The Park District of Highland Park is a member of the Highland Park Character Counts Steering Committee in collaboration with the City of Highland Park, North Shore School District 112, and the Highland Park High School, which honors nominees whose beliefs, attitudes, and actions consistently exemplify the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 Character Counts Pillar Award, and we hope you will consider nominating worthy candidates from the Park District of Highland Park. This year’s deadline is December 31, 2023.
The Six Pillars of Character is an integral part of the Highland Park community philosophy. To become more productive citizens of the future, children need to develop a set of core values that they can build on and call on throughout their lives to guide their behavior and attitudes. They also need adults serving as role models of good character. Six building blocks of character – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship – form the foundation of character education. These building blocks are inseparable parts of a complete attitude that will help children reduce risk behaviors, improve achievement and develop personal integrity, and for adults to live together in a civil manner.
These goals cannot be accomplished through the efforts of any one teacher, parent or institution. The responsibility for developing a nation of morally conscious students must be shared by all. Only through shared commitment can we hope to raise the level of character consciousness.
On this edition of Wild Insights, Mark takes us along to answer the question, “Where do the Heller bees go in the winter?”
By Liz Vogel
Of all the disciplines and practices that I like to claim—artist, designer, gardener—I think most of all I am an observer within the small parcels that I tend. On a late fall day, when the temps have settled in the lower portion of the thermometer and mornings bring a stunning display of frost lined leaves and stems, I think about all of the usual garden suspects and wonder where they are now. Gone are some birds, butterflies, and dragonflies who follow the Lake Michigan flight path south and mingle over-head come late fall. Those still in the garden though, in some form or stage, are the caterpillars of the endangered pearl crescent butterfly who overwinter under the basal leaves of some asters such as the big-leaved and sky-blue.
The black swallowtail butterfly overwinters as a chrysalis, delicately tethered to the side of a dried branch or stem. The Queen bumblebee is tucked away in the soil or under dried leaves, having produced an anti-freeze-like substance to withstand the coming cold. She will emerge early in spring to search for a new nesting location. Who else is still in the garden? The Carolina mantis, in its smallest form wrapped up in a flat sandy brown case among hundreds of other fertilized eggs. You may see these structures in the garden, attached to a vertical surface, and witness as the nymphs hatch mid-spring. They look like a band of tiny aliens patrolling the area.
Among those that find shelter within craggy bark or small holes in a tree? The mourning cloak and comma butterflies, along with a variety of beetles and small native bees.
My point in all of this is: though it is cold and quiet, and possibly covered in snow, many of our summer favorites are still in the garden—as egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or adult—waiting for warmer temperatures to return before they once again buzz and weave among our flowers. We can all help them out by being a bit less tidy and allowing fallen branches, dried leaves and old plant stems to remain. If cutting back (no matter what time of year) clip dried stems into smaller pieces and tuck them between upright branches to help hold them during windy days.
A more vibrant garden (if we begin to better understand it) can not only come from the brightly colored flowers that we adore, but from the complexity that grows with each new season—if we evolve the way we garden to allow for the queen bumblebee, swallowtail, mantis and more.
Liz is a professional horticulturist, observer, artist and writer, and co-owner of North Branch Natives, an education-focused native plant nursery.
Childhood is a time of growth, exploration, and developing various skills. Engaging in physical activities from a young age can profoundly impact a child’s overall well-being. Ice skating and gymnastics offer many physical, mental, and social benefits. Your child can experience the joy and benefits of both activities at the newly renovated Centennial Ice Arena! Our highly qualified staff ensure your kiddos evolve through our progressive programming.
Centennial Ice Arena can help your young skater or tumbling star build strength and flexibility and nurture a sense of self-discipline and self-confidence. Here are some of the wonderful benefits of ice skating and gymnastics.
The Benefits of Ice Skating
1. Physical Fitness: Ice skating is an excellent way to get kids moving and stay physically active. It engages multiple muscle groups, especially in the legs and core, improving balance and coordination.
2. Cardiovascular Health: Skating promotes a healthy heart by boosting cardiovascular endurance. The aerobic aspect of ice skating helps improve lung capacity and overall fitness.
3. Balance and Coordination: Ice skating requires children to develop a strong sense of balance and coordination, which can transfer to improved agility in other sports and daily activities.
4. Mental Focus: Skaters must concentrate and focus to glide gracefully on ice. This cultivates mental discipline and sharpens their ability to pay attention to detail.
5. Social Interaction: Ice skating often takes place in group settings, providing kids with an opportunity to make friends, learn teamwork, and enhance their social skills.
6. Confidence Building: As children learn to skate, they build self-confidence, setting and achieving small goals, and overcoming challenges, all of which contribute to a positive self-image.
7. Stress Relief: Like all physical activities, ice skating is an excellent way for children to blow off steam, reduce stress, and relax.
The Benefits of Gymnastics
1. Strength and Flexibility: Gymnastics builds strong muscles and promotes flexibility. Children develop power and endurance through routines and exercises.
