Dist. 54 school calendar all set for next two years
Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54 approved its school calendars for 2011-12 and 2012-13 Thursday after some discussion around making Veterans Day a nonattendance holiday for the upcoming school years.
The board approved the calendar, which notes no school on Veterans Day, after discussing concerns on if it is more of an honor to have Veterans Day off or to keep children in school on the holiday to teach the district’s Veterans Day curriculum.
After discussing the issue, the board noted that students could learn about Veterans Day before the actual holiday as well as having the day off.
To the delight of several parents and students, the board recognized the SAA Travel Baseball Flyers team, who hosted the second annual softball game with the district’s Special Olympics athletes. The team spent time coaching, practicing, warming up and then playing a “crosstown classic” game with children of the District 54 Special Olympics.
The district also recognized seven winners of the 2010 Illinois State Board of Education’s “Those Who Excel Awards” to a room crowded with parent and student supporters, who gave bouquets of flowers and standing ovations to their favorite teachers. Stevenson Elementary School sixth-grade teacher Dilshad Patel won an Award of Excellence in the outstanding early educator category; MacArthur Elementary School volunteer Bob Frankel won an Award of Merit in the community volunteer category; Brad Carter, principal of Muir Elementary, won an Award of Merit in the school administrator category; Fox Elementary School instructional assistant Arlene Donatelli won an Award of Merit in the educational service personnel category; kindergarten dual language teacher Blanca Leal of MacArthur Elementary School won an Award of Recognition in the classroom teacher category; Blackwell Elementary School library media teacher Karen Buzek won an Award of Recognition in the student support personnel category and the District 54 Transportation Department won an Award of Merit in the team category, which includes Kathy Guild, Lori Hilliard, MaryLou Moore and Taryn Ross.