By Scott P.

As you all have probably noticed, the school recently put up a new sign out in front of the building. Dr. Nickisch has some answers to questions about the sign. He says the sign has 32 square feet on the front. He adds that "the sign is connected with the sidewalk lights, therefore the sign is on whenever the sidewalk lights are." Dr. Nickisch decided to erect the sign six months ago at an education convention. A salesperson approached him and asked if our school had a sign. Eventually, Dr. Nickisch was persuaded to buy the sign, hoping that it would increase communication between school, students, and parents. Dr. Nickisch posts monthly events on the sign, from PTA meetings to school sports events. He will also post Peacock sports victories, along with individual awards. Dr. Nickisch updates the sign usually every week, and changes the letters himself.

By the way…

By Scott P.

F. E. Peacock, the man who the school is named after, served on the Itasca school board 22 years, and 17 of those years, he was the president of the school board.

Medieval Dinner

By Courtney G.

Did you ever wonder how long it takes to cook lunch for 160 people? Mrs. Knudsen, who teaches the eight grade home economics elective, can certainly tell you all about it. Each year, Mrs. Knudsen and her elective classes host the Senior Citizen’s Luncheon. This year's luncheon, to be held on October 17 at 11:00 A.M., has a medieval theme, and Mrs. Knudsen expects at least 120 senior citizens from the area to attend.

According to Mrs. Knudsen, the elective classes use the luncheon to give something back to the community while participating in an interdisciplinary unit. An interdisciplinary unit includes the work from several different classes, or disciplines, toward a common educational theme. The luncheon takes several months to plan. Mrs. Knudsen starts to select the menu in the summer, then all of the teachers get together and decide who is going to do what job. About two-thirds of the school is involved. Mrs. Knudsen decides what food to serve based on the selected theme. She first researches what people ate at that time, makes sure that it is easy to make, and then decides if it can be prepared ahead of time. The menu for this year will include leek soup, Cornish hens, wild rice, bread, a green vegetable, and almond pudding. A special concern when preparing food for so many people is maintaining the temperature of the food and proper sanitation. It will take almost two weeks to prepare the meal. The home economics students will serve the meal dressed as peasants, the art classes will create period decorations, and the music classes will perform selections from the musical Camelot.

In preparing for the luncheon, Mrs. Knudsen really enjoys working with her students and the seniors, but she admits that the most difficult part of her job is making sure not to forget anything. When asked what part of the preparation her students most enjoyed, Mrs. Knudsen thought that they liked the cooking and eating best, and were less interested in the history lesson that came along with it.

NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER FOR DISTRICT 10

By Emily A. and Bethany D.

What is the Administrative Center? The Administrative Center at 200 North Maple Street, Itasca, houses the office of the Superintendent of Itasca School District 10 and the meeting rooms for the school board meetings. When the Superintendent, Dr. Acksel, was asked why the Administrative Center was moved from the Itasca Community Library, he explained that "the library was only a temporary location. The whole reason we were at the library in the first place was because the administration building on Irving Park road needed a lot of repairs, and was very dilapidated. We were supposed to have a new building built, so while we waited for that building we stayed at the library. Then when we talked to the contractor about the price of the new building, it was quite high." So the district instead decided to purchase a remodeled office building. Offices in the new administrative center include the Superintendent's, those of the secretaries, the financial department, the bookkeeper, assistant superintendent, receptionists, and possibly in the future, a technology director. The Superintendent and School Board like the new building because it has more storage space, more privacy, and many offices. The new building will also provide much easier access to the district's records. When asked if all the noise from the passing trains was noticeable, Dr. Acksel replied, not at all. So there you have it, all the information you need on the new Administrative Center.

New Gym Teacher Thinks Children Less Fit

By Nicole S.

