Congratulations Select 58 recipients
District 58 celebrated this year's Select 58 recipients at a formal awards banquet at Herrick Middle School on Wednesday, April 6. Select 58 honors eighth graders who provide outstanding service to their community. Congratulations, students!
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2016-17 registration opens April 11
 Registration for the 2016-17 school year will open Monday, April 11.
District
58 will send
current parents
registration information via email and backpack mail (or U.S. postal mail for current seventh graders) on April 11. These messages will include each child's personalized "snapcode," a password that lets parents log onto their child's unique registration page.
If you prefer to register your child using paper forms, please visit your child's school to register, or download the forms on your school's website.
New District 58 families must submit new family registration paperwork in person, but parents can print and complete most of the paperwork online in advance. New families may obtain the forms on their school's website.
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Remembering Noah VanHoutan
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Students wear red in honor of Noah VanHoutan. Red was Noah's favorite color.
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During spring break, the District 58 community experienced a major loss, as Kingsley student Noah VanHoutan passed away after a long and courageous battle with Batten disease.
The District 58 community extends sincere condolences to the VanHoutan family -- parents Tracy and Jennifer, and children Emily, Laine and Colette.
"My heart goes out to the entire VanHoutan family during this difficult time," said Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli. "Noah was a blessing in our lives, and we will miss his presence immensely. I know Noah's legacy will continue to live on and to inspire others through Noah's Hope, the group his parents founded to raise awareness for rare disease research."
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David Bein named assistant superintendent for business
 District 58 is pleased to announce that David Bein will join its administrative team as the assistant superintendent for business, beginning July 1. The Board of Education approved Bein's appointment during their regular March 14 meeting.
Bein comes to District 58 with more than 30 years business management experience in both the education and private sectors. For the past nine years, he has served as the assistant superintendent of business services and the chief school business official for East Maine School District 63.
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A Glance at our Grants:
Kingsley's biliteracy classroom library
Thanks to an Education Foundation grant, the District 58 Biliteracy Program received several bilingual and Spanish books this year. Watch this short "
A Glance at our Grants" video to learn more about this grant, including interviews with the teacher and students!
Did you know: The Biliteracy Program aims to make students biliterate and bicultural. Over the course of the program, students learn to read, write, speak and listen in all content areas in English and Spanish. Students do not exit the program, but rather, continue to learn and develop their fluency in content and language.
Learn more.
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District 58 Festival of Music
Herrick and O'Neill Middle School band, orchestra and choir students united for
one dynamic night of musical performance at District 58's Annual Festival of Music at Downers Grove North on March 15. Each group performed well-prepared selections directed by District 58 music staff.
(Courtesy of DGN Fine Arts.)
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O'Neill Chamber Strings performs at Rising Stars program
The Downers Grove Music Club invited the O'Neill Chamber Strings to perform at its annual Rising Stars Music Program on Tuesday, April 5.
The orchestra, directed by O'Neill alumna Rachel Edwards, played "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini and arranged by J. McLeod, and "Hungarian Dance No. 5" by Johannes Brahms and arranged by M Isaac.
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O'Neill raises $5,100 for St. Baldrick's
O'Neill recently raised $5,112 for St. Baldrick's Foundation, a charity that funds research for childhood cancer cures.
The students who fundraised the most money had the opportunity to throw a pie at their teachers during an all-school assembly on St. Patrick's Day.
The assembly was abuzz with excitement and joy, as students celebrated their efforts to fight cancer while cheering on their classmates who got to "pie" their teachers.
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Pierce Downer raises $1,200 for
rare disease research
 The Pierce Downer community recently raised more than $1,200 to support the Global Genes Project, an organization that funds rare disease research.
To celebrate reaching their fundraising goal of more than $1,000, the students watched as Principal Mr. Justin Sisul, Assistant Principal Mrs. Chris Clavenna, Ms. Lauren Minardi and Ms. Ali Mitchell got pies thrown at their face! Thank you for your support, students!
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Herrick volleyball and basketball teams win championship titles
Herrick's seventh and eighth grade boys' volleyball teams both clinched first place in the DMVA conference tournament championship! In addition, the seventh grade boys finished their season undefeated and in first place. The eighth grade boys finished 8-2 and tied for first place.
Herrick's eighth grade girls' basketball team also performed very well, winning the conference basketball tournament championship
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Coming soon:
Visit the District 58
Photos and Stories page
next week to read recaps of all our middle school winter sports seasons!
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Board approves construction for new Hillcrest playground
The Board of Education recently approved construction for a new, entirely handicapped-accessible Hillcrest playground, the first of its kind within a 20-mile radius. The playground is expected to be ready next school year.
Inspired by her youngest son, Owen, Hillcrest parent Peg Chaidez led a major fundraising effort, called the Dream Build Play Experience, to make this innovative playground a reality.
