Monday, January 28, 2013
The registration deadline is Monday, Feb. 4.
Editor's note: The following is a press release from Dist. 129. West Aurora High School will host a cheerleading camp for girls in elementary school from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Feb. 18, in the school’s blue field house, 1201 W. New York St., Aurora. No previous cheer experience is required. Girls will be taught basic cheerleading essentials such as arm motions, jumps and stunts. They will also be taught a floor cheer to perform at half time of the home boys’ basketball games Wednesday, Feb. 20. Girls in kindergarten through second grade will perform at halftime of the 6 p.m. sophomore game. Girls in grades third through fifth will perform at halftime of the 7:30 p.m. varsity game. The cost of the camp is $35, and includes a cheerleading …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
On Saturday, Ballydoyle in Aurora will host a concert for the Meg Papadolias Endowment Fund, and will feature former and current students of the legendary educator, who retired from District 129 last year after more than three decades.
Everyone has that one teacher. The one who inspired you and helped shape the course of your life. The one you still talk about, years and even decades after you’ve graduated. For Bob Lisberg – and many, many others – that teacher was Meg Papadolias. Lisberg studied music with the West Aurora legend for 10 years straight – he was in third grade in 1979, the same year Papadolias began at Freeman Elementary School, and as he moved up the grades, Papadolias moved with him. She moved to Washington Middle School, and then became choir director at West Aurora High School in 1985. Her impact on Lisberg’s life, as it has been for so many, is incalculable. Lisberg, the owner of Pockets Restaurant in Aurora, has pursued music as well, as the keyboard…
Friday, March 9, 2012
According to the Beacon-News, Stephen Orland pleaded guilty Friday morning to sexual contact with two students, who were under the age of 18 for some of that contact. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
According to this Beacon-News report, former West Aurora High School band director Stephen Orland pleaded guilty Friday morning to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to the Beacon story. Orland, 42, of the 2700 block of Bauer Road in North Aurora, was indicted in July on three counts of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony; 13 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony; and 11 counts of battery, a Class A misdemeanor. Orland was accused of having sexual contact with two female students, according to prosecutors from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office. The contact took place on multiple occasions between Jan. 1, 2010, and May 5, 2011, and took …
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Aurorans gathered at West Aurora High School last night to honor the civil rights leader on his birthday.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Naperville Central running back Matt Randolph rushed for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Redhawks past West Aurora in DuPage Valley Conference action Friday night.
Matt Randolph is making a serious candidacy for the most valuable offensive player in the DuPage Valley Conference. The Naperville Central senior halfback carried 35 times against West Aurora on Friday, scoring twice in the process while racking up a game-high 188 yards to lead the Redhawks past the Blackhawks 35-20 in Aurora. With Central dominating the time of possession and field position throughout the first half, the Redhawks (3-1 overall, 2-0 in the league) never allowed West Aurora any offensive rhythm. “I thought we controlled the ball, but early on we couldn’t score,” Central coach Mike Stine said. But the Redhawks’ defense put Central ahead for good when Pat Clark scored off a fumble recovery on the second West High play from…
Monday, September 12, 2011
Artist Gareth Curtiss sculpted a life-sized bronzed bust of Black Hawk, a gift to the school from the Class of 1958.
It was the Class of 1937 that gave the nickname “Blackhawks” to West Aurora High School. Now surviving members of the class paid special recognition at the dedication of a new statue of Chief Black Hawk on Friday in West Aurora High School's library. The bronze bust of Chief Black Hawk is a gift to the school from the Class of 1958 and more than a dozen alumni were in attendance from the class. District 129 Superintendent Jim Rydland opened the ceremonies and directed everyone to the corner of the library to watch Native American dancers and drummers perform. Jean Alexander Goehlen then spoke on behalf of the Class of 1958, and Principal Chief George Thurman of the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, a direct descendant of Chief Black Hawk, …
Friday, July 22, 2011
Stephen Orland, of North Aurora, was indicted Friday on 16 felony charges and 11 misdemeanors. He is accused of having multiple sexual encounters with two students, and some of the incidents may have taken place in the West Aurora High School band room.
A West Aurora High School band director charged with sexually abusing two students was indicted Friday on nine additional felony counts, and 11 misdemeanor counts, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office said. A grand jury on Friday indicted Stephen Orland, 42, of the 2700 block of Bauer Road in North Aurora, on three counts of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony; 13 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony; and 11 counts of battery, a Class A misdemeanor, prosecutors said. Orland was originally charged in May with three counts of criminal sexual assault and four counts of criminal sexual abuse. Orland is accused of having sexual contact with two female students, prosecutors said. According to Friday’s …
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Stephen Orland is charged with sexual assault and sexual abuse of two students. He faced a judge for the first time Wednesday morning.
Stephen Orland, the West Aurora High School band director accused of sexually abusing two students, made his first court appearance on Wednesday. Orland, 42, of North Aurora, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Orland is accused of having sexual contact on multiple occasions with two students, prosecutors with the Kane County State’s Attorney's office said. The contact began after Aug. 1, 2010, and the victims were younger than 18 during some of the instances alleged, prosecutors said. Orland’s first court hearing was a brief one, and his next is scheduled for June 30 at 9 a.m. at the Kane County Courthouse in St. Charles. All seven of Orland’s charges are felonies. …
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Naperville Central 10, West Aurora 2. The Blackhawks drop their sixth straight overall and suffer a three-game sweep at the hands of the defending state champions.
AURORA – West Aurora’s baseball team has been in a funk lately, and though the Blackhawks fell to Naperville Central again Wednesday, perhaps some signs appeared that they may get going offensively soon. Central’s 10-2 win completed a three-game sweep of West in the DuPage Valley Conference opening series of the season. But West (3-6 overall, 0-3 DVC) had more offensive chances than the rest of the week, though clutch hits were still in demand. West fell behind 4-0 going into the bottom of the third, but in the final five innings, the Blackhawks threatened every inning. They left 10 total men on base in that time, including the bases loaded in the sixth, unable to get a clutch hit to start changing the feeling around the team. The loss was…
Saturday, April 9, 2011
West Aurora 5, East Aurora 1. West freshman Sammie O'Brien provides two assists off of her flip-throw and adds a goal in the win.
AURORA – From the first time that West Aurora freshman Sammie O’Brien saw a girl utilize a flip-throw on a throw-in, she knew she wanted to try it. “The first time I did it, I knocked the wind out of myself, but I kept trying and the next thing you know, I was getting better and better at it,” said O’Brien, who said she has done gymnastics since the age of two. Now a pivotal part of the Blackhawks’ varsity girls soccer team as a freshman, that weapon was on display in Saturday’s 5-1 win over cross-town rival East Aurora. She set up fellow freshman Reilly Kulakowski for West’s first two goals and then O’Brien scored the third goal as the Blackhawks (4-4) exploded to five goals in the first 34 minutes of the game. “I wish we would finish …
jean m cerra
1:43 pm on Friday, March 9, 2012
Yea i think that this is sick. What is going on with these teachers that we r supposed to trust. This just makes me extremely stck more ›