Harper Happenings
January 13-17
What's Happening
Important Upcoming Dates-
- Kindergarten Registration Dates at Harper: January 13 & 14
- Open Gym: Open Gym: January 13 through to Monday, March 16, 2020. Open Gym will be in the school gymnasium between 630-8 pm. All children must be accompanied by an adult. A change of shoes is a MUST for inclement weather. This event is funded by the PTO and open to ONLY Harper students.
- 4th Grade Field Trip: Wednesday, January 15th.
- PTO General Meeting: January 15, 9-10:30 am. We will host a Mindfulness Session to help you restore inner peace, following the winter break. ALL ARE WELCOME.
- PASS39 Parent Education Evening: Coping with and Overcoming Anxiety. Wednesday, January 15th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM (MEC). All Parents Welcome! *Parents Night Out to follow (Location TBD)
Principal's Message
Dear Harper Families,
It has been a great week back at school! We are so proud of how quickly students get acclimated back to school life and back into their routines. We hope you all had a nice break and that it has been an awesome week back to school!
I want to highlight a great parent event that took place the week before Winter Break, “Allyship in the Face of Hate,” facilitated by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and District 39 leaders. Here are a few quick highlights that stood out:
It is never too early to start having conversations about hate speech, antisemitism, racism, and other forms of hate speech. Evidence shows antisemitism is on the rise in schools all over the country...even elementary schools. We need to be brave and have the conversations with even our youngest children so they learn what comments and "jokes" are unacceptable.
It is more important than ever to be vigilant as our kids are using technology. Even if they post something that they think is a dumb joke...or even something they think is innocent, can actually be hateful. Additionally, when playing video games, be aware of who your child is talking to. Evidence has shown extremist groups are now using gaming and targeting kids based on their identities.
There are many symbols that are used to spread hate. One that we have seen increasingly is the use of the "OK" symbol. When your fingers are put in the "OK" symbol, the outline of your fingers can show the letters "W" and "P" which stand for white power. If you see kids using the "OK" symbol in pictures or in ways that are different from using it to express "OK", ask them what they are meaning, or why they are doing that with their hands.
The Pyramid of Hate illustrates how biases grow over time, and can manifest themselves in increasingly more serious and dangerous ways. It is incumbent on us to work together to stop hate and bias at its inception. https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/pyramid-of-hate.pdf
Interruption is key. We must call out biased behavior when we see it, especially in front of kids. If we don't address it immediately in front of kids, they start to see these behaviors as acceptable. And they aren't.
Help your kids learn to be an ally to those being bullied or harassed. Even little things make a big difference. A person can be an ally even by asking a target of biased actions if they are okay, or asking the person if they want help in finding a teacher to talk to. Even these small actions signal to the person that the offensive behavior was not okay, and lifts the person up and knows that they are important.
More resources are available on the ADL website. Incidents in our community can be reported using their site, there are options for conversation starters and discussions for parents, and there are resources for you to get involved in our community at preventing the spread of hate.
HERE is a list of many of the remaining parent educational events for the school year. Two that resonate for me that are coming up are January 15: "Coping With and Overcoming Anxiety" and February 5: "Understanding How Identities are Impacting Students Today". We hope you can attend some and come learn along with us.
Have an excellent weekend!
Aaron
Parent Planning Notes:
- Kindergarten and KEEP39 (Kindergarten Enrichment and Enhancement Program) Registration is starting. Come to Harper School to enroll on January, 13 between 9:00am-7:00pm or Tuesday, January 14 between 8:00am - 3:30pm. We will be talking more about KEEP39 at 4:00pm and 6:00pm on January 13. Please share this information with families who have incoming kindergartners. For more information or questions, please email Aaron Dubnow at dubnowa@wilmette39.org
- Winter benchmark testing: Next week begins our annual winter benchmark testing. 2nd-4th graders will take the MAP test on Tuesday and Thursday. 1st graders will take an AIMSweb math test on Wednesday. Students do not prepare extra for these tests however, teachers will talk to students about test taking tips and we encourage students to get a good night of sleep prior.
