Teresa Wasonga, the co-founder of a school for girls in Kenya, will be among the featured speakers at the District 6420 Conference on Saturday, April 28th at Faranda’s in downtown DeKalb.
She and her husband, Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotarian Andrew Otieno, co-founded the Jane Adeny Memorial School, a school for disadvantaged brilliant girls in the country – a school good enough for the richest, and open to the poorest.
Wasonga is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia, a Fulbright scholar and an instructor at Northern Illinois University. She is the recipient of the 2017 University of Missouri Columbia College of Education Alumni Outstanding Professional Achievement Award, 2013 Rotary International Service Award for Exemplary Humanitarian Service, and 2013 Service Above Self in Leadership (Rotary International District 6420).
In addition to teaching and research on educational leadership in the US, she has done research sponsored by Fulbright in Kenya. Findings from her research are modeled at the school, with a hope to stimulate innovation and improve practices in school leadership, teaching, learning, and entrepreneurship in Kenyan schools.
Registration is now open for the 2018 Rotary District 6420 Conference, to be held at Faranda's in downtown DeKalb.
The weekend begins on Friday, April 27th, with the District Strategic Planning meeting in the afternoon and the Leadership Dinner in the evening.
The conference proper takes place on Saturday, April 28th; registration opens at 7:00 a.m. and presentations will be held throughout the day, The evening will be capped by dinner at 6:00 p.m. featuring guest speaker Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois).
Registration for the entire weekend is $130; for the Conference on Saturday, $100; and for the dinner only on Saturday night, $50. Dinner comes with choice of three different meals.
You can register through Eventbrite at this link. The deadline to register is Friday, April 20th.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 27th
12:00 pm Registration Opens
1:00-5:00 pm District Strategic Planning Group
5:00 pm Social - Cash Bar
6:00-9:00 pm District Leadership Dinner -- Speaker: Julie Clark
Saturday, April 28th
7:00 am Registration Opens
7:00-8:15 am Literacy Breakfast Buffet
8:15-8:30 am Opening Ceremonies -- MC Eric Jones/Jeff Keicher
8:30 am Literacy Awards/Speaker
9:30 am Speaker: Bethany Lerch -- Rotary & Fulbright Scholar
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Jane Adeny Mem. School for Girls -- Teresa Wasonga
12:00 pm Lunch Buffet -- District Awards
1:00 pm Rotary Youth Exchange Students
2:00 pm VTT Uganda Trip: PDG Shannon Scheffel
3:00 pm Break
3:15 pm District Foundation Projects -- PDG Ruth Lee, Moderator
4:00 pm Human Trafficking: presented by Toni Lucas
We are still looking for Rotarians to help out at these remaining Rotarians at Work Days work sites:
Saturday, May 5th at Rotary Park at Sycamore Lake
Saturday, May 12th at the Pay it Forward House
Saturday, May 19th, YSB Bicycle Auction at the DeKalb H.S. Fieldhouse
-- We have sufficient numbers for the projects at Old North School and Kishwaukee SRA at Hopkins Park; Rotarians are still invited to sign up or show up on the day of each event, if they wish.
-- The Kishwaukee SRA project has been moved to Saturday, May 19th at Hopkins Park; it will begin at 8:00 a.m.
Sign-up sheets are available at all upcoming Rotary Club meetings; you can also contact Brian Adams for more information.
While other young girls were looking at professions ranging from medicine to law to business, Teresa Gramer found her interests drawn elsewhere; she was fascinated by machines and engineering, and gradually came to realize that she wanted to get into what has always been a male-dominated field...and make her mark.
As the Sycamore High School Student of the Month for April, Teresa has the typical resume -- high GPA, top 10 class ranking, National Honors Society membership and time on the track and cross-country teams. But she also helped to re-establish the dormant Engineering Club at SHS; she was also the first female student to take part in the Manufacturing Academy -- and being the only girl in the class only spurred her on to work harder, and learn how to be a success.
She hopes to attend the University of Nebraska and major in mechanical engineering; her hope is to eventually work for Engineers Without Borders, helping with construction and mechanics in underdeveloped countries.
In recognition of Teresa's achievements, the Sycamore Rotary Club has provided $100 for donation to her favorite charity; she has selected Hope Haven as the recipient agency.
The finishing touches are being put on the new DeKalb County Jail expansion; and while no one ever wants to build a new jail -- let alone use it -- the project is a necessity for the justice system, and for the safety of the public.
DeKalb County Board Chairman Mark Pietrowski says many counties are put under pressure by the state to provide adequate facilities for prisoners; but if a county takes too long, then the state Department of Corrections (which has jurisdiction over county jails) can simply force them to start in on construction. So the DeKalb County Board opted to get ahead of the curve, and begin with construction of the jail so it could carry out the project on the county's own terms.
The new facility will not only have more space and more up-to-date facilities, but it will also provide a suicide wing for high-risk prisoners; there will also be more natural sunlight provided through windows and skylights...which is beneficial not only to the prisoners, but to the employees working there.
Pietrowski also noted some of the other goals and accomplishments of the County Board in the past few months; he says they're striving to make DeKalb County more business-friendly, are updating the text of zoning laws to help agribusiness, and opened the new county forest preserve in Sycamore on the former Evergreen Village site. He notes that this location is unique for the county; instead of being in an isolated rural area, this preserve is close to downtown Sycamore...making it more appealing for the public to use.
Thursday, April 12th will see the formal launch of the Rotary Satellite Club of Sycamore/Oak Crest Area, a new satellite club of the Sycamore Rotary for persons in and around the Oak Crest Retirement Center.
Members of the newly-formed Club gathered on March 15th to learn the basics of how Rotary operates -- its history, its traditions and its ongoing effort to serve humanity in our own hometowns, and around the world.
While most of the initial membership is made up of Oak Crest residents, this club is open to any Rotarian wishing to attend or anyone interested in joining Rotary. The Oak Crest club will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, beginning at 11:45 a.m.
Sally Stevens will serve as the inaugural chairperson, with John Peterson as vice chair and Barry Schrader as secretary.
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 are now on sale; all proceeds will go to the Rotary Club's scholarship fund. Raffle prizes are also needed; contact Paul Michel for more information.
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:
April 12 Chip Houdek
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.
If you have been or will be a Rotary Reader this school year, mark your calendar for Friday, May 4.
South Prairie Elementary School is hosting its end-of-year Rotary Breakfast Buddies Event. All Rotarians who have read (or will read by the end of the year) are invited to the event.
Breakfast will be served from 7:55 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. Please be sure to check in at the school office.
You will get breakfast and a chance to interact with the 3rd grade children you previously read to. Please make it a priority to attend this event and show our support for the children at South Prairie Elementary School.
Attendance Report -- April 4, 2018
Attendance: 45.36%
Guests of Members:Sal Abbate (Paul Barnaby), John Mathey (Michael DeVito), and Tom Mangan (Jim Stoddard)
Note: Attendance figures may be lower in weeks when the Satellite Club does not have a scheduled meeting
