Where the mayor stands on the Irving Park expansion plan
By Michele B.,
Copy Editor

Does anybody live on or near Irving? The expansion plan will cut off about half of some residents front yards. The majority of Itasca residents, including Mayor Claudia "Gigi" Gruber, are opposed to IDOT's five-lane proposal.

Unfortunately, this highway is controlled by the state and the village does not generally have a say in the matter.

This time is different, however, because Usher Park is at stake.This area was bought with federal grant money, and IDOT must be granted permission from the Department of Natural Resources and the Secretary of the Interior.

Mayor Gruber is addressing the situation, and has written letters requesting that the federal agencies involved do not give IDOT control of that land.

What is Itasca's case? The village is currently supporting the three-lane plan. According to this proposal, there would be two lanes of traffic and a middle turning lane. This plan attempts to solve the traffic problem while retaining Itasca's small town look.

"It's our identity, it's Itasca!" asserted Mayor Gruber. "IDOT's plan would destroy the character, would destroy the identity of the town. We are unique!"

The Mayor has also faxed people such as Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald, and Governor George H. Ryan every day with letters supporting Itasca's three-lane proposal and opposing the five-lane plan.

Since September 1999, Itasca has been requesting money from the state to expand Irving Park Road to three lanes, and to bury electrical lines along Irving Park Road in order to maintain the small-town look.

Initially, the governor said that there was no money available. Then a state program called Illinois First was enacted and money became available.

It was at this time that Mayor Gruber received a telephone call from the Illinois State Senator, James Philip. He informed the village that Irving Park needed to be five lanes.

After the village opposed this plan, IDOT agreed to compare Itasca's plan with the five lane plan. However, when IDOT returned to the negotiating table, they were only considering the five lane plan. Mayor Gruber recalled, "I felt betrayedI was mad!"

It was then that Mayor Gruber decided that she and the people of Itasca needed to visualize the effect of the five-lane expansion on the town. This is how those pink signs up and Irving Park Road came about.

The new road would measure sixty-six feet across, and that's not including the parkway or the sidewalk. The pink signs are simply curb to curb.

Also, Mayor Gruber started protests, petition drives, newsletters, and a town meeting. She said, "the most crucial part of being in any leadership position is information, you have to give people information."

Itasca residents can currently sign petitions protesting the five lane plan at businesses, and on the web at itasca.k12.il.us.

Also a Citizens Committee of fifty-five people met at the Village Hall on November 2, 2000 to further their attempts to stop the plan.

The Mayor concluded, "You can see what the five lanes do to the townIt doesn't look like a downtown. The roadway is so wide, it really splits the whole thing in half, and it looks very commercial. It doesn't have a warm downtown village atmosphere to it. It really destroys the character of the village."

Rowhling Road is also controlled by IDOT, and it is currently being widened to 5 lanes. That area, however, is mostly businesses and there have not been objections to the plan.

When asked if she thought the residents of Itasca really had a chance in preventing the widening of Irving Park, the mayor replied, "I'm an optimist, yes, I think that we do have a chance or else we wouldn't be doing what we're doing. There's always a chance."

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Luncheon demonstrated student creativity
By Steve G.

All encore teachers participated in the senior citizens' luncheon. Family and consumer science teacher, Mrs.Knudsen, organized the luncheon. This year's theme was a Hawaiian Luau. The luncheon was held on Friday, October 20. There were about 120 senior citizens and twenty additional guests.

The food served included a shrimp mousse appetizer, a salad with poppyseed dressing, teriyaki pork with Hawaiian rice, orange pineapple, yams, tropical fruit and Hawaiian sweet rolls. The dessert was Pineapple Polynesian, which is pineapple and brown sugar, served over ice cream, with a coconut and a cherry on top.

Some of Mrs. Knudsen's students were assigned to be the grocery shoppers. Others made aprons for the servers out of brightly colored Hawaiian print fabric. Each student wore a colorful lei around their necks.

The class was split up into two groups; half the students were waiters and waitresses. The other students worked in the kitchen as cooks. They had many different tasks.

Many different people attended such as the district superintendent, Dr. Acksel, Franzen principal, Dr. Medwick, a few school board members, and Peacock counsellor, Dr. West. Mrs Knudsen's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Babinsky, and her husband, Dr. Richard Knudsen, also attended.

Industrial technology teacher, Mr. Cousineau assigned three students to handle the digital photographing and video taping of the luncheon.

His sixth grade classes created a map of the Hawaiian Islands. The maps were made with Adobe Illustrator, which is software that draws technical illustrations and artwork. The students spent two weeks learning how to use the program. They then trace a satellite image of the islands. The maps worked well with the luncheon's Hawaiian theme, and could be used again.

