Publications & Sites 
District 219
Updated: December 16, 2012 6:10AM
Niles West students to present at conference
Thirteen students from Niles West High School will attend the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association National High School Journalism Convention to be held Nov. 15 through 18 in San Antonio. The Niles West students will speak about their experiences working on the school’s yearbook, touching on topics such as pictures, camaraderie, and fundraising.
Students attending the conference include: Carisse Lamascese, Katie McDonagh, Dustin Easter, Colleen Persaud, Payton Genis, Taylor Genis, Val Fung, Jillian Rashid, Jenny Jenkins, Ally Daskalopoulos, Julia O’Neil, Kristine Park and Caitlin Platek. Niles West English teacher Sharon Swanson is the Yearbook Adviser.
Leading Chapter Award given to Niles West Debate
The National Forensic League Chapter at Niles West High School was awarded the 2011-12 Leading Chapter Award in the Northern Illinois district. This coveted award, based upon student participation, is the highest honor the League can bestow upon a chapter. Only one school in each district attains this designation each year, and it must wait at least five years before being eligible again. Niles West was one of only 108 member schools to receive the Leading Chapter Award, out of more than 3,000 NFL schools nationwide.
Niles West was granted charter membership in the NFL in the 2011-12 school year. Charter membership is the highest level of membership in the NFL and reflects sustained commitment to speech and debate education over several years.
The Niles West Debate Head Coach is Eric Oddo. Assistant Coaches are Matt Fahrenbacher, Melanie Johnson, Kevin Bancroft and Val McIntosh.
Science teachers share tech tools at conference
Four D219 Science teachers shared how they are using specific Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms and to collaborate with their colleagues when they presented at iNACOL, a national technology conference, in New Orleans on Oct. 22. Margaret Bower, Michael Nocella and Kim Davis, representing Niles West, and Niles North’s Ryan Lindberg presented “tMobile: Teaching in Every Environment,” and explained how they are using applications for specific tools — GoogleDocs, Flubaroo, QR Codes, and Wiggio — in a blended Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) environment.
The session attracted a full house of conference attendees, including Hall Davidson, a nationally known educator, speaker and expert on the use of technology in education. Davidson complimented the D219 teachers on their presentation.
“Most of the people in the audience have spent many years teaching, and I look to them as mentors,” said Nocella. “It was very cool for us to be able to share some of the ways we are using technology in the classroom with a national audience.”~.
