Our Grove students did an excellent job practicing our safety drills and procedures this week. We are required to conduct three fire drills per year, so students will participate in two more all school fire drills over the next few weeks. I encourage parents to talk to their children at home about emergency procedures and safety in their homes following our safety week at school. The following are some suggested steps for families to take with children at home: 

• Plan how to get out of the house if there is a fire, discuss different escape routes, and make sure students know stop, drop, and roll  

• Identify a relocation site to meet as a family in case of an emergency

• Teach kids how to call 911 and post other emergency numbers where kids can easily locate them 

• Identify a trusted neighbor whose door children can knock on to call for help or if they need to get out of the house and need a safe place to go  

• Ensure all fire and smoke detectors have batteries and be sure to have a working fire extinguisher that is easily accessible  

• Put together an emergency kit or first aid kit and make sure children know where to locate it easily 

• Identify a location for the family to go in the case of a tornado

• Discuss kitchen safety and establish guidelines for using kitchen tools and appliances  

  
  

October Student iPad Swap

Our students in grades 1st - 5th will be receiving new iPads during the first week of October. Kindergarten students and new students already have the most up to date iPads and will not need to swap their devices during this time. Grove scheduled for students to turn in their iPads and receive their new ones on October 4th and 5th. Students will need to return all accessories along with their iPads. Please see the details below regarding our upcoming iPad Swap and exactly what students will need to return and what they will receive. Please take some time over the next week to ensure that your child has all items to return. Included below is also information regarding how the district will handle any damaged or lost items so parents know what to expect if they can not find items or if the condition of returned items extends beyond typical wear and tear. 

District 220 Parent Feedback Survey for Literacy Curriculum 

Barrington 220 follows a curriculum review cycle that includes a thorough analysis of our subject areas of learning. This year, we are reviewing our elementary (K-5) literacy curriculum and instruction. Literacy includes phonics, word study, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. We are seeking parent and caregiver feedback, and appreciate your thoughtful answers to our questions linked in the following survey:

Input Survey for Elementary Literacy 

If you have more than one child in our elementary schools, please feel free to generalize for all of your children in one survey OR complete the survey again for each of your children with responses pertaining to each child. 

Thank you for your time and feedback. The window for this survey is September 22nd - October 3rd.

Solicitando Comentarios sobre La Alfabetización en la Primaria

Barrington 220 sigue un ciclo de revisión curricular en el que revisamos nuestro plan de estudios que apoya nuestras áreas temáticas de aprendizaje. Este año, estamos revisando nuestro currículo e instrucción de alfabetización de primaria (K-5). La alfabetización incluye fonética, estudio de palabras, lectura, escritura, comprensión auditiva y expresión oral.  Estamos solicitando comentarios de los padres y cuidadores, y apreciamos sus respuestas a las preguntas a continuación. 

Solicitando Comentarios sobre La Alfabetización en la Primaria

Si tiene más de un estudiante en nuestras escuelas primarias, no dude en generalizar para todos sus estudiantes en una encuesta O complete la encuesta nuevamente para cada uno de sus estudiantes con respuestas relacionadas con cada estudiante.

Gracias por su tiempo y comentarios. La encuesta estará disponible del 22 de septiembre al 3 de octubre.

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, September 28th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered

Friday, September 30th - PTO Spiritwear Sale Ends 

Saturday, October 1st - BHS Homecoming 

Tuesday, October 4th - Grove Student iPad Swap 

Wednesday, October 5th - Grove Student iPad Swap 

Monday, October 10th - 5th Grade Camp Timber-lee Field Trip 

Tuesday, October 11th - Picture Retakes 

Monday, October 17th - 5th Grade Cross Country Meet & K-4 Fun Run @ Beese Park, 4 p.m. 

