District 56 2015-16 Teacher of the Year Jennifer Howard, District 56 parent (four girls) Rev. Stephen Evans, and Superintendent Dr. David O'Shields were Opening Day Convocation speakers for the district Aug. 15 at Clinton High Auditorium. The day kicked off with breakfast at CHS, and teachers, administrators and staff stayed about 40 minutes to hear words of inspiration. Howard said she knew, from personal experience as a classroom teacher, the faculty was anxious to be somewhere else (setting up rooms, writing lessons) "than hearing me speak." Just like the Summer Olympics, she said, teacher go for the gold in all of their students - "Every student in our district has gold in their hearts - that's a lot of gold." Evans said District 56 teachers are inspiring his girls to choose their career and extra-curricular paths in life. One daughter, he said, wants to be a distance runner because of Girls on the Run. "I'm not a distance runner," he said. "That's coming from you." The first day for students was Aug. 16, and the photos here are from morning arrival time at Eastside Elementary School in Clinton. - Photos by Vic MacDonald
