Two local educators were honored with awards this week -- a Fairview Heights principal and an Edwardsville fifth grade teacher.
Illini Elementary School Principal Travis Klein was named a Peabody Energy Leader in Education for the 2012-13 school year and awarded $1,000 for his compassion and commitment to students. Peabody officials came to the school Tuesday and surprised Klein with the award.
Klein encourages his students, faculty and staff to give back to the community. He gets his school involved in a variety of service programs throughout the year including: the St. Jude Hero Run, Candy for Troops, Toys for Tots and the Lymphoma Society's Pennies for Pasta. He also strives to engage parents in school activities and organized family trivia nights and monthly parent breakfasts.
The Peabody Energy Leaders in Education program rewards dedicated education professionals who inspire and motivate youth to succeed.
Matthew Maddox, a fifth grade teacher at Columbus Elementary School in Edwardsville, won the state Veterans of Foreign Wars' teacher of the year award and the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. Members of the 12th District VFW will present Maddox with his state award during a school assembly Thursday. Maddox will receive a plaque and a check for $100. At the national convention this summer in Louisville, Ky., Maddox and his school both will receive a check for $1,000.
St. Joseph Catholic School in Freeburg has moved onto the next round in the Buffalo Wild Wings "Spirit Challenge V." St. Joseph will face-off against Aviston Elementary School in Aviston on Wednesday. Supporters of St. Joseph are encouraged to visit the Belleville Buffalo Wild Wings, located at 5600 Belleville Crossing, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday. The schools are competing for a grand prize of $2,500 along with a percentage of the revenue generated at the restaurant. In order to advance in the competition, a school must generate more revenue on their designated day than the other school against whom they paired. The competition, similarly structured to March Madness, started with 16 schools and continues until two schools remain.
A visitation for Scott and Zachary Hutchison will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Emge Junior High School, 7401 Westchester Dr. in Belleville. Scott Hutchison, 51, a Belleville Boy Scout leader, and his son Zachary Hutchison, 9, a student at Ellis Elementary School, both died March 1 from injuries sustained in a car crash on Old St. Louis Road. A memorial service will be held immediately following the visitation at 7:30 p.m. Friday. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Local Boy Scout Troop 12, Pack 12 or the Scott and Zachary Hutchison Memorial Fund at Scott Credit Union. Kurrus Funeral Home in Fairview Heights is handling the arrangements. A private burial will be held.
St. Clair County students have until Friday to apply for a $500 scholarship from Sheriff Richard Watson. To qualify, a student must be a permanent Illinois resident; scholarship must be utilized at institutions of higher learning within the State of Illinois; and student must be enrolled as a full-time student during the 2013-2014 year. Applications are available from the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, 700 N. 5th Street in Belleville, or online at www.ilsheriff.org.
Lindenwood University in Belleville is holding a workshop on manuscript publishing from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the university's Administration Building, at 2600 W. Main Street. The workshop will be presented by Southern Illinois author Edmond P. DeRousse. The cost to attend is $10. For more information, call 618-239-6043.
Immaculate Conception School of Columbia will hold registration for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and new students in grades first through eighth for next school year from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday in the school cafeteria. Parents are asked to bring their child's baptismal certificate if not baptized at Immaculate Conception Parish, a copy of the birth certificate and social security number. Kindergarten pre-screening dates will be available for sign-up. For more information, call the school at 618-281-5353.
A town hall meeting on drug addiction will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Waterloo High School auditorium, at 505 E. Bulldog. The Monroe County Coroner's office is working with officials at Waterloo High School to provide a program packed with information and facts on illegal and prescription drug abuse. The speakers will include members of "Stop Heroin Now," Dr. Jay Pickett and others who will share their experiences, warning signs and where to go for help. For more information, call Waterloo High School at 618-939-3455.
Harmony School District 175 will hold kindergarten registration from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 20, 21 and 22 at Ellis School, at 250 Illini Drive. In addition, an evening registration will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. March 21. The registration is open to any students who are 5 years old on or before Sept. 1. Parents are asked to bring a certified birth certificate for their child, copy of their occupancy permit and two proofs of residency. Kindergarten screenings will be held April 23 and 24 at Ellis School, and a preschool screening for 3- to 5-year-olds will be held April 17 at Ellis School.
Immaculate Conception School in Columbia earned 12 of 18 places March 7 for its performance at the Gibault Math Contest. Immaculate Conception School was in the large school division along with Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School-Waterloo, Millstadt Consolidated and Redbud Elementary. The contest consisted of a 30 question individual test without the use of calculators.
Sixth grade contest winners from ICS included first place Spencer Biske, second place Lucas Herrmann, third place Mason Babcock, fourth place Sarah Rose and sixth place Thomas Young. The ICS seventh grade contest winners were second place Faustina Mulnik, fourth place Luke Estes, fifth place Mary Boser and sixth place Brooke Schwartz. The eighth grade contest winners were first place Jay Hollman, second place Madelon Belaska and sixth place Hillary Wessel. The Crusaders mathletes are coached by math teacher Karen Weiler.
Pontiac Junior High and William Holliday Elementary schools participated in the Olive Garden's Pasta for Pennies program to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Both schools collected donations from Feb. 4 to March 1. William Holliday Elementary School raised more than $4,000. Pontiac Junior High raised nearly $2,900. The money raised will go toward finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The top fundraising class at each school gets a lunch catered by Olive Garden.
Ten students from the Collinsville High School Latin Club recently attended the Illinois Junior Classical League-North Convention in Chicago. It was the first time Collinsville High School students have attended the Chicago convention, and they won the first place spirit award for small delegations. The group included Daniel Sims, Sabrina Flohr, Nicki Patel, Cady Menk, Persephone Carter, Regan Brook, Jace Plute, Thomas Boyer, Bennett Pysz and Brandon Harmon-Moore.Additional awards included: Thomas Boyer, first place in Boys' Costume Contest and fourth place in Decathlon Academic Contest; Persephone Carter, second place in Latin Oratory; Regan Brooke, fourth place in Dramatic Interpretation; and Bennett Pysz and Persephone Carter, third place in Latin Sight Reading.
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and St. Louis Science Center Y.E.S. Program presented Chemistry Explorations on Feb. 23 at Belle Valley School in Belleville. Fifty-two third and fourth graders from local schools explored the science that surrounds them everyday. Working with household items, participants identified acids and bases, conducted physical and chemical reactions, and investigated the properties of super saturation and crystallization. For more information on these programs, visit www.imsa.edu.
McDonald's of St. Louis and the Metro East is awarding more than $70,000 in scholarships to St. Louis area high school seniors through the McDonald's Academic Excellence Award Scholarship Program. The program is designated for African-American students and will award qualifying high school seniors a one-time $3,000 college scholarships. To qualify, students must have high academic achievements, along with extracurricular activities and a record of volunteer service in the community. High school seniors may apply from now through March 25. Application information is available at www.mcdonaldsstl.com.
Do you have an opinion regarding referendums placed on the April 9 ballot by O'Fallon District 90, Grant School District 110, Mascoutah School District 19 and Smithton School District 130? Contact education reporter Jamie Forsythe at 618-239-2562 or email jforsythe1@bnd.com. Both District 90 and District 110 are asking voters to approve a tax increase that will directly pay for schools, and District 19 and District 130 are requesting voters approve moving forward with plans to build a new school.
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