April Newsletter
A Note From the Principal
Dear KG Parents,
Unprecedented. This is the word we all keep hearing over and over again in the news or on the radio. This word keeps gaining new meaning the longer we have schools closed and are forced to ‘social distance’ ourselves from one another. Never has there been a time where we’ve had to live like this or through something like this. As parents, we have to demonstrate to our kids that we can make the best out of bad situations and that we can get through tough times together.
Typically, my April newsletter focuses on spring break, our drama production, and previews the end of the year. With all of those as uncertain dates, my focus will be on the importance of education. During the mandatory school closure, the teachers have worked extra hard developing lessons and engaging students via E-learning. I couldn’t be more proud of the work the teachers have done in an attempt to continue our students’ education. Transitioning to a remote learning method of providing instruction is difficult and can be frustrating for the students, teachers, and you as parents. But as with most things, the more they are practiced the better we become at them. We will all get better at using Google Classroom, Zoom, or any of the new distance learning applications used at this time. The important thing to remember is that learning is taking place. Students that are engaging with the E-learning experiences are gaining skills that can be applied in the future, such as learning how to participate in meetings with several people at once. These types of learning experiences, while not traditional, are invaluable for your kids to be more successful moving forward.
We all have been forced to stay in our homes, with our children, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and what I see and hear from parents is that everyone can’t wait for the kids to be back in school and out of the house. We can’t wait to be back in school either. The connection to the importance of education is that kids that do spend the time learning in school are less likely to live at home when they are older! This time with our families is precious and should not be taken for granted. We also don’t want to lose our connection to our Hornet families during this stay at home order. I hope this April newsletter finds all of you healthy and well, and we look forward to welcoming you back to KG soon.
Sincerely,
John Jennings
Nurse Notes
Current Sixth grade students: The State of Illinois requires that a completed dental form is on file by May 15, 2020. There are approximately 25 students who do not have a current dental form on file. According to the law, report cards can/will be withheld if a dental form is not on file. Reminders will be sent out to students who are not in compliance.
Incoming 6th grade students: It is not too early to start thinking about next school year. If you have a fifth grade student, complete the Illinois Health Exam now! Don’t forget a dental exam is also required! Please look on the District 91 website, under the Health and Wellness section, to view the health requirements for your student's grade.
Please be aware that students trying out team sports must have a current sports physical on file in order to try out.
All district medical forms and the District Wellness Plan can be found on the Health and Wellness page of the district website.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me @ 815-838-0737 ext 1102 or dlacasse@d91.net
4th & 5th Grade Guidance
4th and 5th Grade Guidance
I hope all is well with your family and that you are managing well through this stressful time! Major changes such as the ones we have experienced through this health crisis are difficult for everyone, especially our children. This is an excellent opportunity for us to have important conversations with our children about handling challenging situations in life, to reassure them of our love for them, and to be role models as we all employ our coping skills to manage stress and emotions.
Before the mandated closing of school, we wrapped up our Second Step lessons. As we move forward to the end of the school year, we will be talking about self-esteem, transitioning to the next grade and increased expectations as we grow. Since the transition to junior high can cause feelings of anxiety, we will work with the fifth graders about what to expect in junior high and answer any questions they may have. I encourage you to teach your child how to work a combination lock to ease some of the worries about managing their lockers. If you do not have a lock available at home, that is fine. Junior high students will be given the opportunity to come to school before the start of the year and practice with their locker. In Guidance class, we will also talk about how to find things to keep us busy and how to be healthy and safe through the summer.
I have enjoyed working with your children this year in guidance classes. I hope your family has a wonderful and safe summer! If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the guidance program or if I can assist your family in any way, please contact me. I would love to hear from you! I would also encourage you to visit my webpage to find out more about the Guidance program and other helpful information.
Kathi Henderson
Kelvin Grove Student Counselor/Social Worker
Email: khenderson@d91.net
Phone: 815-838-0737 Ext 1132
Website: www.henderson91.weebly.com
Parent Liaison/Student Interventionist/Problem Solving Coach
Why do we need to have restorative communication?Restorative communication is important and involves having easy conversations when harm is caused that doesn't require a formal intervention. Restorative language helps shift the focus away from blame and shame to root cause and repair. Here are the important elements to have in a restorative conversation:
- Send a strong message of care to the student.
