District 99 OKs Lacrosse Programs at Downers Grove High Schools

Boys and girls lacrosse will now be offered in Community HIgh School District 99 as co-op, non-funded programs.

Downers Grove high schools will offer boys and girls lacrosse next year after Community High School District 99 agreed to add the teams to its spring sports lineup. District 99 board members voted unanimously Monday to add both boys and girls lacrosse as non-funded programs during the 2013-14 school year. The two teams will operate as co-op teams for students at both North and South high schools. Monday's vote was met with a loud applause from more than a dozen players and coaches in attendance, many of whom have been petitioning the district to add the program since last fall. "I just wanted thank you very much for taking us through the appropriate process and working with us for the past six months," said Jon Gargiulo, varsity head coach…

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District 99 Names Seniors in the Top 2 Percent of the Class of 2013

Fourteen students from Downers Grove South and 10 from North were listed among the top 2 percent of their senior classes academically, district officials said.

Community High School District 99 in Downers Grove has announced 24 seniors—10 from North High School and 14 from South High School—who are part of the top two percent of their senior classes academically in 2013. “Being a member of the top two percent is a most distinguishing academic honor, as it acknowledges a consistently high level of academic performance across seven semesters of high school,” said District 99 Superintendent Dr. Mark McDonald in a press release. “In addition, these students have excelled in various extracurricular and athletic programs, making them incredibly well prepared for future success.” The top two percent of students, listed alphabetically, from North High School are: Mary Bedalov is the daughter of Lynn and …

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Downers Grove Students Win 11th District Congressional Art Competition

Congressman Bill Foster selected works by Downers Grove North's Katie Berendt and South's Egle Keturakyte and Sarah Wagner to hang in the U.S. Capitol and his officer for the next year.

Three students from Community High School District 99 have been named winners of the 32nd annual Congressional Art Competition in the 11th District. The overall winner, announced by Congressman Bill Foster (D-11) on Monday, was Katie Berendt, a junior from Downers Grove North High School. Her piece, "Breaking Captivity," will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. for the next year, along with other winners from across the country. Second place was awarded to "Bright Eyes" by Naperville Central senior Mark Irion. Third place went to "Breaking Through" by Downers Grove South junior Egle Keturakyte, and fourth went to "Crash" by South sophomore Sarah Wagner. Irion's work will hang in Foster's Washington D.C. office, and the …

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District 99 Approves $1M in Renovations for Downers Grove High Schools

The school board voted unanimously Monday to approve a series of repairs and upgrades at Downers Grove North and South high schools.

Downers Grove North and South high schools will receive more than $1 million in repairs and renovations in the coming months. The Community High School District 99 Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to approve a series of contracts for capital improvements at both campuses. Scheduled upgrades at South High School include the reconstruction of the north parking lot, new athletic lockers and complete replacement of the athletic flooring in the school's small gym. North High School will receive a partial roof replacement and replacement of the HVAC system in the main gym. Both schools will receive lighting upgrades in their main gyms, officials said. District 99 Operations Director Marty Schack said South High's north parking lot, …

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Michael Davenport

7:04 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013

We installed pavers at North High because it was the most economical way to satisfy the DuPage County storm water requirements. Had we used asphalt, we would have been required to construct large underground structures to hold storm water. At South High we have substantially more open space and therefore do not have the same need for storm water storage...and therefore can not justify the added …   more ›

Downers Grove North Names New Associate Principal

Ken Sorensen will take over as associate principal for operations beginning July 1, replacing Chuck Hiscock.

Downers Grove North High School has named a new associate principal. The Community High School District 99 Board of Education voted unanimously March 18 to promote Ken Sorensen from the position of assistant principal in charge of student activities and technology to associate prinicpal for operations. Effective July 1, Sorensen will replace Chuck Hiscock, who was recently named the new principal of West Aurora High School. In his new capacity on the District 99 administrative team, Sorensen will oversee all facets of operations, technology and student discipline as well as personnel management at the school, according to district officials. “I am excited about the challenge of new responsibilities and the opportunity to continue to serve …

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Local Voices: Has Cyber Bullying Gone Too Far at Downers Grove North?

Patch blogger Shane Gustafson tackles the issue of cyber bullying and the Facebook page "Downers North Insults."

Downers Grove Speech Teams Take Home 3 State Titles, 12 Medals

The speech team at South High School placed second and North High placed fourth at the IHSA state meet Friday and Saturday.

It was a winning weekend for the speech teams at both District 99 high schools.  Downers Grove South placed second and Downers Grove North placed fourth in the IHSA Individual Events Team State Championship at the speech state meet, held Friday and Saturday in Peoria. In addition, three students—Dan Leahy (South High), Natasha Prosek (South High) and Alex Buckley (North High)—were all crowned state champions in their individual events. South High Results South High’s team, led by head coach Nicole Carreno, captured second place in the state meet. Senior Dan Leahy was named state champion in Original Comedy, and also received third place in Prose Reading. Junior Natasha Prosek is state champion Humorous Interpretation. Three other students …

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Mark Thoman

3:07 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013

South has dominated Speech for decades, a record unmatched in any IHSA competition.. With North picking up the slack, the entire community can applaud the hard working students and coaches from both schools. Well done!   more ›

Eleven District 99 Students Advance as National Merit Finalists

Students from Downers Grove were selected from 1.5 million entrants as finalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships.

Eleven students in Community High School District 99 have been designated as finalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP), an academic competition for recognition and scholarships sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).  Five students were selected from Downers Grove South and six were selected from Downers Grove North, district officials said. The designation recognizes a student’s “outstanding academic promise,” officials said. Students are selected based on test scores, an essay, their schools’ curricula and school official recommendations, as well as involvement in activities and leadership. Of the 1.5 million entrants, approximately 16,000 semifinalists were named in September and 15,000 of …

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Downers Grove Students Attend Presidential Inauguration During Annual D.C. Trip

A group of 24 students witnessed President Barack Obama's second inauguration during a 10-day trip to Washington D.C. last month.

A group of 24 students from Downers Grove North High School witnessed history in the making last month as they attended President Barack Obama's inauguration during an annual trip to Washington D.C. The group traveled to the nation's capital as part of the Close Up Washington D.C. program, which gives students and educators an inside look at democracy in action. During the 10-day trip, students were able to tour the city, visit national monuments and interact with teens from high schools around the country. "The main purpose of the program is to give students more civic education through real-life experience," said Erin Moore, a social studies teacher who chaperoned the trip. Although students typically meet with state senators and members…

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Former Downers Grove Teacher Spreads Passion for Education

Longtime Oak Park resident Linda Augustyn recently retired from a career in teaching, but that hasn't stopped her passion for education.

Some teachers can't ever give up teaching. Linda Augustyn, a 26-year resident of Oak Park is one of them. Even after working as an English Department Chair and teacher at Downers Grove North High School for more than 20 years, she never lost her passion for education. She retired in June last year, but found that she just couldn't sit still. Soon after retiring, she began working as a volunteer with the Chicago-based bookstore and literacy nonprofit Open Books and with the Better Boys Foundation. All that, and she still finds time to help students in Oak Park and Downers Grove with their college admission essays. A volunteer that does this much to help the community deserves a moment in the spotlight. Patch sat down with Augustyn recently …

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