2007-2008 News & Notes

Previous Years

March Madness can mean math, more

March 19, 2008
By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO STAFF WRITER

JOLIET -- At 4-foot-11, Gabbie Polli, a seventh-grader at Dirksen Junior High School, was a bit concerned with the competition's height.

Rob Rabenau, center for the University of St. Francis Saints, towered over her with his 6-foot-7 frame.

"I'm too short. They are going to push me out of the way," Gabbie said.

Sam Robinson (center), of the University of St. Francis men's basketball team, dunks the ball while playing 3-on-3 basketball against seventh-graders from Dirksen Middle School Tuesday afternoon in Joliet.

But they didn't.

The four college basketball players showed off a bit, slam dunking and making some Kobe Bryant moves, but they didn't block aggressively.

They drew cheers from the crowd as the seventh-grade class watched 10 fellow students take turns playing in a 3-on-3 game against the college athletes as part of the finale of Dirksen's March Madness unit.

But to get to Tuesday's game, the students did a lot of work, combining the scientific method, research, graphing and statistics for a big slam dunk.

The stats behind a dunk
Science teacher Tom Spielman had students come up with a hypothesis on which stance would allow for a higher jump: standing or taking a couple of steps before jumping.

Basically, they were asking whether a basketball player's approach to the rim affected the height of his or her vertical jump. Each student jumped and recorded results before calculating the average score of the class.

"It incorporates the concepts we are teaching throughout the year with a theme of basketball," Spielman said.

Students also had to write a research paper on an alumnus from a college of their choice, said Deb Kusnik who was one of six seventh-grade teachers taking part in the March Madness curriculum. Students had to find out the ACT score they needed to enroll in their college, the name of the school's mascot and how many students went to the college. They also had to pick a major available at that school.

Elliot Cobb, 12, researched Northern Illinois University because he may actually go there one day.

"I heard they have a great music program. When I grow up I want to do something with music," he said.
In math class, students took their scores and learned how to use Excel to enter the data. Then they made graphs, said teacher Holly Hamilton.

"It's fun for the kids who don't even like sports," Kusnik said.

Just like the NCAA tournament
In addition to their academics, students were randomly put on teams of three. And, after state tests in the morning, they got to blow off some steam by playing basketball with each other.

If you lost, you didn't make it to the next round, just like in the NCAA tournament.

Carl Terrell, Aaliyah Taylor and Gabbie Polli made it all the way to the finals, beating the SpongeBobs team.

Now, the Bulldogs had to face the Saints from USF.

Aaliyah, who has been playing basketball for two years, was able to dart around the tall men as she scored and scored and scored. Often Carl passed to the girls so they could score, but he got a couple baskets in too. The game gave Carl hope because he wants to play college basketball. "I like the challenge," he said. "It wasn't that hard."

Forward Sam Robinson, who is also tall at 6-foot-5, smiled a lot as he kept up with Aailyah's baskets, showing off a bit as the crowd roared.

"My major is elementary education," Robinson said. "I really do enjoy working with kids."

The Saints ended up winning, 39-20. After the game, students stood in line getting autographs from Robinson, Rabenau, Chris Hulka and Hozay McGaha.

For Rabenau, the game brought him back to his home court. He played on Dirksen's basketball game as a sixth-grader before he transferred to another school.

Monday, February 4 begins Hunger Awareness Week at the University of St. Francis. You can help support this endeavor by attending the events. On Monday at 10:00 am we begin the week with a very short prayer service (10 minutes) in St. Joseph Chapel. Bread from various parts of the world will be carried up by our students and placed on a table followed by a short explanation. The bread will then be displayed in the cafeteria all week. On Monday we also begin our "Caring Cans" food collection (sponsored by Sodexho). The food received (cans) will be given to the Northern Illinois Food Bank for distribution throughout Will county. From 11:30 - 1 pm a video, "My Own Four Walls" by Diane Nilan, a graduate of USF, will be shown in the Moes Room. Bring your lunch or purchase a simple lunch of minestrone soup and tossed salad.

