Kingsley Kids Learn How to Play It Cool

By Victoria Scott

Kathryn Gruner, Caroline Moore and Sophie Clark (left to right) learned how to use Cool Tools for Life in a 12-week program this fall at Kingsley.

Playground bullying - especially the role of bystanders - sent some Kingsley School parents to child psychologist and fellow-Kingsley-parent Dr. Colleen Cicchetti for advice several years ago.

She responded with "Cool Tools for Life," a 12-week curriculum focused on feelings, problem-solving and working together.

Dr. Cicchetti, who works at Children's Memorial Hospital (CMH), piloted Cool Tools with one Kingsley second grade in spring 2004. In 2006 she implemented the curriculum in both second-grade classrooms.

When the school's Green Team requested an anti-violence campaign last spring, the notion of Cool Tools for the whole school coalesced.

After a summer of intense planning under the guidance of Dr. Cicchetti, who volunteers her time, the Green Team - the school social worker, the speech and language pathologist, a second-grade teacher, a psychology intern and a consultant - debuted Cool Tools this fall in all 18 Kingsley classrooms. "The support we got from our teachers was fantastic," says Dr. Cicchetti.

A new model of the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Cool Tools promotes self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, decision-making and relationship skills.

At Kingsley, Cool Tools was a hit.

So contagious was enthusiasm for the program that, by Dr. Cicchetti's estimate, 75 to 90 percent of Kingsley parents turned out for the school-wide culminating activity on Jan. 17.

The curriculum was designed to be appealing. "We tried to make it something [the kids] looked forward to," says Dr. Cicchetti. "We made the whole thing celebratory."

There was color: The PTA provided tie-dyed, Cool Tools T-shirts for everyone in the school. There was community: Grade-level parent nights and breakfasts kept families in the loop. There were stories: Librarian Denia Hester found a book related to every concept. There was drama: The PTA Fine Arts Committee funded a four-week arts residency ("Acting Cool for Life") with the Pegasus Players of Chicago. There was music: A song written by a Pegasus teacher reached billboard status among the students.

And there was stardom: Every child in the school had a moment of fame when videotapes of Cool Tools lessons played on a big screen for families and friends at the closing event.

Cool Tools grew out of Dr. Cicchetti's work with the "Safe Schools, Successful Students" (SSSS) program. Implemented by CMH and the Chicago Public Schools, the SSSS program has reached students in several underserved Chicago neighborhoods.

The Green Team met last summer to custom-design the Kingsley program. They adapted the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) Turtle Curriculum for kindergarten and first grade and modified a CMH curriculum for second through fifth grades.

All fall Kingsley halls were decked with the first fruits of the dozen 45-minute weekly sessions: a poster for every student with the individual's picture and a list of five compliments given him or her by the class. Later lessons addressed other topics - feelings versus behavior, recognizing uncomfortable feelings and rating the intensity of feelings.

Then came strategies for managing feelings. Children role-played ways to make a problem bigger - then smaller. They created stop signs to reinforce the tactic of stopping to calm down (red); slowing down to think (yellow); and going ahead with a plan (green).

The younger grades "did the turtle." Even older children who did not officially learn it were singing their infectious "Turtle Song," says Dr. Cicchetti: "First I say 'STOP' and pull myself in and hide/Then I take a deep breath and let out a sigh,/And I tell myself the problem and how I feel inside."

Students learned management techniques, practicing progressive muscle relaxation, making stress balls and filling their own Pandora's boxes with "meany bug" behaviors to banish.

Cedric Logan, a smiley fourth-grader, is certain about his favorite part of Cool Tools - "Acting out," he says. He filled several notebook pages with his impressions of the program. He seems disappointed only to have missed out "when I was in second grade."

School social worker Jennifer Bergner helped plan and implement Cool Tools. The virtue of the program, she says, is that it gives children "the idea they have some control - [that they can] take a breath, re-group and verbalize."

While students enter school with "very different skill bases," she says, having everyone participate in Cool Tools helped level the field by giving all the children access to the same strategies. Working with all the kids has another plus, she says: "It takes away the stigma" of being singled out for behavior issues.

Parents, too, can benefit from access to Cool Tools, says Dr. Cicchetti. Not only do they learn that they need to label their own coping strategies for their children's benefit, but they also learn to view "asking for help as a strength as a parent rather than a fault." A number have asked her for referrals for family issues.

The Jan. 17 Cool Tools celebration brought the whole Kingsley community together. In a fitting conclusion to their semester's work with Cool Tools, they honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as "a man who showed us how to solve conflicts peacefully, respect others, and demand equality."