That's what Mrs. Krisik, the new girl's gym teacher commented when she was interviewed recently. Mrs. Krisik believed that kids have become less physically fit than they used to be because TV, game systems and computers have replaced more athletic forms of entertainment. This is Mrs. Krisik first year teaching middle school, but not her first as a teacher. She has taught at elementary schools in Palatine and in Bensenville, A graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Mrs. Krisik has also worked as a Health Education Director at the YWCA, a Recreation Supervisor at a park district, and as a lifeguard. Mrs. Krisik, who enjoyed gym when she was in middle school, said that she became a teacher because she liked kids and wanted to make a difference.

So, who’s better at sports, boys or girls? You’d be surprised at how Mrs. Krisik answered. She said that it all depends on the individual and how much effort he or she gives. When asked if she liked teaching at Peacock, Mrs. Krisik responed that she definitely did. This year, she will also coach track, 8th grade girls basketball, and 6th,7th, and 8th grade volleyball. Mrs. Krisik and Mr. Anderson have some special activities planned for Physical Education this year, including golf, step aerobics, and pickle ball.

Mrs. Krisik’s husband is an electrical engineer. They have an 18 month old boy, Quinten, a Doberman, Shane, and a cat, Taz, along with lots of fish. Her favorite sport is volleyball, and she plays competitive volleyball almost every weekend.

One Small Step for a Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind...

By Stefan I.

This fall, Mr. Cousineau is teaching 28 students in a new elective class, "Aerospace." In this new elective, students learn about aerodynamics, that is, how planes and rockets fly. "I love learning about planes!" said student Blake H. In class, they use different branches of science, including physics, and areas in Math from the basics all the way to trigonometry. According to Mr. Cousineau, "Trigonometry will be used to calculate the amount of thrust and the altitude of rockets." Highlights of the course include making and testing parachutes, crafting paper airplanes to learn the fundamentals of a real airplane, and building rockets from scratch. According to Mr. Cousineau, the students will even get to launch their rockets, if time permits.

Peacock Students Bright And Eager To Learn

By Janelle B. and Rosa S.

Mrs. Bernahl, the new media director, is a very interesting and organized woman. She became a librarian because she likes reading, students, and she enjoys all aspects of being a librarian. "The best part of being a librarian," she commented recently, "is that I get to work with students and teachers!" Peacock is not her first job as a librarian. She worked part-time for one year at Riverside High School. When asked if she enjoyed working at Peacock, Mrs. Bernahl said that "we have a great library here at Peacock, and the students here are great. Also, they are bright and want to learn; and I always like to recommend a good book to a student!" When asked what the most difficult part of her job was, she said that it would have to be repairing the books "it can be tricky." Boys and girls have many of the same, as well as different tastes in books, she explained. "She said that boys like adventures, sports, and mysteries, while girls like realistic fiction, romance, and mysteries." "This year we are planning on having reading contests, a book fair, some kind of puzzle or fun thing to do every month, and perhaps a treasure hunt." "She also said that there will be a National Library Week in April."

Nowadays, Mrs. Bernahl loves to read mysteries, adventures, books on space, and funny stories. When she was in middle school, though, she mostly liked adventure and mystery stories. Outside of school, she is married to a chemical consultant, she has two wonderful girls, and listens of all sorts of music. Finally, her personal interests and hobbies consist of painting, gardening, hiking, horseback riding, golfing, traveling, and especially, cross-country skiing.

New Seventh Grade Science Has Taught Around The Country

By Hannah M. and Christine H.

When he first came to Itasca, Mr. Larsen, the new science teacher thought it was a beautiful town. The students at Peacock also made a favorable first impression. But then he told interviewers to ask him again in a few months...Mr. Larsen taught juvenile delinquents in Colorado and then Arizona for some four years. Last year, he taught in Peoria, IL. Mr. Larsen insisted, when asked, that boys and girls are equally good at science. He does a lot of hands-on activities in the classroom because it helps students learn better.

Mr. Larsen liked science when he was in middle school. It was his favorite class next to physical education. He enjoyed earth science the most, and had the most trouble with physics. After high school, Mr. Larsen went to the Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado and majored in Geology. He became a teacher because he always admired his own teachers.

