WHAT'S NEW
THE LATEST INFO ON OUR PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Recreating History with Harmonicas
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...
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Voices Shake the House at School of Rock
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...
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Robot Rumble!
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...
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Bingo Bash honoree says OPEF program transformative for kids, teachers
'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 so...
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Introducing the Bingo Bash Planning Committee
What does it take to pull off a bingo-themed party for 200 people and make sure your guests can win great prizes, enjoy yummy food and drinks, and support a great cause while having fun with friends and neighbors? The first, most important step is to deploy an...
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A Big Idea to SHINE
We know how important summer and extra-curricular activities are for children. It's a thrill to watch kids engage in active, hands-on learning, having new experiences and making new friends. We're fortunate that our donors have made our robust scholarship program...
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Announcing Bingo Bash 2019
This spring there's a whole new kind of FUNdraiser coming to town! At OPEF our mission is to provide kids with meaningful, enriching and fun hands-on educational opportunities, why shouldn't our fundraisers be the same? OK, Bingo is not exactly educational, but the...
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Teaching Literacy Through Poetry
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 Wind", as inspiration,...
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Violets Are Blue, Happy Birthday to You
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...
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Exploring Family Traditions at Lincoln
Students in Ms. Nagano's Spanish Immersion class at Lincoln Elementary School have been exploring the art of the codex book with teaching artist, Guillermo Delgado. Mr. Delgado introduced students to codex books from the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Students then...
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