Hunger Awareness Week Schedule

Thank you for your support.

Sr. Sharon

University of St. Francis Holds "Challenge Day"

The Diversity Council and the Student Mentor Program invite you to join in on "Challenge Day" on Thursday, Nov. 29th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Studio Theatre - free lunch will be available.

We specially encourage all the faculty to bring in their students to this provoking as well as enlightening gathering. We will show the video featuring "Challenge Day" then Billie Terrell and Salim Diab will lead a discussion afterwards.
Here is a synopsis from "Challenge Day" homepage:

"Challenge Day" is a non-profit organization that provides powerful, often life-changing experiential programs to youth and their communities. Since their inception in 1987, the "Challenge Day" programs have touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of youth and adults throughout the United States and in parts of Canada. All "Challenge Day" programs are rooted in the understanding that drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, depression, smoking, teasing, bullying and violence are actually symptoms of a greater problem. The real problem is loneliness, lack of connection, and the lack of loving support that is an all-too-common aspect of teen life.

"Challenge Day" explores the ways in which people separate from themselves and others. It provides young people with the opportunity to be totally real and honest, to experience what's possible, and then to rise up as leaders-all in an atmosphere of fun, love, compassion, acceptance and respect. "Challenge Day" inspires youth to be the change they want to see-in their lives, in their school, in their community, and in the world. For more information, visit www.challengeday.org.

The Writing Center is now open for business, and it will stay open, except when school is closed for holidays, through at least the first couple of days of finals week. We have tutors trained to help at all stages of the writing process, from coming up with ideas through revising drafts to editing and proofreading. We help writers learn to write better, by working together with them on current writing assignments (or any other writing anybody might be doing).

The Writing Center is for anybody who is writing something, not just "problem writers." After all, we all have problems with writing, and it almost always helps to have another person to bounce ideas off of, and to get suggestions from. Such as that it's sometimes okay to end sentences with prepositions. And write fragments, I think. And use "I." It depends upon for whom one is writing, of course.

Location: The Academic Resource Center
(Room 214 in the Library)

Hours: Monday through Thursday: 10-4, (only 10-3 on Wed.) and 6-9
Friday: 10-12
Sunday: 6-9

If you have questions, contact Vin Katilius-Boydstun, at 815-740-3422, or mkatilius@stfrancis.edu.

PATHWAY SCHOLARSHIP NOW AVAILABLE!

Scholarship is available to:
•           Candidates completing 2nd year at USF by June 2008
•           Al Illinois resident who will be under 21 years of age in August 2008
•           A collegiate cumulative GPA of 2.75
•           Willingness to teach for 5 years in an Illinois school designated by Golden Apple Foundation as “of need”

Preference will be given to candidates with an interest in teaching science, math, special education and bilingual education, all candidates with a desire to teach in Illinois schools of need will be considered.

Deadline: December 1, 2007

Packets available at:
College of Education Office
Tower Hall, S313

2007-08 Arts Camp

Fall Session
September 29th through November 17th, 2007
Saturday Mornings
9 a.m. to Noon (1st through 8th grade)

Spring Session
February 23rd through April 19th, 2008
(Camp will not meet Saturday, March 8th)

Saturday Mornings
9 a.m. to Noon (1st through 8th grade)

Summer Sessions
June 23rd through 27th, 2008 (Full Week)
9 a.m. to Noon (Kindergarten through 6th grade)

July 21st through 25th, 2008 (Full Week)
9 a.m. to Noon (Kindergarten through 6th grade)

Each session cost is $100 per student

Size: Class sizes are kept small, thereby giving the student every opportunity to realize their full potential. Students are put into groups that reflect their age, grade, and skill level.

Instructors: Courses will be taught by faculty and students from the university. Jessica Pignotti (Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Visual Arts) will manage the camp and teach in the program.

