Volume 2, Issue 1

The Spartan 300

Beth Lind, Principal

Paula Sereleas, Assistant Principal

Jim Letsos,

Dean of Students

Important Dates

SUMMIT HILL JUNIOR HIGH

August, 2008- October, 2008

7260 North Ave. Frankfort, IL 60423 815-469-4330 www.summithill.org

Tamara Gibbons Editor & Producer

November 11 Veteran’s Day—No School November 26 One hour early dismissal November 27—28 Thanksgiving Holiday— No School December 19 Last day of school before Holiday Break December 22-January 2 Holiday Vacation January 5 Classes Resume For additional activities & events, see calendar link.

Spartan Baseball Team Wins State! The Summit Hill Spartan baseball team finished off an out-standing 2008 campaign by capturing the IESA 3A State Tournament Championship the weekend of October 3 at East Side Centre in East Peoria, IL. The Spartans (20-1) defeated Forrest Prairie Central 11-1 (6) on Friday in the

state quarterfinal matchup thanks to solid pitching from Josh Reid (7-0) and Corey Krupske.

(Story continued on page 13) (Above, left): Coach Fred Pufahl proudly retells the story of the team’s state victory at our pep assembly, as the boys proudly hold their trophy high for all the school to see. Sports-wise, Summit Hill had an amazing fall sea-son—see stories about all of our cham-pions on pages 12-15!

Red Ribbon Week Is a Scream!

Red Ribbon Week is an annual celebration which gives our students the opportunity to show their commitment to a drug-free, healthy lifestyle. This year, it took place October 27-31, and included some “punny” themes, like “Sock it to Drugs” (Crazy Sock Day,) and “Put a Cap on Drugs” (as shown in these photos with silly hats). Student Council also sponsored a door decorating

contest, and students worked hard to come up with clever anti-drug slogans, such as “Don’t Be a Dum-Dum, Be a Smartie—Don’t Do Drugs!” Check out the winners and more photos on page 9.

Page 2

Principal’s Message Amazingly, we are through the first quarter already. The students have been outstanding in terms of their behavior and in their work ethic in the classroom. It has been a very good start to our new school year and it looks to be a productive year!

Our staff has been busy analyzing data from NWEA and ISAT to adjust curriculum and develop opportunities for continued progress. Our School Improvement Team has been working alongside our teacher team to develop a plan to meet the needs of all learners. One area our students can readily take advantage of is Academic Assistance. Students may attend this program for tutorial assistance or organizational support. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s team if you feel he/she needs more support. Our students are really getting involved this fall. We have record numbers out for our clubs and activities. Continue to en-courage your student to get involved and raise school spirit! Mentioning school spirit, we have hosted several pep assem-blies this year thus far celebrating the successes of our fall athletes. We began our baseball celebration of the state champi-onship pep assembly complementing all students on how well they have done academically. As the principal of Summit Hill Junior High, I am tremendously proud of all of our students. Every year, our students and our teachers continue to focus and work towards improvement. Thank you for supporting our school and moreover your child–it shows! One aspect we will be asking for your support is in the area of reading. Shortly we will be providing reading opportunities for our students to work with you as parents, or with younger siblings at home. It was great seeing many of you at parent-teacher conferences, and we hope to see many of you participating in our soon-to-be-announced parent volunteer program! Beth Lind—Principal of Summit Hill Junior High

Volume 2, Issue 1

It’s a Boy! Congratulations to our Dean of Students, Mr. Jim Letsos and his wife Aleka, who welcomed baby James Evangelos into their family on October 11, 2008 at 1:18 a.m. James weighed 8 lbs. and was 21” long.

It’s a Girl!

Congratulations to Math

Teacher Andrea Kelly and

her husband on the birth

of their daughter,

Adrianna Sue

on August 21, 2008.

She arrived at

9:11 p.m.,

weighing 6 lbs. and

measuring 19” long.

Nurse’s Notes Nutrition is very important to sustain a healthy

mind and body. Therefore, let’s all “Power Up!” by eating a nutri-tious breakfast every day. For those of us that want an extra half hour of sleep, please make your breakfast the night before. For example, a turkey sandwich can be individually wrapped and placed in the refrig-erator to grab in the morning. Also, hot cereal packages that can be mixed with water or milk, then placed in the microwave to be heated. These can be liquefied and drunk on the way to school. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, so let’s “Power Up” by eating healthy and keeping our minds and bodies in a healthy con-dition!

Research states that people who eat breakfast: Kick start their metabolism

Tend to eat fewer calories through the day Tend to make better food choices thru the day

Do better in school Are more active

For more information, see the following websites:

www.nutrition.org www.kidseatwell.org/kids.htm

www.foodandfunction.com

Mrs. Lucy Perz, R.N.

Memos

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 1

Ms. Lesko: Language Arts Students, please remember to fill out your assignment note-book for each class everyday. Not everyone can remember everything, so your planner is a great way to keep on top of things. Also, keep up with science fair. Do not wait until the last minute to work on your experiment because the entire project will be due before you know it.

Mr. McGowan: Language Arts Mr. McGowan's class has had a great first quarter burning through the first three units in the Vocabulary Workbook, over six short stories, a poem, and two essays. Next week we start reading Novels in our Literature groups, continue with Sentence Diagramming, Vocabulary Workshop, and Reader's Response; and soon we will begin focusing on other forms of ISAT writing.

Ms. Greene: Language Arts Ms. Greene’s reading classes are just finishing an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. We will be continuing our work with the memoir as we begin The Acorn People by Ron Jones. This is a true account of one camp counselor’s experience. In Language Arts, we are continuing with our unit on punc-tuation. We are also continuing our work with vocabulary.

