Central Intermediate School
January 2021 Newsletter
Principal Update
Welcome back everyone! It is great to see the students and staff back in the building after a restful and stress-free break. While 2021 is eerily similar to 2020, we will continue to keep a positive outlook and hope and pray for things to continue getting better and nearer to normal.
A reminder that the second nine weeks will end on January 29 and report cards will be sent home the following week. Please stress to students to finish strong!
The third nine weeks is historically tough for some students in a normal year. Please let our staff know if you or your student are having any difficulties with work or with social-emotional issues. We are always here to help!
Assistant Principal Update
The pandemic did not stop us from having holiday fun at CIS! It was so fun to see our teachers find creative ways for our students to enjoy some traditional holiday activities! Check out the pictures below!
We had a wonderful first week back! It is always so nice to see students fill our classrooms again after an extended break, and this year was no different. We are optimistic about the second half of the school year and will continue to keep the health and safety of our students at the forefront!
E-Learning Days at CIS
In the event that school is called off, CIS will follow the quarterly schedule. For example, if school is called off on a Group 1 day, students who are part of Group 1 will participate in online, synchronous learning. Group 2 students will complete the remote school work assigned to them for that day. Teachers will communicate detailed expectations in the morning.
CIS Activities Update
We received the following update from Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Director, Steve Endsley on Thursday, January 7 regarding any plans for the resumption of school sports:
"First and foremost, as of January 7, 2021, the Illinois Department of Public Health has made no changes to the current COVID-19 mitigations tier status. Illinois remains in Tier 3 status until at least January 15. As a result, IESA sports remain on pause. We were not given a date when interscholastic games would be allowed to start. We were told that if any region of the state meets the guidelines to move to Tier 2 mitigations, they may do so starting January 15. Please keep in mind that Tier 2 mitigations do not allow contests to be played. Volleyball teams would be allowed to practice as a medium risk sport, but games would not be allowed. If basketball is not moved from high risk to at least medium risk, basketball teams will still not be allowed to practice regardless of the Tier status. If a given region does not move to Tier 2 and remains in Tier 3, then the sports for the schools in those regions would remain paused.
For a given region to move back to Tier 2 mitigations, a region must experience less than 12 percent test positivity rate for three consecutive days AND greater than 20 percent available intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital bed availability, AND declining COVID hospitalizations in 7 out of the last 10 days. We encourage you to inform your community members as to what it will take to move to Tier 2 and how important it is to follow all COVID safety protocols so we can have a chance to resume our sport seasons. If the positivity rate continues to drop and would get below 6.5% we could then be looking at a return to Phase 4 which could mean contests would be allowed.
Again, the meeting did not produce any real new information. We are still paused, certainly through January 15. Please monitor the metrics in your region for your mitigation status."
Central Intermediate School will continue to update students and families on the status of activities. We are hopeful that our students can resume winter and spring activities in some capacity and remain committed to providing these opportunities for students.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Hoeslcher or Mrs. Bush with any questions.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, January 14: Board of Education Meeting @ CIS Library - 7:00 p.m.
Monday, January 18: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Thursday, February 4: PTO Meeting - 7:00 p.m. @ CIS Library
PTO Update
Welcome to 2021! We hope your families had a safe and happy holiday season! Back before everyone went on break the Teacher Appreciation Committee surprised the staff with cookies and other goodies to help brighten their day! Thank you to the many parents who donated items and gift cards to Aunt Dena's. The cookies were purchased from Aunt Dena's because the PTO feels it is important to support our local businesses. Please look for other opportunities to support more businesses in the coming months! Exciting news...PTO now has a Venmo account; @Central51PTO!! We wanted to find a way to make it easier for families to make donations to the PTO. Thank you for your continued support of the PTO! We couldn't support our teachers and staff without your help!
CIS Library
Let’s play Bingo this January!
Read a book that matches one of the squares, and have it signed off. If you have five squares in a row, that’s Bingo! Bring it to the library to enter a drawing for a Dunkin Donuts gift card and pick out a prize. Homerooms that fill out a whole card will be put into a drawing for treats in the library. Remote students can pick up a card with their work on Friday.
I will also have the information and a copy of the card on the CIS Library Google Site. https://sites.google.com/central51.net/cislibrary/home
Happy reading!
Mrs. Heffta
Social Emotional Learning
Happy New Year! As the cold months settle in, take time to make a self care plan to get through the Winter season. Make meaningful resolutions that turn into great habits and get the kids involved!
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201912/self-care-tips-during-winter
https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/ACH-News/General-News/New-Year%E2%80%99s-Resolutions-for-Kids
Student Learning
As we approach the end of the 2nd quarter and move through the 3rd quarter of the school year, students can begin to feel run down and tired of school. This may be a good time to provide incentives to encourage academic success! Find out when your student’s next test is and challenge him/her to earn a certain score. When he/she meets that goal, follow up with the agreed upon reward. Ask your student about the skills he/she is learning in each class each night and ask them to teach you. Have your student update you about the book that he/she is currently reading. Be engaged and interested in your child’s school day...it is a great motivator students!
Health and Wellness
Central District 51
Email: bhoelscher@Central51.net
Website: central51.net
Location: 1301 Eagle Avenue, Washington, IL, USA
Phone: (309)444-3943
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centralschooldistrict51/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARBDjuI_cf7U3m-0xRlT4OLCm6SwRu0qqpj9tl6SStMs6f4LrrttbDvfYM3VtYNssuS2-mrvsoEel3Jv
Twitter: @ourschool