Herald News

Community turns out to support student achievements at science expo

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:59:50 -0500

Students from four Joliet area school districts — Channahon, Minooka, Rockdale and Troy — united for a night of camaraderie and celebration at Four Rivers Environmental Center in Channahon. Nineteen teams of students showcased science projects at the science expo sponsored by Exxon Mobil. The expo is the culmination of months of hard work.

Formula for fun: program mixes comradeship with scholastics

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:15:45 -0500

Math and science have a reputation for being challenging, but students from Channahon, Minooka, Rockdale and Troy schools are rising to the challenge … and they are having fun doing it. These students are participating in the Shoot For A’s in Math and Science program, sponsored by Exxon Mobil.

Shoot For A’s students putting final touches on their science projects

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:13:59 -0500

Joliet-area students who are participating in the Shoot for A’s in Math and Science program are in the final stretches of their science projects. The students are preparing to showcase their projects April 24 at an expo in Channahon.

New bleachers will add to stadium comfort in Minooka

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:25:38 -0500

Come graduation day, Minooka High School students and guests will have a little more room to spread out in the school’s football stadium. The board of education recently approved the purchase of two portable bleacher sections and expects them to arrive in time for graduation. Exactly who will sit in the new bleachers during graduation ceremony, if it’s held outdoors, is yet to be decided, said Supt. Jim Colyott, but they will provide more room. Last year Seneca High School loaned Minooka High School several portable bleacher sections during the football season when Minooka wanted to try some out. Minooka …

Shoot for A’s science projects teach much more than energy efficiency

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:14:44 -0500

Students who are participating in the Shoot For A’s In Math and Science program, are learning much more than just the scientific method. They learn independent thinking, teamwork, initiative, computer skills and much more.

New principal appointed for school

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:16:48 -0500

JOLIET — The 2013-14 school year will bring with it a new principal for the William B. Orenic Intermediate School. The Troy School Board has tapped Lawrence Piatek Jr. to replace the retiring Robert Baughman, effective July 1. Piatek comes to the district with 18 years of education experience. He has been employed as a middle school teacher for seven years, an assistant principal for six years and a principal in the Lombard Elementary School District 44 for five years. Piatek has his bachelor’s degree in history education from Valparaiso University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Aurora …

Shoot for A’s encourages ‘learning through doing’

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:28:06 -0500

Sometimes great ideas come from the most unlikely places. One junior scientist overheard a cafeteria conversation about Energy Star appliances. From that came the question: Are those appliances as good as they claim to be? That's just one of several science projects launching in the Shoot for As program in five southwest middle schools.

Shoot for A’s fuels enthusiasm for math and science in the classroom

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:13:24 -0500

SPONSORED - You could call it a program to groom the future scientists and inventors of the nation. But in four south suburban school districts, the kids are calling their spring science project "fun." Thanks to an infusion of help from Exxon Mobile, middle school students are not simply learning about science, they are applying it in new and inventive ways.

Shoot for A’s fuels enthusiasm for math and science in the classroom

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:13:24 -0500

Local schools’ honor rolls

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:24:01 -0500

JOLIET PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT 86 SECOND QUARTER HONOR ROLL M.J. CUNNINGHAM ELEMENTARY High Honor Roll First Grade Ethan Adams, Jose Angel Aguirre, Alonso Contreras, Joana Contreras, Estrella Gutierrez, Eric Guzman, Aaliyah Hare, Jimena Ledesma, Lorna Leon, Hugo Lopez, Alondra Magana, Kevin Mendez, Carmine Metcalf, Hugo Lopez, Sofia Orozco, Ryan Ruiz, Stephanie Saldivar, Brian Sierra, Brianna Tusek Second Grade Francisco Aguirre, Isaias Aguirre, Cristina Arroyo, Juan Arroyo, Diego Carrion, David Centeno, Michael Conrad, Charles Findlay, Nazareth Galvez, Iris Garcia, Kimberly Garcia, Samaria Guzman, Samantha Hebbard-Flores, Brenda Hernandez, Julisa Hernandez, Lesly Hernandez, Doralyn Lee, Roxana Molina, Liliana Pavon, Taiz Pardo, Pilar Reynoso, …

