Themes planned for dances this year
By Lora W.

The student council president and vice-president for this year are Jamie O. and Kelly H.
Describing why she wanted to lead student council, Kelly said, "I wanted to be vice-president to provide a great year for all who go to Peacock."
Jamie stated, "I wanted to be president to make my fellow classmates happy and to have a great school year!"
Jamie also commented that Mr. Peel and the student council were receptive to their ideas.
Although they are the student council leaders, Jamie and Kelly explained that they don't have control over many issues. For example, Dr. Nickisch controls issues such as the vending machines and passing period time.
One of the activities the officers would like to start this year is a dance group called the "Peacockets."
They are also planning on many spirit days, and to continue to have groups to visit the Arbor Nursing Home in Itasca. Both boys and girls can be involved in these groups.
Jamie and Kelly want to add some pizzazz to the dances by creating themes for each dance.
They would also like to create holiday themes during school days this year.
Jamie and Kelly, however, wanted the student body to know that they have no control over the length of the dances.
They plan on creating several Spirit Weeks this year.
Kelly said, "Spirit days are so much fun and we will have a ton!" Jamie added, "Kelly and I are working to get spirit weeks scheduled during this school year."
Both the president and vice-president want to hear your ideas. They will work to make them happen this year.

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Music elective sails to South Pacific
By Christine H.

In eighth grade, at the beginning of the year, every person has a special encore class.
Students choose between photography with Mrs. Dengler, aerospace with Mr. Cousineau, cooking with Mrs. Knudsen, and musical theater with Mr. Travis.
Mr. Travis' class performs a musical. A musical is performed every year, four times in one week. The show is performed for Peacock, Franzen, Benson, and for local senior citizens.
According to students involved, the play is a long process of hard work, but also a lot of fun.
In preparation the entire script is read, then cut down so that it is shorter, but still makes sense. The year's musical is "South Pacific."
Anyone in the elective can audition for any part.
Maggie F. earned the part of one of the principal characters, Bloody Mary. Kyle A. will play one of the male leads, Emile.
Everyone is very nervous and most students are afraid to perform in front of their peers. But Veronica S. (Brigette) commented that she was "most nervous about the adult and student performance." She said, "If I mess up, I'll never hear the end of it!"
Kyle A. said that he was nervous about the senior citizens because "they might start singing and I might start laughing."
The elective students are busy and working hard.
They are currently designing and building the sets, memorizing songs and making decisions about make-up and costumes.
A lot of work goes into the choreography committee. The committee creates the dances, and then teaches them to the rest of the class.

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Blue Ribbon awarded and Wall of Fame for alumni dedicated
By Laise Q. and Izabela B.

F. E. Peacock Middle High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award.
In October 1999, teachers and administrators submitted a forty-three page application.
On May 19, 2000, Dr. Nickisch was informed that Peacock had earned the Blue Ribbon. This award is not for the best schools in the state, but in the whole country.
On Wednesday, September 20, 2000, Brent Hoffmann, an official from the Department of Education, presented a plaque in honor of Peacock's success at an all school assembly.
At that assembly, Peacock also inducted five graduates into the new Wall of Fame: Jeff Aiani, Claudia "Gigi" Gruber, Jack Mensching, Dr. Roy Scheck and Jeff Pruyn.
Jeff Aiani is a Village Trustee. He graduated from Peacock with the class of 1968.
Mr. Aiani commented, "It feels good to be back at Peacock." He added " This award shows how strong our district is and how hard we have worked for it. It feels wonderful to win this award."
Claudia "Gigi" Gruber is the President of the Village of Itasca and the Mayor. Mrs. Gruber graduated from Peacock in 1973.
"This award is a great honor for the school and for the community," said Mayor Gruber.
"I think it's cool to have this award," she added, "and everyone should be proud of themselves and the community."
Jack Mensching is a member of the class of 1966. Mr. Mensching is now the President of the Itasca Bank & Trust Co.
"I remember developing friends fast at Peacock," recalled Mr. Mensching.
Mr. Mensching's classmate, Dr. Roy Scheck, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Dr. Scheck explained that "when Dr. Nickisch called and told me, I was tickled because I knew it was a great honor."
Jeff Pruyn graduated Peacock in 1978. Mr. Pruyn is now a Village Trustee. Mr. Pruyn was the second generation of his family to graduate from Peacock.
"This award means a lot to me," said Mr. Pruyn, because I grew up in this community and l loved the school."

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Polynesian for luncheon anyone?
Preparation for luncheon in high gear
By Krissy M.

