Reed School's April Newsletter
Construction Update
3 Screens Assembly Coming to Reed: All Together Now
Their message?
"If you know what it’s like to be learning and doing
schoolwork, but not together, you probably agree that it’s not as
much fun, right? Maybe you’ve even been pretty lonely at some
point. That’s no fun at all!
Alone time isn’t always a bad thing, but most of the time it’s better to
be together...unless we forget what being together is all about!
Being together is about caring.
Being together is about sharing.
Being together is about helping.
Being together is about friendship.
Inspiring stories about kids who are already outstanding examples of
what being together is all about will move your students to work
together to make their school and their world better for everyone.
Fun music and action of all kinds will create an engaging and unforgettable experience!"
What's for Lunch?
3rd Grade IAR Testing April 11th-14th
Our students take assessments that are required by the State each spring. These assessments help us understand how our students are growing academically, compared to their peers across the state. Students in grades 3-8 will be taking the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), the English Language Arts and Mathematics assessment. Reed, Ludwig, and Oak Prairie schools will administer the IAR assessment during the week of April 10th. During your child’s testing week, you can help your child do his/her best on the test by:
Making sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before testing;
Providing breakfast on the morning of testing;
Reminding your child to bring his/her district-assigned device (fully charged with the charger), headphones, a pencil, and a book;
Reminding your child to ask the teacher questions if he/she does not understand the test directions;
Letting your child know that you have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best; and
Advising your child not to worry about the test – just do the best he/she can.
At a later date, you will receive information about your child’s individual performance on the IAR. Please reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued partnership.
How to Build Your Child's Emotional Vocabulary: CASEL5 Connection to Self-Awareness and Self-Management
How to Help Your Eight-Year-Old Understand and Manage Emotions
Teach "I" Statements
To help children understand the cause and effect between external experience and internal emotions, show them how to form an "I" statement:
"I feel _______ (insert feeling word) when _____ (share what caused this feeling)."
These statements open up the door to honest communication and creative problem solving. Here are some examples of how "I" statements can be used to reframe emotions and clearly articulate feelings.
- I feel mad when my little sister goes into my room without asking me first.
- I feel sad when you go to work and I have a babysitter.
- I feel left out when my friends have a playdate and I can't go.
- I feel peaceful when we color together and I wish we did it more often.
Introduce and Normalize Complex Emotions
Continue to build children's emotional vocabulary by introducing more complex, nuanced emotions such as frustration, loneliness, grief, jealousy, anticipation, wonder, gratitude, hope and peace. When you see them experiencing one of these emotions, share your observation: "It's been two weeks since your friend moved away. Are you feeling lonely?" Model using specific words to describe your own emotions so that children see that everyone has feelings: "When I sit outside and listen to the birds, it helps me feel peaceful"; or "I felt really frustrated today when I couldn't find some papers that I needed for work."
Taken from PBS Kids for Parents
Reed's School-wide SEL Terms and Concepts
Please refer to the chart below to familiarize yourself with terms and concepts used here at Reed.
Mindfulness: Mind Yeti Videos
2023-2024 Registration
News from P.E. Class
Our next unit, once IRA testing is over, is volleyball. The students are looking forward to that as well. We still need to finish our soccer unit before the end of school as well. Hope everyone starts thinking warm and happy thoughts, so we can start going outside more.
Mrs. Kolcz, Miss T and Miss Mane
Art News
The 2nd grade students will be creating a multimedia project that combines a printmaking process, painting, and crayons. The 3rd grade students will be creating seashell collages with processes such as splatter painting, salt resist watercolor painting, and drawing with Sharpies and colored pencils.
Reed School's March Students of the Month
Reed students who demonstrated responsible citizenship throughout March were celebrated in a very special way. Students selected from each classroom were recognized for their outstanding efforts. Students nominated for this prestigious honor demonstrated the 3 B's (Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Peaceful) consistently throughout the month.
All students nominated for the monthly award were recognized and celebrated at the school. The District 92 Foundation for Educational Excellence generously funded the lawn signs for this school-wide project. Look for Student of the Month signs soon in your neighborhood!
Music News
The Third Grade Choir had a great time singing during the first intermission of the Chicago Wolves Game on March 19! Reed was well represented at the game with over 400 staff, friends and family members filling sections 113 and 114!
The next performance for the choir will be the annual D92 Choral Festival on Tuesday, April 18! The concert will be at 6:00.
Our Composer of the Month for April, Jazz History Month, is Charlie Parker.
News From the Media Center
We've been celebrating "Animal Madness" in the media center! We're reading books from the "Who Would Win" series and researching different animals on our "Animal Madness" brackets. 2nd grade is competing in a jungle rumble, and 3rd grade is competing in an ocean rumble! We have also been listening to the literary nonfiction stories "Ivan, the Shopping Mall Gorilla" and "When Sue Found Sue". Students retold the stories by creating a slideshow on Google Slides. They added text, fonts, images, backgrounds, and transitions.
During power time, math students have been building a 1,000 piece puzzle of classic children's literature! They're demonstrating great teamwork and perseverance! ELA groups have been working on state research projects and planning a walking tour for the city of their choice! We'll be using the Canva app to create presentation tools.
I'd like to welcome Harper, James, Paisley, Kayden, Lucas, Jackson, Erik, Drew, Ava, Kaya, and Olivia to my new Readers' Theatre Club! We're currently reading through our script, "Goldilocks' Mock Trial"!
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
Teacher/Staff Appreciation week is May 8th-12th. If you would like to send a card or note to any teacher or staff member, it would be greatly appreciated.