The Central Scoop
April 12, 2019
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents,
Our Student Green Team is proud to present this year’s Earth Week! Starting Monday, each day will have something different for Central students to take part in to celebrate and learn about the environment:
Monday - Conserve water
Tuesday - Bring a waste free lunch to school
Wednesday - Turn lights off and save energy
Thursday - Walk/Bike/Scooter to school
Monday (Earth Day) - Participate in a special Earth Day, Spirit Day!
Of course we’ll also be reducing, reusing and recycling all week long. There will also be some fun surprises at recess throughout the week. Check out the flyer below for more information about each day. The Green Team is also sponsoring our first ever Recycled Sculpture Contest during Earth Week.
I would also like to give a special "shout-out" to those students who are going to the state competition this weekend to represent Central School and D39 through Destination Imagination. Good luck to teams, Bunny Ninjas and DI Doctors!
Warmly,
- Becky
Rebecca Littmann
Principal
Central Elementary School
The Green Team's Recycled Sculpture Contest
As a fun way to reuse materials, we invite all interested students to take part in a sculpture contest. Using clean recyclable materials at home, students are encouraged to create a fox. You can put it together and decorate it in a creative way. Bring your finished sculpture to school during Earth Week. The last day to submit a sculpture is Thursday, April 18th. On Earth Day, the Green Team students will vote on a winning sculpture in each grade. Winning sculptures will be announced at the Earth Day assembly! Please note, sculptures cannot be larger than 12” wide and 18” tall. Sculptures will be returned to students after the contest ends. See the Green Team’s website for more details. We can’t wait to see what our creative Central students come up with for this fun event.
Meet Superintendent Dr. Kari Cremascoli
The district office is hosting an Open House on April 17th to meet our new superintendent from 5:30pm-7:00pm in the Learning Commons at the Junior High.
Here is the link with more information: Open House for D39's New Superintendent
Kindergarten Orientation Wednesday Night
It's time to enroll for kindergarten! All kindergarteners must be enrolled for the 2019-20 school year. Please contact our office for information. Then please attend our "Kindergarten Orientation" this Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30 PM in our auditorium for adults only. Both new and continuing parents are welcome.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- April 8th - Spring conference sign-up began online
- April 24th - Kindergarten Conferences begin
- April 25th - Early Release K-4 students & Parent Teacher Conferences in the afternoon
- April 26th - No School - Parent Teacher Conferences
D39 Nutrition Survey - Part 2
As part of our strategic plan this year, a Nutrition Committee has been reviewing the school lunch program to assess and reflect on current practices. District 39 is committed to providing a school environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, including good nutrition. The first step in our review process, a survey of parents and students in December, drew 767 parent responses. Overall parents and students are satisfied with the current program, however, there is always room to improve.
We want to address the desire for "cleaner" ingredients in our school cafeterias, but we need more information from you. D39 defines "cleaner" as less preservatives, food dyes, trans fats, sugars, artificial sweeteners, and partially hydrogenated oils found in food options, but we know this could increase the cost. The D39 food service program is designed to be cost neutral, with prices set to completely offset the expenses of the lunch program. As a result, we need to determine how much parents are willing to pay for this improvement.
In order to receive more feedback, we are are asking you to complete a short, second survey by Thursday, April 18th.
Safety Reminders
- Please NO dogs on school property and sidewalks.
- Use the crosswalks to cross the busy streets as a family. Please never dart across the street or in-between cars in the carpool line.
- Walk bikes and scooters on school sidewalks.
- Remind your children to not cross railroad tracks without looking both ways and NEVER try to run across the tracks to "beat" a train when the gates are down and lights are flashing.
2019-2020 Connecting Kids Preschool Openings
Housed within Romona School is the Connecting Kids Preschool Program. The half-day sessions for three, four and five year-old children are specifically designed to prepare children for District 39 kindergarten classrooms. With structured play, planned pre-academic instruction, differentiated learning, and vocabulary development, Connecting Kids provides an excellent foundation for all children. Reserve a spot for your child in next fall's three, four or five year-old classes.
Registration is still open and spots are still available! Registration forms can be found online here.
State Assessments = Last Posting
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) is replacing PARCC and is right around the corner for our 3rd and 4th grade students! Students will be testing on April 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th, and 16th. Please limit doctor appointments and other family obligations during this testing window. It is important that your child arrive to school on time so that they are able to take the test in the classroom with peers. Please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher for specific scheduling information. There is no need to prepare for the test we just ask that students come to school on time and well rested. Test results are shared by the state during the following school year.
