New this year at Crown Point High School is Parent Education Night. Dr. Eric Ban, principal, has begun these programs with the help of teacher Deb Ciochina.

"Connecting Parents" will discuss the topic Student Safety in Today's World from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Large Group Instruction room at CPHS. The discussion will focus on Internet safety, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and healthy teen behaviors. The panel will accept questions from parents concerning the various student safety issues.

The expert panel will include Philip C. Benson, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana; Bernard L. Carter, Lake County prosecutor; Milan Damjanovic, Crown Point Community School Corporation security director, and Kurt Odenthal, director of PATH. Parent Education Nights are designed to reach out to parents and engage them further in their child's education. All high school parents are invited to attend the programs.

Honors at Timothy Ball

Congratulations to Timothy Ball Elementary School's Students of the Month: Keith Burgess, Taylor Gearhart, Jason Tung, Mya Amelse, Isaiah Garcia, Anne Hatch, Matthew McElroy, Emma Frank, Julia Marra, Corrin Hummel, Cortnee Doffin, Tim Abbott, Lauren Jostes, Daryn Kaylor, Chase Hawkins, Gracie Wirick, Sarah Banks, Lauren Feder, Allison Devires, Matt Pudlo, Briana Tutor, Lainey Kowalczyk, Andrew Snyder, Rebecca Burke, Cayla Cress and Jamie Murray.

Timothy Ball's Spell Bowl Team members are Josephine Andrews, Casey Bieszczak, Olivia Bohannon, Steven Carlson, Chloe Darnell, Kylie Eldridge, Alyssa Guritz, Celeste Guzman, Brandon Kaylor, Ben Kochert, Lainey Kowalczyk, Natalie Shirer, and Sabrina Siew.

Holiday bazaar is Thursday

Crown Point Christian School will hold its second annual Holiday Bazaar from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at 10550 Park Place in the Gates of St. John (off of Ind. 231).

There will be more than 50 vendors, as well as booths offering children's books, baked goods, crafts, fine jewelry, floral arrangements and a food court. All the proceeds will benefit the school music department.

Call the school at (219) 365-5694.

Santa plans visits

Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Elie the Elf will visit the Lower Level Shops of the Old Lake County Courthouse from noon to 4 p.m. every Saturday beginning Nov. 29 through Dec. 20, and Sunday, Dec. 21.

Paul Morgan, DJ from Z107.1 FM, will host a special Santa's Story Hour on Nov. 29. He will read "Twas The Night Before Christmas" at 12:30 p.m. and "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" at 2.

Santa's helpers will also be on hand to wrap packages during Santa hours. Shoppers will need to present their receipt from one of the many Crown Point Shops for this free service. Package wrapping is sponsored by the local Crown Point business community.

For more information on this year's holiday events, call Special Events Director Jennifer Bzdil at (219) 662-3290.

Do you have news to share about Crown Point? Do you have a club or organization that is sponsoring fundraisers or is looking for new members? Call Kathy at (219) 663-5389 or e-mail kklessner@yahoo.com.