The Cool Tools team will be evaluating the Kingsley program this spring and investigating the possibilities for expanding into other District 65 schools.

Students Lauren Jones, Mae De Vono and Grace Colbert had a chance to role-play and act on camera as part of the Acting Cool for Life in-school residency of the Pegasus Players at Kingsley.

"After This"

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"After This" is the beautifully written new novel by Alice McDermott.

As in the earlier "Charming Billy," she writes of Irish-Americans and the subtle changes in their ways as they adapted to life in the United States. During World War II, Mary Rose, a spinster at 30, worked in the secretarial pool and went to mass every lunchtime to pray for the soldiers. Sister Pauline usually tagged along, although she was no longer a practicing Catholic. Sometimes Mary would sneak out the back door so that she could be alone with her thoughts.

She kept house for her father and brother and was resigned to her life. Her brother continually dragging some poor friend home for her to meet. One day Mary Rose meets an older, balding man with a limp resulting from the War. In a whirlwind romance, Mary Rose marries John Keene and over the years has four children.

These children grow up more affluent than she ever had been. Instead of a walk-up flat in the city, they live in a three-bedroom house on Long Island.

The boys share a bedroom. Jacob, the older, is not as smart, athletic or brave as his younger brother, Michael, but he is the sweetest of Mary Rose's four children. Annie, the youngest for many years, knows how to use her tears for attention. Then, late in Mary Rose's life, Clare comes along. She is not as pretty as Annie but is a good girl who never causes the nuns any trouble. The four children live in a mostly Irish neighborhood and know everyone around them.

Sister Pauline has never married and still tags along in Mary's life. She babysits once in awhile and joins the family for Sunday dinner. She is still a difficult person, and sometimes Mary thinks that she would not mind if Pauline took offense and stopped speaking to them for awhile. But as she has tells her children, it is easy to love the lovable, but it is their duty also to love God's unfortunates.

The four children all attend Catholic school and share a similar childhood, but after graduation their lives take them in different directions. The old ways are changing. The 1960s bring sexual liberation and the Vietnam War. One neighborhood girl marries well, moves away and seems to forget those she left behind. They glimpse her one day, driving a Cadillac. Even the old church disappears, demolished to make room for the new.

A reader can savor the beautiful prose in "After This," rereading whole paragraphs where the author has packed volumes into each sentence.

Celebrate Black History Month

Celebration at Fleetwood Launches Historic Stamp Series. In observance of Black History Month, the Fleetwood-Jourdain Art Guild unveiled its "Profiles in Excellence," honoring leaders in Evanston's black community. In a ceremony on Feb. 11, Mayor Lorraine Morton spoke of the pioneers of leadership in the black community and the Evanston community as well. The Mayor herself, the first African-American mayor of Evanston, is one of the first honorees. Other honorees include Edwin B. Jourdain, an early advocate of civil rights and Evanston's first African-American alderman; Dr. Isabella Garnett, founder of Evanston's Community Hospital (now the site of Hill Arboretum apartments); Homer Fleetwood, the first African-American director of a City community center; Pauline Williams, a pioneer in the areas of civil rights, human rights, social justice and public policy; and Allen "Bo" Price, an advocate for youth, civil rights and social justice. The Art Guild plans to use portraits of these men and women as the beginning in a series called the "Evanston African-American Heritage Stamp Collection," which its members say will "put a stamp of approval on the accomplishments of African-Americans in Evanston."
In the photo above, liturgical dancers will perform at the Levy Center on Sat. at 6 p.m.

Black History Exposition at Lincolnwood

"Leaving Home, Coming Home: The Journeys of Black Americans" will be the theme of Lincolnwood Elementary School's first Black History Month Exposition, to be held Feb. 23, 2600 Colfax St. The exposition will be open from 8:35 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (except between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.). Displays and performances by Lincolnwood students - including blues music, art, poetry, family history, story-telling, and biography - will commemorate the many passages made by African-Americans. Everyone is invited. For more information, contact Traci Mull at 847 859-8897, mullt@district65.net, or Toni Gilpin at tonigary@comcast.net.

Black History Events At the Library

Both events take place at the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., and are free and open to the public. Call 847-448-8600.

