CIOMeet Chicago collaborates with IT leaders with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and industries to connect the dots between innovation, efficiency, and collaboration. Our very own, Chief Information Officer, Jason Barthel, has been invited to be a panelist in November along with other CIOs from diverse backgrounds and industries. Mr. Barthel will participate in sharing challenges, learned lessons, successes and failures in his journey to bring sound technology practices and protocols to RPS205.
Congratulations to Flinn Middle School Principal Cory Schrank for being named 97ZOk's Teacher of the Week!
https://97zokonline.com/teacher-of-the-week-cory-schrank/
Good luck to the Guilford's Girls Varsity Flag Football team as they play in the IHSA's inaugural State Finals today! The quarterfinals start at 4:30 @ Willowbrook High School in Villa Park. If the Lady Vikings advance, they'll play tomorrow at 12:30. If they lose, the 3rd place game follows @ 2. Championship game is @ 4. You can check out Saturday's games live on WSLN 19.2. That's on Comcast Cable 434, MediaCom 102, & Spectrum 194. Believe the hype!
13th annual Academy Expo: This event provided an opportunity for 2,000 9th graders to engage with 100 area businesses to explore potential career opportunities. It helps forge a relevant link between student curriculum & future careers. Students will utilize this event to make an academy selection.
A Viking’s View: Check out the new roof at Guilford High School! Architect Richard L Johnson Associates & contractor Sterling Commercial Roofing worked together to demolish 200-thousand square feet of the existing roofing (all but the fieldhouse addition) & replace it with a new roofing system. The project started at the end of March & was completed in September. It looks great!
We’d like to extend a congratulations to our middle school soccer league champions: RESA won at the JV level, and Eisenhower won at the varsity level. Way to soar Owls and Eagles!
The Youth Story Ledger was held at Flinn Middle School. It’s an event where 6-12 grade students from Flinn, Marshall, West, and Auburn shared personal narratives with the community. These stories offer deep insights into their lives, experiences, & dreams, challenging negative biases & showcasing resilience, bravery, & intelligence. By sharing their stories, students empower themselves & foster understanding & empathy within our community. This year, the Youth Story Ledger was able to expand through a grant from the Golden Apple Foundation of Rockford.
Congratulations to the athletes & coaches for Gregory Elementary School Team 2 on their Rockford Elementary Soccer League championship! RESL, RPS 205's elementary soccer league, ran from September to October and had over 30 teams. We'd like to thank the students, parents, school administration, & coaches for all of their hard work. We appreciate you! We are also grateful for the sportsmanship displayed between teams, fans, & toward our officials.
Auburn High School hosted its second College Fair for Creatives - specifically designed to provide students in the creative & performing arts the opportunity to connect with colleges that offer degrees in their disciplines of interest. Students gave mock auditions & portfolio reviews to college reps in the areas of theatre, technical theatre, instrumental music, vocal music & dance. Visual art students had one-on-one meetings to receive portfolio reviews & feedback on their artwork. In total, 18 colleges & universities sent 30 reps & faculty members who met with nearly 150 Auburn students. There was also a more traditional-style college fair with participation from the same creatives-focused colleges.
CAPA Auditions: Calling all 5th to 11th graders! Interested in joining CAPA for the 2025-2026 school year? Don’t miss out—sign up for CAPA High School or CAPA Middle School auditions today!
Have a great day!
RPS 205 will be holding a Boys & Girls Youth Wrestling Clinic for all K-8 grade students. This free event will take place at East High School (door FH3).
-Thursday, October 24: Grades K-2 from 5:15-6:45 p.m.
-Tuesday, October 29: Grades 3-5 & 6-8 from 5:15-6:45 p.m.
-Saturday, November 2: Grades K-2 from 9-10:20 a.m. and Grades 3-5 & 6-8 from 11:15-12:45 p.m.
To register: https://forms.gle/QxwrwyxC8F26pqHH8
Contact Gene Lee at 815-227-8451 or email leeg@rps205.com
Tomorrow is the last day to get your nominations in for RPS 205 PreK-5th grade teachers for the 2025 Golden Apple Award. You can submit at: goldenappleofrockford.com/golden-apple-teacher-awards/nominate/
To celebrate National School Lunch Week, RPS 205 is holding a contest to see who can make the most creative chicken sandwich. The students who create winning chicken sandwiches will win an iPad and their sandwiches will be featured on the menu in the Spring Semester! Please turn in your work of art to the kitchen team in your school's cafeteria between October 14-18. We can't wait to see the delicious combinations you draw up!
A ribbon cutting was held for the new SOAR Academy Playground. SOAR is an elementary education opportunity created in collaboration by RPS and Boone-Winnebago ROE 4. The new playground equipment was made possible by the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board and their funding with the 1/2-Cent Sales Tax.
VOLUNTEER WITH RPS! Rockford Reads kicked off its 23rd year at Constance Lane Elementary. Since 2001, the Rockford Rotary Club has partnered with RPS 205 and the Rockford Public Library for the program. Once a week, community volunteers read one-on-one with second graders for as little as one hour per week at the elementary school of their choice. The program runs through the end of May. Volunteers are welcome to start anytime during the school year. Interested in volunteering? Please visit: rps205.com/o/rps/page/volunteer
East High School took 65 Newcomer students to visit Anderson Gardens & Peak Fitness. They learned about health, mental wellness, exercise, & nutrition. Most of them come from refugee camps. The Newcomer team believes it's important for these students to learn how to take care of their bodies & find inner calm to help them succeed in school. The students are from Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Haiti, Uganda, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Chad, the Congo, and Afghanistan.
RPS 205's Welcome Center will be closed all day on Thursday, October 3. It will re-open for normal business hours on Friday, October 4. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you.
National Bullying Prevention Month reminds us that students, parents, teachers, and school administrators all play a role. We’re sharing valuable resources so that we can all work together to stop bullying. rps205.com/article/1792994
It's never too late to come back to school no matter how long you have been away. The door to your education is always open, and there is no wrong door.
#ShowingUpMatters #AttendTodayAchieveTomorrow
ROW, ROW, ROW, YOUR BOAT: RPS 205 held its cardboard canoe races at Levings Lake on Friday morning. It’s a yearly event where high school students in the Engineering Pathway at all 5 high schools create, build, and then race a cardboard canoe. Students from STEAM Academy at Haskell also joined in on the fun. Chief Information Officer, Jason Barthel, hopped in a canoe to race as well.
