Selected as a 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 NASET (National Association of Special Education
Teachers) School of Excellence
Maryville Jen School
Thanksgiving Issue
November 2016
Principal’s Address:
November is one of my favorite months of the year. The temperature is finally where it is
cold in the morning and beautiful during the day. The fall colors are in full swing and the
holidays that are focused on family and gratitude and caring are upon us.
We have much to be grateful for here at Jen School. We have many wonderful individuals
that give of their time and talents on our behalf and we have many talented and dedicated
faculty and staff. I am grateful and honored every day for the opportunity to work with all
of them. We have supportive parents and community members enhancing our Jen School
community. Finally, we have amazing students who work hard every day to achieve their
goals and to reach their potential as respectful and talented young men.
During November, our curriculum places a greater emphasis on community service and
gratitude. Lessons are integrated into the curriculum with instruction and reflection
designed to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility and build a sense of community.
Students learn the importance of giving back to their community first hand by participating
in classroom and school projects such as our annual Thanksgiving lunch and Share our
Strength bake sale.
Also integrated throughout our curriculum is teaching our students tolerance, respect and
concern for others. We also want our students to develop skills and strategies to deal with
difficult situations when they arise which is why we are excited to present in cooperation
with The Stephen Sexton Training Institute: “Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid
Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear.” By Carrie Goldman on November 29 th.
Carrie Goldman is an award-winning author. She is the co-founder of the Pop Culture Hero
Coalition, which is also run by actress and bullying prevention advocate Chase Masterson
and heroism expert Mat Langdon. Goldman’s work has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, CNN
Headline News, Fox, The New York Times and many more. She received a BS from
Northwestern and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. There will be a
morning presentation open to school districts, professionals and parents. There will be an
all school assembly for students in the afternoon. For more information, please see the
attached flyer or go to our website www.jenschool.org
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Jen.
With much gratitude,
Ann M. Craig
Social Media
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What’s New at Jen:
Current Events
By: Moisette McNerney - Teacher
MORE Community Partnerships
By: Don Wardlow – Instructional Assistant/Job Coach
At 11:45am, student DaQhawn Scott and social worker/job coach
Matt Yeager arrive at The Frisbie Senior Center at Mount Prospect
Road and Northwest Highway in Des Plaines. The Frisbie Senior
Center is an activity center for older, active adults. Here the seniors
can come and participate in exercise classes, play pool or attend
Friday afternoon Bingo games. They also have a café where the
seniors can enjoy a meal and each other’s company. DaQhawn
assists head chef Carlos Garcia and line cook Edwin Masek at the
Cumberland Cafe prepare the food trays with sides and condiments
for each diner. Once the ordered meals are prepared, the seniors’
numbers are called and DaQhawn delivers their food to the correct
tables. DaQhawn is so polite and respectful and he is appreciated by
all of the Frisbie staff and guests. DaQhawn is served lunch at the
end of his shift, and he sometimes even sits at the tables with the
seniors, enjoying their company. The conversations are usually
about the Bears, Cubs or his goals in the future. The seniors refer to
DaQhawn as “Cassius Clay” (African American professional boxer
and Civil Rights Activist). After the cafe closes, DaQhawn assists
Carlos & Edwin with cleaning up the eating area by wiping down
tables, mopping floors and washing dishes.
Jen School is conducting a mock presidential
election. We plan to have the results tallied and a
winner announced by Tuesday, November 8 th
prior to student dismissal. Why hold a mock
election? This simulated activity can involve
much more than students simply checking their
vote on a ballot. At its root, this can help students
understand the process of electing officials and
the power of the vote. Votes are people’s voices,
and voices sound different in different parts of
the city, state, and country. This election is a way
to demonstrate these differences and why
demographics affect choices. Finally, there is the
element of preparing students for full-fledged
adulthood. Registering to vote and going to the
polls on Election Day are part of being a
responsible adult.
I VOTED stickers made in Jen School’s
Advanced Technology Lab by senior
DaQhawn Scott
I personally think the Frisbie Center can be a great job site for
any of our students at Jen School. It exposes our young people
to real life heroes right here in their own community. Not
basketball players or rappers, but real people who carry a lot
of knowledge and wisdom that is different than that of our
young people. They have a sense of history that can be
transmitted, a sense of intrigue about the world, and personal
experiences that excite our students intellectually. I also hope
this experience exposes these seniors to the people behind
the saggy pants and tattoos; to see that our youth are real
people too, and they don’t need to be afraid.
