Elmwood News (1/21/19)
Week of 1/21-1/25
Message from Principal Polomsky
Elmwood Parents & Community~
We hope everyone had a great week! What a great turn out at McTeacher Night! A big thanks to our families' who were able to participate in this great fundraiser for our school.
More snow is in the forecast for this long weekend. We hope you all enjoy the extra day off. We will have no school on Monday, January 22nd in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.
Thank you for working with us to #Make A Difference this year!
Yours Truly,
Lisa Polomsky
Peek at the Week
Health Office Attendance Phone # 630-420-6343
Upcoming Important Dates...
Monday, January 21st.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day~ No School
Friday, January 25th
- Parent/Teacher Conference Sign Ups Begin
- School Spirit Day!
Hot Off The Press
Open House
Elmwood's annual Family Open House event is on Thursday, January 31st from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Open House is a family event in which your son or daughter has the opportunity to show you around Elmwood, the classroom and introduce you to each teacher with whom she/he works with. In true Open House style, it is not necessary to be in attendance for the entire time. Drop in when you can between 6:00-7:30 p.m. We look forward to seeing you at Elmwood's annual Open House on January 31st.
Smencil-Grams
It’s Smencil time again! Flyers will be sent home soon with information on ordering Valentine Smencil-Grams. Orders are due 2/7 and Smencil-Grams will be distributed on 2/13.
Parent Teacher Conferences- Feb. 14 and 15
As we start to prepare for Parent Teacher conferences, we want to notify you that we are making a change to our structure. In years past, conferences have been “Student Led.” This means you and your child would attend the conference together. Spring conferences were co-led by both your child and their classroom teacher as time was spent hearing from both your child as he/she presented information about their personal goals/strengths/areas for growth as well as information from their classroom teacher.
While we continue to believe student led conferences are a great way for children to take pride and ownership of their own learning, we believe there are many other opportunities for our students to be able to do this.
Over the years, we have received some feedback from our parents as well as from our staff members that there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to discuss everything and some have shared that they leave conferences still wanting more information, and wishing they could have had time to talk privately with the adult and without the child present as maybe they didn’t want to discuss certain things in front of the child.
As a result of everyone’s input and our own reflections as a staff, we are changing changed the February conference for all K-4 students. Conferences for students in grades K-4 will no longer include student participation. Instead, you will be invited to meet privately with your child’s teacher for a progress update and discussion. The Spring conference format will look similar to that of the Fall conference you had with your child’s teacher.
5th grade conferences will be the only grade that will remain Student Led, and we will invite all 5th graders to attend the conference with their parents. These conferences are remaining student led to help keep our students involved in discussions around their progress, as we prepare to transition them to 6th grade. As always, student led conferences remain ‘optional.’ If parents prefer to conference with their 5th grade teacher without their child, we ask that parents kindly inform their child’s teacher ahead of time, so teachers can plan accordingly. All 5th grade students will spend two Writing class periods preparing for their student led conference; regardless of whether they attend their own conference as their writing assignment will be shared in person at their conference or left on their desk for their parent(s) if the student is not in participation.
As always, we always welcome your feedback and we will be eager to get your feedback this year as we try something new. Feedback forms will be available at the main office during conferences.
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on:
Thursday, February 14th from 5:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Friday, February 15th from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Sign Up Opened on: Friday, January 25th and closes Thursday, February 7th at 3:00 p.m.
Kindergarten and First Grade Notice
Kindergarten Preview will be on Friday, March 8, 2019! If your child will be attending this fall, please call the Elmwood School Office 630-420-6341. Also, spread the work to neighbors with children ready to attend Elmwood. We want to be sure that we have every student’s name in order for materials to be sent prior to that date. Also, if you have a child attending another Kindergarten program who will be starting First Grade at Elmwood in Fall 2019, please notify us as soon as possible. This information is vital for our planning.
Fast FAQ: How can I prevent head lice?
Head lice are a common occurrence among elementary school children. Right now, there are no products that are proven to prevent head lice. One of the best things parents can do is to Once a Week, Take a Peek, meaning parents can check their child’s head every week. Checking frequently will help a parent catch head lice early, making treatment much easier. After a bath or shower, use a fine tooth comb and section the hair into approximately half-inch sections, looking carefully at the scalp. Double check the nape of the neck and around the ears, a common place for lice or eggs (nits) to be found. For more information, view this link Got Lice: Stay in School http://www.wsj.com/video/got-lice-stay-in-school/CA550D7F-395F-4DC8-A5BF-842D5AE83637.html a Wall Street Journal interview with a pediatrician.
Preguntas Frecuentes: ¿Cómo se pueden prevenir los piojos?
Los piojos son una ocurrencia común entre los niños de primaria. Hoy en día, no existen productos que sean efectivos contra la prevención de piojos. Unas de las mejores cosas que los padres de familia pueden hacer es revisar la cabeza de su/s hijo(a)/s una vez a la semana. Al revisar con frecuencia, un padre podrá detectar la presencia de piojos a tiempo, lo cual facilitará el tratamiento. Después de un baño, utilice un peine fino y divida el cabello en secciones de aproximadamente media pulgada, revisando el cuero cabelludo cuidadosamente. No se le olvide revisar junto al cuello y alrededor de los oídos, el cual es un lugar común para los piojos y las liendres. Para más información, haga clic en el siguiente enlace, Piojos: Permanezca en la Escuela (Got Lice: Stay in School) http://www.wsj.com/video/got-lice-stay-in-school/CA550D7F-395F-4DC8-A5BF-842D5AE83637.html una entrevista de Wall Street Journal con un pediatra.
