Luca-Sophie Giese has taken the many people she's met in Sycamore into her heart -- the friends she's made at Sycamore High School, and the people she's gotten to know through the Rotary Club -- during her time as an exchange student.
But that time has come to an abrupt end.
For personal reasons, Luca has decided to cut short her stay in Sycamore and return home to Germany; she thanked the many Rotarians and fellow students who have shown her around the town and the region, and appreciates everything she's learned during her stay with us.
Luca's exchange with us is hardly her first trip to the United States, let alone abroad; her family has traveled to several locations around the world, and she has participated in several previous short-term exchanges to the U.S. and several locations in Europe. But she says the time has come for her to return home, and she plans on reconnecting with her loved ones and with the many friends she has back in Germany.
Jacob Cavanaugh's parents teach mathematics and art, and when he was growing up he had strong feelings about those subjects. He hated them.
So he turned his interests elsewhere, tinkering with toys and other items he found around the house; turning one toy into something he could fire at his little sister (in fun) gave him his first exposure to engineering...and he's going on to pursue that as his career.
Jacobs is being recognized as the February Student of the Month; he's in the top 15 in his class, has spent four years in baseball and basketball, is in the National Honor Society, and is President of the school's Engineering Club.
He hopes to study bio-medical engineering at either Purdue, Northwestern or Georgia Tech.
The Rotary Club has provided him with $100 for donation to the charity of his choice; he has selected Feed My Starving Children.
Taylor Hienbuecher and Kate Umekubo from Sycamore High School joined the Sycamore Rotary for the second annual Empty Bowls auction, a prelude to their Empty Bowls fundraising sale on February 7th.
A selection of five bowls made by art students at SHS were auctioned off, with a total of $355 going to the Sycamore Food Pantry. More bowls were put on sale at the school, with those proceeds also going to the pantry.
A memorial service for Ken Brooks will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 10, 2018, at Kirkland United Methodist Church, 300 West South Street, Kirkland, with the Rev. Jenny Weber officiating. Visitation will be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. February 10 at the church.
Ken passed away suddenly on January 18th; he was a longtime member of the Sycamore Rotary Club, and served as superintendent of the Hiawatha School District until his retirement.
The Sycamore Rotary Club's annual Hula-for-Loota draw-down raffle will be held on Thursday, April 19th; it will be from 6:30 to 9:00 at Chapel in the Pines, located at 15165 Quigley Road.
This annual evening of fun and furious negotiating will include dinner, cash bar, raffles, prizes and our featured drawing; there will be plenty of giveaways throughout the evening, so even if you're eliminated...you can still win!
Tickets will go on sale soon; all proceeds will go to the Rotary Club's scholarship fund.
The Sycamore Rotary Club plans on having a booth at this year's DeKalb-Sycamore Chamber Expo; it will be held on Thursday, March 29th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the DeKalb High School Fieldhouse.
This event is open to participation by all DeKalb and Sycamore Chamber of Commerce members; the B2B portion runs from 3:00 to 4:00, and the event is then open to the general public from 4:00 to 7:00.
This will be a prime opportunity for our Rotary Club to show the public who we are and what we do, and perhaps convince some of our friends and neighbors to consider membership in Rotary.
We will be needing Rotarians to man this booth throughout the afternoon and early evening; volunteers will be sought during upcoming Rotary meetings -- please be sure to sign up, if you're interested.
Plans are beginning to take shape for this year's Rotarians at Work Days.
This project has evolved to the point that it can no longer fit into a single weekend; it will now be spread out over several weeks in April and May...giving Sycamore Rotarians, and everyone in our Rotary-affiliated clubs, the opportunity to take part in at least one project serving the community.
We will also be adding a new project to the line-up: the historic North Grove School one-room schoolhouse on Brickville Road (pictured).
Here is the projected schedule:
Saturday, April 21st -- Old North Grove School on Brickville Road, 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 5th -- Sycamore Park District Park Pride Day -- Rotary Park at Sycamore Lake, 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 12th -- Pay it Forward House, 9:00 a.m. and Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association at Hopkins Park, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, May 19th -- Youth Service Bureau Bicycle Auction at DeKalb H.S. Fieldhouse, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (two shifts)
More information on each of these events will be released in the weeks to come; and Rotarians will be invited to sign up for at least one project...and lend their muscle, to help provide maintenance and other clean-up work for each of these not-for-profit organizations.
We are entering the second semester of the school year for South Prairie Elementary, which has hosted Rotarians each week as part of our Rotary Readers project.
Each Thursday, Rotarians come to the school with two book selections; one is read to the students, and both are donated to the library. Each Rotarian also comes prepared to discuss his or her occupation, and what reading has meant to them in their lives. Each visit runs from about 9:45 to 10:30 a.m.
For those signed up to read during this second half of the school year, here is the remaining schedule:
January 11 Jim Stoddard
January 18 Jeff Keicher
January 25 Julie Sgarlata
February 1 Troy Oates
February 8 Riley Oncken
February 15 Curt Lang
March 1 Heidi Wright
March 8 Ray Dembinski
March 15 Eric Jones
March 22 Jim Buck
April 5 Sally Bruch
April 12 To be announced
Apirl 19 MJ Schwartz
Apirl 26 Lavarre Uhlken
May 3 Sally Bruch
May 10 Sue Emberson
May 17 Michelle Jurkovic
Rotary Reader Tips:
Be sure to arrive early enough to have time to pick out your two books and rehearse the one book that you will read to the third graders.
Engage the children by asking questions of them during the time you are reading. Add your own personal comments to what is being read about the story or happening to the characters.
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