Hometown School Newsletter

October 5, 2021

Bencik's Buzz

Happy October! Please remember there is a late start tomorrow Wednesday, October 6th. Students will start at 9:30am. We are very thankful for our custodians who work tirelessly to maintain our building, so it is in tip-top shape. We celebrated them on Friday with a shower of thank yous!


We are sending home a hard copy of the family project for the month. We want you to celebrate learning with your children, therefore will have a family activity for you to participate in. Please read the flyer for more details. We will have one activity a month.

Happy National Custodian's Day!

Shield Testing

Tomorrow we will have COVID-19 SHIELD testing at Hometown only for those that have already completed the OPT-IN form and signed their student up in Skyward Family Access. Please note that we do have a late start on Wednesday, therefore students should have nothing to eat or drink after 9:30 for testing.


The SHIELD Illinois program is a quick, simple, and non-invasive COVID-19 screening test. Students that have opted-in to the program will provide a small amount of saliva that is tested at a professional lab. Results of the test are then provided to families and our school district within the days following. The program offers students the opportunity to reduce or waive quarantine requirements in the event of close contact with a positive case or if the student demonstrates symptoms. You can opt-in to the program at any time by accessing Online Forms in Skyward Family Access. More information about the SHIELD Illinois program can be found at: d123.org/shield-illinois-testing-program

Pre-School Families


A friendly reminder, on Wednesday, October 6th is a pre-school non-attendance day. There is no school on this day.


We do have a family engagement opportunity at Lake Katherine in Palos Heights! Please meet your teacher there around 9:50 a.m. The outing goes from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. We do not recommend bringing strollers to this event as they are difficult to push on the mulch.


PTA Meeting

We will have a PTA meeting on October 7th at 6pm. During this meeting, we will hold the library focus group for the renovations that will start this summer. If you could join us to give input, we would greatly appreciate it.

Family Project

Please see the attached flyer for the project that is due October 18th. Please remember to put your family name on the back. The hard copy has gone home with the youngest student.

Cheesecake orders

Students will be coming home with a fundraiser for cheesecakes. Orders are due to the office on Wednesday, October 6th. Orders will be picked up on Wednesday, October 26th. If you have questions, please call the office.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Please sign up for our parent teacher conferences that will take place on October 14th from 5pm-8pm or October 15th from 11:30am-6:30pm. Please log into Skyward to select your time.

Indigenous People Day

Please remember there will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, October 11th in observance of Indigenous People Day. Please enjoy the day as a family.

Water bottles and Masks

Please make sure your child has extra masks with them for the day. Also, we will not be supplying water bottles to students moving forward. If your child would like to bring a water bottle from home they may do so. Our water fountains are up and running and they can refill their bottles.

Unity Day

We will have Unity Day on October 20th to stand up to bullying. Please see the attached flyer.

SEL Parent University

Thank you to the families who came to view the SEL presentation. I have attached the power point presentation. If you would like to discuss it further or are looking for different strategies to use, please reach out. The vocabulary is important to reinforce at home. Please also look for the family activities to complete. If you need extra copies of the Home Links, please reach out to your homeroom teacher.

Quarantining Students

If your child has any signs or symptoms of not feeling well, we encourage you to keep them home and monitor the case. As students are testing positive for covid please notify the school, we are looking at cases individually and contact tracing accordingly. In the event your child will need to quarantine, the school will reach out. Per the guidelines, students will need to quarantine if they are directly exposed without a mask, for more than fifteen minutes within a six foot distance.

Spooktacular Event

This event was a hit last year! We will hosting the event again this year. Please read the flyers for the spooktacular event taking place on October 23rd. Sign up links are noted or donate candy. Check out some of last year's displays.


Amazon wish list


https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3RCWQ82UW7AQO/?ref_=lol_ov_le

Sign up to do a display or trunk display.


https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/5080D4CA8AA2AA64-spooktacularhttps://


Signing up for monetary donations towards the Spooktacular .

olhmsptsa.memberhub.com/store


Teacher Spotlight: Ms. Katie Foulk

Meet Our Staff

Every week we will shine a spotlight on one of our own amazing staff members. Meet Ms. Katie Foulk. Miss Foulk is one of our second grade teachers.



How long and what grades have you taught?


This will be my 5th year teaching. I taught second grade remote last year. Before that I taught 4th and 3rd grade.



If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?


I would love to travel to all of the Disney parks. I am a huge Disney fan and would love to travel the world with Mickey! So far I have only traveled to Disney World in Florida and Disney Land in California but I would love to travel to Tokyo Disney one day.



What is the best thing about working at Hometown?


The best thing about working in Hometown is the positive environment! Everyone is genuinely happy to be here.



What is your favorite food?


I love sweets and really enjoy baking so I would have to say anything sweet.



Who is someone you admire and why?


I admire my grandma. Her life story is truly amazing. She has taught me so much about perseverance and patience.



If you see Miss Foulk around our school make sure you say hello!!!

Lunch

If your child would like to order an extra milk at lunch, they must have a positive lunch balance and will be charged $0.60. Similarly, they can order an extra lunch, however will be charged $2.95. You can always add money to the lunch card via Skyward. If you need additional help, please contact the office.

Picture Retakes

We will host picture re-takes on Wednesday October 20th. More details will follow.
Hometown Elementary School

Hometown Elementary School

Hometown Elementary School

8870 S Duffy Ave, Hometown, IL, USA 708-423-7360 d123.org/hometown
Mrs. Bencik's Picture

Principal Hometown School

Mrs. Bencik's Picture

abencik@d123.org 708-423-7360