Week 29 Newsletter

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The Grove Grizzly A Note from the Office Thank you to all of our parents who attended parent/teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday! As always, it was great to see so many parents in attendance to discuss the learning and progress of our students! Our parent/teacher relationship and collaboration is critical to the success of our students and we are so thankful to have such supportive parents!   I hope everyone has an enjoyable and restful spring vacation and I look forward to seeing our students on Monday, April 2nd!!   BIG EVENT The BIG EVENT, our last Family Reading Program celebration for the year, was announced to our students on Wednesday! This year, our kindergarten through 3rd grade students will be going to LegoLand in Schaumburg on Monday, April 30th. Classroom teachers will be in contact with parents, as we will need additional parent chaperones to join us. The facility will be closed to the public during our trip! Our 4th and 5th Grade students will be going to Sci-Tech in Aurora on Monday, April 16th. We will also be looking for parent volunteers for this trip as well. Once again, we will have the entire facility to ourselves!! For both trips, our students will not only be able to explore the facilities and all the activities they offer, they will also participate in a hands-on STEM related workshop during the day with their class! Additional details regarding each trip will be provided to parents following spring vacation!   Upcoming PARCC Assessments Upon our return from Spring Break, our students in third through fifth grades will participate in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). This assessment measures an individual student's achievement related to the Common Core Learning Standards adopted by the state of Illinois. Each student will take three reading assessments starting on Wednesday, April 4th and going through Friday, April 6th. Upon returning the following week, students will take four math assessments starting on Tuesday, April 9th through Friday, April 12th. The following week will be used to complete any make-up assessments. Each student must be sure to bring their iPad and fully charged and earbuds each day in order to be ready for the assessments. Please be sure to click on the link to read a detailed letter regarding the PARCC Assessments and how you can help best prepare your child for the tests.     Upcoming Dates Friday, March 23rd – No School Monday, March 26th – March 30th – No School, Spring Vacation  Monday, April 2nd – 5th Grade Band Field Trip, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 3rd – Board of Education Meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4th – PARCC Assessments Begin Friday, April 6th – District Dual Language Celebration @ BHS, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, April 7th - District #220 Family STEM Event, 9-11 a.m. @ Station, must be registered Tuesday, April 10th - 5th Grade Station Parent Orientation Night, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 11th -Prairie Parent Orientation Night, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Monday, April 16th – 4th and 5th Grade, BIG EVENT Field Trip to Sci-Tech Tuesday, April 17th – PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. Thursday, April 19th – Band Concert for Prairie Bound Students, 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 20th – Grove Family Dance, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Monday, April 23rd - 5th Grade Health Unit Parent Night, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24th – Band Concert for Station Bound Students, 7:00 p.m.  Tuesday, April 24th -4th Grade FMSC Field Trip, Clark and Hanna, 11:15-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25th – Orchestra Concert, a.m. Thursday, April 26th - 4th Grade FMSC Field Trip, Anderson and Chang, 11:15-2:30 p.m. Monday, April 30th – Kindergarten- 3rd Grade, BIG EVENT Field Trip to LegoLand       Great Grove Reads The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald Meet the Reel sisters: Alex, Stevie and Joey. Their parents are both actors and are often gone at strange times because of the various productions they are acting in. The sisters have always been close but when Alex, the oldest, gets the lead part in her school’s play, Beauty and the Beast, she becomes more interested in practicing or talking to friends than being with her sisters. In an effort to stay close the three decide to create the Sisters Club complete with rules and meetings. Told from the point of view of each sister you see how each one views the same situation with a good mix of comedy and seriousness. If you are looking for a good realistic fiction book try this one. It is the first book in the series. