Fast times at Jacobs High
Kids just can't catch a break anymore.
When I was on the phone with a source this week, I told him how kids at my high school once turned the cafeteria into a goldfish pond. I also recalled how some seniors planted dead fish in the school's ventilation system.
Jacobs High School had its own run-ins with mischievous students during the past week. One week ago, students launched water balloons in the hallway of the Algonquin school.
I'm not really sure what fun there is in water balloons, unless you're throwing them at other people, in which case they're quite a lot of fun.
But Jacobs Principal Michael Bregy said the issue wasn't the prank per se but the fact that a couple hundred students, by his estimate, congregated in the halls to watch the madness.
Bregy said the students were quickly able to organize using text messaging. The crowd of onlookers, the principal said, blocked the hallways, preventing students and staff from getting through.
To prevent this from happening again on Monday, Bregy and his A-team sprung into action on Sunday, outlining a plan to thwart rumored plots of chocolate sauce attacks, soap and water vandalism and a food fight.
The administrators at Jacobs even called in the Algonquin police. The restricted movement and the police presence suppressed most of the mischief on Monday.
One student, I'm told, was able to put soap and water on a staircase before he was nabbed. If he wasn't aware that could have resulted in serious injury, he's an idiot. If he was aware, he should be sent to a Jenny Jones-style boot camp.
The incidents at Jacobs raise a couple of interesting questions: What is an appropriate end-of-the-year prank, and how does a school deal with text messaging?
The first question is fairly easy. You have to plan a prank that doesn't destroy property or result in bodily harm. Otherwise, your academic career is over, and you'll get a criminal record - if you don't have one already.
The second question doesn't have an easy answer. How do you control something that has become a part of students' daily lives? How do you frame the issue so parents and students grasp the safety concerns of using an instant communication tool in a building filled with thousands of kids?
Bregy said he would think about the issue during summer break. I suggested he bring something to the district's policy committee. I'll let you know if he comes up with anything.
Back in my day: Retired teachers tell good stories.
They talk about schools that are no longer, old buildings when they were new, students who went on to big things, how the community used to look before the strip malls and subdivisions.
I bet plenty of stories will be circulated next month, when the Pinecrest Golf Course hosts a breakfast for retired teachers from the Huntley area.
The breakfast, open to former school employees and their spouses, will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15. If you want to attend, call Mary Ellen Moerke by July 8 at (847) 669-5239.