Harper Happenings
4.27-5.1
What's Happening
Important Upcoming Dates-
- Monday, April 27: "Grey" Day during remote learning (information below)
- PTO Volunteers Needed by May 31st. WE NEED YOUR HELP. Details below under Announcements. Open Positions:
1. Book fair assistants x 3 positions
2. Enrichment 4th grade x 2 positions
3. Environmental Affairs x 1
4. Garden Committee x 1
5. Harper Hoedown assistants x 4
6. Hospitality x 2
7. Chorus x 1
- PTO General Meeting via Zoom Wednesday, May 20th: 2-245pm. Zoom details to be posted the week before the meeting in the Harper Happenings. Topics: Vote on PTO roles for 2020/2021 and Approve PTO budget for 2020/2021. Please join if you can.
Principal's Message
Hello Harper Families,
It is still hard to believe that schools have been closed for the remainder of the year. The news was not shocking, but hearing the announcement was difficult for us all. This is definitely not the end to the school year that I imagined!
As a District, we are committed to providing meaningful and manageable remote learning experiences that nurture strong, positive connections between students and teachers while emphasizing the most essential learning targets in each grade level or subject area and promoting social-emotional health. The district will be sending out more information regarding Remote Learning Expectations. Please look for that email from Dr. Cremascoli on Sunday.
We are continuing to work on additional plans for the end of the year including locker clean out, gathering belongings from the classroom, pick-up of medicine in the nurse’s office, and yearbook distribution. We also are working on end of the year celebrations including how to say goodbye to our fourth graders. We will keep you posted as plans are developed.
Our focus will continue to remain on connecting with our students and ensuring that their social-emotional needs are being met. Please continue to provide yourselves and your child(ren) with flexibility as you tackle each and every day.
I appreciate everyone’s support and understanding as we navigate these unprecedented times. We are all in this together.
Have a relaxing and fun weekend. Stay safe and be well!
Aaron
May Day Baskets
Tradition at Harper indicates that on the first day of May, it is customary to share a small basket of flowers with friends and neighbors. The gesture is meant to spread joy, beauty, and good wishes to others.
Unfortunately, we cannot give the actual gift of a basket of flowers to neighbors this year because of social distancing and we want everyone to be safe. However, we can still continue to spread joy to the community. Therefore, May Day baskets will entail putting up a picture of a basket in your windows for neighbors to see. We encourage you to print off a basket (option 1 or option 2), color it in, and hang it up on May 1st. Or, feel free to get creative and create your own. These baskets will bring a smile to all those who pass your home! More May Day basket information HERE.
Social-Emotional Resources
- The next addition of Medsker's Mindfulness, a newsletter from our school social worker, Erin Medsker, is out providing you with social-emotional tips and resources. This week focuses on taking breaks: exercise breaks, mindfulness breaks, you name it. Check it out!
Staying Virtually Connected
On Tuesday, the District hosted its 2nd webinar titled: Connecting Kids: How to Virtually Connect Kids at a Time When They Can’t Be Physically Connected. The full presentation is posted to our District YouTube channel. Here is the direct link. A few of the topics are:
Physical distance, not social distance. Keep students “social” and keep routines
Screen time information
Make it interactive
Structure the connection
Rules for use
Tools/Apps
Maintain privacy and safety
Staying virtually connected during a time when we cannot be physically connected can have a positive effect for your child’s emotional well-being. Connecting virtually can be as formal or informal as you’d like. Even a spontaneous call, chat or video can help kids feel close to one another. Please consider this information and adapt it to your families rules and comfort level.
Parent Planning Notes
District 39 Remote Learning FAQ: Informational resource HERE and it is constantly being updated.
Calendar Updates: The calendar is updated for the month of April. Monday Grey Days afford students the opportunity to work independently on assigned work. Students may focus on longer project-based activities, wrap up unfinished work from the previous week, work independently on enrichment activities, or complete service learning projects. Our K-4 students will also be provided lessons and projects for Science and Social Studies on these Grey Days. While teachers will maintain office hours on Grey Days, there will not be synchronous (live) core instructional meetings scheduled on these days. Your classroom teacher will email you the activities designed for the day.
Kindergarten Parents – We have a limited number of iPads that we can send home to use. Since we have a limited amount, lending criteria will be based on need or hardship. If your child is struggling to complete electronic assignments or send/receive communications from their teacher due to a lack of device access at home, please place a request through this form.
Giving and Receiving Support in D39: Wilmette Public Schools support the academic, social-emotional and physical needs of each child through a collaborative partnership with the greater Wilmette community. Through the generosity of families, businesses and affiliate organizations, District 39 is able to provide additional support to families when they need it the most.
Playground Reminders: As the weather gets warmer, it is so refreshing and beneficial to be outside. We encourage all to take walks, safely ride bikes, and play in your yard. However, we want to remind you that school playgrounds are closed.
The Community Playfields/Village of Wilmette water storage project has begun behind Highcrest Middle School. Fencing is currently being installed, and adjustments to the entrance to the parking lot are being made to accommodate deliveries throughout the day while school is not in session. Please stay aware of this project and follow the signs and fencing posted around the area to keep your children and you safe. The path is still accessible, and flaggers will be there to help manage the traffic, but staying vigilant when in the area will also help the project stay safe. At this time, we recommend that bike and walking traffic stay only on the path, and refrain from entering the parking lot.
- Board of Education Meets 4/27: The Wilmette School District No. 39 Board of Education will hold its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2020. Topics of interest include:
- Remote Learning Update and Progress
- Discussion of 2019-2020 Calendar
- End of Year Planning
This Board of Education meeting will be conducted electronically and live-streamed on the District 39 YouTube page. Please view the agenda for instructions on how to comment and participate in the meeting.
Announcements
- EduKits- School EduKit Ordering starts Friday, May 1st. Don't spend your summer running around trying to find school supplies at the last minute! Pre-order your child's kit and supplies will be waiting for them on the first day of school! All D39 schools use EduKits for school supply kits and can be purchased in a single transaction. Ordering will run May 1st - May 15th. School supply kits are separate from the instructional materials fee paid during registration. Questions? schoolkits@harperpto.com
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED PTO:
Open PTO positions for 2020/2021 in a snapshot below. Please consider volunteering and support the overall objective of PTO to enhance the learning experience of all students at Harper Elementary.
Thank you to all parents who have volunteered to date. We couldn’t do this without you.
Open Positions:
1. Book fair assistants x 3 positions
2. Enrichment 4th grade x 2 positions
3. Environmental Affairs x 1
4. Garden Committee x 1
5. Harper Hoedown assistants x 4
6. Hospitality x 2
7. Chorus x 1
iGNITE
http://harperpto.com/ignitetaxletter/
If you have not made a donation, it is never too late! We are still short of our goal that assures all enrichment activities are funded for our kids.
http://harperpto.com/ignite-donation/
If you have any questions or can't remember if you made a donation, please reach out to Jill Huebsch, jillhuebsch@gmail.com
Community News
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- The Center for Gifted hosts summer programs. View flyers for details.
- NSSRA offers Campyardigans for Summer 2020. See flyer for details.
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Kelly Maggio 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 kwmaggio@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