Half Day is a third and fourth grade school serving children from several communities including Lincolnshire, Prairie View, and portions of Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills, Lake Forest, Riverwoods, and Mettawa.

Half Day School was originally established in 1839. Its first students originally met in a one-room log cabin. When the school outgrew its rustic quarters, it was moved to a small, two-room private home, where it continued to meet for the the next 61 years. In 1938 the old frame structure was replaced by a new, modern, brick building, and Half Day School enjoyed indoor plumbing for the first time since its establishment.

As the district continued to grow, Half Day School grew with it. Between 1958 and 1965 eleven additional classrooms and a gymnasium/lunchroom were added to the the original structure. Despite these additions the old structure still could not accommodate the growing population. Eventually two new schools were built to serve the district, Laura Sprague Elementary and Daniel Wright Middle School, and enrollment at Half Day School declined. In 1983, Half Day School was closed to District 103 students with the promise that when enrollment in the District increased, it would once again serve the community.

In 1992, in response to a still growing community of students, Half Day School was reopened. Four years later eight new classrooms, a second gymnasium, and a new entryway were added to the old structure.

Over the years, Half Day School has maintained the character and charm of its rustic beginnings, while still offering all the amenities available in newly constructed schools. Half Day School has 18 regular classrooms, separate art, music and orchestra facilities, 2 gymnasiums, a library, a computer lab, several mobile mini-labs and its own weather station! High speed internet connections are available in every classroom and multiple computer terminals are set up for student use. This is a lot of progress for a school which began in a one-room log cabin in 1839!

What's in a Name

Our students do not attend school for only half a day. We are named Half Day School because we are located on Olde Half Day Road in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Why the road is called Half Day Road is another story.

The first settlers in the Lincolnshire area were the Potawatomi Indians, who settled in the area in the early 1700's . Three trees located on the banks of a nearby river marked their "Council Tree," which still remained in evidence until 1956! It wasn't until 1834 that the first white man arrived in Lake County, Illinois. His name was Captain Wright, and he settled on the banks of the Des Plaines River, where he built the first log cabin in Lake County with the help of the local Indians.

The town, which grew from these humble beginnings, was eventually given the name Halfda. It was so named, not because it was a half day's journey from Chicago, but to honor the chief of the friendly Potawatomi Indians. His Indian name was Aptakisic, which means"sun at its meridian" or, in other words," half a day." The spelling of the town's name was changed after an area mapmaker mistakenly spelled it" Half Day," and it has retained this spelling ever since.