Recent Science Fair impresses judges
By Nikki A.

The judges of this year's science fair were impressed with the quality of the sixty-six projects entered. Their experience as judges ranged from four to about twenty-eight years!

One judge commented, "The purpose of the science fair is to get students to do things on their own and participate in activities outside of school."

Dr. Nickisch added, "The purpose of the science fair is to expand students' knowledge and interest in science, and of course give a showcase of projects."

"In my opinion," said Dr. Nickisch, "the most impressive project was created by a first grader, Patrick W., on minerals, because of how well it was done for his age group."

He added, "Students are encouraged to participate with extra credit. "I am also amazed by how many parents are involved in this, and have helped their children complete their projects."

The Golden Test Tube winners from Peacock were eighth graders, Michele B. and Kathryn K.

Michele and Kathryn described their project, "Can you train your brain?" as an attempt to measure the relationship between memory and color. They hypothesized that success in their test would depend on age and gender, but their conclusions were not final.

We think that our project won because of our complex data, the girls explained.

Michele commented, "the competition wasn't very stiff, but we still thought that the other projects were very good."

"We thought that it was fun participating, mainly because we won!" said Kathryn.

The girls explained that they entered a project mainly because they had time to spare and they thought it would be fun. Kathryn participated last year, but Michele did not.

The other winners were Marie M., Kaitlin N., and Jacquelin C.

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District 10 superintendent retires after seventeen years
By Michele B., Copy Editor, and Ashley S., Features Editor

After seventeen years, District 10, will get a new superintendent. Dr. Acksel will soon be leaving. He has been superintendent since 1984. The new superintendent, Kenneth Cull, will take over July 1, 2001.

According to Dr. Acksel, he became a superintendent because wanted to have more input in the running of a school than he could have as a teacher. He decided to come to Itasca because he needed a challenge and thought District 10 posed many.

Dr. Acksel added that Itasca was a nice community where people supported education.

Before coming to Itasca, Dr. Acksel taught middle school and served as superintendent in Big Rock and Creston for a total of fourteen years.

As superintendent of Itasca, Dr. Acksel was responsible for ensuring that the District operated efficiently, and the needs of students were met.

According to Dr. Acksel, the most challenging project he undertook was converting the two K-5 buildings to their present state.

Dr. Acksel recalled the day he got the job, a truly memorable experience. "I was excited, almost nervous ... It was a great responsibility."

Reflecting on his experience in Itasca, Dr. Acksel explained that he enjoyed working with and being around people and board members. This also constituted one of the challenges of his jobs: "Board members were always coming and going, that is what made it new... and challenging, every year was different."

After retiring from Itasca, Dr. Acksel said that he plans to re-invest his talents, "probably in the field of education."

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Board elections will affect Peacock programs
By Michael K., Entertainment Editor and Carl L., News Editor

On April 3, 2001, the Itasca School Board will hold its elections. The elections are held every two years. This year, four seats are up for election. In two years, the other three seats will be up.

We interviewed three of the five candidates for the four available seats: Diane Dale, Susan (Lynch) Nolte, and Chuck Hervas. The other two candidates are Dennis Torii and Neal Schawel.

Mrs. Dale is the only candidate running this year who is not already serving on the board. "I am extremely excited about the election," said Mrs. Dale.

She explained that she supports expanding the foreign language program and the gifted program. Mrs. Dale also expressed support for faster technology upgrades.

Mrs. Dale added that she felt a change was needed in the way Character Counts was run, such as clearer goals for the program.

Mrs. Susan Nolte is up for re-election to the board. She has served as the board's president for the past two years, and as a member since 1993. Mrs. Nolte supports many of same issues as Mrs. Dale, such as expanding the foreign language and gifted program.

Mrs. Nolte discussed the board's recent search for a new superintendent. Some of the qualities the board looked for in the new superintendent were, "leadership, knowledge of school finance, interest in children, and experience."

According to Mrs. Nolte, it is very interesting and exciting to be on the board. She explained that she ran for the board "to give back to the community."

Chuck Hervas is also up for reelection. Mr. Hervas has been a member of the school board since 1997.

Along with the other candidates, Mr. Hervas supports expanded gifted programs and upgraded technology.

He is particularly interested in expanding the foreign language program. Mr. Hervas noted that one of the decisions he was most proud of making as a board member was to hire additional Spanish teachers for the district.

Mr. Hervas was also proud of the board's decision to hire an assistant band director, Mr. Wis, to help Mr. Loest.

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New Social Studies teacher begins mid-year
By Sarah R.

Peacock's new eighth grade social studies teacher, Ms. Heppeler, comes from New York and graduated from Miami University of Ohio. She has a bachelor of science in education with a minor in history and political science.

Ms. Heppeler replaces Mrs. Sislow, the substitute teacher.

After graduation Ms. Heppeler taught in Cincinnati, Ohio for one semester.

According to Ms. Heppeler, Peacock is quite similar to the school she taught at in Ohio.

Among the special activities she has planned, Ms. Heppeler hopes to include a mock trial.

Right now, she is helping the eighth grade students prepare for the upcoming Constitution test.

Ms. Heppeler enjoys traveling and through her travels she hopes to be able to bring the world to the classroom.

Away from school, she likes to listen to music and read. She also enjoys biking, hiking, and basketball.

