School Events
Charlotte Sutka, a mathematics teacher at St. Laurence High School, 5556 W. 77th St., Burbank, was recently recognized for her excellence in math instruction.
Sutka is a member of the Mathematics Teacher Association. She was acknowledged for her hard work, leadership, dedication and outstanding commitment to teaching high school mathematics.
“It was an honor to receive this recognition from the MTA,” said Sutka. “I enjoy teaching and see the results of my efforts in the classroom every day at St. Laurence.”
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An local student was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi, an international honor society for juniors and seniors, at Northern Illinois University’s Honors Day ceremonies in DeKalb during April.
Kathryn Seddon, an Oak Lawn resident, was selected to Phi Kappa Phi. She is majoring in Family and Individual Development.
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A group of local students have earned their degrees for the 2007 fall semester at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Earning degrees were Bridgeview residents Rebecca Aurich, bachelor of arts, and Heather VanGorkorn, a bachelor of science degree in education.
Oak Lawn residents earning degrees were Andrew Geraghty, bachelor of arts; Bob Roubik, bachelor of arts; Eileen O’Shea, bachelor of science; Gregory Wilson, bachelor of science in education; Jason Korkosz, bachelor of science; Ken Styler, bachelor of science; Larry Childs, bachelor of arts in general studies; and Matthew Peters, bachelor of science.
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Four new programs offering alternative energy education will be introduced at Mother McAuley High School, 3737 W. 99th St., Chicago.
BP’s A+ for Energy Program and Illinois Clen Energy Community Foundation are making the programs possible, according to Dr. Christine Melone, president and principal at Mother McAuley.
With $25,000 of support from a global energy leader like BP and $10,000 from a local conservation group like Illinois Clean Energy Foundation, McAuley students have new opportunities to explore the important world of energy conservation. Mother McAuley was the only high school in this area to receive three grants through the A+ for Energy Program.
Science Department Chairperson Dr. Roz Iasillo designed “Energize McAuley — An Alternative Energy Audit” as an opportunity for students to learn how the school uses energy, to implement energy savings, and to learn about alternative energy sources. The Audit is designed to provide real-life learning through the use of career-related teams that carry out tasks similar to professionals found in the energy industry. Through the BP A+ for Energy Program, McAuley received a $10,000 grant to launch this new initiative.
Physics teacher Robert Thomas developed “Converting Solar and Wind Energy to Electricity” as a research project for his Physics Honors students. Approximately 100 students will work in teams to build and collect data from wind and solar energy kits, convert the energy into electricity and conduct experiments using different variables to try and obtain the most power from the energy sources. Mother McAuley received a $5,000 grant from the BP A+ for Energy Program in support of this project.
Kathleen Gordon Davis, chairperson of McAuley’s Art Department, developed “Connections: Energy, Visual Arts and Our Environment” as an interdisciplinary project with the Science Department. Students in the Studio Art and Advanced Placement Art classes will work with the Environmental Science students to create visual art pieces directly related to the study of energy and alternative sources.
The students will concentrate their study on five sources of renewable energy: solar, wind, geothermal, tides and hydroelectric. The visual art piece will be displayed in an art exhibition. In order to develop this concept, BP’s A+ for Energy Program awarded McAuley a $10,000 grant.