Norton Creek Elementary

Thursday Tidbits - February 6, 2020

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!


  • REMINDER TO COMPLETE THE 5-ESSENTIALS SURVEY BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH (See Link Below)

  • NORTON CREEK SOCK DRIVE FOR THE HALLIE STRONG FOUNDATION February 3rd -February 14th (See Flyer Below)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Click on this button to view the Norton Creek calendar

FROM THE PRINCIPAL...TONY WHITE

The most challenging yet rewarding job I have ever had the honor and pleasure of holding is being a parent. I'm sure you would say the same. One of the challenges with parenting is knowing when to jump in and help our kids out. Over the years, you have undoubtedly heard me talk about productive struggle. Productive struggle happens when the answer is not immediately evident, requires effortful learning, and produces grit and deeper knowledge. The idea of productive struggle comes up most often when we discuss learning math and math anxiety; however, it really applies to any skill or concept we are learning - including social, emotional, and behavioral skills.


When our children play at the park under our supervision, there are inevitable disagreements - there aren't enough swings, taking turns on slides, the list goes on and on. When this happens with my own daughters at the park, I have always made this mistake: I swoop in as the hero and tell them exactly what's going to happen. It feels really good on the surface, but in truth, I have robbed my daughters of the opportunity to solve this problem with my help as opposed me solving it for them.


As parents, we want to be our children's heroes, but we miss the point that the heroes in our lives empowered us to be stronger than we knew we were by coaching us as opposed to playing the game for us. We empower through teaching. Going back to my example at the park with my girls, had I asked the right questions to get them to a solution instead of solving the problem for them, I would have empowered them to have the skills to solve this problem and ones like it in the future. I wanted to be their hero and be fast in doing so. That's not our fault. We're not bad parents when we hurry in to rescue our kids. We're doing what we're programmed to do. However, we set our children up for success today and in the future when we teach them to solve problems by asking the right questions to help them reach their own solutions and conclusions. That's how they know life does not merely happen to them, but that they have control over many things in their lives. They become active "livers of life" as opposed to passive and waiting for things to happen to them. And, that is where they find their power.


Have a wonderful weekend, Norton Creek! Punxsutawney Phil says we have an early spring coming, so hopefully this is the last of the snow for a long time!

5-ESSENTIALS SURVEY

Here is a link to a very important survey, The 5Essentials. http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/ This survey gives us the opportunity to hear from you about your experience at Norton Creek. Your participation in this survey helps us learn and grow as a school and continue to build a school that works for everyone. The last day to take the survey is February 14. We will only get a report of the data from the survey if we have 20% of our parents/guardians take the survey. Thank you very much for your time and cooperation!

Middle School Transfer Requests

Families who wish to submit Middle School Transfer requests may do so beginning February 3. The request form will be available on the District 303 website through February 28. Families must complete a separate form for each student they want transferred. Requests are granted based on space available so siblings are not guaranteed placement. A written decision will be communicated to families before spring break.


Once the request is approved, a student may remain at that middle school throughout his or her middle school career, as long as the student resides in District 303.


Families of students granted permission to attend a school outside of their assigned attendance are responsible for their own transportation.


Students will return to their assigned attendance area high school regardless of the middle school attended.

PTO NEWS...

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK (K-5) rotellakelly@gmail.com

Random Acts of Kindness week is February 9-15. Please join us as we show kindness to our wonderful students with a “clap in” as they enter school on Monday morning, Feb. 10 at 8:25 AM and a “clap out” on Friday afternoon, Feb. 14 at 3 PM. Norton the Eagle will be available for photos!


EAGLES EAT OUT - PORTILLO’S (K-5) mollymikebryant@gmail.com, whisel11@gmail.com

Dinner is ready! Head over to Portillo’s on Main Street on Monday, February 10 between 5 PM and 8 PM and show them the flyer below. Portillo’s will donate 20% of Eagle orders back to our school!


COZY SWEATER AND SOUP STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCHEON (K-5) dd7collins@gmail.com

We will be showing kindness to the fabulous teachers and staff at Norton Creek by hosting a Cozy Sweater & Soup luncheon on Thursday, February 13. Do you have a delicious soup recipe you’d like to make and share? Perhaps you would like to donate a different item? Please see the list of needed items and sign-up HERE. Contact DeDe Collins if you have questions. Thank you!


SCIENCE NIGHT (K-5) nortoncreekscience@gmail.com

Cool Science! will be here on Friday, February 21 from 6-8 PM to share super cool and fun science experiment stations with our students! The event is FREE! Please register HERE before February 14. See attached flyer for details. Please contact Kristi Culver if you have any questions.

NORTON CREEK PTO

CHECK OUT THE NORTON CREEK PTO WEBSITE FOR THE LATEST PTO INFORMATION!

IMPORTANT DISMISSAL REMINDER:

On the rare occasion that there will be a change to your student(s)' after school dismissal (i.e. bus), or if your student will not be taking the bus due to being registered in a PTO after school club, please send an email by 11:00 a.m. on the day of said change to:



Thank you for your assistance.

All Day Kindergarten Tuition/PushCoin:

All Day Kindergarten (ADK) tuition payment are due February 15th. All payments must be made through PushCoin or mailed to or dropped off at the District office at 201 South 7th Street, St. Charles, IL 60174. PushCoin directions can be found on the District website under the Parent pull down menu under Webstore/Pushcoin. Per District policy, tuition payments cannot be accepted at Norton Creek. If you would like to set up ADK monthly auto pay, please contact Wendy Sedwick at 331-228-4927. ADK tuition payments are billed in PushCoin on the first of each month and are due on the 15th of each month through April 15th.

LUNCH MENU

Click on the button for lunch menu.

NEW LUNCH SCHEDULES

LUNCH SCHEDULES:

Kindergarten: 11:40 - 12:00

1st Grade: 12:00 - 12:20

2nd Grade: 12:20 - 12:40

3rd Grade: 12:40 -1:00

4th Grade: 11:00 - 11:20

5th Grade: 11:20 -11:40

IMPORTANT COLD WEATHER & OUTSIDE RECESS INFORMATION

Per District policy, we will be going outside for recess as long as the temperature (with wind chill) is above 0 F and it is not raining. With that in mind, please make sure your child is dressed to go outside on days when it is cold, snowy or windy. Students should bring outerwear to school in a bag to put on before recess. Please make sure they have hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants and boots if they want to play in the snow. Don’t forget to label your child’s outerwear so it does not end up in the Lost and Found.

ORCHESTRA INFORMATION

Click on this button to view helpful Orchestra information

ORCHESTRA NEWS...

Faculty Recital: Friday, February 7th at 7:00 pm.

at Bethlehem Lutheran Church - 1145 N 5th Ave (Route 25) in St. Charles.

Come and hear the D303 orchestra teachers perform! There will be a variety of both classical and pop music. The concert is free, although donations will be graciously accepted to raise money for D303 music camp scholarships. Raffle prizes will be offered including a chance to win a colored bow! We hope to see you there!


Fiddle Fest 2020!

Calling all fiddlers and lovers of folk music! It’s time for the 15th annual Fiddle Fest. All advanced orchestra students, elementary through high school and beyond, can participate! Parents, teachers, older siblings, grandparents and community members who play guitar, banjo, mandolin or a string instrument are welcome! We guarantee you’ll have a great time! If you are interested in playing and need music, please contact an orchestra director, or email Rita.Borkowski@d303.org


Click here to sign up: Fiddle Fest 2020 Online Registration

The deadline to register is Thurs. Feb 20th.

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CUSD303 COMMUNITY BACKPACK

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