Highland finds 15 minutes of fame on Channel 11

Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight" program will have a segment at 7 p.m. Tuesday called "Beyond Borders" that features Elgin's own Highland Elementary School.

Principal Steve Johnson says that this is a part of the station's yearlong focus on the impact of immigration on Chicago-area communities. The show already has looked at Waukegan and Palatine.

Johnson said Channel 11 taped 20-minute segments in the bilingual second grade and the general instruction fifth grade. He said he was very proud that the students just paid attention to the lessons after original introductions.

Johnson said the school faces challenges in getting parental involvement. To that end, the United Way of Elgin has worked with Highland for the past three months -- part of a three-year commitment -- to work with students and parents.

The fruits already are being seen in three new parent weekly volunteers. The goal is to involve parents actively and positively, as the kids' first teachers, in the process of formal school education.

College night

A different end of the education spectrum, but school nonetheless.

Elgin Community College is holding its College Night from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Some 140 public, private, two-year and four-year schools are expected. Last year more than 3,000 people attended.

This year's workshops will be: How Do I Select a College?; Choosing a Major; Financing; and a new offering for parents of special needs students. Each of these sessions will be offered twice, at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m.

Enter through the Visual and Performing Arts Building, and go through to the gymnasium, where the college representatives will have their tables.

For details, call Mary Perkins, associate dean of enrollment management at (847) 214-7414.

Youth history fair

Every year as the leaves start turning, Elgin's children, parents and grands are invited to Lord's Park Pavilion to experience what our ancestors did on a daily basis to work, play and keep house. The annual history fair will run from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 7.

Items that are particular to Elgin will include Don Tuttle with his little star portable planetarium, and the hands-on experience of building a little cobblestone cottage. As always, participants will pump water, grind corn and stamp tin. This year's additions will be presentations by a Civil War soldier and a fur trader. In a plank cabin, you will see a tailor, a bread baker and a spinner.

Dulcimer music of the period will entertain. There will be a cake walk.

Professor Marvel and his Flea Circus will be present to delight all. The circus is an optical illusion, and what a laugh. You don't have to be younger than 10 to get a kick out of this show.

The day is sponsored by the Elgin Area Historical Society with support from the City of Elgin, the Elgin Public Museum, Fire Barn No. 5, Gail Borden Public Library and ECC Culinary Arts.

The event is free to everyone. You can get more info by calling the museum at (847) 742-4248 or by logging on to elginhistory@foxvalley.net.

Homeowner ed

One step to peaceful neighborhoods is greater involvement, and one way to promote involvement is home ownership.

The Neighborhood Housing Service of the Fox Valley is again offering a free series of classes for potential buyers at the Centre of Elgin.

Classes start Oct. 9 and run from 6 to 8 p.m. every other Sunday until Nov. 20. On the alternate week, starting Oct 16 and ending Nov. 27, the same classes are offered in Spanish.

Topics for each of the four evenings are: Orientation, Budget and Credit, Shopping for a Home, and Closing on a Loan. The instructor is Elizabeth Cardenas, a certified trainer.

John Groene of the NHS of Chicago says the classes empower people to protect themselves when going into this major purchase. The goal for participants is a good house and a good loan. He says statistics show that with eight hours of training, chances of defaulting on a mortgage go down 50 percent.

The Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley is a new collaboration between the former NHS of Elgin and the NHS of Chicago. The partnership started in June, with Elgin's group retaining its own status, while being able to tap into the greater range of services that the NHS of Chicago offers.

For details on Neighborhood Housing Services of the Fox Valley, call (847) 695-0399. To register or get info on the classes, call (800) 660-1995.

Short takes

• Keavy Dixson of the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin received the 2007 Outstanding Youth Professional Award from the 13-state Midwest Region Youth Development Conference this month. Although only at the club for two years, Rose Reinert-Allen, the executive director of the club, says Keavy is dedicated to bettering the life of every young person she contacts. Her vision is of the club working with an ever increasing number of kids.

• Marianne and Tom Nelson, who left Elgin a year ago, are fitting perfectly into the environs of Portland, Ore. I visited last weekend and they took me one hour east to the Pacific shore and one hour west to Mt. Hood.

Marianne is volunteering with the Friends of the Gorge, and Tom has numerous new subjects for his beautiful photography. If you want to get in touch, you can reach them at manelson316@yahoo.com.