Peterson's News
12/11-12/15
Happy Hanukkah to our families who are celebrating! Math Night was such an incredible success! It was wonderful to see our families engaged and having fun with the math games!! Thank you to Mrs. Graske, who coordinated the night as well as our Math SIP Team members who helped to make it such a great success: Mrs. Decker, Mrs. Ammons, Mrs. Kucera, Mrs. Munn, Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Shelbrock, Mrs. Ambrose, Mrs. Dusseault, Mrs. Hall. Mr. White, Mrs. Hemesath, Mrs. Terrazas, and Mrs. Brolley. We had a special guest join us, Catey Genc, one of our School Board members! It was wonderful to have her participate in our evening and meet many students and their families. Please see the link below to check-out the photos!
Don't forget it's Spirit Day on Friday! Can't wait to see everyone in their purple and gold!
Best,
Alli Landstrom
Peterson Staff Shout Outs is back!
It is time to recognize our amazing Peterson Elementary School Staff again! Each day many of us get to see or hear about all of the great things our staff are able to do on a daily basis for our kids. In the spirit of giving, we would like to provide you with the opportunity to share a kind note. Please use the Google Form below to recognize any member(s) of the staff. You may submit as many as you would like. This includes everyone - teachers, secretaries, nurses, teaching assistants, custodians, specialists, lunch supervisors, substitutes, etc. The messages will be displayed for staff to read and enjoy.
Holiday and Tradition Tables
Celebrating Kwanzaa!
Celebrating Christmas!
Celebrating Hanukkah!
Recognize a Volunteer!
BMO is recognizing one volunteer each month who has generously given his or her time to support District 204 students and schools. To celebrate these outstanding volunteers, BMO will donate $1,000 to the volunteer's school. Help your school receive $1,000 and honor a special volunteer! Any District 204 staff member or community member can nominate a volunteer so please communicate with your staff and your community members to get the word out. Each nomination submitted will be kept on file for consideration through May 2024. To nominate a volunteer, please click here.
Gifts of Gratitude
Honor a Teacher or Staff Member
Say thank you to that special teacher or staff member that has gone ‘above and beyond’ for your student through the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation’s Gifts of Gratitude program. By making a tax-deductible donation to IPEF on behalf of your honoree, your recipient will enjoy a personalized certificate and a letter with a custom message from you. All donations benefit IPEF’s Teacher Innovation Grants program. Please submit your gift by December 15th to ensure certificate delivery prior to Winter Break. Click here for more details: Gifts of Gratitude.
Student Planner Reminder
Our third-fifth grade students use a planner to help them to be organized. Thank you to the families who have purchased the planner. Unfortunately, we have many families who have not. We ask that you do so as soon as possible! The link to purchase is below.
PTA Update and Events
Holiday Giving - Peterson Staff
As we approach the Holiday season, families may wish to give a gift to their child's teacher(s) and staff. This is entirely optional. To make things a little easier, there is a link on the PTA website called “Staff Favorites”. There you will find helpful information about each staff member such as their favorite restaurant, hobbies, etc.
Absolute BBQ - Authentic Indian Cuisine Dinner Night - December 12th
Join us on Tuesday, December 12th, anytime between 11:30am and 9:30pm, to eat out at Absolute BBQ - Authentic Indian Cuisine in support of Peterson! A portion of all sales will benefit our school, so be sure to mention you are there for Peterson. Address - 5019 Ace Lane #103 in Naperville.
PTA Meeting - Thursday, December 14th
Our next PTA meeting will be held on Thursday, December 14th at 9:30am in the MPR. If you aren't able to attend in person, please join us via Google Meet. Click here to join.
Spirit Day - Friday, December 15th
Our next spirit day will be Friday, December 15th! Get your Peterson spirit wear or any purple and gold clothes ready!
5th Grade T-shirts
Annual 5th grade shirts are in. Order yours today! They turned out so cute and we can’t wait to see all our 5th graders in them! They are only $10 and are available in both youth and adult sizes. Click this link to order.
