Week 17 Newsletter

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The Grove Grizzly A Note From the Office: All School Holiday Concert Date: Thursday, December 21st Show Times: 1:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. **Doors for the evening show will open at 6:15 p.m. and students will be permitted to enter classrooms at 6:30 p.m.**   Location: Grove gym with additional seating for Livestream in the Multi-Purpose Room at the 7:00 p.m. show   Attire: Holiday Best (please do not feel the need to purchase anything new)   Parking: In efforts to ensure that parents can find parking for the show in the afternoon and still maintain a smooth transition at dismissal for our students, we will be leaving all parking on Grove Avenue and the spots along Illinois empty for parents to park for the daytime show. We will also have some spots available in the parking lot and will have staff outside directing cars in order to ensure that the traffic does not interfere with the busses ability to enter and leave the parking lot. Please note, cars parked in the lot will need to wait for busses to leave if they are still in the lot at dismissal. Depending on the weather, parking in the grass on the baseball field for the daytime show is a great area to be able to park and leave immediately without interfering with the busses.   Our stage has two sides with risers on each side.  Here is the list of classes that will perform on each side to help you select where to sit.   Click on this link for the detailed letter regarding the concert that went out to parents earlier this week!! Upcoming Dates Tuesday, December 19th - Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 p.m. Thursday, December 21st – Winter Music Concert, 1:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.  Friday, December 22nd – Winter Parties 1:30-2:30 p.m. and P.J.’s December 25th – January 8th – Winter Break Tuesday, January 9th – School Resumes for the New Year   Excitement and Collaboration in First Grade First grade sets an important foundation for students. It’s an exciting time for building new friendships and growing a love for learning. This year 1st grade students are mixed throughout the day during specials. Students interact in the hallways, at recess, and in after school activities. Sometimes students work on collaborative school activities, they share ideas, and their expertise in a classroom and they celebrate good times. In addition,  students have the opportunity to integrate and collaborate between monolingual and dual language classes, where students are creating a sense of a whole-school community. This integration also has helped create friendships that enable students to bond more closely and increase the likelihood of more positive school behaviors for all students. ​ So far, teachers are seeing a positive relationship. This is helping build  great relationships between our 1st grade students where they are learning empathy and an awareness of others. Great Grove Reads   Dory: and the Real True Friend by Abby Hanlon If you are looking for an easier fun book try a Dory book. Dory is her name but her family calls her Rascal; and she is one. Dory has a brother, a sister, a mom and a dad. BUT.. she also has a monster name Mary and a fairy godmother named Mr. Nuggy who lives in the woods but comes if there is an emergency ….and there is an emergency because tomorrow is Dory’s first day of school. When her older sister tells Dory not to be a weirdo Dory is concerned that she will not have any friends. Then she meets Rosabelle. Rosabelle wears a crown, is missing teeth and has a poofy dress. Maybe this is the friend that Dory needs. If you are looking for a great realistic fiction book try this one. Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grove-Avenue-School-Library/330160290370450        Calling All 4th and 5th Grade Students!    Our district has a beloved tradition of hosting an annual speech tournament in grades 4 – 8. Children are expected to memorize a significant passage, verse, play or original piece of writing. They work individually or with others on this and then perform it for a series of judges who provide them with significant feedback about their work. Children are coached to perform their piece by a member of the staff, a parent, or another qualified individual.  It is truly a wonderful learning experience and a challenging endeavor for all who participate.     This year’s speech tournament will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Station Middle School.  All of our 4th and 5th grade students are invited to participate.  Students may participate as a solo, duet, or group of three to five members.  An informational meeting for students will be held at Grove on Thursday, January 11th during fourth and fifth grade lunch and recess periods.  Fifth grade students will meet in Mr. Bergquist’s room; and fourth grade students will meet in Miss Hanna’s room.  Students will receive details about the tournament at this time and have the opportunity to sign up.  Pieces will be available for children to consider performing if they so choose.   Please contact Mr. Bergquist with questions about the tournament at rbergquist@barrington220.org .   Wanted: Speech Tournament Judges and Hall Monitors The Speech Tournament is need of several judges and hall monitors for this year’s tournament on March 10, 2018 at Station Middle School. Volunteer judges and hall monitors may be parents, teachers, grandparents, and community members. All are encouraged to participate.  A judge’s responsibilities include watching a variety of student performances, completing judging sheets and providing feedback to the students. A hall monitor’s responsibility includes providing directions to guests and maintaining a quiet hall during the tournament. Please contact a speech tournament coordinator with questions or if you would like to volunteer. Please contact Mr. Bergquist with questions or to volunteer for a shift at rbergquist@barrington220.org.