Words from Walsh March, 2019
Staying connected with Walsh School
Greetings from Principal Martin
Dear Parents and Guardians: I can’t believe I am saying this already…but registration for next year is upon us! We will start the enrollment process for our new kindergarten students this month. Kindergarten registration will take place on March 12th and 13th for all students who are 5 years old on or before September 1, 2019. Registration for all current students will be going home on March 15th. We encourage a quick turn around on getting those papers back to the office in order to plan for the next school year. Keep in mind there is an early bird incentive if you pay your registration fees by May 17th. You can deduct $10 off the fee, per child, resulting in a fee of $120.00 (regular fees apply after May 17th, which are $130).
We hope you enjoyed our Math Night last month, and we hope to see you again at our Family Movie Night, which is set for March 5th. Plan a special outing with the family to sit back and enjoy the timeless favorite, The Land Before Time!
St. Baldrick’s information will be coming home soon ~ this is a very fun way to collect money to help the St. Baldrick’s efforts in fighting cancer. This is a district-wide event culminating on March 29th, and here at Walsh, we have some very exciting incentives for our students. More information is noted in this newsletter below.
Our spring break will be from April 1st through April 5th. This will be a great time to rest up from all our exciting March events and to have some fun time with your family before you come back on Monday, April 8th. When we come back from our spring break in April, we will kick start our reading incentive program with a visit from Spikes from the Joliet Slammers baseball team, and we hope to once again read over 2,000 books! We met our goal last year, and anticipate doing the same this year ~ with your help, of course!
As always, if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Have a wonderful break! ~ Mrs. Martin
Important Dates in March
Dates to Remember
1 - End of 2nd Trimester
1 - Spirit Day ~ dress as Dr. Seuss or your favorite storybook character
4 - No School Casimir Pulaski Day
5 - Movie Night (The Land Before Time - 5:30 start)
8 - Report Cards Issued
10 - Daylight Savings Time - Spring Ahead 1 Hour
11 - Yearbook Sale Ends
12 - Kgtn Registration (1:00-2:30 pm and 4:30-7:00 pm)
13 - Kgtn Registration (9:30-11:00 am and 1:00-2:30 pm)
15 - Spirit Day - Wear Green
19 - Board of Ed. Mtg. at District Office
20 - Field Trip-Rialto-Pete the Cat
25 - Bus Evacuation Drills
29 - St. Baldrick’s Day!
April 1-5 – Spring Break
April 8 – Classes Resume
See times and dates for kindergarten registration, along with information you will need to provide, within the Kindergarten Registration article.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Registration for students who will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2019, will be as follows:
March 12th - 1:00-2:30 pm and Evening Hours of 4:30-7:00 p.m.
March 13th - 9:30-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Please bring with you:
A. Original county issued birth certificate
B. Current real estate tax bill, copy of your lease, or if shared housing, a notarized 3rd party affidavit found in the registration packet
C. Two forms of identification (i.e. driver’s license, utility bill, bank statement, etc.)
You will also be asked to pay a registration fee of $130.00. If you pay at the time of registration, or before May 17th, you can deduct $10 from the fee. To save time, you may pick up a registration packet to fill out before arriving. These are now available for pick up in the school office.
Last Chance for Yearbooks!
All yearbooks must be ordered online by March 11, 2019.
Please use this school code when ordering: 12828519
Click here to order your yearbook YBPAY.LIFETOUCH.COM
We do not anticipate having any extra books, so make sure you reserve your copy today. Walsh, Reed and Ludwig schools share the same yearbook.
Oak Prairie has a separate book.
KEEP IN MIND...all students will have a fun afternoon later in the year for a
yearbook signing! Although students may use paper or autograph books from
home, it is extra fun to have those yearbooks available which contain both portrait
and candid photos of your student and his/her classmates!
Registration Packets are Heading Your Way!
Please note that there will be a district-wide proof-of residency on July 31st and August 1st. Further details will be sent home at the end of the school year. Please call the office with any questions you may have.
P.E. News by Mr. Wallace
If we are lucky, March will give us our first day or two outside in a long time! As always, we will continue to work on our fitness and talk about healthy eating. Don't be surprised if your child comes home and asks you to pack some fresh fruit or vegetables for lunch. Also, keep trying to send gym shoes on days they wear boots to school. Thanks!
