Hauser Junior High’s rendition of Casablanca, the movie made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, will be presented by the students of Hauser Junior High on March 23 and 24, 2010, at 7 p.m. The free performances are open to the public, so make sure to invite your friends, neighbors and relatives!

In an interesting twist, this play, directed by Hauser teachers David Mason and Karina Koncius, will incorporate actual film, a first at Hauser Jr. High School. “We will be using three huge movie screens during the performance, because we have filmed parts of the play as a tribute to the film. We’ve tried to copy every camera angle and the whole feel of the film. We’ve also filmed all of the Paris flashback scenes,” explained Mr. Mason.

A team of actors and stagehands went on location all over the Riverside and Chicagoland areas to places such as the Riverside train station and The Museum of Science and Industry, to film the flashbacks in the movie. Using black and white film, these clips help to add a sense of style and authenticity to the performance. “Our biggest filming occurred in and around the 1940’s train at the Museum of Science and Industry, where we had to make it rain indoors for the shot,” said Mr. Mason.

The directors, crew and actors have rehearsed many hours to present a high-quality, dramatic, action-filled play. For more information, please contact: Mrs. Koncius at konciusk@district96.org or Mr. Mason at masond@district96.org. Hope to see you at the shows!

As part of the process of our conversion to a PTO, our organization must adopt PTO Bylaws. Those bylaws were presented at the PTA meeting on March 2, and a vote will be taken at the next meeting, on April 14 at 6:00 p.m. Also on the agenda will be the adoption of proposed “Standing Rules,” which are informal operating procedures that can be changed more easily than bylaws. Both the proposed Bylaws and proposed Standing Rules are posted here for your review. Please bring any comments or questions to the PTA meeting on April 14.

Proposed PTO Bylaws
Proposed PTO Standing Rules

Hauser PTA encourages parents to donate to our school with Target’s “Take Charge of Education.” By using a Target credit card, you can help Hauser just by doing your regular shopping.

1. Visit Target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142 to designate Hauser;
2. Use your REDcardSM (Target Visa Credit Card, Target Credit Card or Target Check Card) whenever you shop;
3. Target will donate up to 1% of your purchases.

Since we began participating in this program, Target has given $3,946.51 (as of August 2009) to Hauser. For more information, see the attached flyer.

Dates below are tentative (weather permitting). Interested girls should listen to announcements and check with Miss Brabec if inclement weather arises. Any girl who can not make the scheduled tryout date should contact Miss Brabec and make other arrangements before and/or after school. All make up tryouts should be completed by Monday, March 8.

TUESDAY 3/2
7th & 8th High Jump

WEDNESDAY 3/3
7th & 8th Shot Put

THURSDAY 3/4
6th grade 100 meters
7th & 8th 800 meters

FRIDAY 3/5
7th & 8th 100 & 200 meters

MONDAY 3/8
7th & 8th 400 meters & Long Jump*
*Long jump tryouts depend on the condition of the sand pit

Parents: if you have been collecting Boxtops for Education, please send them to school with your student next week. We need to have them in by Friday, February 26, in order to be reimbursed for them during this school year. Also, please visit the Boxtops For Education website for a chance to win 1,000 extra boxtops for our school. It takes about a minute to register and you can enter the sweepstakes once per day. Look in the school list for LJ Hauser (not Hauser) to enter for our school. There is no obligation to purchase anything by signing up to enter the drawings. You can opt out of future e-mails.

Eighth grade parents can purchase space in the back of the Hauser yearbook with a personal message to their student. This information was posted on the Hauser e-backpack, but in case you missed it, the form is available here. The ads are arranged 8 per page (approximately 2 1/2″ x 3 3/4″), and cost $25 (no photo) or $30 (with photo). The deadline is Friday, February 12.

District 96 Day at the Movies at the North Riverside Mall Classic Cinemas: Sponsored by the Hollywood PTA & Central PTO

What: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (PG) , based on the best selling book by Rick Riordan.

Who: All Riverside District 96 students and their families

When: Friday, February 12 at 1:00 p.m.

Where: North Riverside Mall Classic Cinemas, 7501 W. Cermak Road, North Riverside, IL 60546

Tickets were sold in advance at Central & Hollywood, but tickets are also available at the door for District 96 students. Children attending must have proper adult supervision. If you have any question, please contact Jennifer Perry or Kathy Dudek.

Thanks to everyone who came to our Soup Supper and to everyone who participated in the Silent Raffle. We made a net profit of $1,537 ($656 from the auction and $881 from the dinner, with ticket sales of $1059 and expenses of $178.15) All of the profits from the event go to support programs and events sponsored byHauser Jr. High PTA.

Winners of the silent raffle items were:

Adult World Percussion Class:
Beverly Aieta
Michael Aieta
Olga Andrulis
Kathy Barcal
Julia Berglind
Steven Daily
Dawn Gmitro
Nancy Hopkins
Sue Jones
Jim Marciniak
Lisa Marciniak
Joe Ourth
Tori Sells
Andy Sitkiewicz
Fran Sitkiewicz
Laura Stirrat-Zavala

There are four seats still available for the Adults Only World Percussion Class to be taught by Hauser’s own Mr. Brian Collins on Wednesday, February 10 from 7-9 pm. These seats are being offered for $25/seat on a first-come, first-served basis. E-mail Lisa Aulerich-Marciniak and let her know how many seats you would like.

Fairwind Sail Charter:
Kim Michl

$25 Dinner Club Gift Certificate:
Joanne Rogers
Kathy Barcal

8th Grade Graduation Reserved Seating:
Kim Michl
Sarah Bernstein

Reserved Seating for Casablanca – Spring Play:
Rich Volpe

All Hauser piano students who take private piano lessons are eligible to enter the piano solo contest on January 26 at Hauser. Please see Mrs. Gill for an entry form, or download from her website under “newsletters”. Entry forms are due Friday, January 15, and require a piano teacher’s signature. Students play a solo by memory for a judge and receive constructive comments about their performance.