Mrs. McSpaden: Social Studies Mrs. McSpaden’s classes started the year covering Recon-struction and Westward Expansion. We even made historical bumper stickers! Now, we are talking about the Gilded Age- the time in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s where we saw

immigration of people into the United States, movement of people into cities, and an increase in industry. If you have any family stories about coming to America or Ellis Island, we would love to hear about them!

Mrs. Hollowell: Science In 8th grade Science, all students have been given their my.hrw.com usernames and passwords to enable them to util-ize the online version of their text. We are always working on Science Fair, most recently (Nov. 7) the SFB #10-14 was due with data organized into results and conclusions. Additional deadlines are listed below. Science Fair Due Dates Monday/Nov. 17- Dec. 5 Classroom presentations begin. All final papers and backboards due to on your presentation date. Friday/ Dec. 12 The All School Science Fair will take place during the afternoon. 2. Only students who complete their projects on the IJAS level will have the opportunity to move on to the regional/state level.

Mrs. Furmanek: Math The math classes are starting out great! Students have really been working hard. In Honors Algebra, they are working to Simplify Exponents, but soon will enter the world of Quadrat-ics. Algebra 1B is about to begin solving Systems of Linear Equations. Their skills of graphing will soon be tested. Fi-nally, in Algebra 1A, the students have just begun their intro-duction to Algebra. They will soon begin to solve equations.

Team 8-1 The Incredible Iguanas

8th Grade Academic Teams

The Summit Hill Educational Foundation (SHEF) welcomed six new Directors to the Board at their October 6th meeting. The new directors, Kathleen Eminger, Kelly Herlihy, Joyce Mulheran, Kelly Arthur, Jane Hathaway Forlenza and Renee Mack, are all parents in the Summit Hill School District. The new Directors bring a variety of experiences and ideas that will help enrich the educa-tional opportunities in our district. SHEF is busy planning our 3rd Annual Summit Under the Stars Benefit, which will be held on Friday, May 8th 2009 at CD and Me. Look for more information re-garding the Benefit in the coming months. If you have any questions, please contact SHEF at 815-474-9052.

Team 8-2 The Fish

Mrs. Rodgers’ Language Arts Classes: Mrs. Rodgers’ Reading class has just completed Unit 1, Coming of Age. Students were involved in many writing ac-tivities, which included a kin-dergarten memory, a letter home from a Soldier, and writ-ing their memoir. Students have also created picture rivet books and have created cross-word puzzles using words from their vocabulary units. In Eng-lish class they just finished their chapter on Punctuation. Mrs. Rodgers would just like to thank her students for doing such a great job and to keep up the outstanding work! Mrs. Miller’s Language Arts Classes: Mr. Jarrod Russotto was the student teacher in Mrs. Miller’s reading and English classes for the first two months of the school year. The students have been writing in the persuasive mode. They have benefited from Mr. Russotto’s expertise in the advertising and political fields to analyze their audience and to realize all the elements involved in writing strong persuasive pieces. In reading, students have been working to perfect their extended responses to literature while enjoying stories about overcoming difficulties. During October, there has been a spine-chilling focus on Poe stories and poems. Mr. Chrusciel’s Social Studies Classes: Students in Mr. Chrusciel’s classes started the year picking up where they left off last year examining the results of the Civil War. The students have also been exploring the changes that came after the war during the Reconstruction period. This in-cludes topics such as segregation, amendments to the Constitu-tion, and economics of the North and South. We will end the quarter researching the new challenges and issues that emerged for the United States, such as immigration and westward expan-sion, as it began the 20th century. Mrs. Szymanski’s Science Classes: It’s that exciting time of year again—science fair! Every Friday a segment of the project is due and the deadlines are available online at www.summithill.org. Students should be gathering data and getting their science fair board and presenta-tion ready. They'll be sharing their projects with each other be-fore Thanksgiving break. The students’ ability to complete this long term project will hopefully prepare them for the high school’s expectations and give them an appreciation for the sci-entific method. Please join us for the all school science fair on Friday, December 12 to celebrate everyone’s accomplishments! Motion is all around us, and the students have measured the

speed of toy cars and domi-noes. The students will ana-lyze and demonstrate New-ton’s 3 laws; and present their favorite sport to their class including the forces and laws associated with the sport. Mrs. Paksy’s Study Skills Classes: We’ve accomplished so

many things in so little time! Students worked on their organ-izational skills and kept their lockers clean and orderly. We set goals for this year, monitored them weekly, and developed strategies for improving our skills in order to reach them. Hope-fully, the students’ memories have improved as we learned tech-niques to help us remember more. Differentiated instruction was used to work on the students’ listening skills. Test taking strate-gies were covered in depth, which was an area the students found especially interesting. The Science Fair brought new meaning to our unit on outlining and note taking giving direction to individual research projects. I enjoyed my students and this class immensely, and wish all of you a great year! Hopefully, this class helped students de-velop skills that will follow them throughout their lives. I was honored to be a part of it and will be seeing these students throughout the year in order to follow-up on what we’ve learned. Mrs. Zayed’s Math Classes: Hi, my name is Miss Hutin and I am a 2003 Graduate of Lin-coln-Way Central. I am currently attending Eastern Illinois Uni-versity, and will be Mrs. Zayed's student teacher for the fall se-mester. Math has always been one of my favorite subjects and I hope to find new and creative ways to help you enjoy it as much as I do! Students in Honors explored the world of exponential & quad-ratic functions and soon, they will learn the joy of factoring. Students in 1B spent weeks going over linear systems, and the various methods to solve them-the graph and check method, substitution, and elimination. Students in 1A were introduced to Algebra and the role of variables in math. They got acquainted with PEMDAS--the order of operations, and the rules involving integers.

