News

Two talented young Moroccan artists will arrive in Chicago to serve as artists-in-residence for the month of October thanks to Parker’s partnership with the Casablanca Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International

On Monday in the courtyard, the Upper School hosted its annual Involvement Fair, featuring more than 40 student organizations. Each group staffed a table as a way to promote their club, committee and/or affinity group

The Intermediate School held their opening Morning Ex on Friday to kick off the year. Students had a chance to gather as a division for the first time along with meeting teachers and staff

This past weekend, the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Colonels won the BODYARMOR Sports Series Showdown for Charity

The tradition of Big Siblings and Little Siblings is almost as old as Morning Ex. On Monday, the seniors entered the Main Gym to the strains of bagpipes and sat facing the rest of the school community

Since the school’s founding in 1901, Parker has begun each academic year with the Corinthians Morning Ex

One 2nd grade student received a special letter in the mail from the Mayor

Parker’s Athletics program aims to help student-athletes maximize their athletic potential, and several athletes achieved great success this summer as they pursued their passions outside our school walls

Five Romanian teams, as well as teams from all over the U.S., from California to New Jersey and everywhere in between, came to Parker to participate in the Chicago Robotics Invitational

From Sunday, August 21 to Tuesday, August 23, the class of 2026 kicked off the beginning of Upper School with a retreat at the Lake of the Woods/Greenwoods Camps in Decatur, Michigan

Parker was very proud to have a group of dedicated and passionate faculty, staff and students organize the school’s participation in Chicago’s Pride Parade 2022

Upper School student-athletes gathered together for a special workshop from the PCA

Since 1901, Morning Ex has been an important part of school life at Parker

Members of the class of 2022 met with their younger siblings in Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade for a final time this year as they enjoyed another chance to make memories as part of Parker’s Big Siblings/Little Siblings program

The Parker community gathered one last time this academic year for the annual Class Day celebration of the senior class

Third graders spent several months learning about Chicago architecture

On the eve of Parker’s 120th County Fair, the mighty men of MOCHA, the Upper School affinity group Men of Color Heritage Alliance, spent the evening at an Escape Room solving puzzles, putting their brains to the test, laughing, arguing and, ultimately, succeeding

Parker welcomed parents, guardians, grandparents and friends of the school to County Fair, one of the school’s oldest traditions

Fifth grade students shared what they have been learning about daily life in the Middle Ages in their annual medieval program

May Term, a program that originally took place in the 1970s, made its way back to Parker this year

Second grade students recently welcomed their parents and guardians to the classroom to share a poetry slam featuring their original work

In reaction to the recent tragedy in Buffalo, New York, student leaders of the Upper School Men of Color Heritage Alliance (MOCHA) and Black Student Union (BSU) welcomed their peers, faculty and staff for a teach-in to learn more and reflect together

Student members of the 2022–23 Berkowitz Committee recently recognized local nonprofit Chicago Survivors as this year’s recipient of the $10,000 Susan F. Berkowitz Award for Outstanding Service to Children

The Upper School SOCA (Students of Color Affinity) group culminated the 2021–22 year with a field trip entitled Cross-Cultural Exploration

For the past several weeks, 1st graders have explored superheroes and even transformed into Parker superheroes themselves

Une excursion! On Thursday, May 19, French Cultures and French II students visited the new Cézanne exhibit at the Art Institute

Join Parker in congratulating freshman Annoshae Mirza for participating in the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) Olympiada of Spoken Russian and winning a Gold Medal

Parker recently welcomed John Gentile to campus as the culminating activity in the month-long celebration of PRIDE

During the annual Woodland Activity Day, teachers and parent volunteers transformed parts of campus into an interactive learning environment

Seeking to express solidarity with immigrants, both documented and undocumented, and to raise awareness about issues pertaining to immigration justice, juniors in the Immigration Justice Civic Lab group researched local immigration cases, made signs and traveled to high-traffic and symbolic locations around Chicago to let their voices be heard

The Development Office was pleased to offer the Dinner and a Movie with Your Grandchild event on Friday, May 6

Upper School English teacher Alicia Abood and Upper School photography teacher Katie Palmer created an opportunity for Parker writers and photographers to collaborate through poetry

