Some amazing, wonderful Geneva teachers closed chapters in their lives with retirement scheduled for the end of this year.
When the final bell sounds at the end of the May 31 school day, expect hugs, kisses and maybe a few tears, as Geneva public schools say goodbye to an accumulated 500-plus years of experience. At Monday night's School Board meeting, principals at six Geneva schools plus Assistent Superintendent Craig Collins had a chance to say some kinds words about the folks who's served the district as teachers and support staff. Speaking purely on a personal note, Debra Scholle remains one of the favorites teachers of our youngest, Brenda Bevans was remarkable in her support of our oldest daughter—and of her parents—as was Diane Rogowski at Geneva High School. Jim Burger taught both me and my youngest daughter (40 years apart) at Geneva High School—we'…
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The 7-foot-by-5.5-foot display designed by GHS Art teacher Al Ochsner and built by Geneva craftsman Tom Kohorst is modeled on the Viking Ship in Good Templar Park.
The Geneva Academic Foundation launched its $1 million "Viking Voyage to Excellence" endowment campaign Monday with the unveiling of a unique and spectacular campaign focal point on display at Geneva High School. At 7 a.m. Monday, in front of a collection of School Board members, Geneva officials and volunteers—and to the fanfare of the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey—the GAF unveiled the 7-foot-long, 5 1/2-foot-tall Viking ship designed by GHS Art teacher Al Ochsner and built by Geneva craftsman Tom Kohorst. "The idea of using a Viking ship instead of a giving tree as the focal point for this campaign grew out of several brainstorming sessions," GAF chair Laura Zuzuly said. Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns is the honorary chairperson of the …
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The magazine's 2013 report out this week recognizes 84 Illinois schools.
Newsweek has ranked Geneva High School at No. 926 among high schools in the country. For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools in the U.S., with about 2,500 schools responding in 2013. You can see the details about GHS's ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-time graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, instead of averaging the number of courses offered, this year Newsweek considered the percentage of students enrolled in AP, IB or Advance International Certificate courses. The final scores then determined Newsweek’s final rankings. You can …
9:51 am on Saturday, May 11, 2013
@Ht I was thinking the same thing but it's still a feather in our cap. more ›
A new survey shows most adults do not show appreciation to former educators despite direct teacher impact on students' futures. Here's your chance to do that in time for National Teacher Day.
A survey of 1,000 adults shows that most do not express appreciation to their former teachers—even though 75 percent say their teachers had a direct impact on their future successes. The survey, conducted by Kars4kids from May 1 and 2, 2013, isn't scientific or conclusive, but its conclusions were a good reminder to tell your favorite teacher how much he or she meant to you. Some of the survey conclusions were that: Kars4kids uses funds raised by tax-eligible car donations for educational programming around the country. “We were surprised to learn the very low number of adults who show appreciation for educators who had a large, positive impact in their lives,” said Avi Gordon, Chief Operating Officer of Kars4Kids. “The difference an …
7:32 am on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
All that said, in the spirit of the article - an earnest 'thank you' to Kevin Gannon, science teacher at GHS and a guy who truly changes lives. more ›
Geneva High School students of the month.
Geneva High School has many outstanding students. Here are the Students of the Month for April 2013. Elise Watson, Grade 12 Nominated by Sophia Michelak For my student of the month, I chose Elise Watson. I have had the honor and joy of being Elise’s P.E. teachers for the last four semesters. Elise brings this unbelievable positive energy to class every day which makes my job that much more enjoyable. She is hard working, enthusiastic and creative in my class. She is very easy to work with and gets along well with all students. Elise will truly be missed next year and my class will not be the same without her. Good luck in all you that you do, Elise! Grace Cerny, Grade 11 Nominated by Mary Limberis It is with great pleasure I nominate …
"Some type of memorial" will be put in place at the Coultrap site, another meeting with neighbors will be scheduled and the Fourth Street administrative facilities will take on the Coultrap name. The cost of demolition is $545,900.