Contact information:
Department of Visual Arts, University of St. Francis
500 Wilcox Street
Joliet IL 60435

Office - N403
Phone: 815.740.3821.

USF offers "Advanced Spanish for Educators"

The purpose of the FORL 494 Topics in Foreign Language class: “Advanced Spanish for Educators” (CRN# 10329) is to provide the student with the vocabulary needed to discuss the fields of Education and Teaching in Spanish,a nd the vocabulary needed to communicate with his/her LEP Spanish-speaking students and parents.

It is intended for the person who has a background in Spanish and who wishes to converse in this language in is or he field of expertise (Prerequisites: FORL 202, Spanish 4/5 or AP Spanish, Heritage Speaker, or instructor consent). The class will be taught entirely in Spanish.

Each class will be devoted to one or two major areas or topics related to Education or Teaching providing the student with field-related readings and vocabulary, supplementing their existing knowledge of the language by enriching their lexicon in their field of interest.

The class will meet once a week on Thursdays from 3:00 to 5:45.

We will read about and work with the vocabulary relevant to the following topics. These readings in turn will be our spring-board to other current discussions pertaining to the education and teaching fields:

- Historia de la educación
- Carreras en la educación
- Características del docente
- Escuela primaria
- Escuela Secundaria
- El educando_crecimiento desarrollo
- Orden y disciplina
- Educación preescolar
- Educación bilingüe
- Educación multicultural
- Planificación
- Medición y evaluación
- Destrezas de razonamiento y pensamiento crítico
- Currículo
- Escuelas “especiales”
- Planta y equipo
- Escuela y comunidad
- Motivación
- Metodología
- Cuastiones “palpitantes”

We will use, consult and download material from Spanish and bilingual websites for educators, and learn to search for resources to be used in classes with Spanish-speaking students, and/or for parent communication with those parents who are not very proficient in English or who can communicate solely in Spanish.

We will also discuss selections from Paulo Frire’s “Cartas a quien pretende enseñar” and "Pedagogía de la esperanza", as well as Spanish newspsper articles about current issues in immigrant/ESL/bilingual education in the US.

If you have any further questions about this class, please feel free to contact me or make an appointment to meet with me.

I hope to see you in the fall! ¡Nos vemos en el otoño!
¡Felices vacaciones!

Sincerely,

Ingrid:)

Ingrid Goobar-Szleifer
Assistant Professor
Department of English and Foreign Languages
University of St. Francis
500 Wilcox St.
Joliet, Illinois 60435
Ph.: 815-740-3686
FAX: 815-740-4285
e-mail: iszleifer@stfrancis.edu

Diversity

August 2, 2007
By Ken O'Brien STAFF WRITER

JOLIET -- At the University of St. Francis, 41 high school students studied the possibility of becoming teachers.
That group included 32 minorities, who are the subject of attention by the Associated Colleges of Illinois. The association offered USF the chance to host the summer camp last week as part of its Diversity at the Blackboard initiative.
Recruiting more minorities to teaching is a goal of educators across the country because 84 percent of teachers are white, yet 40 percent of students are a minority.

Plainfield and Joliet grade and high school districts all have seen efforts to recruit more minority teachers.
Nationally, the number of minority students in the public school system is growing, with estimates that they will account for more than half of the students by 2040.

"Diversity is becoming an issue at virtually every school district and it is not just an urban thing," said John Gambro, the dean of the College of Education at USF. "It has to start early, with elementary and middle school students, to raise an awareness of teaching."

To address the diversity issue, the Illinois State Board of Education has started the Bilingual Transition to Teaching program to recruit college graduates in any field, except education and recent graduates, into teaching.
The agency, said spokeswoman Andrea Preston, started the program with the help of the Chicago Public School system and has added 10 districts, including the Joliet Grade School District last year.

