Hammerschmidt's Happenings
May 4th- 8th
Dear WHS Staff,
Student Progress Reporting
Connecting with our students and providing ongoing feedback about their level of engagement remains our priority focus during this time. Therefore, we will neither issue Trimester 3 grades nor report cards.
That said, we do expect our students to be actively engaged in their learning until the last day of school. Therefore, please continue to provide feedback to your students and connect with them and their families. Staff should also know that our decision to not issue report cards or Tri 3 grades will not be communicated to families until later this month.
Kindergarten Orientation
Right now, the plan is for incoming kindergarten families to register in July, which is our typical process in District 44. That said, this plan could change based on the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will communicate any changes with you once they are known.
In terms of orientation, we are in the process of developing virtual stories of our buildings that include information on the building and our teachers to help our future students and their families become oriented with our schools. Depending on the current state of COVID-19, we may also offer an open house prior to the start of school.
8th Grade Promotion at Elementary Schools
While nothing will totally replace our traditional ceremony, we are committed to celebrating our students and giving them a positive and memorable recognition. We want to stress that our plans for Glenn Westlake Promotion were made while keeping in mind the safety of our students and their families.
GWMS Promotion has been scheduled for Friday, June 12, 2020.
Although more specific details will be provided at a later date regarding overall timing and logistics, the following will occur. Please note: On Wednesday, April 29, the Illinois State Board of Education issued new guidance that does not allow for in-person graduation ceremonies. The plan listed below is contingent upon those restrictions being lifted by June 1, 2020. That said, if the restrictions are not lifted, we are hopeful we can still host the brick unveiling to properly honor our students. More information is listed below about the brick unveiling.
Students will attend a personal ceremony, meaning it will include themselves and their immediate family at a scheduled time, at the elementary school they attended. If they did not attend an elementary school in District 44, their ceremony will take place at Glenn Westlake.
During the ceremony, they will walk across the stage and receive their diploma and any awards along with a personal memento honoring their time in District 44. Their family will then have an opportunity to take a professional photo, which will be provided free of cost.
We felt it was important that our students still have the experience of walking across a stage. This plan is the safest approach to honor that tradition.
In addition to this ceremony, we know another important tradition at GWMS is to “sign the wall” near the LRC. While this is not possible this year, we still want to provide our students with an opportunity to memorialize their time in District 44. Therefore, every student will be provided a commemorative brick engraved with their name, which will be laid outside the Connect 44 Center. We will host an unveiling ceremony and celebration for our graduating eighth grade students next school year.
We know many of you may be interested in volunteering to help with various tasks during the ceremonies. Once we have ironed out more of the logistics, a volunteer sign-up sheet will go out.
Retirement Celebration & Honoring Staff Years of Service
For our retiring staff and staff members with years of service, we are still committed to honoring your contributions to District 44. Our plan is to host a ceremony at a later date, once the restrictions related to COVID-19 have been lifted. In the meantime, we are in the process of developing a personal memento to collectively recognize our appreciation of our retirees. This will be shared with you in June. For our staff with years of service, we will be mailing your recognition checks this week.
WHS Building Access Information
In order to follow social distancing guidelines, we will be allowing all staff to come into the buildings the week of May 4th. During this time, staff will be asked to gather, bag and label students items for a later pick-up date, which is tentatively scheduled for June 3rd. If, for any reason, coming in during your scheduled date is not an option for you, please know that we will work with you and attend to any incomplete tasks. Right now, our focus remains on your safety.
The WHS Building Access information is below. Please be sure pay close attention to the the "Parameter and Details" linked to the schedule.
Fifth Grade Farewell (FGF) Update:
The Grade 5 parent committee is working hard to plan a special way to honor our fifth grade students while honoring while social distancing. In addition, we do intend having our current fifth graders visit their elementary school next year, prior to starting at Westlake, so we can offer them a proper goodbye.
Some of the Highlights of the FGF "DRAFT" Plan are below:
- We want to provide the 5th graders with a "FGF in a box." We will make care packages/swag bags that will be delivered on their door step, we assume during the last week of school. In it we will have: the WHS memory book, a locker mirror, locker organizer (for pens/pencils), locker magnets, earbuds, and a sweet treat from Righteous Kitchen.
