Proud to Be 203

Proud to Be 203 listings for school year 2008-2009

Student Athletes Sign Letters of Intent

Fifteen student athletes from Naperville Central and Naperville North have made commitments to athletics programs at colleges around the country. The following commitments were signed on February 3, which is National Letter of Intent signing day.

Naperville Central High School

Dan Tucker – Men’s Swimming – Purdue University
Hillary Scott – Women’s Soccer – Illinois State University
Chris Prince – Men’s Soccer – University of Wisconsin
Art Garza – Men’s Soccer – DePaul University
Taylor Heatherly – Women’s Soccer – Baylor University
Carm Brate – Football – Harvard University
Mark Menis – Men’s Water Polo – Loyola Marymount University
Caley Faulkner – Women’s Track and Field – Grand Valley State University

Naperville North High School

Arnas Ginatautas – Football – Drake University
James O'Shaughnessy – Football – Illinois State University
Chris Boswell – Men's Soccer – University of Denver
Mike Weist – Men's Soccer – Bowling Green University
Rycke Guiney – Women's Soccer – Marist College
Emily Janecek – Women's Soccer – University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Kristina Dolak – Women's Soccer – Illinois Wesleyan University

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District 203 Employee Named EIU 2010 Exemplary Supervisor

On February 26, the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Eastern Illinois University EIU) bestowed Marietta Schachtschneider with the 2010 Exemplary Supervisor of the Year Award. A Speech/Language Therapist at Beebe Elementary, Ms. Schachtschneider was nominated by EIU student Danielle LaPrairie for her role as an outstanding internship supervisor.

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NNHS' Larry McKeon Inducted into IL Football Coaches Hall of Fame

Larry McKeon, Naperville North’s retiring head Varsity Football Coach, will be inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 10, in Champaign. During his tenure at NNHS, Coach McKeon compiled an overall record of 230 wins and only 71 losses. His career record was 256 and 85. In his 27 years at Naperville North High School, his teams qualified for the playoffs 23 times and won six DVC championships. They captured two IHSA State Championships, one in 1992 and one in 2007.

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NNHS Chess Team Members Place in Top 10 at State

The Naperville North Chess Team concluded their season with 4 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw at the recent State Chess Tournament. Special congratulations to Dan Kumore, Paul Logsden, and Mohammad Askari who all finished in the top 10 at their respective boards. Social Studies teacher Kermit Eby serves as their coach.

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District 203 Seniors honored as National Merit Finalists

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has named 34 members of the District 203 Class of 2010 among the more than 15,000 Finalists in the 55th annual NMSC program. From this group, some 8,200 will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.

Naperville Central seniors named as Finalists were: Jacob Bumpus, Michelle Fern, Sarah Gao, Tasisia Karaseva, Neeldev Kunjur, Vanessa Lin, Priscilla Liu, Jennifer Martynowicz, Michael Naccache, Shuhao Pang, Sunameeka Panigraphy, Francis Rogg, Katherine Rudolph, Victoria Sawchuk, William Sterrett, Erik Wang, Anne Wei, Adam Wills and Mingxuan Yu.

Naperville North High School seniors named as Finalists were: Nikhil Bommakanti, Julian Caracotsios, Timothy Clark, Caitlin Cremin, Kristen Deppe, Kanika Garg, Corey Haas, Justin Hsiao, Teshika Jayewickreme, Peter Kim, Alexander Levin, Marina Powers, Adam Przybyl, Kaia Schwartz, Kyra Songco and Jason Termaat.

Approximately half of the Finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners, earning the Merit Scholar title. Merit Scholar designee announcements will be made by the NMSC in March, April, May and July.

In addition, Naperville North senior Nadira Long has been named as a Finalist in the NMSC National Achievement Scholarship Competition. The selection of some 800 Achievement Scholarship winners from the Finalist group is now in progress. Achievement Scholars will be announced in April of 2010. Nadira scored in the top 3 percent on the qualifying test as a junior and was among 3,100 named this past fall as Semifinalists in the program.

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NCHS Spirits host/win Winter Guard Classic Competition

On February 7, the Naperville Central High School Spirits Winter Guard played host to the Winter Guard Classic Competition. Twenty-three teams from around the region competed in seven divisions, entertaining spectators with upbeat music and carefully choreographed winter color guard routines. 

The Spirits Winter Color Guard created a special theme for this year’s competition with their piece entitled, “The Moon is Always Female.” The theme, which was inspired by the team’s camaraderie, helped clench a first-place win in their division.

Competing throughout the Midwest, the team practices 15 to 20 hours a week with the hope of competing in the Winter Guard International World Championships which will be held in Dayton, Ohio in April. The Spirits compete next in a local competition at Waubonsie Valley High School on March 7; they then travel to a regional event in Indianapolis on March 12 and 13.

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Congratulations District 203 Class of 2010 Illinois State Scholars

Naperville School District 203 is pleased to announce that 206 Naperville Central seniors and 227 Naperville North High School seniors have been recognized as 2010 Illinois State Scholars. These students represent almost 30% of their graduating class, another indication that NCHS and NNHS are, indeed, high performing schools. 

This award, given annually by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, recognizes 19,345 high school students from across the State as 2010 State Scholars. 

Illinois State Scholar winners rank in the top ten percent of the State’s high school seniors from 752 high schools in all 102 counties. Selection is based on SAT, ACT and/or Prairie State Achievement Exam scores, and GPA at the end of the junior year. Students must be U.S. citizens to qualify.

While this recognition does not include a monetary award, recipients are encouraged to cite the award on college and scholarship applications in addition to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Illinois State Scholars from Naperville Central High School:

Courtney Abrahamovich, Saba Ahmed, Jaclyn Allexan, Margarita Altidis, Erin Antony, Justin Averill, Ayesha Badar, Rachel Barr, Priya Barua, Christopher Bedell, Edward Benfield, Mark Bicek, Adam Bigott, Julie Blumberg, Sravya Boddu, Sarah Bollinger, Samantha Bonfield, Christine Borkowicz, Sarah Braun, Julie Brdicka, Hannah Brenner, Kevin Brown, Sarah Buczkiewicz, Jacob Bumpus, Jonathan Burks, Lucas Butz, Brian Caulfield, James Cavenagh, Melody Chang, Victor Chen, Yu Chen, Brian Chiou, Nellie Chung, Evan Ciambrone, Jamie Clendenen, Kevin Cox, Jacob Cramer, Emily Crowl, Taylor Daley, Jeremy Dalke, Emma Dashut, Kaitlyn Debnar, Mitchell Dreiske, Colin Drinkard, Nicholas Dzielinski, Rebecca Ebling, Taylor Ellis, Michelle Fern, Rosalie Fidanze, Claire Fleming, Emma Fricke, Sarah Gao, Ryan Gary, Adam Gebner, Angela Geiss, Patrice Geraci, John Groesbeck, Brandon Hammerstrom, Daniel Haywood, Taylor Heatherly, Terrence Hector, Vanessa Hendrix, Caroline Hilton, Jeffrey Huang, Caitlin Hubbard, Jeannette Hui, Justin Hummel, Dory Hunt, Chris Hurford, David Ilavsky, Soha Iqbal, Rachel Irion, Lisa Ito, Alan Jaensch, Mohammad Jaffery, Katherine Janda, Jeffrey Jin, Rachel Johnson, Mark Juretschke, Lauren Kaiser, Taisia Karaseva, Stephen Kent, Albert Kim, Grace Kim, Jennifer Kim, Sanggyun Kim, Jenna Kimak, Daniel Kleeman, Shelby Klose, Eliot Kovitz, Christina Krebs, Abbey Kromphardt, Zachary Kromphardt, Neeldev Kunjur