- Give the student an opportunity to say “what happened”/give the student a voice
- Communicate to the student how it made you feel
- Reiterate your high expectations
- Create a plan together that sets both the teacher and student up for success
Lindsey A. Burnette
Parent Liaison/Student Interventionist/Problem Solving Coach
Kelvin Grove Middle School
We Miss You ALL very much! We are thinking about you during this time and are in this together! KG STRONG!
4th Grade
Fourth Grade April Newsletter
ELA
Students have been reading the novel, The White Giraffe, and have been practicing comprehension strategies using our Making Connections series.
Math
Students have been learning about units of measurement.
Please work with your child on fact fluency.
Students can use the think central online component of the Go Math Series to practice concepts learned.
Science
Students have been learning about plants and animals.
Social Studies
Students have been learning about the Midwest region of the United States.
All assignments are posted on Google Classroom at 9:00 AM each day.
5th Grade
We hope everyone is well and staying safe. Students have been doing a nice job logging onto google classroom and completing their assignments.
In Math we are learning about polygons and triangles.
In Reading students have been reading the novel Number the Stars and working on comprehension questions. In language students have been working on grammar skills.
In Science we are learning about stars, and in Social Studies we have been learning about the Revolutionary War.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
Fifth Grade Teachers
PE
KG Physical Education
4th-5th Grade PE
Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Clark
First off, we would like to say how proud we are of our students for adapting to e-learning PE class. We had noticed our students working hard, participating in practice fitness testing, and creating their own work-outs. Thank you so much for your support and continued effort to stay active! :) When we get back in April, we will be doing our Spring fitness testing, then moving on to our track and field unit. Again, GREAT WORK HORNETS!
Junior High CAD
Junior High CAD
For Reading, we read some stories on the old West and moved onto realistic fiction. In Math, we are improving our numbers, money, time, addition, subtraction and multiplication skills. In Science, we just completed a unit on force and motion, learning about gravity, friction, push and pull. Each week we listen to a current events article and complete worksheets along with it. We all picked teams for March Madness, then it was cancelled! We are listening to a chapter story about 4 friends in social situations, how they deal with situations and discuss making good choices.
6th Grade
Hello 6th Grade Parents!
Be sure to have your children regularly check their email and Google Classroom for the most up to date assignments. The teachers are regularly communicating with the students and are always available via email if there is a question.
7th Grade
Updates:
Students are working hard on their google classroom assignments each day. Please continue to encourage your child to check their emails and google classroom each day and to reach out to your teachers with any questions they may have.
We miss you KG! Stay well.
ELA:
Writing: Students are continuing to work through their vocabulary assignments on the Happlier (Sadlier) platform. Since E-learning began, I have changed their unit quiz format from using each word in a sentence to writing a cohesive paragraph using all ten words. They have been a joy to read! Their effort and creativity has made me so proud.
Reading: We will be finishing the memoir I Will Always Write Back the week after we come back from spring break. Then we will begin our study of The Giver.
Math:
Students are working with probability and statistics. When we return from spring break, a small project will finish up the statistics unit and we will transition into probability in module 12.
Science:
Students are continuing to move through the chapter Genes & Proteins, Mutations & Natural Selection. Students will see how mutations in the genes lead to natural selection.
Social Studies:
Students are working their way through history. Currently, we are reading about the Jefferson Era. Students have learned about the early explorers, their hardships & accomplishments. They have also explored the Historical Documents of Lewis & Clark. We will be moving on to the War of 1812. We will then see how we grew as a nation because of the use of slavery, new inventions & industry.
Before the end of the year, all students will take the Illinois Constitution Test. I will send out information, notes & study guides on google classroom.
8th Grade
April Newsletter 2019-2020
Eighth Grade Team
Kelly/Peil/Street
Students are encouraged to check their Google Classrooms throughout the day. Teachers will be sending messages, answering questions and notifying students of upcoming assignments. Teachers will also notify students if they plan to utilize Zoom Conferencing to discuss classroom topics and answer questions.
READING-LANGUAGE ARTS
Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop: https://www.sadlierconnect.com/@1952592
We will begin to read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
SOCIAL STUDIES - Discovery Education
Online Textbook: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
United States History (Civil War to Present)
We are continuing the study of World War 1. We will be studying World War 2 as well.
