Last weekend, District 228 had a successful Operation Snowball Retreat! Snowball provided Large Group presentations that addressed topics of coping skills, motivation, grief & loss, drug prevention and gender upstanding. Agencies that provided education during these large groups included Safe Haven Counseling, VITAS Healthcare, See the Poet (Hillcrest graduate), the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists, Lurie Children’s Hospital.
D228 Snowball is also extremely grateful for the help of district staff who took time out of their day to provide our students with workshops in their areas of expertise. Jamilah Adebesin Mason (Hillcrest) ran an art therapy workshop, Kelly Sala (Bremen) ran a journaling/poetry slam workshop, Cara Triezenberg (Hillcrest), Theresa Connelly (Bremen) & Keith Huhn (Tinley Park) ran a mental health first aid kit workshop, and Andrea Johnson (Tinley Park) ran a wellness workshop.
Over the school year, the following students helped organize and plan the retreat alongside district staff:
Bremen: Shakila Brownlow, Trinity Tate, Elizabeth Wiltjer
Hillcrest: Isabella Marshall, Ashani Moore
Oak Forest: Hailee Rininger, Lanya Gary
Tinley Park: Josh Deleon, Eli Halloran, Lizzy Jorgensen, Zoe Klette and Jordyn Taylor
This retreat would not have been possible without the district alumni and staff volunteers who either helped to lead Small Groups or served on Support Staff.
District staff who were essential to Snowball included:
Bremen: Edgar Gonzalez-Baeza, Christine Slattery and Matt Cucio
Hillcrest: Gabe Gonzalez, Alex Marin, Kara Williams, Andrea Johnson, Sharis Galvez, Gina Woolwine and Nicole D’Onofrio
Oak Forest: Kerry Pecka, Mike Sokolowski, Lillie Holman, Kerry Pecka, Naeem Frausto and Michelle Pluhar
Tinley Park: Claudia Rush, Kathy Stewart and Adam Pries
Alumni who came “home” to help with the Retreat included:
Bremen: Ashley Moore, Bridget Lira, Dria Wiltjer (all the way from Arizona!), Kaitlyn Gonzalez, James Krech, Alex Quilty and Rachael Flores
Hillcrest: Lore Liekis
Oak Forest: Val Catanzaro, Sarah Florek-Dzincioloski and Maggie Swinford
Tinley Park: Baylee O’Brien, Robert Abels (all the way from Virginia!) and Maria Jeleva
Other staff who were so helpful to us this year included:
Bremen: Tamara Pryor and Ryan Blackwell
Hillcrest: Madonna Pufunt, Maricha Matthews, Kim Spaulding, Jim Curtin and Tyler Teaney Oak Forest: Colleen Barrins, Jenn DeBosschere and Cassie Reid
Tinley Park: Katie Udstuen, Colleen Konecki and Wendy Podbielniak
Snowball was also delighted to host Dr. Brad Sikora (Superintendent) , Mrs. Marquita Marshall Motley (D228 Board of Education), Mr. Matt Meany (Bremen), Mr. Ron Towner and Mrs. Amy DiForti (Hillcrest) and Dr. Mike Boniface (Oak Forest).
It was really a wonderful time!