GazeboNews

LBES To Open Sept. 28

Editor's note: School District 65 released the following press release on Wednesday:

Lake Bluff, IL, August 26, 2009 –- It was announced at the August 25th District 65 Board of Education meeting that the new Lake Bluff Elementary School will be officially open for students on Monday, September 28th. As previously announced, on September 8th Kindergarten through 5th grade students will begin the school year in alternative locations. Kindergarten through 3rd graders will attend classes at East School and 4th and 5th graders and 4/5 multi-agers will attend classes at Lake Forest High School's West Campus. School will run its regular schedule from 8:05 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.

September 25th has been selected as the moving day and classes will be cancelled. This instructional day will be made up at a later date and the school calendar will be adjusted.Lake Bluff Middle School will be ready for classes to start on September 8th. Locker Day for 6th graders and new students is planned for Thursday, August 27th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Further details about the start of school will be announced on the District website www.lb65.org as they are known.

LB Schools Outline Start-Day Plan

Editor's note: On Friday afternoon, School District 65 issued this press release:

Lake Bluff, IL Aug. 20, 2009 – The Lake Bluff School District announced the following details for the start of school on Sept. 8, 2009:

Due to delays in construction, a contingency plan that was developed by the District in the spring will be officially put into place for the start of school for Kindergarten through 5th grade students attending the new Lake Bluff Elementary School. This contingency plan will last for up to four weeks.

Kindergarten through 3rd graders will attend classes at East School and 4th and 5th graders and 4/5 multi-agers will attend classes at the Lake Forest High School’s West Campus. School will run its regular schedule from 8:05 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. K-5 buses will operate on their normal schedule picking up students at their assigned stop and bringing all students to East School. Separate buses will then leave East School to transport 4th and 5th grade students to the West Campus.

Buses will also be available on Washington at the Park District entrance for K-5 students who had planned to walk or ride bikes to Lake Bluff Elementary which will take them to East School and then continue on to the West Campus. School District crossing guards will be at 176 & Green Bay Roads as well as Sheridan Road & Sheridan Place.

Once Lake Bluff Elementary School is ready for students, a school day will be selected and announced as a moving day and classes will be canceled. This day will be made up at a later date and the school calendar will be adjusted.

Lake Bluff Middle School will be ready for classes to start on Sept. 8th. Locker Day for 6th graders and new students is planned for Thursday, Aug. 27, from 10 to 11 am.

More detailed information about the start of school, teacher and advisory assignments and transportation was sent home to every parent in the district on Friday, Aug. 21.

Mom Raising Funds For Fox Mascot

Lake Bluff's Holli Volkert is raising money to purchase a fox mascot costume for the new elementary school. She's trying to keep it a surprise, so don't tell the kids. She's got $215 so far, and she needs $850 for the costume shown in this photo.

"I have received lots of positive responses, but it being summer I'm sure it gets shuffled in the mix of to-dos," she said. "If you're wanting to donate and haven't done so yet, we are getting down to the wire to have it ordered and here on time for the first day in the new school." She pointed out that the fox won't be used in the temporary placement locations.

If you want to help, drop off or mail cash or a check for whatever amount you can give to Holli at 108 E. North Avenue, Lake Bluff. Make checks out to her or the LB PTO.

A Sneak Peak At LB'S New School

Editor’s note: School District 65 recently offered a media tour of the new Lake Bluff Elementary School, led by principle architect Tim McGrath of the BLDD deisgn firm. To cover the tour, GazeboNews recruited Kevin Considine, a Lake Bluff dad whose two daughters will attend the school. Here’s what he found…

By Kevin Considine

Construction of Lake Bluff Elementary School is behind schedule, but the building is ahead of the curve on everything else. Led by principle architect Tim McGrath, the design team has built an effective and fun learning environment that is both environmentally efficient and safe.

