Harper Happenings
May 13th - May 17th
What's Happening
Wednesday, May 15th
- General PTO Meeting, 9am
- PTO "Thank you" Spring Luncheon, 11:30am
Friday, May 17th
- 2nd Grade Bike Safety
- Griffin's Tale Children's Repertory Theater visits Harper School. More details below...
- Tuesday, May 21st
- Birthday lunch!
Coming Up/Reminders
Thursday, May 23rd
- Before School Chorus Concert, 6:30pm
Monday, May 27th
- No School, Memorial Day
Thursday, May 30th
- Harper Student Council Fun Fair, 3:15pm
Wednesday, June 5th
- 4th Grade Farewell lunch
Thursday, June 6th
- Field Day!
Friday, June 14th
- Last Day of School
- 4th Grade Farewell Party, 3p-5p
Dr. Kick's Corner
-We had a very funny animal story during one of our fire drills this week. A small squirrel must have fallen out of a tree and wanted warmth and some friends. Who better than Harper staff and students!? The squirrel made it's way onto Mr. T's shoe and was carried to a grassy area. He then made his way onto Ms. T's shoe and probably heard a little shriek, but again was brought to safety. He continued to stay by the kindergarten doors and the kindergarten children were so excited that they drew pictures of the cute, little squirrel. We finally brought him over to the fence line by a lot of bushes, left some food and crossed our fingers that Theodore (We named him.) would return to school when he is older.
-Fourth grade Outdoor Education was wonderful! We had a little rain, but we mostly had over cast and pleasantly cool temperatures. The food was amazing and students are still talking about the "moon rocks" that they made spark in their mouth. The dancing is always one of my favorite events! We have a lot of talented dancers. Finally, the camp fire with the silly songs and stories makes everyone laugh.
-Mr. Dubnow Update:
I am continuing to transition to my new role as the principal at Harper next year by meeting frequently with Dr. Kick and spending days around the school interacting with students and staff members. Additionally, I recently attended Kindergarten Orientation and I just spent Wednesday and Thursday at Outdoor Education. I had a blast! I look forward to more days of transition over the remaining parts of the school year!
On a personal note, my wife and I are so excited to share that we are expecting our first child in September! I know the timing is not ideal, but please know that I am working on a supportive plan for my absence after the baby is born. As soon as the plan is determined, I’ll communicate it with Harper staff and families. Thank you so much for your support!
-D39 News:
We want to share the news that Dr. Romy DeCristofaro, District 39’s Administrator for Student and Special Services, has been offered a position in another district. She plans to accept later this month, when that district’s Board will vote on approval. Since she has not yet been approved, we cannot share any further details, but Romy wanted to give District 39 the opportunity to begin the search process for a replacement. We will keep you updated.
Dr. Kick Outdoor Education Scholarship Fund
- A Farewell Retirement Tribute – “The Dr. Kick Outdoor Education Scholarship Fund” – This PTO scholarship fund has been created as a retirement tribute to Dr Kick and her love of the Outdoor Ed Trips. The scholarship fund will offer financial assistance towards the Outdoor Ed tuition for Harper families for this year and future OE Trips. A portion of the proceeds from this years Movie Night (Peter Rabbit) will go directly to Dr Kick’s OE Scholarship fund. An online donation form is provided for any families wishing to donate. Please go to the PTO Website for more information and to donate directly to this wonderful tribute and cause. www.harperpto.com
EduKits
It’s time to order your school supplies for next year! Online ordering is underway and will end on next Friday, May 17th. Don't miss out, order your school supplies for the 2019/2020 school year by visiting www.edukitinc.com and typing in Harper to begin your order. Once your order is complete, you will receive a confirmation email and your student’s kit will be waiting for them in their classroom on the first day of school. To order for another District 39 school, simply go to www.edukitinc.com and enter the school name to find the supplies for that school.A portion of the sales from each school kit will be donated to the Harper PTO. Questions? Erica Lockwood at schoolkits@harperpto.com
iGNITE! Enrichment Info
- Friday, May 17th : We are excited to have Griffin’s Tale Children’s Repertory Theater Company return to Harper! Comprised of about 25 Northwestern undergrads, the company is turning stories written by our very own Harper students into songs, dances, scenes, raps and games. We can’t wait to see our writing on stage!