Kindergarten News
Spring is in the air! This month, kindergarteners will have the opportunity to
test the old saying that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Each day during our math number corner, we will classify the weather, enter the information on a graph, and write an equation to match. Additionally, we will explore weight and capacity concepts, build an understanding of place value, and solve addition and subtraction equations and story problems within 10. The digraphs sh, th, wh, ch and ck will be introduced in our phonics lessons. We will practice tapping, reading and writing words containing digraphs. Students will continue to practice retelling stories by referring to characters by name, and using the transition words, first, next, then and last, to help sequence the story. Furthermore, we will begin our poetry unit of study and celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, by reading various books by this fun-loving author. We are so proud of all the hard work and many accomplishments each kindergartner has made so far this year!
First Grade News
Early Childhood News
The preschoolers and early childhood students are looking forward to spring's arrival. As we continue working on letters S, T, and U, we will also prepare for St. Patrick’s Day with many fun projects. A leprechaun will be bringing us gold coins, and we plan to catch him this year before he makes a mess in our classrooms! We will also complete a transportation unit. Our “Read It Once Again” selection will be “One Duck Stuck.” Our P.M. students will visit the library in March, in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Both sessions will also visit the Rialto Theatre to watch the play, Pete the Cat. In our Bridges Math program, we will learn all about shapes this month, along with sorting, patterning, counting, solving story problems, and collecting data. Thanks to our parents who work on academic skills at home to reinforce our work in school.
The Reading Corner by Mrs. Senders, First Grade Reading Specialist
As children first learn to write, their stories may not always make sense to others. Here are two ideas from Reading Connection to help writing flow logically:
Even if your youngster isn’t writing sentences yet, he can tell you stories. As he describes the new class pet or something funny that happened at lunch, you can jot down his tale. He’ll practice relating events in a logical order, and that can help when he puts his thoughts and ideas down on paper himself.
Let your child read his stories to you. Ask questions to encourage him to add information (“What did you do with your friends at recess?”) or to clear up a confusing part (“Who said, ‘Let’s go home”—you or your brother?”).
Music News by Mrs. Rutkiewicz
During the month of March, Walsh students will learn about the Families of Musical Instruments. We will hear Mrs. Rutkiewicz play her bugle, trumpet, clarinet, flute, and several other instruments. We are learning how instruments produce sounds and we will watch several videos of musicians playing their instruments.
March also brings, Dr. Seuss Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Spring! We will be singing songs for these celebrations and kindergarten students will begin learning songs for their musical performance on April 26, 2019! The performances will be as follows:
Morning performance 9:30 AM - Ms. Finnen, Ms. Bruecks, Ms. Naylor, and Ms. Walsh
Afternoon performance 1:30 PM – Ms. Tomasek, Ms. Lopez, Ms. Tyrell, and Mrs. Sadowski
Keep on singing! Mrs. Rutkiewicz
News from the Media Center
We have continued our work from last month. After the students spent some time researching animals, they completed a short report about an animal of their choice. This report was added to their Seesaw accounts. There, we shared our document and students were shown how to edit the document. After our research, we worked on illustrating our animals using the app “Doodle Buddy” and Logitech pens as our drawing tools. The students enjoyed using these and learning about a new way to create and present materials.
Art News by Mrs. Deckinga
This month the kindergarten students will be celebrating the March birthday of Vincent van Gogh. We will be reading the book Camille and the Sunflowers and learning about van Gogh's life and art. Inspired by his sunflower still life paintings, we'll be drawing and painting our own still lifes.
The first-grade students will be reading the book, If You Go to the Moon. We'll be learning some interesting facts about the moon and outer space, then using a variety of media and painting techniques, we'll be creating our own outer space collages.
Making Math Count by Mrs. Romeo
ST. BALDRICK'S FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER
St. Baldrick’s Shark buzz buzz buzz
March 1st - March 29th
The annual district-wide fundraiser for the St. Baldrick's Foundation will begin for our students on March 1st. Whether you like the song or not, join in our efforts to support the foundation in finding a cure for childhood cancers. Our goal will be to surpass last year's total, and we will celebrate our efforts on March 29th if we succeed! There will be a friendly competition, as we try and earn the privilege to present our collection at Oak Prairie's mainstage event on Friday, March 29th. At Walsh, we will celebrate reaching our goals by joining teachers, staff, and local police officers by playing some games. Specific details will be sent home during the first days of March. Thank you in advance for participating and helping our children help other children.