Emily Larkin, Christina Larson, Elizabeth Lass, Ethan Leavitt, Rachel Lee, Stephanie Li, John Lieser, Vanessa Lin, Alyssa Lindley, Patrick Littel, Priscilla Liu, Simon Liu, Robert Longhini, Jessica Luhrs, Jingtian Ma Tim, Jacob Mann, Jennifer Martynowicz, Anthony Matre, Jeffrey Mayer, Monica McCormack, Rachel McGee, Colleen McGrath, Elizabeth McKie, Mark Menis, Anthony Michael, Andy Miltonberger, Avani Miriyala, Yusra Mohiuddin, Cara Moore, Sharon Moraes, Bennett Murphy, Daniel Murphy, Michael Naccache, Matt Neufeld, Susanne Noorani, Matthew Obergfell, Joseph O'Brien, Matthew O'Brien, Ellyse Orndorff, Shuhao Pang, Sunameeka Panigrahy, Anthony Park, Amanda Parker, Kathryn Paul, Avenash Pernankil, Callie Peters, Kim Peterson, Keith Piper, Abigail Placko, Erin Prazak, Jessica Pudelek, John Pults, Meghna Rao, Saagar Ravi, Courtney Reents, Nathan Reinke, Daniel Reishus, Andrew Reiss, Ryan Reyes, Francis Rogg, Colin Rook, Natalie Roth, Kevin Rothman, Katherine Rudolph, Alexandra Ryan, Michael Ryan, Daniel Saffaei, Erbay Salievski, Harjot Sangha, Nicolas Savard, Joseph Savina, Victoria Sawchuk, Dillon Shoemaker, Megan Singson, Jamie Sladkey, Britney Smart, Natalie Smedegard, Nicholas Smetana, Matthew Smith, Daniel Snow, Samuel Sterling, William Sterrett, Kaylee Stubitz, Catherine Tanck, Kayla Teich, Allison Theis, Ryan Thill, Kathryn Thomas, Connelly Thompson, Anthony Trainor, Birva Trivedi, Tim Urbas, Emily Van Etten, David Van Horn, Andrew Vancura, Lindsey Ventura, Andrew Wagner, Andrew Wallace, Erik Wang, Michelle Wang, Allison Warchol, Steven Watson, Andrew Weber, Rachel Weeks, Anne Wei, Alex Whipple, Adam Wills, Paul Wirtz, Justin Wu, Cory Young, Mingxuan Yu and  Joseph Zhang.

Illinois State Scholars from Naperville North High School:

Surbhi Agarwal, Anuj Akhand, Sahil Angelo, Rachel Arata, Katyayini Aribindi, Katherine Arnold, Ryan Asensio, Mohammad Askari, Callie Ault, Claire Ault, Bennett Aymond, Adam Ballent, Alexis Bean, Joshua Beard, Ben Becker, Michelle Beggs, Elizabeth Bell, Kelly Berdelle, Jenny Bhatt, Ray Birtcher, Paul Bloodgood, Nikhil Bommakanti, Anne Boswell, Benjamin Broad, Joanna Brodecki, Chelsea Brown, Benjamin Burbridge, Melanie Burbules, Alexander Burton, Rodrigo Bustamante, Jennifer Byram, Julian Caracotsios, Colin Castleberry, Desheng Chang, Hyunsuk Chang, Melissa Chang, Yu-Ju Chen, Christine Cho, Timothy Clark, Craig Cochrane, Ryan Condron, Maureen Connelly, Joshua Coutre, Caitlin Cremin, Lindsay Dawson, Bridget Deely, Marc Deetjen, Claire Deneen, Kristen Deppe, Kelly Devitt, Sharvari Dharmaiah, Brett Dickson, Kevin Doherty, Kristina Dolak, Kyla Donato, Brian Donohoe, Daniel Easley, Megan Engelstad, Samuel Enright, Chelsea Enzien, Sui Fan, Chris Fenwick, Kevin Fitzgerald, Megan Frost, Kathleen Fultz, Anthony Gaggiano, Kathleen Gallagher, Maria Garcia-Quesada, Kanika Garg, Dean Gastouniotis, Seema Ghelani, Elliot Giraud, Alex Goff, Harry Gollakota, Albert Gore, Ashley Goschey, Sara Gray, Helen Grdina, Robert Guthrie, Corey Haas, Meraaj Haleem, Logan Hammel, Sarah Hartman, Brandon Haze, Wesley Heap, Lindsey Heckes, Drew Heidenreich, William Heidler, Jenna Heinrich, Elizabeth Hermick, Kurtis Hodges, Jonathan Holzer, Catherine Hovland, Justin Hsiao, Grace Hsueh, Joseph Hu, Kathleen Huff, Emily Janecek, Ellen Janowski, Anthony Jarman, Teshika Jayewickreme, Tyler Jermann, Neil Jerome, Alexander Kapauan, Varun Karthik, Alexandra Kavanau, Melanie Keating, Kristine Kerns, Kathleen Khau, Johoon Kim, Peter Kim, Kaitlin Koburov, Andrew Koh, Lauren Kokum, Michael Krashen, Akshara Krishnadas, Allison Kroger, Justin Kroger, Jerome Kroll, Candace Kuhn, Daniel Kumor