Everywhere you see the marriage of form and function. Having to work around the then-operating Central School meant wedging the new building into the rear area of the lot. It turns out this was ideal, forcing a primarily southeast orientation. This provides lots of natural light, but not the heat of direct southern exposure. The school has two wings, academic and administrative. The two-story academic wing is built around a central courtyard, which has several purposes. It brings light deep into the school, provides an outdoor project or assembly space and also serves as an orientation device for navigating the school.

That orientation also fed the color choices. Bright hues of kiwi, orange and grape line the corridors of the academic wing, bringing cheer to the space. The color-coding will also make it easier for children, particularly the younger set, to learn their way around the building. The classrooms seem enormous. At 1,150 square feet, they are larger than most parents' first apartments. All the classrooms are bright and airy, some with an enviable view of the 10th fairway next door. Many couple the large central area with a small conference room that can be used for teacher workspace or group projects.

Same Time, Different Place For LB School Start

Lake Bluff students in Kindergarten through fifth grade will not start the school school year in the Village's new elementary school due to construction delays that have consistently kept the project three weeks behind schedule. School will begin on Sept. 8 as planned, but Kindergarten through third grade classes will be held at East Elementary School, while classes for the fourth, fifth and multi-age grades will be held at Christ Church on Waukegan Road in Lake Forest, according to a press release issued by District 65.

Transportation decisions have not yet been made, spokeswoman Kathleen Reidy told GazeboNews. She said there will be no need to combine classes, since both East School and Christ Church have the capacity to house individual classrooms. She could not provide an estimated opening date for the new school, but said: "We want the students in there as soon as possible."

"This contingency plan was developed by the Board of Education in the spring of 2009 to be used in case the building was not ready for the start of the school year. Teachers and the administration planned accordingly at the end of the last school year to easily move into and instruct in temporary classroom space to make the transition as smooth as possible," the press release stated. 

Students in Lake Bluff Middle School will not be affected by the contingency plan. The construction schedule for the fine arts addition and infrastructure work in the existing building is on target.

GazeboNews will update this story as more information becomes available.

East School: Open Space Or Community Place?

What should Lake Bluff School District 65 do with East School? That's been on the minds of many residents since voters approved a new school referendum in April of 2007. On Tuesday night, the East School Task Force outlined four potential scenarios for the building that's been around since 1895. Initial pricing ranges from $650,000 for an open space plan to $7.7 million to renovate the entire building for a facility similar to Lake Forest's Gorton Community Center. The four scenarios are:

1. Adaptive reuse of the entire building for a community center, which involves modernizing and bringing the building up to today's codes. The District's architect estimates such a renovation would cost $6.2 million to $7.7 million
2. Adaptive resuse of the entire building for a community center, but only making improvements that bring the structure up to code. The estimated cost: $4.9 million to $6.1 million
3. Demolish the 1947 addition and reuse/renovate only the older part of the building for a community center: $3.2 million
4. Raise the entire building and develop the lot into green space while retaining certain architectural elements. The estimated cost: $650,000 to $690,000

School Construction Gaining Ground

The Lake Bluff school board is breathing a little easier after Tuesday night's meeting, when construction manager Auggie Ziccarelli reported the new elementary school is just one to two weeks behind schedule. It's likely school will start on Sept. 8, as presently scheduled, and there's a good chance Lake Bluff Elementary School will be ready for occupancy at that time. In the event there's a setback, the board is working on a contingency plan that could place students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade at East Elementary School and 4th and 5th graders at Christ Church in Lake Forest for a short time.

PTO Delivers New Tools For New School

There were a lot of reasons to stay home last Saturday night. But the rotten weather and slow economy didn't keep Lake Bluff parents from attending the PTO's annual fund-raiser, aptly named "Extreme Makeover: New School Edition." A total of 350 people turned out for the party, which raised $40,000 for playground equipment for the new Lake Bluff Elementary School, a movable bleacher system for Lake Bluff Middle School and ergonomic chairs for teachers and staff members. 

