Our school is 2 hands old! This Spring we will have a number of opportunities to celebrate City Neighbors Hamilton's birthday (stay tuned!). This is a great time to think about what CNH means to you and how you can support it in that way. What might your birthday gift be to the school? How can you help it grow into the next year confidently and with pride? To me, CNH means family to me -- a family that supports, pushes, disagrees, and celebrates each other. The definition of the word "family" has had many different meanings throughout my lifetime. As [...]

  Voting YES or FOR to Question 1 will keep a promise made to voters that casino revenue would increase school funding instead of being used for other purposes. While casino revenues have been going into the Education Trust Fund—which can only be used for funding public education—nearly the same amount of existing funding has been shifted from education to other parts of the state budget. The result? The new revenue from casinos hasn’t added to existing funding; it has simply maintained the existing levels. Passing Question 1 will stop the budget gimmicks and ensure that casino revenues actually go to [...]

The Scott Brothers (from HGTV), Kohl's, and Heart of America have teamed up to provide an amazing opportunity. The first place school will win a library makeover (with an estimated value of $100,000)! The 30 runner-up schools will get a school supply crate and Harper Collins Books at an estimated value of $1,250.00. To have a chance to win, we need lots of nominations. The more nominations we have, the more we will be considered. Each person can nominate once a day until midnight on 10/31. Winners are announced in November. Last year we envisioned transforming our current library into [...]

When Ralphie turned in his masterpiece, “What I Want for Christmas” theme essay in the 1983 film, A Christmas Story, he envisioned his teacher, Miss Shields, clutching his essay to her chest and exclaiming: “Oh! The theme I’ve been waiting for all my life. Listen to this sentence: ‘A Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time.’ Poetry! Sheer poetry, Ralph! An A+!” He daydreamed of his classmates carrying him around on their shoulders, celebrating his enormous accomplishment. Ralphie was seeking, as all students do, validation for his personal vision, hard work, and desires [...]