District 99 Sends 1,000 Snowflakes to Sandy Hook Elementary School

The Downers Grove school district joined the National PTA last month to create a winter wonderland for students in Newtown, CT.

District 99 Sends 1,000 Snowflakes to Sandy Hook Elementary School

The Downers Grove school district joined the National PTA last month to create a winter wonderland for students in Newtown, CT.

Downers Grove South High School has teamed up with schools across the country to provide a winter wonderland for students in Newtown, CT. The National PTA launched several programs last month to support Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the Dec. 14 shooting that killed 20 children and six adults. Among the programs was an initiative to collect paper snowflakes—big and small—to decorate Chalk Hill Middle School in the nearby town of Monroe, where Sandy Hook students are set to return to class Thursday morning. In Community High School District 99, more than 1,000 handmade snowflakes were collected by South High and Transition 99, a program offered to students with disabilities to prepare them for work and daily living. The creations…

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Patch Participates in National Moment of Silence at 8:30 a.m. Friday

Your local Patch site will go dark during national observance for victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Patch sites around America, including yours, will take part in a National Moment of Silence at 8:30 a.m. Central time on Friday. At that hour, the website will go blank for 5 minutes. The page will be replaced by a message noting the National Moment of Silence, and a link will direct viewers to a website that explains ways you can join the campaign to help the people of Sandy Hook. The Moment of Silence coincides with one across social media sites. Over 100,000 people have pledged not to tweet or post to Facebook, reports TechCrunch, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Britney Spears, Suze Orman, Tyler Florence, Goldie Hawn, and Joe Montana. After 5 minutes, the website operation will return to normal.  Looking for ways to help the …

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In Hindsight: Tony Cesare

Downers Grove Patch columnist Tony Cesare offers a parent's perspective on the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.

A few years ago, I volunteered to teach my daughter’s kindergarten class all about Seurat and pointillism during Art Awareness Month, one of the most rewarding mornings I’ve ever spent. I put more time and effort into that presentation than I ever have any creative pitch I’ve ever been involved in professionally. Marketing wonks are easy to impress, just pepper your narrative with a lot of jargon (“So the ROI on this activation ideation will be both integrated and experiential…”) and they’ll believe you’re the smartest guy in the room. Trust me, it works. But jargon has no hold on a room full of hyperactive 5-year-olds; they can see right through that crap. You better be on your game with this crowd because I promise you, these kids have a…

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Downers Grove Districts Issue Safety Reminders Following Newtown School Shooting

Downers Grove Grade School District 58 and Community High School District 99 released brief statements on school safety protocol following Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

Newtown School Shootings: Downers Grove Districts React

Downers Grove Grade School District 58 and Community High School District 99 released brief statements on school safety protocol following Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

School administrators in Downers Grove have taken to their districts' websites to address Friday's tragic school shooting in Newtown, CT. One gunman, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, attacked a suburban Connecticut elementary school Friday, killing 26 people, including 20 children, law enforcement sources said. Downers Grove Grade School District 58, which comprises 11 elementary schools and two middle schools, issued a statement to parents shortly after the shooting. "When tragedies such as these occur, we are all deeply saddened and impacted by the news...as parents, as educators and as members of a community," District 58 Superintendent Kari Cremascoli said in the release. "The victims, their families and their community are in our…

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