Maercker D60 News & Notes

When Maercker D60 announced the new section of preschool, known as Preschool for All (PFA), there was a lot of excitement in the community. Not just because it is completely grant-funded, but because it is dedicated to giving children who may not otherwise have access to a high-quality preschool option a way to get connected with passionate teachers and a supportive school community.

Director of Student Services Maureen Kidd says the district completed a proposal for the PFA grant two years ago with the award coming in time for the classroom to open for the 2024-25 school year. Like all preschool programs in the state, the Illinois State Board of Education reviews and monitors programs through ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning and development programs.

First-year teacher Amanda Laurinec was hired to teach in the program and quickly joined the Early Childhood team in their work. As a new teacher, she had access to the district’s mentorship program and was able to seek support from Kidd and the rest of the teachers throughout the year as they prepared for the upcoming review, which would take place during a three-week window.

By the time of the review, Laurinec had established a strong classroom community with her students, who were used to the flow of the school day and were connecting with respect and kindness. It’s a good thing too, because the one day she was unable to be in class because of illness was the day the monitor arrived.

“I spent the whole school year making sure that I was creating the best environment for the students, from wanting to reflect their cultures and languages while being fun and supportive to all learners,” said Laurinec. “So having someone here even on a day that I wasn’t here, still seeing that everything was working felt great and that the work we put in was seen.”

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The teams recently participated in the Troy Invitational.

On the girls side, in the 6th grade race, Sahasra and Arina represented Westview well. In 7th grade, many girls ran a new personal best including Maddie, Karolina, Maggie, Mila, and Hope. Maddie earned a medal for finishing in 8th place and continued to improve on her time as the 3rd best 7th grade time at Westview with a time of 12:40. Karolina joined the Westview hall of fame as the 8th best time for a 7th grader with a time of 13:14 and finished in 27th place out of more than 263 runners. 

All the 8th graders ran a great race, and reached a new personal best time for the season which included Melanie, Adhishna, Eleanor, Stella, Amy, and Eliza.

For the boys, in the 6th grade race, Westview was represented by Adam, Yousaf, and Fabio. In a race of 343 runners, Adam finished in 20th place and earned a medal for his performance.

In the 7th grade race, every runner from Westview ran their best time ever! Congrats to Liam, Sam, Nick M., Suvan, Nick S., Finn, Finley, Adam, and Andy. In a race of 323 runners, Liam finished in 3rd, won a medal, and moved into 8th place in the 7th grade hall of fame with his time of 11 minutes and 37 seconds. Sam also won a medal for his 25th place finish! This group earned a 3rd place trophy for the 7th grade boys!

In the 8th grade race, boys that ran their best time included: Yebby, Theo, Diego, Isaac, Jordan, Owen McK., Ahmed, Amatya, Veer, Owen McA., Peter and Vihaan. In a race of 309 runners, Yebby finished in 2nd, Theo finished in 14th, Diego finished in 20th, and Isaac finished in 25th, all earning medals for their efforts. Yebby also moved into 4th place in the 8th grade hall of fame with his 10 minutes and 40 second 2 mile time. This group earned a first place trophy for the 8th grade boys!

You can cheer on our runners at home this Thursday! Great job Wildcats.

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