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Children have more need of role models than of critics. —Carolyn Coats

Mr. McGuckin’s 8th Grade Social Studies classes have been studying the effects of the rail-

road and automobile on America. We have read and discussed, primary source documents regarding citizen’s interpretations of the new “moving” technology and how it has affected the lives of Americans. In the coming weeks, we will dive into immigra-tion. We will discuss first hand accounts of immigrants arriv-ing in America and the effects that these immigrants will have on the United States. This will all lead into the Progressive Movement and the fight against “big business.” Along the way students learned about the 2008 election through various activi-ties to get students acclimated with the candidates, their running mates, and their beliefs.

☺☺☺☺ The Cougars are very busy in Ms. Bottomley’s Algebra classes! In Algebra 1A we finished evaluating & solving alge-braic equations and inequalities, organizing data using a table or graph, and incorporating problem solving plans to solve real-life problems. Currently we are investigating properties of, and working with real numbers. We are also working on using the distributive properties. Each week we have a DOM Quiz, and participate in an activity related to the current topic of study. In Algebra 1B we reviewed Chapters 4 & 5, graphing linear equations, finding the slope of a line, and writing linear equa-tions in slope-intercept form, point slope form, and standard form. We have written equations of lines that are perpendicular & parallel to each other. We have also used linear models to solve real life problems. We will begin to solve and graph ine-qualities. Each week we have a DOM Quiz, and participate in an activity related to the current topic of study. Honors Algebra covered many of the same topics as the 1B class, then went on to review Chapter 6. We also solved and graphed inequalities and used linear models to solve real life problems. We are beginning to investigate and solve systems of linear equations and inequalities.

☺☺☺☺

☺☺☺☺

Ms. Marinucci’s reading classes completed the initial unit on literary elements and are beginning to study Edgar Allen Poe, a perfect choice for this Halloween season. Through this, we are continuing to touch on literary elements and are focus-ing on his figurative language and descriptive details. In Lan-guage Arts, we are finishing a section on punctuation and will soon be writing narrative essays.

☺☺☺☺

In Ms. Canter’s Language Arts class, we worked on the “Power of Punctuation”, writing memoirs, outlining research topics, taking notes, and paraphrasing. We are starting our Hal-loween narratives, and we’ll soon begin our Young Author’s stories. During this time, we will work on characterization, building plot, and creating strong settings in our own personal writing. We’ve also read several short stories, a memoir from Maya Angelou, and a biography on Harriet Tubman. We will begin reading novels in class, as well. Reading groups one and three will read A Year Down Yonder, and the Honors group will read Flipped. We will analyze character change, interpret figurative language, and make connections to the characters in our novels.

☺☺☺☺

It’s that exciting time of year in Mrs. Schlesselman’s class—Science Fair! Although some time will be given in class for this project, the majority of the project is to be done on an independent basis at home. Thank you parents for your support!

Science Fair Due Dates Monday/Nov. 17- Dec. 5: Classroom presentations begin. All final papers and backboards due on your presentation date. Friday/ Dec. 12: The All School Science Fair will take place during the afternoon. Only students who complete their projects on the IJAS level will have the opportunity to move on to the regional/state level. We have been enjoying learning about speed, velocity, and acceleration by participating in fun activities and labs. We will continue studying motion by looking at force and friction and gravitational pull. The Cougars are working hard, and they are showing that Cougar Pride in their work! Keep up the great work!

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Team 8-3 The Cougars

7th Grade Academic Teams

Mrs. Christensen: In all math classes, we started out the year reviewing basic skills. Then after that, in Honors Algebra, we explored Chapters 1 through 3 which were Connections to Algebra, Properties of Real Numbers, and Solving Linear Equations. In Algebra, we ex-plored Chapter 1 which was Connections to Algebra and started Chapter 2 – Properties of Real Numbers. In Pre-Algebra, we explored Chapter 4 on Factors, Fractions, and Exponents and started Chapter 1 on Integers, Equations, and Inequalities. Ostrowski’s Room: Students on Team 7-1 have been learning all about astronomers and Space in science. They have created Astronomer Reviews, debated over who the World’s Best Astronomer was; congratulations to Newton on winning that one. We have created a class-room planetarium, created our own constellations, and made brochures for a Constellation Cruise. Up next are the life cycles of stars and the planets. Stay tuned for more about our class… Language Arts with Mr. Evenhouse—We are just now finishing up our work on non-fiction. We have read and analyzed sev-eral stories together including: “The Night the Bed Fell” by James Thurber, “No Gumption” by Russel Baker, and “Rattlesnake Hunt” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. We were able to learn how to read non-fiction differently. We have also learned over sixty new words this year and are looking forward to learning many more as the year continues. Beyond that we will continue to im-prove our writing and our overall command of the English language. The students in Mrs. Bergmann’s 7th grade Language Arts classes recently completed writing their first persuasive essay of the year. The topic for the essay, “Letters to the Next President,” came from the Google project of the same name. Students’ con-cerns included ending the war in Iraq, lowering gas prices and taxes, and developing renewable resources for energy. Now that the essay has been completed, students have the option of going on the Internet at home with their parents permission and submit-ting their essay to the project.

Page 6 Volume 2, Issue 1

Team 7-1 The Learning Llamas

National Junior Honor Society

The National Junior Honor Society is working hard with their group service project. We are collecting items to donate to PAWS Animal Shelter right here in Tinley Park. The collection is taking place from October 21 thru Novem-ber 5. The shelter is in need of the following items: bleach, liquid laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels/toilet pa-per, old towels, blankets and comforters, bumper pads (to be made into cat beds), Kongs/Nylabones for our canine friends, toys for our feline friends, postage stamps, cat litter (clay variety), digital camera (new or used) for humane in-vestigations, and Petco online gift certificates. You can bring in these items and leave them in the donation boxes lo-cated in the academic halls and the NJHS will be sure the shelter receives them.

