Nearly two dozen new Rotarians were formally inducted into the new Rotary Satellite Club of Sycamore-Oak Crest Area, at ceremonies held on Thursday, April 13th.
This new club will operate under the authority of the main Rotary Club of Sycamore; while many of its members are residents of Oak Crest, it is open to the community in general...and many of the new Rotarians live or work in the area surrounding the retirement center, as well as other parts of DeKalb County.
The club has been meeting informally over the past few months, but now has formal recognition from Rotary International; their members are also considered members of the main Rotary Club -- which boosts Sycamore's total enrollment to over 100, a new high.
The Rotary Satellite Club of Sycamore-Oak Crest Area meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, at 12:15 p.m. at Oak Crest.
Judith Dymond says many Americans, of all ages, lack a basic understanding of how finance works; they aren’t given the necessary background in home budgeting, smart shopping or credit management…and as a result, they find themselves mired in debt and fighting to catch up.
This trend is part of the reason Money Smart Week exists; this nationwide effort runs from April 20th to April 28th, and there will be a variety of presentations in and around the DeKalb/Sycamore area…giving consumers some helpful hints in a wide array of financial matters, designed to help them with their own money matters.
Dymond serves as coordinator for the Center for Economic Education and is an Outreach and Engagement Associate for STEM Outreach. She connects K-12 schools to the university through professional development for educators in economics and she connects adults and students to the university by leading the STEM Cafés program.
She says one in four adults don’t pay their bills on time, 48% of millenials live paycheck to paycheck, and 28% of non-retired adults have no retirement savings or pensions. She says far too many people are unprepared for money management, and part of the problem is the lack of education during their formative years; Money Smart Week seeks to encourage educators to add financial management instruction to courses, dealing with household and/or business budgeting.
Our incoming exchange student is Sebastian Colmenares. He is from a suburb of Valencia, Venezuela and will be 18 when he arrives.
We must find three host families to share the 11 months he will be here. Homes with high school aged child(ren) are preferred. If you are interested (and want to know more), or know of families in the school district who might make great host families, please contact Bert Gray, Youth Exchange Officer, at rkgray1@sbcglobal.net or 217-521-0968.
Bert will provide the club with more details about Sebastian as they become available.
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 closes on Friday, April 20th 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.
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.
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 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
