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School Board Meets, Greets and Acts
» Tom Thompson - Monee Monitor - September 25, 2008


As a prequel to its September 15 meeting, the Crete-Monee Board of Education hosted a dinner reception for the district's 86 new staff members.

Held in the high school cafeteria, the reception provided a time for board members and new staff to "meet and greet" one another.

Crete-Monee alumnus Jeff Ford spoke to the board to express thanks for its support in sending him on the 25-day European Tour with Sound of America, a 150 voice choir made up of high school student vocalists from across America.

Graduating from Crete-Monee in 2008, Ford was a participant in the school's choral program and a member of Cavaliers, the school's award winning show choir. He also represented the school in interscholastic music competitions.

He won his spot in Sound of America through competition and stood out in that group, winning his place among the eight dancers selected through audition. It was a distiction to be chosen one of the eight from among the 70 who auditioned, but Ford was also selected as one of the two lead dancers.

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He also performed as a soloist during the tour.

Ford thanked the board for the opportunity to represent the school, the district, and the country as a member of Sound of America. He called it a "life changing experience," and talked of performing across Europe, meeting members of the audiences and climbing the Swiss Alps.

During the business portion of the meeting, the board approved a bid for restoration work on the freshman baseball outfield, which was damaged when it was used as a transitional practice field for soccer and football during the construction process for the new high school.

The total cost for the renovation work as bid is $57,000.

Director of Buildings and Grounds Keith McLean informed the board that the work could be done in-house for about $6,000 less, but he recommended accepting the bid. To do the work in-house would require taking crews off other important projects throughout the district including repair work to the football field.

The board also approved the purchase of band instruments for the high school at a cost of $22,000. The package of instruments includes several drum sets, timpani, and an assortment of brass and woodwind instruments.

Project Lead the Way, a pre-engineering program offered in partnership with Bimba Manufacturing, gained formal board approval during the meeting.

Funding for the program will come from a $60,000 DEO grant and matching district funds.

Assistant Superintendent-Curriculum and Instruction Laura Hirsch informed the board 56 students are enrolled in the first course of the program.

Representatives of the Crete Public Library attended the meeting to inform the board of a new service provided by the library.

Beginning immediately, library patrons will be able to access and check out audio books, e-books, and videos through downloading them to a personal computer.

Audio books and e-books can be "checked out" for two weeks and videos, for one week. At the end of the loan period, the items will automatically be checked in.

The program My Media Mall can be accessed on line at the library's website using a Crete Library card number and downloadable software.

A small brochure explaining the program is available at the library, and more information is available at the library website, www.cretelibrary.org.

The board was also informed of the Fall Family Fun Fest featuring s'mores at the library on October 4. The event is sponsored by Friends of the Library.

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