The Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 Educational Foundation celebrated recent grant recipients with a special balloon brigade on April 20, recognizing two exciting projects designed to enrich student learning and strengthen real-world connections.
The indoor roller skating initiative at Kolmar Elementary School and the Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School Pollinator Garden & Micro Food Forest project extend learning beyond the classroom and connect students to meaningful, hands-on experiences. These grants reflect the Foundation’s continued commitment to supporting creative, student-centered opportunities that enhance engagement, collaboration, and experiential learning.
OLHMS Food Forest
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Spearheaded by Ashley Grady and the Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School Garden Club, the OLHMS Pollinator Garden and Micro Food Forest is a living classroom designed to show students how food can be grown in a sustainable, natural system. A food forest mimics the structure of an actual forest, where trees, shrubs, and groundcover work together to support one another, improve soil health, and produce food year after year with less maintenance.
On Service Learning Day, students planted fruit tree guilds featuring quince and persimmon trees, supported by comfrey, which helps build soil nutrients and acts as a natural mulch. They also established asparagus and strawberry beds, a pairing that works well together, since asparagus grows tall and returns each year while strawberries spread as a low groundcover, helping retain moisture and suppress weeds. Students also planted blueberries and are propagating elderberry bushes, expanding the diversity of the system.
Through this project, students are learning about seasonality, soil health, and plant relationships while getting their hands dirty and experiencing the direct connection between effort and harvest. This is a small step toward building a deeper appreciation for where their food comes from, how ecosystems function, and the value of patience, stewardship, and working with nature.
The group is incredibly grateful to the D123 Education Foundation for supporting this project. Being awarded this grant shows that the school community values giving students real, hands-on learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom walls. This project will affect students for years to come. Some will plant the trees, in the future others will harvest their fruit, and a decade from now others might rest in their shade. It’s something OLHMS Mustangs will share over time, with each group adding to it in their own way.
Kolmar Indoor Roller Skating
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The Physical Education Program at Kolmar Elementary introduced an exciting new indoor roller skating unit, which quickly became a favorite among fourth and fifth grade students.
This engaging activity helped students develop essential skills such as balance, coordination, and confidence in a fun and supportive environment. To celebrate the unit’s success, the Kolmar hosted an after-school roller skating event, bringing together students, families and community members for an evening of activity and fun.
“This experience brought me back to my childhood,” PE teacher Karyn Kicho said. “It was especially rewarding to see students being active in a new way beyond screens, discovering a healthy activity they can choose to enjoy for years to come. The enthusiasm didn’t stop there. Many students enjoyed the experience so much that they were inspired to purchase their own roller skates and continue skating beyond school.”