Second Grade Music Night
Thursday, February 7th
Eagle’s Lair, Elmwood School
On this special evening, second graders will participate in a musical demonstration concert for friends and family. Each class will attend for a 30-minute time slot (see below):
5:45 pm 2 Bornancin and 2 Ludlam
6:30 pm 2 Sturgeon and 2 Correa
7:15 pm 2 Zamora
Please arrive 15 minutes prior your class start time. We look forward to seeing you there!
Mrs. Silder and Ms. Gamboa, Music Teachers
PE Updates/Rock Climbing Info
Happy 2019 to everyone! The students in all of our PE classes have been learning about the benefits of finding their own pace the past 2 weeks while using the Heart Adventure Course. They have also learned more about the benefits of staying heart healthy in general. Our Heart Adventure Course also promotes proper skill techniques in regards to throwing, catching, riding scooters, and dribbling a basketball. Our 3rd -5th grade classes have used the course as a simulation game where they represent the blood cells flowing throughout the heart while learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, as it relates to being physically active and eating healthy foods. It has been a wonderful learning experience again this year. I would like to thank Mr. Scott McGonagle for his assistance during our Heart Course unit.
We look forward to our next adventure education unit, rock climbing, starting the week of January 30th. Please feel free to sign up again for this fun and educational experience. Special thanks to Val Goldstein, who is our parent coordinator for the rock climbing unit.
Please check our climbing schedule and sign up to volunteer at any time. Training for any parent volunteers will be provided before each session begins. Rock climbing teaches our students the value of effective communication through teamwork. The physical benefits are so much more than better physical fitness. You can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d45a9a922a7f85-20182019
We hope to see you soon.
Happy and Healthy New Year to all,
Mr. Howard & Ms. Westlove
Additional flyers for the week:
Athletics Club for 4th & 5th Grade Boys
Katherine Applegate Book Order Form
Reminders
Delayed Start and School Closings Info
The testing schedule is outlined below.
CogAT testing in the elementary schools is February 4-8.
* CogAT in third grade will be given to
- all Honors Math students.
- students who score a 90 NPR on the winter Performance Series in either math or reading.
* CogAT will be given to all fourth grade students.
* CogAT in fifth grade will be given to
- students who score a 90 NPR on the winter Performance Series math test if they are not already in Honors Math.
- students who score a 90 NPR on the winter Performance Series reading test if they are not already in PI.
- students who score a 90 NPR on the winter Performance Series math and reading test if they are not already in PI+.
Additional Community Program Flyers
Engineering for Kids Coding Academy with sign up information for January - Click here
Inside Out Club K-1Winter 2019 - Click here
Inside Out Club 2-5 Winter 2019 - Click here
NCHS Little Spirits Color Guard - Click here
Statewide Illinois 5Essentials STUDENT Survey-4th and 5th Grade Only
Our students in 4th and 5th grade will be invited to take the 5 Essentials Survey here at school. Students will take the survey during the first week in February. If you do not want your child participating in the survey, please fill out the "Opt Out" form that is coming in backpacks this Friday and return to the Elmwood Main Office.
Statewide Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey- we need your feedback!
The purpose of this online survey is to understand parent/guardian perceptions in the areas of connectedness, satisfaction, interaction, involvement, and quality. Your participation and ratings on this survey are confidential; the district will only receive district or school level results if at least 20% of parents/guardians participate. The results of this survey will be used to understand areas of strength and challenge at the district and school level based on your input and feedback.
Families with students attending more than one school are asked to complete the survey for each school individually. To access the survey, please click here https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ and select “Dupage” as the County. Lastly, please complete this survey by Friday, February 15, 2019 and thank you for your participation.
Como padres o tutores de uno o más estudiantes que asisten a las Escuelas de Naperville Community Unit School Distrito 203, solicitamos de su participación en la encuesta anual que se realizara en todo el estado de Illinois, dándonos su opinión y respondiendo a las 5 preguntas Essentials, el propósito de esta encuesta es conocer de sus percepciones como padres en las diferentes áreas como de conectividad, satisfacción, interacción, participación y calidad. Su participación y calificación de esta encuesta es confidencial, el distrito sólo recibirá los resultados del nivel del distrito o escuela si participan al menos el 20% de los padres o tutores, los resultados de esta encuesta se utilizarán para entender las áreas de fuerza y desafíos a nivel de distrito escolar, basándonos en sus ideas y comentarios.
Las familias que tengan más de un estudiante que asisten a diferentes escuelas, se les pide completar la encuesta para cada escuela individualmente, para acceder a la encuesta, por favor haga clic aquí https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/ y seleccione "DuPage" como el Condado (County), el último día para complete esta encuesta es el Martes, 15 de febrero de 2019. Muchas gracias por tu participación.
- Parent/Guardian Survey Window Closes: 2/15/19
- Student Survey Window Opens: 12/11/18-2/15/19
Friendly Reminders
Email: lpolomsky@naperville203.org
Website: https://www.naperville203.org/elmwood
Location: 1024 Magnolia Ln, Naperville, IL 60540
Phone: 630-420-6341
Twitter: @Elmwood_Eagles
Need to Add a Message to the Talk203?
Our weekly parent newsletter is our tool to communicate with YOU! If you have information to share from your committee or about an upcoming Elmwood event, we ask that you please contact your Elmwood Home & School Committee Liaison as they can assist you in getting the word out to the Elmwood community. *If you'd like something shared in our weekly Talk203, all messages need to go through your Committee Liaison and must be submitted by 9:00AM on Thursdays in order to be entered the following day on Friday.