EAST LAKE ACADEMY NNEWSLETTEEWSLETTERRCassie Lecinski: “Nombre” por Pedro Salinas Mary Beth ... “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens. Integrated the song was a dance number that the

To teach, to educate, to form

East Lake Academy Newsletter, January 2011 1

EAST LAKE ACADEMYEAST LAKE ACADEMY

NNEWSLETTEEWSLETTERR www.eastlakeacademy.org

January 2011

Virtue of the Month:

Work

EAST LAKE HAPPENINGS

Upcoming Events: Please mark your calendars.

02/17 - Progress Reports

Distributed 02/18 - No School: Teacher in Service Day 02/21 - No School: Presidents Day

02/22 - No School: Winter Recess (2/22-2/23)

02/24 - School Resumes Signed Progress Reports Returned

03/09 - Ash Wednesday

Mass 11:00 a.m. 03/18 - 11:00 a.m. Dismissal Teacher Lenten Retreat

03/23 - End of 3rd Quarter

03/25 - No School: Parent

Teacher Conferences 8/4 p.m Report Cards Distributed

03/28 - Stanford Testing Week 3/28 - 4/1 K-8 Signed Report Cards Returned

Annual Fund Update

We are excited to announce that our 2010 Annual

Fund raised over $140,000.

We are extremely grateful to our East Lake Acad-emy families who made our Annual Fund cam-

paign a success.

We not only reached our dollar goal, but we

achieved our highest level of family support yet with 90% of our families participating.

The Annual Fund is a key component of our budget as helps to fill the gap between tuition

receipts and operating costs.

Each year, the Annual Fund has helped pay for our faculties salaries, financial aid, extracurricular

activities, technological advances, and grounds

upkeep.

We would like to extend our appreciation to this year’s volunteers who made up the Annual Fund

Committee:

Laura and Rafael Carreira, Julie Carter, and Amy Lindeman and Alli Walsh

Without their efforts and support this success could not have been realized.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT

In This Issue

East Lake Happenings 1 Annual Fund Update 1

“All Summer Long” Program 2 Deans Update 2

Spelling Bee Champions Crowned 3

Spanish Heritage Night 4 Student vs Teacher Knock Out 5

Apostolic Update 6 January’s Apostolic Focus 6

February: Gearing up to feed

Children 6 Admissions Update 7

Virtue Campaign 7 Classroom News and Views 8

Pre-K Corner 8 Technology Update 8

Art Update 9/10

In the Spotlight 11 Lego League 11

East Lake Moms Prayer Group 11



East Lake's "All Summer Long" Program

Open enrollment for East Lake's expanded summer

program begins on February 1st.

This year marks our first offering of the program ALL

SUMMER LONG!

So why is our summer camp better than the rest?

First, we offer fun with your East Lake friends as

you:

Swim

Play on the Beach

Hike

Create Fun Crafts

Go on Interesting Field Trips to: Museums

Forest Preserves

The City

We also plan to continue with our fun and exciting academic components. This includes:

Robotics

Story Writing

Water Works

Detectives, etc.

This portion will work the same as last year and will

run for six weeks mid-summer.

Lastly, we offer a lot of flexibility. You can enroll

for:

The entire summer

Just a few weeks

The entire academic program

Mornings or afternoons

Mrs. Campanella is our program Director. Feel free to see her at school with any questions you may

have. Our program is fun and better yet, very af-

fordable.

Registeration Is Now Open!

To register go to East Lake Academy home page

Bees, Raps and 100 Masses…..

What a way to kick off our Catholic

Schools Week!

On January 28th, the school had an

Opening Rally, which featured our

Spelling Bee Face-off, giving the school a

chance to cheer on our class representa-

tives.

After the busy bees, the school got a preview of Spanish

Heritage Night as the middle school students rapped, sere-

naded and danced!! In spite of our snow days, the celebra-

tion continued!

The students and teachers enjoyed swapping Religion clas-

ses for a day and the All School Picnic gave the students a

chance to dine and mingle with other students from all grade

levels.

To celebrate the service and love Fr. Matthew provides the

families, teachers, and students, the All School Mass during

Catholic Schools Week was offered for his intentions. To his

surprise, he received 100+ Masses offered up ALL AT

ONCE just for him!

