News&Notes
A PUBLICATION FOR EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES OF TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 211
2008 Combined Charities Campaign to Begin
During the week of November 17, High School District 211 employees will again
be offered the opportunity to participate in the Combined Charities Campaign, a
collective effort of hundreds of charities. Employees can choose from over 20 pages
of listings of charitable organizations, or can write in the charity of their choice.
Giving can be done as a payroll deduction for 10 pay periods or as a one-time gift.
Either type of donation also can be done on-line.
Pledge sheets will be collected November 24 - 26, and payroll deductions will
begin the first pay period of January, 2009.
If you don’t receive a donation packet and would like to participate, contact the
Coordinator in your building.
Employee Wellness Program
High School District 211 offers all employees an annual wellness examination
program benefit. In an effort to promote prevention and early detection of health
concerns, the Board of Education has supported policy that encourages employees
to have physical examinations annually.
As part of the wellness examination program, District 211 works with Advocate
Health Care, Alexian Brothers Corporate Health Services, Concentra Medical
Centers, as well as Northwest Community Occupational Health. By participating
in the program, employees have a large selection of physicians and locations from
which to choose for health screening services.
For additional information on the Employee Wellness Program and a listing of
program service providers, contact the personnel office, or log onto the District 211
Intranet web site at http://www.d211.org/pdf/wpep.pdf
http://www.d211.org/pdf/wpep.pdf.
A closer look at the numbers …
Here is an interesting look at High School District 211’s opening-day
(2008‑2009) professional staff:
• Total professional staff for 2008‑2009 is 988
• There are 915 full‑time, 26 part‑time, and 47 reduced‑load positions
• Of the 988 total, 899 are teachers, 37 are social workers/psychologists/interns, and 52
are administrators
• There are 63 new professional staff members in District 211
•This figure includes 40 women and 23 men
• Of the 63 new staff members, 46 hold Baccalaureate degrees and 17 hold master’s degrees
• New staff members represent graduates of 30 universities and colleges nation‑ and
world‑wide
• Twelve colleges and universities from Illinois are represented, with the following
universities having the most representatives: Illinois State University, 17; University
of Illinois, 12; and Western Illinois University, 6.
• Assignments of new staff members are as follows:
7 at Palatine High School
13 at Hoffman Estates High School
12 at William Fremd High School
4 at Academy‑North
13 at James B. Conant High School
2 at Academy‑South
12 at Schaumburg High School
OCTOBER 2008
Heart Facts
from
1. Your heart beats about 100,000
times in one day and about 35 million
times in a year. During an average
lifetime, the human heart will beat more
than 2.5 billion times.
2. Resting Heart Rates: Canary heart
- 1,000 beats/minute. Human heart - 70
beats/minute. Mouse heart - 700 beats/
minute. Whale heart - 5 beats/minute.
Elephant heart - 25 beats/minute.
3. Your heart weighs about as much
as a sneaker.
4. If you could stretch your blood
vessels end to end, they would reach
around the world 4 times.
5. The heart pumps 5000-6000 quarts
of blood a day.
6. Your heart is about the size of your
fist.
7. Arteries and veins carry blood to and
from the heart to the rest of your body.
8. Give a tennis ball a good hard squeeze.
You’re using about the same amout of force
your heart uses to pump blood out to the
body. Even at rest, the muscles of the heart
work hard - twice as hard as the leg muscles
of a person sprinting.
9. Feel your pulse by placing two
fingers at pulse points on your neck
or wrists. The pulse you feel is blood
stopping and starting as it moves
through your arteries. As a child, your
resting pulse might range from 90‑120
beats per minute. As an adult, your pulse
rate slows to an average of 72 beats per
minute.
continued on page 3
News & Notes
What’s
Going On
Inside ...
pages 2-3..... Heart Walk 2008
pages 4-5 .... Around & About
District 211 Students and Staff Support American Heart Association’s
Heart Walk 2008
For the 13th straight year, High School District 211 demonstrated its support for the American Heart Association by
participating in the American Heart Walk, the association’s annual fundraising event. The District 211 Heart Walk 2008 was
held on October 19th, a perfect fall day, at the Schaumburg Prairie Center for the Arts.
All of District 211 was represented – there were participants from all five high schools, the District’s two alternative schools,
the transportation department, and the administration center.
“The Heart Walk event is a fund‑raising
raising activity that the entire District 211 family takes pride in,” commented District 211 Community
Relations Coordinator Thomas Petersen, who served as the district’s event coordinator. “Our faculty, staff, students, and their
families walk because it is one way to show we are appreciative of our communities and the support they provide us everyday.”
The Heart Walk organizers from each District 211 building were: English Teacher Jean Black from Palatine High School; William
Fremd High School Physical Education Teacher Rico Matarazzo; James B. Conant Physical Counselor Kimberleigh Magee;
Physical Education Teacher Linda Luciani from Schaumburg High School; Assistant Principal Gwendolyn Bess from Hoffman
Estates High School; Program Administrator Sean Cunningham from Academy-North; Program Administrator Jodee Culberson
from Academy-South; Driver Supervisor James Fleischman from Transportation; and Community Relations Coordinator Thomas
Petersen and Community Relations Clerk Dorothy Tarkowski from the G.A. McElroy Administration Center.
