Schools
Frederick School SOARs Into Summer
Be Safe, Take Ownership, and Always Be Respectful are the lessons learned with this year's SOAR program.
Students at Frederick School in Grayslake enjoyed a huge party this week as they celebrated this last SOAR assembly. SOAR is an acronym for Be Safe, Take Ownership & Always Be Respectful.
The fifth- and sixth-graders each had their own assembly celebrating the end of the year and the positive steps they have taken to earn Falcon Feathers. Feathers were given out to students each time they achieved one of the goals of SOAR.
The fun began with special VIP seating, which was earned by feathers being drawn out of a huge bin. Even teachers could earn feathers, so there were two teachers in VIP seats as well.
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SOAR has a team of people who work to make it a success and is headed up by Sue Murrow, Jody Cinq-Mars and Denise Lanko. Principal Eric Detweiler was on hand as emcee of the celebration. His first speech was interrupted by the faculty dancing and singing to the famed Village People song YMCA.
One of the first big announcements was that the students earned $1,301.28 through a Read-A-Thon benefiting the Red Cross for Tsunami Victims. An oversized check was presented to Superintendent Ellen Correll to mark the huge achievement.
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There were several games played as well, beginning with a game show-type quiz in which students were chosen to participate with a drawing, and got to answer trivia questions about the places in the school where SOAR responsibilities were to take place.
For example: “Question: Where are you to make sure your hands are washed and clean? Answer: the bathroom.” Another question: “When in this area, you are expected to stay away from the balcony… Answer: Upstairs in the open hallways.”
Kids also got to participate in fun games in which two classrooms competed against each other in the Shoe Toss. Each team had two chances per student to fling a shoe off their foot and onto a table several feet away. It was a hilarious sight to see and certainly got the kids all riled up.
Students also were recognized for being active in their Frederick community. As Detweiler called for each group to stand and be recognized, the categories were as follows: Earning more than 10, 25, or 50 Feathers, Student Ambassadors (who gave tours to visitors such as fourth-graders), Student Council, Principal Council, Band, Chorus, Girls on the Run (Downtown Chicago event at which each team member ran a 5k race), Perfect Attendance, and Falcon of the Week.
A particularly silly game called the “Elephant Walk” had students put on their heads a pair of panty hose that had an orange in one of the legs. They had to swing the oranges by nodding their heads to knock over a row of water bottles placed on the ground in a line, in front of them. They kids roared with laughter over this one!
The last game played was “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” and the audience got to participate. They had to help sing a popular song, and when the music stopped, the contestant had to fill in the missing words. This game was, by far, the crowd-pleaser of the day. And the Falcon mascot was on hand the entire time, getting the crowd pumped up and excited to participate.
Finally, prizes were given from a huge drawing of those who earned feathers. For every feather a student earned, there would be a feather placed in the large bin with his or her name on it. The more feathers you earned, the better your chances for a prize.
Among the prizes were an art kit, Mitch’s Chicago Style Grill gift certificates, Culver's gift certificates, DVDs, video games, books, and the grand prize … a Fun Summer Basket filled with things like a pool pass, a Slip 'N' Slide, a towel, a water shooter, and more. All of the fun, games, and prizes were welcomed, but most importantly, the students celebrated learning how to SOAR.
