Lake County Gazette

At its Jan. 17 meeting, the North Shore School District 112 board of education heard about the Sherwood Elementary School Panda Safety, Teamwork, Academic Attitude, Respect, Success (STARS) program. 

The STARS program is an initiative to promote and award positive behaviors and habits in the school's students. The program has gone so well over the past year and a half that it has led to the creation of a new student leadership program in the fifth grade.

“Last year at this time, [...we] introduced the Panda STARS Initiative, which is our Tier One positive behavior intervention system, otherwise known as PBIS,” Rachel Filippi, Sherwood Elementary school principal, told the board. “The Panda STARS initiative is a result of hard work put forth by our Sherwood School leadership team, our Panda STARS Committee, and really our entire staff. The consistency of our messaging and expectations is intentional, and it has proven to be highly effective. Everything that we do at Sherwood School ties back to our mission statement. The mission of Sherwood School is to nurture children as individuals, to empower children to reach their learning potential, and to inspire children to become active participants of a diverse community.”

The board was told the STARS leaders help all over the building: working in classrooms before school starts, helping recycle the building’s waste, keeping the students safe while they wait for their buses, and cleaning the lunch room after they eat. This program has already had a huge impact on the school, noticeable by all who work there. Some of the STARS leaders presented to the board on the program: Riley Langschwager, Olivia Wood, Olivia Rogic, and Owen Schmittschmitt. They explained that being a STARS leader means being helpful with all ages, flexible in their schedule, and always having a positive attitude.

The STARS leaders all explained some of the most important parts of being 5th grade leaders and how they exemplify certain aspects of STARS. They also told stories of how they have impacted the building and the younger kids. Some of the kindergarten teachers also spoke to the board, saying how grateful they were to the older kids for giving up some of their time to help with the younger students. . Luke, Olivia, and Riley then handed off their position of STAR captains to the new captains: Iriaanuoluwa Babalola, Luke Peterson, Lucia Rogic, and Aaryan Sayied.

The board uploaded a livestream of its public meeting to the district’s Vimeo

The board also discussed an update on District Management Group’s Breakthrough Results.

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21 at 1936 Green Bay Road.