SCIENCE -StemScopes
Online Textbook:http://stemscopes.com/ (login with school email and password)
We are continuing our study of the Water Cycle through Stemscopes. So far in March, we have covered precipitation(rain) and crystallization(snow).
MATH - Go Math
Online Textbook:https://my.hrw.com/ (login with school email and password)
During the month of April, we will continue with Unit 5 is Measurement Geometry. We will be looking at the properties associated with angles, lines and triangles. In addition, we will look at some right triangle principles including the Pythagorean Theorem and the Distance Formula. Finally, we will look at some solid figures (3 - dimensional) and discuss volume.
PE
6th-8th Grade PE
Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Clark
First off, we would like to say how proud we are of our students for adapting to e-learning PE class. We had noticed our students working hard, participating in the 6th-8th grade health units. Thank you so much for your support ability to adapt! When we get back in April, we will be doing our Spring fitness testing, then moving on to our track and field unit. We have also rescheduled our roller skating unit to the end of April. Cannot wait to be back with our students! GO HORNETS!
Kelvin Grove Technology, Music, and Art Classes
Kelvin Grove Technology, Music, and Art Classes
The Kelvin Grove teachers of Technology, Music, and Art would like to thank students and parents for their ambitious efforts with E-Learning. It has been our pleasure creating technology, music, and art activities that are both engaging and enjoyable for the students of Kelvin Grove.
As a reminder, each week fourth and fifth students must complete ONE activity for each class - technology, music, and art. Once you check “yes” that the activity has been completed, we mark it as completed as well.
Instructions to access the E-Learning for 4th and 5th grade specials is as follows:
Step 1- View the E-Learning Choice Board assignment in the "classwork" tab
Step 2- Each week scroll down to your grade level choice board
Step 3- Complete one square for each class (Art, Music & Tech)
Step 4- Go to the question assignment and answer the question YES if one square has been completed for that class (answering NO means the assignment was not completed)
Step 5- Students have one week (by Friday at 9:00 PM) to complete one square for each class
(Art, Music & Tech)
For grades sixth through eighth, students must answer the daily question (or questions) for class attendance each day. This question(s) must be answered for teachers to mark the child present for their exploratory class.
Also for grades sixth through eight, Technology, Music, and Art will require weekly projects or activities for grading. Required work must be completed by the end of the week - Friday at 9:00PM for a grade in the exploratory class. Activities and projects vary by class; please review Google Classroom instructions for additional information or guidance.
Most importantly, we are so proud of your amazing efforts to continue the learning process at home. We all are here to answer questions, offer ideas, share inspiration, or just talk about your experiences. Although we miss seeing your children each day, we know that soon enough we will resume our school time together.
Thank you,
Mrs. Cravens jcravens@d91.net (Art)
Mrs. Randolph srandolph@d91.net (Music)
Mrs. Lakics jlakics@d91.net (Tech)
*When emailing, be sure to include first and last name, grade, and homeroom in email.
Welcome to April 2020!
There are so many things to do on the KG LRC CyberLibrary website
located at kgcyberlibrary.weebly.com.
Be sure to check on the status of the Decorah, Iowa Eagles nest live webcam.
I will be sending out ParentSquare notifications for all students to be able to connect with books and your school library and much, much more. See you on Zoom soon and in Google Classroom!
Be well -- and don't forget to READ!!!
Email me if you have any questions (sbruemmer@d91.net)
and get ready to tell me what you are reading
using SeeSaw - posting on kgcyberlibrary.weebly.com.
"We make time for what we value, and if we value reading, we must make time for it."
~Donalyn Miller
Band News
April Band News
Director: Mrs. Nicole Plagman
BAND NEWS:
Congratulations to the Kelvin Grove Bands for an outstanding Music in our Schools month in March!!! Concert Band had a great performance at the IGSMA District Festival. The Concert Band received a Division I rating, which earned them the right to go to State. Congratulations to the Concert Band! Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IGSMA has decided to cancel the State Festival on Saturday, April 25. This is very disappointing, but probably the best decision in these circumstances. I am extremely proud of Concert Band’s efforts this year! Thanks for a great National Music in Our Schools Month!!!
AS ALWAYS…
Please feel free to contact Mrs. Plagman if you have any questions or concerns at (815)838-0737 x1139 or nplagman@d91.net. Also, check the band website at http://kgband.weebly.com/ for updated information.