How Southern Women Fared at Northern Colleges After the Civil War

Many people do not know that Portia Washington, daughter of Booker T. Washington, attended Wellesley College. Nor are they aware of how Ms. Washington and other Southern women, both black and white, fared while attending college in Northern states after the Civil War. Joan Johnson discusses "Portia Washington and Southern Women at Northern Colleges," a look at these women, including the role played by the Women's Christian Temperance Union and women's suffrage during this historical period. She will speak at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 in the community meeting room.

Dino Robinson of Shorefront Speaks at Library Friends Meeting

The annual meeting of the Friends of the Evanston Public Library will feature a presentation by Dino Robinson of Shorefront, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 27. Shorefront was founded in Evanston to address the needs of documenting, preserving and exhibiting the African-American community on Chicago's North Shore. Robinson will share his extensive research on African-American heritage in Evanston and other North Shore communities. He will discuss the formation of Shorefront, its outreach and collaboration. This free program is open to the public.

Rhodes Magnet Celebrates Black History Month

The Rhodes Magnet School kicked off its month-long celebration of black history with its fourth annual reading festival on Feb. 1.

Thefestival used a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as its inspiration:"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." A whole school assemblybegan thefestivalwith remarks made by Mayor Lorraine Morton of Evanston, Mayor George Van Dusen of Skokie, and the Superintendent of Schools for Evanston-Skokie District 65, Dr. Hardy Murphy.

Student presentations followed and ranged from a musical selection performed by the kindergartners to a video montage of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. produced by the eighth graders.

After the assembly,a community leader visited each of the school's classrooms, read aloud and then spoke about a time when he or she had to take a difficult first step. The guestswere selected in part for the diversity of their accomplishments and includeda poet,police officer, librarian, radio personality, realtor,a District 65 School Board member, and several authors among others.

Black History Exposition at Lincolnwood

"Leaving Home, Coming Home: The Journeys of Black Americans" will be the theme of Lincolnwood Elementary School's first Black History Month Exposition, to be held Feb. 23, 2600 Colfax St. The exposition will be open from 8:35 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (except between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.). Displays and performances by Lincolnwood students - including blues music, art, poetry, family history, story-telling, and biography - will commemorate the many passages taken by African-Americans. Everyone is invited. For more information, contact Traci Mull at 847 859-8897, mullt@district65.net, or Toni Gilpin at tonigary@comcast.net.

'Roses are Red.'

On Feb. 10, Ten Thousand Villages, 719 Main St., celebrated "Heart at Home" with free family activities throughout the day including a "Roses are Red" composition contest that invited entrants to submit original variations on this classic rhyme. Max Sucherman, right, of Morton Grove, won the contest with this poem:
Roses are Red
They're soft as a feather.
We should remember
We're in this together.

Photo courtesy of Ten Thousand Villages

ESO Outreach Brings Music to Children at D65 Head Start.

Three times this year members of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra and a hired professional are bringing music to 3- to 5-year-olds at the Evanston District 65 Head Start program. Professional musician Charles Taylor, right, candidate for the master's degree in vocal performance at Northwestern University, has developed three different programs for the children, based on the theme "Music in Our World." The first two programs engaged the children in singing and movement and presented percussion instruments; the third will introduce them to strings.

At one session Dave O'Fallon, center, a Chicago-area percussion professional, brought instruments to share with and demonstrate for the children. Then with the help of their teachers and ESO board member Sharon Purdy, the preschoolers created their own rhythm instruments. ESO musicians will be on hand in April with a program on pitch and style; the kids will make simple string instruments and have a chance to play a real violin just their size.

The Evanston Community Foundation funded this year's "Music in Our World" series. Having secured future funding, the ESO plans to expand the program.

Photos by Chris Cascarano

'Breach'

A Film Review By Joe Linstroth

Chris Cooper is remarkable as FBI agent Robert Hanssen in the unconventional spy thriller, "Breach," that tells the true story of the worst intelligence disaster in American history.

While Mr. Hanssen is a devout Catholic who attends mass daily, and is only months away from mandatory retirement, the FBI is convinced their long-time expert on computers and Russian intelligence has been handing over secrets for 22 of his 25 years at the Bureau. In order to bring charges that will ensure he spends the rest of his life in prison, they need to catch him in the act, and quickly.

Leading the investigation is Agent Burroughs (Laura Linney), who recruits a cocky young aide named Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) to be Mr. Hanssen's assistant. Initially, Agent Burroughs tells Eric that they are investigating Mr. Hanssen for sexually deviant behavior that could embarrass the agency.

What Eric finds instead is an intensely religious man with a wife and grandchildren. He begins to admire Robert's intelligence and experience, and is unable to see why the FBI is so concerned with investigating him. This initial infatuation lets Eric slip past Mr. Hanssen's shrewd and wary defenses.