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grove-Avenue-School-Library/330160290370450   Bring a Can/Box of  Food and Wear a Hat on Wednesday   We are collecting food for the Barrington food pantries to help them get stocked for the cold winter months. The Barrington food pantries serve families in our community. Please bring in a can or a box of food to donate to the food pantry and you can wear a hat on Wednesday. Wish list items are: Canned Spam, chicken or tuna, small canned hams, peanut butter/jelly, small boxes of white or brown rice (not instant) canned fruit and oatmeal.   A Note From Station PTO Our annual incoming 6th grade t-shirts are on sale NOW through March 23 for $10. Order here. Pick up your student's shirt(s) at the parent transition night at Station Tuesday, April 10 from 6-8pm.Students wear their shirts to their elementary schools on Friday, April 13 (same with those who go to Prairie)! You are invited to attend our April PTO meeting to hear what we have happening at the middle school and get some questions answered, too. Join us at the Station media center Tuesday, April 10 at 9:15. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. Want to stay involved with your middle school kids? Consider volunteering for a position with the Station PTO next year. We have a variety of options to accommodate a variety of time commitments, schedules, and interests. Please reach out to Catherine Strauss or Jill Barnum to learn more. (miss_kitty0209@hotmail.com and jill.barnum@gmail.com) Save the date! Our annual incoming 6th grade pool party happens this year on Tuesday, August 14 from 8-9:30pm. Registration info will be available soon for this and for our school supply kits. Questions? Feel free to reach out any time to Michelle Price, our current PTO president (michelle-price@comcast.net)  A Note from the Prairie PTO Prairie Middle School PTO is currently looking for volunteers to help us plan, organize and staff various events next year for our students. There are numerous options that fit different schedules, skill sets and interests. If you are interested in volunteering, please use the Sign Up Genius link (2018-2019 Prairie PTO Opportunities) to learn more about the different options and to sign up. If you have questions, please contact Mary Dale at maryrdale@yahoo.com.     Attention Incoming 6th Graders!  Future Prairie Students: Welcome to Prairie. We are excited to have you join our school. Show your Prairie Pride by wearing your spirit wear to your elementary school Friday, April 13th. (Your counterparts from Station will be doing the same) and again when you visit Prairie with your classmates, and whenever the mood strikes you, of course! The shirts are red with the logo in white. Get yours by ordering online on the Barrington 220 website under PTO Apparel, or order HERE before March 24. Orders will need to be picked up on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. at Prairie's Parent Transition Night. Cannot attend? Please arrange for someone to pick up your shirt for you. For further information or questions, contact Cori Fiddes 847.321.5574 Future Station Students: Our annual incoming 6th grade t-shirts are on sale NOW through March 20 for $10. Pick up your student's shirt(s) at the parent transition night at Station Tuesday, April 10 from 6-8pm. Students wear their shirts to their elementary schools on Friday, April 13 (same with those who go to Prairie)! Order HERE!!   BARRINGTON AREA MIDDLE SCHOOLERS JOIN US FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF FUN!! Friday, April 6 6:45 – 9pm Canlan Sportsplex in Lake Barrington   Broncos Committed, Barrington Committed, and B-Strong Together are pleased to host the Spring BC Bash for ALL Barrington middle school students in 6th through 8th grade for a night of turf games, basketball, volleyball, inflatable obstacle course, music, and FUN at Canlan Sportsplex in Lake Barrington. This event is designed to bring together our community’s middle schoolers and Broncos Committed high school mentors for a night of healthy, positive fun! $10 registration includes BC Bash giveaway and concessions are available! Space is limited. Sign up now!! https://canlansports.com/lakebarrington/1events.aspx  ** A SIGNED WAIVER IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND ** Questions?  Email bcbashevents@gmail.com.

