NT_050318

28 | May 3, 2018 | The Northbrook tower school
northbrooktower.com
First-graders welcome spring
Willowbrook
students plant
memories for the
seasons
Submitted by District 30
Willowbrook School’s
daffodils were in full
bloom on April 24 when
the first-graders planted a
butterfly garden.
District 30’s Environmental
Awareness Committee
partnered with Rob
Sulski, of Foot Stone, to
create the new green space
at the school. He augured
holes in the soil in the front
drive near the flagpole that
morning, and everything
was ready for the firstgraders
to start planting by
9:30 a.m.
Fifth-grade teacher
Heidi Fletcher said, “Our
first-grade classes were
invited to plant this butterfly
garden due to the
natural connection with
their life science unit.
They rotated in and out of
the garden in 20-minute
increments between 10-11
a.m.”
Out with
the old, in
with the
new
Submitted by District 30
Excavators, backhoe
loaders and bulldozers
recently began ripping
apart the old Maple
School.
Willowbrook first-grader Yirui Wang takes a clump of dirt and seeds from Rob Sulski,
of Foot Stone, to plant a butterfly garden on April 24 at the school. PHOTOS SUBMITTED
The schedule was as follows:
• Aimee Neumann’s
class — 10-10:20 a.m.
• Jody Madden’s class
— 10:20-10:40 a.m.
• Rachel Rabinowitz’s
class — 10:40-11 a.m.
Sulski met with each
class at the main entrance
and provided directions
before planting. Over the
course of an hour, the
children planted 256 total
plants and 25 different
species, including Michigan
lily, northern drops,
red grass, blue-eyed grass,
purple cornflower, wild
geranium, prairie phlox,
blue aster, leadplant and
shooting star. All the
An entrance to the school is reduced to rubble.
RIGHT: Construction equipment destroys a brick wall of the old Maple
School. PHOTOS SUBMITTED
plants came from Sulski’s
own garden, and he will
return in the fall with another
250.
He told the kids that the
plants will attract butterflies
and other pollinating
insects as they grow.
Learning specialist
Melanie Roth said, “The
butterfly garden was a hit.
Willowbrook assistant Samantha Dospod (left) plants
seeds with first-graders Roz Purtill (middle) and Emma
Frenkel.
Teacher Jody Madden helps first-grader Jake Brown.
Memories last longer than
one season, and I definitely
think that applies to the
butterfly garden project
that took place today. The
students loved getting their
hands dirty and learning
about the different plants.
What a great opportunity
for the students to partner
with Mother Nature to
make magic.”