Fun Fair
- Harper Fun Fair will be Thursday May 30th from 3:15-4:15pm on Harper North Field. There is no rain date. Adult supervision is required. Tickets can be purchased in advance starting Monday, May 20th. Tickets are $5.00 per child. Sponsored by Harper Student Council and ticket donations will benefit local charities. We are looking for parent donations for small prizes to raffle off during Fun Fair. Some ideas include: stuffed animals, lego set, fidget cube, Rubix cube, Pokemon or sports trading cards, board games, or small gift cards for Homer’s or local restaurants. If you would like to donate a prize, please send to Harper, c/o Rachel Mor by Friday, May 17th. Contact Rachel Mor (morr@wilmette39.org) or Kate Cummings (cummingk@wilmette39.org) for questions.
Attention Library Volunteers
- A HUGE thank you to all the parents that volunteered this school year! The library would not run without your support and dedication.
- Looking for more library volunteer opportunities? We still have openings for book-check out through May 20th and need help with end of year shelving and organizing books as we prepare for inventory. Please help us fill in some gaps in the schedule if you can!
- Click the Sign Up Genius here! Please grab a friend and spend an hour helping to put everything back in its place before summer. We hope to see some eager helpers in the next several weeks!
Civics and Safety -- Attention 2nd Graders
Second graders will have bike safety training on Friday, May 17th. Students will need to ride their bikes or scooters to school that day. A Park District facilitator will mark a course, and we need 2 volunteers per classroom to greet riders, check helmets, manage the class and help simulate potentially dangerous situations on the course such as a car backing up or what to do at stop signs and red lights. The Wilmette Police will also be there to reinforce safety points. Look out for a SignUpGenius!
Green Corner
- Well, the results are in.
The students were so generous! In less than 2 weeks, $235 was collected for these endangered animals. It was between the piping plover from Lake Michigan, the black footed ferret of the Great Plains or the rhino from Java, Indonesia.
And the winner is... the Javan rhino! In fact, the rhino earned $110, which is almost half of all the “votes.”
- Students contributed all kinds of money from pennies and gold coins to even a few $20 bills.
The ferret earned $70.83.
- The plover collected $55.20.
The money was donated to 2 organizations: Save the Rhino, a group that is helping increase the food supply for the Javan rhino and the World Wildlife Fund where Harper School donated in honor of Dr Kick.
- Thank you to everyone who gave their money to help these rare creatures.
Community Service Corner & News
- We are gearing up for our final community service drive of the school year! We will be collecting rolls of paper towels and toilet paper to help stock the shelves at Connections for the Homeless. We will do this in conjunction with the Harper Fun Fair on Thursday, May 30! Please plan to bring 1-2 rolls wrapped paper towels or a 4-pack of wrapped toilet paper to the fun fair or during the week leading up to it. Bins will be available outside of classrooms.
- During the Fun Fair, students, led by student council reps, will be constructing a building-wide tower of toilet paper and paper towels so the students can see their donations!
- If you are able to help us out and drive some of the donated items after the Fun Fair to the Connections office in North Evanston please let Laura know at ljbgeiger@gmail.com
- Thank you in advance for your support of this drive and for your support of our drives throughout the year!
- 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.
LINK: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
Wilmette Baseball Association has opened Summer League Registration for students in Kindergarten - 3 grades.
Wilmette Historical Museum hosts Summer Scavenger Hunt June 17 - August 4th.
Trevian Juniors is a softball program for girls ages 6-10. Go to the website for tryout information.
Oakton Community College hosts summer STEAM camps and classes for students ages 8-12. Registration is now open.
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 Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Liz Hayes 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 elizabeth.hayes78@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