News Archive Winter 2007
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David Derbes: Golden Apple Award Winner
Congratulations to science teacher David Derbes, who has been chosen to
receive one of this year's Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching,
awards which honor 10 Chicago-area classroom teachers each year. Mr. Derbes
will receive a fall sabbatical to take courses at Northwestern University, a
personal computer, a cash award, and lifetime membership in the Golden Apple
Academy of Educators.
The Golden Apple Award was the idea of Golden Apple founder Martin J.
"Mike" Koldyke, who felt that excellent teachers were not receiving
adequate recognition for their important contribution to society. Every year
since 1986, Golden Apple has chosen 10 outstanding teachers to receive this
prestigious award. Modeled after the Academy Awards, the Golden Apple Awards
are broadcast each spring on Chicago public television station WTTW/11.
Mr. Derbes is the sixth Lab School teacher to receive the Golden Apple (some
of the others are shown in the photo to the left). He was one of 32 finalists
selected from over 1,000 nominations of high school teachers in the Chicago
area. Former Lab School English teacher John O'Connor, who is currently at New
Trier High School, was also a finalist. Another of this year's Golden Apple
winners is a U-High graduate: John Naisbitt, who now teaches history at
Hinsdale Central High School. Congratulations to all!
Read
the University of Chicago's news release on Mr. Derbes' Golden
Apple.
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New Middle School Principal Named
Director David Magill is very pleased to announce that Amani Reed has
accepted an offer of employment and will become the next principal of the
Middle School. He will officially begin his duties on July 1, 2007.
Mr. Reed has been the assistant middle school director at Lakeside School in
Seattle, Washington, a coed 5-12 day school divided on two campuses. Along with
his administrative duties, he has also been involved in teaching history,
ethics, and coaching soccer. Prior to joining Lakeside's faculty, Mr. Reed
spent six years at Sewickley Academy, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His
career has included many different assignments including teaching,
Summerbridge, admissions, and diversity director roles. He is currently
completing a degree at the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University Teachers
College.
Welcome to Lab!
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7th Grade Students Celebrate Our America
Seventh grade families gathered to say thank you to the interviewees who had
give time to seventh graders for an interview and experience project. During
this celebration, members of the Chicago Children’s Choir gave an impromptu
concert of South African folk songs, directed by Mollie Stone, a Lab School
graduate and an interviewee in this project.
Speaking at the gathering was LeAlan Jones, voice of the radio program
"Ghetto Life 101" and author of the book Our America: Life and
Death on the South Side of Chicago, about growing up as an
African-American boy in Chicago's Ida B. Wells Housing Project. He signed many
copies of his book, which the students had read for the class and which is
full of interviews that the students used as models and inspiration for their
own interviews.
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Youth Sports Programs
Seventy-five students in grades 3-6 attended Lab's second year of Youth
Sports Programs in basketball and soccer. Varsity coaches Mike Moses, Carson
Cunningham and Ron Ashlaw led practice sessions and games on seven weekends in
January and February. They were assisted by ten high-school players who
volunteered to work with this next generation of Lab's student-athletes.
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School Walk for Diabetes
Last year, for the first time, The Laboratory Schools participated in the
American Diabetes Association's School Walk for Diabetes. A total of $4,179 was
raised to help fund essential programs aimed at preventing the onset of
diabetes, curing it and improving the lives of all those affected by diabetes.
This year, the School Walk for Diabetes will take place on Friday, April 27
from noon until 12:55, along the Midway from Kimbark to Cottage Grove.
Registration is organized by Frances Moore-Bond, and all students in grades
5-12, parents, faculty, staff, and administrators are welcome to participate in
the walk. Students may register to participate through their advisories and
home rooms, where they will receive collection envelopes. High school students,
parents, faculty, staff and administrations may contact Ms. Moore-Bond directly
for a collection envelope.
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French Exchange Students at Lab
Three French students are studying at U-High for the next four weeks as part
of Lab School's Eliade Exchange Program. They are being hosted by juniors Alya
Forster, Katherine Smolarek, and Yuwen Wu, and their families. The Eliade
Exchange Program provides scholarships every year to two sophomores to spend
four weeks studying at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry
in La Rochelle and then in turn to host a student at Lab. This program is
named after the late Mircea Eliade, professor
at the University of Chicago in the academic discipline of the history of
religions.
