News

Alumni spanning decades and professions returned to Parker to give Upper School students ideas and insight into working life beyond the classroom

Parker’s Advanced Choral Ensemble, directed by Christian Jackson, performed at the Illinois High School Association’s Solo and Ensemble Competition

Junior Beatrix Hirsch slammed her way to indie finalist status at the Rooted & Radical Youth Poetry Festival Finals this past Sunday

Students in 3rd grade welcomed two special guests to speak about food, from the farm to the table: Prairie Grass Cafe Co-owner and Chef Sarah Stegner and Steve Freeman from Marengo-based Nichols Farm and Orchard

Senior Kindergarten students have transformed into researchers, coders, makers and enthusiastic meteorologists as they explored the powerful forces of nature

In the second semester, 3rd graders study the growth of the city of Chicago from a small settlement along the shores of Lake Michigan to the booming metropolis of today

Inspired by a Zoom experience with Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Upper School students are working to adopt an elephant

Members of the US Black Student Union presented the Black History Month Morning Ex at the end of February, to cap off the school’s month-long celebration

Third grade students invited parents and guardians to their classrooms to share their progress in reading and writing

SK students welcomed the 100th day of the 2025–26 academic year with special activities and classroom guests

The Upper School canine club Pups for Parker is orchestrating a donation drive at the school to benefit One Tail at a Time

Third graders dived into the fascinating history of Chicago's iconic elevated train system

On Tuesday, February 10, nearly 200 Parker voices of all ages joined in song on the Auditorium stage to a packed audience

Students in 8th grade drama have been adding elements of dance to their performance repertoire

Fifth grader Yael Gustafson traveled to Washington, D.C. to share his oratory skills at Frederick Douglass’ birthday celebration

The FTC Robotics teams started their February Recess a little later than most everyone else to host the Chicago League Tournament

Three students were recognized for their command of academic knowledge in a recent scholastic competition

Fifth grade students spent weeks building their software and hardware skills using LEGO kits as part of a STEAM Series project

Fourth grade students savored the flavors of the Civil Rights Movement before February Recess

Dr. Temple Grandin spoke to the community as the 8th Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Speaker

The Upper School Asian Alliance recently led the community through a fun and informative Morning Ex focusing on the Lunar New Year and its celebrations around the world

Parker parent, author and candidate for Illinois State Representative Paul Kendrick was a special guest in an Upper School Civil Rights Movement course

The 10th grade recently elected classmates Uriel Castaneda and Samantha Kovler to serve as co-presidents of the sophomore class

For the third straight year, the Chess team will head to Peoria, Illinois to compete in the state championship

Upper School Mandarin students shared the sights, smells, sounds, flavors and fun of Chinese culture with the community at the 3rd Annual Dumpling Party

The Physical Education Department brought together Big Sibs and JK/SK students for big fun at their annual Winter Games event

Last week, grandparents gathered with their grandchildren for an evening of dinner, several fun rounds of Bingo and a cozy screening of Ice Age

Jimmy Soto shared his story and talked justice reform and wrongful convictions with the 8th grade

Elise Wulff of Aspire Services, a program through Mass General Hospital that specializes in helping children, teens and adults on the autism spectrum achieve success, spoke to Lower School students at Morning Ex

Parker students proudly represented the school at this year’s Illinois Music Education Conference and All-State Festival (IMEC) in Peoria, Illinois

JK classrooms exhibited a wide range of art pieces produced by families following their shared reading of a book about diversity

Upper School students in Art Studio opened the semester working with pencil, charcoal, spray paints, liquid acrylics and more

The Lower and Intermediate school students are coordinating a service project this spring to help the Chicago community and the environment: an aluminum can drive

On Saturday, more than 500 students from 29 schools across Illinois showed up to participate in FWPMUN X

Lawyer Tara Goodarzi met with Upper School students in Immigration Civic Lab groups to discuss her work in immigration law and as a community organizer

The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band took the stage at Morning Ex to perform and discuss the roots and origins of Jewish musical traditions

Thanks to those members of the Parker community who donated at the Red Cross Blood Drive

Friendship, fun, learning and companionship were on display as senior Big Siblings joined their peers in the Lower, Intermediate and Middle Schools

Students in 1st and 2nd grades were hard at work in Art class painting masterpieces, inspired by artists Natvar Bhavsar and Keltie Ferris

The 10th grade Spanish-language Civic Lab group, which focuses on the theme of migration, just completed its third fieldwork day

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza spoke with Upper School students from the Politics Club and Parker Democrats this week

Lower School Woodshop teacher Alexandra Harmel invites the Parker community to check out the completed Automatas by 3rd grade students in Woodshop class in the display cases across from the cafeteria 

Jackson Antonow ’22 spoke to US students at Reorientation Day about the Enemy in Your Pocket and how to improve their mental states

The Upper School Chess team had an impressive showing at the Chicago Chess Conference Postseason Tournament at St. Ignatius

Lower and Intermediate School students are collecting aluminum cans in a service project to benefit the Pilsen Food Pantry

Last week, members of the Upper School Climate Science and Environmental Justice class visited with 6th graders to share a special project

Parker 1st graders recently dove into an inspiring, hands-on “Water Cleanup Project” that combines environmental stewardship with technology and maker skill development

On Saturday, January 17, two of the Middle School’s FIRST LEGO League teams competed in the FIRST LEGO League Sectional Tournament, hosted at Parker

A group of 10th grade students spent their Civic Fieldwork Day packing bulk food donations into family-sized parcels to support under-resourced members of the Chicago community

Upper School students in Advanced Physics I worked through cold and wind to successfully launch rockets on Parker’s turf field

With vacation in the rear-view mirror, Parker’s Basketball teams returned to the gym looking to add to their already impressive resumes

Upper School students in Astronomy, Modern Physics and Philosophy had an exciting week sharing their final presentations with the community and learning about the real-life application of physics from a guest speaker

Middle School Mathematics teacher Tim O’Connor was recently profiled for his fierce devotion to one of his passions

Each year, the Junior Civic Lab, Creating Alliances, visits the Broadway Youth Center in Irving Park to learn about a day shelter serving young people ages 18 through 24 who are experiencing homelessness

The juniors spent time before December Recess skating at the Chicago Blackhawks’ practice arena

Lower and Intermediate School students welcomed December Recess with the annual Winter Program

The Parker community came together to support three local organizations during the December holiday season

A new gallery on the 4th floor showcases work from Upper School Visual Arts teacher Caroline Gardner’s Photography 1 and Advanced Photo classes