BOARD BRIEFS: District 207 Discusses New Class, National Merit Semifinalists

New physics class

On Oct. 3 Maine Township High School District 207 discussed the creation of a new physics class at starting in the fall of 2012.

The class, Physics 102, will be the third class in a series that starts with biology and chemistry. The year-long class would be one-and-a-half periods long – as are most of the district’s science classes. It would be offered to regular-level students who had completed a full year of biology and a full year of chemistry. Administrators said the class would be structured so that topics are covered in the same sequence as the accelerated physics course, making it possible for students to move up or down a level without missing anything. They also said a full-year physics class would better prepare juniors for the ACT and AP science classes that are open to seniors.

Earlier:

National Merit Semifinalists named

Five Maine South High School seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and Maine Township High School District 207 had 23 National Merit Commended Students, one from Maine East, 18 from Maine South and four from Maine West.

The semifinalists are Ethan Campbell, Colton Cannon, Anthony Groenewald, Alexander Heyde and Adam Smith.

The semifinalists are chosen by their scores on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, with the number of semifinalists in each state determined by that state’s proportion of college bound high school seniors. To become finalists, semifinalists must meet several extra requirements. Finalists compete for 2,500 one-time $2,500 scholarships offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, about 1,000 scholarships sponsored by corporations and about 4,800 scholarships offered by colleges and universities for finalists who choose to attend their institutions.

Non-paid faculty sponsors approved

The Maine Township High School District 207 school board approved non-paid faculty sponsors for more than 100 clubs at its three high schools. Clubs range from ethnic clubs - the Irish and Polish clubs at Maine East, for example - to various honor societies and interest-based clubs.

The faculty advisors for the clubs are not paid, but they do receive points that put them lower on the list for dismissal if the district has to reduce its teaching staff.

School board members thanked the teachers for their generosity.

Master board member

Maine Township High School District 207 school board member Eric Leys has achieved the status of “master board member” from the Illinois Association of School Boards. It was presented at the IASB North Cook Division’s fall meeting Sept. 21.

School board members can earn master status by taking continuing education courses about the responsibilities of a board member.