Harper Happenings
December 4th - December 8th
What's Happening?
Wednesday, December 6
- D39 "How to Raise Resilent Children", WJHS, 7 pm
Coming Up/Reminders
Wednesday, December 13
- D39 Education Foundation Meeting, MEC, 7 pm
Thursday, December 14
- Harper Chorus Concert, 6:30 pm
Monday, December 18
- Dr. Kick's December Birthdays Lunch
- D39 Board of Education Meeting, MEC, 7:00 pm
Monday, December 25th - Friday, January 5th
- No School-Winter Break
Mrs. Ryan's Corner
Helen Cole Hampson is our new Social Worker! Helen joins us with many years of experience in school-based settings, including several years in Winnetka. Helen will begin Thursday, December 7th
Coming back to a routine after a break is never easy, but here we go! We hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and friends. The Harper walls are buzzing with chatter of December, and all of the teaching and learning to be done before winter break. From singing in the halls to preparing for the chorus concert, to MakerSpace challenges in the commons, the environment is vibrant and rich with diverse experiences for kids.
Here are a few fun home winter projects to enjoy with your student:
Instrumental Music Survey- next week
As you may know, D39 is taking a close look at its instrumental music program as part of the Strategic Plan this year. An important part of this process is getting input from parents and 5th-8th grade students; there will be a survey soon to get thoughts and preferences with respect to band and orchestra. Based on these survey results, the District may elicit additional feedback from parents and/or students.
The District is committed to continuing its long tradition of instrumental music opportunities to help students explore their interests and talents. D39’s instrumental music approach is unique in that it has aspects commonly associated with both extracurricular and curricular programs. While it is classified as “extracurricular,” because it takes place outside of the school day and participation is optional, some may see it as “curricular” because students have traditionally received achievement grades, and instruction is aligned to state and national standards.
The current review process is directed at ways to enhance the program and maintain the high quality that our community has come to expect. Your feedback in response to the survey will help the District better define the structure of the instrumental music program in D39. Watch for an email with the survey next week. Your participation is important – more input will lead to better success as we evaluate enhancements to the program.
Announcements
- Are you collecting Box Tops? Every Box Top is worth $0.10 for Harper. We raised about $250 this fall, but still have another collection at the end of February 2018. If every child at Harper collects and turns in 15 Box Tops, we can reach and potentially surpass our goal of raising $1000 for the school! Please see the attached list of participating products. Keep in mind when clipping that the expiration date must be visible and not expired. There is a collection box in the front entrance of Harper - purchase the product, clip the Box Top, check the expiration date, and turn in to the school. Thank you and keep on clipping!
- A wide variety of after school clubs are coming to Harper in January! Classes include Hip Hop, Minecraft Coding, Dodgeball, Chess Club and many more. Please see the attachment for detailed information on all the classes available. Registration begins November 28th on the Wilmette Park District website.
Community Service Drive
The holiday season can be a wonderful time to teach our children the importance of giving to others. Here is an upcoming donation opportunity to consider:
- Winter Gear Drive (benefitting Connections for the Homeless*), December 1-15. New and gently used winter gear for Connections families (adult and children). Items needed: winter coats, gloves and hats, warm socks, boots, blankets and sleeping bags, disposable hand and foot warmers, and long underwear!
- THANK YOU for all of the Thanksgiving food items! MANY families were SO thankful of Harper's generosity, which equated into a bountiful Thanksgiving.
Thank you in advance for your support and generosity!
The Harper Community Service Committee
*Harper has a longstanding relationship with Connections for the Homeless. Connections helps families and individuals across the northern suburbs who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness, to break the cycle of poverty by providing affordable housing, as well as support services needed for success and self-sufficiency. The items that Harper families collect and donate often encourage people in need to make the first step to reach out for help; the simple ability to address someone's immediate physical need can help initiate bigger conversations about housing, income and health. Please visit www.connect2home.org for more information. (Please also see attached PDF for the latest Connections Impact Report).
Enrichment
Here are some upcoming December dates:
- 6th & 7th- 2nd grade classes visit the Wilmette Historical SocietyDecember 6th (Beien & Fowler) & 7th (Moore & Peterson)
- 12th- 4th grade visits Feed My Starving Children
- 12th & 14th- Mindfulness enrichment with Katie Kolbe
- Thank you for your contributions to iGNITE!
Please check out the link below to see some Mindful activities you can do with your child focusing on the sense of smell!
The Green Corner
Junk mail not only saps our sanity but studies report it takes 100 million trees A YEAR to produce what many of us don’t even want in the first place. For example, who has received that monolith of a catalog from Restoration Hardware? Here is the link to be removed from receiving it:
https://www.restorationhardware.com/customer-service/catalog-cancellation.jsp
The most effective way to stop other catalogs coming is to call them each directly and request to be taken off their mailing lists..
To remove your name from the coupon packets from ValPak, you can go to: https://www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppression.
Would you like to stop unsolicited credit card offers too? To stop the tide of “pre screened offers,” you can visit this site:
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form..cgi
Good luck! If you have tips to share or questions, please email environmental@harperpto.com.
Wilmette Park District
- Link to Park District Community Events
- Wilmette Park District hosts after school clubs for students at Central, Harper, McKenzie January 9 - March 23. Registration begins November 28th
- Register now for Wilmette Park District’s Saturday Basketball for boys & girls grades 4-8.
- New Trier HS Football Schedule is posted online.
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Adriane McKnight via the Communication Request Form by Mondays at 9 am. If you do not receive an email response within 24hrs, please send an email to adrianemcknight@gmail.com to confirm your Communication Request Form was received.
For more school information, visit the Harper PTO website.
For additional D39 community events, visit wilmette39.org