December is always a busy month for students at IMSA with finals right around the corner and projects piling up. With that said, we had a set of fun activities designed to help students sit back and relax during the colder months of the year.
1501 has annual tradition of hosting a gingerbread decorating event with 1502 each year, and with the generous support of both halls' parents, it was a fantastic success increasing cross campus connections between our residents.
Some of our residents amazing creations
CD's from both halls joined together to build a nice residence for all 14 CD's across campus.
We also had two fantastic events for finals prep. The Sunday before finals Mathematics faculty Dr. Fogel brought a fantastic feast of cookies and milk to remind us to take a study break and also provide a little personal math support without students having to leave the cold in the -20F weather. In another annual tradition, Colette and I cooked a wonderful pancake breakfast to ensure everyone went off to take their exams with a full stomach.
We've had a fantastic semester living with everyone in the hall, and we hope to see each and every resident back for a great second semester. From the 01 family to yours, have a fantastic break and a great end of 2016/beginning of 2017!
On Monday, 11/28, 01 D-Wing held their first dessert date of the year. First of all, on behalf of the wing, we'd like to thank all the parents who donated delicious desserts. It was a fun evening and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We had hot chocolate, brownies, gelatin, cake, ensaymada, cookies, ice cream, and other yummy baked goods.
Just as November brings changing weather, so too does it signal the start of our annual Wing Wars event. This year, owing to our Greek mythologies theme and the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, we themed the week-long battle as the 01ympics.
To get people excited for the competition, we had two mini-events running all month long. For Assassins, each participant got a target to "kill" by swiping their student ID across the student's back. Wings earned points based on how long they lasted. D Wing pulled off a narrow win here. We also had 1501's first-ever Penny Wars. Each wing selected a charity to play for, and got a jug in the RC office. Students could put pennies in to boost a wing's score or add silver to a different wing's jar to lower the score. Overall, we ended up raising $559 for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, C wing's charity, as well as getting a collection of Canadian coins, Westfield Fox Valley Shoppingtown carousel tokens, and a Marriott Silver Elite key card.
Throughout the week, we had a wide variety of fun dress-up days. On Monday, students twinned without at least one other student in their wing for Matching Monday. Tuesday, people dressed to the nines for Fancy Tuesday. In the spirit of catching up on work, we had Pajama Wednesday. Lastly, residents showed off their Wing Wear or wing color on Wing Spirit Thursday.
For the first night of the 01ympics, wings worked together to decorate their poles and create wing flags. Next time you are in the building, take a look at the poles in the hall commons to see each wing's creativity.
Monday night, students participated in our obstacle course. We had challenges such as a Four Legged Race (a more difficult variety of the typical Three Legged Race), a surprisingly difficult newspaper basketball game, and life-sized Candyland. A wing took an early lead that couldn't be beat.
Tuesday night brought our annual Food Competition, in which residents race in their wings to consume a wide variety of appetizing and unappetizing dishes. This years specialties included clam juice, tuna fish, pizza with M&M's, Corn Flakes, and habanero peppers, and grocery store rolls. D wing just barely achieved a first place finish.
Wednesday brought 01's 1st Annual Film Festival, with each wing creating an entry to showcase their wing's personality. The Area Coordinators which live in 01 served as our judges, and they especially appreciated C wing's take on the mannequin challenge. Which film do you like best?
Thursday night brought our annual Talent Show, in which wings pair up to show off their talents in a creative manner. This year, A & C wings worked together, as did B & D wings. Each wing did an excellent job showing off their skills in a manner unique to their wings. However, the judges did prefer A & C wings.
The last part of B & D wings' act involved a group serenade!
At the end of the week, each wing had one at least one event, and truly everyone was a winner because the true purpose of the 01ympics (just at the real Olympics) is to strengthen bonds within the community, that being said, we had been keeping score, and by the end of the week, this is how each wing stood:
Wing
Score
A
2530
B
1992
C
2476
D
2333
With A wing taking top prize, they ended D wing's D-omination, preventing them from a three-peat.
Congratulations to each and every participant and have a fantastic Thanksgiving break!
We have our second extended of the school year coming up so I have some useful information for all of you.
Closing Procedure
Your student's room must be clean an inspected by an RC before they can leave. They can not leave until their RC approves them. Once they are approved, they will turn their key and fob into their RC. At least one of the RCs in the office needs to make visual confirmation of whoever is picking up your student before they can leave.
