Students visit local seniors
By Izabela B. and Lora C.

Last year, Peacock students were trained to visit the Arbor Nursing Facility in Itasca. The Arbor is located on Elm Street by the Forest Preserve. There hasn't been a training session yet this year, but several students have been back to visit with the senior citizens who live there.

Miss Virginia Henly, who has been living at the Arbor for about three months, commented that she really liked the idea of students coming to visit the Arbor. Miss Henly said that she liked most of the other residents, and that the workers were very generous. She loved the food at the Arbor.

Miss Henly suggested that the school have more activities for the Arbor, such as chorus and band performances. Another resident is Mrs. Theresa Ganza. She has lived at the Arbor for about four years. She loves wearing red, her favorite color. "I hope in the future we have some better food." "You have to put up with similar food every week," she explained.
Before Mrs. Ganza moved to Itasca, she lived in Hollywood and got to meet Frank Sinatra. They lived very near to each other.

If students want to visit the Arbor, they need to know the access code to go upstairs and visit residents in the special care unit. They must also register at the Arbor before they can meet residents.

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Y2K are we ready?
By Patrycja M.

Among government officials, the biggest concern about Y2K isn't computers malfunctioning, it's the public panicking. "I'm concerned," said Beth Boatman, the Y2K chief for Mayor Daley, "about people hooking up generators the wrong way...and blowing up their kitchens, or taking a lot of money out of the bank and getting robbed on the way home or losing it."

Government and business have spent a lot of time and money to prevent problems, and the Chicagoland area is prepared. The Fire Department is going to have extra employees working on New Year's Eve to ensure public safety. They are anticipating fires from generators and kerosene-fueled heating.

Local grocery store chains also say they are prepared for the Y2K fears of their customers. They are stocking extra supplies in case people hoard food. They have advised people to buy food by Wednesday of the week of the New Year and to buy only enough to last through the weekend.

Hospitals in Chicagoland are also Y2K ready. They believe nothing much will happen on New Year's Eve, but are preparing for a full blown disaster, just in case. Hospitals need to be ready because they are a major focus of emergency activities if anything happens. Like the Fire Department, hospitals are scheduling additional workers for New Year's Eve.

The large hospitals in Chicagoland have spent at least $50 million correcting possible Y2K problems. The final national hospital readiness report, released by the White House in November, warned that some small hospitals may suffer failures of computerized billing and medical records. But other than that, not much should happen.

In addition, all banks in Illinois have received certification that they are ready for 2000. Some people were worried that they would not be able to get their money after midnight on December 31, 1999. This was because computers would not be able to recognize the difference between 1900 and 2000.

Problems that could result from this computer bug include unavailable deposits, closed ATM's, and bank loans posted as decades overdue. These problems are unlikely, however. Experts have said that banks are among the most prepared companies for Y2K in the United States. They have spent more than $8 billion getting their systems ready.

Furthermore, Peacock and District 10 are also prepared for Y2K. According to Dr. Nickisch, the District has a new phone system and all computers have been checked for possible Y2K problems. All of the critical services – water, fuel, airports, ambulances, and 911 - have also been secured, with either back-up generators, new computers, or Y2K fixes.

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Peacock students look forward to the millennium
By Liz F., News Editor, Jennifer D. and Kelly M.

An informal survey of students at Peacock indicates that most of them do not think anything serious will happen with the coming of the year 2000, or that there will be dangerous Y2K computer problems.

Sean N., an eighth grader, thought things would change for the better in the twenty-first century. He said, "I don't think anything will happen with computers. In ten years, we will be able to conserve energy and learn to be cleaner with emissions from cars and other vehicles." Sean also thought that we would be closer to world peace.

Sean's classmate, Hosea H., also chose to look on the bright side of things. He commented that "the Millennium is something to look forward to, a day all family should stick together."

Eighth grader, Chris M., commented that he thought the millennium was going to be "cool." All the Y2K disaster hype is just a money-making ploy to get everyone to buy supplies. His classmate, Danny S., was also not concerned "I don't believe in Y2K." "I also don't think anything serious will happen,"he said jokingly, "maybe a nuke will launch from Russia and hit us, but nothing serious."

Abby Wendell stated that she thought all the Y2K hype was a "bunch of horn-swagle." Fellow eighth grader, Amar P. agreed that nothing major would happen. "Y2K is nothing. There will be no nuclear war. Computers have been updated to stop the Y2K problem even this school has updated their systems, so why would anyone think that the government hasn't done the same thing." Amar's classmate, Raymol M., advised people to relax and "just let nature flow."

Some sixth graders also commented on whether they also thought Y2K would lead to serious problems. According to Joey P., problems with the computers would occur because they would read dates as 1900 rather than 2000. Christa C. said, "I think in certain parts of the world the computers will shut down." Rachael Romito commented that she was worried about the threat of computer problems because the electricity might shut off.

Allie G., Brittney L. and Daniela F. were skeptical. Daniel said simply, "the Y2K thing is a bunch of whack!" Along with Brianna Cataudella, most students thought the millennium was exciting, and a great time to celebrate."

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Too much homework?
By Karina D.

Rachel N. is a new sixth grader here at Peacock. Before she came here, she attended Griffth Elementary School. When asked, Rachel said that she missed her old friends and her old school, though she is making new friends every day.

Rachel said that she likes the kids at Peacock, but she added that some of them are a little too weird for her. She thinks Itasca is o.k., and she made some friends the first day of school.

According to Rachel, the teachers at Peacock give too much homework. Her favorite subject is Family and Consumer Science.

Rachel is not in any sports right now. Her favorite band is the Back Street Boys. The last book she read was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Accident.

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Students offer holiday wish list
By Alyssa J.

According to an informal survey of Peacock students, the top Christmas gifts this year will be CDs and clothes. Some popular CDs include Blink 182, which was suggested by eighth grader, Chris S., and Whitney Houston's latest, which was suggested by Chris' classmate, Abby W.. Clothes were seventh grader, Rachael A.'s choice, and any CD by *N Sync was on her classmate Lauren G.'s wish list.

Some other students offered suggestions for more expensive gifts. Seventh grader Ryan L. thought a stereo system was a good gift. Sixth grader Carl L. commented that the Dreamcast video game system would make an excellent present. Seventh grader Matt C. said that he wanted a new guitar.

In general, the girls at Peacock were most in favor of anything dealing with *N Sync, while the boys said they wanted electronics.

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