Harper Happenings
November 11-15
What's Happening
Important Upcoming Dates-
Thanksgiving Food Drive: November 4-15. See Community Service below for each grades designated item
PTO General Meeting at Harper: Thursday, November 14 at 9am, in the school auditorium. District 39 Superintendent Kari Cremascoli will be our guest speaker. If you would like to submit a question ahead of time please email jreynolds028@gmail.com All questions welcome.
- 1st Grade Enrichment: November 21st
- PASS39 Parent Education: Tuesday, November 19th. All Parents Welcome! Topic: Positive Behavior Management Strategies (9:15-10:15 AM at McKenzie School)
December 6th: Save The Date, Harper Movie Night of The Grinch, hosted by the PTO. Drop your child at school on Friday, December 6, at 6 pm. Support the school and take a little time to holiday shop. Registration below
Principal's Message
Hello Harper Parents/Guardians,
The home-school partnership is very important to us! Thank you for coming in these past two days for conferences and connecting with teachers. We hope you walked away with a positive feeling and understanding your child’s strengths, as well as areas for growth. We look forward to staying connected throughout the year and providing consistent updates, both in and out of the classroom.
NEW - HARPER IS ON INSTAGRAM: One way to increase your connection to the school is through social media. This is a great way to see pictures, get updates, and understand more about the Harper school community. Follow us on instagram with our username of HarperDolphins. We also continue to use twitter so please consider following us there @HarperDolphins. Thank you for your support and Go Dolphins!
NEW - KEEP39 at Harper is confirmed for the 2020-21 School Year: During the October Board of Education Meeting, we officially announced our new program, the Kindergarten Enrichment and Enhancement Program of District 39 or “KEEP39.” KEEP39 will launch at Harper during the next school year (2020-21). Additional information to follow regarding specifics and registration but registration will be in January. We are very excited about this additional program and looking forward to the enrichment we will be providing our kindergarteners next school year! Below is more information about KEEP39 that Dr. Cremascoli sent out last week. She will also be at the Harper’s General Board Meeting on Wednesday, November 14 to talk about Harper and District 39, as well as to get to know the Harper community even more.
Our district committee of teachers and administrators has been hard at work designing a kindergarten enrichment program. As you may recall from the October Board Meeting Highlights, the Board received an update on this work this past Monday and we formally announced the new program, called the Kindergarten Enrichment and Enhancement Program of District 39 or “KEEP39.” KEEP39 will provide kindergarten families with an optional, in-district kindergarten enrichment program designed to enhance the instruction provided to students through D39’s high-quality half-day academic kindergarten program. KEEP39 will include enrichment and exploration through a variety of activities and purposeful play designed to offer opportunities for students to enhance development as critical and creative thinkers as well as responsible and productive lifelong learners. KEEP39 will launch at Harper and Central schools next year with the hopeful expansion to McKenzie and Romona in the following school year, pending program evaluation and success. We look forward to providing families with additional details on KEEP39 and registration information in the coming weeks.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Aaron
Parent Planning Notes:
Cold Weather Planning: As Winter is coming and the weather is getting colder, please prepare accordingly. Students should have jackets or sweatshirts to wear outside. When there is snow, students must have hats, gloves, boots, and snow pants.
Before and After School: Supervision before school begins at 8:20am. Please try to not drop off your kids before then. After school, students should be walking while on school property as well as walking their bikes until they are off the school grounds. Thank you for your help reinforcing these expectations.
Thanksgiving Food Drive is underway: Thank you student council and the PTO. Please consider bringing in donations that all go to Connections for the Homeless.
A Special Thank you to Conrad the Crossing Guard!
Harper PTO Movie Night presents: The Grinch (PG)
Get your tickets while they last! Friday, December 6th – 6:00pm-8:00pm
All Harper Students (K-4) are invited to watch this funny, heartwarming and visually stunning, family-friendly movie. Pajamas welcome and encouraged!
Little Ceasar’s Cheese/Pepperoni Pizza and Water will be served in the cafeteria. FOOD INFORMATION.
Sign up today as movie nights sell out quickly. Click here TO PURCHASE TICKETS.
Cost: $20 for the first child, $10 for the second, and $5 for the third.
Parents who volunteer at Movie Night can bring one child for FREE! To volunteer please CLICK HERE.
Space is limited to the first 100 kids. NO WALK-INS. All children must be registered in advance.
All Children must be walked into Harper for check-in and picked up by an adult for check out. Sorry, NO DROP OFFS!
Announcements
- On November 19th, award-winning artist and illustrator John Parra will be visiting with all of the Harper students. His works include Frida Kahlo and Her Anamalitos, and One is a Piñata: A Book of Numbers. This exciting opportunity is provided by iGNITE!
- Enrichment: On November 21 (Beien & Peterson) and November 22 (Fowler & Lancaster/Moore) 2nd grade classes will be busing to The Grove in Glenview to take part in hands-on activities in a replica of a Native American longhouse. Buses depart Harper at 9am and return to Harper at 12:30pm. Please remember to pack a sack lunch to be eaten at The Grove. Thank you to Ignite for making this enrichment opportunity possible.
