Halloween Celebrations
We are looking forward to having a great Halloween this year at Grove! Below is information regarding our Halloween festivities; please read the sections about volunteers and costumes carefully.
Lunch – October 29th
At 11:15 a.m., students may be picked up if it is easier for them to dress and eat lunch at home. Please do not expect your child to leave before 11:15 a.m.
Students do not need to be signed out individually in the office, but if you plan on picking your child up for lunch, be sure that you have indicated this option by clicking on the link to the Halloween Google Form.
There will be adults supervising the parking lot during the 11:15 pick-up and by the Grove entrance. Please focus on safety!
Students should return to school by 12:55 p.m.
If your child is staying at school for lunch, please send your child's costume to school. Lunch and recess times for students staying at school will stay the same and students will change into their costumes following lunch and recess. Please be sure to communicate if your child is staying at school by indicating this option by clicking on the link to the Halloween Google Form.
Parade – October 29th
Our parade for kindergarten through 5th grade will begin at 1:15 p.m. and will follow the route below:
Leave from the Grove door and travel north to Wisconsin.
Travel east on Wisconsin to Summit.
Travel south on Summit to Yale.
Travel west on Yale to Cook.
Travel north on Cook to our parking lot entrance.
We love parents and guests cheering us on.
We will be back at school at about 1:45 PM
If it rains, we will not be able to hold the parade, however, we will have classroom teachers take pictures of their class as a whole and we will post the pictures in the Grizzly for parents to see and include them in the morning announcements the following week for students.
Party – October 29th– 1:45-2:30 p.m.
After the parade, students will return to classrooms for our fabulous room parties organized by our PTO room parents. The three room parent volunteers will be the only parents permitted to enter the building this year.
Costumes
Please review the following guidelines when selecting a school Halloween costume for this year:
Students should not wear costumes to school, as they will go home to change into costumes or change at school after lunch and recess. Half day kindergartens are invited to stay the whole day or return in the afternoon for the festivities.
Consider safety and the appropriateness of a costume for an elementary school.
Costumes involving fake blood or violent attributes are not allowed.
Look-alike weapons are prohibited on school grounds as noted in the student handbook.
Masks are a safety concern, and therefore, will not be allowed.
Please keep face paint to a minimum as students need to be easily recognized and often become uncomfortable. Examples of appropriate face paint include: cat whiskers, Harry Potter’s scar, “eye black” on an athlete, etc.
Parent Volunteers
There will be three parent volunteers per class to coordinate and run the parties on October 29th. The three room parents for each classroom will be the only parents permitted to enter the building for the parties, as we are still required to follow social distancing guidelines and limit contacts due to COVID. Each volunteer will need to show proof of vaccination, or provide a negative COVID-19 test to participate as mandated by Gov. Pritzker and outlined by District #220 (English and Spanish).
All parents will be able to attend the parade which will be held outside (weather permitting).We encourage parents to spread out along the parade route to wave at students and take pictures! We hope to create a safe and fun event for our students, so thank you for your cooperation!
Bully Prevention Month
October is Bully Prevention Month. We will be highlighting this throughout the month in our morning announcements and with activities with students. We started this week with a review of our schoolwide expectations of following The Grove Avenue Way of being respectful, responsible, safe, and being learners throughout the various areas of our school. These videos will continue into next week and we will touch on further concepts in regards to bullying such as recognizing, reporting, and refusing bullying later in the month.
We are also relaunching the use of our Grizzly Claws and Golden Hearts to recognize the positive actions we see our students display on a daily basis both as individuals and as a class. This is an ongoing activity that we implemented on a regular basis prior to distance learning and we are excited to bring it back to highlight our students for their commendable efforts when it comes to making our school a safe place to live and learn.
One of our daily routines in the morning with each homeroom is to say the “Power of One Pledge” together as a class. I have included the pledge below for your knowledge. The purpose of this is to remind students of their ability to be an upstander and help prevent bullying in our school by standing up for what they know is right. We will spend time this month reviewing the pledge and recommitting to it by signing a Bully Prevention Oath poster that we will display in our school.