Jen School senior DaQhawn Scott (center) with Cumberland
Café head chef Carlos Garcia and line cook Edwin Masek.
Classroom Corner
The team in room 603 (teacher Mary Patryn, social worker Lynne Holland, and
instructional assistant Anthony Franklin) has had quite a time settling in this
fall. Bouncing between classrooms, starting the year with freshmen boys who
were in the process of leaving Maryville, to having only one student for a time;
they now have a solid class of four students and are finally starting to find their
stride in the school year. This week alone, they are doing a kitchen invasion
(preparing lunch for the entire school) as well as preparing cheese ball
appetizer turkeys (pictured) for a bake sale benefitting childhood hunger that
was held on November 3rd. They have been extremely helpful in the garden,
laying fertilizer in the beds to prepare them for next year, and they have worked
on relationships and communication through Marty Parties (team building
exercises led by PE teacher, Marty Knuth) and classroom activities. Embedded
within all of these activities are the studied academics. The students in 603 are
learning US History, Physical Science, and English. Keep up the good work!
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Health Beat:
Diabetes
By: Tracy Mullen – School Nurse
Hello, readers! I wanted to take a moment to talk to you about diabetes.
First, let’s go over what diabetes is. Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body uses
glucose, a sugar that is the body's main source of fuel. Just as an iPod needs a battery, your
body needs glucose to keep running. Here's how it should work:
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You eat.
Glucose from the food gets into your bloodstream.
Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin.
Insulin helps the glucose get into the body's cells.
Your body gets the energy it needs.
The pancreas is a long, flat gland in your belly that helps your body digest food. It also
makes insulin. Insulin is kind of like a key that opens the doors to the cells of the body. It lets the glucose in. Then the glucose
can move out of the blood and into the cells.
But if someone has diabetes, the body either can't make insulin or the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should. The
glucose can't get into the cells normally, so the blood sugar level gets too high. Lots of sugar in the blood makes people sick if
they don't get treatment.
More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, but 1 out of 4 of them don't know they have it. With type 1
diabetes, your body can't make insulin, so you need to take it every day. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes;
about 5% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Most people with diabetes—9 out of 10—have type 2 diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn't use insulin well and is
unable to keep blood sugar at normal levels. If you have any of the risk factors below, ask your doctor if you should be tested
for diabetes. The sooner you find out, the sooner you can start making healthy changes that will benefit you now and in the
future. (Resource cdc.gov)
For more information talk to your doctor and visit www.cdc.gov.
CAAEL Sports Page
By: Vincent Irvin – Instructional Assistant/Job Coach
The CAAEL (Chicago Area Alternative Education League) flag football
season has come to an end. The Eagles were supposed to make up a game against
Joseph Academy on Friday, October 21st; unfortunately, due to the weather, the
final game could not take place. However, Jen School managed to figure out a
way for students to get their fix of pigskin fun. The final game was a wrap up to
Jen’s first ever Spirit Week and involved both staff and students in an afternoon
of togetherness and good sportsmanship. The Jen students work hard in school to
be eligible to play in CAAEL games. What was special about this particular game
was all of the people in the stands, not just staff
from the school but from all over campus, waving posters and cheering on the staff and
students of Jen. The crowd was ready to see what each side brought to the field. When the
whistle blew the offensive line got into position, laughing and staring down their competition.
The defense took their places, while everyone else cheered as loud as they could. The crowd
screamed and cheered whenever a pass was completed. The students enjoyed the chants that
they were receiving, and the game was competitive but enjoyable at the same time. Principal
Ann M. Craig, Assistant Principal Heather Lischett, and PE Teacher Marty Knuth made sure
everyone had a fun and fair time as the game’s referees. As the game ended everyone shook
hands and congratulated each other on a successful fun game. Make sure to keep an eye out for
all the action this fall as the Eagle start there volleyball season, Friday, November 4th. The
Eagles’ will start their season with a home game against Joseph Academy.
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