CLASSROOM NOTES

JOLIET -- Each spring, students in Katie Nelson 's kindergarten class at St. Patrick School get a firsthand look at the creation of life when the class hatches baby chicks. But until this year, the students have never seen what happens to the chicks they care for once they leave their classroom for new homes on local farms.

This past spring, two of the baby chicks found a home with a St. Patrick School family.

Andrew Workman , a former student, and eighth-grader Charlie Workman took two of the chicks to their farm to raise. Named Hopper and Frightful, for the distinct personalities the chicks exhibited when they were small, the two chickens are now almost fully grown roosters. The chickens made a return appearance recently to St. Pat's so that the students who hatched them, now first-graders, along with current kindergartners, could see how they've grown and learn more about their care and feeding.

The students listened as Charlie read a story he wrote about how he and his brother were saddened by the loss of their previous fowl friend, a hen named Foghorn, and how they were delighted when Nelson offered them the opportunity to choose two chicks to take home.

He also detailed how the brothers care for the chickens, what they eat, and how they can tell them apart by the shape of the red comb on the top of their heads.

Charlie further amazed the students when he showed them how the chickens, just like any other bird species, will eat worms. The students laughed as they watched the roosters fight over the worms that were dropped into their cage.

JOLIET -- Joliet Central High School Students of the Month for November are Jessica Wojnarowski , Rotary Club; Arturo Aguirre , Kiwanis Club; and Nick George , Lions Club.

Joliet West High School Students of the Month for November are Allison Wysock , Rotary Club; Ryan Riessen , Kiwanis Club; and Thamara Magadan , Lions Club.