The Central Scoop
February 16, 2018
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful seeing everyone participate in Valentine's Day activities throughout the building this week. The halls were filled with laughter and classrooms were loaded with arts and crafts activities and fun games. I even received a few adorable handmade Valentines myself - thank you!
Today, we celebrated President's Day with an all-school assembly. Our kindergarteners got to sing and wave flags to This is America. We also recited the Pledge of Allegiance and our Central School Pledge (which your children will happily recite for you if asked!). A few students from Mrs. Voss' class and our "Principal and Assistant Principal for the Day," Margaret Wishdosh and Shane Walker, helped me read some First Class Tickets as we applauded students for demonstrating Characteristics of Successful Learners (such as thinking reflectively, listening actively, acting responsibly, taking responsible risks, thinking flexibly, etc.). Glee Club sang, We Salute the Presidents. Mr. Truman and his students performed a skit for us about Kindness. We also had a very special and unique dance performance choreographed by three third graders: Izzy Bentivenga, Caroline Laczkowski, and Libby McCalla who expressed to us the importance of kindness and peace. Our assembly ended with the introduction of our new student council representatives. We know our new representatives will come up with some wonderful service learning projects and we can't wait to hear their ideas. As you can see - there are a lot of wonderful activities going on here at Central School! A special thanks to Mrs. Jeanne Gierke who organized our assembly.
Please read below for more announcements. As a reminder, there is no school on Monday.
- Becky
Rebecca Littmann
Principal
Central Elementary School
Students celebrated President's Day and Kindness!
School & District Announcements and Reminders...
Parent Input for Class Placement for 2018-19 School Year
We are approaching the time of the year when we begin to consider student placement for next school year. Starting immediately after spring break, we review each child’s individual learning needs with the corresponding team of teachers. The team of teachers includes your child’s classroom teacher, the “specials” teachers, as well as the special education staff. In addition, we consider other factors such as gender balance, learning styles, academic needs, social/emotional needs, and overall make-up of a class. As you can imagine, a lot of thought is put into classroom placement. We consider each child individually and place him/her with an appropriate classroom mix, as well as a good student/teacher combination.
We feel confident in our ability to appropriately place your child successfully, however, if you feel that extraordinary factors exist that the school should be aware of, please complete the attached PDF form by March 23rd (before spring break). Forms submitted after March 23rd will not be given special consideration. Placement forms should be given to the secretaries in the office or placed in the principal's mailbox. Finally, we approach each year with a fresh start. Parent input letters from previous years are not considered. If you have a specific concern, it needs to be reiterated each year. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please know that we will work diligently to ensure the most appropriate placement for every student.
**Also note that Highcrest has their own form/process/timeline that is different from the elementary schools. The administrators from Highcrest will be reaching out to current fourth grade parents separately about their placement process at a later date.
Music Performance Information
2nd Grade Music Performance, “Spring, Spring, Spring” on Thursday, March 8th at 2:20 in the Central Auditorium
Please join us for Parents Visit Music Class Week: We invite you to visit your child's music class the week of March 19th-22nd. Our music classes are 30 minutes and we would love to show you what we have been learning! Please note that 2nd Grade music classes will not participate due to their performance for parents on March 8th at 2:20. Please click on the link to find the assigned day and time of your child’s class. All of music classes are taught by Mrs. Gierke in the Music Room #104.
https://sites.google.com/a/wilmette39.org/central-music/parents-visit-music-class
Past Central School Students in the News!
New Trier has 44 sets of twins and one set of triplets in its Class of 2020. And for that, it has broken two Guinness World Records! Most of these multiples are from Central School!
Meet the record-breaking high school class with 44 sets of twins
New Trier Township Innovation & Tech Expo
We’re reaching out to let you know of an event being planned called the New Trier Innovation & Tech Expo. This free event is an opportunity for parents to attend and hear about how technology is being used throughout the township. All New Trier Township schools will be participating in this joint mini-conference taking place Saturday, April 28, 2018. It will be held at New Trier Winnetka Campus, 385 Winnetka Avenue, Winnetka, IL, from 8:30am to 12pm.
In addition to saving the date, if you have something of interest to present, parents are welcome to submit proposals to the committee. Click here to submit your proposal by February 9, 2018.
Summer School Enrichment Program
- Summer School begins Wednesday, June 20th and runs through Tuesday, July 24th.
- The brochure will be available online starting January 16th for viewing only
- Registration begins February 5th @ 9:30 am.
Call Central School "Safe Phone" For Absences: 847-512-6150
Please call the "SAFE" (absence) phone to report absences even if you let the classroom teacher knows, 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.
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 professional development, student activities, parent involvement, and school goals.
PTA Announcements and Reminders...
* The PTA sends out their own newsletter on Sundays - here are just a few highlights
Next PTA Meeting 3/7 @7pm: Parenting In the Digital Age!
Parenting today requires knowledge that was not needed previously. Our kids are growing up with different social rules than what we bound by. Please join us for a presentation on topics that will help you as parents navigate common challenges. These are some of the topics that will be discussed. After the presentation will be an opportunity to ask questions.
- Creating boundaries with mobile devices
- Potentially dangerous apps
- Social networks
- Privacy
- Inappropriate content
- Cyberbullying
Central School Sleep-Under Fundraiser - Friday, March 9th from 5:00pm - 8:30pm
The Central School faculty, led by Mrs. Littmann, is hosting a sleep-under for all 1-4 grade students. This drop-off event will take place from 5 pm- 8:30 pm and include a pizza dinner, scavenger hunt, arts & crafts, snacks and a PG rated movie. The proceeds from this event support PTA initiatives such as the 20th Anniversary Garden improvements, teacher appreciation week and other upcoming events. The cost is $50 per participant with a maximum of 47 participants. Please note, this event is limited to current 1st-4th grade Central students only. Keep an eye out for the sign up link in the Scoop! It sells out fast!
Community Announcements...
- New Trier Senior Class hosts 2018 Winter Carnival on February 23rd from 5:30-9:00 pm.
- Attend the Illinois Baseball Academy and Chicago Cubs Jon Lester’s NVRQT "Never Quit” charity event at the Wilmette Movie Theatre on March 3rd for a special viewing of The Sandlot. Amazing raffle prizes offered to support the fight against pediatric cancer.
- Going Green Matters 2018 will be held March 11th 12:00 - 4:00 pm at Michigan Shores Club.
- Little Legends Soccer Academy offers soccer training for boys & girls ages 2-8.
- Wilmette Park District hosts after school clubs for students at Central, Harper, McKenzie through March 23.
Additional information on community events can be found here http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
Family Action Network (FAN)
Click HERE for information about FAN and upcoming speakers.
Upcoming Events...
- 2/19 - No School, President's Day
- 2/26 - School Board Meeting
- 3/7 - Evening PTA Meeting
- 3/21 - Open House @ 6:30pm
- 3/26-3/30 - No School, Spring Break