Student Spotlight
At South Loop Elementary School we have the best, brightest and most creative students in the city of Chicago, but don't just take our word for it! Here are just a few our students and their accomplishments. Take a moment to see for yourself how awesome our students are.
Othello Comes Alive!
As part of Ms. Menoni's Othello unit, students in last year’s seventh grade (current 8th graders) collaborated with artist, and South Loop School parent, Alberto Aguilar to create a video exploring their understanding of this Shakespearean masterpiece. The result of this collaboration can be seen on YouTube by clicking here.
5th Grade Chess Team Places 7th at the National K-12 Chess Championship
The South Loop Elementary School 5th grade chess team of Akhil and Nikhil Kalghatgi competed in the 2011 National K-12 Chess Championship held in Dallas, TX on November 18-20, 2011 and placed 7th in the tournament. This tournament was conducted by United States Chess Federation.
In addition, in the Individual K-5 championship, Akhil and Nikhil were tied for 15th place (top 15 places were awarded trophies. It was a very competitive tournament and the kids performed admirably.
Common Threads
In partnership with Common Threads, South Loop Elementary Students are learning to connect with their bodies, their neighbors, and their world in bite-sized lessons. Common Threads is a hands-on cooking program that educates children about the importance of nutrition and physical well-being, and to foster an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking.
2010-2011 School History Fair Winner featured at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
When 8th grader William Toepfer first chose his history fair topic, he had no idea how far that topic would take him. William has always had an interest in military history and loves to watch documentaries about World War II, so when he saw the topic "Nike Missiles" it caught his eye. Numerous library hours went into trying to find information about this important piece of Chicago history, which in turn led to a phone interview with one of the leading authors on the topic, Mr. Christopher Bright.
When it came time for William to compile his research into a presentation, he opted for the medium he most enjoys... a video documentary. The result was a 10 minute long "Ken Burns" style documentary which discussed the development of the Nike Missile Project in the city of Chicago. Titled, Culture of Fear, the documentary focused on the how fear led Chicagoans to accept the placement of nuclear missiles on the Chicago lakeshore.
South Loop Summer Camp Gets Jazzed Up!
Approximately 25 students from South Loop Summer Camp participated in the UIC/Chicago Jazz Philharmonic's 3rd annual Jazz Camp this past July. This joint venture was made possible by the school's partnership with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, and South Loop students comprised about 20% of the camp participants.
The camp was open to both novice and more seasoned jazz musicians in middle and high school. Students were introduced to music theory, the fundamentals and history of jazz, and techniques of improvisation. Most of all, the students had fun learning to work together to bring together a jazz band and create that great jazz sound!