For the sixth year, the encore department of Peacock will sponsor a luncheon and performance for local senior citizens. This year's theme is South Pacific/Hawaiian.
The eighth grade music class, under the direction of Mr. Travis, will perform a junior version of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific.
Mrs. Knudsen's eighth grade cooking elective will prepare and serve lunch for approximately one hundred and forty people. This includes seniors, board members, and other invited guests.
Mrs. Dengler's sixth grade art classes will contribute Polynesian art work to decorate the cafeteria.
Two students from the eighth grade photography elective will also be chosen to photograph the luncheon.
The Industrial Technology students, under the guidance of Mr. Cousineau, will contribute computerized maps of the Hawaiian and South Pacific Islands.
They will also videotape the performance, and when possible, help with the sets for the play.
P.E teachers, Ms. Krisik and Mr. Anderson, and a group of their sixth and seventh grade students will teach the seniors authentic Hawaiian dances.
The encore department has hosted the senior citizen luncheon for six years, but family and consumer science teacher, Mrs. Knudsen, has been serving lunch for the seniors for eighteen years.
In a recent interview, Mrs. Knudsen said, "To have a successful luncheon you must have all the right ingredients. You must pick a variety of foods to make that are simple, tasty, and easy to prepare in large portions."
Mrs. Knudsen begins looking through cookbooks during the month of July so that she can have everything ready for class to begin in the fall.
She picks the perfect recipes to match the criteria above.
Her class goes all out to follow the theme. They even have Hawaiian decorations hanging around the cafeteria.
The servers must wear khaki skirts or pants, white shirts, Hawaiian print aprons (made by the students), and flower leis.
Mrs. Knudsen said that even though she and the student's work hard to prepare, the outcome is amazing. The luncheon will be held on Friday, October 20, 2000, beginning at 11:00 and will end around 1:30 or 2:00.

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We're not just students
Sixth grader excels at Polish folk dancing
By Jessica L.

Middle school students get up in the morning and go to school, but their lives don't end at that. Most students are involved in sports or other extra-curricular activities.
Sixth grader Agnes Z. participates in an unusual activity. Wearing a traditional Polish costume, every Friday she attends a Polish dancing class.
Agnes' favorite parts of dancing are the frequent shows and parades. Her least favorite part is all the practice involved.
Next year, Agnes, her teacher, and the other eighteen students in her class will perform at Schaumburg's Flyers Stadium. They are looking forward to their performance.
According to Agnes, in the five years she has been Polish dancing, she's received many honors and had a lot of fun.

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Red Ribbon Week highlights anti-drug
By Ashley S.,
Features Editor

Red Ribbon Week is an anti-drug and alcohol awareness campaign that takes place annually during the last week in October. This year it will run from October 21-29.
Everyone in Peacock will get a ribbon. All advisory classes will participate through activities given to them by Peacock counselor, Dr. West.
Students can also enter contests, such as essay, poster, web page, and computer graphics contests.
There isn't really a drug problem at Peacock, at least not one that Dr. West or any of the teachers are aware of. However, Dr. West did comment that other students would be the first to know what their peers were up to.
Dr. West explained that the purpose of Red Ribbon Week at Peacock was to warn students away from drug and alcohol abuse in the future.

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New seventh graders make friends quickly
By Ashley H. and Christa C.

We have two new students in seventh grade this year, Jim S. and Justin W.
Jim previously attended Greenwood Middle School in Indiana. He still keeps in touch with his old friends, but he likes this school much better.
He thinks the students here are very nice and Itasca is a pretty town.
Jim has made many new friends, including Lee, Justin, and Dominic.
Jim commented that he likes most of the teachers, and that his favorite teacher is Mr. Peel.
As for extracurricular activities, he is really looking forward to joining the chess club.
Jim thinks that he gets a fairly large amount of homework each day. He enjoys rap and rock. Some of his favorite artists are Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg, Limp Bizkit, and Blink 182.
The last book Jim read was J.R.R. Tolkien's classic, The Hobbit.
His favorite hobbies are football, boxing, video games, and reading.
On the whole, Jim thinks he will have a great time this year at Peacock Middle School.
Justin Ware is also new to Peacock. Justin previously attended Blackhawk Middle School in nearby Bensenville.
He misses his old friends, but still likes this school and its teachers better. Some of his friends are John, Ian, Mike, Giovanni, and Nick.
Justin's favorite class is PE. He looks forward to trying out for basketball.
Musically, Justin likes rap and hip-hop. Some of his favorite artists are Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem.
His favorite sport is football and he plays wide receiver for the Bennsenville Bandits.
Like Jim, Justin is also looking forward to a great year at Peacock Middle School.

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Video studio is closer to operation
By Briana L. and Agnes Z.

Mrs. Bernahl, the Media Center Director, has predicted a successful start for Peacock's new video studio.
Before students get to use the studio, Mr. Burns, from Roscor Corporation, who is setting up the studio, will train staff to use it.
Then the staff will train students.
New studio equipment includes a workbench that has three TV studio monitors.
Each monitor is connected to special equipment such as a titler, for creating titles on screen, a DV (digital video) mixer, a professional digital video recorder for combining camera footage, and another mixer for sound.
Other equipment will include a DV recorder, tripods and dollies for the cameras, and a "chroma key" curtain, which enables any background to be used on camera.
Mr. Burns has already set all the equipment up, but it is not yet certain when everybody will get to use it.

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Students get fit
By Mark G.

During the summer, the Physical Education Department purchased four new treadmills, five abdomen rollers, and new backboards for basketball.
Mr. Anderson, the PE teacher, would like to use the equipment at least twice a week. He also stated that he thought the purchases were important to keep the kids in better physical condition.
In the future, Mr. Anderson would like to add a few more elliptical trainers, steppers, treadmills, and stationary bikes.
He commented that he was very glad to make this year's purchase.

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