The seniors who attended the luncheon appreciated all the work done by their student hosts.

Choral director, Mr. Travis, thought that the eighth graders did a good job in the play. The seniors certainly seemed to enjoy their performance.

South Pacific was chosen to suit the Hawaiian theme of the luncheon.

Physical education teacher, Mrs. Krisik thought that the cast of South Pacific performed wonderfully. Mrs. Krisik added that she thought that the seniors loved the play.

The physical education dancers really enjoyed the Hawaiian dances under the direction of Ms. Krisik and Mr. Anderson. They thought that it added the perfect touch to the Hawaiian theme.

Art teacher, Mrs. Dengler's students created the artwork to decorate the hallways for the luncheon. The sixth grade students made drawings using Polynesian flowers and plants. The students worked on contour drawings. Then they combined the drawings into one large piece.

They also studied the post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1904), who lived and painted in Tahiti. They made a crayon resist drawing using what they learned.

Seventh graders also studied Gauguin's artwork. They made paintings of the Polynesian rainforest. The artwork will be displayed till before Christmas break. The seniors clearly appreciated the lovely, colorful artwork.

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Industrial technology robots use fuzzy logic
By Steven G.

The new Industrial Technology classroom will have a computer lab as well as a laboratory to work in.

The curriculum has also changed. The name of the new class for sixth and seventh graders will be "Mission to Mars" This is not based on the horrible movie by the same name.

The class will use the 2003 NASA mission to Mars as the basis for the curriculum. Students will learn basic engineering through problem solving. They will build a simulated Mars Lander and program a simulated Mars Rover robot.

The first activity the students work on is a launch vehicle or an egg drop. By using an egg to simulate the Martian rover, they must create a vehicle that will transport the egg through the atmosphere to the Martian surface.

In other words, the eggs, while in their vehicles, will be dropped from a great height.

The second activity is to program robots as if they were programming a Martian rover. The robots make decisions based on fuzzy logic, which is the opposite of what a normal robot uses.

Normal robots use hard logic, which is "do this do this and do this." But as people we think, "do this unless you run into this, then do this."

The students will learn to program the robots to navigate a simulated Martian surface using this fuzzy logic. That is, the robots must be able to navigate an obstacle course.

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New students are friendly and interesting
By Shannon T.

Did you know that Ashley C. one of our new students at sixth grade has moved five times? She used to attend Westview School down the road in Woodale.

Ashley has a cat named Ninja, and a younger brother too. She commented that she thought that Peacock and the students were nice and cool, though she still missed her old friends, school, and teachers a lot. She has made a few new friends since moving to Itasca.

According to Ashley, Peacock teachers are nice but strict, and give too much homework. Her favorite subject is math. On the whole, she thought that the teachers were the most helpful to her around the school than her fellow students

The last book which Ashley read was also her favorite, Scott O'Dell's classic story, Island of Blue Dolphins. Ashley is also a fan of country music.

Another new sixth grader, Meghan H., is an Irish dancer. Following on the Irish theme, she also collects Irish money.

Meghan formerly lived in Bolingbrook and attended Jamie McGee School. She commented that she misses her old friends and teacher, but she doesn't really miss her old school. She said that the town of Itasca is cool.

Meghan has two younger brothers, one younger sister, and a couple of pets, including a dog, Sandy, and a hamster, Lucky.

According to Meghan, the students and teachers at Peacock were nice, though she did add that the teachers were strict when it came to homework. On the whole, she thinks that students have been more helpful to her in getting to know the school than the teachers.

Another new sixth grader, Radvile R., has a new baby brother, just four months old. She also has a pet hamster, Little Guy.

This has been Radvile's third move. She previously attended Fairview School in Schaumburg. She still misses her old friends but doesn't really miss her old school or teachers.

Radvile commented that she thought the students at Peacock were very nice. She also likes the town of Itasca.

As for the teachers, Radvile commented that they were quite nice, though they did assign too much homework. Her favorite subject is Language Arts, and she is involved in student council.

For hobbies, Radvile enjoys swimming and playing video games. Her favorite band is Aqua.

Did you know that Carly L., another of the new sixth graders, is a fan of the Rock? If you like wrestling you know who the Rock is.

Carly previously attended the Ivy Hall School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Carly agreed with her fellow new students, Peacock teachers are nice, but they give a lot of homework! She suggested that teachers should space out the assignments a little more.

According to Carly, her favorite subjects are social studies, science and reading. For extracurricular activities, Carly writes for this newspaper and plays the drums in the band.

A mystery fan, the last book which Carly read was The Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright. Her favorite book is the Doll House Murder, also by Wright.

Carly is no stranger to starting out in a new place. She has moved six times. Carly felt that the person who most helped her settle in at Peacock was Mrs. Doyle, one of Peacock's front office secretaries.