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Eighth grader rescued at basketball game
By Ashley S., Features Editor, and Amanda B.

Every day on the news you hear stories of heroism and miracles. You don't realize how truly amazing these things are until one happens to a person you know.

On Sunday, February 25, 2001, a crowd at a WIBA basketball game witnessed both a hero and a miracle.

Peacock eighth grader, Matt D. loves sports and never thought he would ever have to stop playing them, until that day.

Matt played the first quarter of his basketball game without any problems, but while he was sitting out later, something went wrong. All Matt remembers is feeling sleepy and falling, but that's not what everyone else saw.

The crowd saw Matt fall, and when they rushed over to him, he didn't have a pulse and was not breathing.

A spectator and former Peacock student, Kelly B. started CPR. Matt's dad performed mouth to mouth resuscitation.

After a few minutes they got his pulse back, but it soon faded away again. The paramedics soon arrived and a defibrillator was used to shock Matt's heart back into rhythm.

He was rushed to Alexian Brother's Hospital where he was stabilized.

Matt was then transferred to Loyola Hospital for their expertise in curing the human heart.

The hero of this story, Kelly Benhart, who learned CPR as a lifeguard at the Itasca pool, said that she didn't want to be considered a hero.

Whether Kelly wants to be a hero or not, people still view her as one. Everyone, friends, family, and anyone else who knows Matt is extremely grateful to her.

"We're glad that Kelly was there and knew CPR and that everything else turned out o.k." said Matt's mom.

On Tuesday, February 27, a defibrillator was implanted in Matt's heart. This defibrillator will shock Matt's heart back into rhythm if it gives him trouble again.

Matt's condition, cardiomyopathy, is an incurable one in which the muscles around his heart become enlarged and change the rhythm of his heart. He was born with it, but it has just now shown up. There is no known cure, but medication and surgery help.

Matt is doing fine now and is back in school. He can never again play sports like he used to, and his life will never be the same, but as he said, "I'm lucky to have my life."

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Village Board discusses future of downtown
By Lora W.

Many Itasca residents are probably wondering why it is taking so long for Starbucks Coffee to be built on the former site of the gas station at the corner of Irving Park Road and Walnut Street.

The Itasca village board has a policy which states that a lot of new construction in the town has to look "historical." Much time, therefore, has been spent deciding on the color scheme and building style.

Architect and real estate broker, Anthony Bonavolonta, said that the brick on the outside of the building will be cottage red, and the roof slate gray. The trim will be "terry town" green.

When completed, Starbucks will be open from six a.m. to eight p.m. According to the management, Starbuck's makes most of their money between seven and eight a.m.

Starbucks, which will open in late spring or early summer, will be open seven days a week.

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Arbor visits benefit students and residents
By Maggie F., Advertisement Editor

The Arbor Nursing Facility for senior citizens has become a place well known to the Peacock Student Council. The Student Council's Advisor, Mr. Peel, has organized a lot of activities for Student Council members. One is a trip to the Arbor of Itasca.

Peacock's Student Council attends the Arbor as a regular field trip. The students volunteer there.

Students take a class to learn what to do in emergencies, and what they can and can't do when working with the residents.

Some things students can do include keeping residents company, organizing games with residents and creating arts and crafts projects.

Because Peacock students have helped at the Arbor in past years, many older students already know the facility's rules.

For some of the new Student Council members, however, the class trip was a day to remember. They were taught many new things and were very excited about the trip.

Some students said they were nervous because they had no idea of what was going to happen. Everyone seemed to have a good time, however. The residents also seemed pleased to visit with the students.

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Will there be a talent show?
By Lyndsey M.

The Peacock talent show was a big hit last year. Groups and individual acts auditioned to get into the show because there was a maximum of twenty acts.

If auditions had not been held, there would have been way too many acts to get through.

At last year's show, there were many different acts. Some were groups dancing to music, others were piano solos. Prizes were given out to the best group act and best individual act and the runners-up.

But this year, there may not be a talent show. Last year, Mr. Travis's advisory class of eighth graders planned the whole show to raise money for an ailing classmate.

This year, however, Mr. Travis' advisory is a sixth grade class, and this might be a little hard for them to plan.

If there is a talent show, here are a few things to know:

It will be held at the end of May.

The judges will include the student council president and vice-president, two teachers and two parents.

Students can audition for as many acts as they like.

Any songs choosen must be appropriate for school. Clothing also cannot be too outrageous.

Acts can use as many props as they feel necessary.

To participate, students must have a passing grade point average.

For now, it is still unsure whether there will be a talent show, but there is still a possibility.

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The 600-Minute Reading Club

The following sixth graders participated in the 600-Minute Read To Succeed Reading program this year. They earned tickets for free admission to one of several Six Flags Theme Parks. The Peacock Parent Teacher Organization sponsored the program:

Laura B.
DeeDee C.
Samantha C.
Catherine C.
Ashley D.
Joe D.
Cassandra D.
Mark G.
Steven G.
Meghan H.
Emma H.
Kevin K.
Eddie K.
Michael K.
Marina L.
Renimol M.
Keith M.
Ana N.
Art P.
Kyle P.
Shannon P.
Jaclyn S.
Kenny T.
Aaron Z.

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