Heart Walk 2008
Before the Walk began, the National Anthem was performed by
Palatine High School’s Indigo Jazz group (picture top right).
News & Notes
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October 2008
High School District 211
Heart Walk 2008
Additional photos available at http://www.d211.org/heartwalk2008/index.shtml
Heart Walk participants
were invited to
breakfast at Conant
High School after the
Walk, compliments of
the Board of Education
and Teacher’s Union.
Heart Facts continued from page 1
10. The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter
of a garden hose. Capillaries, on the other hand, are so small that it
takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair.
11. Lub-dib, lub-dub, lub-dub... sound familiar? If you listen to
your heart beat you’ll hear two sounds. These “lub” and “dub”
sounds are made by the heart valves as they open and close.
12. A tireless, powerful muscle, the heart performs enough
work in one hour to lift 3,000 lbs. - roughly the weight of a small
car - about 1 foot off the ground.
13. Blood makes up 1/3 of the body weight.
14. Exercise that promotes cardiovascular fitness improves your
body’s circulation to help your heart, lungs, and other organs work
together more efficiently. Cardiovascular fitness also helps you meet
physical and emotional demands more readily.
15. Be active! It’s smart for your heart. To name a few benefits,
regular physical activity does the following:
• improves blood circulation throughout your body (lungs,
heart, & other organs & muscles work together more effectively)
• improves the body’s ability to use oxygen and provide the
energy needed for an active lifestyle
• helps handle stress
• bolsters enthusiasm & optimism
• helps release tension, relax, and sleep better
• helps control your weight along with a proper diet.
News & Notes
-3-
October 2008
Around & About
Palatine High School
Chris Gunsteen (Applied Technology) submitted the following: On Friday, October 3, 2008, the Illinois Technology Student
Association sponsored its eighth-annual Technology Day on the of Illinois State University campus. This event was hosted by the
Technology Department’s Technology Education Collegiate Association. Technology Day is an opportunity for students to learn about
technology education from a standards point of view, through an extra-curricular type of format, competing against students from
all over the state of Illinois in hands-on, problem-solving, engineering-based activities/challenges. Each competition is based on the
Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology. Competitions for Technology Day 2008 included five different
events: Engineering Design, Invention/Innovation, Flight Endurance, Structural Technology, and Transportation Technology. With
300 to 500 students competing, Palatine High School students did very well, placing third in Transportation Technology and placing
first in the Invention and Innovation challenge. Palatine High School looks forward to competing at the state level in February.
Mark Hibner (Applied Technology) received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the Department of Technology at
Illinois State University in September.
Raeleen Horn (Music Department Chair and Director of Bands) is proud to announce that members of the Palatine High School
Marching Band are in the recently released film ‑ The Express - starring Dennis Quaid and Rob Brown. The movie is about Ernie Davis,
the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy Award. The PHS band students appear as the Syracuse Marching Band, and
are shown in a few different sequences as part of the entire football game stadium atmosphere.
William Fremd High School
Jennifer Carlson (Science) and her husband, Dale, are happy to annouce the birth of their daughter, Katherine Anne on March 29,
2008. Katie was 7 lbs., 12 oz. and 21‑1/2” long. Big brother Chris is very proud, too.
John Baima (College Consultant) has been selected to serve on an advisory council for the University of Illinois at Urbana‑Champaign
for one year beginning in the Spring of 2008. Only four counselors throughout Illinois were selected for this honor. University of Illinois
is committed to enrolling a freshman class that represents a diverse and talented group of students from around the state, country, and
nation. The role of the board will be to give input and feedback as to how the school can more effectively recruit and enroll students.
Hoffman Estates High School
Karen Whedon (Special Education) and her husband, Dave, would like to announce the marriage of their son Jeffery to Andrea
Gabl. The ceremony took place at St. Mary’s Church in Huntley, and the reception was at Boulder Ridge Country Club in Algonquin.
The newlyweds spent their honeymoon on the islands around Tahiti.
Mary Ann Laforet (English) traveled with her husband to Los Angeles to visit with her children. The group celebrated her daughter’s
London School of Economics dissertation on Stephen Colbert being posted on the web as number 2 in the college and her son’s job
with Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place.
R.E.S.T.
Terry Comina (retired) won a national handball championship in June in Kansas City, playing in the 70+ age division.
News & Notes
1750 South Roselle Road
Palatine, Illinois 60067-7379
Telephone: (847) 755-6600
News & Notes is published four times during
the school year for Township High School
District 211 employees and retirees.
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News & Notes
got news?
Roger W. Thornton, Superintendent
Web Site: www.d211.org
Announcement Line: (847) 755-6635
Thomas Petersen, Community Relations Coordinator
Becky Rolph, Publications Assistant
Craig Hippensteel, Publications Technology Specialist
Dorothy Tarkowski, Publications Clerk
If you require assistance while visiting one of our
schools, please contact the principal’s office.
-4-
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October 2008