Ms. O’Neill would like to thank the following NJHS members: Frank Licka, Taylor Win, Kevin Toman, and Courtney Corcoran as well as Hayley Rife, Glen Rife, Raphael Tapnio, and Jasmine Jody who came to help after school with the relocation and organization of the new science textbooks. This huge project could not have been completed without the hard work and dedication of the students. If you are a 7th or 8th grader that is interested in becoming a part of the NJHS keep up your progress at school. Students who meet a 3.75 cumulative grade point average will receive an invitation to apply with their 3rd quarter report card. Please keep in mind that in order to be accepted into the NJHS students need to must also meet the following cri-teria; have a clean discipline file, be active in at least 2 extra curricular activities at Summit Hill Jr. High School, and be approved by the faculty council.

Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 1

Mrs. Blevins’ algebra classes will be working on solv-ing equations for specified variables. The honors algebra class will be graphing equations and creating their own city scenes. Pre-Algebra classes have finished Chapter 4, and will be starting back at Chapter 1, working with inte-gers. They will use manipulatives to solve equations. Just a reminder: It’s important to get help ASAP if you are not understanding the concepts. Mr. Barnas’ and Mrs. Heiden’s students are off to a grand start during quarter one. Students began the school year by writing their own “I Am” poems and presenting them to their classmates. Throughout the 1st quarter, stu-dents have mastered the fundamentals of nouns, the four different types of sentences, and compound and complex sentences. In reading, students have finished their non-fiction unit. Students worked together creating story maps and presenting them to the class. Students will end the quarter with an oral book report. Mr. Barnas and Mrs. Heiden will also end the quarter with reading their first in-class novel, The Outsiders. Mrs. Heiden and Mr. Barnas are looking forward to team-teaching lessons together during The Outsiders unit. Welcome to the Stemen Zone: Students have just finished learning about many famous astronomers such as Ptolemy and Isaac Newton. They made ads to sell their famous telescopes, and the honors made campaign speeches to win the nomination for “Top Astronomer.” We are now going out into the stars! The students will have to get their minds around the idea that red stars are cooler than blue stars. They will also be learning that the brightest stars are labeled by negative numbers not positive on the H and R Diagram for stars.

Ms. Trotta’s social studies classes have accomplished a lot during the 1st quarter. They started off the year with a geogra-phy review and then we started learning about the 1st Ameri-cans that came over on Beringia. The honors students did a wonderful job presenting their Native American projects to their peers. The students then created explorer trading cards as they learned about the many European explorers that explored the globe in the 1400’s. The students then moved on to study-ing the colonies. We will be learning about the American Revolution in November, and we will start learning about the U.S. Constitution in December. In September, Ms. Trotta’s 7th grade honors students were al-lowed to pick their cooperative groups and were assigned a tribe of Native Americans to research (ex. Pueblo, Sioux). Each group was able to pick their own topics to research (ex. Food, clothing, housing), and they planned out their presenta-tions. Students created videos, powerpoint presentations, dio-ramas, posters, and songs to show off what they learned. Stu-dents showed off their creative talents to their classmates, while learning much about the Native American tribes. (L-R) Bryanna Johnson, Kylene Kincade, Morgan Parkinson, Marissa Hohman

Team 7-2 The Crafty Squirrels News

Rush to Read

This year Summit Hill is again participating in the Chicago Rush Arena Football league’s reading incentive pro-gram. To receive a voucher for two tickets to a home game, your student needs to read four books, write four book reports in four months. That is one book and report for October, November, December, and January. They can be the AR books that they are already required to read for their Language Arts class. See the Language Arts teachers for more information. Go RUSH and READ, READ, READ!!!! Mrs. Condon and Miss O’Neill, Reading Specialists

Mrs. Hartley—Science Our future astronomers have begun their new unit by studying Astronomers, Telescopes and the various constellations. We had Astronomer Debates, made Tele-scope Ads and constellations. The stu-dents were hard at work making Astrono-mer Flip Books, various graphing organ-izers and Space Labs. We have just fin-ished Chapter 1 and are now starting Chapter 2 – “Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe”. The students started off this unit with our Star Extravangza by making “Star Family Photos” depicting the Life Cycle of the Stars. We look forward to learning more about our mysterious uni-verse through graphic organizers, various note-taking strategies, power points and United Streaming Video Clips. We just concluded Astronomy Week on September 29 – October 3 and it was amazing! The whole school viewed the movie, “Apollo 13” as a kick-off and then we performed an Astronaut Lab and a Crater Lab. We concluded 50 years of NASA’s exploration with a NASA am-bassador as our guest speaker. (See re-lated story on page 9.) As a team, we continue to strive for excellence and hard work from our stu-dents as we work on our Science Fair Projects. GREAT JOB PENGUIN TEAM – KEEP UP THE SUPER WORK! Mrs. Lane—Social Studies We have been actively working on the colonization of the Americas! Students had the hands-on experience of creating a colony. Each student was assigned a particular role (governor, priest, etc.), and they had to work together to decide how the colony should be run, what was needed for the colonists to survive, and how the colony should be designed. As you can imagine, this was NO easy task!

