A good place to remember
The Sue Hodkinson Outdoor Reading Room at Churchill School was dedicated Saturday afternoon, with the former fourth-grade teacher's family, friends, colleagues and students on hand. The ceremony marked the attainment of Sue's dream for a lasting outdoor reading area. Sue, who had been with the district since 1989, and at Churchill since 2002, died in July of 2006. The inviting, semi-circular space constructed of brick pavers is versatile and can accommodate individual readers, small groups and even small performances of the type Sue was known for during her years at Churchill. Students, who had written down their thoughts about the space, captured the spirit perfectly: "It is quiet and peaceful. It is a good place to remember all the good times with Mrs. Hodkinson." A number of fundraising activities took place over the last two years to fund the project, which was designed at no cost by architectural firm FGM, Inc.
Veterans honored at Benjamin Franklin
Veterans and current members of the armed services were invited by students to a Veterans Day assembly traditionally hosted each year by Benjamin Franklin. The event featured an explanation of Veterans Day, patriotic songs performed by each grade and recognition of the veterans.
District 41 Math Specialist named ICTM chair
District 41 Math Specialist Linda Schweikhofer has been named Chairperson of the Board for the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "It's an honor to be on the board, and to be named chair," said Linda, adding that as part of ICTM, "you are always in contact with people who know the best practices, are current in the research, and are active in state and national education." Linda has been a member of ICTM for a number of years, and has presented at conferences at the state and national levels. Linda started her career in District 41 teaching math at Hadley, then became the Hadley math specialist. She has been the District math specialist for four years. During that time, she has worked to improve student achievement in math throughout the district, including working with the 24-member math committee in aligning the curriculum and math assessments to state learning standards, developing student-friendly learning targets and researching instructional materials.