Hall Closing - 5:00pm on 11/22
The halls close at 5:00pm this Tuesday 11/22. Please note this is a change from previous years. For every 5 minutes your child stays on campus past 5:00pm, you will be charged $25 (Ex. If you show up at 6:00pm, you'll be charged $300 for being 60 minutes late). I highly recommend planning to pick up your child by 4:15pm the latest, that way if you hit traffic or are running late, you have a buffer to make it here before 5:00pm.
Halls Open - 3:00pm on 11/27
The halls will open at 3:00pm on Sunday 11/27. You may bring your child back any time after this, but we'd prefer you brought them back before 10:00pm. Have your child call 630-907-5101 to be let back in since they won't have their key or fob on them.
Parental Permission
If your child will be taking public transportation (the ATC) or going home with anyone other than you or someone not listed on their overnight permission form, you must call the 1501 Office (630-907-5101) to grant your student permission. You can call any time this week when the office is open.
ATC Shuttle Times on 11/22
11:50 am
1:50 pm
2:50 pm
3:50 pm
Downstate Bus on 11/27
Departs at 2:30pm
Thanks and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to your child's RC or call the 1501 Office at 630-907-5101.
On Monday, November 7th, the night before the Presidential Election, 01D-Wing sat down to discuss the craziness of this year's election. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about different aspects of the election process and the candidates and I tried my best to answer them. Some of the topics discussed included:
Why does the electoral college exist?
Are local and state elections more important than the presidential election?
Why is it important to vote if Hillary is going to win Illinois no matter what?
Is this really the nastiest presidential campaign in the history of America?
Is Hillary a criminal? What exactly is she accused of doing?
Does Trump really have any chance of becoming President with no experience?
We had a pretty good discussion about politics in America and the students were enthusiastic to learn more about the democratic process.
This month, we had our first wing dinner! It was much appreciated and very delicious. We had an event exploring ourselves through a Myers-Briggs test and discussed the aspects of our own Myers-Briggs distinctions. We had a PME event talking about bullying at IMSA and what we can do to take actions against the bullying. As we approached Halloween, our wing decorated ghosts to represent us and we put them on our bulletin board. On Halloween, we decorated small pumpkins with our roommates.
For the future, we are looking to do a dessert date, where we invite other friends to socialize and eat food with us, on November 30, and donations are much appreciated.
October was a fun and exciting month packed with many fun events for residents of our hall.
We started of the month with a fun visit from History/Social Science faculty member Dr. Robert Kiely who regaled of with some of his favorite stories about the spookiest month of the year. It was a fun and exciting time that everyone really enjoyed his engaging talk.
Bringing back a popular event from first quarter, we had another fun Pancake Party--this time with our friends from 1504! RSL's from both halls worked together to make pancakes for everyone and get people talking to people from different parts of campus. The pancakes were a great hit, as always.
CD's Adam and Colette work with 1504 RSL Richard to make pancakes for everyone.
While the line starts to form, C Wing RSL Katie mixes more batter.
With the left over batter, the RSL's from both halls make a giant pancake to share after a hard evening's work.
We've got a whole lot more fun in store for November, with our annual Wing Wars events! Which wing will come out on top? That will be determined then, but no matter what, everyone will have tons of fun.
D-wing is kicking off the new month with a brand new bulletin board! With the coming of fall and all the spooky festivities therein, the wing-guides created a board featuring Halloween Fun-Facts. Such bone-chilling facts include: "Frankenstein has been entertaining readers and viewers since 1818!" and "Vanilla Ice was born on Halloween in 1967."
D-Wing's Halloween Fun Facts
Coming activities include:
A student-led seminar on sleep by our own Gabriel Bryk
A wing-wide poster project on self-expression
A wing panel in making both light of, and sense of, this tumultuous election
The end of our semester-long movie tournament, with Rent! upcoming and finishing with the blockbuster Sharknado!
With a month so influenced by Mary Shelley, let's close out this post from a Percy Shelly (lightly altered):
"My name is [D-wing], [wing] of [wings]. Look on these [bulletin boards] ye mighty, and despair!"
Well that's it for this time. Have a great month and an amazing Halloween!
We have our first extended of the school year coming up so I have some useful information for all of you.
Closing Procedure
Your student's room must be clean an inspected by an RC before they can leave. They can not leave until their RC approves them. Once they are approved, they will turn their key and fob into their RC. At least one of the RCs in the office needs to make visual confirmation of whoever is picking up your student before they can leave.
Hall Closing - 5:00pm on 10/6
The halls close at 5:00pm this Thursday10/6. For every 5 minutes your child stays on campus past 5:00pm, you will be charged $25 (Ex. If you show up at 6:00pm, you'll be charged $300 for being 60 minutes late). I highly recommend planning to pick up your child by 4:15pm the latest, that way if you hit traffic or are running late, you have a buffer to make it here before 5:00pm.