The fun continued with an Ice Cream Social on Thursday,

February 10th and it was a sweet success!

The Closing Pep Rally wrapped up the week of festivities as

the students watched the showdown between the teachers

and students as they played a game of Knock Out Basket-

ball and awarded the Door Decorating Contest Winners.

What a great week to remind us how blessed we are to have

the opportunity to be in a Catholic School!

In Christ,

Mrs. Echavez

DEAN’S UPDATE

Mrs. Rosario Echavez

Dean of Academics



Spelling Bee Champions Crowned “G-R-I-E-V-A-N-C-E. Grievance.”

And with that, 6th grader Karina Kavanagh became East Lake Academy’s 2011 Spelling Bee Champion!

The All-School Spelling Bee took place on Friday, January

28, and featured the classroom winners from grades 4 through 8.

Last year’s champion, 8th grader Ryan Kowalski, took third

place this year, while ELA newcomer Krishnanand Nair, 5th grade, took runner-up honors.

7th grader Kevin Molloy and 4th grader Jessica Vela also rep-resented their classes in the competition.

Karina Kavanagh & Krishnanand Nair

Congratulations to all the classroom winners and runners-up in grades 1 through 8!

Good luck to Karina! As she prepares for the District Spelling Bee on February 23rd at South Park School in Deerfield!

Grade Winner Runner-Up 1 Lyla Walsh Daria Wernli

2 Kambi Obioha Reid Walsh

3 Colin McDermott Anna Claire Erpenbeck

4 Jessica Vela Olivia Sabalaskey

5 Krishnanand Nair Jessica Vlies

6 Karina Kavanagh Ryan Molloy

7 Kevin Molloy Anne Horcher

8 Ryan Kowalski Mary Beth Murphy



Spanish Heritage Month Señora González

¡Fabuloso! ¡Estupendo! These are just a few words to describe Spanish Heritage Night held on Tuesday, February 8, 2011. Postponed a week due to the Blizzard of 2011, students in grades 4-8 worked diligently to perfect their perfor-

mances.

The night began as all functions do at East Lake Academy with prayer,

thanking the Lord for all His guidance.

The señoritas of fourth grade having recently completed a unit on fashion and eager to show off their acquired vocabulary kicked-off the program with

a fashion show. Each young lady modeled clothes in their favorite style.

Following their twirl on the red carpet, Sr. Nuccio accompanied his

Spanish class in, “Las Mañanitas”, a traditional Mexican Birthday song

also sung on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The fifth grade class having recently learned about Don Quijote de la Mancha, decided to perform a few scenes from the novel.

Don Quijote was portrayed by four different students in the class:

Max Calk Michael Blendonohy Matthew Kowalski John Horcher

Sancho Panza was played by: Krishna Nair

Narrators & family members played by: Jessica Vlies Meg Murphy Anna Wojick

Talia DiCara Hannah Kiernan KiKi Oguebfi

The sixth and seventh grade classes recently learned to write persuasive essays in Spanish. For Spanish Heritage Night the students used their skills to write persuasive skits about parent-child scenarios. Three different skits were per-

formed by the sixth grade: “Un viaje a México” “Papá, necesitamos un carro…” “Pines Academía Nico.” The seventh grade class presented: “Yo quiero un cellular” “Papá, el X-Box 360 está mal…” As a special treat, the seventh grade composed a special song: “Español”

The graduating class of 2011 researched, memorized and recited poetry from Spanish and Latin-American authors.

The eighth grade class chose the following poems:

Ryan Kowalski: “La guitarra” por Frederico Garcia Lorca Daniel Wojick: “Recuerdo infantil” por Antonio Machado

Elyse Johnson: “Dos patrias tengo yo“ por Jose Martí Mia DiCara: “Arbolé, Arbolé” por Frederico Garcia Lorca

Cassie Lecinski: “Nombre” por Pedro Salinas Mary Beth Murphy: “¡Dime qué dices, mar!” por Miguel de Unamuno

Eric Elia: Proverbios - “Ojos”, “Sed” por Antonio Machado and “ Rima XXI” por Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

For the evening’s finale, the eighth grade students chose to perform a well- known classic, “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens. Integrated the song was a dance number that the students learned as part of their dance unit in Physical Edu-

cation class.