Classroom notes

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 06:01:51 -0500

Top science students honored NEW LENOX — The Lincoln-Way Central science teachers honored Science Students of the Month for October and November. “The purpose of the award is to recognize students’ efforts in science. We want to encourage all students to work hard at their academics, and this is one way the Science Department has chosen to recognize their students,” said Principal Steve Provis. November winners are: Brooke Mejdrich, nominated by David Mulconrey in chemistry fundamentals; Sean Norton Jr., nominated by Catherine Sieber in physical science; Katie Jandeska, nominated by Jeff Koryczan in meteorology; Dennis Kilcoyne, nominated by John Sunta …

Frankfort district will donate chairs to Arkansas school

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:01:02 -0500

FRANKFORT — Frankfort School District announced that 50 of its surplus music program chairs will get new life at an impoverished school in the Mississippi Delta. The 20-year-old chairs, which were to be discarded after being declared surplus as required by the Illinois School Code, will be donated to Palestine-Wheatley School District 23 in Palestine, Ark. The district Band Booster organization recently provided funding for new band chairs for Hickory Creek Middle School, replacing the old chairs. Former student Amber Feigel, now a Teach for America music teacher in the Mississippi Delta, asked the district to consider donating the surplus …

Classroom Notes for Jan. 4, 2013

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:03:02 -0500

Here is a look at school news including Romeoville, New Lenox and Lockport.

College accolades

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:01:08 -0500

DEAN’s LIST Lewis University Shorewood: Natalie Ann Scheidt North Central College Channahon: Kristen Brandenburg, James Hoffman, Paige Magee, Daniel Vogrin Coal City: McKenna Sheridan Crest Hill: Vivian Di Nardo Homer Glen: Samantha Gleaves, Jennifer Hoffman, Steven Ipema Joliet: Brittany Arnold, Carrie Batozech, Lindsay, Berghuis, Alexis Black, Heidi Brick, John Hosey, Danielle Koval, Veronica Meyer, Sarah Sterling, Ryan Tuliglowski, Rebecca Wagoner Lockport: Sarah Allen, Joel Di Bernardo, Kimberly Grazulis, Adam Kendall Minooka: Mallor Carr New Lenox: Amanda Coglianese, Carolyn Fredin, Elizabeth Mason, Nicole Mildice Plainfield: Jessika Bajorski, Zachary Barvian, Eve Bowman, Victoria Camera, Tamatha Francis, Casey Hargter, Heather Hiemenz, Michael Holler, …

Classroom notes

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:08:34 -0500

L-Way Central bonsai contest Lincoln-Way Central students got an opportunity Dec. 10 to vote for their favorite bonsai plants before school started. The special bonsai plants were grown and created by students in the Introduction to Greenhouse class taught by Patty Nugent and Greenhouse Management class taught by Marc Hucek. First the students had to pick their juniper plants and then go through the process of trimming their junipers. The objective of learning about bonsai is to create a potted plant as a tree dwarfed and trained to an artistic shape by special methods of cutting. All 25 students in …

JT students visit Valley Forge, Independence Hall

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:25:01 -0500

JOLIET — Students from Joliet Township High School recently traveled to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where Gen. George Washington and his Continental Army troops made a crucial encampment in the winter of 1777-78. Soldiers faced adversity in brutal conditions that winter and emerged with a renewed vigor in the Revolutionary War. Today, it’s a place where leaders develop and grow through an educational program. Ten Joliet students — five from the Central Campus, five from West — took the four-day trip in November, and also visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Caterpillar Foundation sponsored the students at the Spirit of …