Alexander Labahn, Melissa Lai, Shanon Lavin, Jonathan Law, Marc-Olivier Leclerc, Simeon Lee, Jonathan Leu, Alexander Levin, Benjamin Lewis, Jamie Limes, Justina Lin, Kevin Lin, Nathan Link, Wesley Liou, Paul Logsdon, Aleksander Lopatin, James MacLean, Conor McCarthy, James McCurdy, Matthew McGrail, Michael McKenzie, Mary Mendes De Leon, Patrick Metcalf, Kathryn Meyer, Rachel Miller, Walker Miner, Pareen Modi, Michael Moibenko, Laura Moore, Claire Morley, Laura Mumford, Daniel Murray, Jeremy Nash, Heather Nelson, Adam Newman, Grace Niemiro, Thomas Norton, Emily Novak, Kelli Olifirowicz, Caroline Olszewski, Richard Painter, Harsh Patel, Ravi Patel, Aniket Patil, Jasmine Peterson, Gina Petrarca, Jillian Pociask, Wm. Chase Power, Marina Powers, Adam Przybyl, Vince Quach, Christina Rei, Jacob Roberts, Rachel Rodi, Shelby Rogers, Jonathan Ryan, Saba Sanishvili, Jamie Schertz, Nick Scheuer, John Schroeder, Emily Schuler, Kaia Schwartz, David Selvaraj, Reema Shah, Matthew Shanahan, Neal Sheehan, Bret Sherred, Robert Shin, Hunter Simon, Anne Slovick, Dylan Smith, Kyra Songco, Philip Speigel, Emma Spratt, Julieanne Sthay, Emily Stone, Conor Strejcek, Kevin Sullivan, Marc Tan, Johanna Tang, Christopher Tatara, Eric Termaat, Jason Termaat, Addison Termunde, Alice Tischler, Sudeepti Tumuluru, Alexander Wang, Annie Wang, Caroline Wang, Colleen Warren, Elizabeth Weiner, Ian Welsh, Marcella Wennlund, Daniel Whitt, Austin Williams, Joseph Williams, Michael Willingham, Elizabeth Winston, Christopher Woodward, Deborah Xie, Diana Xu, Albert Yang, Eunkyung Yu, Shuhui Yu, Ying Ying Zhou and Carly Ziff.

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Collaborative learning across town and around the world

As part of a District 203-funded technology grant, four 5th grade classrooms from Elmwood and Mill Street Elementary Schools are collaborating about reading and math “virtually” across town. This collaboration is being accomplished by using the webcam feature on HP Mini Notebooks and Microsoft Office Communicator. Each student will have a book discussion with a student from their partner school and participate in math problem solving.

This project is the beginning of a larger initiative to increase communication, collaboration and learning between students, staff and the global community. Involved in this pilot program are teachers Janelle Kreiling and Allison Benning of Elmwood, as well as Paul Gray and Kate Sweeney-Quinn of Mill Street School. Overseeing the project is Technology Integration Specialist Scott Sanborn.

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It's all about working smart

An instructional technology initiative is taking place in all 14 elementary schools which trains teachers by subject and grade level about how to integrate Smartboards into the curriculum. According to Director of Instructional Technology Aaron Lenaghan, District 203’s Technology Integration Specialists are taking the lead in helping teachers make their lessons more interactive, thus increasing student engagement, using this 21st century tool, which combines the simplicity of a whiteboard and the power of a computer.

Smartboards enable educators to take traditional models of teaching and apply them in new, innovative ways. Lessons are focused on web connectivity, instant access to multiple sources of information, using interactive maps, as well as utilizing online resources for math, science, language arts and social studies.

For example, there are lessons that encourage students to investigate and solve geography problems using interactive tools through the Smartboard. Students can access information from a website on specific countries and overlay various details (topography, rivers, city names and population density) on one interactive map.

Students use Smartboards for science and math topics. Specifically, students can use interactive touch tools to demonstrate the sequence of problem solving steps for variables and unknown factors. Students move specific parts of the multi-step problem to rearrange and solve for the missing variable as a group in class.

Students are also using Smartboards in Language Arts classes to create and expand on compositions, using the board as an interactive organizational tool. Students use the board to create digital ink to cluster and map out a theme and then put the sub-topics of an overarching theme in a cohesive order, as well as hyperlink each component of the theme to online research.

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WJHS Character Counts collects children's books for Mali 

In January, 2010, the Character Counts Program at Washington Junior High completed a drive to collect children’s books for Mali, a French speaking country in western Africa, where there is a small village called Kabarasso. About 1,000 people live without running water or electricity and half of the population is under age thirteen. Those who go to school are in classes of 100 students, where they copy homework problems from the chalkboard. Sarah Batta, a Peace Corps volunteer, would like to start a library for the children in Kabarasso. Washington students collected 6,866 books for that library.

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Students provide help for Haiti

At the same time the Mali book drive was taking place, students from the Washington Junior High Student Council were collecting to purchase a “shelterbox” as a part of the club’s effort to help the people of Haiti. To that end, they presented the Rotary Club of Naperville, Sunrise, with a check for $2,300, more than enough to purchase two boxes. Nicki Scott, President of Sunrise Rotary, is a parent at WJHS and contacted the school about this opportunity.

In addition, Naperville Central High School students raised $4,316 through their “Hats for Haiti” drive, $2,000 of which went to purchase two shelterboxes. Other projects in various District 203 schools, such as Huskies for Haiti and Beebe's Paws drive – which raised over $800 – also provided assistance for the earthquake victims.

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Naperville North inducts new class in Athletic Hall of Fame

The induction of six new members of the NNHS Athletic Hall of Fame will take place on Friday evening, February 5. New inductees are Coach Dave Bucher and athletes Jim Konrad, Chad Ganden, Mike Kuefler, Scott Kavanagh and Jackelyn Diekemper. The induction ceremony begins at 4:30 in the NNHS Large Cafe.  New inductees will be presented at the home varsity basketball game at 6:15 PM. A celebration will follow at the Judd Kendall VFW beginning at 8 PM.

From 1980 until 2003, Dr. David Bucher amassed a career win/loss record of 366-112-67 in his 23 years at Naperville North, which places him fourth in all-time soccer victories in Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame. He earned numerous DuPage Valley Conference (DVA), Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Regional and Sectional championships for Naperville North, as well as earning several State appearances and one IHSA State Championship. Dr. Bucher was named the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1987 and 2002.

Jim Konrad, who is currently a Dean of Students and the Head Soccer Coach at Naperville North, was an All-State Soccer player for the NNHS Huskies. He played on North's 4th place IHSA team. He was a two-time captain at Benedictine University, where he was All-Conference. Konrad set the record for most points in a season.

One of North's strongest swimmers in a historically strong swim program, Chad Ganden was the IHSA State Champion in 1996 in the 100-yard Freestyle. Chad went on to swim very successfully at Michigan State University.

Considered by many to be one of North's best all-around male athletes, Mike Kuefler participated in football, wrestling and baseball. He was the catcher on North's only state-qualifying baseball team.

An All-State Quarterback for the Huskies in 1995, Scott Kavanagh led the Huskies to a couple of playoff appearances. He went out to become a four-year letter winner at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, starting his senior year.

Considered the best softball pitcher Naperville North has ever had, Jackie Diekamper was honored as an All-State athlete. She went on to pitch for the Fighting Illini following high school graduation. Recently, Diekamper finished second in the World's Longest Drive competition.

