhawk Dr. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9500
Algonquin Primary Center
Mohawk Primary Center
170 Algonquin • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9200
301 Mohawk • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9300
Barack Obama School of Leadership and STEM
Michelle Obama School of Technology and the Arts
401 Concord Dr. • Chicago Heights, IL 60411 • (708) 668-9100
215 Wilson St. • Park Forest, IL 60466 • (708) 668-9600