Peoria Standard

The Peoria school board celebrated several of the students throughout the district. At their January 23rd city council meeting, A.J. Guyton, the district’s director of K-8 athletics, addressed the board concerning the 2022 Girl’s Basketball City Champions. The junior high champs were the Reservoir Gifted Academy Wildcats who were the number one ranked in the tournament and finished their regular season with a record of 9-1 and an overall record of 13-1. It was their second championship in a row. 

The girls and their coach were brought up to be recognized by the board. The varsity winners for this year’s tournament were the Von Steuben Vikings who were also the number one seed and National League champions with a record of 13-1. They won their championship game 41-37. The players and coaches were also called out and recognized by the board for their accomplishments. 

"The purpose of writing the grant was to expose students in Peoria to an awesome experience that they, like, Haley said, wouldn't have done otherwise," Director of Bilingual and Multicultural Programs Anna Rose said. "The purpose of it is to make sure students are engaged in an authentic and an enriching environment that would provide the experience of exposing them to be aware of the diversity and other languages that are out there in the world, especially learning a second language."

The board of education also recognized a recent school trip that returned. Peoria High schools recently took 21 students along with 5 staff members to Puerto Rico for five days. The goal of this trip, which was funded by a grant, was to take students who would not normally be able to travel on a trip to experience other cultures. The trip was coordinated by Richwoods high school Spanish teacher Haley Conger. 

This trip is a part of their languages department, helping expose students to a culture that speaks another language that they might be learning. They are sending their French department to New Orleans later this week for the same reason. Several students from the trip spoke about their experiences. They loved all the adventures and fun things that they got to do, like flying in an airplane, kayaking, ziplining, and snorkeling. But they also talked about how fun it was to have students from three different Peoria high schools come together, break some rivalries and make new friends while experiencing a new part of the world.