Harper Happenings
March 2-6
What's Happening
Important Upcoming Dates-
Parenting in a Digital Age Presentation: March 11 at 7pm, at Central Elementary School
PASS39 Parent Education: Monday, March 9th. All Parents Welcome!
Topic: Preparing for Transitions 9:15-10:15 AM at Romona School (Auditorium)
Open Gym: January 13 through to Monday, March 16, 2020. Open Gym will be in the school gymnasium between 6:30-8:00pm. All children must be accompanied by an adult. A change of shoes is a MUST for inclement weather. This event is funded by the PTO and open to ONLY Harper students.
General PTO Meeting, Tuesday, April 14, 9-10am in the auditorium.
Topic: 4th Grade Transition to Highcrest. Guest speaker - Linda Moric, Highcrest 5th Grade Principal. Parent Panel for open Q&A.
PTO Sponsored Movie Night - Friday, April 17, 6-8pm. Registration will open in March
PTO Sponsored FREE EVENT. Stretch class for our parent community. Thursday, May 7, 6-645pm in the gymnasium. Registration will open in April.
Principal's Message
Dear Harper Families,
As we approach March, it is time for us to start planning for next school year which means the beginning of our student placement process (incoming grades K-4). Starting immediately after spring break, we review each child’s individual learning needs with the corresponding team of teachers. The team of teachers includes your child’s classroom teacher, related arts teachers, as well as the special education staff. In addition, we consider other factors such as gender balance, learning styles, academic needs, social/emotional needs, and overall make-up of a class. As you can imagine, a lot of thought is put into classroom placement. We consider each child individually and place them with an appropriate classroom mix, as well as a good student/teacher combination.
Although we feel confident in our ability to appropriately place your child successfully, some of you may feel that your input is needed. If you feel that extraordinary factors exist that the school should be aware of, HERE is the official optional Harper Parent Placement Input Form that you may use to explain those factors. The form is open now and will close on Friday, March 20 (spring break). The factors might include your child’s learning style, special learning needs, or specific qualities of a teacher. Also, we would like to caution you about making positive or negative requests for teachers by name unless your family has a direct experience with that individual. Each family’s experience with a particular staff member is unique. Your submission must be received by March 20.
Please do not ask your child’s current teacher to suggest a teacher, as this would put them in an uncomfortable situation. Also, please do not tell your child’s current teacher your placement wishes. Additionally, please do not wait until spring conferences to talk to your child’s teacher, as placement is almost completed by that time. We do not consider requests from previous years. If you have a specific concern/request, it needs to be reiterated each year through the form. Additionally, keep in mind that while we take parent input into consideration as a part of this process, it is not always possible for us to honor specific requests. Thank you for understanding!
If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Let me reassure you that we will work diligently to ensure the most appropriate placement for every student.
**Also note that Highcrest has their own form/process/timeline that is different from the elementary schools. The administrators from Highcrest will be reaching out to current fourth grade parents separately about their placement process at a later date.
Have an excellent weekend!
Aaron
Parent Planning Notes:
Teacher/Staff Appreciation was this week at Harper. On behalf of all the staff, thank you for all you did!
Parent Events: HERE is a list of many of the remaining parent educational events for the school year.
Harper's Green Team is encouraging all families to stop in at the "Going Green Matters" environmental fair that will be held on Sun., March 8th at Michigan Shores Club. This year's theme is TREES: BACK TO OUR ROOTS. Come to see more than 100 exhibits, including one from our own Harper students! Learn about the importance of trees, how to save energy, green landscaping, safe home and body products, recycling tips, and much more! This free event is going to be held between 12-4 PM, so come whenever it is convenient. We hope to see lots of Harper families!
- Summer School Enrichment Program information HERE. Registration is OPEN online. The program runs mornings, June 16 - July 17 no school July 3rd. Don’t forget to register early. Classes will be cancelled if we don’t meet the required minimum enrollment. Registration closes April 3, 2020. Late registrations will be accepted between April 6, 2020 and May 8, 2020. A $9 late registration fee per class will be charged.
Before and After School: Supervision before school begins at 8:20am. Please try to not drop off your kids before then. After school, students should be walking while on school property as well as walking their bikes until they are off the school grounds. Thank you for your help reinforcing these expectations.
Traffic Safety Update: It is important that everyone is following the proper drop off and pick up guidelines for the safety of all students. HERE is a comprehensive set of guidelines. A few points to emphasize:
Please drive slowly around the school.
Please stop at all cross walks and stop signs.
Please do not be on your cell phones while driving around the school.
Please try to stay in your car at all times when you are in the carpool line. Try not to leave your car to walk your child into school or to find your child.
Follow the proper one ways in the AM and PM. Specifically, Greenwood is a one way going East.
Announcements
- Open PTO positions in the school year 2020/2021 will be posted in the HH the week before spring break. It takes a community of parent volunteers to deliver our PTO sponsored events. Please consider volunteering at our elementary school. Questions can be sent to jreynolds028@gmail.com
- Stock the Teacher Lounge: new spots for FEB 2020 have been added! Click on the link to sign up! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4faea722a3f58-stock
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 Service Corner
Go Green Wilmette is hosting its annual Going Green Matters Environmental Fair on Sunday, March 8 at Michigan Shore Club from 12pm-4pm. This is a FREE event where you can peruse and learn from over 100 exhibitors. This year's theme will be about trees. Please come and share the event with your friends and family. D39 will have a table so please contact Aimee Stoltz at Aimee_prunier@yahoo.com if you and/or your D39 student would like to help plan and/or staff their exhibit!
Community News
Wilmette Public Library hosts MAKER FEST Saturday, February 29th, 10:30 - 2:30
- Under the LIghts Flag Football registration is open until March 13th for Kindergarten - 8th graders (Co-Ed League). Volunteer coaches needed.
- The Justin Wynn Leadership Academy hosts its Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on March 15th for 3rd through 8th grade boys & girls.
- 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.
- The Trevian Girls Softball Association is adding 9-10 year old players to their spring & summer teams.
- Wilmette Baseball Association House League registraton is now open for Kindergarten - 8th grade children.
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