Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Heart of Buffalo Grove Awards...

Nominations for the Heart of Buffalo Grove Awards are due by noon Sept. 14. The Buffalo Grove Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the awards and is encouraging residents and businesses of Buffalo Grove to make nominations in the categories of Community, Senior and Youth Volunteer, Educator, Business Philanthropy, Environmental Consciousness, and Going Above and Beyond.
Nominations can be made online on the chamber’s website at buffalogrovechamber.org or call the office at (847) 541-7799 and the chamber will get forms to you. These awards include The Heart of Buffalo Grove Awards will be presented at a Celebration Dinner on Saturday, November 19th at the Arboretum Club in Buffalo Grove.

Read more: http://dailyherald.com/article/20110829/news/708299931/#ixzz1WX6fhaoK

Stevenson matches all-time high score on ACT!

Stevenson High School's Class of 2011 matched the highest composite ACT score in school history, and set new records in two of the four subject areas on the college entrance examination.
Stevenson's composite, or average, score was 26.2, equalling the mark set last year. The state average was 20.9 and the national average was 21.0. The ACT scoring scale is 1 to 36.

The Class of 2011 received all-time high scores on the English and science sections of the exam, and had the second-best marks in mathematics and reading in school history.
The English score was 26.6, topping the previous best of 26.3 set in 2010, and the science score of 25.3 surpassed the 25.2 mark from a year ago. The mathematics score was 26.9, just short of the all-time high of 27.0 set last year, while the reading score was 25.2, second only to the 25.7 posted in 2010. SHS also had a reading score of 25.2 in 2008 and 2006.
The latest ACT results also show that Stevenson’s most recent graduates are well prepared for college. The percentage of SHS graduates that could be expected to earn a B or C in a first-year college course based on ACT scores far exceeded the percentage of students statewide:
• College English Composition – 93 percent of Stevenson graduates, compared to 65 percent of all graduating Illinois high school seniors. The ACT benchmark score to determine college readiness in English is 18 on the English portion of the exam.
• College Algebra -- 82 percent of Stevenson graduates; 42 percent statewide. The ACT benchmark score to determine college readiness in algebra is 22 on the mathematics portion of the exam.
• College Social Science – 77 percent of Stevenson graduates; 48 percent statewide. The ACT benchmark score to determine college readiness in social science is 21 on the reading portion of the exam.
• College Biology – 64 percent of Stevenson graduates; 28 percent statewide. The ACT benchmark score to determine college readiness in biology is 24 on the science portion of the exam.
The number of graduating seniors who took the ACT was 1,065.

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Stevenson to put on 'Rabbit Hole'

The Stevenson High School Fine Arts Division will present its fall play for 2011, "Rabbit Hole," on Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 15-17, in the Studio Theater of the West Building.
"Rabbit Hole," written by David Lindsay-Abaire, deals with the effects of a life-shattering accident in which a young couple's 4-year-old son is killed. Rabbit Hole was first staged in 2006, and Cynthia Nixon won the Tony Award for Best Actress. The play earned four other Tony Award nominations, including best play. Rabbit Hole won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2007. A movie version of "Rabbit Hole" was released last year, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.

Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 15-16, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online through the SHS Web Store at www.d125.org. Tickets also are on sale at the school’s Patriot Superstore during all lunch periods.
The cast includes Corrisa Goodrich, Alex Howard, Joel Glickman, Grace Hannon-Geller and Bennett Saltzman. Cynthia Lynch is the director; the assistant directors are Alysa Spivak and Jaiden Gross. Aliceson Hacket-Rubel is the costume designer, and Stephen Carmody is the set designer and technical director.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Farmers Market is Back in Long Grove!