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Kate Rudolph named finalist in Science Talent Search

Naperville Central senior Katherine “Kate” Rudolph has been selected as one of 40 Finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search, America’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition, sponsored by the Society for Science & the Public and the Intel Corporation. On March 11, she will travel to Washington, DC to spend the week competing in the Intel Science Talent Search 2010 for $630,000 in awards. The top winner will receive $100,000 from the Intel Foundation. Kate is a National Merit Semifinalist who earned a top score of 36 on the ACT last year as a junior.

There were 300 students selected as semifinalists, representing only five high schools in Illinois: IMSA, NCHS, Evanston, Fremd and University High School in Champaign. Kate is one of only two from Illinois to be chosen as a finalist. Requirements included the development of an original research project, creating a paper about it, writing several personal essays and completing a lengthy application. Working with research mentor Dr.  Udayan Mohanty, of Boston College, her project explores how closely identical spheres can be packed together, which is of interest to chemists studying super-cooled matter or cryptologists in search of error-correcting codes.

Following the March competition, biographies of all the Finalists will be posted on a website where the public may vote for their favorites in a "People's Choice" competition. Be sure to support Kate by voting for her. For more information, visit www.societyforscience.org/sts.

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Scholastic Art Awards

Student artists from both Naperville Central and Naperville North High Schools recently participated in the Regional Scholastic Arts Competition, a juried show. A total of 32 prestigious Gold Key (18) and Silver Key (14) awards were earned by District 203 students. An additional 23 honorable mentions were also awarded. According to Kathy Knapp, District 203’s Instructional Coordinator for Art, the judges looked for ways originality was expressed through ideas and media. A student’s technical skills had to indicate original perspective or personal vision.

The public opening reception will be Sunday, February 7, from 1 to 3 PM at Downers Grove North High School, 4436 Main Street, Downers Grove. The show will hang through Friday, February 12, during school hours. In addition, on Thursday, February 11, Downers Grove North will be open until 8:30 PM for those who cannot attend the opening reception or visit during the school day.

Naperville North artists earned the following Scholastic Art awards:

Gold Key – Emily Janke, photography; Samantha Kirin, photography; and Kimberly Cieszynski, photography. Kimberly Cieszynski also won a Gold Key for her photo portfolio.

Silver Key – Hannah Desch, ceramics; Madeline Rehayem, drawing; Yegian Zhao, drawing and Samantha Kirin, photography.

Honorable Mention – Jianna Mirabelli, painting; Yegian Zhao, painting; Samantha Kirin, photography; Kimberly Cieszynski, photography; and Emily Janke, photography.

Art teachers at Naperville North include: Tom Arlis, Shay Gallagher, Janell Matas, Ann Rust and Chris Seger.

Naperville Central artists earned 42 Scholastic Art awards this year:

Gold Key – Jamie Sladkey, ceramic sculpture; Alicia Laubsted, design (jewelry); Courtney Wells, design (jewelry); Alex Sokolowski, ceramics; Jacob Struett, ceramics; Anneliese Pope, jewelry; Avani Miriyala, two awards for jewelry; Erika Ballard, jewelry; Olivia Talbot, photography; Danny Kidd, jewelry; Yu Chen, drawing; Nicole Sarby, photo portfolio; and Kathryn Thomas, photo portfolio.

Silver Key – Meryl Biagioli, ceramics; Karissa Kotovsky, ceramic sculpture; Alex Sokolowski, jewelry; Sarah Gao, jewelry and drawing; Courtney Wells, jewelry; Ross Bradley, film/animation; Avani Miriyala, drawing; Kathryn Thomas, photography; and Joseph O’Brien, photography.

Honorable Mention – Jamie Sladkey, ceramic sculpture; Caela Hinkle, ceramic sculpture; Courtney Wells, design (jewelry); Carolyn Susa, design (jewelry); Nina Larson, mixed media; Lisa Swanson, painting; Sarah Gao, jewelry; Karissa Kotovsky, ceramics; Kell Mikhail, drawing; Grace Kim, two awards for drawing; Wendy Wei, drawing; Daniela Barbarotta, drawing; Katie Paul, digital art; Allison Ekkebus, two awards for photography; Joseph O’Brien, photography; Katie Paul, photography.

Art teachers at Naperville Central include: Theresa Funke, Chris Hodge, Rebecca Mancuso, Amy Murphy and Anita Pope.

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NCHS student takes 2nd at Skills USA Regionals

At the December 10, 2009, Skills USA Region 1 Skill Competition, Naperville Central student Dylan O’Connor earned 2nd place in the First Aid/CPR contest. Dylan was one of 243 high school students from northeastern Illinois Skills USA chapters participating in the competition, held at the Technology Center of DuPage (TCD). Skills USA is a national student organization promoting business and leadership skills through conferences and competitions at the regional, state, and national levels. The Region 1 Skill Competition gives students a chance to prepare for the state qualifying trials in the spring. TCD is the Career and Technical Education campus offering DuPage area juniors and seniors 21 programs in preparation for college-level education and the workplace.

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VFW Voice of Democracy winners announced

Students in grades 9-12 annually participate in the VFW's Voice of Democracy scholarship program, a national audio-essay contest. The following winners have been announced for 2009: first place and a $1,000 prize went to Alexander Senetar of Benet Academy; second place and a $500 prize was awarded to Andrew Myrna of Waubonsie Valley High School; and third place honors, along with a $250 prize, were given to Marlena May of Naperville North High School. The first place winner will continue on to the VFW’s District 19 competition. This year’s theme was “Does America Still Have Heroes?”

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District 203 sweeps Patriot's Pen Contest

Students in grades 6-8 may enter the VFW's Patriot’s Pen youth essay-writing contest to compete nationally for thousands of dollars in U.S. savings bonds. Out of 500 entries, the following winners have been announced for 2009: first place honors and a $500 prize were awarded to Robert Prazak of Kennedy Junior High; second place and a $250 prize went to Cara LaBelle of Kennedy Junior High; and third place, along with a $100 prize, was awarded to Bianca Donato of Jefferson Junior High. These winning essays have been sent on for judging at the VFW District 19 level. Checks will be presented to the winning students at the Kendall Honors celebration on March 6.

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D203 students shine at WordMasters Challenge meet

Students from four District 203 junior high schools recently won honors in the first of three 2009-2010 Gold Division meets of the WordMasters Challenge. WordMasters is a national language arts competition entered by more than 215,000 students annually.

