Downers Grove South Names New Associate Principal

Loukia Mastrodimos will assume the position of associate principal for staff and students at South High School on July 1.

Downers Grove South Names New Associate Principal

Loukia Mastrodimos will assume the position of associate principal for staff and students at South High School on July 1.

Downers Grove South High School has named a new associate principal. Loukia Mastrodimos will assume the position of associate principal for staff and students at South High School on July 1. She will replace Georgia Hash, who will become the new associate principal for curriculum and instruction at the school. The District 99 Board of Education approved Mastrodimos’ appointment at its business meeting Monday night. For the past two years, Mastrodimos has served as assistant principal at Glenbard South High School in Glen Ellyn. Prior to that position, she worked at Downers Grove North High School, serving as department chair of the career and technical education department from 2006 to 2011. She has also worked as a teacher at York High …

• Photos (1)

Election 2013: District 99 Board of Education

Patch has your guide to the 2013 election for the Community High School District 99 Board of Education in Downers Grove.

Tuesday Snowstorm Cancels District 99 Candidate Forum

The League of Women Voters of Downers Grove, Woodridge and Lisle has tentatively rescheduled the forum for March 14.

With heavy snow and hazardous driving conditions gripping the Chicago area Tuesday, officials opted to postpone the public forum for Downers Grove school board candidates. The Community High School District 99 candidate forum—hosted by the League of Women Voters of Downers Grove, Woodridge and Lisle—was scheduled for Tuesday night at Village Hall, but was canceled around 5 p.m. due to the snowstorm. "We've heard from two of the candidates and know they can't make it, so we're going to wait until everyone can be there and we can have a better crowd," said Hilary Denk, co-president of the League of Women Voters in Downers Grove. Denk said they are hoping to reschedule the forum for 7 p.m. March 14 at Village Hall. Six candidates are running …

• Photos (1)

Downers Grove Speech Teams Take Home 3 State Titles, 12 Medals

The speech team at South High School placed second and North High placed fourth at the IHSA state meet Friday and Saturday.

It was a winning weekend for the speech teams at both District 99 high schools.  Downers Grove South placed second and Downers Grove North placed fourth in the IHSA Individual Events Team State Championship at the speech state meet, held Friday and Saturday in Peoria. In addition, three students—Dan Leahy (South High), Natasha Prosek (South High) and Alex Buckley (North High)—were all crowned state champions in their individual events. South High Results South High’s team, led by head coach Nicole Carreno, captured second place in the state meet. Senior Dan Leahy was named state champion in Original Comedy, and also received third place in Prose Reading. Junior Natasha Prosek is state champion Humorous Interpretation. Three other students …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Mark Thoman

3:07 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013

South has dominated Speech for decades, a record unmatched in any IHSA competition.. With North picking up the slack, the entire community can applaud the hard working students and coaches from both schools. Well done!   more ›

District 99 Board President Withdraws from Upcoming Election

Incumbent Board President Bill White announced Thursday that he has filed paperwork to formally remove his name from the April 9 consolidated election ballot.

Bill White, incumbent president of the Community High School District 99 school board, has withdrawn his candidacy from the upcoming consolidation election. White, who was elected to the District 99 school board in 2009, announced Thursday that he has filed paperwork to formally remove his name from the April 9 election ballot. In a statement, White said he is proud of the "real and positive change that has come to the District 99 board" and "eager to push forward with new initiatives in support of public education." However, he added, those initiatives will require him "to look beyond the boundaries of any one school district." “Continuing to serve on the District 99 board would legitimately constrain my ability to advocate on behalf of …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Dan F.

9:13 am on Friday, January 18, 2013

Wish it had been the two crazy Advocates that quit instead.   more ›

District 99 Sends 1,000 Snowflakes to Sandy Hook Elementary School

The Downers Grove school district joined the National PTA last month to create a winter wonderland for students in Newtown, CT.

Downers Grove South High School has teamed up with schools across the country to provide a winter wonderland for students in Newtown, CT. The National PTA launched several programs last month to support Sandy Hook Elementary School, the site of the Dec. 14 shooting that killed 20 children and six adults. Among the programs was an initiative to collect paper snowflakes—big and small—to decorate Chalk Hill Middle School in the nearby town of Monroe, where Sandy Hook students are set to return to class Thursday morning. In Community High School District 99, more than 1,000 handmade snowflakes were collected by South High and Transition 99, a program offered to students with disabilities to prepare them for work and daily living. The creations…

• Photos (2)

Atheism, Sex-Heavy Movies in Our Schools?

Our continuing look back at 2012 in Darien and Woodridge brings back the issues of sex in movies being shown in school and an atheist speaker at another school.

A lot of times, parents in the suburbs say they enjoy living where they do because of the schools. But what about when the schools invite atheists and show movies that include sexual scenes?  This year, in school districts 99 and 86, people spoke out against various viewpoints that were being allowed in local schools. It's part of our top story series of the 2012 Year in Review. Controversy Over Atheist Speaker Spurs Discussion of District 99 Parent Notification Procedures District 99 school officials received hundreds of emails last month about Downers Grove North's Constitution Week speaker Jessica Ahlquist, a Rhode Island teen who sued her school to have a prayer removed from the gymnasium wall. Soon after Ahlquist's appearance at North…

•  6 Comments
• Videos (1)