Communications, Media, & Public Relations

This past Wednesday, Suburban Life reporter F. Amanda Tugade and photographer Sandy Bressner stopped by Warren Park Elementary School to share the story of how District 99 has pledged to continue feeding its children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This month, Cicero District 99 recognized Liliana Castaneda, third-grade transitional teacher at Daniel Burnham Elementary School, and Marcela Galvez, clerk at Unity Junior High School, for exemplary service and outstanding leadership in District 99.

Castaneda, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 14, has worked tirelessly for seven years in Cicero who, like her, come from immigrant families. Galvez, who attended Sherlock Elementary School and graduated from Goodwin Elementary School in 2000, has proudly served as a point-person for office matters at Unity Junior High School for the past decade.

This message is to provide information on the preventive measures that District 99 is implementing to ensure the safety and wellness of our staff and students, as it relates to COVID-19. The District is implementing precautionary measures as outlined by the Illinois Department of Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

As a preventive measure, we are cancelling events that have traditionally been open to the public and parents. Extracurricular activities will continue as planned at this time. We will continue to provide updates and information as it becomes available.

Although this has been the first year Unity Junior High School has had students participate in competitive wrestling, it does not mean the young Tigers don't have talent to leave on the mat.

During the IESA wrestling regional meet on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Hadley Junior High School in west-suburban Glen Ellyn, the Unity wrestling team proudly had three of its eighth-grade wrestlers show strong performances, claiming them spots at the IESA wrestling sectional this Saturday, March 7 at Lincoln-Way West High School in south-suburban New Lenox.

In Cicero District 99, addressing the concerns of student mental health is a top priority. And, because the District's Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) Department realizes advocating for students' mental well-being should not be confined to the walls of just one school district, they're actively seeking the partnership of district leaders and community entities across the Chicago area to work together to find meaningful interventions and solutions.

For the second time this school year, District 99 will be partnering with Riveredge Hospital in Forest Park to co-host the School-Based Mental Health Roundtable discussion Thursday, April 23 from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, 3545 S. 61st Ave., Cicero.

Joining with other students from across Chicagoland, a small group of students from District 99 had the chance to join Chicago Blackhawks players as special VIP guests on Sunday, March 1 at the 12th annual Brent Seabrook Blackhawks ICE Bowl at Lucky Strike bowling alley in downtown Chicago.

Twenty-nine seventh- and eighth-grade boys and girls from Unity Junior High School kicked off District 99's inaugural bowling season Friday, Feb. 28 during the first tournament of the season against Berwyn's St. Leonard School at Striker Lanes in Berwyn.

To celebrate the joys of reading and the importance of literacy as a goal for students of all ages, students and staff at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Goodwin Elementary School celebrated National Read Across America Day a few days early on Friday, Feb. 29.

Dear Cicero District 99 students, staff and families,

In light of the growing global concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Cicero District 99 administrators and health care providers have been carefully monitoring news and developments on the illness as provided by the Centers for Disease Control, Illinois Department of Public Health and Cook County Department of Public Health.

Seventh- and eighth-grade students from Unity Junior High School's girls basketball, dance, boys soccer and cross country teams were recognized for their accomplishments during the 2019 fall sports season at a special family banquet at the junior high on Thursday, Feb. 27.

This past fall, four elementary schools in District 99 — Columbus West, Goodwin, Liberty and Roosevelt — pledged to donate as much money as they could toward the 2019-2020 fundraiser drive for Pennies for Patients, an organization which raises money to support the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

For the past 11 years, Cicero residents have flocked to Cicero District 99 to attend its Parent University program — a signature event developed to connect local parents with guest speakers and provide educational resources to bridge the gap between socioeconomic barriers and academic success, presented in both English and Spanish. Kicking off the spring 2020 program on Saturday, March 21, District 99 is welcoming award-winning author Reyna Grande as the event's keynote speaker.

This past Friday, the entire first-grade class at Drexel Elementary School was in for the ultimate gift-giving surprise of the year as standout high-school student athletes from across Chicagoland flooded the school's gymnasium to gift the students with brand-new scooters.

To celebrate students' achievements in regards to academic excellence and citizenship in their community, the administration at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School inducted 21 students into the school's chapter of the National Elementary Honor Society (NEHS) on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Students from all schools in District 99 came to Unity Junior High School on Wednesday, Feb. 19 for the District's annual Academic Showcase — an opportunity for children from grades K-8 to put the lessons learned in the classroom into practice with trivia games, STEAM-based building races, project posters and artistic displays.

The Unity Junior High School Special Olympics basketball team took a trip to Wintrust Arena near McCormick Place in Chicago on Friday, Jan. 31 to watch the 12th-ranked DePaul University women's basketball team take on Creighton University of Omaha, Ne. for Special Olympics Illinois night.

During an interactive all-school assembly Thursday featuring Chicago White Sox mascot Southpaw, students at Drexel Elementary School saw the importance of not only stomping out bullying in the school halls, but beyond — both in their real-life communities and digital communities.

To help spread awareness to the water crisis happening around the world, District 99 students and staff came together, in partnership with the WE organization, to raise funds to provide clean water for Ecuador on Friday, Feb. 7 during the annual Walk For Water at Unity Junior High School.

Valentine's Day wasn't the only reason love was in the air at Sherlock Elementary School on Friday, Feb. 14.

During the morning, parents of third graders joined their students for interactive Valentine's Day-themed math activities filled with sweet treats, puzzles and coloring.

Love was in the air at Liberty Elementary School on Thursday, Feb. 13, as parents and grandparents flocked to the school for a Sweetheart Dance filled with dancing, sweet valentine-themed treats and crafts.