Week 28 Newsletter

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The Grove Grizzly A Note from the Office Parent/Teacher Conferences As you all know, our Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up this Wednesday and Thursday. The conference sign-up will close on Tuesday evening. I have included a link to a one-page article for parents on “Maximizing Parent/Teacher Conferences” that I encourage parents to read. Please be sure to arrive several minutes early for your conference in order to help ensure that the classroom teachers are able to remain on time, as they have very tight schedules and would like to be able to meet with each parent for the full 20 minutes, while respecting the time of all families that follow.     Lost and Found Our lost and found is currently full with many winter items. Please be sure to check the tables that will be put out to display the items this coming week during the Parent/Teacher Conferences. All remaining items following those two days will be donated.   Technology Reminders As spring break approaches and students may have the opportunity to have a little bit more free time to utilize their iPads over the course of the time off of school, I wanted to take the opportunity to remind parents about some important safety measures for student use on the internet. Parents must keep in mind that when students are not at school, the internet filters that are in place on the wireless modems in their homes or the locations in which students are using the devices will be what filters internet content. As a result, it is critical that parents have adequate filters to prohibit access to adult content and monitor student browsing.   There are two different measures/resources that District #220 recommends to parents in order to keep students safe on the internet outside of school. Open DNS is a free resource that parents can utilize in their homes in order to filter adult content. It will protect every device including laptops, smartphones, tablets, DVRs, game consoles, TVs, and anything that connects to the internet. Parents can also set-up restrictions on the students’ school iPads. I have included a link to a PDF with directions as to how to do this. These can also be found on our district One to World page. While the restrictions on the devices are good for use with the iPads outside of school, it is very important that parents remove the restrictions before children come to school because they may not be able to access certain education sites once they return to our network.   5th Grade Science Assessment All fifth-grade students will be participating in the Illinois Science Assessment this coming Monday, March 19th. Details regarding this assessment can be found in the official letter to parents in the Virtual Backpack.   Upcoming Dates Monday, March 19th - Lock Down Drill, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 20th – Election Day Tuesday, March 20th – PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, March 20th – Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 p.m. @ BHS Wednesday, March 21st – Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4-8 p.m. Thursday, March 22nd – Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3-7 p.m. Friday, March 23rd – No School Monday, March 26th – March 30th – No School, Spring Vacation  Monday, April 2nd – 5th Grade Band Field Trip, 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 3rd – Board of Education Meeting, 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 4th – PARCC Assessments Begin Friday, April 6th – District Dual Language Celebration @ BHS, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, April 7th - District #220 Family STEM Event, 9-11 a.m. @ Station, must be registered     Positive Claw Winners  Week of March 2nd  Suggestions from the First Grade Teachers Hop into Fun Learning Over Break 2018   Now that Spring Break is around the corner, these are some suggestions for fun and valuable ways to spend time with your children while keeping academic skills sharp.      *Read aloud to your child!! First graders are excited about chapter books now that they have read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Now is a great time to keep that excitement going. Here are some suggestions for great chapter books to read together as a family: The Wild Robot Escapes (Peter Brown) The Boxcar Children series (Gertrude Chandler Warner) The Humphrey series (Betty G. Birney) Charlotte’s Web (E. B. White) Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting) A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) The Littles series (John Peterson) Stuart Little (E. B. White) The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate Dicamillo)      *Writing Journal: Encourage your child to start a Spring Break journal.  If you are traveling, it will be a great opportunity to write about new experiences.  If you are staying in the area, you can write a story together.  If you visit one of the wonderful museums, zoos, or other fun place that the Chicagoland area has to offer, your child can write about those experiences.      *Play board or card games!  This is another wonderful way to promote family time and help your child hone important skills. Board games can promote problem solving, strategic thinking, and math skills.  