Celebrating the Season
Dec 06, 2024
Music is an important part of my life. As soon as the radio stations start playing holiday music, I am tuned in! Congratulations to our All City Mariachi Ensemble who performed at the Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Association of School Administrators, and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials Joint Annual Conference in Chicago at the end of November. The conference is one of the nation's largest state education events for Illinois school board members, administrators, and business officials. Nearly 9,000 people throughout Illinois attended the event.
The ensemble is made up of 28 student musicians from Gompers, Hufford, and Washington Junior High Schools. The students are directed by Gompers Junior High band director, Christine Adelmann, and orchestra director, Rachael Tatar. I am beyond proud of these incredibly talented students and directors. Our students were the only junior high students invited to perform at the conference. The audience was in awe upon learning that our students were only 11, 12, and 13-years-old!
We also had three of our Carl Sandburg students invited to help Joliet Mayor D'Arcy light Joliet's official Christmas tree at the Joliet City Center Partnership Light up the Holidays Parade in downtown Joliet Thanksgiving weekend. Our All City Choir also performed at the event. I look forward to attending our annual winter concerts and school winter celebrations. We have some very talented students in our schools!
I hope you enjoy the holidays and winter break with your friends and family. I look forward to disconnecting for a few weeks to recharge my batteries. Don't forget, students do not return to school until Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
If you have a question, comment, concern, or compliment about one of our schools or the District, send us a Let's Talk message by visiting our District website or click on the Let's Talk logo here.
