The Central Scoop
September 21, 2018
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents,
Starting on Monday, September 24th, Central will celebrate Environmental Awareness week! Every day there’s something fun to do to celebrate helping the environment and being GREEN! Wednesday will be our walk to school day. When you get to school find a PTA volunteer on each corner. They’ll stamp your hand which will earn you a half mile credit towards your Mileage Club! After you get your stamp head to the blacktop for a pre-school dance party! On Friday we’ll end the week of activities with a GREEN spirit day! Check out the flyer below for more information on this fantastic week’s activities.
Warmly,
~ Becky
Rebecca Littmann
Principal
Central Elementary School
Social Worker on a Short Medical Leave
Our social worker, Jami Jacobs, had a planned surgery today and is doing well recovering at home. She will have a 2-4 week recuperation at home. Pam Mark, retired Harper School social worker, will be working at Central during her absence. Pam Mark, Vanessa Kovachy (school psychologist) and Danielle Baker (SW intern), will be seeing students in her absence. Your children are in good hands! Mrs. Jacobs looks forward to seeing them upon her return. Pam’s email is markp@wilmette39.org. She will also be checking messages on 847-512-6138 if you would to speak with her.
Halloween Costumes
Is you favorite student already starting to discuss Halloween costumes? For many children, it's a favorite holiday and one to which they really look forward. So the big question--and one that I'm already planning for myself--what should I wear?
As you purchase costumes, please remember that students are not allowed to bring weapons or wear a costume that "is in bad taste." Many popular characters are not appropriate developmentally for our students in school (such as the character: Momo). Costumes need to be appropriate for school and not depict violence. Please have conversations with your children about what is appropriate. More information about our parade and classroom parties will be shared by the classroom teachers.
Friday Early Release Supervision Reminders
If you have a child signed up for after school supervision from 2:15PM to 3:15PM (whether the reason is to attend a Park District Club, to take the Park District After School bus, or because your child has a PM kindergarten sibling), and your child is leaving early and will not attend supervision, you must come into the office and sign your child out of school at some point on Friday. This is because your child has "school" until 3:15pm on Fridays. We are responsible for his/her whereabouts and as a result, we must follow our typical sign-out procedures for the district.
Children leaving early will still be sent to the cafeteria after school for attendance at 2:15pm. Once attendance is taken, the children who have been signed out by a parent or caregiver, will be escorted to the front doors to be dismissed. We will take attendance as quickly as we possibly can.
If you have any questions regarding this procedure please contact the front office.
PARCC Assessment Going Home With 4th Graders Oct. 3rd
Individual Student Scores on the Spring 2018 PARCC Assessments:
Please be sure to check your student’s backpack on Wednesday, October 3rd.Score reports will be sent home in sealed envelopes for Grade 4 students who took the PARCC Assessment in District 39 last spring. Please note that current Grade 3 students did not take the PARCC assessments in Grade 2.
School Attendance (last posting)
Show Your School Spirit
PTA Announcements and Reminders...
* The PTA sends out their own newsletter on Sundays - here are just a few highlights
Amazon Smile - Sign-up, It's EASY!
Don’t forget to sign up for Amazon Smile! Your everyday purchases can help benefit our school.
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know and love. Same product, same prices, same service - just a special link to help your shopping benefit our school. Please bookmark the link below to make sure your shopping is always contributing. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases directly to Central School! Just in time for Halloween candy, costume, and fall shopping... Sign up today at https://smile.amazon.com/
Saturday, September 22, 2018 - Parent/Teacher Party
Mark your calendar for the party of the 2018/2019 school year! Central School’s Parent/
Teacher Party is happening on Saturday, September 22, 2018. This is a school wide adult event and is sure to be a blast! More details on the PTA website.
Important School Safety Reminders (last posting)
We provide adult supervision before school each day beginning at 8:20 AM at the doors only. Our playgrounds are not supervised by adults (they are considered public parks before and after school). If you would like your children to be able to play on our playground before or after school, they should have a parent or adult babysitter present to supervise.
After school, please wait until after the dismissal bell to walk onto school property to retrieve children. Our PE classes are still in progress until 3:10pm and it's not safe for large crowds (or strangers) to have access to school property during the day. Supervisors will be on hand in green vests to remind crowds to please wait for the bell to ring. There will also be supervisors on hand at each door to help students locate their caregivers.
Please help us promote bike/scooter safety. Children may not ride bikes/scooters on school property. This includes school sidewalks and blacktops. We are simply asking the children to walk their bikes to the bike racks (and scooter racks) when they arrive to school. As a reminder, 3rd and 4th graders may bring their bikes to school. Those in 2nd grade are encouraged to bring their bikes to school once they participate in bike safety training in May.
Please...no dogs on school property (including sidewalks). There are signs posted to remind you of this important Village ordinance. I'm a dog lover myself, but we really enforce this rule to protect the safety and comfort of our students. If you retrieve your child from school (and like to walk your pooch at the same time) please pick a rendezvous spot across the street from the school. Our crossing guards will make sure your child crosses the street safely to get to you.
For more information about school rules and safety procedures, please view our district and school handbooks listed on the front page of our school website.
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!
Community Announcements...
- Wilmette Park District is hosting a free WORLD WIDE DAY OF PLAY on Saturday, September 22nd from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm at Vattman Park.
- Wilmette Rotary Club is running its annual BIG BOOK DRIVE at all District 39 schools from October 1st through November 15th.
- The Village of Wilmette is hosting a Walk Bike Wilmette Open House on Thursday, September 27th from 4:00 - 7:00 pm. Stop in and give ideas, comments and suggestions on how to make Wilmette more walking and bike friendly.
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- All are welcome to join in the festivities at Harper Elementary School's Hoedown on Sunday, September 30th, 11:30 - 2:30.
- The Wilmette Historical Museum hosts "Auto Historica XV” a vintage and classic car show on Sunday, September 23rd, 12:00 - 3:00 pm
- Family Action Network (FAN): Click HERE for information about FAN and upcoming speakers.
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.
Save the Dates...
9/22 - Parent/Teacher Party - Kenilworth Club, 7-10pm
9/24 - Environmental Awareness Week Begins
9/28 - Visiting Author - Kevin Henkes for K, 1st & 2nd Grades
9/28 - Kindergarten Sleep Under
10/4 - Picture Make Up Day
10/4 - PASS39 - Connecting Parents Coffee
10/8 - No School - Teacher Institute Day
10/18 - 4th Grade Outdoor Education Information Meeting from 3:30PM-4:30PM for parents and their 4th grade students in the auditorium