Halls Open - 3:00pm on 10/10
The halls will open at 3:00pm on Monday 10/10. You may bring your child back any time after this, but we'd prefer you brought them back before 10:00pm. Have your child call 630-907-5101 to be let back in since they won't have their key or fob on them.
Parental Permission
If your child will be taking public transportation (the ATC) or going home with anyone other than you or someone not listed on their overnight permission form, you must call the 1501 Office (630-907-5101) to grant your student permission. You can call any time this week when the office is open.
ATC Shuttle Times on 10/6
11:50 am
1:50 pm
2:50 pm
3:50 pm
Downstate Bus on 10/6
Departs at 2:30pm
Thanks and if you have any questions feel free to reach out to your child's RC or call the 1501 Office at 630-907-5101.
On Thursday, D wing proposed to our new sister wing, 01's very own C wing! Or, rather, we subverted patriarchal standards and had them propose to us. Both wings read their own clever poems and Diego dramatically jumped through our giant patriarchy poster. It was a fun and symbolic time for both wings. :)
Last night B-Wing had a discussion about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment. While a handful of students had experience with the MBTI, most did not. We discussed some uses personality tests could provide for us - helping to pinpoint passions as well as academic and career direction, helping to understand personal strengths and shortcomings, and to better accommodate peers, friends, and roommates. We also talked about arguably the best asset of personality assements - developing self-awareness.
Since the last update, a number of other events have taken place as well.
Parent Day
Many of you all were able to make it out for this! Thanks so much for providing some incredible food.
Sibling Wing Proposal
Our wing asked 1506 D-Wing to be our sibling wing. Alex and Charlie modified some of the lyrics to Christini Perri's A Thousand Years and our wing serenaded the ladies of 06D.
Homecoming also recently occurred. B-Wing had strong participation throughout homecoming which was exciting to be a part of. You can see the photos from dodgeball on another post on this blog.
This past Tuesday night, 01 and 07 teamed up for a few rounds of dodgeball. We played various rounds with teams separated by a wide variety of characteristics: upstairs v. downstairs, A & B Wings v. C & D Wings, odd v. even, and the ever-popular seniors v. upperclassmen. Both halls had amazing turnout, and we were glad that everyone had so much fun. Special thanks to 07 for having us over!
While an 07 friend prepares to throw a ball, B wing resident Garrison gets ready to run as fast as possible.
Immediately after a round begins, both teams put forth their strongest effort.
The seniors prepare for their battle against the upperclassmen, getting ready to put up a valiant fight.
I wanted to update all of you on a fun program we did this past Wednesday. During my time as a history teacher, I've found that state curriculum typically ignores the accomplishments of people of color and women in American history. In an attempt to celebrate some of these accomplishments, I hosted a trivia night on 9/14 for our wing's students to compete in. The wing was broken up into three teams (Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors) and they competed to answer the most trivia questions. It was a close race but in the end the Seniors pulled ahead and won the trivia night. The students had a great time and learned a lot about the accomplishments of some men and women who typically get ignored when discussing our nation's history. I've posted some sample questions below if you are interested in seeing how much you know: What woman helped reform the prison system and created
the first generation of American mental asylums? Who was the gay rights activist who started the “It
Gets Better” campaign? Who was the first African American elected to the
Supreme Court? What island was often referred to as the Ellis Island
of the West due to the high number of immigrants who were processed there? Which civil rights activist co-founded the National
Farm Workers? Which Olympic athlete is considered the greatest all-around
athlete of all time, despite having his Olympic medals revoked?
We hope Parents' Day was fun and informative for everyone. We'd especially like to thank those of you who donated so much food for our potluck meal. The entire hall commons was full of food and everyone left happy and full. The food continued to last for a few days, feeding hungry students as they worked hard on projects, papers and problem sets.
For those of you who couldn't make it, we were sad to miss you, and hope to see you next semester. In case you'd like to imagine some of the food supplies, marvel at these delicious dishes:
As we approach a month after Sophomore move-in, I'd like to update you on what has being going on in our wing.
Some of the major programs/wing-specific events that have happened in B-Wing over the past month:
Five Major World Religions Program - During this program, we watched a TED-Ed video (Found Here) and had a quick discussion about cultural understanding and asked some challenging questions about the place (or lack thereof) of religion in STEM.
"About Me Trivia Challenge" - Students were asked a number of questions regarding their favorite things and then were split into teams. Whichever team matched the most favorites with their wingmates correctly were promised Sonic drinks as a reward. Congratulations to Severance, Charlie, Hunter, Ryan, and Thomas for their victory!