When Eric demands to know more, Agent Burroughs finally fills Eric in on the secret: Robert Hanssen has been spying for the Russians for over two decades and his leaks have compromised numerous operations. They have led to the deaths of at least fifty people, including three double agents in the KGB.

"Breach" lacks the guns, chase scenes, and globe-trotting plot twists of most spy movies. More than making up for these tension builders, however, is Chris Cooper's brooding onscreen presence. With the ending already clear, all that remains in question is what lurks behind Mr. Cooper's cold, penetrating eyes. With a glare and barely a word, he offers hints at how a God-fearing family man lives with the devastating betrayal of his wife and country, and how such betrayal has taken its toll.

Ryan Phillippe's performance is also a pleasant surprise, in that it does not detract from the rest of the movie. Usually competing with Josh Hartnett for the title of Most Wooden Actor in Hollywood, Mr.

Phillippe shows some range as a wide-eyed young aide in way over his head who has enough smarts and finds enough strength to play the game with the big boys.

Director Billy Ray has experience retelling true stories of pathological liars. His 2003 film "Shattered Glass" explored the fabrications of a young reporter for The New Republic. In neither film does Mr. Ray offer definitive answers as to why his subjects have perpetrated their egregious deceptions. Instead, he is more content with studying each as he builds and then destroys his house of cards. And with Chris Cooper holding the deck in "Breach," it is a fascinating study indeed.

1 hr 50 min Rated PG-13 for violence, language, and brief nudity.

'The Dead Girl'

A Film Review By Brian Murphy

"The Dead Girl," writer/director (and former television actress and director) Karen Moncrieff's penetrating new film, connects five women affected by the death of a young woman (Brittany Murphy). The film, split up into five chapters, reads like a book, with each chapter examining the changes in their lives brought about by the brutal murder of someone most of them have never met.

"The Stranger," "The Sister," "The Wife," "The Mother" and "The Dead Girl" comprise a fascinating, multiple character study of abused, confused and repressed women. The murdered woman ends up a sacrificial lamb, her death altering the lives of others for better and for worse.

Ms. Moncrieff has assembled a stellar cast. Toni Collette ("Little Miss Sunshine") shines as Arden, an emotionally bruised daughter, isolated from society by her abusive, invalid mother. After discovering the corpse of a young woman, her world is turned upside down; the media hounds her, she is romantically pursued by a creepy grocery clerk (the under-rated Giovanni Ribisi), and she rebels against her passive nature, lashing out at her mother (Piper Laurie) who, referring to her deceased brother, responds, "He (God) should have taken you instead!"

Rose Byrne is phenomenal as Leah, a young woman desperately searching for a way to put the 15-year disappearance of her sister to rest. While her mother (Mary Steenburgen) still posts age-enhanced pictures of her daughter, desperately hoping for her return, Leah wishes for her family to accept the fact that her sister must be dead, in order for them all to move on. Her occupation as a coroner perfectly corresponds to her character. When she comes across the corpse Arden has discovered, she finds a birthmark similar to that of her sister. Finally feeling the closure she has been seeking, Leah embarks on a life separate from work and her therapist's office. She responds to the advances of slightly disturbing coworker Derek (James Franco of "Spiderman"), and has sex in a scene Ms. Moncrieff has deftly designed to express release.

Mary Beth Hurt (as Ruth) and Marcia Gay Harden ("Pollock") present two antithetical characters seeking redemption for, perhaps, their denial. Ruth, a religious, forgotten wife, believes her despondent husband may be a serial killer, while Harden's Melora is the mother of a woman possibly murdered by Ruth's husband. Ultimately their choices define them. Ruth chooses to remain in denial, while Melora seeks the cause of her daughter's decision to run away. In the end, one is lost and haunted, while the other earns redemption.

Not to be forgotten, Brittany Murphy ("8 Mile"), as Krista (a.k.a. "The Dead Girl"), gives a spectacular performance that serves as the essential footnote to Ms. Moncrieff's film. Murphy delivers as a junkie prostitute who, despite her troubled past, is still a loving mother.

Karen Moncrieff's script may have difficulty appealing to a mass male audience. Her script is gender-centric, studying the growth or regression of several female leads. The few male characters involved are either initially or ultimately presented as unsympathetic, withdrawn, or potential sources of violence. This does not exclude children, for example the young boy who punches his sister in the arm. Men are not definitively portrayed as evil, but the film does cast a wary glare in their direction.

