Times Staff Report

LOWELL

Lowell teacher gets $8,000 grant from Lilly

Jill Sayers, the art teacher at Lake Prairie Elementary School, has been awarded an $8,000 grant from Lilly Endowment for Teacher Creativity.

The grant, "Through the Reflective Glass: Photography and Community," will allow Sayers to travel to different parts of the country photographing communities, foliage, architecture and activities. Following her four weeks of travel, Sayers will mount an exhibit of her travels as well as a podcast. She said she wants to show her students the many ways to view the world around them differently.

LOWELL

Jazz band takes first in state music event

For the first time in more than a decade, the Lowell Jazz Band has come home with the gold.

Andrew Killion, director of bands for Tri-Creek schools, said the gold was earned recently at the annual ISSMA Jazz Organizational in LaPorte.

Also, Killion said Lowell High School's Winter Guard recently performed in Roselle, Ill., and placed third in its class.