The Hillcrest playground will have amenities for children of all abilities, such as:
- a recycled rubber surface instead of wood chips
- a relaxation station for quiet reading
- double-wide ramps
- more climbing structures
- a merry-go-round
- a ga-ga pit
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O'Neill Genius Hour encourages innovation and creativity
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| O'Neill eighth graders celebrate their Genius Hour awards. |
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O'Neill eighth graders dedicate Monday science classes to "Genius Hour." This time allows students to research their personal scientific interests, even if they do not directly relate to a classroom topic.
"By empowering students to choose their own research topic, we're seeing all students become really engaged in the learning process," said teacher Dr. Meg Van Dyke.
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El Sierra Families program imparts social-emotional skills
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| El Sierra teacher Mrs. Diane Claver high-fives a student. |
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El Sierra students grow their social-emotional learning skills during the El Sierra Families program. At the beginning of the school year, students are assigned to different groups, or "families," comprising six to eight children from all different grade levels. The families meet each month.
In March, El Sierra Families practiced being good team members. Some families worked together to make blankets for the needy, while other groups practiced their communication and collaboration skills during a "human knot" activity.
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Whittier's Penny Wars raises more than $4,000 for playground
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| Mrs. Lyons' class won the Whittier Penny Wars! |
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Whittier students dug deep in their pockets and scrounged in couches, cars and bedrooms to find coins to take part in the school's Penny Wars, raising $4,021.30! This money will help the Whittier PTA's fund to raise money for a new primary playground.
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Fairmount kindergarteners enjoy bunny-themed learning
Fairmount kindergarteners in Mrs. Barbara Potocki's class donned their best bunny ears and brought their favorite fuzzy bunny stuffed animal to school with them for Bunny Day on Thursday, March 24.
They received a special visit from Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Dr. Jayne Yudzentis, who read the book, "My Sister Ate One Hare," by Bill Grossman. The book was happy, funny and, at times, gross! The kids reacted with excitement and emotion to every page. During the day, the students also completed bunny-themed schoolwork.
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Kingsley music program teaches American music history
This year's Kingsley spring music program (for third and fifth grade) featured a dynamic selection of songs from U.S. history.
Before each number, a group of students would give the audience a synopsis of the song's importance to American history. Both the students and audience members learned a lot!
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Hillcrest and O'Neill students
win medals at Special Olympics
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Congratulations to O'Neill eighth grader Gabriella DiDiana (top) and Hillcrest fourth grader Teagan Schuh (bottom) for winning medals in the Special Olympics!
Gabriella is a swimmer and placed first in the 25-meter race and came in second in the relay.
Teagan is a gymnast and won five gold medals in rhythmic gymnastics. She received these medals in the categories of ball, hoop, rope, ribbon
and all-around. She will join six of her teammates at the state Special Olympics competition in June.
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The Board of Education held a Regular Meeting on Monday, March 14.
The Board of Education will hold its next Regular Meeting on Monday, April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Longfellow Center, 1435 Prairie Ave.
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Author Fest Book Sale and Signing - April 15
District 58 invites the community to the Author Fest Book Sale and Signing on Friday, April 15 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Downers Grove Public Library. Families can enjoy a meet-and-greet, photo opportunity and book signing with four prominent children's authors -- Chris Rylander, Laura Huliska-Beith, Liesl Shurtliff and Tom Watson.
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Get healthy at
Fit Fair April 21
Families are invited to enjoy FREE yoga classes, healthy snacks, fitness demos, hip hop dance classes, bowling, health screenings and more at District 58's annual Fit Fair on Thursday, April 21 from 6-8 p.m. at O'Neill Middle School, 635 59th St. All are welcome!
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Middle schools host Sixth Grade Parent Night
Current sixth grade parents are invited to learn more about middle school at an informational night at their child's future middle school.
The
O'Neill Parent Night will take place
Thursday, April 14 from 7-8:30 p.m.
The
Herrick Parent Night will take place
Monday, May 2 from 7-8:30 p.m.
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District receives finance honor for 15th straight year
The Illinois State Board of Education awarded District 58 with a Financial Recognition rating on the District's 2016 School District Financial Profile. Financial Recognition is the highest financial strength rating that ISBE awards, and this year marks the 15th consecutive year District 58 achieved this status.
Learn more
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District 58 on social media
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Mission
The mission of District 58, in partnership with parents and community, is to challenge and engage each child by providing quality educational programs and support services in a safe, nurturing, and child-centered environment in order to prepare all students to be lifelong learners and contributing members of a global society.
Communicate 58 shares timely, relevant information about District 58 with parents, community members and others who are interested in how we are living out our mission. If you have any questions/comments regarding Communicate 58, or have an article/photo idea for the publication, please contact Community Relations Coordinator Megan Hewitt at [email protected] or 630-719-5805.
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