New year brings dramatic schedule change

By Carl L.
The Charger staff

Well, we're all back. What's new around Peacock Middle School?

Probably the biggest change to the school is the somewhat dramatic change to our daily agenda.

Some classes, such as science, we will have just on Mondays and Wednesdays. On other days, students will cover a different subject in the same time of day. On Thursdays, all classes will be taught. Also, encore classes, such as Music and Phys Ed, will be taught everyday.

This change my seem meaningless. According to Dr. Nickisch, however, the modification to the schedule was made in order to encourage teachers to accomplish more in the video broadcasting studio and computer labs by providing longer class times.

Although new students may find this timetable a bit perplexing, day-to-day repetition will help it sink in.

There are a small number of changes to our faculty. The retirement of Mrs. Knudsen brought sadness to many Peacock students. But those students will be happy to know that Dr. Nickisch has hired a very qualified teacher, Ms. Olson.

Ms. Olson will do many projects that Mrs. Knudsen did in the past. Therefore, all those seventh graders who signed up for FACS for their eighth grade elective will not be dissatisfied.

Mrs. Portincaso will take over both seventh and eighth grade Spanish classes. Because there is a teacher shortage, Dr. Nickisch has not yet been able to hire a replacement for Mrs. Crown, who left at the end of last school year.

The sixth grade introductory course for Spanish has been cut, and all students not taking Spanish will be taking a cultures class with Mrs. Sislow.

Also, as a side note, the district has repaved the entire black top to improve the school's appearance and allow for more parking.

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Meet your new leaders

By Brittney L.

According to our new student council president and vice president, eighth graders Karina D. and Abby Z., this year is going to be much different from last year.

Karina and Abby thought our school dances could use a little tuning up and suggested that we have different themes for our dances.

In February, for example, students could decorate the gym with hearts, red and pink streamers, and balloons.

The officers would also like to have a dance in September because we don't have one in that month. They discussed this idea with Dr. Nickisch, and he said that it might be possible.

Karinia and Abby would also like to add some more exciting stuff to our pep rallies.

They believe that the pep rallies could use more student teacher involvement. They also want to add strobe lights and spot lights to make it more fun and to play some newer music.

The officers also want to meet with the PTO and see if we can get more of a variety for our school hot lunches.

Another idea they have is to hold more spirit days because last year we had hardly any. Karina and Abby want the whole student body to vote on what kind of spirit day they would like. They would be able to choose between a pajama day and wacky hair day, for example.

The officers would also like to ask Dr. Nickisch if they could possibly have a Goth day, and maybe every once and a while, a candy day.

Karina and Abby said that their main priority this school year was to make it a year to remember. They want to make it more fun for the students and teachers.

They really want our school to stand out from all the other schools in the state. They also want the students to help out in the town and in our school as much as they can.

Before Karina and Abby ran for office, they went to talk to Dr. Nickisch about their ideas because they didn't want to make promises that they couldn't keep. Karina and Abby were very glad that Dr. Nickisch approved most of their ideas.

The new officers would like to thank everyone who voted for them. In order for them to make this the best school year ever, they said, Peacock students need to work together as a team.

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New FACS teacher plans changes

By Steve G.

Mrs. Knudsen was Peacock's family and consumer science teacher until she retired at the end of last year. The new FACS teacher for the 2001-2002 school year is Ms. Olson.

In a recent interview, Ms. Olson explained, "I enjoyed Home Ec. in middle school, but in my class we focused more on health, CPR, and nutrition."

Ms. Olson attended Western Michigan University and majored in health education, with family and consumer science as a minor. She is now working on her master's degree in education at Governors State University.

When asked what she thought of Itasca, Ms. Olson replied, "I am in love with the town of Itasca. It reminds me of the home town I grew up in, Frankfort, IL."

Ms. Olson has not taught in a classroom since her student teaching. Instead she has worked in public health, where she taught outside of school. She explained, "I was in public health for ten years and wanted a change. I wanted to use my degree in a school setting."

"I became a teacher because I love to teach and work with students," she added. "I think the more knowledge you have the more power you have, and that will help you out in the long run."

Some changes Ms. Olson plans to make in the FAC's curriculum will be more work on decision-making, goal setting, communication skills and media, as well as conflict resolution.

Sixth graders will still do "Baby Think It Over."

Seventh graders will concentrate on nutrition, as well as the introduction to the kitchen and food preparation.

Eighth graders will still prepare the annual senior citizens' luncheon. Media information will also be studied.

On the personal side, Ms. Olson doesn't have any children but just got engaged and will be getting married next summer. She likes a variety of music but mostly U2.

Ms. Olson's hobbies are bike riding, golf, and tennis. In the summer, she likes to go to Michigan.

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New superintendent takes the reins

By Michael K.
The Charger staff

On Friday August 17, I interviewed our new superintendent, Dr. Kenneth Cull, about his goals and plans for District 10.

According to Dr. Cull, the schools in Itasca were already doing very well. He did not feel that big changes were in order.

His goals over the summer were "personal goals," such as learning about the history of Itasca and its schools.

In addition, Dr. Cull spent a lot of time preparing for the upcoming school year by reviewing the budget and performing other activities aimed at maintaining the excellence of our schools.

When asked how he saw Itasca's schools changing, Dr. Cull said he wanted to keep the same formula that had worked here for several years. He did, however, see the schools changing with different educational trends in the future.

When asked why he thought he was chosen to replace Dr. Acksel, the outgoing superintendent, Dr. Cull said that it did not hurt that he had grown up in Roselle and graduated from Lake Park High School. From a professional standpoint, he said that the school board was impressed with his work with incorporating technology into the curriculum in Schaumburg.

In the June 2000 issue, Dr. Cull commented that he planned to strengthen the Language Arts program. I asked him how he planned to do this. He replied that he wanted teachers to make sure that students could read at their grade level. He added that he wanted to continue to encourage language teachers to focus on reading activities and reading instructions.

Dr. Cull also explained that he plans to visit the schools at least once a week and wants to be involved in community events and functions.

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