Shhh! MES Kindergartners Were Learning for Valentine's: Photo Gallery

Don't tell these Mokena Elementary School kindergartners that the fun games and activities they played for Valentine's Day were teaching important lessons.

When Mokena Elementary School kindergartners saw how tall their classmates were in hearts, they were learning about measuring. When they put candies on pages based on different prompts, they were learning pattern manipulation. That's because Friday's Valentine's Day celebration was secretly educational, with students boning up on key concepts in a heart-laden fashion. Take a look at some photos from Friday's class.

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MES Kindergartners Celebrate 100th Day of Class: VIDEO

In a special (and almost preposterously adorable) celebration, the kindergarten classes of Mokena Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of the school year.

Kindergarten classes at Mokena Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of class Wednesday Feb. 1.

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PHOTO GALLERY: L-W North Students Welcome Future Class of 2024 at Rogus School

Members of the high school's leadership council gave T-shirts to Dr. Julius Rogus kindergarteners on their first day of school.

Kindergartners at Dr. Julian Rogus School received a special treat on their first day of school Thursday. High school students from Lincoln-Way North High School's JKB Foundation Leadership Council came bearing gifts: Class of 2024 T-shirts.  L-W North athletic director Matt Lyke wanted to find a new way to reach out to the feeder grade schools and make connections with the future high schoolers.  "This is a great way to reach out to the future Phoenix in our community grade schools," Lyke said. "It's also a great way for the members of our junior-senior leadership council to be good role models for the younger students." The leadership council members are chosen by teachers, faculty coaches and staff. Eight students--Dena Waldier, Jack …

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'We're Building a Foundation': A Talk With the New Rogus Kindergarten Principal

Jason Isdonas is excited about his new position, stressing collaboration between students, parents and teachers as a key to success.

As the school year begins for kindergarteners arriving at Dr. Julian Rogus School today, the most excited--and probably the most nervous--person there won't be a student. Or a parent.  It will be new kindergarten Principal Jason Isdonas. "On the first day of student attendance, I'm going to greet as many kids as I possibly can with the biggest smile on my face," said Isdonas, who officially started his new job at the beginning of the month. "I'm going to do the best I possibly can to be a visible presence and start learning the names of the students." "It's a great opportunity, and have I mentioned that I'm excited?" he added. That excitement, Isdonas says, comes from joining a school with a successful system in place, as well as …

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Editor's Notebook

Year in Review: The 10 Best Stories of 2010 (Part 2 of 2)

Mokena Patch's stories of the year.

Since it first appeared in September, Mokena Patch has published nearly 400 articles, videos, photo slideshows and other stories. So, even though we've only been around for three months, we have a wealth of stories to choose from for our top 10 list (see part 1 here). 

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Mokena Elementary Gets By With Half-Day Kindergarten

School retains core curriculum, but extension activities and extras are out.

At the kindergarten open house at Mokena Elementary School on Sept. 14, it was business as usual. In Debi Blank's classroom, children played with yellow chalk at the blackboard, showed their parents their books and cubbyholes, and brought bracelets and knick-knacks from home to show their teacher. Parents checked the directory for errors and signed up for committees. But the school day has not been business as usual for Blank or the other three kindergarten teachers at Mokena Elementary. This year, teachers, administrators and parents have had to adjust to the reduction of the kindergarten from full-day to half-day, with one group of students attending in the morning and another in the afternoon. "It's been a little rough," Blank said.  …

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