- Yard signs will be made for each 5th Grader (Kdg/ 5th Picture)
- Staff Parade / Reverse Staff Parade / Virtual Clap Out?
- Possibly a baby picture guessing game
Answers to WHS Questions
Good Luck Messages for Grade 5 Students- Help Needed
Tweets of the week:
Class List Development Process & Timeline
Each year WHS parents are permitted to provide input on their class placement for the following year. A letter is going out next week to families with the following language:
Class lists for the 2020-2021 school year will be developed in the coming weeks. A student’s placement for next year is based on several considerations including the following: Heterogeneous groups of students in each class in terms of developmental levels, academic performance, gender, etc. Student social/emotional Special program needs such as Differentiation, Resource, EL Personalities that may benefit from being together or separated Behavioral needs Matching student-learning styles with teaching styles I rely heavily on the judgment of classroom teachers and support personnel in determining a child’s classroom assignment. The process involves many professionals, not just your child’s current teacher, with me having the final approval. A parent request for a particular teacher will not be given general consideration. Some parents have made specific requests in the past, so I am asking that you do not approach this year’s teacher with a request. If you have pertinent information that relates to peer relationships, please put it in writing and send it to me no later than Friday, May 8th. Families will be notified by mail of their child’s classroom placement in August.
The Ultimate Remote Days Scavenger Hunt
Growing up, every time the power would go out, my family would light some candles and grab a deck of playing cards or a board game. It was our way of making the best of any situation, and we had some great times.
Looking back, even though I always grumbled and complained at the start, it was those less than ideal situations (power outages) that ultimately brought us closer together as a family.
So, I’ve been thinking, why not take a page out of my family’s playbook and create a bit of a game for us to lighten things up? (oh, I think I just heard some familiar grumblings, hahaha)
Rules
Each week your team will receive a link to a google slideshow. In the slideshow will be a list of scavenger hunt items/challenges with a point value next to each. Upload your best picture/idea to each of the slides.For each item your team acquires, you’ll get that number of points, with bonus points available if your submission makes me laugh or if it is of very high quality. I’ll also be sharing some of the best submissions with everyone, and if your team has one featured, you’ll get 5 bonus points for that too.
The game will last for 3 weeks, with new slideshows emailed out each week. Some of the items might be tasks, some might be pictures, and some might seem quite strange, but I assure you there is a method to my madness!
You are free to go about acquiring the items however you wish, including recruiting students to help if appropriate. I only want one submission emailed to me for each team, and the deadline is 4PM each Thursday afternoon.
And let me just say this, for the ultimate winning team, you’re going to LOVE your prize!
You’ll receive your first list on MONDAY, May 4th. Thanks everyone for participating and let’s have a little fun. Good luck to everyone!
The teams were generated by plugging in names by going sequentially down a roster list. There was absolutely zero intentionality with the team creation.
Here they are:
Kathy Koeller
If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
It's Always Something!
Favorite Memory of a recent school experience:
Seeing how the WHS community rallies around students and families in hard circumstances.
Fondest Memory of your own elementary experience:
In 2nd grade our whole school participated in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN.
Words That Describe Me:
Faithful, Funny, and Blessed
Bucket List:
Visiting Ireland
What is your hidden talent?
I enjoy decorating cakes and cupcakes!
What advice would you give to someone just starting off their career in education?
Listen, find the good in others.
What is the last joke that you recall:
Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay they would be called bagels.
Best Concert Experience:
Disney's Night of Joy -14 bands over 2 nights
Staff Shout Outs!
Allison & Lisa
WHS Staff "Shout Out" Nominations
GCN Tutorials are Available for 2020-21
Please use the login information provided:
CLICK HERE for the GCN Login Site
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Stay safe, stay positive!
Rebecca Harris
Watch This Amazing Video Again and Again!
An Amazing Collection of Resources is Padlet format!
Prom?
Bonus Video... Dr. Suess Rap
Contact Me Anytime!
Email: ddanielski@sd44.org
Website: http://wh.sd44.org/
Location: Wm Hammerschmidt Elementary School, Hammerschmidt Avenue, Lombard, IL, United States
Phone: 630-677-8457
Twitter: @ddanielski