Oct. 11, 2024
Shine Bright with Supt. Rebecca A. Jenkins
Dear District 70 Families,
Lifting up student voices in Libertyville School District 70 began when I invited students to the strategic planning process and continues with the Superintendent Student Leadership Advisory Council.
Now in its third year, the council (also known as SSLAC) is comprised of Highland Middle School students and incorporates student voices into decision-making. Council members help the administration identify areas of celebration and growth for HMS and D70 overall.
Students serving this year include returning member Francis T., along with new members Aly M., Amber H., Anika A., Divnoor S., Fernanda H., Madison L., Mason W., and Roark N. The council, made up mostly of eighth-graders this year, will help empower students, develop student leadership, and provide a forum for ideas to be exchanged.
- Francis, a member of the Theatre Club and the National Junior Honors Society (NJHS), says he wants to stay on SSLAC to be a "lead voice for my peers. I also want to help create ties between administration and students.”
- Aly is a member of several orchestras, including the popular Strolling Strings, and practices Irish Dance outside of school. She wants to “help with group activities or just help people in general” and make the school better for her brother who will attend next year.
- A member of the French Club, Student Council, and Book Club, Amber (one of only two seventh-graders in the council), simply wants to “help others and make my school a better place for students and teachers.”
- For Anika, a member of the orchestra, NJHS, and Peer Helpers, she wants to “help our school and community, and grow my voice as a student.”
- Divnoor (the other seventh grader) is a hip-hop, ballet, and tap dancer, who also does Student Council and orchestra. She joined because she wants to “make our school a better place for everyone. Also, make the new kids more comfortable with our district.”
The theme of wanting to be helpful runs strong for all these students, and their involvement in a variety of clubs is too numerous to list here. They are engaged students!
- Fernanda, who has been on the basketball team, as well as a member of Speech Club and the musical, says she wants to serve to “better our school for students.”
- Madison is the only sixth grader in the group, and has been active in soccer, French and Lego clubs. She joined SSLAC because she thought it “would be a great learning experience and a great way to meet new people.”
- Track and Field, and basketball, are the teams Mason said he will try out for this year. He joined SSLAC to "make the school a better environment and improve learning experiences for future students."
- For Roark, who has been on the soccer and volleyball teams, and choir, he wants to “help with group activities or just help people in general.”
What a wonderful future we have with our students leading the way!
Shine Bright!
Rebecca
Rebecca A. Jenkins
Superintendent of Schools
Libertyville School District 70
Rebecca's Twitter
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The first Copeland Manor "Mac & Cheese/Cereal Box Domino Challenge" was a great success at Copeland Manor School, with the collection going to help Fill a Heart 4 Kids and D70's unhoused families.
Fourth Grade Field Trip to Medieval Times
D70 fourth-grade students are heading to Medieval Times on Thursday, Dec. 12th, to expand their knowledge of life during the Middle Ages. In the English/Language Arts (ELA) unit of study, Empires in the Middle Ages, students learn ELA skills and strategies while building knowledge about this interesting historical period.
Students will be transported to another time during a 90-minute interactive show that includes watching knights compete in a jousting tournament and enjoying a medieval feast. The visit to Medieval Times will connect several of the topics that students have studied in class:
- Castles and knights
- Lords and serfs
- Life in Medieval towns
If you want to learn more about this upcoming trip, visit www.medievaltimes.com.
Thank you to the D70 Foundation for Excellence for donating $3,000 towards this districtwide experience for our fourth grade students. This donation will help offset the cost of the tickets and transportation. The amount collected from families only covers about half the cost of the field trip.
If you would like to learn more about the D70 Foundation for Excellence, please visit their website: https://www.d70schools.org/d70-foundation-for-excellence.
Counting and sorting into groups of tens to find the total number of red and white beans in the bag! We had 1,068! Math is fun!
Safety Week Wrapup
Thank you for your involvement during safety week.
Safety and security is and will continue to be a priority in District 70. Additionally, the connections between parents and school are very valuable. Therefore, one of the goals for Safety Week is to make sure that parents are able to have conversations with their children about the drills that are conducted throughout the school year.
The focus of the week is also to provide safety tips that can be used inside and outside of our schools. It was a very productive week and our schools completed most of their drills. Each building may have one more mandated fire drill that needs to be conducted.
A special thank you to the LIbertyville Police and Fire Departments for their help with our drills and essential services.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about Safety Week please contact Austin Johnson, director of safety and security, at ajohnson@d70schools.org
National Bus Safety Week Starts Oct. 21st
The Illinois Association for Pupil Transportation (IAPT) invites students to participate in the annual School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
The goal of this poster contest is to increase student awareness of school bus safety issues. This contest not only allows for the students creativity, but provides for a learning tool via awareness of school bus safety.
Rules:
- The theme is "Safety First- Safety Always."
- The contest is open to all students in grades kindergarten through eighth and has 6 divisions.
- Winners of the state contest will be awarded cash prizes in denominations of $75 for first place, $35 for second place and $25 for third place.
- April 1, 2025 is the deadline for state competition.
- Completed Poster must be 11” X 17” or 12” X 18” only.
- Each student must complete a form for each entry. Forms can be found online at the IAPT website or here.
- Entries may be mailed into The I.A.P.T. Poster Contest, c/o Angela Langley, 1301 W Main St., PO Box 190, Robinson, IL 62454-0190.
- The Illinois winners will be entered into the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest.
- The overall winning national poster is made into a printed poster, for distribution around the United States!
Best of luck and have fun!
Families Learning Together is a District 70 initiative to provide learning opportunities for our parents, staff, caregivers and community.
This year District 70 has partnered with FAN. FAN is an organization that curates a high-quality speaker series for local school districts and other government groups. These events are free for our families and staff to attend.
Topic: The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World
Presenter: Allison Pugh, Ph.D.
Interviewer: Nick Hatzis, M.D.
Date: Oct. 23, 2024
Location: Latin School of Chicago, Wrigley Theatre, 59 W. North Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610.
Program Information: Pugh is a Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University whose research and teaching focus on how people forge connections and find meaning and dignity at home and work, and how economic trends – from job insecurity to commodification to automation – can make that harder. She is the 2024-25 Vice President of the American Sociological Association. A nice take by Pugh on the AI revolution from a sociological stance. She developed the concept of "connective labor," referring to work that requires emotional recognition and interpersonal skills. This book is about the primacy of "being seen," of listening with empathy towards understanding, and witnessing and reflecting. She argues for the importance of connective labor in the face of the army of chatbots and system reboots. A perfect program for those seeking human connection (i.e., all of us).
