News from District 153

September 5, 2024

At a special September 4th meeting of the Board of Education, Christine Scully was named as the newest member of the Board of Education. Scully will serve out the term of Deb Havighorst, who resigned her position in July after serving on the board for more than 15 years. She is a mother of two 153 students and is active with Homewood PTA and Foundation 153. Scully also was an integral part of the 2022 referendum committee.

A 2001 graduate of Homewood Flossmoor High School, a 2005 graduate of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a 2007 graduate of University of Illinois Chicago with a master’s degree in architecture, Scully works as a building code consultant specializing in accessibility building codes for multifamily/apartment developments throughout the country.

Is your Bulldog interested in learning a musical instrument? Churchill School's band (starting in 5th-grade) and orchestra (starting in 4th-grade) programs are hosting an information/sign-up night on Tuesday, September 10th, from 4:00-8:00 PM. Click below to make an appointment to learn more and meet the teachers!

Willow School art teacher, Andy Slivka, has created a sculpture for the school of its wildcat mascot out more than 8,000 marker caps.

Slivka said that over several years, he saved the caps from dried out markers. What began as just a few hundred caps ballooned into thousands of them.

“I knew I was going to use them for a larger recycled art project, but I wasn't sure of what to make at that time," said Slivka. “When the COVID lockdowns began, I brought the bins of marker caps home and began sorting them. That’s when the idea of a large-scale Wildcat sculpture came to me.”

Although Slivka had amassed hundreds of marker caps from the Willow students over the years, he soon discovered that he didn't have nearly enough caps to finish. The project would start and stop over several months, with caps being added and reorganized within the wood frame once he collected more of them.

After the design was finished, Slivka said it took lots of trial and error to figure out how to make the 4x4 foot flat sculpture vertical, without causing it to collapse.

August 27th was a scorcher! The weather wasn't good for much of anything—except maybe cooking hot dogs in a solar oven. That’s just what the students from Panther TV did. Lunch was served to the entire advisory class!

Register to be a vendor at the first Homewood Winter Market sponsored by Foundation 153! We're looking for crafters, makers, vendors, and businesses of all kinds. Foundation 153 is a not-for-profit organization that funds grants for staff in School District 153. We have sponsored everything from flexible seating in classrooms to field trips for students and curriculum for all staff. Help support us by letting us help support your business.

What a great way to start the new school year! Our official Back-to-School Party on August 24th featured the James Hart Band, crafts, hula hoop contests, face painting, a climbing wall, and touch-a-truck fun. Many thanks to all the vendors, organizations and families who turned out. We are especially grateful to our partner-in-fun, the Village of Homewood, for making the day possible.

The Villages of Homewood and Flossmoor are encouraging residents to sign up and create a free personal profile for Smart911, a new program to alert residents of emergency situations and get first responders information they need quickly to save lives.

Smart911 profile allows but doesn't require residents to enter information regarding their family or medical history that first responders may need in case of an incident at their home. (Examples of that information may include whether someone in the home uses oxygen or a wheelchair, the existence of family pets, a resident with severe allergies, etc.)

Once a Smart911 profile is created, the resident can opt-in to receive text, email or voice call messaging from the Village of Homewood or Village of Flossmoor regarding emergency situations.

Click here to sign up!

HFHS is looking for community members to help interview candidates for the school's next superintendent. Monday, September 9th, at noon is the deadline to volunteer!

Homewood School District 153 is the proud home of the James Hart Panthers, Churchill Bulldogs and Willow Wildcats.

Email: shelley.peck@hsd153.org
Website: hsd153.org
Location: 18205 Aberdeen Street, Homewood, IL, 60430
Phone: 708-799-8721
Facebook: facebook.com/hsd153
Twitter: @Homewood153