Kennedy sixth graders, coached by Matt Wainwright, Charlotte Bunce, Rob Sacher and Dan McGuire, placed third in the nation at this meet. The school’s seventh graders placed fifth in the nation and were coached by Maureen Reinert, Kim Barr, Dave Madsen and Kim Johnsen. KJHS eighth graders, coached by Charles Bey, Matt Horan, Ami Kulik and Mary Weber, tied for first place in the nation. Seventeen Kennedy students won highest honors for individual achievement as well: sixth graders Ellen Royal, E. J. Vaughn and James Zhu; seventh grader Tony Zhou; and eighth graders Matthew Deng, Lily Dunk, Aseem Jha, Maddie Jordan, Fan Ting Kung, John Lee, Nathan Lindquist, Grace Ng, Anushka Rau, Michael Rodi, Rishi Satpathy, Kristiana Yao and Sunny Zhao. Each of these students earned perfect scores.

Six students representing Lincoln Junior High School also achieved perfect scores at this meet. They were: sixth graders Gabe DeSagun and Josh Toby, as well as eighth graders Christina Mardyla, Anna Paterek, Joshua Wu and Emily Zhen. These LJHS students were coached by Sarah Malik.

A team of eighth grade students representing Madison Junior High School, coached by Karen Labedz and Natasha Konrad, tied for ninth place in the nation. MJHS eighth graders Katherine Kaskle, Quintin Kelley, Robyn Lee, Sonja Li and Kathryn Ridenour all earned a perfect score in the meet.

Washington Junior High School eighth grader Margaret Johnson also earned a perfect score in this first WordMasters Challenge meet.

A total of 29 District 203 junior high students achieved a perfect score at this meet. Nationwide only 47 sixth graders, only 29 seventh graders, and only 157 eighth graders did so.

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Steeple Run's Fit for Fun program a "Brilliant Idea for Children"

Steeple Run Elementary School’s Fit for Fun program recently received a “Brilliant Idea for Children” award from Daily Herald columnist Joan Broz. According to Broz, parents, led by Lisle resident Trish Cooke, “organized the innovative after-school program which meets weekly in three six-week sessions throughout the school year. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade club a rock wall, maneuver through an obstacle course and participate in a kid-friendly boot camp.”

Boz’s February 16, 2009, column “attracted the attention of Michelle Owens from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the William J. Clinton Foundation, who linked my column to the group’s monthly newsletter to broaden the reach of a great idea to educators across the country,” noted her follow-up column, published on December 14. “The Alliance’s ‘Healthy Schools’ newsletter provides families with tools to make healthy choices. Its website is http://www.HealthierGeneration.org and its newest program is ‘empowerME.’”

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Prairie Elementary Math Sampler is a national model

Prairie Elementary School’s Math Night is featured in the National Network of Partnership School’s (NNPS) Math Sampler. Helping children with math homework can be a real challenge for parents. According to the NNPS, teachers must take action to help families understand the math curriculum for their child’s grade level and how math is taught to their children. With clear information, more families will be confident about how to discuss math at home, monitor the completion of homework and help their child develop positive attitudes about math. Parents and community partners can bring valuable resources to the math class by volunteering, tutoring and discussing real-world applications of math at home, at work and in life.

The examples in NNPS’ Sampler include various ways to organize math nights, workshops for parents and other creative activities. It includes just a few of many excellent math involvement activities compiled in the annual collections. To view the 2009 Math Sampler and read more about Prairie’s School Family Community Partnership’s (SFCP) successful Family Math Night: Get A Clue, which took place last January, check out page 6 of this PDF - http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/PPP/2009/pdf/math_sampler_09-web.pdf

For more ideas, visit www.partnershipschools.org

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Congratulations, 2009 National Board Certified Teachers

National Board Certification, by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, is one of the most prestigious credentials a teacher can earn. Those who achieve the status of National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. To date, 87 teachers who are currently employed by District 203 have earned National Board Certification; they join 82,000 teachers throughout the country who have achieved this mark of excellence.

This year’s District 203 “class” includes: Barb Bostrom, Naperville North High School, Career and Technical Education; Robin Hunt, Lincoln Junior High School, English-Language Arts; Betty Kennel, Beebe Elementary, Literacy-Reading/Language Arts; Todd Ramsbottom, Lincoln, Science; Adam Schmitt, Lincoln, Social Studies/History; Scott Silder, Naperville Central; and Josh Stumpenhorst, Lincoln, Social Studies/History.
 
In addition, Shannon Ford, newly hired at Naperville North High School, was also recently National Board Certified in Vocational Education and Special Education. And Cathy Kaduk, teacher of gifted students at Maplebrook Elementary, who has served as a mentor to our District 203 NBCT cohorts, was recently recertified (also a rigorous process).

A voluntary assessment program designed to develop, recognize and retain accomplished teachers, National Board Certification is achieved through a performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, NBCTs have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices.

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NCHS and NNHS ranked among America's best high schools

Naperville Central and Naperville North High Schools were once again chosen among the top in the nation. Both were named Silver Medal schools by U.S. News & World Report this week. For details, visit http://tinyurl.com/ycw7nup

Three schools in Illinois earned Gold Medal status (all in Cook County); 34 earned Silver status; and 33 were awarded Bronze Medals. Illinois ranked 6th (up from 8th last year), according to the methodology employed in this study.

The 2010 U.S. News & World Report “America's Best High Schools” methodology, developed by School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education data research business run by Standard & Poor’s, is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators. For more information, go to http://tinyurl.com/ycyfjc6

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Twelve muscians represent District 203 at IMEA All-State

District 203 will be represented by 12 high school musicians who have been chosen to perform at the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) All-State Convention set for January, 2010 in Peoria. The event will culminate in a Saturday evening concert at the Peoria Civic Center.

Musicians from Naperville Central are: Christopher Pettit – Cello; Laura Hill - Voice, Soprano I; Katherine Janda - Bb Clarinet; and Kristi Johnson – Trumpet.

Musicians from Naperville North are: Margaret Shang - Violin I; Grace Yang – Violin; Alex Laskey - French Horn; Melanie Burbules - Soprano II; Joanna Brodecki - Alto II; Emilie Mitchell – Vibes; Michelle Beggs – Soprano; and Julieanne Sthay – Chorus.

Band directors are D.J. Alstadt and Scott Silder, NCHS, and Daniel Moore and Brian Vankley, NNHS. Choral directors are Curt Parry, Naperville Central and Jim Yarbrough, Naperville North. Lisa Antonio is the orchestra director at Central; Dana Green is the orchestra director at North.

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NNHS Treble Choir featured on WFMT 98.7

The Naperville North Treble Choir, which toured Great Britain in March, 2009 performing concerts at cathedrals in Lincoln and Exeter, recently recorded a holiday program at the WFMT studios. The program is an extended work by Benjamin Britten entitled “Ceremony of Carols” and features soloists seniors Chelsea Brown, Claire Morley and Caroline Hanlet, as well as sophomore Betsy Pilon, with accompaniment by harpist Rose Grizzell, an NNHS junior. The program will air on 98.7 FM on Saturday, December 19, from 11 AM to noon and again on Monday, December 21, from 9 to 10 PM.