- Box Tops
Thank you to everyone who clipped or scanned box tops this fall. With your help, we raised $430 for the Harper Maker Space! Congratulations to Noah Mish for winning the box tops competition.
Next collection deadline will be in February.
- Yearbook Price Increase!! Last chance to get your yearbook for the reduced price of $23. It increases on 1 November!! Use this link and buy yours now. http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A09862418
- Griffin's Tale Children's Repertory Theatre Company will be visiting and performing at Harper School on April 17, 2020! The company consists of 25 Northwestern undergrads who take stories written by local school children and turn them into songs, dances, scenes, raps, and games! If your child is interested, K-4 students are being asked to write one story (short, long, wordy, picture-filled, serious, casual, etc...) to be used by the company when they perform here at Harper in the Spring. Have your child write their story at home and then complete the Student Story Identification Form. Please have your child return their story and form to their teacher no later than Thursday, November 21, 2019 (note: the submitted copy will not be returned).
- Enrichment-Thursday, November 21st, the first graders will be clicking their heels and following the yellow brick road to Regina Dominican High School for their Fall 2019 production of The Wizard of Oz! Buses will depart Harper at 9AM and return for Harper at noon. Please pack a lunch for your child on November 21st. The kids will eat upon returning to Harper.
- FREE MONEY for Harper!!! Do you order from Amazon? Please read link to learn about Amazon Smile. If you make a small change to how you order, Harper PTO will receive 0.5% back from Amazon. Remember, only purchases at smile.amazon.com (NOT www.amazon.com or the mobile app) support charity. Be sure when you register your charity to search for Harper PTO. The Amazon Smile "App": You cannot use Amazon Smile with the Amazon App on the iPhone. However, the good news is that you can set up a shortcut to the Amazon Smile website which gives a near-identical experience to the app. It’s very quick and easy to do.
1. If you have the Amazon App installed you should remove it. To do this, tap and hold the app icon until it starts to jiggle. Tap the cross at the top left of the icon and confirm that you want to delete it. Don’t worry, this will not delete your Amazon account or any of your settings.
2. Now load Safari (the iPhone internet browser) and go to smile.amazon.com
3. Tap the ‘share’ button (looks like a square with an arrow pointing up) on the bottom of the screen.
4. Tap the ‘Add to Home Screen’ icon. You may need to swipe to the left to see this.
5. You will now have an Amazon Smile icon on your home screen which you can use in exactly the same way you used the Amazon App.
Remember to select Harper PTO for your Amazon Smile charity.
Community Service Corner
Thanksgiving Volunteer event for Connections for the Homeless on Saturday, Nov 9
It’s a great way for the entire family to help together!
Link: https://connect2home.volunteerhub.com/lp/tg19?format=List&filter=All
Harper School will be collecting donations for a Thanksgiving food drive benefiting Connections for the Homeless from November 4-15. Donations are assigned by grade:
Kindergarten: Cornbread/Bisquick
1st grade: Boxed Stuffing/Box Mashed Potatoes
2nd grade: Canned Vegetables
3rd grade: Gravy/Broth/Soup
4th grade: graham crackers/pie filling
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
iGNITE
Donate now to iGNITE! and help your children have a fun-filled year of enrichment opportunities! The suggested donation of $125.00 per child (tax-deductible) enables iGNITE the opportunity to bring in speakers, scientists, and programs along with taking children on field trips. In addition, this pays for our amazing crossing guards that keep your kids safe and secure! We ask that you donate early so we can begin these programs at the beginning of the year! Thank you so much to those of you who have already donated to iGNITE! We are currently at 56% (236 students) participation. If you have not donated, it is not too late. There are 2 ways to donate:
1. Click on link: http://harperpto.com/ignite-donation/
2. Drop off a check in the iGNITE! Folder in the Harper Lobby. Please make the check payable to Harper PTO and include your child's name on the check.
If you have any questions or can’t remember if you made a donation, please reach out to Jill Huebsch. jillhuebsch@gmail.com
Community News
LINK: http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
- Rotary Club of Wilmette is hosting its annual BIG BOOK DRIVE October 1st - November 16th at all D39 schools. Please donate your gently used books.
- Wilmette Food Pantry is open every Tuesday 10:30-11:30 am at Trinity United Methodist Church.
- Sunday Youth Basketball for boys & girls grades 1-3. Teams created by schools. Contact Sara Hilby for more information at shilby@wilpark.org
- Poms Technique for ages 6-10, November 11 - December 2.
- Gingerbread Houses Workshops for ages 3 + up December 7-11.
- Centennial Ice rink hosts Super Sunday for new skaters ages 4-13.
- Wilmette Children’s Theatre presents elf The Musical JR. November 8-10.
- Center Fitness Club wants you to join the YETI Challenge November 18 - December 31.
All announcements to be included in the Harper Happenings should be sent to Kelly Maggio via the Communication Request Form by Mondays at 9 am. If you do not receive an email response within 24hrs, please send an email to kwmaggio@gmail.com to confirm your Communication Request Form was received.
For more school information, visit the Harper PTO website.
For additional D39 community events, visit wilmette39.org