Presiding was President Steve Goranson and the Thought for the Day was presented by Paul Brown who shared Labor Day thoughts from past U.S. Presidents.

 

 

Brad Weiss announced that the free Dental Days clinic would be held this year on Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10.  Set up for the clinic will take place after 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8; breakdown will take place after 3 p.m. on Saturday.  Volunteers from the club will be needed during all three days. 

 

Helen Oloroso reminded the club that the annual picnic will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

 

 

Ilana Seligman boasted club members who served as temporary secretary while she was out of town.

 

Susan Prout boasted her son’s graduation and the start of his new job.

 

Neil Gambow boasted his 48^th wedding anniversary, as well as his granddaughter’s successful transition to a new (and unplanned) Rotary Scholarship in Concepcion, Paraguay.

 

Louis Allred boasted his own 57 years of matrimony.

 

Chuck Bartling boasted his 48 years of marriage as well.

 

Eric Schmelling boasted the club for its work on the new McGaw YMCA playground, thanking members on behalf of his young son who will get a great deal of enjoyment out of the new playground.

 

Bruce Baumberger boasted Horton Kellogg and the Old Men’s Jazz Band for their performance at the recent liturgy at Northminster Church.

 

 

Kristin Brown presented a slide show (thanks to Steve Goranson) on the building of the new playground at McGaw YMCA  Children’s Center on Saturday, Aug. 29.  The playground was a collaborative partnership by the Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Club, McGaw YMCA and Kaboom!: Play Matters (a national non-profit dedicated to programs and facilities devoted to healthy play for children).  Fundraising produced $15,000 for the materials and construction and the work was donated by volunteers including Gary and Katie Peterson, Bill Vernon and Kristin Brown.

 

 

 

 

Jeff Bell introduced the club to the Beacon Academy, Evanston’s newest independent private high school, founded in 2014.  Beacon Academy is built on the principles of the Montessori approach to pedagogy.  It is located in downtown Evanston and has a current enrollment of 83 students in grades nine through twelve.  The projected growth of the school is an enrollment of 200 students.  Students are grouped into two year cohorts – 9^th and 10^th graders, and 11^th and 12^th graders.  The school is led by 19 faculty and staff, 80% of whom hold advanced degrees and come from Montessori-influenced backgrounds.

 

The school is guided by the principle of trust in the students, balanced by realistic concerns for the safety and well-being of its charges who are experiencing the dynamic changes of the adolescent brain.  Students’ energy and drive are channeled into community-based learning, interdisciplinary studies, experiential learning and entrepreneurial thinking.  The school is built around the concept that the high school students of today will be entering fields that don’t currently exist and that they will need to be able to function as their own agents of change.

 

The Beacon Academy envisions itself as on the cutting edge of the future of secondary education in a statement from its website:  “In recent years, a national conversation has taken place about radically changing how education is delivered to high school students. Experts have demonstrated that high school students need to learn essential skills to productively contribute to our ever-changing and dynamic world. The skills most needed include critical thinking, collaboration and teamwork, creativity, and effective communication. Students need to experience perseverance and learn from failure. They need to “engage in the doing,” connect their school work with the outside world and work on authentic problems. Teachers should tap into the intrinsic motivation of each student, excite their passions and use that as a springboard for living a meaningful life.”

 

Although the school is currently building its inaugural classes and is in start-up phase, it has managed to achieve a great deal of diversity.  Half of the students come from the city of Chicago, while the other half come from suburbs throughout the metropolitan area.  One-third of the students receive tuition assistance, and students come to Beacon Academy from 40 different schools. 

 

One-quarter of the students come from public schools, five percent have been homeschooled, and 30% have attended Montessori schools.  The remaining 40% attended parochial or private schools.  More than 20% are students of color.  All of these students share a set of characteristics that made them good candidates for Beacon:  the desire to be part of this community, the ability to self-advocate, and being considered to be a good “fit” with students, faculty, and staff at the school.

 

As the school grows toward its enrollment goals, the leadership is looking for a larger space in the center of Evanston so it can expand its involvement and partnership with the community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katie Peterson, daughter of Gary Peterson

 

Kate Anderson, Admissions and Marketing, Beacon Academy

 

 

 

Ira Graham, Sept. 5

 

Jeff Gardner, Sept. 5

 

 

Deneiba Soma, 6 years

 

 

 

 

Ira Graham and Mike Massini

 

 

Susan Prout and Keith Sarpolis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan Borg and Paul Brown

 

 

 

Irwin Weil, professor emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literature at Northwestern University.  His topic will be “From the Cincinnati Reds to the Moscow Reds.”  Dr. Weil is the son of a former owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.