Students have also been engaged in learning about the November 4th election! Every day, students have learned about some new aspect of the race to the White House. Students studied biographies of the candidates, how the election process works, the differences between the politi-cal parties, and much more. The unit concluded with a school-wide election! We couldn’t wait to see who the winner was at SHJH—Obama! There are many engaging websites for kids to navigate if they want to learn more about the elec-tion! I recommend http://www.scholastic.com/kids/president/. This site has great information for the whole family! Mr. Sullivan—Language Arts Talk about hitting the ground running! Here in room 161 we have been knee-deep in nonfiction; biographies, reflective essays, personal essays, you name it. Why do authors write nonfiction? Now we know. So, it’s on to fiction for the second quarter! The writing bug has bitten us! VFW essays, research reports, and journals are just some pieces we’ve been working on together. The students have also been bombarded with a slew of new vocabu-lary words that they are encouraged to learn, find in print, and use in all situa-tions. Read, read, read! The students have been beyond motivated to read all differ-ent types of fiction. We’ve been discuss-ing so many different titles and authors that your child should never say, “I can’t find a good book.” Best of all? Their sug-gestions to me have led to many expen-sive trips to Borders. Miss Rhodes—Language Arts Carpe diem! The Spartans in Miss Rhodes’ reading and English classes have been quite busy during first quar-

ter as they learn to seize each day by increasingly making positive choices both in their learning and behavior. They have been studying nonfiction, having substantive class discussions, writing literary responses, studying the writing process, and learning and ap-plying several new vocabulary and reading strategies. Currently, students are learning how to read research re-ports, take notes, and cite sources for the Science Fair review of literature. They are also beginning to understand the elements of fiction through the book report assignment. The students and I are looking forward to an equally productive second quarter!

Mrs. Kelly—Math Mrs. Kelly’s (Mrs. Burkman’s) classes have been hard at work this quarter. We started the year off with Basic Skills Re-view to get our minds going with Math after a nice long summer! Pre-Algebra went into Chapter 4 which included fac-tors, fractions and exponents. Now they are back in Chapter 1 which will involve Variables, Expressions and Integers. Algebra classes started with Chapter 1 which included Variables, Exponents, order of operations (Please, Excuse, My, Dear, Aunt, Sally!) Equations and Ine-qualities, Tables, Graphs and Functions. Now they are on to Chapter 2 which will include adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing real numbers, properties, and combining like terms. All classes have started reviewing for the ISAT extended response questions. We will have weekly reviews of how to effectively answer the mathematics ex-tended response questions.

Team 7-3 Kingpin Penguins

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SUMMIT HILL JUNIOR

HIGH CELEBRATES NASA’S 50th

ANNIVERSARY

October 2, 2008 marked NASA’s 50th Anniversary of space exploration. As a school, we honored their accom-plishments with an Astronomy Week. We kicked off this incredible journey of uncovering the mysteries of life in our universe by watching “Apollo 13.” The 7th grade Science teachers performed various labs in their class-rooms that related to this amazing week. As the 7th graders studied Astronomy, we participated in Astrono-mer Debates/Campaigns, recreated the constellations in our classrooms, simulated Astronaut life in space, and discussed their future missions. To conclude our week, we were privileged to welcome NASA Ambassador Joel Knapper, who gave a remark-able presentation of NASA’s accomplishments throughout the years. We viewed a PowerPoint as well as some video footage of the actual launches that took place. He shared the 50 years of NASA’s early beginnings, ac-complishments, and future endeavors. We thank Mr. Knapper for the time and passion he shared with our students. We ended our Astronomy Week with a “Star Party” held on our school grounds. The Kankakee Area Star Gaz-ers hosted a beautiful display of the night sky through their phenomenal telescopes. We were able to see Venus, Jupiter, the moon, various constellations, and even galaxies that were 10 million light years away!

Science teacher Mrs. Hartley (left) invited NASA Ambassador Joel Knapper to help SHJH explore space during NASA’s 50th Anniversary.

Student Council is off to a great start this school year! We currently have 50 student council members. This year the students are focusing on a variety of different activities. The main focus for the month of October was Red Ribbon Week. We had a spirit week to stand up against drugs. We also spon-sored a Pack the Stands night for the Girls Basketball game against Mokena. All of these activities were successful. Some other activities that took place this past month were concession stands, a candle fundraiser, and an open gym. For the month of November we are sponsoring a food drive to help needy families. Student Council has many more events to come! Each classroom decorated their door

in an anti-drug theme for our door decorating contest—winners were Mrs. Ruppert’s, Mr. Chrusciel’s and Mrs. Furmanek’s classes.

During Red Ribbon Week, students enthusiastically “put a cap on drugs” by wearing their favorite hats. Other students, like our friend on the right, wore black, painted their faces white, and spent the day in silence to represent the lives that have been lost to drugs.

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@ Your Summit Hill Jr. High Library --The Book Laboratory--

Fiction+Nonfiction+Biographies+Reference = New Knowledge Ms. Elaine Noonan – School Librarian

All Language Arts classes have enjoyed an informational orientation session at the library learning that this year we blast-ing off into the 21st Century. Our “book laboratory” challenges students to take current knowledge, read fiction, bridge into non-fiction, reference and biographies, to determine new ideas through critical thinking and evaluation. Several online data-bases have been available through a trial program for students to use and retrieve excellent information for science fair re-view of literature and other coursework. Our featured display of “We the People Created Equal” books, posters, DVDs, and CD’s received from the National En-dowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association document the life and works of Abraham Lincoln. Amer-ica is honoring Abraham Lincoln’s 200th (bicentennial) birthday that will take place on February 12, 2009. Other displays include student artwork and support of National Astronomy Week. The SHJH Scholastic Book Fair October 20-24 has brought many new books and titles into the library. We thank the SCO and all the help and support they provide for our library and our students. Autumn family field trips to the public library are fun. Sign up for a library card at your public library.

Encore: Foreign Language This fall, full year French is in season!