The Farmers Market is Back!
The bees are humming, the birds are singing and the temperature is climbing – summer is in the air! This means it’s time for fresh pro-duce at the Long Grove Farmers Market. The market will open on Sunday, June 12 and will run every Sunday through October 16 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year you will find the market in the Vil-lage Tavern parking lot.
There will be a wide vari-ety of mouthwatering, newly harvested produce – the sweetest of sweet corn, juicy peaches, succulent tomatoes, savory squash, crisp beans, crunchy cucumbers, fragrant herbs and so much more. Available for purchase will be freshly baked pastries and de-licious breads. Klug Orchards will be selling organic farm produce and for a munch-time snack, try Country Ket-tle Corn. Other items to watch for include handmade soaps, bouquets of flowers and a variety of olives.
Come on out and enjoy some music, breathe in the fresh air and make this a summertime tradition!

School leadership changes in Kildeer District 96

By
At the May 17 regular meeting of the Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96 board of education, the board accepted with very deep regret the resignation of Twin Groves Principal Jeff Brown, effective June 30.
Brown began at Woodlawn when the middle school opened in 1999.
During his years in District 96, Brown has been called upon to work in a variety of significant roles. As a classroom teacher and in administrative positions as Twin Groves Middle School assistant principal (2005—2007), as Country Meadows Elementary principal (2007—2010), and, currently, as Twin Groves principal, he has actively demonstrated commitment to students and staff and has seen student achievement increase substantially during his tenure.
In his new role, Brown will continue to keep student growth his focus. He has accepted a position with educational publisher Solution Tree, assessing and matching the professional development needs of educators with resources and strategies to help equip their students to succeed.
The board has appointed Heather Friziellie to succeed Brown as Twin Groves Middle School principal, effective Aug. 1. An experienced and highly regarded educator, Friziellie already has a close working relationship with newly appointed Twin Groves Assistant Principal Amy Gluck. For the past two years, they have collaborated in job-alike professional development, helping teachers to increase student achievement in the area of reading.
Friziellie is currently Kildeer Countryside Elementary School principal, a position she has held since August 2006. Before coming to District 96 she was principal of a Naperville school with more than 750 students, an assistant principal, and an instructional coordinator. She also has been a technology curriculum specialist and a classroom teacher.
A lifelong learner, she holds a B.S. and administrative certification from Indiana University and a master’s degree in education from Indiana Wesleyan. She is in the dissertation phase of her doctoral degree.
“My approach to being a principal is based on my belief that everyone in the school plays important roles and shares in the goal of helping everyone achieve,” Friziellie said.
“With a well-developed understanding of the district’s culture and work as a professional learning community and significant and varied experience as an educator, Mrs. Friziellie is ideally suited to serve as Twin Groves Middle School principal,” Superintendent Julie Schmidt noted. “In addition, she recognizes the importance of partnering with parents.”
“She is a compassionate educator who will bring energy and enthusiasm to her role as Twin Groves Middle School principal,” Board President Marc Tepper agreed. “As a poised professional who has earned the respect of teachers district wide, she is a great fit for the Twin Groves community.”
Jennifer Smith will succeed Heather Friziellie as principal of Kildeer Countryside School Aug. 1.
Smith came to District 96 as a classroom teacher in 2002 and currently is the special education coordinator. In this role, she has worked closely with Schmidt for five years and has contributed as a member of the district’s leadership team.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in special education from Northeastern Illinois University and a master’s in education from Northern Illinois University. Currently, she is in the dissertation phase of her doctoral degree.
“Her broad experiences as a classroom teacher and as an administrator have been excellent preparation for Mrs. Smith’s new responsibilities as Kildeer School principal,” Schmidt said. “From the first, she has been centrally involved in the district’s development as a Professional Learning Community and has a keen understanding of what students and their teachers need to succeed.”
Board members agree. Tepper said, “Mrs. Smith has proved herself to be a student-focused leader, dedicated to helping all children in our district reach their potential. She is a warm and collaborative professional who has earned the respect of colleagues and the district community.
“Mrs. Smith is a highly qualified and appropriate choice to lead faculty and staff in continuing to increase student achievement at Kildeer Countryside Elementary School.”
To ensure continuity for students and faculty, the board and administrators have planned for 2011 retiree Marie Schalke, principal of Twin Groves from 2005—2010, to serve as an interim administrator during Friziellie’s maternity leave of absence. Friziellie will return to her role shortly after the 2011-12 school year begins.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

District 96 Board Results.