Jamie L., one of Carly's new classmates, enjoys collecting stickers and helping people. Jamie moved to Itasca from nearby Franklin Park.

Jamie, who has two younger siblings, and a dog, Coty. Jamie also takes dance classes. The last book which Jamie read, Matilda by Roald Dahl, was also her favorite book. Jamie's favorite bands are Jessica Simpson, LFO and 98 Degrees

Her favorite subjects are English, reading and spelling. She thinks the students and teachers at Peacock are very nice and have been very helpful.

Sixth grader Sarah L., a new face in the clarinet section, came to Peacock from St. Celestine School in nearby Elmwood Park.

Her favorite subjects are science and Spanish. According to Sarah, the students at Peacock are nice, but not as friendly as her old friends at St. Celestine. She really misses her old friends, school and teachers.

The last book Sarah read was a Nancy Drew's mystery, Mystery of the Black Rose and her favorite books were Danny Champion of the World and The Witches, both by Roald Dahl.

Sarah has eaten food out of the lunch machines - she really didn't like it.

In her spare time, Sarah likes to do puzzles and make bead animals. Her favorite bands are Destiny's Child and M&M.

Although Sarah thought that students at Peacock were helpful, she did add that they should try and get to know the new students better.

Who thinks the town of Itasca is the best? New sixth grader Mike B. does. Mike previously attended St. Luke's, down the street from Peacock in Itasca.

He thinks the teachers and students at Peacock are very nice. His favorite subjects are language arts and reading. He thinks we don't get too much homework.

Mike ran cross country at Peacock. Outside of school, he plays soccer and hockey. Mike, who has one older brother, a cat, Shakespeare, and a dog, Andy. Mike also enjoys listening to heavy metal music.

Mike has admitted to having eaten food from the lunch machines, and liking it!

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Chess club 2000 features competition and upcoming tournaments
By Carly L.

Chess. When most people hear the name of this game, they think of one old man sitting in a park yelling at another about whether he was cheating or not. Sorry, but that's just not true, explained Mr. Behrendt, sixth grade math teacher and chess club organizer, as well as a frequent chess player.

Mr. Behrendt commented that chess is for anyone from a chess master to a kid who doesn't know what a pawn is. "As long as you are a student at Peacock you can join," he stated. The club will meet after school every Tuesday from 3:00 to 4:00.

For all those students who have been chess club members in the past, who have joined before, Mr. Behrendt said "there will be a few changes, but it will change on a weekly basis." He hopes that students who join will learn to play better and appreciate the game.

At chess club, students will learn the rules, new moves, and hold tournaments. There will be a Christmas tournament, an all-school tournament, and possibly, a community tournament. And if you are lucky, you can play against Mr. Behrendt. "I usually play against my son, daughter, and the computer," Mr. Behrendt commented.

Sixth grader Radvile R. is in the chess club. She said that she joined because she liked to play and she liked a challenge. Her favorite part of chess club is playing opponents she has never played before. She recommended chess club to anyone who had nothing to do on Tuesdays.

Seventh grader Andres C. is also in the club. He joined last year and said that he planned on playing the rest of the year, even though most of his friends didn't care for chess. He was happy because the group was much smaller last year so it was a lot more fun.

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What's the scoop on Spanish Club?
By Kelly B.

The Spanish Club, which is in its second year of existence at Peacock, will start meeting again shortly. The Spanish Club is open to all Peacock students.

According to the club's founder and director, Spanish teacher Mrs. Crown, students in Spanish club will create various projects that increase their understanding and appreciation of Hispanic culture. "Last year," Mrs. Crown explained, "students made worry dolls, Ojos de Dios, paper dolls, and other crafts.

Mrs. Crown advised students to "please listen for announcements as to when Spanish Club will be meeting."

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Opening fall pops concert was a hit
By Trisha H.

On the night of October 18, 2000, Peacock Middle School was open for the Choir and Concert Band Fall Pops Concert. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade chorus students performed selections from the musical Grease.

The chorus was directed by Mr. Bryen Travis. Mr. Travis selected six songs from Grease: "A New Broadway Medley," "We Go Together," "Those Magic Changes," "Beauty School Dropout," "Grease Lightnin'," and "Born to Hand Jive."

"Those Magic Changes" featured two soloists, eighth graders Andrea R. and Christine H.

During the concert intermission, the Itasca Music Booster Association held a short meeting. They discussed how they paid off the expenses from last spring's musical, Annie. Also Mr. Tim Loest discussed donations for band uniforms.

Then the concert band took the stage, and the performance began again.

They played "Yellow Submarine," "Laredo" and "It don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing.)"

The next chorus concert will be held on November 30, and next band concert Band will be held on December 10, 2000.

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