Last spring, the Board of Education affirmed its commitment to language learning by approving a full year French I program at Summit Hill. While many area junior highs including Liberty, Martino, Hickory Creek, and Mo-kena offer High School Spanish, Summit Hill is among the first schools to support two full year language electives. High School and Middle School Spanish have been available since 2000. “I am delighted to be a part of Summit Hill’s campaign to develop global ready students,” said French teacher Mrs. Perrot, who also teaches Spanish Exposure. “Studying another language allows students to revisit their first language from a different perspective and appreciate subtle nuances they missed previously.” This year, eighth graders were allowed to register for full year French and will complete the entire course by the end of the school year. Seventh graders will complete the course over two years. There are currently 78 students enrolled. The textbook, C’est à toi, and materials are also used at Lincoln Way North. At a recent articulation meeting between Summit Hill and Lincoln Way, World Language Department Chair Peg Bobber shared her enthusiasm for the program and anticipated a success rate comparable to incoming Spanish stu-dents. Last spring, 80 percent of students eligible for Level 2 Spanish qualified. “Our students are motivated, hard working, and eager to become proficient. Every day they surprise me with their attention to detail and thoughtful questions,” said Mrs. Perrot. Upcoming events include celebrating National French Week in November and participating in the National French contest in March, 2009.

Our band program has really been busy this fall! First, we welcomed Mrs. Katie Goddard to the junior high as an addi-tional band director to work with Mrs. Kim Coughlin. Mrs. Goddard is working with the Concert Band as well as the Show Choir. Welcome back to Summit Hill….. she actually student taught here a few years ago! Our Marching Band and Color Guard participated in three parades this fall. First was the Fall Festival Parade in down-town Frankfort over Labor Day weekend, where we played “Superman” and were well received by the thousands in atten-dance lining the parade route. Next came the inaugural Lin-coln-Way North Homecoming Parade on September 21st, or-ganized by the Frankfort Square Park District. Lastly, we marched in a parade in downtown Tinley Park to celebrate the success of Olympic silver medalist Christine Magnuson, a Tinley Park resident, on September 28th. On September 27, twelve band members participated in the VanderCook College of Music Middle Level HonorFest in Chicago. The SHJH students combined with students from all over the greater Chicagoland area in a day of rehearsals, which culminated in an excellent concert. Representing Sum-mit Hill were Lauren Adolfino, Rachel Anderson, Nicole Baker, Libby Doubrawa, Emilee Gerk, Valeri Hooper, Sam Klosak, Irene Larson, Alyssa Lyen, Moira Quealy, Brett Wilt-jer and Jennifer Zobak. The Musical Olympics came to our district in the form of the 23rd annual Fall Music concert held at Lincoln-Way North on October 14th. Every choir in the district (grades four

through eight) as well as the Walker Wildcat Band and both the junior high Concert and Symphonic Bands participated. Each performing group represented a different country. Our Concert Band represented Jamaica with their rendition of “Calypso Carnival” and the Symphonic Band represented Spain with “Espana cani”. The grand finale included every choir and audience member joining the band on “The Star Spangled Banner”. Also in October, eight students auditioned for spots within the IMEA (Illinois Music Educators Association) Festival Band, Orchestra and Jazz Band. Auditioning were Rachel Anderson (flute/band), Christopher Cranston (clarinet/band), Libby Doubrawa (alto sax/jazz band and violin/orchestra), Emilee Gerk (flute/band), Sarah Hastings (flute/band), Sam Klosak (clarinet/band), Irene Larson (baritone/band) and Jen-nifer Zobak (flute/band). Earning a spot in the Festival Band for the November 1 festival will be Rachel Anderson, Emilee Gerk and Jennifer Zobak. Representing Summit Hill in the orchestra (also on November 1) will be Libby Doubrawa. The Jazz Festival, which will be held on November 15, will in-clude Libby Doubrawa on alto sax. Congratulations to our talented students! Our annual Holiday Concert will be held on Tuesday, De-cember 16 at 7:00 pm at Summit Hill JH. Alumni band mem-bers are all invited to join us for the finale pieces and should RSVP by contacting Mrs. Coughlin via e-mail or by calling the school at 815-469-4330. Come get into the holiday spirit by joining us for this evening of great music!

Summit Hill Jr. High Show Choir

Ms. Noonan --Dance Director

Mrs. Goddard --Vocal Director

We have gotten off to a great start with this year's rehearsals as our SHJH Show Choir prepares for our Tuesday, Decem-ber 9 Holiday performance at 7PM to be

held in the SHJH cafetorium. This year’s SHJH Show Choir members include: Bottom Row L - R: Jennifer Michuda, Elizabeth Warcocki, Jillian Zyer, Maggie Conroy, Savanna Steck, Michelle Housh, Lauren Legan-ski Top Row L - R: Aly Martin, Kristen Diehl, Shoshana McClarence, **, Katie Sheehan, Brandy Benak.

Come join in the holiday spirit. Hope to see you on December 9! **(name withheld for privacy)

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SHJH has a lot of new faces on staff this fall, and in coming issues we will be telling you more about them. For this quarter, we’re highlighting Mrs. Paula Sereleas, our new Assistant Principal. Years Experience/Years at Summit Hill: This is my first year at Summit Hill. Previously, I taught history at Lincoln-Way East for 6 years, and took 6 years off to be a full-time mom. Educational Degrees: All of my college degrees are from DePaul University. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and Social Sciences; a Master of Arts in History and I hope to finish my Doctorate in Education in Spring, 2009. My new position at SHJH has enabled me to achieve my long-term goal of being a building-level administrator.

