Evanston-Skokie School District 65 to Approve $15M in Bonds

The Board of Education is expected Monday to approve issuing bonds to fund capital projects throughout the district.

Evanston-Skokie School District 65 Board of Education is expected to approve a $15 million bond issue Monday, which would fund capital projects such building and renovating at Haven and Nichols middle schools, Evanston Review reported.  Some of the other capital projects include $1.4 million for roofing and masonry work at Oakton, Dawes, Nichols and Chute schools; $1.5 million for technology equipment and services; and $240,000 for updating security systems, such as new door locks, buzzers, additional security cameras as well as a proposal to secure entrances at various buildings, Evanston Review reported.  District 65 could see its budget cut by about $300,000 this year due to the sequester, or federal government budget cuts, which will …

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About Town

Evanston Needs More Shopping Choices For Kids

Columnist Christine Wolf hopes to see more businesses with a focus on Evanston's youngest consumers.

There’s money to be made in Evanston for anyone willing to offer options for kids. Having raised all three of my children here from birth – they’re now 15, 13 and 9 – I guarantee there’s a need for kid-friendly options, particularly for kids’ apparel and indoor activities. According to GreatSchools.org, the greater Evanston, Illinois, area sees kids enrolled in 29 Preschools, 18 Elementary Schools, 11 Middle Schools and 3 High School programs.  Take a look at this list of Evanston-area schools, followed by the kid-friendly private-sector clothing and activity offerings -- then tell me there isn’t room for improvement. Even if we exclude most preschool programs, we STILL have a tremendous population of kids (and their families) searching …

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ETHS Students Honored with African American Youth Achievement Awards

Evanston Township High School District presented the awards to 38 students.

  Evanston Township High School District 202 recently honored 38 African-American students from public schools in Evanston and Skokie for their daily actions that pay homage to the visions and legacy of African-American pioneers and pathfinders, according to the school’s website.  Part of a Black History Month initiative, African American Youth Achievement Award recipients excel in one of the following categories: character, civility, community service, leadership, scholarship or sportsmanship.  2013 African American Youth Achievement Award Recipients Evanston Township High School Bessie Rhodes School Chute Middle School  Dawes School Dewey School Haven Middle School  King Lab School Kingsley School  Lincoln School Lincolnwood School …

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'Lincoln'... and the United Students of Evanston

Patch columnist Christine Wolf ponders the gravity of the moment as a diverse group of 7th graders from Nichols Middle School attend a screening of the movie 'Lincoln.'

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. At this time of year, many of us stop to ask what we cherish most. It's not uncommon to hear the following top the list: family, friends and neighbors, good health, a paying job, or a roof over our heads. In addition to the abovementioned, this year I'm especially thankful for having seen Nichols Middle School 7th graders attending a special screening of the movie Lincoln on Friday, November 16th. As I peeked in the theater before the house lights went down, I stood in awe, looking at the multitude of faces, races and cultures represented in those seats, reminding myself how fortunate we are to live in such a diverse community. The kids may have thought they'd earned a fun, Friday field trip to …

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Enrollment at Evanston Middle Schools to Swell

Enrollment at Evanston Middle Schools to Swell

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Cooling Off

Ah, the delightfully breezy evenings in an idyllic town called Evanston.

After a long, hot, lovely summer in Evanston, the windows are now open to the fall-like temperatures. It’s such a liberating feeling.  No more air conditioning. No more stuffy house. No more…oh shoot…I forgot…now the neighbors can hear everything. It’s not like we’re doing anything untoward here, but it just takes some getting used to. Call me sensitive, but I care that our neighbors might overhear the shenanigans going on in our Evanston household. For instance, our middle-schoolers (at Nichols) and our 3rd grader (at Washington ) had a little “celebration” at dinner last night over the fact that both schools’ principals are pregnant.  WHAT? How did District 65 allow that?! (Seriously, congratulations to both Principal Kate Ellison of …

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Interior Effects

What Evanston’s finest buildings look like -- from the inside out

The camera on my cell phone doesn’t capture stunning photos, but the ones I snapped while waiting at Nichols Middle School during parent/teacher conferences will give you a general idea of what the school looks like inside. Despite all the discussion about Evanston being overridden with "newfangled" condos and "grotesque modern architecture", there’s still a good deal of old school About Town. Interested in Evanston architecture? The Evanston History Center holds a discussion tonight, titled  "Architectural Evanston: An Armchair Tour" at 7pm.  Seeing all the beautiful features inside Nichols Middle School got me thinking: what do other schools and buildings in Evanston look like – really look like -- inside?  What distinct characteristics …

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Parent/Teacher Conferences

A New Perspective.

I've just left an evening of parent/teacher conferences for my middle-schooler.   The faces I saw tonight -- parents and teachers alike -- were a mix of tired, determined, and searching.  No one mentioned the pipe-bomb suicide last month which dominated our thoughts and closed our school for days.  It feels so long ago.  The parent/teacher conferences were spaced in five-minute-allotments for each student.  However, there wasn't a single conference I attended lasting less than 15 minutes. I passed the school's newly appointed principal, Sarah Mendez, and wondered how she's holding up.  I wanted to pull her out into the hall, away from the parents she was listening to, and say, "Thank you for all you did to keep our school safe and calm …

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Directing Students = Texting Students

Should the Superintendent of Schools Start Texting Students?

Has anyone considered how quickly we could have gotten word out to students about the emergency at Nichols Middle School if District 65 Communications had texted them information as it became available?  As students were walking, riding in buses, or sitting in passenger seats on the way to school, one brief text could have issued a clear directive about the situation as it unfolded.  For example, "8:15 a.m. District 65/Alert for Nichols Middle Students:  School Emergency.  Report IMMEDIATELY to the YMCA on Lake Street.  Upon arrival, check in with homeroom teacher for further instructions." Short, informative, immediate.  Some parents felt the District blundered Nichols' dismissal procedure that morning, but who could have predicted the …

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Christine Wolf

9:43 pm on Monday, September 27, 2010

Nice perspective, Mindy. I'm raising my kids in an age where they never knew life B.E. (before email).   more ›

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Recovering With Respect

Nichols Neighbors Reclaim Fitzsimons Park.

Though the events leading to Colin Dalebroux's death last week at Fitzsimons Park are still under investigation, both his family in Wisconsin and the Evanston Police Department have suggested he committed suicide with a pipe bomb. Current and former residents from the neighborhood surrounding Nichols Middle School – calling themselves Nichols' Neighbors – assembled this past Sunday morning on the playground of the park.  The neighbors sought to reclaim the park following last week's tragedy.  The neighbors have shared a Yahoo! Internet listserv, called "NicholsNeighbors," for years.  Subscribers receive everything from updates on neighborhood news, block party announcements, feedback on contractors, and alerts about occasional, wayward …

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