Post by title1parent on Aug 26, 2009 5:28:23 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1734728,2_1_AU26_BUCHENOT_S1-090826.article
What's old at school is new again
August 26, 2009
When is a school both old and new?
One answer to this riddle would be "when the school is Fischer Middle School." Last week, the school year began at the new Fischer Middle School, which is being housed in the building formerly known as the Waubonsie Valley High School Gold Campus, which was formerly know as Granger Middle School. Even though the building has been in place since 1993, the school itself is new.
The principal for Fischer Middle School is Jennifer Nonnemacher. She began working in the Indian Prairie School District seven years ago as assistant principal during the opening of Crone Middle School. She then served as the Still Middle School principal for three years.
She welcomed 1,024 students to Fischer. The sixth-graders come from McCarty, Georgetown and Steck elementary schools, and the rest of the students come from Granger and Still middle schools.
"The shared goal among the whole staff is to create a sense of belonging for the students," said Nonnemacher. "We will work to blend together the students into a strong community for learning. Fischer does not have the built-in house areas like Still and Granger but we've done some repurposing of areas. We have taken the existing structures and middle-school-ized it."
Students will still be organized into teams and clustered in areas similar to the structure at the other middle schools. Nonnemacher is organizing a student leadership advisory board so that students will have input into the new school.
"We will look at the traditions from Still and Granger and decide whether we want to continue them or change them to something new," she said. "We really want to give the students a voice in this process."
Students voted last year on the school colors and mascot. The new school colors will be Vegas Gold and Cardinal Red, and the mascot will be a falcon.
Calley Gautschi attended Granger Middle School last year and is a seventh-grader in the new school.
"I am going to miss the friends I made at Granger who aren't coming to the school but I am looking forward to making new friends," she said. "I think the school looks pretty cool inside. I am ready to change from being a grizzly to a falcon."
Courtney Smith is literally getting ready to be a falcon. The eighth-grader wore the Still Middle School mascot costume last year when she was in seventh grade.
"I was the Still Bulldog and it was a lot of fun," she said. "The costume was hot but it was such an energy rush to put it on. Now I get to wear the falcon costume. It has big yellow feet and huge wings. I am going to give up barking and start flying.
"When I first found out that I was going to have to leave Still, I was very sad, but I got over it because so many of my good friends are coming with me to Fischer," Courtney said.
"I will miss my band teacher, Mr. Niesluchowski -- he is a great teacher. But I am sure there will be great teachers at the new school. The school seems a lot bigger, which will be like taking a step toward going to high school. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."
One of the challenges of opening a new school is organizing parent support, an important part of the school community. The Fischer Parent Teacher Student Association was chartered in February and has already been meeting. Janette Siemienkowicz, serving as the president, says that parent support has been strong so far.
Other Indian Prairie school parent organizations gave start-up donations to the organization, and Alderman Rick Mervine provided a donation on behalf of the city of Aurora.
"We asked parents for donations also, and we got a good response," Siemienkowicz said. "I think that initially there was some apprehension about leaving the other middle schools for the new one, but everyone is coming around. We can take the best from all the experiences people had at the other schools and then create something new. We are looking to create an exciting atmosphere for the kids."
The good news about Fischer is that the building has some great features, like a stage, band practice rooms, a fitness center and an updated computer area, which were put in for the freshman campus, notes Nonnemacher.
The equipment from the fitness room got moved back to the high school, but Nonnemacher says the area will still be used for personal fitness activities with the hope of getting some additional equipment in the future.
"The big goal is to work together to make this a great school," she said with optimism.
buchenot@comcast.net
What's old at school is new again
August 26, 2009
When is a school both old and new?
One answer to this riddle would be "when the school is Fischer Middle School." Last week, the school year began at the new Fischer Middle School, which is being housed in the building formerly known as the Waubonsie Valley High School Gold Campus, which was formerly know as Granger Middle School. Even though the building has been in place since 1993, the school itself is new.
The principal for Fischer Middle School is Jennifer Nonnemacher. She began working in the Indian Prairie School District seven years ago as assistant principal during the opening of Crone Middle School. She then served as the Still Middle School principal for three years.
She welcomed 1,024 students to Fischer. The sixth-graders come from McCarty, Georgetown and Steck elementary schools, and the rest of the students come from Granger and Still middle schools.
"The shared goal among the whole staff is to create a sense of belonging for the students," said Nonnemacher. "We will work to blend together the students into a strong community for learning. Fischer does not have the built-in house areas like Still and Granger but we've done some repurposing of areas. We have taken the existing structures and middle-school-ized it."
Students will still be organized into teams and clustered in areas similar to the structure at the other middle schools. Nonnemacher is organizing a student leadership advisory board so that students will have input into the new school.
"We will look at the traditions from Still and Granger and decide whether we want to continue them or change them to something new," she said. "We really want to give the students a voice in this process."
Students voted last year on the school colors and mascot. The new school colors will be Vegas Gold and Cardinal Red, and the mascot will be a falcon.
Calley Gautschi attended Granger Middle School last year and is a seventh-grader in the new school.
"I am going to miss the friends I made at Granger who aren't coming to the school but I am looking forward to making new friends," she said. "I think the school looks pretty cool inside. I am ready to change from being a grizzly to a falcon."
Courtney Smith is literally getting ready to be a falcon. The eighth-grader wore the Still Middle School mascot costume last year when she was in seventh grade.
"I was the Still Bulldog and it was a lot of fun," she said. "The costume was hot but it was such an energy rush to put it on. Now I get to wear the falcon costume. It has big yellow feet and huge wings. I am going to give up barking and start flying.
"When I first found out that I was going to have to leave Still, I was very sad, but I got over it because so many of my good friends are coming with me to Fischer," Courtney said.
"I will miss my band teacher, Mr. Niesluchowski -- he is a great teacher. But I am sure there will be great teachers at the new school. The school seems a lot bigger, which will be like taking a step toward going to high school. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."
One of the challenges of opening a new school is organizing parent support, an important part of the school community. The Fischer Parent Teacher Student Association was chartered in February and has already been meeting. Janette Siemienkowicz, serving as the president, says that parent support has been strong so far.
Other Indian Prairie school parent organizations gave start-up donations to the organization, and Alderman Rick Mervine provided a donation on behalf of the city of Aurora.
"We asked parents for donations also, and we got a good response," Siemienkowicz said. "I think that initially there was some apprehension about leaving the other middle schools for the new one, but everyone is coming around. We can take the best from all the experiences people had at the other schools and then create something new. We are looking to create an exciting atmosphere for the kids."
The good news about Fischer is that the building has some great features, like a stage, band practice rooms, a fitness center and an updated computer area, which were put in for the freshman campus, notes Nonnemacher.
The equipment from the fitness room got moved back to the high school, but Nonnemacher says the area will still be used for personal fitness activities with the hope of getting some additional equipment in the future.
"The big goal is to work together to make this a great school," she said with optimism.
buchenot@comcast.net