The Crosby Chronicle
Weekly Newsletter ~ November 9-13, 2020
GREETINGS FROM PRINCIPAL FERGUSON!
Happy November to all of you! I hope this newsletter finds you staying healthy, and enjoying this beautiful weather.
I would like to personally thank all of our Veterans who have sacrificed so much so that we have our freedoms. Due to COVID-19, we are unable to host our annual Veterans Day Breakfast at Crosby School. In the past, this has been a beautiful and meaningful event to honor all those who have served.
Instead, I decided to send out a letter to our guests in October, which explained to them that we will look forward to hosting a wonderful event to honor them next year. I have included that letter in this newsletter. To our Veterans, I say "Happy Veterans Day" on November 11th and everyday!
To our students, staff, and families, I say "Be sure to Thank a Veteran this week, and everyday!"
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ferguson
HAPPY VETERANS DAY ~ NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Dear Veterans,
We hope this letter finds you and your families well. It is with great sadness that we must inform you that this year’s Veterans Day breakfast, and assembly at Crosby Elementary School, have been cancelled. Harvard Community Unit School District 50 has implemented remote learning for the first semester. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all classes and activities are not able to take place in the school building.
However, Crosby Elementary Staff and Students would like to acknowledge, and thank each and every one of you Veterans for your service, dedication, and hard work, today and every single day. We salute you for the sacrifice you gave to our nation. We also would like to thank military families for their support, resilience, and sacrifice.
We are wishing you a healthy Veterans Day! We celebrate and thank you, and we are looking forward to celebrating with you during next year’s breakfast and assembly.
Thank you for your service,
Mrs. Kathleen Ferguson
Principal
EARLY RELEASE - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2020 1:00 PM
FALL NWEA MAP TESTING AT CROSBY
You may have noticed that we’ve not yet been able to have students participate in Fall NWEA MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) testing. We’ve come up with a plan to try and administer the assessment remotely!
Please be patient with us, but we’d like to use the Fall NWEA test as a dry run to Winter and Spring assessments. What that means is that over the next two weeks (November 9-13 and November 16-20), our students will practice logging in to the NWEA testing site, review the practice tests, and take one Math and one Reading assessment. Students will take the Math assessment first, and the Reading assessment on another day. Each assessment is approximately one hour in duration.
Your child's homeroom teacher will go through the practice tests, and review the tools, as well as walk the students through the login process before the actual test is taken. Teachers will be providing specific information to you, and your student about each session, including the day and time of the assessment.
We don’t want students or their families to stress about these assessments. We do want students to take them seriously, and give their best effort. We need to see how well remote testing works. More importantly, teachers want to know what students know so that they can best support each student's individual learning needs.
Here’s how you can help your child:
- Gently encourage your child to do their best
- Make sure they have eaten a good breakfast and had a good night’s rest
- Remove distractions or keep them to a minimum while testing
- Remind siblings or other family members not to help
- We need to learn what our kindergarten, first, second, and third graders know, not what their family members know!
NWEA test results inform teachers and online programs that our students use such as Study Island and Exact Path. Those online programs can provide valuable support and practice for our students as they learn, and use core essential learning targets.
We appreciate everything the families are doing to support their child’s learning in this online environment. Hopefully, this month’s remote testing will provide good information to help us plan future instruction.
We will be communicating the days and times your child will be taking the Math and Reading assessments as soon as those details are confirmed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher.
Thank you for your support!
THE "COUNSELING CORNER" ~ MRS. SPAULDING & MRS. ALTMANN
Hello Crosby Families!
What a big week we’ve had! We’ve been in the midst of a historic presidential election and we’re just days away from honoring our heroes on Veteran’s Day! Both of these topics can be tricky to address with students, so we’d like to offer some resources that might make those conversations a bit easier.
Our Crosby students are so bright and perceptive, so it’s no surprise that they have questions about the presidential election. Now is a great time to answer your child’s questions through the lens of your own family values. If you’d like some guidance, this article from Healthline has some great tips!
This Wednesday, November 11, we will celebrate Veteran’s Day! While we are disappointed that we can’t host our annual Veteran’s Day Breakfast, we can still help our students express their gratitude to our beloved veterans. If you’d like a Veteran’s Day activity to do with your student, click here! This resource includes an explanation of Veteran’s Day and a read-aloud from Mrs. Altmann! If your student would like to write a thank you note to a veteran, click here for a printable resource!
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Keep an eye out for an email about our upcoming Gratitude Week!
Wishing you a wonderful week,
Allison Altmann and Kortni Spaulding
THE "SOCIAL BUZZ" ~ MS. LORENA VILLAGOMEZ
I hope all of you have taken advantage of the beautiful weather we have had recently. However, we all know this weather will not last. Last year at Crosby we were able to get many of our students ready for the cold winter months and this year we want to help as well.
If your child is in need of a winter coat please email or call me!
lvillagomez@cusd50.org or 815-943-6125 Ext. 2561
Please see the notice from the City of Harvard.
Best regards,
Ms. Villagomez
The Harvard Christmas Giving Tree
2020 has brought many challenges and has caused us to make many changes in the way we do just about everything. Harvard Christmas Giving Tree is no exception. The health and safety of our Harvard families is our #1 priority. So this year we will be offering a contactless experience.
If you are in need of assistance this year we have a new process that goes as follows.
Step 1- Call 815-770-0142
Leave a message with your full name and phone number in English or Spanish.
Step 2- Wait for someone to return your call to set up a time for your virtual application. During this time please download and set up a free account with Google Duo or Zoom. This is how you will do your application on the date that you set up with the volunteer.
Step 3- Make sure you have all of your documents ready for your application appointment. Proof of income, proof of address, and verification of children living with you, date of birth required on document.
Step 4- Your application appointment. A volunteer will call you on the date set up during step 2 to go over your information. Once application is complete you will await further information from the Local Church who will be providing the assistance for your family.
Step 5- You will be contacted by the local church as to how and when you will receive your assistance for your family.
Step 6- Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
Deadline for completed application process is November 20th.
Please contact us as soon as possible to ensure you make the deadline.
IMPORTANT DATES ~
November 11 - Veteran's Day
November 11 - Early Dismissal 1:00 /Staff Development
November 18 - School Board Meeting - 7:00 pm
November 25 - Early Dismissal
November 26 & 27 - No School - Thanksgiving Holiday
RICHARD D. CROSBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Principal - Mrs. Kathleen Ferguson kferguson@cusd50.org
Asst. Principal - Mr. Paul Brass pbrass@cusd50.org
Social Worker - Mr. Brandon Barry bbarry@cusd50.org
Social Worker - Ms. Lorena Villagomez lvillagomez@cusd50.org
Parent Community Liaison - Mrs. Vania DeAlmeida vdealmeida@cusd50.org
School Counselor - Mrs. Kortni Spaulding kspaulding@cusd50.org
School Counselor - Mrs. Allison Altmann aaltmann@cusd50.org
Email: kferguson@cusd50.org
Website: https://www.cusd50.org/crosby/
Phone: 815-943-6125