After the finale, all were invited to sample wonderful treats provided by the parents. Thank you to all the students for

their hard work and to the families for their support of Spanish Heritage Night. ¡Hasta el próximo año!



Third Graders

Pep Rally Winner of the Knock Out

Student versus Teacher “Knock Out” Friday, February 11th concluded our most memorable Catholic Schools Week here at East Lake Academy! The entire

school gathered together in the gym for a fun pep rally.

Miss Haggerty announced the winners of the door decorating contest where every door earned a rewarding title.

The morning was concluded with an exciting knock out challenge between the students and the teachers.

In the first round which consisted of 8 students from various grades, Kevin Molloy was the winner.

In the second round which consisted of all teachers, Mr. Nuccio won.

For the third round, the final four from both the students round and the teacher’s round had their own face off. The

game was intense and the roar from the students was loud as 8th grader Eric Elia won the championship, knocking out the tough competition!!

Fun was had by all! It was a fantastic end to a wonderful Catholic Schools Week!

3rd Place

Mr. Nuccio’s Fifth Graders

1st Place

Miss Kinzler’s Six Graders

2nd Place

Mrs. Fuller’s Eighth Graders



APOSTOLIC UPDATE Miss Haggerty

February: Gearing up to Feed the Children On March 12, 2011 East Lake Academy will host an all day MobilePack event with Feed My Starving Children, a non -

profit Christian group dedicated to nourishing the bodies and souls of poverty stricken children around the world.

Please sign up on the website using the "join code" 123061 or 123065 or contact Amy Lindemann if you are

interested in participating in a shift throughout the day.

January’s Apostolic Focus: Books and Babes

Once again, our students generously responded in terms of apostolic action!

Early in the month of January we announced the project “Books and Babes” and the donations started coming quickly! By the end of the month, we had collected over 1700 diapers and 325 books!

The donated diapers will be part of a larger donation

organized yearly by the Simutis family.

The diapers have been delivered to Holy Family Food

Pantry (Waukegan) for families in need.

The donated books will soon be taken to the Chicago Youth Program which is a tutoring program for city

youth founded by Dr. Jospeh DiCara.



Virtue Campaign It’s hard to believe that half the school

year is over here at East Lake Academy. I am a Mission Corps Volunteer and have

given this year to God and the Church and

work with the Consecrated Women to help at East Lake and other parishes and pro-

grams, but my favorite place to be is East Lake! I find myself asking where did that

time go, but looking back I realize that it

was spent building friendships with the students, as well as helping them to grow in their personal friendship with Christ.

Each month I make a virtue’s campaign, in which all the stu-

dents participate. On the wall outside the school’s chapel I set up a display with different themes and a virtue, the students

fulfill resolutions in hopes that they’re class will win a prize for

completing the most resolutions. For example:

In October each time a student fulfilled one of their resolu-

tions dealing with responsibility they were able to put a flower

on the hillside as a gift to Our Lady.

In November they put up a heart sticker on a giant heart

monitor each time they were generous.

In December they not only had to build a castle of gold bricks but also be vigilant and defend it so as to present it as

a gift to Christ on His birthday.

Currently the students are working together to empty purga-tory by offering things up! This month’s campaign is set up so

that the students as a class have to have their soul climb the

rope to the top of the cliff (which represents Heaven with Christ). Each time the students’ offers something up their soul

can advance on the rope until it reaches the top of the cliff. At the end of the month whichever class has the most souls on

the top of the mountain will win the prize!

It’s amazing and very rewarding to see the student’s excite-

ment to work hard to empty purgatory! The other day in the lunch one of the students told me that he didn’t feel like eat-

ing his sandwich. I told him that if he offered it up, he could save a soul. The student’s expression changed completely,

and he gobbled his sandwich! It’s an incredible feeling to

know that I’m giving the students the means to take some-thing so simple in life, and give it a deeper meaning; the idea

that their sacrifice can truly make a difference.

The campaigns are used a tool to motivate the students to

practice living virtue. I personally am motivated to keep giv-

ing myself when I see their effort and enthusiasm in the cam-

paigns. This really is the reason why I love working at East

Lake, and I thank God each day for giving me the opportunity

to be here this year!

Thanks to all the families and

students who assisted with the Winter Open House.

It was a huge success as

many new prospective families

visited our school to learn more about our accelerated

curriculum infused with char-acter, Roman Catholic faith

and apostolic formation.

