Category Archives: News Briefs

ALAH FFA Member Attends 360 Conference

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•November 1, 2017•

Zane Crist of the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond FFA Chapter attended the Illinois FFA 360 Conference October 6-7. The conference was held in Decatur at the Decatur Conference Center. This conference is an activity of the National FFA Organization made possible by title sponsors as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The conference took students full circle in chapter leadership development and covered every angle for developing action plans for their chapters. Read More

C.E.F.S. Head Start is Taking Applications

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•November 1, 2017•

C.E.F.S. Head Start 0-5 Program is a federally-funded program that provides comprehensive classroom and home-based educational services to pregnant women and children ages 0-5 including those with significant or multiple special needs. Recruitment and enrollment is ongoing.

The C.E.F.S. Head Start 0-5 Program is located at 203 S Graham Street in Sullivan. Preschool center-based classes are provided in either the morning or afternoon Monday through Thursday. Each session lasts 3½ hours and includes healthy meals and snacks. Teachers plan daily lessons with developmentally appropriate activities that advance the children’s self-confidence, problem solving skills, and social development. Indoor and outdoor activities are provided along with computer experiences and field trips. Read More

Illini Quilt Featured at Holiday Market

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Photo by Ellen Ferrera
Pictured is Peggy Hargis holding the king size Illini quilt that will be featured Saturday.

•November 1, 2017•

Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

An Illini quilt will keep some lucky winner warm and will be presented at the First Christian Church Holiday Market Saturday, Nov. 4.

The bright, orange and blue king-size (102” x 80”) quilt creation has quite a history.

In April, Peggy Hargis sent out a request for U. of I t-shirts, and donations came from Sullivan, Shelbyville, Watseka and even Georgia.

Thirty t-shirts from different U. of I. athletic departments and eras were used to create the quilt. A family of Amish ladies (grandmother, daughter and granddaughter) were contracted for the task. The daughter and granddaughter cut the fronts from the t-shirts and pieced the design together. The grandmother hand-sewed the entire quilt using scrap pieces for the fringe. It is one-of-a-kind, never to be duplicated. Read More

Smyser Church Hosts Trunk or Treat Event

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•October 25, 2017•

Smyser Christian Church is hosting “Trunk or Treat” 4-6 p.m. Sun. Oct. 29 on the Sullivan American Legion parking lot at 8 E Strain St. in Sullivan. Church members will be handing out candy from their decorated trunks to the “trunk or treaters.” There will be pony rides, photos, hot dogs, chips, cookies and drinks. All children and their families are invited. There is no cost to participate. For more information call 217-752-6896 or go to www.smysercc.org.

Outstanding Chapter Award for the SHS NEHS

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•October 25, 2017•

The Sullivan High School National English Honor Society received the Outstanding Chapter Award for 2016-2017 which encompasses everything the group did during the past school year.

Photo furnished

The award was based on activities submitted to the NEHS Advisory Council.  Sullivan High School’s NEHS Chapter, called the Best-Shirey-Little Chapter, was established in April 2013.

There are currently 63 National Honor Society members including sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Requirements for acceptance are 3.0 or higher overall GPA and 3.0 or higher English GPA.

The SHS chapter advisor is English teacher Cami Badman with additional faculty council members including SHS English teachers Rebecca Lawson and Lesley Banks.

The Barnes & Noble Trip involved members in the SHS chapter who spent two advisory periods (30 minutes) working with the school media specialist looking up books in the library inventory and determining new books for selection. Read More

Fall Market Features Variety of One-of-A-Kind Finds

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Photo submitted
Pictured is Anieta Trame.

•October 25, 2017•

Sewing has been part of Anieta Trame’s life for as long as she can remember, but she had given it up for years.

“I was a home economics teacher at Mattoon Middle School, and when I finished that gig, I thought I would never sew again because I taught it all day long for 19 years. I sold my sewing machine and got rid of everything, and then I had granddaughters,” she said.

Trame purchased a new sewing machine and started teaching her oldest granddaughter Ellie to sew the same way her mother taught her to sew years ago. “Ellie immediately fell in love with it,” Trame said. She now has three granddaughters ages 9, 4 and 18 months and one grandson, age 6, and they all love to sew and create with grandma. “I now have two sewing machines and three sergers which is more than I ever had before,” Trame said.  Read More

Okaw Valley High School FCCLA Attend Fall Leadership Meeting

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Photo furnished
Okaw Valley FCCLA students attended EIU workshop. Front row: April Decesaro, Natalie Jeffers, Kami Landreth, Paige Robinson, Danielle Lochbaum; second row:  Paige Coleman, Cheyenne Lucas, Lexi Roe, Dallas Decker, Jessica Stiner, Andi Dicken, Bella Benning, Chloe Ryherd, Advisor Bonnie Scott
3rd Row:  Austin Hill and Trey Yarnell

•October 25, 2017•

The Okaw Valley High School chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) recently participated in a fall leadership meeting held October 18 at Eastern Illinois University.

Attendees participated in trainings and sessions that challenged, informed, and motivated members and their advisers to become leaders through FCCLA. Along with more than 200 other members and chapter advisers, Okaw Valley’s FCCLA chapter adviser Bonnie Scott accompanied 15 members to the meeting. Read More

AdvancEd Accreditation for Sullivan High School

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•October 25, 2017•

AdvancED is the largest community of education professionals in the world. It is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous, on-site reviews of a variety of educational institutions and systems to ensure that all learners realize their full potential.

Photo furnished
Century of Accreditation for SHS
Recently Sullivan High School was recognized for its 100th year of continuous accreditation. Dr. Lori Hopkins, Director for AdvancED Illinois, came to the high school to present the faculty with the award. This award recognizes Sullivan High School for its commitment to quality and continuous improvement since 1917. In order to maintain the accreditation, Sullivan High School must prepare for and host a rigorous on-site review every five years to ensure they are meeting standards set forth by AdvancED.

While their expertise is grounded in more than a hundred years of work in school accreditation, AdvancED is far from a typical accrediting agency.  Read More