From Sept. 19 to Sept. 27, Oswego School District 308 schools will have the opportunity to participate in the district’s third annual food drive for the Kendall County Food Pantry.

Aurora

Police partner with social network to fight crime

The Aurora Police Department has announced a partnership with Nextdoor (nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods, to improve citywide and neighbor-to-neighbor communications with the citizens they serve.

According to Police Chief Kristen Ziman, the partnership will help enhance communication between police and residents with the goal of building stronger, safer neighborhoods.

“The partnership with Nextdoor gives neighbors an easy way to not only get to know each other, but develop stronger relationships with us,” Ziman said. “We know that building trust and constant communication channels will lead to stronger and safer neighborhoods.”

According to Nextdoor, the social network has already proven to be a well-adopted tool for Aurora residents. More than 75 neighborhoods, representing 67 percent of the City of Aurora, have started Nextdoor websites.

With Nextdoor, Aurora residents can create private neighborhood websites to share information, including neighborhood public safety issues, community events and activities, local services, and even lost pets. The police department will be able to post information, including important news, services, programs, free events, and emergency notifications to Nextdoor websites within the city.

Nextdoor is free for residents and the police department. Each Aurora neighborhood has its own private neighborhood website, accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. Neighborhoods establish and self-manage their own Nextdoor website and the police department will not be able to access residents’ websites, contact information, or content. All members must verify that they live within the neighborhood before joining. Information shared on Nextdoor is password protected and cannot be accessed by Google or other search engines.

Those interested in joining their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website can visitnextdoor.com and enter their address. If residents have questions about their website, they can visit help.nextdoor.com.

Aurora school recognized as National School of Excellence

Out of all the schools in the nation, the National PTA is pleased to recognize 173 schools from across the country as 2016-18 National PTA Schools of Excellence for their leadership and accomplishments nationwide in building strong, effective family-school partnerships.

One of the recipients of this distinguished honor is Aurora’s own John C. Dunham STEM Partnership School at Aurora University. The PTA at the STEM Partnership School has effectively focused on community outreach and engagement while becoming a model organization throughout the area.

Focusing on (S)cience, (T)echnology, (E)ngineering and (M)ath, the Partnership School serves 3rd—8th grade students from East Aurora School District 131, West Aurora School District 129, Indian Prairie School District 204 and Batavia School District 101.

“Strong family-school partnerships are proven to advance children’s learning and growth, increase student achievement and positively impact school improvement efforts,” Laura Bay, president of National PTA, said in a statement on the organization’s website. “We are pleased to designate these schools and PTAs as 2016-2018 National PTA Schools of Excellence for their commitment to partnering to support student success and continuous school improvement.”

Oswego

School District Boundary Committee Meets

Community Unit School District 308’s Boundary Advisory Committee conducted its first meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6.  The 37-member committee, which is tasked with redrawing District 308’s school boundaries, consists of two board chairs — Lauri Doyle and Dr. Michael McDowell — 10 administrators, and 25 community members.

As part of the process of redrawing boundaries, district administration will review the placement of special programs as placement of these programs will affect the committee’s process based on enrollment and building capacity. The Board of Education has made it clear that it wants longevity when it comes to the recommended boundary changes.

Following the introduction of the committee members, RSP and Associates, a firm hired by District 308 to help navigate redrawing of school boundaries, reviewed the process that the members will follow, the boundary scope, and the criteria as set forth by the Board of Education. 

Committee members were then provided updated district enrollment and demographic information and informed of the roles that the Board of Education, administration, RSP and Associates, and committee members would play.

After spending time reviewing the 10 specific criteria with emphasis on the Board of Education’s top four goals, RSP and Associates covered some of the trends pertaining to enrollment in the district and looked at current attendance areas.

At its Aug. 1 meeting, the Board of Education voted on its top criteria for determining the new school boundaries moving forward. The top four criteria were:

1. Projected enrollment
2. Building utilization
3. Fiscal considerations related to operations
4. Duration of boundaries

Sunday Country Market to continue

The Oswegoland Park District has announced that they will be expanding the market season into October.

While Sept. 25 will be the last day of the regular Oswego Country Market, the new Autumn Days at the Oswego Country Market extend the season by a few more weeks. This condensed harvest market will run Sundays, Oct.  2-23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

During these Autumn Days, the market will be set up entirely in the parking lot between Tripp Insurance and the Village Grind, leaving Main Street free for shoppers, and the Homecoming Parade on Oct. 2.

The group of participating vendors includes Albo Acres, Allium Sage Botanics, Aroma Roots, E & S Fish Company, Gallery’s Choice, Mushyface Cookie Co., Papa’s Natural Honey, Six Generations Farmin’ Local, Stamper Cheese Co., Sweet P’s Homemade Cookies, The Cutting Edge by the Blacksmith, & Windmill Ginger Brew.

