River Woods School is celebrating 20th anniversary

River Woods Elementary became a close-knit community from its very beginnings in the gymnasium at Naperville Central High School.

Separated only by mobile chalkboards, teachers and students shared the auxiliary gymnasium for the first few months of school in 1987 as they waited for their own building to be completed.

"It was a great bonding experience for everyone that was there," first-grade teacher Charlene Behrends said. "Those were good memories of teachers I taught with those years. We had each other and the kids and the families."

River Woods is now celebrating its 20th anniversary with a variety of events throughout the year to relive fond memories and make new ones for current students.

"We're honoring the history of River Woods, but students, staff and parents who are part of River Woods now are also part of the history, so they really felt like they are part of what we're celebrating," Principal Laura Peterson said. "They are current history. They're developing a sense of pride."

Saturday night, current and former parents and faculty members will gather for a celebration at the Naperville Country Club, and there will be a carnival and birthday party later in the year for families to enjoy.

On Oct. 17, the school also commemorated the anniversary of the school's move into its new building. Behrends and five other staff members who have been at the school since its opening shared their memories of the early days.

Fourth-grade teacher Karen Yaeger was in her first year of teaching when she started at River Woods, and the school's beginnings at Central made the year all the more memorable.

"For me, I guess I didn't know any better. It was great," she said. "Obviously there were some inconveniences, but I had gymnastics equipment in my little section of the gym so I threw sheets over it to make a bulletin board. Seeing everyone learning all in one place was an experience in itself."

Ironically, since Central's gymnasium was being used for classes during those early days, Todd Keating had to take his physical education students outside or find ways to share space with the music department.

But he and others say the setup had its advantages, such as collaborating with other teachers. Being the school's first physical education teacher, he also got to help develop the curriculum and try unique programs like a unit on cross-country skiing.

"We do a lot of really neat things at River Woods because of the fact we had the opportunity to start there at the beginning," he said.

In addition to hearing about the school's history, students also posed for a panoramic picture, decorated cupcakes and all received birthday T-shirts designed by second-grader Nicky Sun.

Peterson said River Woods is a spirited and community-oriented group.

"We just have a wonderful staff of teachers and people here who really support kids and children come first in all our decisions," she said.

"Parents are very, very involved and the kids are just good kids. They're here to learn. Our focus is for kids to be the best that they can be."