by Laura Garcia | May 29, 2019 | Art Start, D97 Schools, Featured, Longfellow, News, OPEF Programs
Children from Mr. Podlasek’s second-grade performed at Oak Park’s Belmont Village last week, sparking smiles and warming hearts for the residents. The students have been working with OPEF’s Art Start artist John Milan, who taught them songs to sing and perform on... 
by Laura Garcia | May 17, 2019 | Brooks, D97 Schools, Julian, News, Poetry Slam, Spoken Word
OPEF Spoken Word students shook the house at the School of Rock with their raw honesty and powerful words last week. The poetry slam, titled Respect the Mic, fostered creativity and self-expression while giving kids the opportunity to speak about their lives in a... 
by Laura Garcia | May 10, 2019 | Geared Up, Julian, News, Vex Media, VEX Robotics
Six teams of VEX Robotics students at Julian Middle School designed robots, then built and battled each other in a Robot Rumble, exploring the various aspects of technology in competitive fun. The hands-on projects were organized in small groups, and kids... 
by Tracy DellAngelaBarber | Feb 21, 2019 | Fundraising Events, Julian, News, Spoken Word
‘Allowing teachers to see students for who they really are’ Buying a ticket to OPEF’s re-invented fundraiser not only allows you to support amazing enrichment programs in Oak Park schools, it also gives you a chance to celebrate an influential teacher who does... 
by Marta Segal Block | Jan 23, 2019 | Art Start, D97 Schools, Lincoln, News
As part of the Art Start program, students in Ms. Barkers’ class at Lincoln have been working with teaching artist and poet Jenn Morea on a literacy and poetry project to boost their vocabulary. Using Christina Rossetti’s “Who Has Seen the... 
by Marta Segal Block | Jan 14, 2019 | D97 Schools, Julian, News, Spoken Word
Spoken Word teaching artist Isaiah Makar celebrated his birthday with a very special event, the first-ever Julian Middle School 6th Grade Poetry Slam. A participant from each class was chosen by their peers and presented their work to the entire 6th grade class. The...
