Harper Happenings
February 5th-February 9th
What's Happening?
Monday, February 5th
- Harper Open Gym, 6:30-8:00 pm
Wednesday, February 7th
- 4th grade field trip Shedd Aquarium
- View your child's report card online
Friday, February 9th
- Every Friday is Spirit Day! Wear your Harper Spirit Wear!
Coming Up/Reminders
Monday, February 19th
- No School--President's Day
Tuesday, February 21st
- Second Grade Music Show, 9:30am, Harper auditorium
Saturday, February 24th
- Special Board of Education Meeting, MEC, 8 am - 12 pm
Monday, February 26th
- Board of Education Meeting, MEC, 7pm
Wednesday, February 28th
- Harper Open House, 6:30-7:30pm
Wednesday, March 7th
- Choral Fest, Regina Dominican High school, 7pm
March 26-30
- No school- Spring Break
Dr. Kick's Corner
We are approaching the time of the year when we begin to consider student placement for next school year. Although we begin this process in April, it often continues into the summer. We review each child’s individual learning needs with the corresponding team of teachers. The team of teachers includes your child’s classroom teacher, the “specials” teachers, as well as the special education staff. In addition, we consider other factors such as gender balance, learning styles, and overall make up of a class.
As you can imagine, a lot of thought is put into classroom placement. We try our hardest to consider each child individually and place him/her with an appropriate classroom mix, as well as a good student/teacher combination.
Although we feel confident in our ability to appropriately place your child successfully, some of you may feel that your input is needed. If you feel that extraordinary factors exist that the school should be aware of, please write a letter by March 23rd explaining those factors. These factors might include your child’s learning style, special learning needs, or specific qualities of a teacher. Letters submitted after March 23rd will not be given special consideration. Please do not ask your child’s current teacher to suggest a teacher, as this would put him/her in an uncomfortable situation. Also, please do not tell your child’s current teacher your placement wishes. If needed, placement letters should be sent directly to me. Additionally, please do NOT wait until conferences to talk to your child’s teacher, as placement is almost completed by this time. Finally, we do not consider letters from previous years. If you have a specific concern, it needs to be reiterated each year.
If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Let me reassure you that we will work diligently to ensure the most appropriate placement for every student.
Report cards will be accessible on Wednesday, February 7th at 9:00 am. To access report cards, navigate to https://ps.wilmette39.org and sign in. If you do not remember your user credentials, use the Forgot Username or Password? link. If that doesn’t resolve your issue, please call the school secretary. If you have not accessed report cards before, an email with account creation instructions will be delivered to you on Monday, February 5th. Please view the attached document about how to read the revised 1st-4th report card.
We have all had time to adjust to the Friday early dismissal for grades 1-4. Managing the logistics has been challenging across the District, and at Harper too. So, we are initialing a change for next year. We know this may mean some additional planning for a handful of parents, so we wanted to give you plenty of notice.
With the start of the 2018-2019 school year, 2:15-3:15 supervision for our Friday Early Dismissal will be offered only to families who meet the one of following criteria:
- Your child attends the Park District After School Recreation Program and takes the 3:15 bus from their elementary school to the Wilmette Park District Recreation Center.
- You have a child in grades 1-4 who has a sibling in PM kindergarten.
As we did last year, we will send out material in the summer for you to sign up your child, if eligible, for the Friday supervision.
- Open House will be held on February 28th from 6:30-7:30. Come see your child's work! Your child is your guide on this wonderful evening.
- We have 72 kindergarten packets that have been returned. At this time, we will have three sections of kindergarten. I will keep you updated about the status of the sections.
Announcements
- BOX TOPS SUBMISSION IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER - END OF FEBRUARY! If every child at Harper collects and turns in 15 BOX TOPS, we can reach our goal of raising $1000 for the school! Please see the attached list of participating products. Keep in mind when clipping that the expiration date must be visible and not expired. There is a collection box in the front entrance of Harper - purchase the product, clip the Box Top, check the expiration date, and turn in to the school. Thank you and keep on clipping!
- Looking to get involved next year on the Harper PTO?? The Nominating Committee is looking for volunteers to join a Committee! If you are interested in being on the PTO Exec Board or any other position on the PTO, please contact Arielle Heneghan at ariellelariviere@hotmail.com. Or if you are currently on a Committee and would like to stay on next year- let us know!! Feel free to look at the link at ways to get involved- http://harperpto.com/committeechairsexecutive-board/
- Will you have a child at Highcrest next year? The HMS PTO needs you! We have a variety of positions open on both the executive and general boards. Please contact Lisa Hirschle at nominating@highcrestpto.org if you would like to hear more about the availabilities.
- What to do on these cold winter nights? Open Gym is happening at Harper! Mondays, 6:30-8:00 pm 1/22-3/19. Harper Students only (no non-Harper siblings, sorry!) Limit 30 students, there will be a door monitor keeping a list. Clean shoes must be brought in for the gym. Students may not go to their lockers so you must bring shoes from home. A parent needs to stay with their child(ren). This is not a drop off. The gym program will be run by D39 gym teacher, Mr. Chris Toy! He is awesome and the reason we have to cap our number at 30. First come/first serve. See you there!
Community Service
Thank you so much for your generous PJ donations! Housing Opportunities for Women (HOW) was grateful and will distribute the warm pajamas to kids in need.
Enrichment
Upcoming date(s):
- 2/7--Trip to Shedd Aquarium for 4th graders
- 2/6 through 3/20--1st grade yoga program
4th grade trip to Shedd Aquarium is this Wednesday, February 7th. This day long trip will be an exciting adventure and includes exploration of the aquarium and an aquatics presentation. Please send a brown bag lunch from home.
From February 6th to March 20th, 1st grade classes will participate in a yoga program led by Lisa Weber E-RYT with Heaven and Earth Yoga in Evanston. Lisa will hold a 30-minute session for each class every Tuesday, for a total of seven sessions. The program will teach students techniques to help them calm their minds, and it will build upon the growing research showing the health benefits of a mindfulness practice. This program is brought to you by IGNITE!
Thank you for your contributions to iGNITE!
FAN
PDs available for educators. This event will be videotaped. Suitable for ages 12+.
Community Events
- Link to community events: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events/
- Wilmette Historical Museum celebrates African American History Month February 11th 2:00 - 3:00pm
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Little Legends Soccer Academy offers soccer training for boys & girls ages 2-8.
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We’re reaching out to let you know of an event being planned called the New Trier Innovation & Tech Expo. This free event is an opportunity for parents to attend and hear about how technology is being used throughout the township. All New Trier Township schools will be participating in this joint mini-conference taking place Saturday, April 28, 2018. It will be held at New Trier Winnetka Campus, 385 Winnetka Avenue, Winnetka, IL, from 8:30am to 12pm.
In addition to saving the date, if you have something of interest to present, parents are welcome to submit proposals to the committee. Click here to submit your proposal by February 9, 2018.
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Adriane McKnight via the Communication Request Form by Mondays at 9 am. If you do not receive an email response within 24hrs, please send an email to adrianemcknight@gmail.com to confirm your Communication Request Form was received.
For more school information, visit the Harper PTO website.
For additional D39 community events, visit wilmette39.org