The Central Scoop
May 31, 2019
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents,
We are happy to announce that this year's Activity Day will take place Friday, June 7th!! New this year - this will be a rain or shine event. We will be following a regular lunch/recess schedule, but the lunches will be starting slightly later in the day.
Reminders for the day:
1) Wear/bring sunblock
2) Hat are acceptable
3) Wear Central spirit wear or something red
4) Please wear gym shoes for participating
5) Water bottles are NOT allowed. There will be several H20 stations available.
Thank you to everyone who has already signed-up to volunteer. If you would like to sign-up to help, there are still a few slots available. More information is on the Sign-Up Genius. Please sign-up or make changes to your current sign-up soon. Ms. Peth attempts to make sure that you are at a station in which at least one of your kids will rotate through. This takes a little time. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Peth at pethk@wilmette39.org. We are looking forward to a fantastic Activity Day.
Here is the link to the Sign-Up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4da4ab2aa02-activity5
Warmly,
- Becky
Rebecca Littmann
Principal
Central Elementary School
4th Grade Inventor's Fair
The entire fourth grade spent the last two weeks working through the LAUNCH process as an extension to their social studies unit on Innovations. Each student worked hard to identify a problem, brainstorm a solution, research various solutions, and then build a prototype. Today was the culminating activity in the Learning Commons. The children shared their ideas by creating presentations with tri-folds and a prototypes of their ideas.
4th Grade Music Performance Information
The 4th Grade Music Show, “Music Through the Years" is this Thursday, June 6th at 2:00pm in the Central Auditorium. Watch for your “free ticket” to attend the show via email this weekend. No need to print, simply take a screen shot and show in the office when you enter the building.
Thank you Educational Foundation and Central School PTA!
PE Teacher Update
Pathway to Play
Dear Central School Community,
It has been 9 months of collaboration to create playground plans that represent the
most thoughtful and accessible space while being conscious of cost, reusing material
and donating to the fullest extent. Thank you for your patience!
As you may know, the Central School playgrounds are about 20 years old. As much as
they have been enjoyed, they are showing extensive wear and tear with many
replacement pieces keeping them together. When the main space was created, the
plan included two separate areas, making it more difficult to run freely between the
structures. Our new plan will make the space one large area for easier access and
play.
Both playground plans exceed the minimum required by the ADAAG for accessible play
components. The existing plastic border will be lowered and ramps added for easier
access. There will be multiple ground level activities that are easily accessible by
mobility devices and include new adaptive swings. Furthermore, the equipment will be
built at various heights to meet a variety of skills, needs and interests.
Our community is a champion for charitable endeavors and the environment. We have
found various ways to align this project with our wonderful community ideals. We are
able to reuse the existing plastic border and some of the existing mulch, which saves
removal manpower, landfill space and money. The existing playground equipment has
been accepted for donation by a Rockford, Illinois charitable organization named Kids
Around The World. They will come in and remove the equipment at no cost. They then
refurbish salvageable pieces and create playgrounds internationally. The ability to
donate the equipment is not only great for humanity and the environment, but saves a
significant amount of money.
Now that we have the plans, our next step is to initiate the Pathway To Play Capital
Campaign. The 2019/20 fundraising goal for the first phase landscape engineering
(including the dig down and removal of dirt) and the equipment itself (with construction
thereof) for the Kindergarten and 1st - 4th Grade Playgrounds is $100,000. Phase 1
includes the large structures and the swings with the remaining equipment coming in
Phase 2 the following year. If we can raise $170,000, we can complete Phase 1 and 2
in the Summer of 2020.
Along with our school teachers and staff, District 39 will contribute to these initiatives.
The teachers have already donated their time and talents and will continue to do so next
year with Sign Up Parties and auction items. District 39 contributes by removing the
two Ash trees on the playground in accordance with the Village of Wilmette, filling in the
large amounts of mulch and maintaining the area and equipment.
