Pope John XXIII students swept the top four spots in the Knights of Columbus District Spelling Bee on Thursday February 9, 2012. Dominating the competition from a variety of schools.

Caroline Granner, who placed second in the Pope John Spelling Bee last week, topped Uma Venkata, who took the top spot last week for the District Title. Brendan Scheib-Feeley took third place and Melissa Tan finished fourth.

The top three finishers each earned a berth in the Sectional Spelling Bee, which will be held in Glenview in March.

Hoops Mania 2012 was held on Saturday, February 11, 2012. Panther basketball players from 4th through 6th grades took on their coaches and parents, while the 8th graders played against a combination of coaches, parents and faculty members. The highlight of the afternoon was Walter Haracz's buzzer beating layup, which lifted the Panthers to victory. 

Thanks to all who helped make the second annual Hoops Mania such a success. All of the students, parents, coaches and faculty members who participated had a great time.

Pope John XIII School held their annual spelling bee on Thursday, February 2, 2012. A total of 58 student, from grades five through eight, competed in the contest, with the top fifteen spellers moving on to the Knights of Columbus Spelling Bee on Thursday, February 9 at St. Joseph School.

On Wednesday, February 1, 2012 Pope John XXIII School held their annual Arts Day. This year's theme was "Political Art." Students from PK-8th Grade produced beautiful pieces of art in a wide variety of formats.

The story of Lauren Millar, a Pope John XXIII first grader, who bravely executed her duties as Assistant Principal for the Day less than a week after breaking her arm, caught the attention of the local media. Irv Leavitt, a writer for the Sun-Times News Group came out to Pope John, accompanied by a photographer, to record Millar's big day. Leavitt's article, entitled "Broken Arm Fails to Deter This Leader" appeared in the Evanston Review and Wilmette Life last week.

Pope John XXIII School was prominently featured in the October 2011 issue of Chicago Magazine. In an article titled "The Top Private Schools in Chicago and the Suburbs," Principal Roaslie Musiala is quoted several times, and several Pope John students appear in the photographs that accompany the article.

Click here to view the article.

The Pope John XXIII community celebrated All Saints Day with a mass at St. Nicholas Church on November 1. As part of a long-standing tradition, each of the members of Ms. McMahon's and Mrs. Buckman-Gilbert's third grade classes dressed up as one of the saints. These third graders participated in the processional and recessional as well as providing Fr. Greg Sakowicz with material for his homily.

A group of Pope John XXIII students were featured in a recent CBS news story about peanut allergies. Reasearchers at Northwestern University have recently made a discovery that might provide a breakthrough in the treatment of peanut allergies. 

Click here to read the full article and watch the video.

Midwest and America’s Dairy Farmers have approved Pope John XXIII's application for funds for Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative. The total funding will be an award of $3,000 to cover expenses for Fuel Up to Play 60. Fuel Up to Play 60 includes promoting healthy eating and physical activities for our school children. Our school nurse, Marji Leslie with the parent Wellness Committee initiated this Fuel Up to Play 60 program for our school and applied for funding. Congratulations to them and to all the students who will benefit from Fuel Up to Play 60.