Prairie View Pony Express
January, 2018
"Learning Today, Shaping Tomorrow!"
I have to be honest, I’m a little sad to see December AND 2017 go! Who doesn’t love a month that revolves around elves, secret Santa, gingerbread houses, wearing the ugliest sweater you can find (as long as it is on “Ugly Sweater Day”), delicious cookies and treats, yuletide carols, a Grinch, classic holiday movies, and memory-making times with family and friends? You notice that I didn’t include packed shopping malls, trying to fit 40 hours of errands into a 24 hour day, a budget stretched way too far, spending hours getting the lights up only to have them go out 10 minutes after you finished, and treats that you spent 5 hours making from a recipe off of Pinterest that ended up not looking like anything close to the picture! “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”! I recommend a good winter’s nap (perfect over Winter Break) to re-energize and get ready for 2018!
December started with a Book Fair and ended with a Sing-a-Long! A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Winter Book Fair! Along those lines, thank you for your generous contributions to the Franklin Mall Project. Non-perishable and paper items were collected this month to be distributed by the Lions Club to families in need. We had several featured visitors this month. First, Mrs. Prucha’s and Mrs. Harmon’s fifth grade classes came to PV and helped our kindergarten students write letters to Santa. Some of those letters were pretty lengthy! We also had some very distinguished guest readers visit on the 15th…..Mrs. Vicki Scharenberg, Mrs. Lisa Saitta, Dr. Erik Englehart; all Sandwich CUSD #430 Board of Education members, and Mr. Rick Schmitt, Sandwich Superintendent. Students always enjoy listening to a good book and we were very excited to have our superintendent and board members in the reader’s chair and hope they will make many more return visits! Doesn’t a trip to France or Australia or maybe Italy sound great? Your students “traveled” to these countries and to Germany, Mexico, Canada, England, Sweden, and even to the Netherlands…..all in one day. Multi-cultural Day was celebrated with Holidays around the World on December 21st. Students received “passports” as they departed and had them stamped (or in our case…stickered) in each country. They learned about the customs and traditions of each country, with a focus on how holidays are celebrated. Everyone returned safely to the USA…just in time to dismiss at the end of the school day! Our school Sing-a-Long was held on December 22nd. Under the direction of music teacher, Mr. Anderson, our students performed for each other, third grade parents, faculty and staff, and a jolly man with a big, long beard! A fun time was had by all! Our students also have been very busy, behind closed doors, creating treasures to give to loved ones this holiday. First semester ended at the close of the school day on December 22nd. Half the year is behind us, but we look towards January, 2018, with anticipation and high expectations.
Students return to school on January 9th. Winter Benchmarking (assessments which measure student growth) will take place the weeks of the 9th and 15th. These assessments can take as few as three minutes to complete. For one assessment, students are given unlimited time. Your child’s teacher will be sharing the results with you. If your son or daughter is below the grade level benchmark, the classroom teacher can provide suggestions on how to support your child’s learning. There is no substitute to listening to your child read on a daily basis or reading to them! Martin Luther King, Jr. will be recognized and students will learn more about his contributions to our society on January 15th. After three weeks featuring “fairness”, our January Character Counts pillar will be “respect”. We continue to encourage our students to not only practice the monthly trait, but all of the traits learned so far this year. We encourage everyone to wear yellow on January 19th in recognition of this trait. The St. Jude’s Math-a-Thon kickoff assembly is tentatively scheduled for January 15th. Please look for additional information coming home soon. All monies raised during the Math-a-Thon go directly to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. This is another great opportunity that reinforces putting the Character Counts traits into action. At the end of January, representatives of Safe Passage, a counseling and support agency located in DeKalb, will visit each classroom to provide age-appropriate curriculum for children on sexual abuse. This mandated education teaches students about safe and unsafe touch, safe and unsafe secrets, and how to get away and tell today in a developmentally appropriate way.
I hope your Winter Break is full of fun-filled activities, but also includes some time to relax and just enjoy being together. We’ll look for you in 2018!
