DuPage Childrens Museum pilots new East Asian games exhibit; weekly park district kids' lunchtime fun returns; Senior Task Force accepting Senior of the Year nominations – Chicago Tribune

DuPage Childrens Museum pilots new East Asian games exhibit

Children and their families can celebrate East Asian culture through a new pretend play exhibit at the DuPage Childrens Museum in Naperville.

A Taste of East Asia will be open Saturday, June 15 through Friday, July 26 at the museum, 301 N. Washington St.

As part of the exhibit, children can prepare, cook and serve pretend meals to their families. All objects are representations of East Asian ingredients and are designed to celebrate East Asian culture, museum officials said. The exhibition also features scented jars containing real spices that are mainstays of East Asian cuisine.

People connect to other cultures through food. So by incorporating activities around food and the regions where dishes originate, children can broaden their worldview, officials said.

The new exhibit also incorporates a combination of fine motor activities and broader gross motor exploration, a press release states.

Weekly Park District Kids Lunch Fun Returns

The Naperville Park District's weekly lunchtime entertainment series for kids will run at 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays through mid-July.

Every week, a new artist offers free family entertainment for around 45 minutes.

On June 18, the featured artist is children's musician Jeanie B., who will be at 95th Street Community Plaza, 3109 Cedar Glade Drive.

The following week, the duo Wendy and DB will perform on June 25 at the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion, 912 Honorary Sindt Memorial Court, behind Centennial Beach.

Musician Ben Tatar will perform July 2 at the 95th Street Community Plaza and musical group Scribble Monster will take the stage July 9 on the Riverwalk. The series concludes July 16 with family musician Leonardo at the 95th Street Community Plaza.

For more information, visitwww.napervilleparks.org.

Senior Working Group accepting Senior of the Year nominations

The Senior Citizens Task Force is seeking nominations for the Naperville Senior Citizen of the Year award through August 31.

Applicants must be 65 years or older and a resident of Naperville with a history of community service, a news release states.

Applications may include supporting documents such as newspaper articles or letters of support as well as the application form. Information about senior volunteering or community service, leadership roles in civic or charitable organizations, professional career, and family should be included in the description.

The winner will be announced at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 15 at the Naperville City Council meeting.

For an application form or more information, visit naperville.il.us/government/taskforces/senior-task-force or call Gallagher at 630-362-5105.

Email the nomination form and any supporting documentation to John Gallagher, Core Task Force Member, at [email protected] or mail it to John Gallagher, 23W271 Creek Court, Naperville, IL 60540-9430.

Naperville District 203 Welcomes Several New Administrators

Naperville School District 203 hired several new district administrators effective July 1.

Mark Cohen will be the new assistant superintendent of secondary schools.

He began his 25-year educational career as a physics teacher in Lincoln-Way High School District 210. For 18 years at Lincoln-Way, he worked as a teacher, department chair, dean, assistant principal and principal. His other leadership roles included assistant superintendent of Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 and superintendent of Mokena School District 159.

Katie M. Matthews has been hired as assistant superintendent of elementary education.

Matthews has 21 years of experience in elementary education, beginning her career as a fifth grade teacher in St. Charles School District 303. Her past leadership roles have included principal of Grove Avenue in Barrington School District 220 and principal of Willow Creek Elementary School in Woodridge School District 68. She also served as an assistant principal at various schools in Arlington Heights School District 25.

Melissa McHenry is the new Assistant Superintendent of Student Services.

McHenry's entire career has been within District 203, starting as a learning behavior specialist, a position she held for 10 years. She later was named director of the special education department at Naperville North High School and then assistant principal at Meadow Glens Elementary School. Since 2021, she has served as Director of Student Services.

Meredith Haugens has been named assistant superintendent of human resources.

She has served as a 4th and 5th grade teacher as well as an elementary and middle school assistant principal, middle school principal, and assistant superintendent of human resources in Marquardt District 15.

Maribel Guerrero, who is the district's bilingual coordinator, has been promoted to director of language acquisition. Guerrero also served as a learning support coach and bilingual teacher at Mill Street Elementary School.

Kristen Caprarola will be the new principal of Lincoln Junior High School. She is currently the deputy director.