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KidsMatter names Youth Service Award Winners

On November 12, KidsMatter, together with Mayor Pradel and the Naperville City Council, honored 20 teens for their significant, hands-on and ongoing community service efforts during the 2009 Naperville Youth Service Awards. Four seniors from Naperville North, along with the organization with which they volunteer, were honored: Emily Janke, American Cancer Society; Matthew Shanahan, Boy Scouts of America Thunderbird District; Sahil Angelo, The Education Center; and Albert Yang, Senior Home Sharing.

Nominations for this year’s awards came from 18 local organizations and agencies that specifically provide young people with opportunities to volunteer their time and energy. The volunteer opportunities give teens a sense of purpose, provide them with valuable hands-on experiences they can build on into adulthood, and ignite the volunteer spirit that has helped our community thrive.

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Month of Peace contest winners honored

More than 100 community members, leaders, school children and their parents attended a press conference on Friday, November 13 at Naperville’s Municipal Center to recognize the 24 winners of the annual creative stamp design, poster and essay/poem contest, sponsored by the ThinkGlobal Arts Foundation and the Naperville Noon Lions Club. Part of the Month of Peace activities, this year’s themes were “Imagine Peace” and the “Power of Peace,” which drew more than 350 entries from area elementary, junior high and high school students.

District 203 art contest winners and their categories are as follows: Grades 1-3, Sophia Aigner, second place; Grades 4-5, Kally Harris, second place and Gabrielle Champion, third place. All three are students at Prairie Elementary School. In addition, Gabrielle Lapnow of Kennedy Junior High School took third place in the middle school division.

Essay/Poetry contest winners are: Grades 1-3, Jason Zhang, third place, Mill Street Elementary School; Grades 4-5, Nicole Schlegel, first place, Highlands Elementary School; and Honorable Mention,
Hannah Jorstad, Highlands Elementary School.

High School essay/poetry contest winners are: Samantha Chi, first place; Akila Thota, second place; and Akshat Sahai, third place. All three are Naperville North High School students.

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Local students join Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra

On Sunday, November 8, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO) performed at North Central College’s Wentz Hall. Naperville is home to 17 student members of the CYSO including: from Naperville Central High School – Kevin Hu, Kelly Jozwiak and Liliane Wu; from Naperville North High School – Zulin Hsue, Josephine Kane and Alex Laskey; and from Madison Junior High – Silas Ferraro.

NCHS junior and violinist Kevin Hu was a featured performer, playing Dimitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, op.77. In January of this year, Kevin took the first prize at the Schmidbauer International String Competition Junior Division. In May, the piano, cello, violin trio in which Hu plays won a Silver Medal in the 2009 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Junior Division.

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Two students represent NCHS in All-State Theatre Production

Naperville Central High School will be represented in the 35th annual Illinois High School Theatre Festival’s All-State production by senior Lauren Kerbs, who is one of the actors, and by senior Ellen Banach, who is serving as the assistant producer for the show. Both had to endure rigorous auditions and interviews to be a part of the production. The Tony award-winning, comedy musical “Urinetown” will be performed on January 8 and 9, 2010 at Illinois State University for registered participants only. All-State productions bring together a company of students and staff from all areas of Illinois. The 71 students who comprise the cast, crew and orchestra represent the brightest stars in the State.

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Veterans honored in all District 203 schools on November 11

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North's Nadira Long named National Achievement Semifinalist

Naperville North senior Nadira Long was named as a Semifinalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Competition. As a National Achievement Semifinalist, she joins an elite group of students selected to compete in the 46th Annual Achievement Scholarship® competition and is eligible to continue in the competition for some 800 Achievement scholarships worth over $2.6 million to be awarded next spring. Approximately 1,300 Semifinalists are expected to fulfill additional requirements and advance to the Finalist level in the 2010 program from an initial pool of over 160,000 entrants. Some 800 will become Achievement Scholar® awardees. All National Achievement Scholars will be selected from the Finalist group on the basis of their abilities, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

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Crime Prevention Calendar Artists recognized by City of Naperville

Students whose artwork appears in the 2009-2010 Crime Prevention Calendar were honored on October 22 in Council Chambers of the Naperville Municipal Center. Presented with a special certificate of appreciation from Mayor George Pradel and Naperville Police Chief David Dial for their participation were the following District 203 elementary students and their school:

Alexa Matkovich, Beebe; Chris Hall, Ellsworth; Caitlin Reice, Elmwood; Greyson Sullivan, Highlands; Alex Jech, Kingsley; Jenny Gaza, Maplebrook; Maria Pearson and Caroline Tang, Meadow Glens; Mira Coy, Mill Street; Caitlin Kennedy, Naper; Sophie Inglis, Prairie; Lucy Jensen, Ranchview; Amanda Sowske, River Woods; Alexandra Kazun, Scott; and Laura Hartman, Steeple Run.

This is the 23rd year the Naperville Police Department has produced the Crime Prevention Calendar. The Exchange Club of Naperville is the major sponsor of this project. Additionally, Naperville Junior Woman’s Club, CrimeStoppers and area schools again helped sponsor the calendar, which is distributed free of charge to all elementary school students in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204, as well as five parochial schools in Naperville.

The Crime Prevention Calendar lists District 203 school events pertinent to families of elementary students. This calendar was printed during the summer of 2009. Please check the District’s Calendar of Events and individual school sites' calendars for the most up-to-date information. To view the Crime Prevention Calendar, click here.

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NCHS and NNHS Musicians perform in IMEA District 9 Festivals

Having passed a rigorous audition process, the following Naperville Central High School music students have been selected to participate in the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) District 9 Ensembles Festival are:

Orchestra: Kristi Johnson, Christina Larson, Junsung Park and Christopher Pettit
Choir: Julie Brdicka, Laura Hill, Sarah Hollander, Lauren Kerbs, John Ludlum, Hanna Ralson, Kristen Strom and Andy Wallace
Band: Katherine Janda, Allison Klos, Cali Kasten, Jessica Luhrs, Brittany Ruhland and Aaron Marsala
Vocal Jazz: Laura Hill, Kathleen Manning, Kristen Strom and Chelsea Ward
Jazz Band: Matt Byron and Zach Tucker

Representing Naperville North High School at the IMEA District Festival are:

Band: Tim Clark, Corey Haas, Katie Huff, Marly May, Meghan Robinson, Blackmon Warren and Debbie Xie
Orchestra: Emilie Mitchell, Katie Arnold, Sally Chung, Josie Kane, Margaret Shang, Grace Yang and Alex Laskey
Chorus: Michelle Beggs, Charlie Benoit, Michelle Burbules, Rose Grizzell, Joanna Brodecki, Claire Morley, Brittany Olisar, Betsy Pilon and Peter Sargent

Jazz Band: Samantha Bivens, Martin Hayford, Emilie Mitchell, Austin Simon and Tom Smith
Vocal Jazz: Katie Arnold, Michelle Beggs, Rose Grizzell, Joanna Brodecki, Deanna Moore, Claire Morley, Brittany Olisar and Jonathan Yu.