2. Body Awareness: Gymnasts learn to understand their bodies better, which can help reduce the risk of injury and improve posture and body mechanics.
3. Discipline and Focus: The structured nature of gymnastics teaches children discipline and focus as they work diligently to master new skills and routines.
4. Balance and Coordination: Similar to ice skating, gymnastics hones balance and coordination, improving a child’s overall athleticism.
5. Goal Setting: Gymnastics is goal oriented. Children set goals for themselves, learning the value of hard work and perseverance.
6. Creativity and Expression: In artistic gymnastics, children can express themselves creatively through their routines, fostering artistic and imaginative abilities.
7. Self-Confidence: As children gain competence and master challenging moves, their self-confidence soars, and they learn to trust in their abilities.
So, what are you waiting for? Develop your young one’s physical fitness, mental acuity, discipline, and social skills. Whether your child is eager to learn a new skill and have fun or progress to be a true competitor, Centennial Ice Arena provides it all.
With the cold weather comes snow and winter fun! Take a look at everything you need to know about our outdoor winter activities.
Sunset Woods Park: 1801 Sunset Road
Hours: 9am-9pm daily (rink is lit by existing park lights)
When weather conditions allow (an average temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for 5 consecutive days, 5-6 inches of ground frost), Park District staff will begin flooding the ice rink at Sunset Woods Park. It takes four 24-hour days to spray and freeze the water to create a base and finish ice.
Throughout the season, the rink may be closed for snow removal or unsafe ice conditions.
Skating is free and the rink is sectioned off to allow for separate hockey and recreational skating. Groups should be considerate of one another. For the safety of our patrons, helmets are required in the hockey rink.
There is no supervision or skate rental at the outdoor rink. Anyone using the ice rink should be aware that the risk of injury is present. The Park District encourages everyone to participate in this activity in a safe manner and suggests that children be supervised by a responsible adult.
Danny Cunniff Park: 2700 Trail Way Street (located toward the back of the park, just south of Centennial Ice Arena)
Hours: No set hours
The sled hill is free and open to the public. Please be aware that there is no supervision or warming facility at the sled hill. The Park District of Highland Park encourages everyone to participate in this activity in a safe manner and to follow these safety guidelines:
Throughout the season, the sled hill may be closed from time to time.
Heller Nature Center: 2821 Ridge Road
Hours : 7:30am – Dusk
Hit the snow on three miles of ungroomed trails at Heller Nature Center. Skiing with Skis is available whenever snow conditions permit (4″ base or greater). Call 847.433.6901 to check snow conditions.
$13/person: Reservations must be made online, no walk-ins.
If you have your own skis, please feel free to use our trails at your leisure from 7:30am to dusk.
Monday-Sunday: 9-10am, 10:10-11:10am, 11:20am-12:20pm, 1-2pm, 2:10-3:10pm, 3:20-4:20pm
Highland Park Golf Learning Center: 2205 Skokie Valley Highway
Hours : Dawn – Dusk
Open mid-December through mid-March (dates are weather dependent). A large outdoor venue for your dog to run off some of that cabin fever energy. There are two off-leash exercise areas available, depending on the size of your dog.
For more information on our dog parks and to apply for a dog park membership, click the button below.
On Wednesday, November 1, the Park District of Highland Park, in conjunction with the Parks Foundation of Highland Park, celebrated the renaming of Cloverdale Park to Fontana-Pasquesi Park in honor of the Italian immigrant families from the Modena Province in the Emilia Romagna Region who settled in this area beginning in the early 1900s. The Fontana-Pasquesi family gave a generous donation to the Parks Foundation that will be used to maintain and improve the park for the neighborhood and the entire Highland Park community for many years to come.
The Park District Board of Commissioners approved the renaming of the park at the October 25, 2023 Regular Board Meeting. The naming rights agreement was presented and approved by the Park Board of Commissioners at the August 23, 2023, Regular Board Meeting. The name sat for a period of 60 days for public review before final approval by the Park Board.
A dedication plaque will be posted at the park giving the history of the Italian-American families who settled in the Highland Park/Highwood area.
This park is dedicated to the Italian immigrants from the Modena Province in the Emilia Romagna Region. The capital of Modena is the city of Modena, which is one of the Sister Cities of Highland Park.
These immigrants settled in Southeast Lake County beginning in the early 1900s. They strongly supported their adopted homeland and were proud to become U.S. citizens with many serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
It was their sacrifice, spirit, and work ethic that contributed to Highland Park History.
Laurence Pasquesi
Maria Fontana Pasquesi
We can put you where you’ve always wanted to be. In the spotlight. In the action. Onstage!
Your Park District is creating a theatre program where all are welcome, and all can shine. Acting? Yes. Singing? Yesssss! Designing and building props? We have all the tools.
Do you love to perform? Well, we spent the last year thinking about you. We used our time creating a new Theatre program where you can use your talents, learn, grow, and show your friends and family that you’ve got what it takes! Sound like fun? It is!
