February BOE meeting: Incubator Program’s “What’s poppin'”

Logo+courtesy+of+District+158s+website

Logo courtesy of District 158’s website

By Natalie VonderHeide

Last night’s Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting began with recognition of Heineman Middle School’s CRO Ambassadors.

The students to represent their group in leading the Pledge of Allegiance were, Colin Boyle, Jordan Crowley, Benjamin Gaus, Daniel Jarzabek, Isabella Kemblowski, Alexander Moreno, Emilio Perez, and Abigail Ressler. Students were given the opportunity to take photos in the board members seats and answer a few questions about their school life. 

Following that, Micheal Fleck paused to take a moment of silence in honor of seventh grade student, James Kilanski. The recent death of the middle school student has affected the community as a whole. 

Then, students Mark Vandy, Isaiah Wilkerson, and Mitchell Walsh made an appearance to represent the new Incubator Program at Huntley High School. The students explained their new website “What’s Poppin’” that could host local events for high school students in need of getting out of the house. Ryan Sroka was also a part of their planning team but did not make an appearance at last night’s meeting. 

Students explained their plan for their first event before next Friday’s basketball game. They plan on having people pay three dollars for food and admission into the event. 

“It’s really rewarding to see as it’s the first year of this program and it’s already making a lot of progress,” Lesli Melendy said. 

Additionally, two proposals for hotels in Huntley were announced and will start construction soon, hoping to create more business opportunities.

Following that, teacher Andy Jakubowski was recognized for being inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Along with the announcement of new Heineman Middle School principal Brian Faulkner.

Lastly, the board decided together to allow funding for lighting in the new black box theater.