Carpenter Courier
December 19, 2019
Principal's Corner
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Well, that was fast! I'm sure everything will slow down once the holidays are over. When we return, you'll receive an email to complete the 5E Survey. I'd encourage you to complete it to provide your input/insight into the various aspects of our school. The survey provides prospective parents with valuable information when deciding to potentially make the Carpenter Community their future home. We also review the information to determine if there are areas that we can continue to improve. Our Kindergartners and 1st graders will have winter benchmarking on early literacy and numeracy skills the first week we are back. These benchmark assessments help provide us another piece of information to monitor their progress as well as make instructional decisions. Please remember the various opportunities that some of our students have coming up in January including the spelling bee, talent show, and science olympiad (2/1) and take the necessary steps to register them if they can and are able to participate.
When we return, our focus in the month of January is responsibility. As it is one of our LIFE RULES, our students know the concept well, but being responsible for all different types of things can always improve. You can help by doing some pre-teaching of responsibility over winter break. Increase the number of independent tasks that your children do. Have them clean up after themselves. Make sure that they have some chores to do. Create some "if this, then that" type of scenarios with them. For example, tell them IF they put away their clothes THEN they can spend time on the IPAD. The most important thing is then making sure you follow through with the if/then "contract" or children struggle to learn the importance of adult directions and the need to follow through and be responsible.
When our students return from winter break, we'll be looking for them to set personal goals on how they can be more responsible. For some of our students, it might tie into remembering to bring home all of their materials or doing their homework. Some students might set goals in following directions. Other students might demonstrate more responsibility by taking care of themselves and dressing appropriately for the weather. As a family, you can build this into your own routines, discussions, and practices as well. As it relates to school again, talk to your children about remembering to bring all of their materials to school on a regular basis. If they forget, maybe the natural consequence at school might help them to take more responsibility in the future rather than the parent/guardian fixing the problem by bringing the forgotten homework or water bottle. Our children learning to make mistakes and being responsible for their actions or inactions will help them learn to problem-solve better in the future, as well as think in advance of what they need to do to be prepared and responsible. Our collaborative efforts together will help us continue to teach pro-social and emotional skills for our children.
Have a terrific winter break and holiday season. Safe travels to those who may be leaving the area. We look forward to seeing you again in the new year!
Sincerely,
Mr. Brett Balduf, Principal
Carpenter Elementary School
Coffee With Director of Special Services
Beginning in January, Dr. Lea Anne Frost, District 64’s Director of Student Services, will host a monthly coffee for parents to express their concerns, ask questions, or discuss any matters related to the Student Services Department. The first coffee will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at the Franklin School conference room, 2401 Manor Lane, Park Ridge. Please feel free to attend all or part of this meeting.
Extended School Year (ESY)
Join us for an informational meeting about Extended School Year (ESY). Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 will provide an informational session to parents on Extended School Year at 7 p.m. Monday, February 10, 2020 in the south gym of Carpenter Elementary School, 300 North Hamlin Avenue. The program will include a discussion on the eligibility process and program opportunities.
What is extended school year? District 64 Park Ridge-Niles provides Extended School Year (ESY) opportunities to qualifying students within the district generally beginning mid June for no less than 60 hours. Although the calendar/schedule is reviewed and determined annually, ESY has generally been scheduled Monday through Friday, following the Worlds of Wonder (WOW) program.
Parent Workshop Preview - Children with Special Needs
The All Abilities group, in collaboration with the District 64 Student Services department, is hosting a “Planning for the Future of Children with Special Needs” parent workshop on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Franklin Elementary School, 2401 Manor Lane, Park Ridge. Attorney Mr. Brian Rubin, the founder of Rubin Law, will be presenting on the use of government benefits as well as estate and future planning for parents of students with special needs. Please join us for this informative event by registering and identifying any specific questions you might have to be addressed.
For questions on this workshop, contact Maura Cullen at maura.cullen@yahoo.com or Dr. Lea Anne Frost at lfrost@d64.org.
Special Olympics Flyer
District 64 hosts Special Olympics info meeting
Join us for an informational meeting about the Special Olympics program at Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 for the Spring 2020 season. There will be an informational session to parents at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2020 in the south gym of Carpenter Elementary School, 300 North Hamlin Avenue. The session will include a discussion of program opportunities, details regarding the season, and an opportunity to meet the coaches.
Special Olympics is an athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children, ages 8 and up with disabilities. District 64 competes in the Region Spring Games held at Prospect High School at the end of April. If you would like to consider this opportunity for your student, please attend to gain more information.
Spelling Bee Registration -Spelling Bees Take Place the Week We Return!
If your child is in 3rd-5th grade and interested in participating in the spelling bee, please read and complete the following registration form.
Winter Chess Program - Discounted Rate until 1/2!!!
- The Eventbee registration link can be found here: www.carpenterchess.eventbee.com. The site is live and ready to accept registrations.
Similar to the Fall Session, the Winter Session will take place on Thursdays during lunch from 11:40 a.m - 12:35 p.m. The 8-week session runs from 1/9/20 to 2/27/20 as follows:
8-Week Session: 1/9, 1/16, 1/23, 1/30, 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, and 2/27/2020