Pirate's Cove
News for the weeks of 1/26 - 2/8
Principal's Message
February is coming soon, and we are into our second semester of school. Please make sure that you are following student grades and work completion on Home Access. Please note that we have new Promotion and Retention criteria. If students do not pass their ELA and/or mathematics classes in the first semester, and they do not pass in the second semester, they may end up retaking ELA or math for the previous grade the following year. We have intervention programs in place at Plank that will help to address these concerns, such as Lit. Dynamics, Math Dynamics, and Delta Math. Please contact the Plank office at 630-551-9400 if you have questions regarding promotion and retention.
We have several events at the end of January and the beginning of February to share. Our Science Fair, AVID night, and a Parent Forum will occur in the next few weeks. See the events below for updates.
The upcoming week may have some inclement weather as well. Be sure to watch the weather reports for school closures, and make sure that students are leaving the house properly dressed. Wind chills this week are anticipated up to almost -40 below zero. Hats, gloves, coats, warm sweatshirts and pants will help keep students warm in school. Be prepared in the event of school closures.
Tyler Haymond
Principal
Plank Junior High School
2019 Plank Jr. High School Yearbook
Online sales of our yearbook are available until Feburary 15th. All orders are online only. After the online sales are over, students and families won't have the opportunity to purchase yearbooks. No cash sales of yearbooks will be available this year. Purchase your yearbook today! Select your child’s 2nd semester homeroom teacher when ordering. Books will be distributed the final week of school in May.
Follow this link to order your yearbook today at the discounted rate today!
http://www.balfour.com/illinois/oswego/plank-junior-high-school/
Toys For Tots 2018
Plank AVID Night - January 30th
We would like to invite you to Plank’s AVID Parent Information Night on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. It will start at 6:30pm in the Plank cafeteria. We will be providing information on our commitment to being an AVID schoolwide building, what it means to all students at Plank, and the AVID elective class offered to 8th grade students next year.
AVID stands for advancement via individual determination. It is a college and career readiness system of support with a structured approach to providing strategies and support to students to enrich a rigorous curriculum that will help develop students’ writing, content knowledge, and academic skills in all classes.
AVID schoolwide is a philosophy that District 308 has adopted as a district wide initiative. At Plank, our commitment is to provide classroom experiences that support the needs of all students through skill and strategy instruction. Teachers use innovative strategies in order to reach all students. They incorporate WICOR strategies into their classrooms in order to get students to write, inquire, collaborate, organize thoughts and materials, and read on a regular basis. This looks different than the traditional classroom that we may have been used to as students.
Part of the AVID schoolwide initiative is the AVID elective for 8th grade students only. The AVID elective is designed for students who are academically in the middle and with extra support can be successful in challenging courses. Students enrolled in the AVID elective course will be placed in at least one honors class, participate in weekly tutorials, learn academic and social skills not targeted in other academic classes, hear from college and career related speakers, attend college field trips, and be included in a positive peer group.
Attached is the AVID elective application that we encourage you and your 7th grade student to complete if you think the AVID elective would be a good fit. Applications are due to student services by Friday, February 15, 2019. We will then begin the student interview process and select our AVID elective class for the 2019-2020 school year. Please contact Caitlin Gannon, AVID Coordinator at (630) 551-9414 or cgannon@sd308.org, for more information regarding the AVID schoolwide initiatives or the 8th grade AVID elective program.
We hope to see you at the AVID Parent Information Night,
Plank AVID Site Team
Plank Science Fair - January 30th
Upcoming Plank HSA Spirit Night Fundraisers
Portillo's Spirit Day Fundraiser
Please support the Plank Fundraiser at Portillo's on Thursday 1/31. 20% of all Plank orders will be donated back to Plank Home and School.
Bring a copy of this flyer, a picture of it on your phone or simply mention you are there for Plank!
Click here for the Flyer
Thursday, Jan 31, 2019, 12:00 PM
Portillo's Hot Dogs, U.S. 34, Oswego, IL, USA
Illinois 5 Essentials Survey
5ESSENTIALS PARENT SURVEY
Parents, students, and teachers across Illinois are being asked to participate in the seventh annual 5Essentials Survey. The survey will take about 40 minutes to complete. It will help create a detailed picture of our school and gathers data on the following five indicators of our success or opportunities for improvement:
Effective Leaders
Collaborative Teachers
Involved Families
Supportive Environments
Ambitious Instruction
IMPORTANT: If our school has a teacher/student response rate of at least 50 percent, we will receive our 5Essentials Report in March. If our parent response rate is at least 20 percent, these results will also be included!
Please know, your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential. Also, families with siblings in other buildings, the 5Essentials Survey would need to be taken for both respective buildings. For example, if you have a Plank student and a Long Beach younger sibling, the 5Essential surveys to complete would be for both Plank and Long Beach.
To help us make our school better, please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ to complete the survey.
Thanks for your help and Go Pirates!
Student Reminders and Parent Notifications: Cell phone usage and bringing in outside food to share
We want to encourage students to maintain a strong focus on learning, as well as use their cell phones responsibly at the appropriate times. Please read the guidelines for cell phones below and join us in continually reminding our students why we have these guidelines. These guidelines are also found on page 17 in your child's planner.
- During the school day, cell phones are to remain off and put away.
- Cell phones may be used in the cafeteria during lunch times.
- Cell phones may be allowed for instruction when directed by staff members only.
In the event students don’t follow the expectations, the following interventions will take place:
- Staff will ask student to put the phone away.
- Staff will ask to take the phone, and turn into the office.
- IF students don’t comply a conduct referral will be written.
- Administration will address the behavior, parents will be contacted to retrieve the phone.
Outside Vendor Food and "Table Parties"
Is not allowed to be brought in for students during lunch periods. Please do not drop off food for special student occasions or personal lunches. Students will be required to eat in the main office.
“Table parties” are also not allowed, where food items or drinks are brought and shared. Please understand this is a safety concern for students in the lunchroom.
Plank Junior High School
Email: thaymond@sd308.org
Website: https://www.sd308.org/plank
Location: Plank Jr. High, Secretariat Lane, Oswego, IL, USA
Phone: 6305519400
Twitter: @Plank308