Parkland
School
8 Blue
Email is probably the fastest and easiest way to contact us. Below, we have provided our contact information and information about each of our classes.
Rob Quick- Math rquick@d15.org
Carrie Quinn- Science cquinn@d15.org
Geoff Blake- Social Studies gblake@d15.org
Courtney Prais- Language Arts cprais@d15.org
Christina Holiday-resource teacher choliday@d15.org
Meet the Teachers
Phone: 779-244-1700 Ext. 1740
Email: rquick@d15.org
Mr. Rob Quick
This will be my fourth year here at Parkland and I am loving every minute of it so far! I got married in 2020, right before the pandemic to my wife, Sam. We have two daughters, Kaydin who is almost 4, Addisyn who just turned 2 in August. We also have a dog named Wrigley. Outside of school I love to be outside, golfing, running/working out, bowling, and hanging out with my family and friends. I am looking forward to this year and helping your children grow both in and out of the classroom!
Phone: 779-244-1700 Ext. 1751
Email: cquinn@d15.org
Degrees and Certifications:
BA - SIU/education
MA - St. Xavier /curriculum and instruction
Licensed cosmetologist
Mrs. Carrie Quinn
Hi! I am the 8 Blue Science teacher! This is my 30th year teaching here at Parkland. I live in Lake in the Hills with my husband, my 20 year old daughter and 18 year old son. I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little about science class. I am planning on doing one larger project each trimester this year. Students will also present the information to their classmates. The curriculum is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. In 8th grade, we study matter, forces and energy, and weather. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me. Thank you for your support throughout the school year. I am sure we will all learn a lot this year!
Phone: 779-244-1700 Ext. 1778
Email: cprais@d15.org
Degrees and Certifications:
MA--Curriculum and Instruction, American College of Education
BA--Secondary Education and English Literature, Lake Forest College
Ms. Courtney Prais
Hi everyone! I am the 8 Blue Language Arts teacher. This is my sixth year teaching--I am still learning and growing, but I absolutely love my family at Parkland School. I currently live in my hometown, Round Lake, with my family and my cat, Tangerine. In LA this year, we will be utilizing an online curriculum called StudySync. We will also be reading two whole-class novels, The Outsiders and The Hunger Games, and practicing a broad range of skills this year, including writing, reading comprehension, close analysis, and speaking and listening. We encourage all students to practice their independent reading skills and have a book with them to read when they get a chance during the day. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns--communication is key! I cannot wait to get to know all of you!
Email: choliday@d15.org
Phone: (779)244-1600
Mrs. Christina Holiday
Hi Vikings! My name is Mrs. Holiday. This is my 13th year teaching at Parkland and I absolutely love it! This year I will be teaching Math and Language Arts, along with co-teaching Math with Mr. Quick and Language Arts with Ms. Prais. Outside of school, I have three children of my own, Cole (7), Celine (4) and Chandler (1). They keep me busy and laughing! In my free time I like to spend time with my family. We spend lots of time at the park and out on the lake. Looking forward to a wonderful year!
Email: kkarnick@d15.org
Voicemail: Ext 1748
Mrs. Karnick
Welcome to 7 Blue! I love teaching language arts, and I really enjoy working with you 7th graders!
In addition to teaching, I coach Cross Country at McHenry High School, the McHenry Youth Running Club in the summer, and the Parkland Winter Running Club during the winter! I'm a dog mom to my adorable and sweet pitty puppy, Buddha. In my free time I like to run, hike, workout, garden, read, spend time with my family, and travel.
I'm looking forward to our year together!
Email: gblake@d15.org
Phone: 779-244-1700 Ext 1716
Mr. Geoff Blake
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! My name is Mr. Blake and I am the social studies teacher on our team. This is my 22nd year of teaching. I have been here at Parkland for 21 years. My wife and I live in McHenry with our three children. We have a daughter and a son at the high school and our youngest son will be a seventh grader this year here at Parkland. This year in class we will study U.S. History from the Civil War through present day. This will include topics such as WWI, WWII, Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement. I look forward to a fun and challenging school year!
8 Blue Homework
Homework Help
Homework Help will run regularly on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons from 2:20-4:00 PM in the Learning Center. Students can stay and work on homework with the assistance of two teachers.
We have attached the contract for homework help to this page. If students want to attend, they need to fill out the contract stating that they have enough homework to stay (at least an hour's worth) and what they will be working on. Contracts can be found in teachers' classrooms.
If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to ask. You can contact the Parkland Office or Mrs. Quinn @ cquinn@d15.org.
Schedule
Student Projects
Viking Vendors Unit
Starting in October, we (as a team) will be working on the 8th-grade Viking Vendors unit. This is a project that will get grades in all classes and will be worked on intermittently until Winter Break in December. Students will have chosen their own group of 4 students to work with. They will be creating a product to sell to other students for "fake" money. They will even complete some product research before "production" to be sure they are making a product that will appeal to the other 8th-grade consumers. However, there will be some expenses for each student because they need to buy supplies to make these products. This is not meant to be expensive, nor should it be, so please don't let your children tell you otherwise. Each group member is responsible for the production and cost of 15 items, although we hope they work together to make them. Remember, students will be "buying" other products with their fake money (which is an average of their 4 core classes' grades at mid-quarter), so they will come home with a lot of other items that they purchased.
We will be working on consumer reports and doing some online comparison shopping. We will have people with interesting careers come in to talk to students about their jobs and the path they took to get there. If you have a job that you think would appeal to 8th graders, please feel free to contact the team.
Overall, we want the kids to understand that there is an importance to being an educated consumer. We also want them to get a glimpse at how a business operates, and that being a business owner takes planning, and that they need to know what the public wants and needs so that they can be successful.
Again, this is not meant to be a major cost, so if there are financial questions or issues, please contact one of us.
Thank you for your support. Kids come back years later and tell us how much they enjoyed this unit. We hope your child will have the same experience!