Here are some great games:   Strategy/Spatial Awareness games: *Skippity *Set (May be challenging for first graders.) *Blokus                                                              *Qwirkle *Connect 4                                                         *Checkers *Chess                                                              *Bug Trails *Dizios                                                              *Shapes Up   Games to build number sense: (Playing cards, dice and dominoes are great ways to build your child’s mental image of numbers.) *Rummikub                                                         *Yahtzee *Sequence Numbers                                           *Sequence for kids *Dominoes                                                          *Uno *Go Fish (Instead of asking for numbers that match, ask for numbers that make 10.)   Great Grove Reads Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes Garvey is a boy who loves art and music. He loves being involved and is happy when he is being creative. His father, on the other hand, feels that Garvey would be better served by sports, teamwork and working out. Recently, Gavey has put on some weight and kids at school have started making comments. Again, his dad is sure that his plan of getting Garvey involved in sports will get him back on track but that is not what Garvey wants. How can he get his dad to see that he is OK and that he is doing what he loves? If you are looking for a short poetic novel try Garvey’s Choice.   Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grove-Avenue-School-Library/330160290370450   Bring a Can/Box of  Food and Wear a Hat on Wednesday   We are collecting food for the Barrington food pantries to help them get stocked for the cold winter months. The Barrington food pantries serve families in our community. Please bring in a can or a box of food to donate to the food pantry and you can wear a hat on Wednesday. Wish list items are: Canned Spam, chicken or tuna, small canned hams, peanut butter/jelly, small boxes of white or brown rice (not instant) canned fruit and oatmeal. On February 19th the unthinkable happened to one of our Grove families. Jose, Juliana and their daughters, Jennifer (9th grade) and Victoria (2nd grade), came home from church to find their house burned down. They have lost everything; clothes, furniture, treasured mementos, day to day supplies, and all their belongings vanished in the fire. Thankfully, no one was harmed in this terrible accident, but they are certainly shaken by it, and in much need of our community’s support.   Consequently, a “Go Fund Me” page (link included below) has been created by the Spanish Dual Language Council and they are asking that our families thoughtfully consider helping this family rebuild their lives. Any amount will be greatly appreciated.    https://www.gofundme.com/220GurrolaFamilyFundDrive     Order your Grove Avenue Yearbook Today!   The final day to preorder your Grove 2017-2018 yearbook is Thursday March, 22nd.  A soft covered color yearbook costs $20 or 2 for $35.  Yearbooks will be delivered to your child’s classroom during the last week of school.  Yearbooks must be preordered. We cannot guarantee extras will be available for purchase in May.   Yearbooks can be purchased online on RevTrak.  Or fill out the Yearbook Order Form and return with cash or check (made out to Grove Avenue PTO) in your child’s backpack by Thursday, March 22nd.   If you are unsure if you have placed an order already or have any questions please contact Becky Klinghofer at becky.klinghofer@gmail.com.   Attention Incoming 6th Graders!  Future Prairie Students: Welcome to Prairie. We are excited to have you join our school. Show your Prairie Pride by wearing your spirit wear to your elementary school Friday, April 13th. (Your counterparts from Station will be doing the same) and again when you visit Prairie with your classmates, and whenever the mood strikes you, of course! The shirts are red with the logo in white. Get yours by ordering online on the Barrington 220 website under PTO Apparel, or order HERE before March 24. Orders will need to be picked up on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. at Prairie's Parent Transition Night. Cannot attend? Please arrange for someone to pick up your shirt for you. For further information or questions, contact Cori Fiddes 847.321.5574 Future Station Students: Our annual incoming 6th grade t-shirts are on sale NOW through March 20 for $10. Pick up your student's shirt(s) at the parent transition night at Station Tuesday, April 10 from 6-8pm. Students wear their shirts to their elementary schools on Friday, April 13 (same with those who go to Prairie)! Order HERE!!   Join the FUN!!! We need 2 volunteers each week to work at the school store! Hours are from 11:05 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sign up here!         BARRINGTON AREA MIDDLE SCHOOLERS JOIN US FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF FUN!! Friday, April 6 6:45 – 9pm Canlan Sportsplex in Lake Barrington   Broncos Committed, Barrington Committed, and B-Strong Together are pleased to host the Spring BC Bash for ALL Barrington middle school students in 6th through 8th grade for a night of turf games, basketball, volleyball, inflatable obstacle course, music, and FUN at Canlan Sportsplex in Lake Barrington. This event is designed to bring together our community’s middle schoolers and Broncos Committed high school mentors for a night of healthy, positive fun! $10 registration includes BC Bash giveaway and concessions are available! Space is limited. Sign up now!! https://canlansports.com/lakebarrington/1events.aspx  ** A SIGNED WAIVER IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND ** Questions?  Email bcbashevents@gmail.com.