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| News November 2001, Volume 5, No. 3 |
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By Lyndsey M.
Features Editor
As most people slept on the morning of Friday, October 26, the eighth grade students were on their way to Springfield, Illinois.
Everyone who was going on the trip had to be at school at 6:45 AM. Then they left at 7:00 AM.
They left so early because it was a four-hour bus ride. This may sound boring, but the bus they took had TVs, reclining seats and its own bathroom.
The bus ride was Kelsey Blanchard's favorite part of the trip. "It was great spending time with your friends and watching movies," she said. "It was like a big pzzarty."
Once the eighth graders were at Springfield, they stopped at the old state capital. They were only able to look and take pictures of it. They weren't allowed to go inside.
This was one thing Christine C. didn't like. "I think we should be able to tour of all the sites," said Christine.
After that, the eighth graders went to the new capital. The new capital was absolutely breathtaking. It had beautiful decorations that were over a hundred years old. It was also a very tall building and looking down from the top balconies was a little scary.
Stephanie J. didn't want to look down. "I thought it was really pretty, but I didn't like being so high up," she said.
After the capital, the eighth graders took a short trip to see a video on President Lincoln's home, and then they went to New Salem Village. It was a cute little town, which was decorated to look like a town that President Lincoln might have lived in. People even pretended to live in the village.
After the village, the students began their way home. They made a quick stop on the way home to eat at Old Country Buffet. The Buffet didn't have the best food, but all the eighth graders thought it had great ice cream.
After everyone finished eating they got back on the road. They arrived back at school around 10:30 PM. Although the trip was fun, the students all seemed happy to be home.
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Seniors roar for the 20's at annual luncheon
By Nikki H.
On Friday, October 19, the eighth grade encore students hosted the annual senior citizens luncheon. This year's theme was the roaring twenties.
The halls were decorated with flowers and the cafeteria with old-fashioned cars as the event started. Art teacher, Mrs. Dengler, explained that the painted flowers were modeled after Georgia O'Keefe and her "larger than life" flowers. O'Keefe's style became prominent in the 1920s.
Eighth graders Susan Ross and Justin P. took pictures of the luncheon for Mrs. Dengler's photography class.
When the luncheon began, seventh grade dancers performed the Swing and Charleston. Seventh grader Michelle M. was exhausted but proud of herself and the group.
After waves of applause, the teachers made introductions and the meal was served. Family and Consumer Science teacher, Miss Olson, thought that the food turned out wonderfully, and that the waiters and chefs did a fantastic job.
By facial expressions, you could tell that the customers were satisfied.
Finally, the main event drew near and eighth grader Giovanni Catalano stole the spotlight in the production of Bugsy Malone.
The audience watched as the cast was sprayed with silly string and creamed by pies. They listened to solos by Karina D., Renee W., Megan K., and Noelle K.
Overall everything was more than expected, and the audience really seemed to enjoy themselves.
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Sixth graders learn about parenting
FACS dolls teach responsibility
By Emily W.
Walking the Peacock hallways, you may have bumped into a diaper bag. In class, you may have heard a baby cry. What's going on here? Miss Olson's sixth-grade FACS class has started its "Baby Think It Over" program.
In this program, the students learn what it's like to take care of a baby for twenty-four hours a day. Eight battery-operated dolls are programmed to cry and act like real babies.
Each student takes care of a baby for two days. When the baby cries, its new parent has to stick a key into its back.
Sixth-grade moms and dads also have to change their baby's diaper about thirteen times and have to give it a bath with a spray bottle at least once.
When they take their babies outside, they need to cover then with blankets.
Taking care of the babies is a lot of work.
Becky K. said, "It was kind of cute and fun to play with." Samantha M. commented, "I liked taking it around school and having kids say, `What is that thing?"
Becky and Samantha reported that the babies cry a lot. They had other complaints, too. "It was very heavy, and it was not fun carrying it up and down the stairs at school," said Becky.
Outside of school, these students didn't take their babies very far. David M. said, "Well, I took it to my grandpa's house."
Samantha M. took it to her soccer game. "It was really rainy that day," she said. "My little sister's friend had to watch it. I was afraid she was going to drop it, but she did fine."
Luckily, these kids did not have major problems with their babies, although Samantha said, "One time during the night when I was trying to turn the lights on to see where to put the key, I accidentally bumped its head into the door."
When asked what it was like to be awakened by the baby at night, everyone said that they were tired.
But Becky said, "It was fine. Mine only woke me up once."
David didn't like it at all. "I was very tired and mad, too," he said.
Samantha didn't like staying up for thirty minutes each time, waiting for the baby to coo.
"It woke me up every four hours. I stared into space doing nothing," she said.
Families all reacted about the same when it came to the babies. "My mom thought it was cute, but my dad thought it was annoying," said David.
Samantha's parents really didn't like it either, but her sisters enjoyed it. "My big sister thought it was cute because she had one in sixth grade," Sam said. "My little sister liked changing it."
Becky thought her family liked it just fine.