Dave Evans, a Joliet Grade School Board member, has raised the issue of minority teachers twice in recent months. He mentioned it at a May board meeting and then discussed it again after consultants for the city of Joliet issued their preliminary findings for the Quality of Life Task Force.

In a report on education, the task force discussed trends in the Joliet grade and the Joliet high school districts.
The demographic make-up of the administrations and teaching staff at the two districts has not kept up with the "rapid demographic change" of students, the task force said.

"One of the things that was identified was that we need to have role models and those need to be African American, Hispanic and male," Evans said. "It is a shame that some of our students can go through their entire elementary school career and not have interaction with anyone in those areas."

Paul Swanstrom, the superintendent of the high school district, said officials are trying to recruit minority teachers to the district. In the 1990s, administrators went to colleges with primarily minority students to recruit teachers, but those candidates often chose to return to their hometowns to teach, he said.

"It is important for minority kids to see teachers and administrators who are minorities and it is every bit as important for white kids to see minorities in those positions," Swanstrom said.

In the Plainfield School District, 99 percent of the 1,386 teachers are white and minorities account for nearly a third of the 23,687 students. Late in 2005, the school board hired a black administrator to coordinate recruitment efforts.
A year ago, administrators started a diversity audit, said district spokesman Tom Hernandez. The first part -- covering internal attitudes and perceptions of diversity in the district -- to be the subject of a board meeting on Monday night and the second part will be a survey of the community.

"We are very dedicated to increasing the diversity of our staff to reflect the diversity of our student population," Hernandez said.

At the USF conference, two students from Joliet West High School -- Katie Schmidt and Ashley Ledford -- videotaped the activities in order to show other students in the school's Future Educators Club, a district initiative with USF. Ledford, who will be a senior, said the conference re-affirmed her desire to be a teacher.
"At school, I like to help other students with their work and to be a role model," she said as the conference ended. "My opinions about being a teacher didn't change, but it was nice to talk to other future teachers. My mission for teaching is to make (a classroom into) a positive environment."

Contact reporter Ken O'Brien at (815) 729-6119 or kobrien@scn1.com

As part of USF’s Diversity at the Blackboard (DATB) initiative, the College of Education will be hosting the “Young Teacher's Academy” July 22-27, 2007. The academy will provide an opportunity for approximately 50 Illinois high school students to be on campus to explore college life and teaching as a profession. The goal of the academy is to help recruit, retain, and prepare young persons for a career in teaching.

The students will experience academic life as they participate in a one credit hour course, “Exploring the Teaching Profession”. The course explores the field of teaching with a particular emphasis on the challenges and needs facing high need schools. The students will be using the texts, Conversation About Being a Teacher by J. Victor McGuire and FreedomWriters by Erin Gruwell, during the week. At the end of the week the students will present a capstone project that synthesizes their learning.

Student will also participate in “campus life” activities focusing on leadership and team building. Students will stay in USF residence halls and experience student life programming activities in addition to receiving information about applying to colleges. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit a low ropes course and local Joliet attractions such as Splash Station Water Park. The academy's activities are coordinated by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Division of Student Affairs.

The academy will be presented in collaboration with Associated Colleges of Illinois and is funded by a federal TQE-R grant.

Joliet Herald News
USF offers JT students look at college life

July 4, 2007
High school freshman will get a taste of they can look forward to in four years once they graduate. About 200 Joliet Township High School incoming freshman will be on the University of St. Francis campus in the coming weeks to get a sense of the many opportunities college offers.

This collaboration between JTHS and USF was made possible by the federal 21st Century Grant received by JTHS four years ago. This is the third year of the USF summer college program.

"The idea behind the kids coming to campus is so that they can see themselves on a college campus and understand that this is an obtainable goal. The students will learn many of the things that students learn as they attend college, including student life and residence halls, leadership skills, study skills, health and nutrition and career exploration," said Alice Cahill, director of the Regional Educational Academy for Leadership in USF's College of Education.