Since these playgrounds are used by the community, the Fundraising Team plans to
seek donations from local businesses. If you are a business owner or know of someone
willing to donate, please contact fundraising@centralschoolpta.org.
The Pathway To Play is a big undertaking. But, the resulting playgrounds will be a
much needed upgrade that all of our students can access and enjoy for many years to
come. Please take a moment to “fly through” the new playgrounds by clicking
The Fundraising Team will be busy this summer planning fun events for the 2019/20
school year. They are currently looking for Sign Up Party sponsors. Please click the
following link to learn how you can help make these initiatives a reality. http://
centralschoolpta.org/pathway-to-play/
The PTA would like to especially thank Central Dad, Peter Hepner. Peter connected us
with Play and Park Structures and provided his expertise to our mission. We are so
grateful for his willingness to contact us and offer to help. We look forward to coming
together as a community to bring these plans to our school in the summer of 2020.
Thank you to everyone who have already contributed and to those that will.
Sincerely,
Your Central School PTA and Becky Littmann
PTA Announcements and Reminders...
* The PTA sends out a separate newsletter on Sundays..here are a few highlights/reminders:
Save the Date - Fall Parent/Teacher Party!
Mark your calendars for Friday, September 27, 2019 from 7-10 pm for Central School’s Parent/Teacher Party. This is a school wide adult event and is sure to be a blast! More details to follow in August.
4th Grade Farewell Party
The 4th Grade Farewell Party is happening on Thursday, June 13th from 6:30pm - 8:00pm at Central School. This wonderful tradition is in celebration of the 4th Graders and includes a slideshow to showcase the graduates. Guidelines for photo submissions are found on the PTA Website.
Community Announcements...
LINK: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
- The Center for the Gifted offers summer programs for Pre-K through 12 grades.
- Wilmette Baseball Association has opened Summer League Registration for students in Kindergarten - 3 grades.
- Wilmette Historical Museum hosts Summer Scavenger Hunt June 17 - August 4th.
- Oakton Community College hosts summer STEAM camps and classes for students ages 8-12. Registration is now open.
- Love to sing? Youth Choral Theatre of Chicago offers a free vocal training class with flyer. Vocal classes available for children ages 4-18.
- The Center Fitness Club schedule and various park district classes for children are posted.
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- Family Action Network (FAN) - Click HERE for information about FAN and upcoming speakers.
From the Nurse's Office
Call Central School "Attendance Line" For Absences: 847-512-6150
Please call the Attendance Line to report absences even if you let the classroom teacher know, because some teachers don't see the email/voicemail until later in the day. Teachers assume you are calling the office. It's important that the school nurse is directly aware of any absences otherwise, your son/daughter may be considered "missing." The school nurse keeps track of all school absences in the building. For safety reasons, we want to make sure all of our students are accounted for and safe.
New Central Health Office Website!!
Here is your go-to site for all of your health related questions including PE/Recess Notes, Health Requirements, Dental Examinations, Allergy and Asthma, Medications, Snacks in Classrooms, Lice, Influenza...and more!
https://sites.google.com/wilmette39.org/centralhealthoffice/home
Join us on Twitter!
Central School is on Twitter!
- We have TWO Twitter accounts. Please "follow" us at Twitter.com! Explore Central 39 (with our actual "handle" as @explorecentral). With this account, we mostly share student activities that are completed in the Learning Commons (but other activities are often included as well). We are also providing this Twitter feed on our Central School homepage.
- There is also a principal page @BeckyLittmann where you can follow a variety of school happenings including all-school events, classroom activities, PTA enrichment, and school goals.
Our PE Department is now on Twitter too!
The twitter handle is @CentralFoxesPE.
Save the Dates...
6/6 - 4th Grade Music Performance @2:00pm
6/7 - Activity Day Rain or Shine! (if rain, will move indoors)
6/12 - 4th grade Picnic
6/13 - Last Day of Kindergarten
6/13 - 4th Grade Farewell
6/14 - Last Day of School Grades 1-4, Early Dismissal @ 11:55am