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News & Events
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No Name Calling Week
April 7-11, 2008 at Illini Middle School.
The cafeteria got quiet and
many hands were raised when the students were asked, “How many of you have
been laughed at?” and “How many of you have ever called someone a name?”
The SMILE team sponsored
No Name Calling Week April 7-11, 2008 at Illini Middle School. SMILE
stands for Someone Matters in Life Everyday and is made up of a select
group of 8th graders. Attendance mentor- Wayne Schell and school
social worker- Laurie Frey, along with Amy Roady of the U of I Extension meet
with the SMILE team members once a week. During the meetings they work on
activities that may help the students at Illini get along better and feel
included. Planning for No Name Calling Week began in January.
Sarah Seimer, Katelyn
Dougherty, Jensen Linder and Lauren Turner
presented skits during all the lunch hours at IMS on Tuesday. They dramatized
realistic scenarios of name calling and bullying and ended each one with a
solution and suggestions of what we can do to stand up for someone who is
being bullied.
As if it wasn’t hard
enough for these students to get up in front of the entire student body once,
on Thursday, Katelyn and Lauren along with Alison Hill and Kelly Dubree
did it again when they presented a power point based on interviews they had
done with IMS students. Keeping approximately 200 students quiet in the
cafeteria is not easy, but the majority of the students from each of the 3
lunch hours listened attentively as they were then told about Megan Meier, the
13 year old girl from the St. Louis area, who killed herself after being
bullied and harassed on the popular website, MySpace.
Alison reminded the
students to “Never add (as a friend on MySpace) someone you do not know,”
while Katelyn quoted the song “Don’t Laugh At Me.”
Katelyn then told the
students, “Pain hurts, no matter what kind of pain it is, it hurts.”
For the final challenge,
she said, “I challenge any of you to apologize today, in front of your peers,
to anyone you’ve ever bullied or called a name.” A few brave students
stepped up to the microphone and were supported with applause after their
apologies.
“To make a long story
short,” the girls told their fellow students, “Don’t bully and don’t call
people names.”
The SMILE team members that
were brave enough to stand up in front of their peers and do these
presentations should be commended. How many of us, when we were in 8th
grade, could have done the same? They not only developed the presentations on
their own, they also spoke clearly and did not back down. When the going got
tough and their peers would talk or not pay attention these students kept on
going with confidence. This confidence helped them present a message they
fully believed in. There is no doubt, these responsible, courageous and
organized students can handle any task put in front of them.
Other Smile Team members
who helped plan No Name Calling Week include:
Lindsay Bartlett, Cassie Crone, Dalton Gibson,
Kelsey Howland, Troy Lacey, Fallyn Stieglitz, Amy Straub, Amanda Strotheide,
and Sarah Walkington
Katelyn Dougherty, Alison Hill, Kelly Dubree and Lauren Turner do their
presentation during "No Name Calling Week at Illini Middle School"
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Illini's Best of the Best
On January 25, 182 sixth, seventh, and
eighth graders were honored at an Illini Middle School assembly for being “The
Best of the Best” during the second quarter of the school year. This means
that they have not had a disciplinary referral, do not have an F on their
report card, and that they generally display good character including respect,
responsibility, self-control, and honesty. It is the desire of the
administration and staff that all students would earn this recognition and all
students are encouraged to monitor their academic and personal behavior to
achieve this level of conduct for each remaining quarter of the school year.
