Impact Grant ensures all third-graders have needed headphones By Janet Dovidio news@thewoodstockindependent.com Westwood third-grade teacher Kecia Griffin received funds from a District 200 Education Foundation Impact Grant to pay for much-needed headphones. While these items are usually associated with entertainment purposes, they also help students focus on their learning experience and provide an individualized listening […]
By Kevin Lyons District 200 Memorial garden honors ‘an amazing part of the Westwood Family’ Last October, the Westwood Elementary School community was devastated by the loss of a beloved educator, parent, and friend. One year later, the joy that Amy Roeder brought students and colleagues still blooms in Westwood’s Amy Roeder Memorial Garden, where […]
Both teams were winners when Mary Endres and Westwood elementary schools competed in a “Cross-Town Chess Challenge” at GriffoNest Games on the Woodstock Square. The Mary Endres club is coordinated by fifth-grade teacher Kiera Parpart. The Westwood Chess Club is currently run by Lorrie Wagner. Bob Teuber and Kecia Griffin were Westwood advisers before Wagner. […]
Every Westwood Elementary grade now has a raised bed garden of its own on the campus. First-grade teacher Jessica Backus and fifth-grade dual-language teacher Kathy Lacey-Anderson received a District 200 Education Foundation Impact Grant that provided funds to build three raised 4-by-4-foot garden beds to go with their previous two beds. The fifth-grade students […]
Thanks to a grant from the District 200 Education Foundation, local students have the tools they need to independently calm themselves in times of stress. Westwood Elementary School psychologist Cathy Riley and social worker Kristin Thurow received funds from an Impact Grant for a project called “Calm Down Kits for Classrooms – Part 2.” The […]
Westwood Elementary School is losing two longtime staff members to retirement. Rita Caywood was hired by School District 200 in 1997 as the principal’s secretary at Westwood Elementary School. Deborah Barnhill retires from her position as the food service manager after 24 years in D-200. She spent her first year and a half as a […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.