Education Partners, good afternoon:

On behalf of all of the fans of the 16-4 Chicago White Sox – the best record by far in all of major league baseball, by the way -- welcome to today’s edition. Yes, even you fans of the 10-9 Cubs…

Lots of news, with much more to come later this week.

• The Board of Education met last night and, amid a lot of other business, approved increasing student fees for next year. Here is the Board of Education meeting synopsis, which also includes news about the new Board of Education officers, among other issues: http://www.d303.org/Board/mostrecent.pdf
• The district, in partnership with the St. Charles Police and the St. Charles Youth Commission, has purchased two “Alcosensors” – hand-held devices that safely and accurately measure a person’s breath-alcohol level to confirm whether a student is intoxicated in school or at school-related activities. This is another element in our efforts to ensure a safe, secure atmosphere for all of our students. Read all about it here: http://www.d303.org/news/press/sensorpr.htm
• St. Charles North High School’s chapter of the National Honor Society recently bought $5,300 in clothing and personal items for 48 District 303 elementary school students with proceeds from several fundraising events, including the third annual “Doughnuts for Dozens” doughnut eating contest. Kudos for their generous spirit. 
• The Norton Creek Elementary School PTO is sponsoring its first Walk-A-Thon. Half the proceeds will be donated to the One Step At A Time Camp for children with cancer and leukemia.  The Walk-A-Thon will take place around the pond in the Cornerstone subdivision in West Chicago at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, 2005. If you have any questions, or would like to donate to the camp, please contact Anna Mazza at (630) 584-6304. 
• The St. Charles North Varsity Cheerleaders took 7th place at the ICCA State Cheerleading Competition recently held in Springfield. Kudos to everyone.
• Thompson Middle School recently named its 3rd quarter TITAN Award recipients. This honor recognizes students’ Thompson spirit, achievements and character. Recipients included: Team 6-1:  James Janowski, Christina Scribano, Rachel Rawson, J. J. Ohlrich, and David Lyon; Team 6-2:  Karlee Pinto, Kaitlyn Morgan, Samantha Baginski, Brittany William, and Luke Rykoskey; Team 7-1:  Emily Dumproff, Jennifer Scribano, Samantha Reuttiger, Kevin Rose, and Jennifer Allen; Team 7-2:  Evan Michalic, Kaitlyn Batka, Amy DeSalvo, Thomas Gleason, and Megan Healy; Team 8-1:  Ashlee Walsh, Chris Nelson, Greg Muir, Tyler Schmidt, and Emily Steele; Team 8-2:  Beth Aavang, Ashley Capone, Pamela Sommer, Carolyn Grillo, and Kimberly Lenkeit.
• St. Charles North High School’s Project: Dance! 12-hour dance marathon, held this past weekend, raised over $30,000 for Special Olympics. What a wonderful (if exhausting) effort!
• St. Charles North High School presents its 2005 spring musical, “Little Shop of Horrors” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 28, 29, and 30, 2005 in the North Auditorium on the St. Charles North High School Campus, 255 Red Gate Rd., St. Charles.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is a humorous and dark musical about Seymour, a nerdy plant store worker, who magically stumbles upon a very interesting plant.  As soon as he introduces the plant to his customers, the store becomes an immediate success.  In order for the plant to grow any further, however, Seymour must fulfill the plant’s most natural thirst – human blood. Tickets are $5 for students, $7 for adults.  Tickets can be reserved by phone and are also available at the box office 30 minutes before the show.  Seating is not assigned; it is first come first served. For further information or to reserve tickets call 587-7103, Ext 3.

 And finally, the St. Charles City Hall’s Main Street display window this week features a very creative display about District 303’s new Vision Statement and Goals. The display was created and coordinated by the talented Wild Rose/Munhall Elementary School art teacher Rebecca Hubbs. It’ll be up through Sunday, May 1, 2005. Thanks to Ms. Hubbs, and please check it out.

Have a great afternoon,