Family: I’ve been married for 11 years to George, and we have three sons, ages 8, 7, and 4. I love reading, spending time out-doors, and supporting my boys in their sports activities. Fun Facts to Know and Tell: I grew up in England, and came to the U.S. at age 17 on an athletic scholarship. I ran Division I track and cross country for DePaul, and never went back!

(At left): Mrs. Sereleas congratulates Cross Country Coach Sullivan on his team’s outstanding season.

GIRLS SOFTBALL 2008 For the first time in school history, the girl’s softball team was able to field two teams! After holding try-outs for nearly 60 girls, the final 26 were selected and put into an A and B team. The A team finished their season with a 9-4 record, losing to eventual state runner-up Beecher in the Regional Tournament. The B team had an amazing 9-1 record, with their only loss coming against Kelvin Grove’s A team. Miss Crick and Mrs. Michals would like to congratulate both teams on a successful season and wish the following 8th grade players good luck as they begin their careers at Lincoln-Way North: Emily Cole, Jillian Galich, Sydney Geary, Haley Hamann, Mallorie Juris, Taylor Kwiatt, Hayley Mahy, Kayla Manthei, Justine McClendon, Mallory Myers, Kayla O’Brien, Lauren Pryszcz, Leah Rutz, Bridget Stroh, Samantha Wheatley, and Michaela Wolf.

Science Fair News Due dates are quickly coming and going. On November, 7th SFB 10-13 was due. Presentations will begin on No-vember 17th and continue until all students have completed their oral presentation. All students will need to have their final, corrected paper and backboard during their presentations. The all school fair is December 12th.

In the semifinal game, the Spartans disposed of the Junior Potters by a score of 9-3, thanks to a solid start from Zach Deliberto (5-0) and an excellent relief effort from Corey Krupske. Offensively, the Spartans re-corded eight hits and were led by Josh Handzik’s three hits and four RBI’s. Once again, the Spartans blew the game open in the fifth frame, turning a 3-1 lead into 8-1, and putting the game out of reach for Morton. The win moved the team into the IESA 3A Championship game vs. Teutopolis at 4:45. The championship game was a pitcher’s duel from the beginning for the Spartans and Wooden Shoes, and Josh Reid gave Summit Hill a solid four inning start. Corey Krupske took the hill in the fifth for the Spartans, and recorded three quick outs, setting the stage for the Summit Hill bottom of the fifth. Krupske led off the inning with a bunt single and Denton Wallace followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Krupske into scoring position. Cody Murphy then delivered the game winning hit and RBI’s by blasting a towering two run homerun over the left field fence to give the Spartans a lead they would not give up. Krupske closed the door on the Shoes by striking out the final two batters in the seventh to give Summit Hill its first state championship. On the season, the Spartans set team records for wins (20), runs scored (215), runs allowed (35), and team E.R.A. (1.51).

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Reid pitched five innings for the Spartans, giving up only one run on four hits, while striking out seven. Offen-sively, the team used a balanced hitting attack, pounding out 10 hits over six innings of play. The win advanced the Spartans to a semifinal match-up with Morton Junior High on Saturday at 12:15

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SHJH Baseball—State Champions! First Row (L to R): Josh Handzik, Reed Hero, Drew Korosic, Ryan Pellack, Conor Grove, D.J. Lee, Steven Hammar. Row 2: Josh Reid, Cody Murphy, Zach Deliberto, Corey Krupske, Pat Budney, Kevin Graff, Denton Wallace. Row 3: Coach Fred Pufahl, Erik Eggert, Brett King, Austin Olsen, Steven Stremme, Nathan Harnett, Coach Steve Evenhouse.

Cheerleading Have you ever seen a twist up, double down? Come out to the boy’s basketball games to watch the 7th and 8th grade cheer-leaders perform gravity defying stunts and tumbling. The girls are practicing hard for their USF, State and LW-North compe-titions. In addition to learning side lines, quarter and half time routines they are learning to work together as one to win 1st at all of their competitions. They are also putting on a fundraiser which will allow students K-4 to work with them and learn what the “big” girls do. The “Little Spartans” will be cheering with the cheerleaders during the halftime games on November 17th. Come out to support the Spartans!

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Cross Country Finishes Season with 12 State Qualifiers After a rainout, endless sprints, and seven course changes, the cross country runners finally hit their stride in the conference meet at Hickory Creek on Tuesday, October 7th. Even in the driving rain, the Spartans fought on. The

seventh grade girls took fourth place and the sev-enth grade boys captured fifth place, with Vinny LoCicero running to a sixth place finish overall. As for the eighth graders, the girls placed second, just missing first place by six points. Lauren Sajewich (third overall), Alyssa Young (sixth), and Marissa Jones (tenth) ran the Spartans near the top spot. As for the boys, they took fourth, just missing third by a mere three points. Denton Wallace led the charge with a third place finish overall. Once they all dried off, it was on to sectionals on Saturday, October 11th, right here at Summit Hill. Normal, Illinois, was the destination for the girls’ team as they cruised to a solid third place finish in the sectional race! They were led by Alyssa Young (fourth overall) and Marissa Jones (seventh). Denton Wallace, third overall for the boys, and Matt Mugavero joined the girls as individual runners in the state championship. With the talent level high at the state finals in Nor-mal, the Spartans Denton Wallace mustered up a twenty-ninth place finish out of the 234 boys who raced. Lauren Sajewich was the top Spartan girls’ finisher at sixty-ninth place out of 235 girls. Con-grats again to all for a wonderful season, and enjoy resting those legs (until next year)!

