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| News February 2003, Volume 6, No. 4 |
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Questions? Comments?
Tell us what you think!
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By Steve G.,
News Editor
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Science Fair photo gallery |
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| Seventh graders Emily W.and Julia N. won the Golden Test Tube. | |
Dr. Nickisch stated that it was great to see so many more students participating this year. There was a fifty percent increase in participation from 2002. The judges even needed to draft an extra judge to get through all the projects.
Seventh graders Emily W. and Julia N. won the Golden Test Tube for the middle school level. Their winning project tested which parachute worked the best.
The girls used four different shaped parachutes: square, rectangle, triangle, and a circle. They tested each one nine times and averaged out the experiments.
When asked, Emily and Julia commented that they thought they won because they had a good idea, and they knew what they were talking about.
They added that the competition was tough and there were some really good projects.
Both girls really enjoyed doing their experiment. They decided to participate in the science fair to earn extra credit and because they had found a good experiment.
In discussing the fair, Dr. Nickisch said that he was so impressed with some of the participants' work, he thought they should go on to compete in science fairs for the region, the state and maybe even to the national science fair in Washington DC. He plans on recommending this to the school board.
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Municipal complex to displace part of arboretum
By Steve G.
When you are driving down Irving Park road in the near future, you may notice some changes. A seven million dollar municipal complex will be built on part of the arboretum at the Spring Brook Nature Center. The complex will house a new village hall and a new police station.
There is some controversy over the construction, but advocates of the plan will still break ground this spring. I spoke to Dave Williams, the Itasca village administrator, regarding the projected construction.
Advocates claim that the village hall and police station are over-crowded, and that they cannot be expanded upon, because they are built on a flood plain.
Buying private land would cost about three million dollars, and cause an increase in taxes, so the village instead plans to use 2.75 acres of the Nature Center instead.
They plan to build the complex on part of the Arboretum. Architectural plans for the new complex state that it will be a two story prairie style building, overlooking the remainder of the arboretum, with a large community room on the second floor.
The village is using six million dollars that they have saved for the project and another million dollars from the state.
Crews are able to safely remove nineteen of the memorial trees that stand in the way of the building.
Other public property north of the public works will not be used because it is not in the center of the town, and the village plans to house a water treatment plant there in the future.
Opponents of the construction argue that the complex is overly lavish, and that the seven million it will cost could be diverted elsewhere, for projects like road improvements, and the water treatment facility.
They also say that we should try to conserve our green space, because there are fewer and fewer places like the arboretum every year.
The Nature Center was granted $252,000 to buy land north of it. They plan to house a building that will include exhibits and storage on the site.
It is unclear what the old village hall will be used for once everyone has left, but the police station will hold additional town offices.
The question still remains. Is the complex really necessary? Should Itasca be more careful with its green space? Are there any other options? The issue has many sides and there are lots of answers.
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District 10 gets new nurse
By Brittany O.
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Mrs. Weber always knew that she wanted to be a nurse.
Her family is filled with doctors and nurses so that's one reason why she decided to become a nurse.
She also read books about nursing, thought it would be interesting, and liked the idea of being able to help people.
Her favorite areas of nursing are pediatric and psychiatric nursing.
The most serious problem Mrs. Weber has had to deal with as a nurse was when a child suffered a severe asthma attack.
As far as advising current students, Mrs. Weber just wants to remind them to take care of their bodies because what they do will affect them, sooner or later.
Mrs. Weber is married and has two girls. Her oldest will be fifteen in February and the youngest is twelve.
Her hobbies are decorating, traveling, gardening, reading, and visiting gourmet restaurants.
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Park District renovation complete
By Kyle P.
Sports Editor
The Itasca Park District remodeling is done after quite some time. So far, the overall response to the changes have all been positive. The grand opening was attended by about seven hundred people.
The main focus of the Park District project was to make the facility more family friendly. They wanted to make it a place where the whole family could go and have something to do.
So far, the most popular area is the new fitness center. Since November, five hundred new participants have signed up for a yearly membership. That is double the number who signed up during the same period a year ago. The total membership for the fitness center is now about 1,600.
According to the Director of Operations for the Itasca Park District, Randy Schawel, many patrons have commented on the spaciousness, attractiveness, and the new layout of the new fitness room.
"The Lounge" is slowly gaining in popularity with local young people. Children from fourth grade up are invited to sign-up. So far, there are only about thirty kids registered. The people who have registered really seem to enjoy the new room. Mr. Schawel hopes that this trend will continue and that many more Itasca youths will participate.
So far, it appears that the new park district remodeling and renovations have been a great success.
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Character Counts
February 2003
Citizenship
Skyler M.
Sandra G.
Alex C.
Acaisha B.
Carmen Z.
Lara P.
Mike N.
Respect
Mark G.
Kristen M.
Trustworthiness
Amanda M.
Responsibility
Trisha H.
Chris R.
Angela W.
Caring
Jose R.
Tim B.
Jose M.
Brian M.
Kelly B.
Mari D.
Gabriela L.
Julia N.
Laura D.
Dan B.
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Sixth grade field trip to IMAX
Studying the mysteries of ancient Egypt
Michelle S.
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| Sixth graders, Jennifer F. and Michelle M. wait for the movie to start during the recent IMAX field trip. | |
This IMAX adventure landed each student in the middle of modern Egypt and transported them down the Nile, across the Sahara, and through the Great Pyramids.
Mrs. Kabat, the sixth grade Social Studies teacher and coordinator of the outing, spiced up the day by adding The Santa Clause 2 and concessions to the movie package.
Several students commented that learning is a lot more fun "at the movies." Many sixth graders felt that they were fortunate to have a teacher who willing to make education entertaining.
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