February 7, 2019

The District 41 Board of Education has begun the process of searching and identifying the next Superintendent for Glen Ellyn School District 41.

Community Survey

As a first step to help inform the search process, the search firm selected by the Board, BWP & Associates, is asking the community to complete a survey. This survey will be open through midnight, February 18, 2019. To take the survey, please CLICK HERE.

Focus Groups - February 21

Search firm BWP & Associates will be holding open Focus Group conversations with the community on Thursday, February 21.

• 2 p.m. at Central Services Office, 793 N. Main St. Glen Ellyn

• 6:30 p.m. at Hadley Junior High School, 240 Hawthorne Blvd. Glen Ellyn

To ensure that the entire community has the opportunity for equal involvement, the Board has decided to take the approach of holding two community based focus groups that will be open to everyone instead of choosing interest-based community focus groups that would only represent a subset of the community. All District 41 community members are welcome to attend.

Additional smaller Focus Groups will also be scheduled on February 21 for staff,

administration, building administration, union leadership, and Board members. More

details will be provided soon.

For information about the search, visit the District 41 Superintendent Search web page.

The Kindergarten Dual Language Parent Informational Meeting will be held TONIGHT, Thursday, February 7, 6:30 p.m. at Churchill Elementary School, 240 Geneva Rd. Glen Ellyn.

Application of Interest Forms will be made available after the meeting. All District 41 families who have incoming kindergartners and want to learn more about this program are encouraged to attend!

Don’t miss this special opportunity to engage in a community changing conversation!

'Intelligent Lives' will be shown and discussed on Monday, February 25, 6:30 p.m., at Hadley Junior High School. After the screening, International Inclusion Expert Dr. Julie Causton will guide a community conversation.

All community members are invited as we learn about how all lives can be shaped and supported regardless of any disability. This film takes us through the lives of three incredible people who are living amazing lives because of their own potential and the people who have lifted them up throughout their lives.

TO WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER CLICK HERE

District 41 and the Glen Ellyn Police Department will again host a special safety session for parents on Thursday, February 28, 7 p.m. at Hadley Junior High School. This the second session offered to talk about new “Run.Hide.Fight” messaging and training that will take place in all District 41 schools. Please attend this important meeting to learn more and have a conversation about safety in schools.

Click here for an email message from Superintendent Gordon related to safety and the new “Run.Hide.Fight” training.

District 41 relies on parent feedback when planning for the future. Please share your thoughts through the annual 5Essentials survey. The survey ends on February 15. Each school needs a response rate of at least 20% to receive a results report. Thank you for your participation!

Click Here to take the survey!

Parent response rates to date for each school are as follows:
Abraham Lincoln: 31%

Benjamin Franklin: 38%

Churchill: 30%

Forest Glen: 24%

Hadley Junior High: 14%

Churchill School had two teams compete in the Science Olympiad held in Vernon Hills last week. Churchill placed 1st in 6/12 events and medaled in 14/36 award slots. Thank you to the parent organizer Sanjay Mehta and to all of the teacher and other parent helpers! Congratulations, students!

Hadley 7th and 8th grade students in Mrs. Hillary Prager’s communication class hosted a “Middle to Little Story Hour” at the Glen Ellyn Public Library last Saturday. This experience as a follow up to the Hadley students practicing reading a children's book aloud for their Story Book speech. Students practiced reading with fluency, expression and characterization. They also were working on emphasizing reading with good eye contact, postures, and gestures. Over 70 people attended the story time hour (hour and a half!) at the library to hear stories, play with bubbles and dance. The students really enjoyed reading to the little ones! Thank you to the Glen Ellyn Public Library for partnering for this event!

As part of a Problem-Based Learning inquiry unit, Mr. Winklemann's 7th grade PE class is researching the repurposing of existing materials to create a ninja-style obstacle course at Hadley. The students were invited to join two competitors from the American Ninja Warrior TV show, Nate Aye and former District 41 student Kyle Schulze, in the gym at Chicago Ninja Academy in West Chicago. The students learned how many of the obstacles were designed using scraps and creative ingenuity. The students then tried out the obstacles themselves. "We're so excited to see what our group of seventh graders will come up with," said PBL Inquiry Coach Alison Girling. Thank you to Chicago Ninja Academy for their support of student learning!

Hadley Triple Fret Orchestra presented to teachers about the orchestra and performed at the Illinois Music Educators Conference last week.

“The student were actually teaching teachers from throughout the state!” Triple Fret Director Paul Marchese said. “One of my favorite comments was from a 7th grader, fully cognizant of the fact that we were there to educate teachers, stated, ‘I found out that just because the teacher doesn't really play the instrument, doesn't mean we can't figure it out and take the responsibility for it ourselves…’ That statement made the whole trip worth it, in my mind,” said Marchese.“ “Students learning that their education is in THEIR hands, and we as teachers are here to facilitate it, not feed it to them.”

The orchestra department at Hadley held their Annual Solo and Ensemble Festival on January 25. Hadley orchestra students had an opportunity to perform their instrument with piano accompaniment in front of an experienced string judge/professional musician. Constructive feedback was given to our students to help improve their performance skills. Ms. Georgia Alemis, Hadley Orchestra Director stated that, "This type of learning experience helps students develop performance skills as a musician. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to display their talents in a recital format." Congratulations to all of the performers!