Members of the Upper School Science Department traveled to the University of Chicago Center in Paris as part of the 2022 France And Chicago Collaborating in The Sciences (FACCTS) program, which seeks to foster a broad range of networks and productive partnerships between Chicago-based researchers and France-based colleagues and institutions

Three groups of students in the Upper School Social Entrepreneurship class combined social good with business savvy when they pitched their ideas for a new nonprofit to a panel of friendly judges consisting of parents and alumni

Parker congratulates sophomore Benjamin Kagan for being honored with the 2022 American Red Cross Heroes Youth Award

Upper School history students learned more about World War II from Parker alum and passionate history enthusiast Michael Grant ’62

To honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, which is in May, the Upper School Asian Alliance Club has created an infographic. AAPI Heritage Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions and positive impact that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have brought to the United States

JK teacher Tisha Johnson organized a special unit to ensure her students understood and appreciated the meaning of a recent book they read in class

Award-winning junior Hudson Lin is set to participate in the fundraiser MetroSquash Cup with sister Ava

Fourth grade students delighted the community with what they have been learning about ancient Greece’s history and mythology through their performance of the Greek Play, this year based on the Trojan War

New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies recently returned to Parker for an encore appearance as Parker’s fifth annual Joan W. Harris Visiting Music Scholars in Residence

The Development Office was pleased to welcome Grandparents and Special Friends back to campus for our beloved Upper School Grandparents and Special Friends Day on Friday, April 29

This past week, a group of 23 Upper School students, under the care of faculty members Andrew Bigelow, Terry Davis and Victoria Lee, departed for the annual Civil Rights and Social Justice experience in Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, Alabama

Parker’s ROV team Subaquatic Solutions competed this weekend in the regional MATE ROV Competition

Students, teachers and staff combined efforts in support of LGBTQ+ individuals around the world—and within the school—as a part of Parker’s all-school celebration of Pride Week

Upper School students campaigning for a Student Government office in the 2022–23 academic year recently had an opportunity to appeal to their peers for support as part of Parker’s annual Democrafest

This past week, Parker hosted its 15th annual Robert A. Pritzker Visiting Scientist•Inventor•Engineer in Residence: Dr. Jamal Moss, deputy director of Auke Bay Laboratories and supervisory fish and wildlife administrator from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), visiting all the way from Alaska for a jam-packed full day of educational enrichment

Former Poetry Society of America Executive Director and Parker graduate Elise Paschen ’77 returned to campus to share more about herself, her work and her process with Upper School students as the school’s 8th Annual Jeanne Harris Hansell Endowed Poet

JK teachers welcomed parent and guardian readers to their classrooms in 15-minute shifts for an entire academic day as part of a “Day of Reading”

Poetry lovers from the faculty, student, alumni and parent/guardian community recently came together in the Kovler Family Library to celebrate Poetry Month and the robust culture of poetry at the school

Juniors in the PACTT Civic Lab group worked with Lower School classes to share what they have learned this year

Since 2007, 7th graders have embarked on a journey to learn a cultural dance from a particular Spanish-speaking country

Congratulations to Parker’s Upper School Scholastic Bowl Team on capping off a tremendous season with a successful campaign at the Small Schools National Championship Tournament in Rosemont

We are proud to announce Parker’s First All-School Pride Week set for Monday, May 2 to Friday, May 6

Seventh graders have been exploring Magic Realism using the 3D coding environment CoSpaces to create realistic narratives

After exposing 6th graders to work by artists Laetitia Ky and Asya Kozina that focused on themes of power and social reform, art teacher Caroline Gardner challenged students in her class to create paper sculptures of their own focusing on a topic of their choice

Students in Parker’s Astrophysics Club and the Upper School Astronomy, Modern Physics and Philosophy course welcomed special guest Neta Bahcall to an intimate Zoom experience on Wednesday. Bahcall, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astrophysics and director of the Undergraduate Program in Astrophysics at Princeton University, took time from her busy schedule to meet and discuss her work with these students

Esmé, a fine-dining restaurant across the street from Parker, would like to partner with our student artists to raise money for Kitchen Possible, a nonprofit organization in Chicago that helps children from underserved Chicago neighborhoods make positive things happen in their lives through life lessons in weekly cooking classes