The IMEA District 9 Vocal Jazz Festival will be held at St. Charles North High School on Saturday, November 14. The IMEA District 9 Organizational Festival will be held at Hampshire High School on Saturday, November 21.

Band directors are: D. J. Alstadt and Scott Silder, Naperville Central; Daniel Moore and Brian Vankley, Naperville North. Choral directors are Curt Parry, Central, and Jim Yarbrough, North. Lisa Antonio is the orchestra director at Central; Dana Green is the orchestra director at North.

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Central's Marching Redhawk Band Completes Successful Season

The Naperville Central High School Marching Redhawks, performing this year’s show, “Rock Band,” have won numerous awards, including Class 3a Second Place, Best Drum Major and Best Color Guard at the Metamora Marching Competition. The Redhawks dominated the awards at the A.A. Stagg Competition on October 3, taking Class 3A First Place, as well as winning Class 3A Best Percussion, Best Visual Performance, Best Music Performance and Best Drum Major. On October 17, the Redhawks successfully hosted their 3rd annual Marching Classic high school marching band competition at Benedictine University. This is the only marching band competition hosted by a District 203 or 204 school. Nineteen bands were Central’s guests at the competition, with the Redhawks performing in exhibition to wrap up the show. Credit goes to the Rock Band Prop Dads who worked all summer to make the stages for the Rock Band show, which featured “dancing lights” and were the envy of prop dads everywhere.

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North's Marching Huskies win numerous top awards/honors

The Naperville North Marching Huskies completed their competitive season with many awards and extraordinary audience response to their 2009 show "The Sounds of Silents," a tribute to silent films by Director of Bands Dan Moore. The Huskies joined nearly two dozen award-winning bands from throughout the Midwest at the 31st annual Lancer Joust, hosted by Lake Park High School in Roselle. The Huskies earned a 2nd place trophy, their best finish ever at this event, as well as the caption award for Outstanding General Effect. They were named Grand Champion at the Chicagoland Marching Band Festival, where they also placed first in their class and received caption awards for Outstanding General Effect and Outstanding Drum Majors, Bret Sherred & Debbie Xie. They placed third in their class at Prospect High School's Knight of Champions.

The Huskies traveled to the Bands of America Regional Championship at Eastern Michigan University, where they performed to a standing ovation, and placed third in their class. Their preliminary score earned them Division I Status as well as the right to compete in finals, where they placed 8th. At the State of Illinois Marching Band Invitational Championship, the Huskies were selected to receive the coveted Crowd Appeal Award. They also marched to 2nd place in Class 6A, received the High Achievement award for General Effect, and finished 4th in Finals Competition.

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Michael Notardonato represents NNHS in All-State Theatre Production

Naperville North High School will be represented in the 35th annual Illinois High School Theatre Festival’s All-State production by Michael Notardonato. The Tony award-winning, comedy musical “Urinetown” will be performed on January 8 and 9, 2010 at Illinois State University for registered participants only. All-State productions bring together a company of students and staff from all areas of Illinois. The 71 students who comprise the cast, crew and orchestra represent the brightest stars in the State.

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High school students honored by Nelson’s Today

Every August Nelson’s Today highlights top seniors who are involved in athletics and activities, are good students and school leaders. Recognized and pictured in the 2009 Back to School issue were Rachel Johnson, Matt O’Brien, Margarita Altidis and Nick Linne from Naperville Central High School and Shannon Lavin, Jamie Schertz, Ben Aymond and Michael West from Naperville North High School. All are members of the Class of 2010. Nelson’s Today is the shopping and lifestyle monthly published by Today Publications in the western suburbs.

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NMSC Commended Students named

Fifty-four seniors in District 203 were named Commended Students in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation were recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2010 competition by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Naperville Central Commended Students are: Ayesha Badar, Julie Brdicka, Victor Chen, Mitchell Dreiske, Terrence Hector, Jeffry Huang, David Ilavsky, Rachel Irion, Jeffrey Jin, Emily Larkin, Andrew Miltonberger, Avani Miriyala, Joseph O’Brien, Nathan Reinke, Emily Van Etten, Michelle Wang and Cory Young.

Naperville North Commended Students are: Surbhi Agarwal, Ryan Asensio, Mohammed Askari, Kelley Berdelle, Benjamin Broad, Maureen Connelly, Marc Deetjen, Samuel Enright, Seema Ghelani, Meraaj Haleem, Neil Jerome, Melanie Keating, Kristine Kerns, Kathleen Khau, Andrew Koh, Daniel Kumor, Simeon Lee, Justina Lin, Wesley Liou, James Maclean, Conor McCarthy, Matthew McGrail, Walker Miner, Laura Mumford, Aniket Patil, Jasmine Peterson, Matthew Shanahan, Neal Sheehan, Bret Sherred, Johanna Tang, Eric TerMaat, Alexander Wang, Elizabeth Weiner, Joe Williams, Christopher Woodward, Diana Xu and Yingying Zhou.

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College Board announces AP Scholars

In District 203, 1,115 students took a total of 2,055 Advanced Placement (AP) tests in May of 2009, with 89% of those tests resulting in a score of 3 or above (on a 5-point scale), providing students with the equivalent of college credit while in high school. Many students took multiple AP tests.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams.

About 18 percent of the nearly 1.7 million students worldwide who took AP exams last spring performed at a sufficiently high level to earn an AP SCHOLAR AWARD by completing 3 or more exams and earning grades of 3 or higher. Of the 1,115 individual District 203 students who took an AP exam in 2009, 336 were so honored.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on high school AP exams:

AP SCHOLAR WITH HONOR – 74 District 203 students were recognized with this award by earning an average of 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on 4 or more of these exams

AP SCHOLAR WITH DISTINCTION – 147 District 203 students qualified for this award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams

NATIONAL AP SCHOLAR – 35 District 203 students were so honored by earning an average grade of 4 or higher (on a 5-point scale) on ALL exams taken AND grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of those exams.

National AP Scholars from Naperville Central High School included:

Michael Ashley, Victor Chen, Renee Cheng, Kiaran Dave, Brittney Fiorello, Anna Gaca, Nitin Goyal, Michelle Ikoma, Joshua Keyser, Prateek Kumar, John Lewis, Leo Li, Christopher McCarthy, Aneesh Nandam, Stephen Pratt, Katherine Rudolph, Jeffrey Schatz, Albert Wang, Ivan Wu, Angel Yang, Dennis Zhan, Dennis B. Zhan, Joseph Zhang and Wilson Zhen. All were 2009 graduates with the exception of Chen, Rudolph and Zhang who are currently seniors and Dennis B. Zhan, who is currently a junior.

