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The Grove Grizzly The BIG Event Information went out to parents this week regarding the BIG Event on Tuesday, February 26th!! As a celebration of the completion of our reading throughout the Family Reading Program, all students will be attending the The Golden Dragon Acrobats performance at the Center for Performing Arts in Skokie. Students will be going in two different shifts with grades K, 2, and 4 leaving at 8:30 a.m. for the 10 a.m. show and grades 1, 3, and 5 leaving at 10:30 a.m. for the 12:00 p.m. show. Parents need to give permission for their children to attend and indicate their child’s lunch choice for Tuesday on the Google Docs that were e-mailed from the office earlier this week. If you have not done so for your child, please complete this as soon as possible. We are looking forward to a great trip!!!   CogAT Assessments for 2nd and 5th Grades The CogAt Testing window for our 2nd – 5th Grade students is opening on Monday. Parents with students in those two grades can access the official CogAT Assessment Letter in the Virtual Backpack. Students completed practice tests over the last few weeks in order to become familiar with the format of the test and the types of questions that they would be presented with during the assessment. I encourage parents to ensure that their child(ren) get a good night sleep and have a healthy breakfast next week while the assessments are taking place.   Spring Conferences The electronic conference sign-up for our spring parent/teacher conferences will be made available to parents this coming Thursday, February 28th at 8:00 a.m. Conferences will be held after school in the afternoon and evenings of Wednesday, March 20th from 4-8 p.m. and Thursday, March 22st  from 3-7 p.m. Please be sure to plan accordingly in order to be able to attend conferences during the conference days that have been designated by the district for teachers to meet with parents. This is valuable time to discuss the individual growth and skills of your child, as well as, work together with the teacher to plan and set goals towards your child’s individual progress.   The number of spaces available for this conference period is more limited than the fall window, as a conference may not be needed for every child at this time. With that said, we continue to value your support and communication and will try our best to connect with parents who would like to communicate regarding their child's progress.   Once again, we will being using the system “Meet the Teacher” for parents to sign-up for conferences. Please click on the link below for directions to use “Meet the Teacher” in order to sign-up. When parents log on, they will be able to sign-up for conferences for multiple children and for any staff member that works with their child including our art, gym, and library teachers. Conferences with specials teachers are not required, but are an option we are offering to parents. In addition, all related services staff members will meet with parents separately from the conferences with classroom teachers. As a result, parents can also schedule conference times with our Social Worker, Speech and Language Pathologist, Reading Resource Teachers, English Learner Teacher, Special Education Resource Teachers, and the Extended Teacher. It is highly recommended that parents meet with any related service staff member that works with their child.   Grove “Meet the Teacher” Parent Guide in English Grove “Meet the Teacher” Parent Guide in Spanish   Petition Requests Over the last several years we have had a small number of requests for students to attend a school other than the building to which they have been assigned by the school district based on location of their home/residence within defined attendance area boundaries. Parents/guardians who feel they have a compelling reason to submit a transfer request, should complete the district's Transfer Request From and submit it to the attention of Dr. Craig Winkelman, Assistant Superintendent of Operations and K-12 Schools, prior to February 28, 2019. The form and information about the transfer request process can be accessed at the following web address:  https://www.barrington220.org/Page/19569   April Referendum For the April 2, 2019 election, registered voters in the Barrington 220 boundary area will have a chance to vote on a $185 million school district referendum question. A successful referendum would help to: Improve safety and security at all Barrington 220 schools Update classrooms at all schools to prepare students for success Protect the community's investment in Barrington 220 school buildings by repairing things like roofs, windows, plumbing, electrical systems, heating and air conditioning  Update arts and athletics spaces, which are used year round by the school district and various community organizations You can learn more about the Barrington 220 referendum by visiting www.barrington220.org/referendum and by attending any of the following upcoming community meetings:   Saturday, Feb. 23: 9:00 a.m. at Barrington High School (616 West Main Street, Barrington) Monday, March 4: 9:30 a.m. at Prairie Middle School (40 East Dundee Road, Barrington) Wednesday, March 6: 7:00 p.m. at Station Middle School (215 South Eastern Avenue, Barrington)     Upcoming Dates Saturday, February 23rd: Referendum Information Meeting, 9 a.m. @ BHS Monday, February 25th – Friday, March 1st: 2nd and 5th Grade CogAT Testing Tuesday, February 26th: The BIG EVENT Field Trip Thursday, February 28th: Deadline to Submit Petition Requests to District Office  Monday, March 4th: Referendum Information Meeting, 9:30 a.m. @ Prairie Wednesday, March 6th: Referendum Information Meeting, 7:00 p.m. @ Station Friday, March 8th: Elementary Choir Festival, 4:30-5:30 p.m. @ BHS Friday, March 8th: Grove Family Dance, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Saturday, March 9th: District Speech Tournament @ Station, 9:00 a.m.– 1:00 p.m.  Sunday, March 10th: Daylight Savings Time Starts, clocks are turned forward Wednesday, March 13th: 5th Grade Band Solo or Ensemble Recital, 6:30-7:30 @ Prairie Thursday, March 14th: 2nd Grade Musical, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 14th: 5th Grade Band Solo or Ensemble Recital, 6:30-7:30 @ Prairie Saturday, March 16th: Orchestra Solo or Ensemble Recital, 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. @ BHS Monday, March 18th: 3rd Grade Field Trip to FMSC Tuesday, March 19th: PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, March 20th: Parent Teacher Conferences, 4-8 p.m.   Thursday, March 21st: Parent Teacher Conferences, 3-7 p.m.       We hope to see everyone at our Emoji Family Dance on March 8th! Tickets are on sale now! Also, we would greatly appreciate parent volunteers and/or donations to help our event run smoothly. Thank you in advance for your generosity and for supporting Grove! Tickets: tinyurl.com/grovefamilydance2019 Volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/…/10c0c4aacaa28a3f85-volunteers Donations: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aacaa28a3f85-donations Do you have class photos to add to our 2018-2019 yearbook?  We are currently gathering pictures from class and school events and parties.  Please email any favorites you may have to: GroveAveYearbook@gmail.com.  When sending please indicate the classroom, names, if known, grade level and event.  Thanks for helping make this year's book memorable!

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