"RC in a Fishbowl" - Students were able to ask questions to me anonymously and (after my discretion) hear about my background, thoughts, and experience. Some of the more beneficial questions were; "Do you recommend dating at IMSA?" "If you could redo any part of your life, other than your college major, which would you choose?" and "Any tips on college selection and applications."
Some of the upcoming events we have on the way over the next month:
Wing Proposal - the wing will serenade a girl's wing and ask them to be a sibling wing in order to plan joint events in the future.
Dodgeball night with 1507
Personality Assessments - as a wing we will be looking at a few different methodologies at self-assessment (particularly the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the True Colors Assessment) in order to better understand self and others. We will also be talking about the effectiveness and appropriate level of skepticism to be remembered when "compartmentalizing" personalities.
In regards to the general wing atmosphere, it's been lighthearted and fun while still being focused and goal-oriented. The returners have continued to provide support, direction, and welcoming attitudes for the sophomores.
You can find a few photos from the past month below -
On August 20th, IMSA's department of Student Life hosted it's annual IMSA Carnival for students, parents, staff, and the surrounding community. Sadly due to the poor weather we had to host it inside but everybody still enjoyed themselves. Carnival is a beloved tradition where we have food, games, fun activities, and inflatables. It's a really fun experience and it's success is built around the IMSA community coming together to donate candy, prizes, baked goods or their time to work a stand.
Please enjoy the video filmed by IMSA Student Productions to witness a bit of the Carnival experience.
The short month of August has already passed through 1501, and it was jam packed full of fun and exciting events in the hall.
On Saturday the 13th we welcomed our lovely new sophomores to the hall, followed shortly there after by our upperclassmen. As a hall we bonded through activities such as "Bang!" (a reaction game), "Superlatives" (a fun twist on find the person that most embodies certain characteristics), and "Freeze!" (an improve game). My personal favorite moment from these was when for the superlative of "furthest" people tried to get as far as they could, when they actually then had to compete for the furthest distance covered in a crabwalk in 1 minute.
Our lovely 01 sophomores!
Every year, the school year starts with a formal event known as Convocation, in which the entire IMSA community gathers to set the tone for the academic year. An 01 tradition involving Convocation is the Convocation Fashion Show, in which various upperclassmen dress up in appropriate and inappropriate outfits for the event. A hilarious event, it always results in a large round of laughing.
Juniors Dmitri and B Wing RSL Charlie show off appropriate Convocation outfits!
Of course, we didn't spend the entire month getting ready for the start of the school year. Once the year got into swing, we found time to come together as a hall for some quality fun. As a snack before the first full week of school, CD Colette donned her chef hat supported by her sous chefs CD Adam and RSL's Katie and Charlie to crank out delicious pancakes for the hall. They were so popular we frequently had lines as the demand outweighed the rate at which we could cook.
We had a pajama party in the hall commons watching a film relevant to the 01 theme: Disney's Hercules. People filled the hall commons dressed in their finest quality pajamas and consumed 5 pounds of popcorn, surrounded by their friends.
The school year is just getting started, and here in 01, we have plenty more fun to come!
Welcome to the 1501 family at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy! All of us on the leadership team in the hall can't wait to meet you (if you're new to the Academy or the hall) or reconnect with old friends.
Each year, the Residential Student Leadership (RSL) team works hard to develop a community that supports residents in their social and emotional growth, while ensuring each student enjoys their time at the Academy. There are two Wing Guides (WG's) for each wing of students and two Community Developers (CD's). While you can learn more about each of the RSL's on the bulletin board in the hall commons, we'd like to provide you with our names so you can begin to get to know us.
CDs: Adam G. and Colette V.
A Wing: Yoanna I. and Becky M.
B Wing: Alex H. and Charlie H.
C Wing: Katie P. and Sandra D.
D Wing: Daniel M. and Lucas U.
Yesterday, our RSL team in 1501 moved in and immediately began work on decorating the hall to make 01 a home away from home for the 86 students that will live here this year. Breaking out the paint brushes, scissors, and various other crafts supplies, the RSLs sprung alive in turning over the hall. Part of building the community spirit of our hall involves our hall theme, which this year is "Mount 01ympus" based on the rich history of Greek mythologies. Each wing has a subtheme related to Greek culture and history.
A Wing: Titans
B Wing: Deities
C Wing: Mortals
D Wing: Monsters
01's residents will come from all over the state of Illinois. Where are you from?
D wing's Wing Guide Lucas U. paints some spooky monsters.
Community Developer Colette V. hanging up her lovely masterpiece in the Hall Commons!