Prateek Kumar and Angel Yang each earned 13 Advanced Placement exam credits over a period of two years.

National AP Scholars from Naperville North High School included:

Amin Bemanian, Sophie Chung, Melissa Greene, Teshika Jayewickreme, Alexander Miller, Rahul Nayak, Lehka Ragavendran, Caitlin Riederer, Ryan Shyu, Dennis Tseng and Hai Wang. All were 2009 graduates with the exception of Jayewickreme, who is a senior this year.

Amin Bemanian and Rahul Nayak each earned 13 Advanced Placement exam credits over a period of two years, with Nayak scoring a 5 on all 13 tests.

These achievements ranked Naperville Central and Naperville North among Newsweek’s “America’s Top High Schools” for 2009, placing them in the top 5% of public schools measured by the publication’s index, which is based on the number of AP tests taken divided by the number of graduating seniors.

The total number of AP honors awarded to District 203 students in 2009 was 336, up slightly from the 326 earned in 2008, slightly down from the 359 earned in 2007, and dramatically higher than the 265 earned in 2006 and the 207 awards earned in 2005.

AP credit is accepted by more than 3,800 colleges and universities worldwide, including more than 90 percent of four-year institutions in the United States.

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NNHS marching band wins top honors at festival

The Naperville North Marching Huskies' 2009 competition show "The Sound of Silents" was awarded grand champion honors at the Chicagoland Marching Band Festival on September 26, 2009, held at Wheeling High School. The Huskies earned first place in Class AAA as well as caption awards for Outstanding General Effect and Outstanding Drum Majors, Bret Sherred and Debbie Xie. The show will also be performed at the Bands of America Regional Championship on October 10 and the State of Illinois Invitational High School Marching Band Championship on October 24.

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National Merit Scholarship Corporation names
37 Semifinalists in District 203

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has named 37 members of the District 203 Class of 2010 among nearly 16,000 Semifinalists in the 55th annual NMSC program.

Naperville Central seniors honored as Semifinalists were: Jacob Bumpus, Michelle Fern, Sarah Gao, Taisia Karaseva, Neeldev Kunjur, Vanessa Lin, Priscilla Liu, Jennifer Martynowicz, Michael Naccache, Shuhao Pang, Sunameeka Panigrahy, Francis Rogg, Katherine Rudolph, Victoria Sawchuk, William Sterrett, Erik Wang, Anne Wei, Adam Wills and Mingxuan Yu.

Naperville North High School seniors honored as Semifinalists were: Nikhil Bommakanti, Julian Caracotsios, Timothy Clark, Caitlin Cremin, Kristen Deppe, Kanika Garg, Harry Gollakota, Albert Gore, Corey Haas, Justin Hsiao, Teshika Jayewickreme, Peter Kim, Alexander Levin, Marina Powers, Adam Przybyl, Kaia Schwartz, Kyra Songco and Jason Termaat.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring. Click here to view the news release.

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Seven members of the Class of 2010 receive top ACT and SAT scores

The following six members of the District 203 Class of 2010 received the top possible score of 36 on the ACT last spring:

From Naperville North - Nikhil Bommankanti, Timothy Clark and James MacLean
From Naperville Central - Taisia Karaseva, Katherine (Kate) Rudolph and William Sterrett

The ACT tests academic performance in the areas of English, mathematics reading and science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with the composite score representing the average of these 4 tests. The average ACT composite score in Illinois is 20.8, while the average composite score for District 203 students is 25.0.

In addition, Naperville Central senior Jacob Bumpus received the top score of 2400 on the SAT. He is among only 250 students from across the nation to do so. The SAT is a standardized assessment of the critical reading, mathematical reasoning and writing skills that are deemed necessary for students to be successful in college. More than two million U.S. high school students take the SAT annually.

Tim Clark and Kate Rudolph were recent guests on the first edition of School Scene 203, which will air on Naperville Community Television (NCTV), Channel 17, late next week. Also appearing on the show, hosted by Superintendent Mark Mitrovich, was Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Tim Wierenga and Director of Assessment Dave Chiszar. The topic of the show is District 203’s assessment philosophy and practice.

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District 203 Schools Honored by the National Network
of Partnership Schools

Naperville School District 203 is the winner of a 2009 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University. This is the District’s tenth annual Partnership District Award – “evidence of its strong commitment to improving and sustaining excellent school, family, and community partnerships,” noted Network founder Dr. Joyce Epstein.

District 203’s Computer Redeployment Program is included in the new edition of Promising Partnership Practices of 2009, which is published nationally. The NNPS Awards Committee praised the quality of the District’s communications about partnership programs and the support you are providing to principals.

Highlands Elementary School also received its ninth annual Partnership School Award, while Prairie Elementary received its first national award. Prairie’s School Family Community Partnership team was honored for its creative work on MATHacascar and for creating connections with the community through its International Night. Highlands was praised for continuing its family math nights and for conducting unique and important activities, such as addressing the topic of Healthy Balance. The promising practices of seven additional District 203 schools – Beebe, Ellsworth, Steeple Run, Kennedy, Lincoln, Naperville Central and North - are also included in the book. Click here to view the news release.

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Communications Office Wins 4 State Awards

The Illinois Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (INSPRA) recently presented a Golden Achievement Award of Merit to Director of Communications Melea Smith for District 203’s “Take Back the Backpack” campaign which introduced vB203, our virtual backpack webpage, to the District 203 community. Earlier this summer, vB203 garnered a Golden Achievement Award from the national organization, known as NSPRA.

Smith and District 203 Webmaster Deanne Fulner also won an Award of Excellence for the recent redesign of the 21 District 203 school websites, as well as Awards of Merit for marketing materials created for the Naperville Education Foundation’s “Yuks for Youth” comedy event and the 2009 “Building a Passion for Our Global Community” breakfast. Click here to view the news release.

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Naperville District 203 named in top 5% by SchoolSearch

Naperville District 203 has once again been recognized by SchoolSearch with a Bright A+ Award for academic excellence. Of the 868 Illinois school districts, only 58 were so honored. The award criteria are based on test data taken from the 2008 Illinois School Report Card; 2009 Bright A+ honorees represent the top 5% of Illinois districts, using both ISAT and ACT scores to measure student academic performance. District 203 has been honored with this award for the past 10 years. SchoolSearch is a national educational research and consulting firm based in Missouri that works with major companies by providing their relocating families with school information.

In addition, District 203 has received the What Parents Want Award from SchoolMatch every year since its inception in 1992. A similar organization headquartered in Ohio, SchoolMatch names a select group (the top 14%) of the nation’s public schools that have been recognized for meeting the needs of families choosing schools.

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