The Walden Weekly

Dear Walden Families,

We had a short and sweet week at Walden School! We hope you enjoyed the long weekend and celebrated President's Day in your own special way. Our teachers had a wonderful training on Tuesday regarding some new strategies around cooperative learning structures. We all felt excited to implement some new ideas with students right away!

Have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

-Stephanie Strenger

March is National Reading Month!

Next week is the beginning of March which means... It's March is National Reading Month! Keep an eye out for information going home with your children on Tuesday because the fun will start right away on Wednesday, March 1st. Get ready for a month full of reading fun!

WALDEN 2022-2023 YEARBOOKS ARE ON SALE!!! LAST DAY TO ORDER!

For the FIRST time this school year, WALDEN YEARBOOKS are on sale!!!! If you're wondering if you've already purchased a yearbook at the beginning of the year...you didn't! The yearbook sale opened for the first time LAST FRIDAY. Get your copy before it's too late.

To purchase a yearbook, please click HERE.

LAST DAY TO ORDER: Friday, February 24
COST: $22

All purchased yearbooks will be labeled with your child's name and delivered to their class the last week of school. Please note, the PTO has volunteer yearbook photographers taking photos at each class party, PTO events, photo day, and various days throughout the year. This is a way for all students to be included in the yearbook. Therefore, we do not accept personal photo submissions for the yearbook.

If you have any questions, please email WaldenElementaryYearbook@gmail.com.

A Note From the Art Room

We have completed our clay projects for the year and want to make sure they get home safely! If you have any extra of the bubble-wrap shipping bags (like these ones Amazon ships with frequently) can you please send them (along with any extras) to school with your student? Leftover bubble wrap and a gallon ziplock bag can also be brought in. Do not feel you need to go out and buy anything, we are collecting extras for students who may not have one! Clay will be sent home the week of March 6-10th!

Thanks!

- Lindsey Summers

Walden Elementary Art Teacher

A Message to 5th Grade Families

As a 6th grader your student will have a choice of which world language they would like to take at Shepard. District 109 offers Spanish, Fench, Hebrew, and Mandarin. More information about all of the language options can be found here. The Shepard teachers visited your students at their schools on February 9th. You are invited to attend a zoom meeting on March 7th from 7-7:30 PM so you can learn more about the courses. Then following the meeting, all incoming 5th grade parents will receive a link to the presentation and the link to select their student's world language preference. This will be due by April 6th. The zoom link for this meeting will be sent home prior to the meeting.

Highland Park Code-a-thon Feb 25th 11am - 1pm

Highland Park High School's Code-A-Thon is open to anyone between the ages of 4th through 8th grade. Games, prizes, and lunch will be included! Students will tour STEM facilities, meet the Northwestern University Women in Computing organization, and attend workshops. The Code-A-Thon is completely free for students and sponsored by Highland Park High School’s GirlsCode Club. Please complete the attached form to confirm your child's attendance!

(It's run by Girls Code but boys are also invited - the club is inclusive of all genders!!)

This link has the location and description: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/highland-park-high-school-code-a-thon-tickets-555696211327

This link is where the student/families sign up:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfRQVEaP3Qso91Vgq6orYG5YVpxijRV_v74VuGAQ_pr69h0Iw/viewform

Either of the links will work!

Instrumental Music Fundraiser

Join us for our instrumental music performance fundraiser at Potbelly's on Wednesday, March 1st from 4:00 - 7:30 PM. Use the attached flyer and 25% of the proceeds from your order will help support our instrumental music program. You'll also hear a variety of student performances throughout the evening who would love a supportive audience. We hope to see you there!

5Essentials Survey (3rd Posting)

Parents across Illinois again have an opportunity to participate in the annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

· Effective Leaders

· Collaborative Teachers

· Involved Families

· Supportive Environments

· Ambitious Instruction

This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, it allows you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness. Your responses also help guide district improvement.

To take the Parent Survey, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin. Your identity and responses will be kept completely confidential and will not be connected to you or your child. The survey should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete.

In addition to parents, teachers and 4th through 8th grade students will also be responding to this survey. Per school board policy 7:15, you may opt your child out of any survey. If you would not like your child to participate in the 5Essentials Survey, please contact your building principal no later than Feb. 21.