The Hawk
Holmes Elementary School Weekly Update - May 11, 2018
IMPORTANT DATES/THINGS TO REMEMBER
- HamBINGO at Hamburger Mary's — May 15 - 8-10 pm
- STEM Night - May 17 - 6-8 pm
- Olympic Day - May 25
- Memorial Day - May 28 - NO SCHOOL
- Kindergarten End of Year Celebration - May 29, 9:30-10:30 am
- 5th Grade Completion Ceremony - May 30 - 8:15 am
- Book Swap - June 1- 9-10 am
- Last Day of School - June 1, 11 am dismissal
Olympic Day Volunteer Sign-up
K-2 - 8:15-10:15
3-5 - 12:45-2:45
We will follow the regular lunch schedule.
Click here to volunteer and help support a successful Olympic Day
Staffing Changes
Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to Drew Finkbeiner, 5th grade ELA teacher, who is moving back home to Michigan and Mindi Maneck, Teacher Librarian, who will be leaving us to return to her roots in Winnetka. We wish you both the best with their next steps and know that where they are going they are lucky to have them.
John McCauley, Student Support Specialist, and Elizabeth Conway, Instructional Coach have both requested to return to the classroom. John will be joining the 4th-grade team and Elizabeth will be joining 3rd-grade.
At Tuesday night's Board meeting we also had some new positions approved the are as follows:
- Assistant Principal - this will replace the student support specialist position
- Language Arts Specialist (LAS) - this position is being added to the 3 largest elementary schools in the district (Lincoln, Longfellow, and Holmes) to provide equitable support to our students.
- Halftime (.5) Social Worker - this position will be in addition to Ms. Pascarella to help support our students.
We look forward to welcoming new staff to Holmes and have begun our search.
Celebrating a Year of Growing as Readers & Building a Bridge to the Next School Year
Holmes teachers and students are wrapping up a great year of reading, our first as a school implementing the Reading Units of Study curriculum. We’re celebrating lots of growth as readers this year as well the hard work of all. Even our kindergartners have discussed books and shared their thinking around them in reading partnerships and book clubs. In many ways we are preparing for the next year; the final reading units of the year are helping to set the stage for the work the students will do that builds onto this year’s thinking work. Teachers have been talking with their peers at the grade level below, to learn about their students strengths as readers so they can prepare to meet their reading needs at the beginning of next year.
Families can continue to build and support this bridge to the next year. We want all students to keep up a reading life over the summer while enjoying increased time spent with families and outdoors! You may have heard the terms summer slide or summer learning loss, which describe a dip in achievement or academic performance from spring to fall that is sometimes seen when a child takes a summer-long break from reading, learning, or practicing academic skills. Avoiding this learning loss is our goal! So here are some ideas to consider for your child(ren):
Keep a regular routine of reading to, reading with, and/or listening to your child read. You can connect to the strategies learned in school that we’ve shared throughout the year (final updated charts on our parent connection site)
Have your child use their book discussion skills and have a fun book club with friends or family members. Maybe even choose a theme to read several books.
Watch for the final independent reading level from your child’s teacher this year to help your child find good fit books.
Connect with the Oak Park Public Library:
Summer Reading Program - usually it involves reading in fun ways (not just logging books or time read) and involves incentives. Info will be coming to students in the next couple weeks. You can also find information on the Children’s Services section of the OPPL website (expected to be updated soon)
Check out their recommended podcasts for kids (free) from preschool to middle school. These can help kids practice thinking skills around reading while listening to stories or serve as a book club in media form!
Check out this article from Edutopia on fun ideas beyond just reading!
Registration - All Students Must Re-register Each Year
Schools base their staffing needs on student registration, so please be sure to register. See the attached flyer for details.
Celebrate Holmes Staff
Families, have you noticed a Holmes teacher or staff member who deserves a compliment or a thank you? Has this person made a difference for your child? Please share the reason in a brief email to me (czelaya@op97.org) so that we may recognize and thank them!
A FEW NOTES FROM YOUR PTO…
4. Our final Al Fresco of the school year will be on Friday, May18th right after school. Let’s hope for sun and shine so we can enjoy our last PTO event of the school year together!
-AND-
BASE Camp still has openings
Great Holmes teachers like Ms. Maneck and Ms. Jones are teaching BASE Camp this summer. Openings are still available for amazing camps for grades 1-8. Registration information here: https://www.opef.org/base-camp/
Dr. Christine Zelaya
Email: czelaya@op97.org
Website: http://www.op97.org/holmes/
Location: 508 N Kenilworth Ave, Oak Park, IL, United States
Phone: 708-524-3100
Facebook: facebook.com/christine.zelaya.96
Twitter: @ChristineZelaya