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Connections Auction Book Online
With Connections 2007 only a week away, prepare to bid on some awesome
auction items. View
the auction book to see such interesting options as a luncheon cruise on
Lake Michigan, a Fender guitar autographed by all four members of the Rolling
Stones, a chance to be a fighter pilot for a day, a photodocumentary of your
child's day, a vacation in Telluride or Navarre Beach. There are tickets to the
Bulls, Blackhawks, Sox, CSO, Court Theatre, the Oprah Winfry show, and more.
Win a party at the Seven-Ten Lounge or Fantasy Kingdom, a professional
photography session, a massage, or a membership at the Hyde Park Art
Center.
Connections 2007 takes place in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier next Friday, March 2, beginning at
6:30 p.m. See you there!
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Arts Fest a Smashing Success
With over a hundred workshops in such diverse categories as architecture,
creative writing, dance, music, and the culinary arts, Arts Fest 2007 offered
something for everyone. In this annual celebration of art and creativity in the
U-High community, students participated in as many as six activities that were
led by students, parents, faculty, and professional artists.
Workshop titles included Make Your Own Paper, Irish
Dancing, Zoom in on Photography, Ukrainian Eggs,
Warm Up & Knit, Serenade Me with Emerson, Koo-Koo for
Kookies, Sushi Making, Duct Tape Galore!,
Graffiti, Finger Painting, Fire it Up: Ceramics,
Belly Dancing, Juxtapose with Graphite, Jazz
Quintet, and Human Chess, to name just a few.
This year's mural, created in the workshop Mural, Mural on the
Wall, is located on the third floor. It depicts a much-loved tree near the
Oriental Institute and Rockefeller Chapel. As they painted, students reminisced
about sitting on this horizontal wonder of nature during their nursery school
days at Woodlawn or as they ate lunch as MacWillies campers.
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All-School Science Extravaganza
Science Expo is here! Lab School is the place to be this Saturday, February
24, from 1-5 pm for the third annual all-school science extravaganza.
Where else can you enter the Giant Cell, build a straw tower, see a kite fly
indoors, play Science Jeopardy or watch pennies change color before your very
eyes? Learn about the big bang, fossils, Harry Potter genetics, whale tagging,
the life cycle of stars, stem cell research, nanotechnology and more from our
scientist presenters.
Over 100 student projects in technology, physics, chemistry, earth science,
astronomy, biology and global issues will be presented by students in grades
3-12. Click here to view the schedule of
events.
Don’t miss a minute of Science Expo–admission is free!
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Cheer on Lab Alum
Come watch professional soccer player and U-High alumnus, Andy Rosenband,
play midfield for the major league indoor soccer team, the Chicago Storm. On
Saturday, February 24th, Lab School students, families, and alumni can cheer
from VIP seating as the Storm battles the Baltimore Blast. Game time is 1:00
p.m. at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. Click
here for more information and a ticket order form.
After graduating from U-High in '99, Andy played soccer at Wake Forest and
Ohio State before turning pro when he was drafted by the Dallas Burn of the
MLS. More info on Andy
can be found on the Chicago Storm web site.
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Connections Raffle Tickets on Sale
Don't miss out on your chance to win the Connections raffle! For
only $20 a ticket, or 6 for $100, you could win one of Lab's great cash prizes:
$5,000 for First Prize, $1,000 for 2nd Prize, and $500 for
3rd Prize!
- Tickets are $20 each or 6 for $100
- Tickets will be on sale every morning Tuesday, February 13th - Friday,
March 2nd in Blaine Lobby, Judd Lobby, the High School Lobby, and
Woodlawn.
- You can also purchase tickets at the following school events:
- High School Play - Thursday, February 22nd - Saturday, February 24th at
7:00 p.m.
- Science Expo - Saturday, February 24th from 1:00-5:00 p.m. in the high
school lobby
- Middle School Play - February 23rd - 25th Friday and Saturday at 7:30
p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
There will be a special early drawing for a $250 prize at the Science Expo,
and winners will still be included in the main drawings at the Connections
event.
Don’t have your Connections tickets yet? Event tickets will
be available for sale at all raffle sales locations.
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7th Graders Raise Money for Orphanage
7th grade students in Ms. Doyle’s, Ms. Anderson’s and Ms. Jacobs’s
advisories planned and conducted a candy guess and a Valentine’s Day rose sale
to raise money for an orphanage in Lang Son, Vietnam. The orphanage is in need
of stainless steel cribs because the high humidity causes wooden cribs to rot.
