News From The Nest
FRIDAY | APRIL 12, 2024
Good evening Graham Families!
Happy Friday! We started our week together experiencing a pretty amazing event with the Solar Eclipse! Wow, I am still in awe of both how well our students did in viewing such an event as well as just the event in and of itself. It's moments like these this school year that we have experienced together that continues to bring everlasting memories. I often say to our teachers...let's be honest...what do you really remember in elementary school? These are the memories you don't forget in school...standing with your classmates, glasses on, faces pointed to the sky and just in awe of the sun and the moon. Pretty epic.
Stem Night couldn't have worked out to be a more perfect week after experiencing the eclipse. A big thank you to Leigh Corbell on all of her work organizing the evening. So many future scientists were on display and it was fun to talk to them about their projects. Thank you so much to all of the parents who acted as co-scientists! It's a lot of work outside of their expected class time and I am just so impressed with our students. Well done!
We look forward to celebrating all of YOU, our Volunteers, next Friday at our Volunteer Appreciation Tea. If it wasn't for our volunteers, we wouldn't be able to provide so many of these experiences to our students. We can't thank you enough! I hope you're able to join us.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Go Falcons!
Rachel Witkowski
IMPORTANT DATES
- April 19th | Volunteer Appreciation Event, 2:00pm
- April 23rd | 2nd Grade Field Trip
- April 23rd | Kindergarten Preview Night, 6:00pm
- April 26th | No School - SIP Day
- April 29th | SEL Family Night, 6:00pm
- May 3rd | PTA winners - Lunchroom DJ during lunch periods
- May 3rd | Future Falcon Storytime, 1:30-2:30
- May 6th-May10th | Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 7th | Final Falcon Family Picnic
GRAHAM NEWS & UPDATES
Order your YEARBOOK today!
Don't miss out on the memories - Order your yearbook today!
What better way to remember the 2023-2024 school year than to order a yearbook for your child! Yearbooks can only be purchased online through the HR Imaging website. Yearbook orders will not be accepted at school.
Cost: $18.00
Website: https://book.hrimaging.com/book/school.aspx
Questions? Please contact Darlene Stone, Graham Student Services Coordinator at darlene_stone@ipsd.org
Calling all Graham Volunteers!
Save the date for our Volunteer Appreciation Tea.
Paper invitations have been sent home.
Team IPEF is the Indian Prairie 204 charity runners who walk or run the Endeavor Health Naperville Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K race every October. Not only is this IPEF’s largest annual fundraising event, but it’s also a celebration of the IPSD 204 community that involves students, parents, teachers, staff, and community members.
Graham receives half of all funds raised by our Superhero team!
Each runner pledges to raise at least $204 ($25 for students who register with a parent) – half supports IPEF programs and half is donated to the runner’s school of choice. Since 2014, Team IPEF’s 2,872 charity runners have raised over $1.2 million to support district programs and schools.
Please consider joining our team or cheer squad on October 20th 2024.
Walkers/Runner please sign up at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/teamipef2024/
Questions about the Graham Team - email michelle_shiles@ipsd.org
2024-2025 Incoming Kindergarten Information
Please share with your neighbors!
Kindergarten Preview Night & Future Falcons Storytime
Graham School 24-25 Kindergarten Preview Night is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23 from 6:00-7:00pm.
Please make sure to let your neighbors know!
We are so excited to meet our Future Falcons!
📸 THIS WEEK AT GRAHAM! 📸
5th grade announcers for the week!
Aubree!
Arseni!
Solar Eclipse
Stem Fair
Gardening Club
Graham School is the place to be!
LMC UPDATES
The Graham LMC would like to extend a congratulations to Lindsay Currie, author of The Mystery of Locked Rooms for making it onto the New York Times Best Seller List this week.
Lindsay came to Graham for an author visit with 4th and 5th graders in March and gave our students early access to this bestselling book! We are so proud to be part of this exciting book launch!