The historic Coultrap building will fall sometime in August, and School District 304 will pay Alpine Deomolition $545,900 to do it. The School District will pay another $140,200 for asbestos abatement at the school. Those were two of the action items of the April 22 board meeting. The board also determined that it would rename—or "rededicate" the Fourth Street centraol office as the "Coultrap Educational Services Center" in memory of Harry Coultrap, the educator that played such an important role in the development of Geneva schools and its "tradition of excellence." School Board President Mark Grosso said he would ask for assistance in creating "some sort of memorial" at the Coultrap facility site and asked that staff set up another …
10:45 am on Saturday, May 4, 2013
We are establishing a Coultrap Memorial committee. We would like to construct a permanent memorial to the school and to Harry Coultrap on the site of the building once the land has been cleared. We will need a lot of help and support from the community. We have asked if the contractor can save enough bricks for us to build the memorial (we need about 2000), the blocks that spell out "Coultrap … more ›
A “drop-in” reception will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 9 at Geneva Middle School South followed by a brief recognition ceremony from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.
All are welcome to attend an open house honoring this year’s many retirees from Geneva School District 304. Geneva School District’s 6th Annual Retirement Open House will be held Thursday, May 9, in the Geneva Middle School South cafeteria, 1415 Viking Drive. A “drop-in” reception will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. followed by a brief recognition ceremony from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. This year’s retirees are: This is a great opportunity to say “thanks” and “good luck” to those who have served Geneva School District students so well for many years.
1:02 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
WOW!!! gotta be some kind of record on here. A story about teachers and the first 6 comments didn't mention salaries or pensions!!! Thanks to all these teachers for their years of service, your retirement is greatly deserved. more ›
The positions are part of a reorganization, with new job descriptions created as other staff members retire.
School District 304 is creating several new positions as part of a reorganization designed to improve school safety and prevention programs, bus maintenance. accounting and early-childhood programs. At last week's board meeting, the Geneva School Board voted unanimously to support the recommendations for several new or redefined positions, including a fulltime safety/security supervisor, early childhood coordinator, coordinator of business services and bus mechanic. The district also will hire a half-time student prevention coordinator. Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Craig Collins presented the board with proposed changes and underlined that most of them were "re-purposing" existing jobs. In the case of the student prevention …
Milk will go up by a dime and band fees continue to climb, but with those exceptions, the "extra" costs for extracurriculars stay the same next year.
Got students who get milk? Then you'll be paying an extra dime per carton next year. You'll also pay a little more if you've got kids in the band. But with those exceptions, Geneva School District 304 is holidng the line on student fees for the 2013-14 school year. School District 304 Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Donna Oberg said at last week's School Board meeting that the course fees for high school programs will remain the same with the exception of these recommended music fee increases: "The recommended student participation fee is used predominantly for uniform cleaning and maintenance, and school instrument maintenance/replacement. The uniforms are getting very old and require a lot more maintenance/care. Many of …
From extreme moulage to extreme disaster, this drill is playing for serious stakes.
Scenario As a part of a full-scale drill, a boiler explodes due to equipment failure during first period at Geneva Middle School South, collapsing part of the building. The building's fire alarm is activated. Extrication is needed for students and staff members trapped in the building. Triage is also needed. Five people are being transported to Delnor Hospital with a variety of serious, simulated injuries. The video and narrative that follows is the "reporter's-eye view" of the drill, first during the preparation stage, then from outside the building. Notes under the subheads were provided by School District 304. 11:15 a.m. — Preparing for the Drill It looks like fun, but it's serious business at Geneva Middle School South, as …
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8:13 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
I agree with that, as a student I know that it would be good if we participated so that we could know how to respond as well. And it would be kinda cool more ›
Laura ZuzulyGAF
9:45 am on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thank you for the wonderful article Rick! more ›