The Viking Voice
September 15, 2023 - Vol.1, Issue 2.
You can view the Contributing Citizen traits for each grade level on the D56 Portrait of a Graduate website by clicking on the icon shown above. We encourage you to review the traits of a Contributing Citizen and have conversations with your child(ren) on what it means to demonstrate those traits.
Quest Upgrade for software for food menus starting 10/2/23
Quest is happy to announce that we have upgraded our menu software to LINQ, which is specifically designed for NSLP. What this means for District 56 is that we have a new parent menu portal effective 10/2. You go to linqconnect.com and search for Gurnee School District 56 under Check District Menus. You then select which school from dropdown and which meal, breakfast or lunch. Allergens are available by selecting which of the top 9 in drop down on top. Nutritionals and ingredients are available by selecting a specific item.
When staff, students, and visitors approach the entrance to Spaulding School, in Gurnee, Illinois, they are greeted by a beautiful garden filled with a variety of plants and flowers. Pink flowers, soft grasses, small bushes filled with purple color, and natural mulch cover a once barren piece of ground. Staff stop to admire a monarch butterfly that has stopped for a rest, visitors smile as they admire the well-groomed grounds while walking a student inside, and the sun drenches the area with warmth and peace.
In front of the new plantings, a white oval sign adorned with some of the same flowers as those in the garden indicates it is “Rae’s Garden.” Purple angel’s wings sit on either side. And a little lower the sign reads: “Dedicated 2023.”
The sign, the garden, and additional future projects are the effort of Penny and Tony Shepherd. All of the work is both a labor of love and a way to ease a fraction of the heartbreak from losing the most important person in their lives, their granddaughter Rae Shepherd.
Fourteen months ago, on July 24, 2022, Spaulding School and the District 56 family lost one of its brightest young stars in Rae Shepherd. Rae was only seven years old and in first grade at Spaulding.
Just eight days earlier, Rae was a spirited, loving, and happy girl. Rae loved music, dancing, everything nature, and toasted bagels with Nutella dripping off the sides. She was a swimmer, ballet dancer, gymnast, and beginning violinist. Rae also had two furry companions in Bruno, her dog, and Oreo, her cat.
Rae was taken by a horrible, lightning-fast cancer called medulloblastoma and a rare arteriovenous malformation (AVM). She fought valiantly through her last days. Penny and Tony, who raised Rae, were with her every moment as a team of doctors and nurses did their best to save her.
To honor Rae and provide a lasting legacy of her life, her grandparents cleared an area near the entrance to Spaulding School and created “Rae’s Garden.” Rae’s Garden is filled with some of Rae’s favorite flowers such as “Autumn Joy” sedum, “Hameln” and “Burgundy Bunny” fountain grasses, Butterfly Weed, Prairie Smoke, a variety of boxwoods, and huge Hibiscus called “Spinderella.” Also included are lavender, one of Rae’s favorite scents. Penny and Tony are proud to say that Rae could name every one of the plants. As fall approached, Penny and Tony plan to plant tulip and allium bulbs, more of Rae’s favorites.
In the middle of the garden sits a little statue of a dog in a yoga pose. Rae and Penny would often do “Cosmic Kids” video yoga together. Rae would enjoy putting her hands together, closing her eyes, and saying, “Namaste.” The statue is a tribute to Rae’s love of animals and yoga.
The “Rae’s Garden” sign was designed by Tom Kim, a family friend, graphic artist, and brain cancer survivor. He made sure to include Rae’s favorite flowers. The sign mas expertly made and designed by the Laska family from North Shore Sign. The height of the sign was set to Rae’s height in first grade.
Just beyond Rae’s Garden is a smaller staff picnic area that has seen better days. The Shepherds connected with an Eagle Scout candidate, who is currently restoring that area and building two new picnic tables.
On the other side of the school, the Shepherds have begun a complete restoration of an overgrown and neglected area that was being overtaken by weeds. Penny and Tony first cleared the area. Now the fenced-off land is going through a process called solarization, which is a non-chemical way to neutralize growth, soil disease, and the like. In time, the Shepherds will rejuvenate that area also.
Not only did Rae love flowers, plants, and nature, but she was also an avid book-lover whose bedroom was filled with hundreds of books of every kind. After Rae passed, a neighbor set up a Go-Fund-Me site in her name. A small portion of those proceeds helped off-set some medical expenses. But the rest of the money was used to purchase a book for every student at Spaulding School during the last school year. The Shepherds plan to continue to do so every year for as long as they can.
The Shepherds would like to thank Dr. Ellen Maurer, Spaulding School Principal, and Sean Smith, District 56 Maintenance and Facilities Director, for their help with the outside projects and Lizzy Isbell, Spaulding Librarian, for her help coordinating the book donation effort.
Spaulding School is a better place because of the generosity and hard work of Penny and Tony Shepherd. But Spaulding School is doubly-blessed because it was attended by a girl whose smile was as bright as the summer sun, whose spirit was always boundless, and whose legacy will forever be a part of our school’s history: Rae Shepherd.