When he is not teaching, Mr. Larsen and his spouse work in their own pet grooming shop. At home he spends a lot of time with his horses, a three-legged goat, three dogs, three cats, and numerous outdoor cats. Mr. Larsen does not have children but he explained that he considered his animals his children. He likes rock and roll music and fly fishing.

Boys, girls, whose better at math?

By Amanda S.

Boys do seem to do better than girls in math at the middle school level, according to Mr. Behrendt, the new seventh grade math teacher at Peacock. Mr. Behrendt attributes the boys' advantage to their higher level of confidence, not because they are naturally smarter. After some nineteen years of teaching, he has not noticed a difference in the way boys and girls solve math problems. When asked whether he thought the widespread use of calculators and computers had lessened the importance of math class for students, he said no. In fact, computers have increased the importance of math class because strong math skills are necessary for successful careers in a number of fields, now and in the future. Mr. Behrendt appreciates the friendliness of the Peacock students. He plans to give some problem solving puzzles so that the students can learn while still having fun.

Mr. Behrendt remembers enjoying math class when he was in middle school. He attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and decided to become a teacher because he did not like his major, accounting. Mr. Behrendt’s favorite area of math is problem solving because you can be very different. By this he means problem solving is not as structured as other areas of math. His least favorite area of math is geometry.

Mr. Behrendt has been married for almost fourteen years. He has two children, a son Danny who is nine, and a daughter Elizabeth who is six. His favorite music is oldies and some alternative, and he listens to oldies 95.9 and some Q101. His hobbies and interests are baseball, family and some other sports. He also enjoys basketball, bowling and puzzles.

Who’s New At Peacock- 8th Grade Students

By Nicole S.

Several new students have transferred to Peacock Middle School this year. Introduce yourself when you see them, it will be worth your while. Robby B. moved from Phoenix, Arizona, half a year ago. He attended St. Luke’s for the last half of the year. This year he is at Peacock. He is glad he moved here but admits to liking Arizona better than Itasca. Robby has a sister, Katerina, who is only three months old, and a dog that is part wolf and Siberian Husky named Wolfy. He misses his old friends but he has already made some new ones here. Robby likes building planes and rockets, and looks forward to Industrial Technology. He hasn’t had the class yet, but he says it will definitely be his favorite. Robby likes to play football, basketball, and golf, and to watch the Bulls. Robby listens to heavy metal.

Lisa P. moved to Itasca from Denver, Colorado. She has an brother aged eight and a sister aged twelve. She also has an iguana, cat, and snake. Lisa still misses her old friends, school, and neighborhood, and thinks that we get too much homework at Peacock. Lisa's favorite class is math, and so far, she thinks most of the kids and teachers here are nice. Lisa most enjoys going to her friends' houses. She doesn’t play any sports yet, but her friends hope she will join volleyball and basketball. Lisa enjoys listening to Rap and R&B music.

John N. moved to Itasca from West Chicago in Illinois. He had two older sisters, one who died at birth and the other who died of cancer when she was a year and a half old. His father died when he was eight. Now John lives with his mom and two cats, Spizt and Georgette. He misses his old friends but has already made some new ones. Peacock is much bigger than the school he used to attend, and he thinks the students are much nicer. His old school had only one floor. Peacock has a much better cafeteria. John is very glad he moved here, even though Itasca is a small town and there aren’t many malls and arcades. John likes to drive motorcycles and he is in a racing league. He also likes to play basketball.

Rolandas P. moved from Lithuania two years ago. He attended Friendship Middle for one and a half years, before coming to Peacock. He has two brothers, aged eight and nineteen, and a sister aged three. He likes to play soccer and watch basketball, gymnastics, and soccer on television. His favorite thing to do is watch television. He likes Peacock better than his last school, and prefers living here in Itasca to Lithuania. He does, however, think that we receive too much homework. Rolandas enjoys listening to Rap and Alternative music.