This fall, you have the opportunity to sign up for any of the 8 new classes we’ve created that can start you on the road to stage (or screen) greatness. Take a look:
Introduction to Theatre. This class is all about learning stage directions. Those are all critical for any young performer, and you’ll concentrate on the basics, and the correct terminology, so you’re ready for whatever comes your way. Things like:
Broadway Here I Come. Acting, of course. But also music and dance. If musical theater is your thing, then this is your class. You’ll be swell. You’ll be great. You know the rest.
Teen Improv. This is a brand new class. It’s specialized, but maybe you are, too. Check it out!
Take the Stage. Our 2023 summer camp was a great big hit! Look for details next spring.
In our art classes at the Park District, we’ll teach you what to look at, how to look at it, and how to draw it!
Most people who really would love to draw and paint have never taken a class because they just don’t think they have any talent. Well, drawing is a skill. It can be taught. We can teach you to draw, and you’ll have a great time doing it.
How do we know? We do it every day, for artists of all ages at all levels. Can you see shapes? Great! That’s where all art begins. Circles, squares, triangles, ellipses. On one level it’s quite simple, and when you learn to see, and learn to make the shapes you’re seeing, your confidence grows exponentially. Join one of our classes and beyond the joy of creating you’ll also get some extra benefits.
More hand-eye-brain coordination. That’s important at every age, along with developing and maintaining fine motor skills, but seniors may find it especially important to keep their hands, eyes, and brain working together in harmony.
Actual benefits to your brain. While you draw, your brain builds new connections and pathways. The left side is responsible for logical thinking and the right side is where your creativity comes from. Since both sides are active, the brain grows. Query: If you draw the brain does your brain grow even more?
Concentration. Drawing requires that you focus on the subject and concentrate on the marks you’re making. You must be present. In the moment. Doing that for an extended period of time, like a class, can train your brain to do that at other, perhaps more important times. It’s so much better for you than scrolling endlessly, and when you’re done concentrating on your drawing you just might have a beautiful piece of art that you can be proud of for years to come. Wouldn’t that be lovely!
A better mental attitude. Many people feel more at ease while they are drawing. Certainly, Vincent did. Drawing is a well-known therapy tool for stress relief. It can feel like meditation. When you feel productive, you more often just feel good about yourself. We know we do.
You might just develop an artist’s “eye.” Drawing can help you see proportions and the relationships between objects. It can help you be a better judge of measurements and distances. Things you can apply to other areas of your life. Drawing can be so much more than marks on paper, once you learn to see.
Did we mention how much fun it is? If nothing else we’ve said has moved you (or made your brain light up), think about taking an art class with a friend. Sharing your new skills and enjoying each other’s sketches is one of the great joys you’ll experience. We guarantee it!
One of the areas that Julie Nichols, our Recreation Program Manager, and Chris Holling, our Recreation Supervisor for Youth Enrichment & Arts, began to focus on a couple of years ago was the creation of a Dance program at the Park District that filled a need in the community.
After running some free workshops and talking with those participants to better understand what they wanted from the district, they built a program that grew to include more than 200 dancers—in just 9 months. Is it fun? You bet. Is it providing a place for young performers to express themselves? Without a doubt. Is it successful? On more levels than you would think.
Dance is one of the Performing Arts that benefits all ages in ways that go way beyond just physical strength, movement, and flexibility. In our program, dancers learn about good nutrition and how to combine that with proper stretching and strengthening routines. Dancing is an excellent outlet for their creativity, and they get support for that from their peers. That builds self-confidence and self-esteem which can carry over into so many other areas of their lives.
Our Spring 2023 Dance Recital, held onstage at Northwood Middle School, was attended by more than 400 of the dancers’ family members and friends. Confidence poured from the stage. That’s what a well-crafted program can do when it’s run by Park District staff who care deeply for the participants. We know that many of our Cultural and Performing Arts programs are the first step on the road to the next level. That’s what you’ve told us you want, and that’s how the programs are designed. But even if your child is a budding Yo-Yo Ma, or Baryshnikov, or Kristin Chenoweth, they need a place to start where they get the support they need—and still have fun. That’s us. That’s what we do, every day.
Just as our Music program feeds the brain, so does our Dance program. And while your dancing brain is lighting up, here are some other well-documented things that are happening:
We hope knowing some of that makes you want to get up and dance. We’ll join you down at the Ozdust Ballroom!
2 Science confirms: Dancing makes you happy. Read the article here.
As cold weather approaches, the Park District of Highland Park and City of Highland Park are partnering with the Community Care Collective of Chicago’s 33rd Ward to collect much-needed items for asylum seekers arriving in Chicago.
More than 18,000 migrants, mostly from Central and South America, have come to Chicago since last fall. Hundreds continue to arrive daily in need of shelter and supplies. Together, we can make a difference and extend a warm welcome to those who are seeking refuge and a brighter future.
For Men, Women, and Children (Lightly Used/Clean OR New):