Getting a chance to mingle with current East Lake fami-

lies is important. It helps the prospective families learn about our vibrant enthusiastic parent community first

hand. Follow-up tours of the school are underway and complete the open house experience as parents witness

our curriculum in action and meet our beautiful stu-

dents in the classroom.

Thanks to the students who always contribute so gra-ciously when guests are around. I am also grateful to

all the families who attended mass during our parish visits around Catholic Schools Week. We received

many inquiries from these two visits.

Our next Open House is May 18th

for Pre-K 3 and 4.

Classes are filling up quickly so if anyone asks about

our school, please encourage them to schedule a tour sooner rather than later.

I keep all the friends and families of East Lake Academy

faithfully in my prayers.

Yours in Christ,

Elizabeth Simutis

Mrs. Elizabeth Simutis

Director of Admissions

ADMISSIONS UPDATE

Mary Beth Crittenden



CLASSROOM NEWS & VIEWS

Technology Update The middle school students are becoming more proficient in Microsoft

Office especially in Word and PowerPoint. They have been working on their formal and informal homework assignments by typing them up on

the laptops. Miss Kinzler has taught the students how to format formal

writing assignments and teach them how to use different fonts and mar-gins appropriately.

This is important for the students to know especially as they prepare for

their upcoming Science Fair project. They will be required to present a

research report along with charts and graphs for their visual.

SCIENCE FAIR

In the gym at 7:00 p.m.

Please join us as the 5th through 8th graders present

their inquiries they have been researching for the past few months.

Annie Murphy & Hanna Sutkowski (6th Grade)

These students are studying earthquakes through an Inquiry Learning activity where

they created structures made of toothpicks and marshmallows.

Pre-K Corner Meet Lunch Bunch Lunch Bunch is a group of Pre-k 3 and Pre-k 4 students to stay for the afternoon.

After lunch and a story, students enjoy some quiet rest time on their mats.

During quiet play concepts such as patterning, counting and following direc-

tions are reinforced.

The development of fine motor

skills is encouraged through activi-

ties like puzzles, cut and paste,

and Play-doh.

Free play allows students to develop their creativity and social skills. We end

the day with outdoor play which allows children to develop gross motor skills

while enjoying the fresh air and having fun!

SAVE THE DATE Thursday

April 14th 2011

Kelsey Dziak & Isabella Haser presenting their

Power Point in Language Arts class. (6th Grade)



Art Update The artwork created by your children is really outstanding! We have been working many weeks on our projects and I

am so proud of all their hard work! Please feel free to browse through our hallways and look at some of our new projects being displayed.

Most recently, the students have been exploring various ways to make three dimensional sculptures.

In kindergarten and 2nd grade, students have had a blast creating paper mache projects.

Soon you will see both the kindergarten three dimensional penguins and 2nd grade hot air balloons out in the hallway. You will have to ask your children all about the process. It’s so

much fun to watch the students surprised faces once they begin to really see what their pro-

ject will become from just a balloon and newspaper.

The 4th, 7th, and 8th grade classes

have also been learning about sculpture

but are using different materials.

The 4th grade just finished creating an abstract sculpture made from a wire

hanger and nylon.

The 7th and 8th grade classes

had the opportunity to create a

luminary sculpture in clay.


East Lake Academy Newsletter, January 2011

Art Update In Pre K- 3 and Pre K-4, students have been learning about mixing colors and overlap-

ping shapes. Pre K-3 students have just finished a project based on the painting style of the artist Monet. They learned about how to create many colors in their painting by over-

lapping different colored pieces of tissue paper. The Pre K -4 students are learning about

the state of Illinois in their classroom, so we painted our state using primary colors and mixed them into secondary colors.

The 1st grade class has been learn-ing about a new painting style called

Pointillism. We talked about the de-tail and concentration used in this

type of painting and related it to the incredible detail and care that God

has put into the creatures that he

made for us to enjoy here on earth. Each student received a picture that

entailed one of God’s creations (animal, reptile,fish etc..). By looking at their creature, students are to try and draw what they see. After the drawing is complete, students paint their work only in dots, using a Q-tip as their painting

utensil.

Our 6th grade class has just

completed a painting involving the graphic lettering of their

name.