Important Enrollment Notice = Last Posting
PTA Announcements and Reminders...
* The PTA sends out a separate newsletter on Sundays..here are a few highlights/reminders:
The Book Stall "In-Store" fundraiser Coming Soon!
Dates: Friday, May 10 (9:30am - 6pm) and Saturday May 11 (9:30am - 5pm)
Location: The Book Stall, 811 Elm St., Winnetka
Details: 20% of any purchase is contributed to the PTA . Note: this cannot be combined with any other promotion, including the Book Stall membership discount.
(I'm hoping that the first $300 raised can remain as a house credit for use in future One Book/One Central purchases. The additional money raised would come to the PTA in cash for use towards the playground project.)
How to Purchase: Books and other items can be purchased at the store, ordered online (indicate Central School), or from the "Featured Book" order form that is sent home with students.
Special Appearances occur on Saturday, May 11th by "Central School Celebrities" will include:
9:30 - 10:30am -- Volunteers (and their dogs!) from Sit Stay Read. Sit Stay Read is an organization that promotes literacy and was founded by Central parent, Sarah Murphy
10:30 - 11:00am -- Story Hour led by former Central School teacher, Kevan Truman
11:00 - noon -- Author Tom Watson (creator of Stick Dog and a Central School favorite!) will be talking about his books, drawing his characters, and signing his books.
Afternoon Story Times with Bolt the Fox Mascot, Principal Littmann, Assistant Principal Nasiakos, Librarian Linda Diekman, DST Bonny Skutch, and former Central teacher Chanel Pike.
Community Announcements...
- North Suburban Special Recreation Association (NSSRA) offers year-round recreation programming for disabled individuals. “Camp Yardigans” is a new camp offered this summer. Registration deadline is April 26th.
- Trevian Girls Softball Association is seeking a few more 9/10 year old girls (4th/5th graders) interested in playing spring/summer softball. Contact Kelsey Lee at Klee@trevians.org for more information.
- Oakton Community College hosts summer STEAM camps and classes for students ages 8-12. Registration is now open.
- Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development offers Weekend Enrichment Programs for students age 3 through 8th grade.
- Love to sing? Youth Choral Theatre of Chicago offers a free vocal training class with flyer. Vocal classes available for children ages 4-18.
- The Center Fitness Club schedule and various park district classes for children are posted. Wilmette Park District Flag Football for boys & girls grades 3-8. Registration is open unti April 16th at noon.
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- Family Action Network (FAN) - Click HERE for information about FAN and upcoming speakers.
From the Nurse's Office
Call Central School "Attendance Line" For Absences: 847-512-6150
Please call the Attendance Line to report absences even if you let the classroom teacher know, because some teachers don't see the email/voicemail until later in the day. Teachers assume you are calling the office. It's important that the school nurse is directly aware of any absences otherwise, your son/daughter may be considered "missing." The school nurse keeps track of all school absences in the building. For safety reasons, we want to make sure all of our students are accounted for and safe.
New Central Health Office Website!!
Here is your go-to site for all of your health related questions including PE/Recess Notes, Health Requirements, Dental Examinations, Allergy and Asthma, Medications, Snacks in Classrooms, Lice, Influenza...and more!
https://sites.google.com/wilmette39.org/centralhealthoffice/home
Join us on Twitter!
Central School is on Twitter!
- We have TWO Twitter accounts. Please "follow" us at Twitter.com! Explore Central 39 (with our actual "handle" as @explorecentral). With this account, we mostly share student activities that are completed in the Learning Commons (but other activities are often included as well). We are also providing this Twitter feed on our Central School homepage.
- There is also a principal page @BeckyLittmann where you can follow a variety of school happenings including all-school events, classroom activities, PTA enrichment, and school goals.
Our PE Department is now on Twitter too!
The twitter handle is @CentralFoxesPE.
Save the Dates...
4/12 - Spanish Fiesta 6:00-7:30pm (this event is full)
4/17 - D39 Community Open House to meet new superintendent @ 5:30pm at the Junior HIgh
4/17 - Kindergarten Orientation 6:30pm-7:30pm
4/19 - NO SCHOOL, Good Friday
4/25 - EARLY RELEASE, Teacher Conferences
4/25 - Bowling/Pizza Party, 4th & 3rd grades
4/26 - NO SCHOOL, Teacher Conferences
4/26 - Bowling/Pizza Party, 2nd & 1st grades