Letters from Limestone Walters
September 2022
🗓️ Important Dates to Remember
September 1st: Fire Drill Practice
September 2nd: Half Day of School (students dismissed @11:20am; no lunch served)
September 5th: No School!
September 6th: PTO Meeting @7pm (stay tuned for Zoom link)
September 7th: Lockdown Drill Practice (opt out option available see below)
September 9th: Wheel Spin Day and Fire Drill Practice
September 14th: Fire Drill Practice & Girls Basketball Tryouts 3pm-5pm
September 15th: Girls Basketball Tryouts 3pm-5pm
September 16th: Girls Basketball Practice begins 3pm-5pm
September 23rd: Wheel Spin Day
September 25th: September Book Club @6pm (see details below)
September 26th: Board Meeting @6pm
September 30th: Spirit Day: Star Wars
📖 September's Book 🐘
2022 Book Club September - Friendship
The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship by Kim Tomsic is a touching story based on a true story about the connection between animals and humans.
ZOOM Read Aloud Event will be Sunday, September 25th @6pm.
Fill out the form to be emailed the link: LW Book Club ZOOM Event
👮🚨 Lockdown Drill Opt Out
In accordance with the School Safety Drill Act, we will post our safety drills in the important dates section of our newsletter. You also have the option to have your child opt out of the lockdown drill which is scheduled for 8:50am on Wednesday, September 7th. If you wish your child to opt out of this drill, please contact the office.
🚗 Arrival Updates
Arrival
- We are keeping the time of 7:25am for opening our doors for learning!
- Please wait for Mrs. Pitzer (or any staff member) to open the doors before exiting your vehicle.
We have created two lanes upon entry to our parking lot.
These two lanes will then merge into one (think McDonalds drive thru) halfway back so you can safely get to the sidewalk and kids can get into the building safely too.
Please follow the cones all the way to the back of the parking lot vs. cutting across the middle. This helps with flow of traffic.
Only use the drop off lane when dropping off your child
Have your child ready to exit the vehicle.
All students may exit the vehicle as long as you are within the white box on the image you see below.
- This zone is set to hold 5-6 vehicles that can all have kids exit at the same time
- Once those 5-6 vehicles have let out, the car next can pull all the way up to the farthest cone.
🚌 Bus Updates
They still continue to need drivers. If you know of anyone would be interested in becoming a bus driver click here for more information.
If your child will be having any transportation changes please let the office and the classroom teacher know via note or email!
🍽️ Lunch News
This year our lunch periods run as follows:
K-4th Lunch
- K-2 Eats 11:20am-11:35am
- 3-4 Eats 11:35am-11:50am
- When they aren't in the cafeteria they are at recess
5th-8th Lunch
- 5th-6th Eats 11:55am-12:10pm
- 7th-8th Eats 12:10pm-12:25am
- When they aren't in the cafeteria they are at recess
This year there are choices to choose from in terms of vegetable and fruit. Check out the image to learn what they can take. Make sure to go over the choices with your child so they have an idea of what to expect. K-6th grade students also have the lights shut off at 5 minutes left so they can just focus on eating and calmly exit to either recess or their classroom
We have been so impressed with how well the students are doing and every day the line goes through quicker. A big shoutout to our cafeteria staff (Mrs. Strausbaugh and Mrs. Moore). Thank you also to Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Speichinger for their help with supervision. It takes a village.
*Extras will become available for grades 5th-8th starting after Labor Day
📚⏰ M.A.S.H. 5th-8th Grade
- MASH will now be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:40pm-3:45pm
- Transportation home will now be provided for your child
- First Student will bring a bus back after their route to pick up any MASH student
- Students in extra curricular activities must go home if no MASH is after school as there won't be staff available to supervise.
- Students who stay after must have something to work on that is school related
- Students are expected to follow expectations
📚 Curriculum Updates
World Book Research Database
Have you and/or your child explored World Book? Teachers shared the username and password in class for access at home. Instead of having your child going to Google first, head to World Book first instead. This is a more safe space for students to get updated and accurate information for any and all research they need.
*You can also find this on our website under student links
Into Reading (K-6)
Our new literacy series begins after Labor Day with each grade K-6 diving into Module One. One of our many favorite parts of this series is the philosophy of immersing students in literacy elements: reading, writing, phonics, grammar, vocabulary, sight words, spelling, etc. The books and stories your children are reading include these elements so students not only learn important skills but have authentic opportunities to practice these skills through shared experiences.
This series also weaves in vital social skills that focus on a learning mindset. I have included a link to a chart you can use at home below. You will also see an image below with the breakdown of these skills as they apply to the CASEL Framework. Module One will focus on these skills throughout:
Kindergarten: Self-Awareness
1st Grade: Relationship Skills
2nd Grade: Social Awareness
3rd Grade: Self-Management
4th Grade: Self-Awareness
5th Grade: Self-Awareness
6th Grade: Seeking Challenges
Be on the look out for communication from your child's teacher for more on the learning Module One includes.
💙 School Wide Expectations
*A big shoutout to Mrs. Holt who worked hard to develop this!
👍 PTO Points
Our PTO meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm in the library. This is a great way to get involved in fundraisers and activities that support our school. If in person doesn't work for you, they also have a virtual Zoom option. The links are always posted on our website closer to the date.
Starting in September we will have meal nights that help to raise money for our school. Stay tuned for more information. This month we will also be looking at an apparel order. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting on Sept. 6th @7pm.
💭🥰🎯 Principal Ponderings
I loved seeing our Rockets both new and old walk through the doors. Our school just isn't the same without them. Back to school was good for my soul!
Gratitude
I'm grateful for classroom read alouds that I see throughout the day and for students asking when lunch time read alouds will kick off.
Goals
- continue to work with and communicate with First Student and families
- continue to keep traffic moving through our AM drop off lane
- start lunchtime read alouds (picture books on We Read Wednesday for grades K-4th and First Chapter Fridays for grades 5th-8th)
~Mrs. Stefanie Pitzer, Principal
Limestone Walters School District #316
Email: spitzer@limestonewalters.com
Website: https://www.limestonewalters.com/
Location: 8223 West Smithville Road, Peoria, IL, USA
Phone: 309-697-3035
Facebook: facebook.com/LWrockets316
Twitter: @lwrockets