In these name compositions, each student was required to

design their name using fonts

that one would study in a graphic design class such as a gothic, roman, display, or script lettering style. Students were given a book of these

lettering styles to help them in their

design. After drawing their design, students were to choose a color

scheme that they would use to paint their overlapping letters and back-

ground.

Our 5th grade class is in the process of creating a symmetrical

sand painting while the 3rd grade just completed their fabric batik wall hangings. The effort the students have put into these

projects really show!

Again, I invite all of you to come in the building and see the art-

work that is displayed on the walls. The results are beautiful!

God Bless,

Katie McCarthy


East Lake Academy Newsletter, January 2011

We welcome your comments, questions and sug-

gestions regarding this newsletter:

[email protected]

Our Mission The specific mission of East Lake Academy is summa-

rized in the motto, Integer Homo (Latin for "the whole

man"); that is, providing its students with an integral

formation. Our educational program consists of three

essential elements: teaching, educating, forming. To teach means to provide the student with the intellec-

tual capabilities, content and skills needed to respond

to the demands of today's society.

To educate means to train the student in the habit of

intellectual rigor, structured reasoning, and in the appre-

ciation of beauty; it means to cultivate sensitivity,

memory, imagination; and finally, to develop the art of

communication and the ability to express oneself clear-

ly and elegantly.

To form is to lead the student to become a person for

others, with an upright ethical code, sensitivity toward

the needs of others- especially the most disadvantaged

- and an openness to human and spiritual values. . In this way students are prepared not just for profes-

sional success, but also for their self-realization as per-

sons and authentic Christians in the various facets of

their personal and professional lives. .

Administration

Mr. John T. Calk President Miss Jennifer Haggerty Principal Mrs. Rosario Echavez Dean of Academics Mrs. Elizabeth Simutis Admissions Director Mrs. Allison Walsh Director of Development Mrs. Anne O’Donovan Administrative Assistant Mrs. Kathleen Calk Parent Association Fr. Matthew Kaderabek Chaplain

Faculty

Mrs. Rosario Echavez PK-3 Mrs. Barbara Campanella PK-4 Miss Mary Sponseller Kindergarten Mrs. Geraldine Lagman 1st Grade Miss Carolyn Munda 2nd Grade Miss Elizabeth Friers 3rd Grade Mrs. Julie Biasco 4th Grade Mr. Matthew Nuccio 5th Grade & Grade 4th Spanish Miss Sarah Kinzler 6th Grade Homeroom, Middle School Language Arts & Math Mr. John Stack 7th Grade Homeroom, Middle School History, Geography & Math Mrs. Loredana Fuller 8th Grade Homeroom, Middle School Science & Math Ms. Marianela Gonzalez Spanish Miss Katie McCarthy Art & After-Care Director Mrs. Julie Handrich PK-4 Assistant & Gym Mrs. Maureen Kowalski PK-3 Assistant

East Lake Academy 13911 W. Laurel Dr. / Lake Forest, IL 60045

(847) 247-0035

www.eastlakeacademy.org

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Lego League We are excited to kick off our first Lego League team meeting sched-

uled for Monday, February 28 at 6:30 – 7:30 pm.

Our Lego League team is made up of team members in grades 3rd

through 8th. Activities in our first meeting will include creating a team name and mascot, completing a robot activity, and getting to know our

teammates.

Our team meetings will be held on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each

month at 6:30 pm at East Lake Academy. We will be sending a calen-dar of meetings and other related events home in the next several

weeks as well as post on ELA’s website for reference. For all team members currently signed up for this program, we will be sending out

an agenda of the first meeting before 2/28.

If you are interested in signing your child up for this program or have

questions about this program, feel free to contact:

Michael Erpenbeck at [email protected] or Laurie Zelinski at [email protected].

East Lake Mom’s Prayer Group

The East Lake Mom’s Prayer Group will

be starting a book club on:

The Temperament God Gave You

Come and learn more about the rich-

ness of each personality and tips to help family relationships. A time to

meet other moms, build friendships, and deepen faith. All are welcome!

Please contact Amy Lindemann

for more information:

Cell 773.490.9659 email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

EAST LAKE ACADEMY NNEWSLETTEEWSLETTERRCassie Lecinski: “Nombre” por Pedro Salinas Mary Beth ... “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens. Integrated the song was a dance number that the