- Cold Weather Planning: As the Winter is here and the weather is getting colder, please prepare accordingly. Students should have jackets to wear outside. When there is snow, students must have hats, gloves, boots, and snowpants.
- Before and After School: Supervision before school begins at 8:20am. Please try to not drop off your kids before then. After school, students should be walking while on school property as well as walking their bikes until they are off the school grounds. Thank you for your help reinforcing these expectations.
Announcements
- Fourth-Grade Field Trip: On Wednesday, January 15th, the Fourth Grade will be taking a field trip to the Feed My Starving Children facility in Libertyville. This trip is the largest we take in terms of our need for parent volunteers. Please look for your sign ups from your room parents and make sure your kids are on time for school that day. This trip is brought to us by iGNITE!
- Be A Hero Blood Drive, 1/31/2020 11am - 4pm @ the Wilmette Rec Center
In honor of two Wilmette D39 superhero kids who faced cancer, including Harper's own Super Petey. Feel free to bring along your children, as we will have supervision and fun activities for them while you give blood. To sign up, please visit: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive and enter zip code 60091. If you have questions, reach out to Marnie at marnie.vandervoort@gmail.com
Jr. Great Books: Does your child love to read or be read to? If so, consider signing them up for Junior Great Books! During the program which runs from February 10 through March 20, students are asked to read a new story each week, and then discuss it with the group during the lunch hour. The deadline to register is January 26. This program isn't possible without parent volunteers! Please let us know if you are interested in getting involved. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B44AEAE28A7FD0-junior
- Chorus: Do you have a budding singer at home? If so, register for this spring's Harper Chorus today! Open to all 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders. Rehearsals are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:50 am in the auditorium starting January 21. Sign up at the Harper PTO website: http://harperpto.com/harper-chorus/. “When in doubt, sing out loud!”
- It's time to buy your YEARBOOK, before its too late!! Go online now to purchase.. http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09862418
- After School Clubs: There are a lot of great clubs/activities that are offered for your child at HARPER SCHOOL!!! See flyer below for sign-up... there are still spots available!!!!
- Girls on the Run: Harper will be participating in Girls on the Run this spring. The program is 10 weeks with practices twice a week after school leading up to a 5K run event. It is open to third and fourth-grade girls. Sign-up runs until 2/14 at the GOTR website (gotrchicago.org) Also, if you or someone you know is interested in volunteering to be one of the coaches for the team, you can sign up for that as well at gotrchicago.org.
- Stock the Teacher Lounge: new spots for JAN 2020 have been added: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4faea722a3f58-stock
Community News
LINK: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
- Visit the musical petting zoos at the Music Institute of Chicago January 12th, 2:00 - 4:00 in Winnetka & January 19th 2:00 - 4:00 in Evanston.
- Family Action Network (FAN) presents Peggy Orenstein, “Boys and Sex: Navigating the New Masculinity” January 13th, 7:00 pm & January 14th, 9:00 am at New Trier Cornog Auditorium
- Family Action Network (FAN) hosts John Duffy interviewed by Heidi Stevens on “Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety” January 17th, 7:00 pm at North Shore Country Day School Auditorium
- The Community House in Winnetka holds "The Annual MLK Day of Service" on January 20th, 1:00 - 4:00 pm.
- “Be a Hero” Blood Drive January 31st, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm at Wilmette Community recreation Center. Pediatric Cancer patients rely on blood donations.
- Wilmette Historical Museum presents “Fun with the Lincolns: February 16th 2:00 - 3:30 pm
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- Girl Scouts host Discovery Night for all D39 girls on Wednesday, January 15th, 6:30 - 7:30 pm at McKenzie Elementary School.
- The Center for Gifted hosts Fall, Winter and Summer programs. View flyers for details.
- NSSRA offers Campyardigans for Summer 2020. See flyer for details.
WILMETTE PARK DISTRICT EVENTS:
- Wilmette Park District Saturday Basketball is back! For boys & girls grades 4-8.
- Sunday Youth Basketball for boys & girls grades 1-3. Contact Sara Hilby for information at shilby@wilpark.org
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Kelly Maggio 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 kwmaggio@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