If you have any questions or have suggestions please contact the Oswegoland Park District at (630) 554-1010 or email Cori Veverka at cveverka@oswegolandpd.org.

District 308 hosts food drive to combat local hunger

Each month the Kendall County Food Pantry services more than 7,000 people, and once again Community Unit School District 308 will help keep pantry shelves well-stocked.

From Sept. 19 to Sept. 27, District 308 schools will have the opportunity to participate in the district’s third annual food drive for the Kendall County Food Pantry. The food drive will serve as a contest between the elementary schools, junior highs, and high schools leading up to the Crosstown Challenge football game on Sept. 30.

The winners of the food drive will be determined by the total number of items collected at each school, and the winning schools will be announced at halftime of the Varsity game. Fans attending the game will receive a raffle ticket for each can of food they bring for a chance to win prizes announced throughout the game.

In 2014, the district made its inaugural donation to the Kendall County Food Pantry, donating 58,000 items, which at the time was the largest single donation ever made to the pantry. That record was crushed in 2015 when the district collected and donated over 85,000 items.

Each level will focus on a different need. Any item will be accepted at each location. In addition, this year pet food will also be accepted.

The community can also show its support. During that week, boxes will be placed at local businesses, giving residents the opportunity to place food a box to support Oswego High School, or Oswego East High School.

Students Screened for Heart Health

For the second year in a row, Community Unit School District 308 is partnering with the Young Hearts for Life (YH4L) cardiac screening program. This year the event is planned for Oswego High School on Oct. 13.

Young Hearts for Life is a not for profit organization affiliated with Advocate Charitable Foundation. They offer a voluntary screening program that involves a simple, three-minute electrocardiogram (EKG). An EKG is a non-invasive test that measures the electrical activity of the heart and can detect certain heart abnormalities leading to sudden cardiac death.

The October screening will be free to students at Oswego High School, and will take place throughout the day during physical education, driver’s education, health and study hall classes.

Parents who wish to have their child participate in the free screening program must complete registration by visiting www.yh4l.org. 

Participation is voluntary; however, all high school students are strongly encouraged to participate in the free screenings, even if they were previously screened. An EKG screening is recommended every two years for students up until the age of 25.

Cardiologists will be on site to interpret the testing. The results from the screening will be sent to parents via an email notification three to four weeks after the screening. All results are confidential and will be communicated through a secure system.

It is estimated that over 200 adult volunteers are needed for the OHS screening event. To volunteer at Oswego High School, register online at http://vols.pt/iArEKx. All volunteers are required to attend a volunteer training program. Those dates and times are found in the volunteer spot Link.

To learn more about Young Hearts for Life,  visit www.yh4l.org, or call Kathy Altosina, program director, at (630) 785-4366. For more information about EKG screenings, visit the frequently asked questions at http://www.yh4l.org/faq/.

Plano

Plano police receive grant

The Plano Police Department received a grant from the Fox Valley Heart Fund through Rush Copley Hospital for a free AED unit. This unit will be on patrol with Plano police officers so when seconds matter most, they will now have the tools to assist citizens who may need an AED.

This grant was very competitive and officers said they feel very lucky to have won this award. The AEDs are valued at $1,500. This is the department’s second free AED due to successful grant writing. The department tanked the Fox Valley Heart Fund at Rush Copley Hospital.

Sandwich

Community Center hosts “Not Your Grandma’s Bingo”

Come out to the Community Center for delicious food, fun, bingo and an open cash bar. The Fox Valley Community Center, 1406 Suydam Road, Sandwich, right across the street from the Sandwich Fairgrounds, announces its revival of Tuesday night Bingo. Doors open at 5 p.m. every Tuesday, with food and bar available. Cards go on sale at 5:30 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m. Sallie Craig, activities director of Voluntary Action Center, will be serving her famous delicious Italian beef with either tasty macaroni salad or chips. A variety of food vendors will be featured each month. Bring along your friends to the beautiful Community Center Great Hall for 18 wild, exciting Bingo games including big jackpots, rollover games and new games.

All proceeds from Bingo nights help support Fox Valley Older Adult Services, who for the past 44 years have supported area seniors in living vibrant and independent lives. Through Active Adult Activities at the Senior Center, Adult Day Service and Home Services, now including 24/7 Private Home Services, FVOAS and its partner, Voluntary Action Center (VAC), assist thousands of seniors in DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle and Bureau Counties.

For more information on services call, (815) 786-9404 or stop by the Fox Valley Community Center at 1406 Suydam Road, Sandwich.

–Kendall County News Briefs–