School District 129

Nicor employees visited Hill teacher Sandy Quintanilla's first-grade class on Oct. 24 with pumpkins that needed carving. The students were more than up to the task. Nicor, a new Hill business partner, will be supporting learning activities for the children through their own fundraising at Nicor. One of the Nicor employees involved is a former Hill student.

Foundation Provides $24,600 To Schools

The Foundation for the West Aurora Schools is dispersing $24,642 to District 129 schools this year in support of 24 enrichment programs and services that cannot be supplied by limited public resources.

These educational extras can make the critical difference between a good school system and an excellent one. Interested individuals can learn more about the mission of the Foundation by contacting Pat Skeels at 630-301-5024.

Programs funded and dollar amounts are:

The First Tee, $1,000
Parenting Book Club, Fearn, $170
Enrichment Book Club, Goodwin, $500
Homework Club, Goodwin, $500
Fine Arts Week, Greenman*, $950
Continued Literacy Connections, Hill, $2,000
Buck-A-Book, Hill, $1,800
Community Kick-Off, Lincoln, $800
Fine Arts Festival, Nicholson*, $950
After School Sign Club, Schneider, $350
Sensory Lab, Hope Wall, $1,042
Art in Social Studies, Herget, $500
6^th Grade Social Studies Reading Curriculum Enrichment, Herget, $700
After School Sewing Club/After School Cooking Club, Jefferson, $500
Show Choir, Jefferson , $500
Senior Citizen Breakfast and Band Concert, Jefferson**, $1,500
Addition of Two Speakers/Costumes and Sets, Jefferson, $1,000
8^th Grade World War II Interdisciplinary Unit, Jewel**, $1,000
Star Party: Newtonian Telescopes, West, $1,200
Nexus Art Show, West*, $ 700
Games in the Nexus, West, $180
Project Excellence Tutoring, West**, $4,000
Building Team Attitudes/Leaders-Health Occup. Academy, West, $1,800
Academies in Action, West, $1,000

*Funding made possible through the Sherry R. Eagle Endowment Fund

**Funding made possible in part through the Wadsworth Family Endowment Fund

Smith To Trim Class Sizes With State Grant

School District 129 has received an additional $175,000 to reduce class sizes under the states Class Size Reduction Pilot Program. Smith Elementary School will use the grant to add four teachers and lower class sizes to less than 15 students in kindergarten and second-grade.

The district already had been granted $150,000 for the 2006-07 school year to add three classrooms -- two first grades at Freeman, and one second grade at Lincoln.

The grant, which the state awarded to 12 districts, is part of a three-year project during which the state will research the impact of small class size on student achievement. The district will have the opportunity to apply for funding for the remaining two years of the project.

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