6th Grade (below)
(click on the picture for a larger version - 262Kb)
| Row 1: |
Alec Beuttel, Kyle Obertino, Tate Bohannon,
Brendan Goldacker, Timothy Lacy, Aleigha Long, Amber Hart, Devon Johnson,
Bethany Jones, Lindsey Shaw, Alyssa Wadlow, Kaylin Smith |
| Row 2: |
Chase Davis, Harry Arter Jr., Autumn Krocker,
Emily Ontis, Richard Pfeiffer, Lillian Tepen, Chelsea Stalcup, Reilly
Underwood, Samantha Wittman, Jessica Derham, Lynn Scott, Morgan Mann |
| Row 3: |
Connor Brown, Vanessa Perkinson, Lauren
Leady, Ashley Puklich, Brook Wagner, Alina Pavlishinets, Lauren Kight,
Jessica McMurl, Katelyn Brown, Brittney Blackorby |
| Absent: |
Brittney Walkington |
7th Grade (below)
(click on the picture for a larger version - 291Kb)
| Floor: |
Thomas Kirbach, Andrew Rudolph, Garret Blasa,
Cody Torrey |
| Row 1: |
Cory Pomeroy, Jake Zedolek, Nicholas Nance,
Michael Monehan, Zachary Yates, Tyler Williams, Dylan Bridges, Taylor
Pace, Indianna Som, Noelle Price, Jenna Eschbach, Trevor Ferguson |
| Row 2: |
Nicholas Palcheff, Amanda Wilderman, Ethan
Cain, Morgan Wallace, Ashley Branham, Dylan Sharrow, Dillon Hill, Garrett
Freand, Blake Wilfong, Tyler Lumma, Dalton Jones, Patricia Ryan, Whitney
Ontis, Ashley Lott |
| Row 3: |
Anthony Kimble, Natalie Beuttel, Megan Witt,
Maranda Harris, Bethann Crotchett, Sydney Brangenberg, Jesse Arnold,
Breanna Sears, Kaitlyn Wock, Megann Pohlman, Amanda Pohlman, Maren Valyo,
Nicholas Ayres, Elizabeth Schaaf, Kristie Elliott |
| Row 4: |
Grace Becker, Madison Straubhaar, Christian
Camerer, Benjamin Williams, Ryan Cassens, Jordan Summers, Katelyn
Scoggins, Marcus Scott, Stephanie Anderson, Carissa Pointer, Laura Pruitt,
Miranda Morris, Nichole Plunkett, Jordan Rulo, Aleisha Beavers, Crystal
Harris, Emily Lavite, Kallie Shires, Kaley Shook, Ora Tucker, Paige Phelps |
| Row 5: |
Andrew McCoy, Corey Meredith, Eric Welch,
John Snider, Alexander Murray, Bradley Cordes, Beau Blackorby, Brett
Sitzmore, Taylor McBride, Mary Powers, Emily Kraushaar, Daniel Newberry,
Adam Berry, Beth Claxton, Alyssa Alexander, Samantha McDonald, Leah
Boschert |
| Absent: |
Brooklyn Breden, Tyler Graham, Kim Huynh,
Sydney Rohmann |
8th Grade (below)
(click on the picture for a larger version - 305Kb)
| Floor: |
Bridget Fitzgibbons, Alexis Bollenter |
| Row 1: |
Rachel McGlasson, Garrett Meyer, Kelci Milan,
Anna Milford, Xane Peters, Austin Puklich, Megan Rowling, Kellie Phipps,
Kayla Schleper, Anna Senger, Reid Mustain, Donald Slaughter III, Brittany
Smith, Jennifer Stone, Maddie Stotler |
| Row 2: |
Lauren Turner, Allison Brown, Adam Fritz,
Roger Gettings, Brianna Hill, Brandon Jackson, Oliva Hinrichs, Jaelyn
Hawkins, Brennan Jackson, Blaine Jones, Jessie Kirbach, Rebecca Laird,
Lindsey Long, Saide McAdams, Jessica McCollum, Jesse Thornsbury, Sarah
Walkington |
| Row 3: |
Brian Droege, Travis Blair, Chelsea Baruxen,
Abbigail Gettings, Zack Hunter, Corey Laubscher, Haley Hazelwonder,
Cheyenne Long, Whitley Sauerwein, Angeleena Romo, Briana, Hughes, Sydney
Curtis, Mallory Skelton, Ciera Schwegel, Fallyn Stieglitz, Alina Sams,
Janie Tepen, William Winslow, Brittany Wallace |
| Row 4: |
Matthew Murphy, Gary Wilson, Kody Zedolek,
Bud Booth, Justin Beavers, Candace Bult, Gilbert Campbell, Brittany
Christopher, Mariah Cottingham, Cassandra Crone, Sarah Siemer, Lauren
Dahlke, Katelyn Dougherty, Kelly Dubree, Amy Straub, Amanda Strotheide
Nathan Caroll, Morgan Yates, Katie Veenendall |
| Absent: |
Alison Hill, Catherine Vandygriff |
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