Did the students think that taking care of this baby was like taking care of a real one? Becky thought it might be, a little bit. David said, "Yes, because it cries a lot just like real babies."
Samantha had a different opinion. She said, "Well, no, because you don't stand around waiting for a real baby to cry. You do that with this one because you want a good grade."
Like it or hate it, the "Baby Think It Over" program is one thing every sixth grader will remember about FACS.
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Luncheon brings the community into Peacock
By Steve G.
News Editor
Even though it's his first one, Itasca School District Superintendent, Dr. Cull, thought the 2001 senior citizen's luncheon was outstanding.
He said, "the decorations are great and the dancers were outstanding. The artwork is marvelous and the patriotic theme is wonderful. The play was great and it had a lot of action in it. The program is great and it's a wonderful tradition that brings the community into the school."
Itasca senior citizen, Mrs. Edward Winsdale, said, "the food was delicious and they did a beautiful job and I liked the entire meal. The artwork is also beautiful. I loved the dancers. I love the program and what the kids do for the seniors each year."
Mrs. Franklin, another Itasca resident, said she thought the luncheon was excellent! She also thought they couldn't have done it better. Her favorite dish was the stuffed shells. The entire meal was really good. She thought the artwork was outstanding. The play was wonderful according to Mrs. Franklin. She added that she thought the luncheon got better every year.
Mr. Bob Schonbeck also attended the luncheon and he thought the luncheon was fine and delicious. He thought the dessert was the best and he loved the food. He thought the artwork was outstanding. The only problem with the luncheon was that he had trouble hearing the speakers. The play brought back memories of his childhood. Overall in the last fifteen years he's been coming, it was great.
Mr. Paul said the food was great and all the dishes were good. He also said, "The artwork was stupendous and the dancers were real nice. The play was good even though they made a few mistakes." He said the program is great and he has been here for nineteen years and it has never been better.
Dr. Nickisch commented, "This year's luncheon was great. The food was excellent and my favorite dish was probably the dessert. The artwork was tremendous."
"The play was great but there were a few problems like the pie was a little too close and the flour made the floor too slippery," said Dr. Nickisch.
He added, "I liked the theme a lot. I am not sure who liked the luncheon better, the kids or seniors."
Some seniors worried it wasn't going to happen because Ms. Olsen, the Family and Consumer Science teacher is new. Some of the seniors sign up to come to the luncheon one year in advance. Dr. Nickisch enjoys meeting seniors and showing them the good things that happen around Peacock.
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Guess what student council is planning?
By Samantha M.
Will this year be better than other years at Peacock Middle School? The two main people who are trying to make this question's answer a "yes" are student council president Karina D. and vice president Abby Z.
Their goals this year include having more hot lunches with more variety. They would also like to have more pep rallies for special events.
There are also many other people trying to make this year a lot more fun and different. These people are the student council members.
To be a part of the student council you volunteer and your advisory votes for whom they want to represent them.
This year Karina and Abby decided to have a lot more meetings for student council. Most of the meetings consist of discussing upcoming events and activities.
The two main people who okay most of the plans are Mr. Peel and Dr. Nickisch.
A lot of students are probably wondering how the student council gets their ideas for spirit days. It all depends on what the students want to do. Some spirit days planned include Sports Uniform Day, Clash Day, Western Day, and Old Fashioned Day. All of them take place on or near the day of a sporting event.
In previous years, there used to be a Spirit Week but instead there will be more spirit days that Abby and Karina hope will be better.
Abby and Karina wanted to tell their voters that they appreciated the fact that they voted for them and that they would do their best to make Peacock a better place.
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Sixth graders speak out
By Laura B.
Most people know what the first day at a new school feels like. You hurry to get to your classes, and then on top of that, you forget your locker combination.
Many of the new sixth graders at Peacock have enjoyed the first part of the year. Victoria W. said, "Oh, yeah, Peacock is really cool so far, it's a whole lot better than Franzen."
Elizabeth H.'s reason for liking Peacock was, "I like it better then my old school in Berwyn because it's easier to make friends here." She has, by the way, made many new friends at Peacock this year.
However, when I asked Elizabeth about the teachers, she replied, "Some of the teachers are boring, and some are just OK."
Both Megan L. and Elizabeth agreed on which class they liked best, science. Elizabeth likes science because, "Mr. Koenig is funny, and he has a good way of teaching."
Megan likes science because, "You get to do really cool experiments."
Both Megan and Elizabeth have also joined the cross-country team.
Everybody also agreed on who gives the most homework. The classes are, in order, social studies, math, and language arts.
Though Elizabeth, when I asked her, replied, "No, I don't think that we get much homework."
Sixth graders, however, thought some changes were necessary at Peacock.
"Sixth graders should have Spanish class because that is something that I enjoy," said Rena W.
"We definitely need less time every day in our classes," stated Emmanuel C.
Rena's favorite part of the day is, "Encore, because when you're in FACS you get to take the babies home." Rena has joined the Spanish Club, band, chorus, and tae-kwan-do at the Park District.