Sherrie L. Stricklin
Principal
FRANKLIN MALL PROJECT
DEBT SERVICE EXTENSION BASE (DSEB) INFORMATION
CHARACTER COUNTS
During the month of January, we are spotlighting the trait of "Respect". Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule. Be tolerant of differences. Use good manners, not bad language. Be considerate of the feelings of others. Don't threaten, hit or hurt anyone. Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements. Students can earn "kudo" slips specific to the month's pillar from a faculty or staff member. Students can only earn one token for each month's pillar but they may receive multiple kudos each month. On the third Friday, everyone will wear the color for the pillar of the month. Everyone should wear the color yellow for "Respect" trait on Friday, January 19th. The last Friday of the month, we will take a group picture of everyone who has received a token for the month's pillar.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NOVEMBER ''CARING" KUDO STUDENTS
Festival of Trees
NOTES FROM THE NURSE
A few reminders:
Dental Exams-
A completed dental examination form is due by May 15, 2018 for Kindergarten and Second Grade students. Any second grade student that does not fulfill this requirement may have their final report card held. Exams done within 18 months of the May 15th deadline will be accepted.
Over-the-counter medication-
All over-the-counter medication, including cough drops and lotions, require a signed authorization form.
If you would like your child to be given over-the-counter medication at school –
- Please complete, sign, and return the attached School Medication Authorization Form. A physician’s signature is not required.
- Deliver the over-the-counter medication to the office, in the original packaging with directions on the label. We cannot accept loose medication not in original package.
Please contact your school nurse with any questions.
ON-LINE PAYMENT OF FEES
WINTER WEATHER
The cold winter weather has arrived and please keep in mind that your child is dressed properly to go outside for recess. The district policy is that we go out for recess whenever the temperature is 10 degrees or higher (including wind-chill). Hats, mittens, boots, snow pants and a warm coat are all needed for the colder weather. Students need boots and snow pants to play in the snowy areas.
Car Visor Signs
Please remember to have your car visor sign displayed on the visor when picking up your student. This makes the parking lot pick up run smoothly and quickly. Thank you!
School Closing Information
Please keep your contact information up-to-date. If school is closed, you will receive a School Messenger message call with the phone numbers that you have provided. Listed below are some other resources that announce school closings.
Stations:
WSPY FM 107.1 WGN-TV Channel 9
On inclement weather days, the school district encourages parents/guardian(s) to check for up-to-date information on school closings by listening to the radio or watching television for closing information. Sandwich CUSD #430 closing information can be heard on WSPY-FM 107.1 and/or on WGN-9 television station. Parents/Guardian(s) may also go to www.emergencyclosings.comfor school closing information and can sign up for e-mail of notification of school closing through this site.
PPA NEWS
We will be starting a new class competition for most box tops turned in after Christmas break. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas break!
The rest of our PPA meetings for the year will be as followed all starting at 1 pm.
Meetings:
1/19/18
2/23/18
3/16/18
4/27/18
5/18/18
PPA email: prairieviewppa@gmail.com
PPA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PVPPA
Thank you,
Prairie View PPA
PRAIRIE VIEW CULVER'S FUNDRAISER
Prairie View Continues to recycle paper
Do you want to recycle your paper? Prairie View promotes paper recycling and also offers this service to the community. Prairie View is a recycling partner with Midwest Paper Retriever, LLC. We have a green and yellow bin located in the parking lot for you to drop off your paper. We ask that you put only catalogs, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, office paper, notebooks, soft cover books or hard cover books (with covers removed) in the bin. We cannot accept cereal boxes, chipboard, milk cartons, soda cartons, food cartons of any kind or phone books. We are proud to be teaching our students about conservation of the earth’s resources through recycling and becoming more involved with the community. Thank you for your efforts to promote paper recycling.
Thank You December Guest Readers!
NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS
Kindergarten
December was a flurry of fun! Kindergarten read If You Take a Mouse to the Movies, Bear Snores On, The Wild Reindeer, and The Polar Express. We then did lots of exciting math and language activities based on these popular holiday books. Some examples are “magic” painting, creative writing, and word families. We also had a whole week of gingerbread themed activities. We were excited to have school board members Dr. Englehart and Mrs. Scharenberg read to our classes!
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
Throughout December and January, the third grade students will continue to practice and memorize their multiplication facts. We have also learned how to find the area of a shape through multiplication. And, we have also started graphing data and learned how to read charts.
Gingerbread Houses
Hoover Outdoor Education Center
Mrs. Karpus’ students hiked through Kendall County Outdoor Education Center and learned that early settlers chose the Illinois region because it had abundant hunting, fresh water, trees to build shelters, and excellent soil for growing crops.
THE PARENT INSTITUTE
IMPORTANT DATES FOR JANUARY 2018
JANUARY LUNCH MENU
Prairie View School
Email: breiners@sandwich430.org
Website: http://www.sandwich430.org/
Location: 1201 Castle Street, Sandwich, IL, United States
Phone: 815-786-8811