Cross Country State Qualifiers Front Row (L. to R.): Killeen Murphy, Catelyn Pokorny, Laura Wolf, Marissa Pluzycki, Marissa Jones, Matt Mugavero. Second Row (L. to R.): Caitlin Broderick, Lauren Sajewich, Alyssa Young, Carlie Petraitis,Coach Smalter, Carla Casteneda. Not Pictured: Denton Wal-lace and Coach Sullivan.

FROM UNDEFEATED TO PERFECT The Summit Hill Spartans 8th grade Boys’ Volleyball Team finished a per-fect season with their victory Oct. 10th over the Patriots of New Lenox Lib-erty in the Des Plaines Valley Conference Tournament 25-15, and 25-14. The Spartans, who were undefeated last year as 7th graders, were perfect this year not even losing a game all season long, going 20-0 on their way to a 10-0 match record. This years’ 8th grade team finishes their Summit Hill Junior High careers with an undefeated record of 21-0. Matt Burke, Matt Williams, and Ike Baya had the additional honor of being selected for the all confer-ence team.

Summit Hill team members pictured at right include: Bottom Row (L to R): Adam Zofkie, Matt Williams, Joey Tijerina, Matt Burke. Row 2: Haakon Skrodal, Jake Maher, Josh Kim, Blade Schaafsma. Row 3: Mgr. Michelle Scott, Mgr. Cassidy Murphy, Adam Gilchrist, Zach Blasgen, Alec Volante. Row 4: Head Coach Keith McGrail, Sam Petit, Ryan Wilkus, Chris Doyle, Ike Baya, Assistan Coach Kim Capretz.

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Girls’ Volleyball—December 8, 2008 Boys’ & Girls’ Track—March 3, 2009

Tryout time: after school Intramural basketball and volleyball begin in March and run through May. Please listen to announcements. These two activities are open to all students who are not involved in the track program. These two activities also require a sports physical. *In order to tryout and/or participate in ANY team, a valid (within one year) physical must be on file with the SHJH Athletic Director. Should you have any questions regarding our athletic program please contact Ryan McGuckin at shjhathletics@yahoo.com or 815-469-4330 Go green, go white, go, go–SPARTANS!

2008-09 Spartan Sports Tryout Dates

PHYSICAL EDUCATION/HEALTH NEWS

The physical education department has completed a successful first quarter. Students participated in physical fitness testing, soccer and football. As we head indoors for the second quarter, students will begin a rotation of floor hockey, “pickleball” (a form of indoor tennis), and fitness. If your child has not brought home the fitness room release form, please ask them for it, sign it and have them return it ASAP to their physical education instructor. Students who have not brought in their release form will not be allowed to use the fitness room. They will have a written assignment given to them instead. Thank-you for your cooperation in this matter.

Intramural Golf It gives me great excitement to highlight the second year of one of the newest intramural program to Summit Hill Junior High School: Intramural Golf. Beginning in September, 40 - seventh and eighth grade boys and girls began practice which ran through the end of October at Square Links Golf Course. Golfers are worked on such parts of the game as full swing, varying their distances using different types of clubs, chipping, and putting using the driving range and practice green facilities. All also had the opportunity to play a round or two and showed great improvements while having extreme fun. Great work golfers!

Great Season for 7th Grade Boys’ Volleyball Our 7th Grade Boys’ Volleyball team finished the season with an undefeated record of 10-0, winning both conference and the conference tournament. The entire team helped contribute to an excellent season. We had three players that were voted on by the coaches in the conference to be selected for the all conference team. Those players were J.T. Limon, Brad McFarland, and Jake Walenga. The team, pictured at left is: Front Row (L to R): Ryan Swiecicki, J.T. Limon, Spencer Town, Alex Littleton. Row 2: Chris Filicette, Colin O’Connell, Jake Walenga, Austin Faller. Row 3: Jimmy Dusek, Mike Balcerzak, Paul Jouras, Brad McFarland. Row 4: Coach McGrail, Mgr. Cassidy Murhpy, Mgr. Michelle Scott, Coach Capretz.

www.summithill.org

7260 North Ave. Frankfort, IL 60423

Summit Hill Junior High

Phone: 815-469-4330 Fax: 815-464-1596

Home of the Spartans

A special thanks to everyone who participated in the Entertainment

Book fundraiser! Thanks to all our volunteers who helped during Hot Lunch, Treat Day

and the Fall Book Fair!

Bakers are needed for Parent/Teacher conferences held on November 3rd and 4th and for the Staff/Teacher Christmas lunch in December. If you can help, please email us @ shjhsco@summithill.org.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming hot lunch days:

o Hot Lunch – November 19th, December 17th, January 7th, February 18th

o Treat Day – Temporarily postponed until treats within the healthy guidelines are approved.

Please attend our SCO meetings. They begin at 2:45 pm and the dates

are as follows: o November 13th o December 11th (Tentative) o January 8th o February 12th

We’re on the web

Counselor’s Corner Red Ribbon Week took place October 27-31. Many students and staff enjoyed and participated in the daily events that were planned. Grade Check Groups and Girl’s Groups have started meeting. Service groups, divorce and anger management groups are being formed and will start meeting soon. Contact Mrs. Madonia for information on how to join! Individual meetings take place throughout each and every school day. The goal of these meetings are to help students set, achieve, and maintain goals that are important to their academic, social and personal success. Please feel free to contact me by e-mailing or calling me at SHJH ext. 308. Mrs. Madonia, School Guidance Counselor

Choose Wisely—Your Decisions Shape Your Life! Using magic and real-life stories, Tommy Nugent challenged SHJH students to think about how every decision (or non-decision) they make shapes the path of their lives. All students attended the October 10 assembly, then wrote an essay in response to Mr. Nu-gent’s message. The best essays will be announced sometime in November, and excerpts from those essays will be published in our next issue.