Last month, students at Cicero East Elementary School were celebrated by staff and administrators for outstanding MAP Test growth. Trophies were given for top scores and top growth in reading and math, both individually and by class, and all students who exceeded expected growth received certificates of achievement.

On Friday, Feb. 7, students from classrooms across Goodwin Elementary School were presented by Principal Al Molina and Assistant Principal Alison Espinoza with individual awards for academic improvement, excellence in their classrooms, good citizenship and perfect attendance.

This month, Cicero District 99 recognized Elvia Arellano, fifth-grade teacher at Warren Park Elementary School, and Lezley Harmon, special-education teacher at Columbus East Elementary School, for exemplary service and outstanding leadership in District 99.

In January, Elaine Dominguez, a student at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, was recognized by Achieve3000 as an outstanding user of its literacy software during its Make the Break contest — a national initiative launched by the digital instruction platform to encourage students to continue using its reading tools over their holiday breaks to maintain growth achieved during the first half of the school year.

Kindergartners at Drexel Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of school senior-style, coming to school dressed as 100-year-olds. Students donned gray wigs, glasses, makeup wrinkles and grandparent-style sweaters.

To display community solidarity during an extremely trying time for members of the Cicero community, Cicero District 99 and the Town of Cicero are teaming up to host a vigil Wednesday, Feb. 5 in honor of five-year-old David Castellanos III and his grandfather, David Castellanos.

Cicero District 99 is mourning the loss of a five-year-old boy from Liberty Elementary School, who has passed away following a Cicero house fire during the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 4.

First-grade students at Liberty Elementary School were in for a big surprise last Thursday, Jan. 30, as representatives from IlliniCare Health presented the school's first-grade classrooms with $500 worth of school supplies.

Congratulations to Gabriela, sixth-grade student at Daniel Burnham Elementary School, for being the Chicago Blackhawks' top reader for the month of December.

Earlier this week, the Golden Apple teaching excellence foundation named Nichole Carder-Bocek, a fourth-grade teacher at Daniel Burnham Elementary School, as one of its finalist for the 2020 awards.

With the recognition, Carder-Bocek is among the lucky 30 finalists selected from more than 730 nominated educators from schools across Illinois.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, students from across District 99 read portions of King's famous 1963 speech, "I Have A Dream."

Throughout the second quarter, students at Unity Junior High School have been studying force and motion in science classes.

Now, with their working knowledge of the subjects, they were invited to play the game of broomball Wednesday-Friday, Jan. 15-17 in Unity's commons.

On Sunday, Jan. 12, Unity Junior High School's Special Olympics basketball team made the trek up to north suburban Arlington Heights to compete in the organization's regional basketball tournament.

For the past 12 years, District 99 has been proud to call ExxonMobil a valued community partner — thanks in great part to its monetary and personnel support toward the District's STEAM curriculum initiates.

And on Friday, Jan. 17, Superintendent Rudy Hernandez was joined by Colleen Arriola, director of science and health, and Mary Mycyk, executive director of curriculum, in accepting a $3,500 continued support donation from ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company, Cicero's ExxonMobil lubricants plant.

Twenty-eight students from Unity Junior High School rang in the new year — and decade — Thursday, Jan. 16 by opening the district's inaugural coed wrestling program with the team's first home meet in Unity's gym against District 89 (Maywood/Melrose Park/Broadview)

This month, Cicero District 99 recognized Chester Bolociuch, shipping/receiving custodian at Unity Junior High School, and Lissette Cruz, secretary at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, for exemplary service and outstanding leadership in District 99.

On Friday, Jan. 10, Unity Junior High School students had the opportunity to work with an industrial designer to use sketching to establish context, communicate ideas and tell stories.

Hector Silva, an Industrial Designers Society of America research associate for the University of Notre Dame, guided Unity students through the process of using storytelling to make their sketches more meaningful.

Students from Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School spent the morning of Monday, Jan. 13 entertaining peers, teachers and parents during their Second Quarter Music Concert.

In Cicero District 99, addressing the concerns of student mental health is a top priority.

That's why this past fall, District 99 began a partnership with Riveredge Hospital to host a roundtable discussion, titled School-Based Mental Health.

The cheers were boisterous and the sound of hockey sticks hitting the wood floor echoed through the north end of Sherlock Elementary School on Friday, Dec. 20, as staffers from the Chicago Blackhawks' youth hockey organization stopped into town for an afternoon filled with lessons in teamwork, sportsmanship and fun.

Cicero District 99 would like to wish all of its students, staff and families a wonderful Christmas and blessings as we enter a new year!

As a frigid wind whipped through the Cicero air the morning of Thursday, Dec. 19, nearly 800 students from Cicero West Elementary School roared with applause as police and fire sirens alerted all of Santa and Mrs. Claus' arrival to town, surprising the entire school with a morning filled with games and presents thanks to a sponsorship by the Illinois State Police's Operation Santa program.

Junior-high students and their families got to join the teachers and administrators for some pre-Christmas fun on Wednesday, Dec. 18 during Unity Junior High School's annual Cocoa and Carols program.

This past Wednesday, the student choir from Cicero West Elementary School made it a priority to step outside the school's halls to spread holiday cheer as they spent the morning with the residents and staff of UCP Seguin, 3100 S. Central Ave.

In the spirit of making spirits bright, students, families and teachers at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School came together on Thursday, Dec. 12 for the school's annual Jingles and Jammies program.

In the days leading up to winter break, students and staff at Goodwin Elementary School have kept busy celebrating the holiday season, celebrating a school-wide holiday craft night on Thursday, Dec. 12, and entertaining parents with its winter kindergarten concert Wednesday, Dec. 18.