CATCHIN' UP !!!!!!!!!!!!

DID EVERYONE ENJOY THE CELEBRATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING!!!!!!! I for one did, and very much enjoyed the documentary on the HISTORY CHANNEL!!!!!!

First off, I want to congratulate Our Varsity Girls' Basketball squad, and their coaches (Little, Kukulski, Holakovsky, and Nyhlen) on the Consolation Championship in the Westmont Rotary 33rd Annual Tournament. After a tough first round loss to Jefferson, the Lady Spartans came back with two wins on Saturday to take the award!!! In addition, Shannon S. was named to the all-tournament team!!!!!

Our Boys squad has had a rough start in many ways. Besides losing their #1 inside player (Joey W.) to a severely broken leg, and team leader Jacob A. to a sprained ankle, the Spartans have faced the five toughest teams on their schedule. Following an opening round Westmont loss to Jefferson, they bounced back to defeat Gower before losing in the Consolation Championship game to St. Mary's of D.G.. Regular season action has pitted Lakeview vs. Old Quarry, Westview Hills, and Eisenhower. Yesterday, at Westmont, the Spartans lead by seven going into the 4th quarter, only to be shutout 9-0, allowing Westmont to win the game at the buzzer!!!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly say THANK YOU, on behalf of the entire Boys Varsity Basketball team, to Mr. Jay Baum, the new Boys Varsity Basketball coach at Downers South. Coach Baum, with the cooperation of DGS Athletic Director Todd Cassens, setup a conference basketball game between Lakeview and Eisenhower last Friday afternoon at South. Aside from the score (45-18..Eisenhower), a great time was had by all participants. What a difference between playing on a jr. high floor, and one the size of DGS!!

BUT..........................the Spartans have many more games, with the hope that they keep "Playing Hard"!!!!!! If so, some success should be on the horizon.............as well as some healthy bodies back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROLLERBLADING HAS COME AND GONE, WITH EVERYONE LIVING TO TELL ABOUT IT!!!!! It appeared that our students at Lakeview enjoyed the annual activity, and to that, did a great job......with and without protective pads!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our units currently in operation include WEIGHT TRAINING and BASKETBALL (with the 3rd sixth grade activity being Floor Hockey)!!

Have a great week, stay warm, and..........................

GO SPARTANS.........................PLAY HARD!!!!!!!!!!!

Coach Dodd

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!

Hey Spartans.....

WELCOME BACK!!!!! I hope all of 66 had a great break, and were able to recharge for 2010!!!!

Much has transpired since my last publication, so I'll just start in no specific order !!!

The 8th grade ballroom dance.....What a great afternoon we all had........kids looked great........Mrs. Garvey ONCE AGAIN did a great job with the unit......Megan V. and Brett C. put on an outstanding performance demonstrating what talents our 66 kids have that are rarely seen........PTO moms and dads provided our festivities with treats for all (yours truly included)........attendance by many other parents once again proved that our parents truly enjoy and care about what their kids are doing in school..........and........above all..........all our 8th graders demonstrated what they learned during the three weeks of instruction in a unit that they had never participated in before!!!!!!! GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROLLERBLADING to start the new year!!!! All three grade levels will be rollerbalding this week (Jan. 4-8), polishing the moves and techniques they have learned during previous years!!! Our students are very lucky to have the opportunity to participate in this "life skill" activity!!!!

VARSITY BASKETBALL rolls into high gear this week with our participation in the Westmont Rotary Tournament (Jan. 4-9) at Westmont Jr. High. Both Girls and Boys squads start tonite (Jan. 5th) at 4:00 PM and 5:15 PM respectively vs. Jefferson Jr. High. Teams return to action Thursday evening with 2nd round games. Tipoff times will depend on results from Tuesday games. A win on either or both nights will place a team into a third game on Saturday with tipoff times yet to be determined. Good luck to Coach Little, Coach Kukulski, and the Lady Spartans!!!!!

To get an update later this week regarding tournament play and starting times, please shoot me an e-mail, and I will reply with necessary information! tdodd@ccsd66.org

Our annual "Varsity / Alumni Scrimmage" during break was once again a big success. Former team members currently in high school and college returned to battle our Boys varsity team. Alums Michael Mascitti (LV '05..DGS '09..NIU '13), Seth Carson (LV '05..DGS '09..Central Coll. of Iowa '13), Alex Gorniak (LV '05..DGS '09..Indiana U. '13), John Holakovsky (LV '07..DGS '11), T.J. Dodd (LV '07..DGS '11), Erik Thate (LV '07..DGS '11), and Christopher Eberhart (LV '08..DGS '12) gave the varsity a great workout in preparation for many of the battles with big and physical teams they will face this season. GOOD LUCK to these great guys as they return to their schools for the second half of this year!!!!

As a side note regarding our alumni, I would like to congratulate another Lakeview and Downers Grove South graduate Zack Bell. Air Force Academy Cadet 3rd class Bell has completed his third year as a member of the Falcons football squad that soundly crushed the University of Houston (47-20) in the BELL HELICOPTER / ARMED FORCES BOWL in Ft. Worth, Texas on New Years Eve. Upon graduation in 2011, Zack looks forward to qualifing for flight training, and ultimately Fighter Weapons School. Best of luck to #94 !!!!

A big "THANK YOU" goes out to all the members of the District 66 community who attended the Downers South - Lyons Twp. basketball game at the United Center on Dec. 19th. Even though the Mustangs came up a little short (71-66 L.T.), a great night was had by all. The Bulls put on one of their best performances of the season, coming back from being down 17 to tie the game and eventually winning in overtime. Downers South sold over 1200 tickets to the game, and look forward to possibly being invited back during a future season!!

Have a great week...stay healthy...and..... GO SPARTANS.......PLAY HARD!!!!!!

Coach Dodd