Latest news with #WaubonsieValleyHighSchool
Chicago Tribune
09-04-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville News Digest: Trailblazer challenge offers prizes for nature-themed missions; Naperville residents named Presidential Scholar candidates
Trailblazer challenge offers prizes for nature-themed missions The Forest Preserve District of Will County is challenging residents to take part in the Be a Trailblazer spring session, which will give away more than $10,000 worth of prizes. Starting this week and continuing through Saturday, May 24, the competition begins by downloading the free Goosechase app and entering the code PQNL75, a news release said. Points are awarded for completing nature-themed missions, and a leaderboard will show who is in the top spots. However, prizes will not be based on points, the release said. Each mission completed will count as an entry in weekly giveaways for themed T-shirts. Prizes also will be connected to specific missions, earning everyone who successfully completes that mission entry into a random drawing. Sponsored by the Nature Foundation of Will County, prizes include kayaks, sleds, Fitbits, Yeti coolers, tent and sleeping bag packs, fishing equipment, hiking poles, picnic packs and more, the district said. There is no limit on the number of prizes that can be won. Naperville residents named Presidential Scholar candidates Numerous Naperville students from several high schools have been named candidates for the 2025 Presidential Scholars program, which honors distinguished graduating high school seniors. The U.S. Presidential Scholars program, established in 1964 to recognize the nation's top seniors, selects about 4,000 general program candidates mostly based on test scores, a news release said. About 650 students will go on to be named semifinalists and, from there, about 160 students will be selected as Presidential Scholars. The Naperville candidates are: Waubonsie Valley High School (Naperville residents): Mannsha Assudani, Sajiv Harikrishnan, Anjali S. Madheswaran, Sanvi Maganti, Rida Majeed, Shruthi Muthiah, Vikram J. Narasimhan, Wing Y. Ng, Prakrti Senthil and Akshath Sivachidhambara. Neuqua Valley High School: Neel Chawla, Aditya Rakshit, Andrew Z. Wan, Andy W. Yu and Alexander Zhao. Naperville North High School: Chloe S. Chen, Jai Gupta, Aanika M. Parekh, Anderson Peng, Sophia R. Xi and Cathy Yang. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (Naperville residents): Shrikar Dulam and Kumara Venkata Sadkr Malladi. Isaac Chang, of Naperville, also made the list. Applications due Tuesday for KidsMatter SpringBoard Summer Series Teens 16 and older who want to participate in KidsMatter's SpringBoard Summer Series must apply by Tuesday, April 15. The free program allows high school students to explore various professions, completing classwork and having field experiences in a variety of career sectors, a news release said. Now in its third year, the series has expanded to include a new Physical and Life Sciences program at Fermilab in Batavia. Other programs include Survey of Healthcare Careers, Pharmacy Technician Prep Course and Construction Management and Trades, the release said. All costs are covered, including books and fees. Students should indicate on their applications if transportation assistance is needed. Sessions will be held in early June and early August. Instruction is led by experts, and some programs provide college credit through the College of DuPage or the opportunity to complete the Teen Mental Health First Aid certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. For more information, go to Naperville Woman's Club donates $26,000 to charities The Naperville Woman's Club has distributed $26,124 to charity from the money raised through Glam Witches Night Out, the Clay Space Empty Bowls project, member donations and a partnership with the Downtown Naperville Alliance and local businesses. Some of the recipients included Loaves & Fishes; Metropolitan Family Services; Families Helping Families; KidsMatter; Humanitarian Service Project; Ready, Set Ride; Naperville Riverwalk Foundation; Almost Home Kids; and the Alzheimer's Association.
Chicago Tribune
25-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
District 204 board OKs $7.6 million auditorium renovation at Waubonsie Valley High School
Students at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora will be getting an upgraded auditorium next year, following approval of the project by the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education on Monday evening. The project, set to begin over the summer, includes over $7.6 million in renovations, according to the agenda for Monday's board meeting. The overhaul includes new seats, house lights, theater lights, sound systems, flooring and other replacements, according to a letter from John Robinson, the district's director of facility operations, to the school board included in Monday's meeting agenda. There will also be an 'aesthetics upgrade' and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades throughout the auditorium, bringing the building up to code, officials said. On Monday, the board also approved building permits for summer 2025 capital projects, and statement of completion forms for capital projects that have been completed already. The auditorium project and other capital project-related approvals were approved unanimously in the consent agenda at Monday's meeting. The auditorium renovation will be paid for with funds from bond sales, District 204 Chief School Business Official Matthew Shipley told The Beacon-News in an email on Tuesday. The money for the renovation will be coming out of next year's budget since most work for the project will be completed after June 30, the end of the district's fiscal year. In November, voters approved Indian Prairie's proposal to sell $420 million in bonds to pay for facilities updates, according to past reporting. In recent months, the district has planned for a series of building renovations using money from the bond sales. In early February, the board OK'd more than $3 million in flooring replacements, about $2.1 million in paving work, just under $1.5 million in roofing and gutter repairs and about $600,000 for four new playgrounds at schools across the district, according to past reporting. The district will also be constructing secure entryways at 11 elementary schools, a project coming in at just under $10 million, as well as replacing lighting systems at several schools with LED fixtures meant to be more energy efficient, and installing remote access at 22 district schools to allow personnel to check the schools' HVAC systems remotely. These projects were approved at the district's last board meeting. For projects taking place over the summer and stretching into the fall, Indian Prairie plans to spend around $40 million across this fiscal year and the next, Shipley has previously said. The next bond issuance for capital projects, set for this summer, is likely to be over $100 million and will be factored into next year's budget. The bonds are being paid for by continuing an existing 37-cent property tax per $100 of equalized assessed value that was originally set to expire in 2026, according to past reporting. That means the tax rate for residents in terms of their contribution to capital projects would effectively stay the same. The $420 million in bonds will be issued through 2029 for projects through 2032, Shipley previously said. But after those funds are used up, the district will need to find a way to generate $10 million each year for capital projects for existing buildings, Shipley has said. And more bond issuances aren't an option, he said, because they'd still be paying off the old ones. The auditorium renovation at Waubonsie Valley is likely the last major capital project to be approved for the summer, Shipley said on Tuesday. The district has said it plans to provide a budget update at the board's May 5 meeting, and an update on June 16 on some of the projects funded by last year's bond sale referendum.