Junior Lily Moss is one of 10 winners in the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s In Their Own Words essay contest

Parker is proud to announce that sophomore Saroya Ornelas Pagnucci is the recipient of the Hershey Heartwarming Young Hero Grant

Parker is very proud to announce that the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Sportsmanship Advisory Committee (SAC) has selected another Parker student from to join this important committee. Senior Sammi Coleman served a two-year term on the SAC, and, with her term ending in June, and after extensive review of the nominees, the IHSA has selected sophomore Ben Kagan

Visual Arts Department Co-Chair Kay Silva recently led her 4th grade students in producing a range of pieces in support of the Ukrainian people currently immersed in conflict

Students in Upper School History teacher Kevin Conlon’s Economics and Society class recently butted heads in a face-off of economic proportions. Conlon and this group of sophomores, juniors and seniors invited members of the community to attend and observe the dispute to see if these Upper School advocators could sway the observers to their side of the issue

More than 200 students and nearly 30 Middle School faculty and staff brought their energy and skills to a one-day Parker Partners event on Thursday, April 7. The Maker event, designed to literally build literacy and create warmth, had students crafting, designing and building

Creative Movement and Dance Development, a new course in Parker’s Senior Kindergarten, invited members of the community to their first Program Performance in the Dance Studio

Third grade students and teachers recently combined their collective efforts and energies to offer two special performances of a Spring Sharing Morning Ex, centering around Earth Day to inspire the Parker community to make positive changes for the environment

Members of the Parker underwater robotics team Subaquatic Equations participated in a hands-on ecological field trip run by Pigeon Key Marine Science Center in Florida

This year, more than 80% of 5th grade parents made a gift to the Parker Fund before the end of December, and for this reason, 5th graders won the Parent/Guardian Participation Challenge

Last Friday, more than 50 alumni—representing classes from 1962 to 2014— returned to campus to participate in Upper School Career Day, an all-day event for alumni to share their career experience and offer advice to Upper School students

Seventh grade students in Caroline Gardner’s Art classes have been flexing their creativity recently to bring awareness to a range of environmental causes

Parker’s very own sophomore Kai Uemura joined other members of the U.S. gymnastics team to sweep the men’s junior and senior team titles at the 2022 DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup at Porsche-Arena in Stuttgart, Germany

On Monday, juniors Rania Jones, Mortimer Buckley and Mollie Gross, the editors of Scout, presented a Morning Ex on the origin, purpose, publishing process and desired impact of the school’s teen magazine

Fifth graders created their own virtual reality (VR) games using Cospaces, a Web-based program that allows students to build their own 3D creations, animate them with code and explore them in virtual or augmented reality. Creating with CoSpaces helps students develop digital literacy, collaboration and coding skills and empowers them to become creators

Eighth grade students, under the direction of Middle School drama teacher Ed Garza, larked about for the amusement of their classmates and an audience of Lower School students, sharinh original acts as the culmination of their recent study of vaudeville performance at the turn of the 19th century

Each year, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) selects the top players in the state by the IHSA classification system. This year, Parker is proud to announce that junior Payton Pitts was selected for the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Class 2A All-State Team—Special Mention

Three members of the Scholastic Bowl team were recently honored by the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association (IHSSBCA) 

Parker’s Music Department spread some Holi magic with a Morning Ex performance and sharing featuring an Indian baraat band from Chicago, who taught students about the celebration of Holi in Indian culture and provided a brief history of baraat music, the instruments in baraat bands and the motivations behind the musicians who make the music

Students in Upper School History Department Chair Andrew Bigelow’s second semester Civil Rights elective welcomed sociology professor Dr. Eulalie Laschever from DePaul University for an intensive discussion about social movement theory

The sophomore class gathered for a special Zoom presentation with Thaddeus Stauber who specializes in fine art litigation

Nearly 200 young women of color from more than 10 schools around the city and country came together on a sunny Saturday in March to celebrate and explore their identities and share connection and community at this year’s Young Women of Color (YWOC) Symposium, a collaborative endeavor between Loyola Academy and Parker