DISTRICT UPDATES
Parent University: Becoming an Elementary School Parent
Parent University: Becoming an Elementary School Parent is an interactive presentation geared toward incoming kindergarten and first grade parents and guardians to better prepare them for this new transition in their child's life. The purpose of this presentation is to share what to expect as your child enters school full time and how parents can support their child’s emotional development throughout the early school years. A panel discussion among Indian Prairie School District 204 staff members will round out the evening.
Please note: This presentation is open to any IPSD 204 parent/guardian of an incoming kindergarten and/or first grade student. The information presented will not address any individual elementary school's policies or procedures.
The presentation will be offered both in-person and virtual. The content presented will be the same at both sessions.
In-Person Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Time: 6-7 pm
Location: Welch Elementary School, 2620 Leverenz Road, Naperville
Childcare will be provided for children ages 3-10 by District 204 high school students. Children must be able to use the bathroom independently.
Virtual Date: Thursday, May 9, 2024
Time: 7-8 pm
The webinar link will be sent to registered attendees prior to the event.
PRAIRIE CHILDREN PRESCHOOL -- GRAHAM SITE INFORMATION
PTA Updates
PREVIOUSLY SHARED INFORMATION
Arrival / Dismissal Reminders
If there is a change in your typical dismissal routine, please be sure to email your child's teacher the night before. If it is a last minute change, please CALL the main office. Any changes to dismissal after 3:00pm are difficult to accommodate, so to avoid frustration please make all attempts to minimize changes to your typical dismissal routine.
Thank you for your understanding!
Elementary School Hours
Regular elementary school hours are 9:05 am – 3:35 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students may begin arriving each of these days at 8:50 am.
Wednesday school hours are 9:15 am – 3:35 pm. This late start allows time for staff to engage in professional development opportunities. All arrival procedures, student supervision, and bus service will be delayed by 10 minutes every Wednesday of the school year.
Preschool Hours
Regular preschool hours are: AM Session: 7:40 - 10:30, PM Session: 12:00 - 2:50.
Please be sure to follow the preschool calendar.
District 204 Visitor Procedures
In an effort to maintain a safe environment for staff and students, District 204 adheres to the following practices during arrival and dismissal.
Arrival Procedures:
- During the period of time when children are arriving in the morning, no adults, without an appointment, will be allowed into the schools. Children will be allowed in through normal procedures.
- Any adult, without an appointment, who wishes to go into the school to talk with the administration or drop something off at the school will need to wait until arrival procedures are completed for the students or call the office for assistance.
For all elementary schools, adults without an appointment will not be allowed between 8:50 am - 9:05 am Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesday, that time is 9:00 am - 9:15 am.
Dismissal Procedures:
- At dismissal time, no adult will be allowed into the school during the time that students are being dismissed.
- Parents who need to speak with the office staff will need to wait until the dismissal process is completed for all students.
Any changes to dismissal plans need to be communicated to the school staff before 3:00pm. Any students being picked up for early dismissal should be picked up before 3:00pm.
Thank you, in advance, for adhering to these important safety procedures.
Reporting Student Absences
If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please remember to call the school office to report the absence (630-428-6900, press option 3). Please also share the reason for the absence, as our attendance system requires that a reason for the absence be entered. If you report the absence on voicemail, please include both your child's name and the reason for the absence. If our school nurse should need additional information, she will reach out to you directly.
V. Blanche Graham Elementary School
V. Blanche Graham Elementary School is a Prekindergarten through 5th grade school located in South Naperville. Opened in 1996, Graham is fortunate to have supportive parents and dedicated staff and students who come prepared and eager to learn. We are part of Indian Prairie Community Unit School District #204, which is dedicated to the mission to "Inspire all students to achieve their greatest potential."
Email: rachel_witkowski@ipsd.org
Website: http://graham.ipsd.org/
Location: 2315 High Meadow Rd, Naperville, IL 60564, USA
Phone: 630-428-6900
Twitter: @GrahamElem204