 

Mary Jane Brady, Jeri Geraghty and Misty Bell served as foremen for the party.

Hard Hats Optional At PTO Fund-Raiser

The Lake Bluff PTO on Saturday is celebrating the construction and renovation of the Village's schools with a party that plays off the "Extreme Makeover" reality series on TV. The party will include many old-time favorites such as music, hors d'oeuvres, dancing, cocktails and a silent auction. But it differs from previous PTO parties in several ways.

"Wear jeans!" said co-chair Misty Bell as she recruited a Dad to attend the party. "It's going to be casual and lots of fun." Construction of the Village's new elementary school and renovation of its Middle School provided a perfect theme. The PTO printed invitations and fliers on bright-orange paper. It posted signs of construction-related tools throughout the Village, such as the one shown here, hand-painted by mom Jackie Denio. Mindful of economic realities, the PTO lowered the ticket price to $65 per ticket or two for $100. And the PTO didn't cold-call local retailers for auction items.

"This is a small community, and there are so many auctions. This year we decided to do things differently," said party co-chair Jeri Geraghty. Instead, the PTO sought auction offerings

School Day To Expand For LB Youngsters

Students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade will get 15 additional minutes of learning every day when Lake Bluff Elementary School opens next fall. The school day will begin at 8:05 a.m. and end at 2:50 p.m. for K-5, according to information that was released at Tuesday's School Board meeting. Start and end times at Lake Bluff Middle School, meanwhile, will remain the same--8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Construction of the new school is 18 days behind schedule while work on the Middle School is on target. The district's construction rep, Auggie Zicarelli, summed it up this way: "We are in the 5th inning of an 8 inning game." Board members discussed alternative start options, including late starts, split shifts and on-time starts at alternative locations. "These are being done as due diligence by the board for planning purposes only," said Kathleen Reidy, district  communications director. "There was no vote taken because there is no information on hand at this early date to necessitate this." For an update on the construction, please visit LakeBluffSchools.org.

School District Communications Director Kathleen Reidy took this photo of Lake Bluff Elementary School Tuesday evening at sunset while she was out walking her dog, Liam.

Waste Of Elephantine Proportions

Lake Bluff School District 65 is staying true to its pledge to go green. The district so far has recycled 91% of construction waste from the development of Lake Bluff Elementary School, meaning landfills have been spared 73.5 tons of debris. That's roughly the equivalent of 18 full-grown Asian elephants, said School District Spokeswoman Kathleen Reidy.

In this regard, the new school is surpassing the guidelines of LEED certification, which requires recycling  75% of building material waste. Want to learn more about Asian elephants? Please check out the audio-visual presentation at ConserveNature.org, which was kind enough to share this image with GazeboNews.com. Want to learn more about LEED certification? The website for the Natural Resources Defense Council offers a good explanation. Or visit LakeluffSchools.org.

 

Lake Bluff's Weshinsky Has Died

Walking the dogs. Playing baseball. Heading to and from town, school, the swings in the park. Residents of Lake Bluff pass Weshinskey Field often, without perhaps giving much thought to its namesake. His name was Floyd L. Weshinskey, and he died Nov. 11 in a Lake Forest retirement home. The cause of death was complications from Alzheimer's disease, reports the Chicago Tribune.  

Mr. Weshinskey, 88, was superintendent of School District 65 for 20 years. He is notable

ISAT Scores Looking Up In Lake Bluff

The results for last year's Illinois State Achievement Tests show a consistently high achievement pattern among Lake Bluff students.

"These are incredible results and something to be proud of and celebrate," said Assistant Superintendent Susan Armbruster at this week's District 65 School Board meeting. "As I go over the results you will have a nice smile on your face."

Scores were strong in both mathematics and reading. "It seems like the kids do better in math as a general trend, particularly at the seventh-grade level," she said. For a full review of the Power Point presentation, click over to the LBSD 65 website.