Ms. Moncrieff's writing is insightful, however, and her direction is expressive. She uses a myriad of close-ups to showcase the talents of her fine ensemble cast and also to express a claustrophobic tone; her women are often emotionally stunted, cornered by men or voluntarily succumb to their own fears. Their transitions define this empathetic yet brutally honest film.

1 hr. 20 min. Rated R for language, grisly images and sexuality/nuidty.

Illinois Arts Alliance Welcomes Ra Joy as Executive Director

Ra Joy, senior staffer for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, with extensive experience in public policy and the arts, has been named executive director of the Illinois Arts Alliance.

"Ra Joy has a unique blend of experience in the arts and public affairs, and we are so grateful he will be the new executive director at the Illinois Arts Alliance," said Fay Hartog Levin, Illinois Arts Alliance Board Chair.

"I am honored to be selected by the Board of Directors to build upon the Alliance's rich tradition and high standards, and I look forward to leading the organization," Mr. Joy told the RoundTable.

He added, "The position will allow me to fuse my Congressional experience and my life-long love for the arts. My time with Rep. Schakowsky has deepened my understanding and respect for the important role that advocates play in influencing public policy decisions.

The Illinois Arts Alliance has a 25-year history of advocacy. I will take great pride in working with arts advocates, legislators and policymakers throughout the state to help promote the value of the arts and of arts in education." He said he will still have a presence in Evanston as an advocate for the arts, and he looks forward to working closely with the City's "vibrant and diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and supporters of the arts."

Mayors Presents Awards for Arts to Open Studio Project and Richard Halstead

Mayor Lorraine Morton, left, and Jeff Corey of the City's arts division, far right, present the Mayor's Award for the Arts to Ellen Glassmeyer and Ted Harris of Open Studio Project. Richard Halstead said he was glad to receive the watercolor by Elizabeth Ockwell as his award.

At the annual Mayor's Award for the Arts event, held in conjunction with the State of the City address, Mayor Lorraine Morton recognized the Open Studio Project, 901 Sherman Ave., and portrait artist Richard Halstead, based at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., for their artistic excellence and their contribution to the City.

Speaking to an audience of about 250 at the Orrington Hotel, Mayor Morton said Mr. Halstead and Open Studio Project had made "significant contribution to arts and the cultural landscape of the City of Evanston.

"Open Studio was founded in 1991 and it moved to Evanston in 2000. It allows people to turn to art for personal grown and has been a rich and fertile foundation for positive social change. ... It uses art as a way to access personal awareness. Gallery 901 emphasizes the diverse community voices [speaking about] social issues. "

The work of portrait artist Richard Halstead, hangs in the Smithsonian Institution, that National Portrait Gallery and Yale University, among other places, the Mayor said. "He [says he] is an example of how school can help in the choice of career: He used to draw caricatures of his high school teachers."

Mr. Halstead, of Halstead Portrait Studio and Figure Workshop, painted a portrait of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin that hangs in the Smithsonian. More locally, said the Mayor, "Mr. Halstead has contributed a series of four portraits of City emergency workers - a firefighter, a forestry worker, a police officer and a paramedic - in recognition of their dedication. These portraits are on display in the Civic Center."

Jeff Corey, director of the City's Arts Council presented Ellen Glassmeyer and Ted Harris of Open Studio and Mr. Halstead with watercolor paintings donated by Evanston artist Elizabeth Ockwell, framed and matted at a reduced cost by Good's of Evanston.

In receiving his award, Mr. Halstead said, "Whatever I've given to the City, I've gotten back."

The Mayor's Award for the Arts honors one arts organization and one individual artist for their work. The Award for the Arts and State of the City address are sponsored annually by the Chamber of Commerce.

Nine Hours of Music

Evanston's lollapalooza took place on Feb. 11 in a modest music school on Custer Avenue. A sole grand piano stood in place of electric keyboards; there was no amplification and serious young classically-trained musicians, not writhing rock stars, sang or played sweetly to family and friends at the Musical Offering, 743 Custer Ave.

The music marathon, open to the public for a free-will donation showcased the talents of students of the Musical Offering and raised money for its outreach programs to District 65 schools.

Rick Ferguson, director (standing), said he and fellow musician Kristin Hedagard founded the Musical Offering in January 2000. "We came up with the idea to form a community of like-minded musicians with a passion for teaching and performance," Mr. Ferguson said. He said that even though the faculty of 17 "could train the professionals of tomorrow, we want to train people to develop a lifelong love of music."