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SATURDAY JANUARY 14 | SUNDAY JANUARY 15 2017
DailyNorthShore.com
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
The play isn’t the only thing for playwright Brett Neveu. P22 NO. 223 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION
NEWS
SPORTS
Freshman Avery Faulkner makes immediate impact on New Trier gymnastics team. P20
SOCIAL SCENE Guests gathered for the 12th annual Camp Hope benefit gala. P10
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TALENT REBOOT
D-112 ushers out BDR3; Cohn resigns McKenzie School parents BY JULIE KEMP PICK DAILYNORTHSHORE.COM
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he first North Shore School District 112 meeting of 2017 began with a letter of resignation from Board President Michael Cohn and went from delaying BDR3 for a year to a unanimous vote to “not implement” BDR3. This means all 12 D-112 schools will remain open for now. Board Vice President Samantha Stolberg said there will be five new board members and a new superintendent in May, so even if the current board members “vote to delay BDR3 until the 2018/19 school year, it doesn’t matter because the new board can do whatever they want. We’re better off just taking it off the table entirely.” She led the meeting in Cohn’s absence. Earlier in the January 3 meeting, Stolberg asked Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy to explain the original intent of BDR3 from February 2016, and he said it was to close three or four school buildings to save $5 million. Bregy said the cabinet still wants to move ahead Continued on PG 6
rev for 37th annual variety show BY EMILY SPECTRE DAILYNORTHSHORE.COM
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olunteers for the famed variety show at McKenzie Elementary School are just starting to kick into high gear as rehearsals begin for the 37th annual show, which will be performed in mid-March. Of course, that doesn’t mean work just began on a show that entertains the entire community and is the school’s largest fundraiser to boot. Almost as soon as the 2016 show is a wrap, volunteers begin thinking about the next year and who will step up to direct and produce the show. “The time commitment is huge,” said Elizabeth Belkind, who directs the show this year. But don’t take that comment as a complaint — from a mother of three who also works full time — Belkind loves volunteering for the variety show. “I think it is such a big community-building experience for parents,” Belkind said. She has participated in the show for four years after discovering the show was the perfect outlet. “For a working parent it was difficult for me to get to know other people,” she said. But when Belkind joined the variety show, she found a community of friends, as well as a way to give back to the school. Christi Harrison, who is
The McKenzie school play director Elizabeth Belkind, center, is flanked by co-producers Christi Harrison and Jeff Goldman. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER.
producing the show with Jeff Goldman, couldn’t agree more. “I think the biggest thing it adds is adult relationships outside of children,” she said. While it can take years to make connections in many schools, Harrison thinks the variety show is a game changer. “Once I did the variety show I realized you are in. You’ve met 100 people,” she said.
Like Harrison and Belkind, Goldman finds the variety show a perfect way to meet friends. “It is a nice way to be involved in the community and be involved on a more social level,” he said. For instance, at the first cast meeting Goldman met a new parent who had just moved to Wilmette. “By the time the show is over he is going to have all
these friends he didn’t have before,” Goldman remarked. The variety show truly is unique. Instead of a traditional student talent show, this show is created, directed, produced and performed entirely by parents. On any given year, audiences are entertained by a dedicated group of volunteers who dress up in silly costumes and sing popular tunes.
That said, parents have to be willing to let their guards down a little bit. “You really have to become vulnerable to do the show,” Harrison said. While it may take some risk, in the end most parents find the experience rewarding. “It creates a warm community of acceptance. It is Continued on PG 6
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