Grove’s Power of One
I will not bully others.
I will not stand by while others are bullied.
I will report bullying whenever I see it.
I have the POWER OF ONE!!
On October 20th, we will celebrate Unity Day as a school by wearing orange to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion and to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying. Please join us in these efforts in order to continue the dialogue with your child at home to make the commitment to live out our “Grove Power of One Pledge.” We hope to have a sea of orange throughout the school on October 20th!!
Social Emotional Survey for Students in 2nd-5th Grades
Our school values input from our students to continue to monitor and improve programming for your children in the areas of Social and Emotional Learning.
In order to learn more about the experiences of your child at school, we are asking for their feedback via a brief online survey that will be administered starting this week through November 4th. This experience is similar to the SEL surveys conducted over the last 2 years.
All survey responses are confidential. No students at our school will see how your child responds to the questions. A separate organization, ECRA Consulting, will manage all data collection to ensure confidentiality.
The survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete, and will be an invaluable source of information for Barrington 220 as we work to improve upon the supports for our students in the area of social emotional learning.
We thank you in advance for your support. Should you have any questions about your child’s participation, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or Mrs. Matthews directly.
Fall Parent/Teacher Conference Sign-Up
The sign-up for our fall Parent/Teacher Conference is currently open and will remain open until October 10th. Please click on the link below for directions to our sign-up platform “Meet the Teacher” in order to sign-up. When signing up, parents will need to indicate whether they plan to attend the conference in person or would prefer a conference via Zoom. Conferences will be scheduled for 20 minutes, with 15 minutes of that time being used for the conference and 5 minutes being used for cleaning between conferences. All parents coming in for in-person conferences will be required to complete a COVID screener before being allowed to enter and must be wearing a mask. Please access the document, print and complete, and bring it with you to the conferences. We will continue to practice social distancing guidelines. Also, we are trying to limit the number of people in the building on these days, therefore, two parents will be permitted to attend per child. However, children will not be permitted to enter the building on these days unless they are a student leading a conference with their teacher. As a result, if this is not possible for your family, please sign-up for a Zoom conference.
Grove “Meet the Teacher” Parent Guide in English
Grove “Meet the Teacher” Parent Guide in Spanish
When parents log on to Meet the Teacher, they will be able to sign-up for conferences for multiple children and for any staff member that works with their child. Conferences with specials teachers are not required but are an option we are offering to parents. In addition, all related services staff members will be available to meet with parents. 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 our Extended Teacher. It is highly recommended that parents meet with any related service staff member who works with their child.
Conferences are being held on Wednesday, October 13th from 4-8 p.m. and Thursday, October 14th from 1-7 p.m. Please be sure to plan accordingly in order to attend conferences during the 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 toward your child’s individual progress.
Fall Book Fair
We are so excited to bring back in-person book fairs on October 13th and 14th! Below is Grove’s Scholastic website if you would like to preview and set up eWallet for your child. There is also a virtual book fair that starts on October 13th and goes until October 26th. If you would like to help out during the book fair, below is the SignUp Genius for volunteer signup. Thank you so much!
Reminders
Please send your child to school with extra masks in their backpack!!!
Sign-up for Parent/Teacher Conferences by October 10th
Picture retake day is this Tuesday!
Upcoming Dates
Monday, October 11th - Garden Stone Orders Due
Tuesday, October 12th - Picture Retake Day
Wednesday, October 13th - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4-8 p.m. & Book Fair in the Gym
Thursday, October 14th - No School for Students, Parent/Teacher Conferences, 1-7 p.m. and Book Fair in the Gym
Friday, October 15th - No School
Monday, October 18th - Elementary Fun Run for Grades 1-5 and 5th Grade Mile Run @ Beese Park, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 19th - PTO Meeting, 7 p.m. via Zoom
Wednesday, October 20th - Wear Orange for Unity Day
Friday, October 29th - Halloween Celebrations
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