Peterson Silent Auction - January 19th
Tickets are on sale for our inaugural Peterson Gala and Silent Auction! This will be January 19th at White Eagle Club House. Click here to purchase your tickets!. Advance tickets are required and are available through January 7th.
Previous Information
Holiday Giving Opportunities
There are several holiday giving opportunities available to families through District 204 and your local community. Please contact Jeannie Dina at jeannie_dina@ipsd.org or 630-375-3017 with questions.
- Winter Wishes – The IPPC Winter Wishes Program provides gift cards to struggling families allowing them the means to purchase essential items and gifts for their children, making the holiday season a little brighter. The online store offers a variety of gift cards to choose from including Jewel, Walmart, Target, and Meijer. Monetary donations can also be made.
- Edward-Elmhurst Health Toy Drive – This toy drive benefits the Pediatrics Child Life Program at Edward-Elmhurst Hospital. Shop the Amazon Wish List or learn more about the Edward-Elmhurst Toy Drive here.
- Fox Valley United Way has several opportunities to support local families including sponsor a local child or children, organize a toy drive, organize a blanket drive, provide gift cards, or provide a monetary donation. All donations may be dropped off weekdays between December 4 - 14. For more information, visit Fox Valley United Way Holiday Assistance.
Parent Academy - Assessment
We had a great turnout both in person and online for our Parent Academy about Assessment! Below you will find a link to the presentation. We had some parents ask for more information as to how to interpret the IAR scores. That link is below as well. We will offer more academies after Winter Break - stay tuned for more information!!!
Supporting Social Emotional Learning
This past month, our Second Step lessons have focused on empathy. Students were reminded to have empathy, identify their own and others’ feelings, notice and respect same and different feelings, and show compassion. Compassion involves saying kind words or doing something helpful to show you care how another person feels. When students can identify, understand, and respond in a caring way to how someone else is feeling, it helps create a positive and accepting school climate.
Second Step lessons specifically teach about empathy. You should have received Home Links describing why empathy is important and including fun activities to do with your child to help him or her identify feelings and practice showing empathy and compassion. We hope you found them helpful. Please tell your child’s teacher if you have any questions about how you can help your child learn to identify feelings and show empathy and compassion at home.
In December and January our schoolwide theme is emotion management. In our morning announcements and during class meetings, we’ll be prompting students to notice their own feelings by paying attention to clues in their bodies, and we’ll be reminding them to use their Second Step skills to calm down:
· Stop—Use your signal
· Name your feeling
· Calm down: Breathe, count, use positive self-talk
These skills help students calm down strong emotions when faced with learning and social challenges, which helps them succeed academically and get along well with others. Second Step lessons specifically teach about calming down strong emotions such as anger, disappointment, frustration, and anxiety. You’ll be receiving Home Links that describe why managing strong emotions is important and include fun activities to do with your child to help him or her identify strong feelings and calm down. We hope the Home Links will give you tools to use together when your child is upset. As always please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have questions about how you can help your child learn to calm down at home.
Late Start Wednesdays
Each Wednesday is a late start for us. The school day will begin at 9:15 a.m. This late start delays both school drop off and morning bus schedules. It does not change our dismissal time of 3:35.
- 9:00 a.m. Doors open
- 9:15 a.m. School Starts
Upcoming Events
- December 12 - Chorus Concert 6:30-7:30 pm
- December 12 - PTA Dinner Night at Absolute BBQ 11:30-9:30 pm
- December 14 - PTA Meeting at 9:30 in MPR
- December 15 - Spirit Day
- December 25 - January 5 - No School Winter Break
- January 8 - School Resumes
- January 12 - End of Semester/End of Quarter 2
- January 15 - No School - In observance of Martin Luther King Jr.
- January 16 - No School - SIP/Teacher Work day
- January 19 - Report Cards viewable in ParentVUE after 4:00 pm
Danielle-Joy Peterson Elementary School
Email: allison_landstrom@ipsd.org
Website: https://www.ipsd.org/Domain/33
Location: 4008 Chinaberry Lane, Naperville, IL, USA
Phone: (630)428-5678
Twitter: @allilandstrom