Incumbents, Gordon win in District 96

The race for three board seats in Kildeer-Countryside School District 96 Tuesday could have taken place at Arlington Racecourse.
It turned out to be a real horse race, with incumbent Elizabeth A. Dietz topping the field with 1,999 votes in unofficial tallies.

Newcomer Lauren Gordon placed second, with 1,883 votes, while incumbent John P. Rouleau took the final spot, with 1,635 votes.

Barely finishing out of the money was Richard J. Hazan, with 1,623 votes.
“I’m real happy that these voters had that kind of confidence in me,” Dietz said, adding, “I will do my best not to let them down.”
There was a note of disappointment for Dietz, however, since she, Rouleau and Hazan were running as a team, although she stressed that they were also running as individuals.
She said Gordon would be a good board member.
“She was very active in the district.”
Gordon, who has been active in PTOs for nine years, including two as a PTO president, said, “This was my first time running. I did not know what to expect.”
Now that it is over, she said, “I’m thrilled. I think that the voting has shown an incredible amount of confidence in my ability to be a board member, which I’m looking forward to.”

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Time to get serious about your credit score

by Ann Londrigan on March 11, 2011

“This is the era of credit counseling and repair,” says Kelly J. Price, Senior Mortgage Loan Consultant with Fifth Third Bank in Chicago and one of several lenders interviewed for a story “Buying a Home in Tight Money Times” in the April Illinois REALTOR® magazine out later this month.
Illinois brokers in a recent Broker Sentiment Survey taken by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® also emphasized the importance of good credit in today’s lending environment. One broker said it’s important for potential homebuyers to “mind their Ps and Qs regarding their credit situation for at least a year prior to applying for a mortgage.”
Credit score guidelines can vary from one lender and loan program to another. Some lenders now offer credit repair services as part of the home loan application process. What is certain is that borrowers need to prepare for stricter requirements. Lenders interviewed for the story cited a range of 720-740 or above for the best rates on conventional loans. A low credit score will require borrowers to make a larger down payment or add the cost of private mortgage insurance.
What can you a buyer do?
A good first step is to order a free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com, the official site where, by law, you are allowed to obtain one free credit report a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). The report will show you any problem areas and incorrect information, which you may be able to correct by writing a dispute letter to the reporting company and creditor. You can find a sample dispute letter at the Federal Trade Commission’s website www.FTC.gov.
IAR has developed a “Credit 101″ flyer, available from www.yourillinoishome.com, to help consumers better understand the importance of good credit. Here are some basics for improving your credit score.

Pay your bills on time. Your payment history, including late payments, can count for more than one-third of your credit score.
Reduce your credit card and other debt balances. About 30 percent of your credit score depends on the total amount of balances you owe versus your total credit limit.
Keep older credit lines open. Having a long history of active accounts shows you are a good credit risk.
Avoid new credit. Opening new credit will lower our average account age.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Why the Suburbs are Booming....

Why the suburbs are booming
Why are so many people leaving Chicago and moving to the suburbs? Because the suburbs have a lot going for them. Let's start by debunking the Top 5 myths about the suburbs, using the new U.S. Census numbers to prove it.

Read the complete article at http://dailyherald.com/article/20110224/news/702249995/

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

January newsletter

Please click on this link to view JANUARY - 2011 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter: http://carris.housingtrendsenewsletter.com/?Newsletter_ID=268

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Congrats to the Lake Zurich High School Cheeerleaders!

The Lake Zurich High School Varsity cheerleading squad placed first in the Large Squad division in the Competitive Cheerleading Competition held in Bloomington-Normal this weekend.

GO BEARS!