10 | October 6, 2016 | The Mokena Messenger News mokenamessenger.com Paid advertisement Hilton’s ear Do I Have HearIng Loss? How do you know if you have hearing loss? The signs are not always readily apparent. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to explore the possibility of a hearing loss. • Do you have difficulty understanding in noisy environments? • Do you frequently ask for things to be repeated? • Is it difficult to understand others when talking on the telephone? • Do you tend to listen to your radio or tv at a higher level of sound than your family or friends? • Do your friends or family comment that you might have hearing loss? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have a hearing loss. Summit Hill D161 Board of Education Officials approve FY 2017 budget, discuss grading system changes District to no longer recognize graduation valedictorian and salutatorian F. Amanda Tugade Assistant Editor The Summit Hill School District 161 Board of Education met on the evening of Sept. 28 to discuss and approve the fiscal year 2017 budget, as well as run through plans for projects and changes to the district’s grading system. Doug Wiley, the district’s director of business and transportation, wrote in a Sept. 29 email that the total operating budget for the district is $34,726,605. He followed up on Sept. 30 saying the district will operate at a surplus of $41,378. At the beginning of the regular meeting, board members held a public hearing that invited patrons to provide comments on the budget before approval. No patrons or board members gave comments, and board members unanimously voted to move forward with the budget. Also at the meeting, Wiley presented an update to the board members on the cost to upgrade its HVAC system controls, which is primarily used to control the temperature for the buildings. “Johnson Controls provided us with a quote with the total cost as $97,100,” he wrote. “This also included a $4,400 reduction if we were able to provide a server for them to utilize. They revised their quote, and the total cost is now $87,090, which accounts for the server being purchased by the district.” He explained that six of the seven district buildings use Johnson Controls’ Metasys Building Automation (BAS) software to run the HVAC systems, and the district’s version of the software is at least 15 years old. “The new control system would be web-based,” he said. “This will greatly improve our response time for room heating and cooling issues.” Wiley added that he hopes to start the project as soon as possible and have it completed by winter break. Other maintenance improvements made to some of the district’s schools have already been completed, he noted. Those changes include replacing the boilers at Dr. Julian Rogus School; concrete for the sidewalk and curbing at the entrance of Arbury Hills School; and carpets in the media center and computer lab at Hilda Walker Intermediate School. Recognition, evaluation changes Superintendent Barb Rains also discussed some changes to the district’s grading and student ranking systems at the meeting. One change that is to come next year is that the district will no longer recognize a valedictorian and salutatorian at the eighth grade graduation. Instead, Rains said all students with high honors will be recognized. She noted this practice aligns with Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210, Frankfort School District 157-C and other schools in Mokena and Manhattan. Schools in New Lenox are soon to follow the same suit, Rains said. “To be honest with you, this alignment, it’s coinciding with the trend to seek out other ways to signal that students are top performers without resorting to an arbitrary ranking system,” Rains said of eliminating the two recognitions. “Sometimes, kids are separated by .001 percent GPA, and the trend is moving away from that.” Rains also informed board members that the district’s assessment and grading team, comprised of administrators and teachers representing first- through eighthgrade, met Sept. 21 to talk further on the policy when it comes to retaking tests. In a previous meeting, the board addressed its new assessment and grading policy, which splits assignments into two categories: formative assessments and summative assessments. In-class work and homework assignments make up formative assessments, while summative assessments involve projects and tests. “Interestingly, the discussions on retakes morphed into a discussion on corrections,” Rains said. “Many comments were shared on correcting areas that were not mastered versus retaking an entire summative. “Important to share is that we are continuing – during this school year – with our current practice of doing what’s in the best interest of our students. So, however a teacher handled retakes or corrections last year, they got that ability to do so this year.” She added the team is working to improve the guidelines and practices for the 2017-2018 school year, and information is to be shared with parents at the Superintendent Board Goal 1 meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The assessment and grading team is to reconvene Monday, Oct. 24 and Tuesday, Oct. 25. The next regularly scheduled board meeting is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the Summit Hill Administrative Center in Frankfort. The only way to know for sure is to get a professional hearing evaluation. Hilton Hearing Center Can Help. Call us at 708 532-9705 Reach 96,000 Readers Each Week in the Classifieds! 708.326.9170 www.22ndcenturymedia.com “10” Visit us online at mokenamessenger.com Village From Page 3 lio’s Pizza, located at 19836 S. Wolf Road. In addition, the Village Board approved the business for a $10,000 Downtown Façade Improvement Program grant in order for the business to update the front and partial side façade of the building. The rezoning to C-4 Traditional Downtown Commercial allows the business to be in compliance with the Village’s Comprehensive Plan, while the special use ordinance will allow the business to construct an outdoor dining area. “Internal circulation and parking was looked at,” Director of Economic and Community Development Alan Zordan said. “The parking areas really will not change much. The rear of the lot is gravel, and the property owner has agreed to pave the gravel areas within a period of two years. “Access … is a little different. When Wolf Road was widened in 1995, there was no curbing placed in front of this business as it was for other businesses in this area. It kind of created an unusual and sometimes unsafe condition of a 175-foot wide sort of unrestricted access point. What the board has authorized is for the curbing to be installed now that would define the access points to the property.” Zordan said the property owner also has agreed to restripe the front parking lot with diagonal lanes to further define the access points. As part of the special use permit, Zordan said the business agreed that alcohol will only be consumed outside in the outdoor dining area. The business also agreed to dining hours outside being limited to an end time of 11 p.m., and that no music or amplified sound would be broadcast in the outdoor dining area.
mokenamessenger.com News the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 11 Getting into school spirit All classes at Lincoln-Way Central compete in Homecoming Olympics as part of Spirit Week The junior and senior class plays a human version of Hungry Hungry Hippos in the fieldhouse. Maura Harvey attempts to make a basket after jumping off a diving board Sept. 26, during Lincoln-Way Central’s Homecoming Olympics hosted at the school. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media Lauren Kraft (from left), Michelle Burk, Delaney LoConte and Julia Street paddle their boat made of cardboard and duct tape across the pool. Jason Stokes tries to help his team in a game of tug-of-war. Jake Blount throws a ball during the dodgeball tournament. Zack Kogut tries to make a basket before entering the pool.
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