She also thinks that Peacock teachers are too quick to hand out BATS and detentions because, "As soon as you do something wrong the teachers skip the warnings and hand you a BAT or detention."
Emmanuel agreed saying that, "Yeah, Dr. Nickisch is very strict, but he is also very nice." His favorite part of the day is, "Recess, because you get to play and have freedom."
One last thing that everybody agreed on was the schedule. The only good part of the schedule is the extra day you have to do homework.
"The classes are way too long, it can get really boring," said Megan Ludwisiak.
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New LR teacher is very enthusiastic
By Jackie S.
One of the new teachers here at Peacock is Mrs. Terry Gimble. Mrs. Gimble is the Learning Resource teacher. To put it simply, she assists her students in whatever subject they might need help in.
Mrs. Gimble decided to teach here at Peacock because she loves learning, loves helping students, and this is where she thought she could help.
Mrs. Gimble became a teacher because she loves to learn.
Right now, Mrs. Gimble has an advisory and enjoys her students. She thinks that her advisory is the greatest group of students in the school and that they were handpicked for her.
Her advisory includes seventh graders Jennifer O., Ana N., Megan E., Meghan H., Lara C., Jackie S., Steve G., Rob V., Nick P., Joe D., Kenny T., Humberto P., and Alex C.
Mrs. Gimble also likes the staff members of Peacock and is beginning to meet and get to know them well. Even though she hasn't met everyone yet, over time she thinks that she will develop good working relationships and some friends.
She also thinks all the kids are really great. Mrs. Gimble loves the town of Itasca and thinks that it is a wonderful place to grow up, and that Itasca schools give an excellent education.
Mrs. Gimble attended DePaul University, North Eastern Illinois, and Chicago State University. The subjects that she earned her master's degree in are certified LD and history.
She has also taught in Chicago in several Alternative Schools. Mrs. Gimble has three girls, ages 29, 25, and 22.
She likes all kinds of music, especially classical, and oldies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The last book she read was the bestseller, Tuesday's with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, 1977. Some of her interests and hobbies are reading, cooking, dancing, and singing.
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Fight for freedom
By Kaitlyn L.
The United States has been going through many serious changes since September 11th. The terrorism attacks in New York and Washington D.C. killed many and left others hurt inside.
We have been fighting both physically and emotionally for our freedom. The United States is bombing the Taliban, and we are also giving the innocent Afghan people food.
The U.S. is using both ground troops and air strikes to attack. Officials say this so called "War" will be fought through winter.
Many things in Afghanistan have been hit. For example, many important buildings in Kabul such as hospitals and Taliban front lines have been destroyed.
If the Afghans set up any type of military camp, the U.S. will be sure and try to bomb it. The camps that the Taliban has tried to set up have already been knocked down.
According to Pentagon officials, most of our bombing has been successful, but every once and a while we have taken too many innocent lives. Many Taliban headquarters in Kandahar have been hit also.
Residents of these cities have been given many grenades and other guns to help protect other Taliban headquarters. It has been reported that even some important Taliban leaders have been killed in bombings.
Financial steps have also been taken to help stop the terrorist. The United States has been asking many countries to stop all assets that have a connection to Osama Bin Laden, or assets that support terrorism. Many countries have responded, but there are always some that disagree with the U.S.
Some countries have agreed to help the Taliban fight against the United States, so the Northern Alliance has told the U.S. to start bombing more and faster.
The Northern Alliance has been a great help because they have been attacking many cities including the city of Mazar-e Sharif.
Anthrax has become a real threat to the U.S. Officials say that a big solution is to not be scared. Anthrax has been found in many places, but these places all have some government, military, or other values.
We do have vaccinations and medicines that cure this disease so it isn't in every case deadly. Many pranks or jokes have been set up about anthrax, and right now, many people who handle bio-hazardous materials are working overtime.
Government officials assure the public that they are doing as much as possible to assure safety in this country.
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US attacks Taliban in Afghanistan
By Michael K.
Copy Editor
On Sunday October 7, 2001, a new phase in the war on terrorism began as US planes started striking targets in Afghanistan. The main targets were Taliban buildings and airfields.
They were struck with a variety of weapons such as cruise missiles launched from ships and B-52 bombers. Other planes were F-18's and F-14's.
After those targets were hit, the attacks focused on frontline Taliban troops and tanks. By doing this, the military hopes to help the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance defeat the Taliban from inside.
As of October 30, attacks have intensified on Taliban front line troops and positions. There have also been several raids inside Afghanistan by US Special Forces and Army Rangers.
Aside from the attacks, there are have been thousands of food packets distributed to Afghan civilians by parachute. The president and his advisors believe this is very important step in saying that we have not declared war on all of Afghanistan, just the Taliban. They believe that it has somewhat quelled Muslim opposition to the air strikes and raids.
President Bush says the war on terrorism will not end when the Taliban is destroyed.
There have been hints of possible strikes against Iraq and other countries. So far, government officials say the strikes are going as planned and are wearing down Taliban forces.
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