The sale raised $460.00 and will purchase two stainless steel cribs. For more
information on the orphanage and the cribs, see www.worldchildfoundation.org.
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Hyde Park Bugs
Kindergarten and fourth-grade buddies, led by teachers Ms. Anglin, Ms.
Hayward, and Ms. Smith, teamed up to create an exhibit of bugs found in Hyde
Park. The fourth graders, as part of a two-year study and conservation project
on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park, had a guest speaker from the University
of Chicago come this past fall to talk about plants, birds and bugs on the
Wooded Island. Michael LaBarbera was a delightful speaker and had lots of
impressive slides of life on the island, which is right here in Hyde Park! Mr.
LaBarbera wrote an article on Hyde Park bugs for a summer 2006 issue of Chicago
Wilderness, and this became the inspiration for the project with our
kindergarten partners. All of the bugs represented in the exhibit created by
the kindergarten-fourth grade partners can be found in the Hyde Park area.
Working in three sittings, the partners teamed up to select, draw, sculpt,
and paint one of the many Hyde Park bugs the fourth graders had learned about.
The fourth graders, thoroughly immersed in the bug study, did a wonderful job
of bringing the bugs to life, so to speak, for the kindergarteners. The
selection process was fun and social as both classes poured over bug photos.
Bugs chosen, the older children helped to reinforce some basic bug-body-part
facts with their younger partners – head, thorax, and abdomen, in particular.
The pairs then worked together to create a pencil drawing, which would serve as
a plan for the final two sittings – when the classes would sculpt and paint
their bugs. Preparations for the final sittings included individual class
periods for the kindergarteners to play with the ‘sculpy’ and for the fourth
graders to prepare the paint palettes. The exhibit is the result of their work
together.
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U-Higher in Jeopardy Teen Tournament
Turn on your TV at 3:30 next Wednesday! U-High sophomore Frank F. has
reached the semi-final round of Jeopardy's Teen Tournament. Finishing third in
last Thursday's quarter-final round, Frank had a high enough total—$14,400— to
qualify for next week's semi-finals.
More information, including a video interview with Frank, can be found on
the Teen
Tournament web site.
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Announcement from the Director
Director David Magill announces, with sadness, that Alexis Wright, Middle
School Principal, will not be returning to Lab for the 2007-2008 school year.
He has accepted an offer to become the next Assistant Head of School at the Rye
Country Day School in Rye, New York, effective August 1, 2007. As many of you
know, Rye is where Alexis began his career as a science teacher and later as a
middle school principal.
It didn’t take long for us to know that Alexis would be sought after as an
educational leader. He is well respected in the independent school world, and
his experience at the Laboratory Schools placed him in great demand. While
disappointed that his tenure at Lab will be only three years, I am extremely
grateful that he gave his best to us while here. We are a better place because
of his time with us.
During the next few days, I will be creating a plan to find our next Middle
School Principal. National search consultants have already been contacted, and
we will find a well-qualified person ready to assume leadership at the Middle
School. I am confident that Alexis will be fully engaged here for the next six
months and will ensure a smooth transition with his successor.
Lab is a remarkable educational institution with a distinguished history.
Change, innovation, and resiliency have shaped its character. This unexpected
development is but one chapter in a much longer story—a story of excellence
that will continue to unfold for future generations of children.
Alexis deserves our congratulations and best wishes. I know that you will
take the time to share your own thoughts with him.
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State Senator Raoul to Speak at MLK Assembly
Lab's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly will take place this Friday
in Rockefeller Chapel, in observance of the seventy-eighth birthday of Dr.
King. Sponsored by the middle school and high school Black Students
Association, the assembly will feature performances by BSA and ASA members, the
high school and middle school choirs, and other individuals from both the high
school and middle school.
The guest speaker for the event is Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul, who
was appointed to fill the vacancy of U.S. Senator Barack Obama on November 6,
2004. As a lifelong resident of the Hyde Park/Kenwood area, Senator Raoul is
most concerned about education, public safety, health care and economic
development, issues of great importance to the 13th Legislative District. Visit Senator Raoul's web site
for more information on "Chicago's Lakefront Senator."
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Lab Schools Outing to the Bulls Game
Tuesday, March 13, is Lab School Night at the Bulls game. Students, faculty,
family, and friends can purchase tickets at half price to see the Chicago Bulls
basketball team take on the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. (Don't worry about
staying out late; spring break starts two days later!) To sign up, download the ticket purchase form and return it to
the Athletic Director by January 26.
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