Last weekend, one of Parker’s robotics teams, #9410 Frank’s Garage, competed at the FIRST FTC Illinois State Tournament

This year, all three Senior Kindergarten classes embarked on a yearlong study of the fungus that lives all around us

In response to the recent invasion of Ukraine, the History Department held a teach-in to explain and demystify this crisis

Students from Junior Kindergarten through 5th grade joined together for a Lower and Intermediate School Share Morning Ex, when four grades presented elements of recent classwork

Seniors in the Astronomy, Modern Physics and Philosophy class welcomed their Little Siblings for a presentation on the stars

Creative Movement and Dance Development is a new course in Parker’s Senior Kindergarten curricular offerings this academic year

Clinical psychologist, author, certified life coach and parenting and relationship expert Dr. John Duffy spent a day at Parker speaking to the importance of self-care and care for one another during times of stress, depression and grief

In 5th grade art class, students have developed their animation skills through a sequence of prompts beginning with 2D animation and culminating in a short stop-motion film, and this week they showcased their short films for a larger audience of their peers to enjoy

On Thursday, the Collab Lab became design central as students in 4th grade used their engineering skills and creativity to propose and prototype potential events for a HexBug Olympics

The History Department invited Dr. Rachel Boyle to discuss the importance of Chicago to Labor History and to labor activism

In 8th grade art classes, teacher Kay Silva asked students to work in groups to create murals representing themes of “power”

Parker’s Upper School Scholastic Bowl team took home its second consecutive Class 1A Regional Championship on Monday in Kankakee

Students in 3rd grade recently immersed themselves in a study of European settlers in this region during the 1800s for this year’s annual Settler Activity Day

Members of Parker’s Black Student Union (BSU) orchestrated a Morning Ex prior to February Recess, during which Black students, faculty and alumni spoke honestly about their experiences at the school and hoped to broaden perspectives

Thanks to the hard work of the staff, the latest issue of the Middle School newspaper the Clark Street Journal is available

This past Monday during Morning Ex, the Kupcinet Gallery was lined with devices that were spinning, sliding, whirling, flashing, detecting and making noises as 5th graders capped off their programming and engineering unit at their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) Expo

Alderperson of the 43rd Ward Michelle Smith recently visited the school for a special Morning Ex with 3rd grade students to share more about her role in the larger context of our country’s democracy and each of their roles as citizens in the democratic process

The Social Justice Committee, which encourages activism in the student body, has been hard at work this year and is ready to share the second edition of its newsletter

Parker is excited to announce that the second annual Young Women of Color Symposium, in partnership with Loyola Academy, is officially open for registration

Recently, Parker’s 9th grade Biology students were wrapping up their study of genetics and welcomed a presentation on the four main branches of advanced biotech treatments by Parker parent Dr. David Lennon

Upper School student members of Parker’s Men of Color Heritage Association (MOCHA) launched a week of events observing Black History and Futures month this week by orchestrating a Morning Ex that combined fun, learning and motivation

Students in Nanci Moore’s Senior Kindergarten class spent time this week talking about Valentine’s Day. While this is not an atypical event in younger grades, normally involving heart-drawing and candy-eating, Moore wanted to reinforce these conversations through a hands-on experience

Congratulations to junior Ana Franco on receiving a Division 1 field hockey scholarship offer to Wake Forest University, as well as a slew of other awards

As people across America celebrate and observe Black History Month, two new events debuted at Parker and were a resounding success. While the community was hard at work in class and at the special Morning Ex events, there was a need for events outside the classroom, and the Parker community delivered

This Saturday, Parker once again hosted the FTC Robotics Chicago League Championship. Our two US FTC robotics teams put on a thrilling performance both on and off the field, finishing the qualification rounds in 2nd and 3rd place out of 15 teams competing

The Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) recently selected junior percussionist Aleo Esparza to perform in the Illinois All-State Honors Band

Students in the Upper School welcomed Harrison Agrusa to Parker recently for a series of conversations that were truly out of this world. Agrusa is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland who primarily works on NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission

First grade teacher Bev “Greenie” Greenberg is currently enjoying her 50th year of teaching at Parker

Upper School students have been hard at work in the Creating Historical Documentaries course, co-taught by Visual Arts and Graphic Design teacher Travis Chandler’s and Upper School History teacher Dan Greenstone, as they worked to complete their final projects

In Integrated Learning and Information Science (ILIS), 4th graders examined Native American social justice movements, using thinking routines from JusticexDesign to examine their messages, choices and impacts

Parker was honored as a runner-up for this year’s American Field Service (AFS) Global School Award based on the school’s ongoing work to bring global ideas to students in and outside our classrooms

Freshman Zarin Mehta recently tied for second place at the International Young Artist Concerto Competition (IYACC), a Chicago-based competition in which 76 musicians from around the world age 18 and young submit video auditions of concerti

Members of the Upper School FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics team orchestrated a Morning Ex to introduce each of the school’s robotics teams and provide an overview of their work this season to date

Upper School Ceramics students returned to the Ceramics Studio this semester and produced a range of hand-built and wheel-thrown pieces

Senior Elsie Rattner just completed an intensive Independent Study on anatomy, physiology and sports injuries

Members of the class of 2022 joined their younger siblings in Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade to further foster connections they established at the beginning of the year as part of Parker’s Big Siblings program

Visual Arts teacher Kay Silva and Upper School Science teacher Xiao Zhang recently teamed up for a special course combining science and art

Sophomores Hannah Bilgin and Genia Jefferson are set to participate in the Race, Justice, and Equity: High School Empower Youth Voices Program

Parker students with a passion for orchestra have something new to tap their toes to, thanks to the gift of a vast sheet music collection for the school’s Music department from Vicky Rozich, the daughter of David Ellis Miller, a deceased North Side cellist and music collector

French II students have prepared scenes to present at this year’s Francophone Youth Theater Festival, joining participating students in other Chicago high school French classes. As in the past, playwright, director and actress Pascale Daniel, who lives in the south of France, wrote the scenes expressly for Parker French students

Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic Astronaut 003 aboard the Unity 22 Spaceflight, “visited” Parker via Zoom for the first Morning Ex of the second semester

Science and Fiction students recently used VR technology to engage their peers and immerse themselves in a short story

In 6th grade, Gardner’s students learned digital painting in the Art Rage iPad app. To practice these newfound skills, they “adopted” a pet in need at a local shelter and created a piece of artwork to bring awareness to the pets that need homes in the community

A little cold couldn’t keep Upper School physics students from getting firsthand experience with the principle of energy conservation, as the Science Department recently led the charge across Parker’s turf field to launch rockets

First grade students recently participated in a memorable Zoom-based experience that connected each classroom with a former Parker teacher—and current 1st grade grandparent—who attended the March on Washington in 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech

Students in Intermediate, Middle and Upper Schools have been hard at work with the Art Department

Seniors Alexandra Ostrom and Eli Moog presented a special Morning Ex to discuss their Independent Studies

Parker’s youngest students gain confidence and knowledge in the arts through the exploration and practice of different styles and the artists who use them

On Saturday, January 8, Parker’s Upper School Scholastic Bowl team competed in the annual IHSSBCA Turnabout Tournament at Homewood-Flossmoor High School

Junior Sophia Rosenkranz reports on the recent Model United Nations club trip to San Francisco

Student performers from throughout the school shared the fruits of this semester’s hard work with the community at the recent Winter Band Morning Ex

Relationships that start at Parker can last a lifetime. Two alumni, Haj Young ’95 and Marty Morris ’94, knew each other when they were students; recently, they returned to Parker to share the story of their newest venture, Econergy, a company that offers solutions to reduce power costs and make it easier for businesses to choose renewable energy

Thanks to the hard work of the CSJ staff, the latest issue of the Middle School newspaper the Clark Street Journal is available

Seventh grade English teacher Kate Tabor was recently published in Twenty Things to Do With a Computer: Forward 50

Junior Alya Satchu was recognized by SNO for her article on the efforts to raise money for refugees

Six members of the Parker community have joined teachers and students from 30 regional high schools to participate in the fifth annual Chicago Shakespeare Slam, which will be streamed online on two consecutive evenings

Sophomore Josh Gourdji won 2nd place in the Charleston International Music Competition in December

US students in Engineering I welcomed a group of JK consultants to class this week