Wednesday, October 19th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-8 p.m. and Book Fair 

Thursday, October 20th - NO SCHOOL, Parent/Teacher Conferences 12-7 p.m. and Book Fair 

Friday, October 21st - NO SCHOOL

 

Grove P.O.P Volunteers Needed

Join the Packs of Plenty volunteers on Thursday mornings and be a part of the P.O.P program. Volunteers meet at Sunny Hill and pack bags of food that are sent home on Fridays with Barrington students that qualify for the program. Thanks to the Barrington Children's Charities this will be the 11th year packing. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved with this important program. You can come one time or every week, whatever works for you! Visit the following link to sign up and learn more - www.tinyurl.com/GrovePOPVolunteers

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Spiritwear Sales End - Friday, September 30th 

 

 

Thank you to all of our parents who attended our Back to School Curriculum Night on Thursday evening! It was terrific to see all of you and connect with you!! I hope you will consider joining me for a Grove Community Book Study on Thursday, November 3rd at 6 p.m. at Grove in effort to continue the conversation regarding Belonging in our community!! The book we will be discussing is Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown. Also, I will be sharing details soon for families to submit information for our Humans of Grove Avenue School website that I shared during my presentation on Thursday!! 

I hope everyone who attended our PTO Movie Night on Friday had a great time!! Our students certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves and it was great to see so many students and families there!! A HUGE thank you goes out to our PTO for planning such a fun event and THANK YOU all of the parents, staff, and high school students who volunteered in order to make the evening possible! I know our PTO will be sharing more Thank You’s next week as well!! 

Safety Week - September 19th- September 23rd

This week is our annual Safety Week in district 220. The goal is to raise awareness about school safety among our students, parents, staff and community members.

Throughout the week, our students will participate in various activities and safety drills in order to ensure that everyone is prepared in the event of an emergency.  I have included the break-down of the week for your information below. Parents will receive a notification each evening from the district with a link to the video that will be shown as a part of our morning announcements each day. 

Please note, the lock-down video will not be included in our morning announcements on Wednesday, as this video is intended for students in 4th-12th grades only. Our classroom teachers will discuss the drill at an age appropriate level with students in kindergarten through 3rd grade in order to prepare them for the drill prior to it occurring on Wednesday morning. I have linked in a parent letter specific to this drill for parents to review. The letter provides you with a few more details regarding lockdowns if you would like to discuss with your child ahead of time.  

Monday, September 20th – Welcome to Safety Week: See Something, Say Something   

• Video of the day shown in classrooms - Introduction to Safety Week 

• See Something, Say Something explained on morning announcements 

Tuesday, September 21st – Weather Emergencies

• Video of the day shown in classrooms

• Classroom discussions about weather emergencies

• Shelter-In-Place (tornado) Drill 

Wednesday, September 22nd – Law Enforcement Drill - Parent Letter 

• Video of the day shown in classrooms (4th & 5th grades only) 

• Class discussions about Lock-Down procedures 

• Lock-Down Drill with Barrington Police Department  

Thursday, September 28th – School Evacuations 

• Video of the day shown in classrooms

• Class discussion about evacuation procedures

• All school Evacuation (Fire) Drill

Friday, September 23rd – Transportation Safety 

• Video of the day shown in classrooms

• Bus Evacuations Drills

• Class discussion about Bus, Bike, and Train Safety  

Reminders

• If your child is absent please be sure to either report their absence electronically in IC or call the Grove school office to report their absence!!! It is important that students are reported absent first thing in the morning each day of an absence. 

Upcoming Dates

September 19th - 23rd - Safety Week 

Monday, September 19th - See Something, Say Something Day for Safety Week 

Monday, September 19th - 4th Grade Prairie Field Trip 

Tuesday, September 20th - PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. followed by Room Parent Meeting, 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday, September 20th - Weather Emergency Day (tornado drill) for Safety Week 

Wednesday, September 21st - 1st Grade Field Trip to Wildlife Foundation (1 class) 

Wednesday, September 21st - Law Enforcement Drill (lockdown drill) for Safety Week 

Wednesday, September 21st -  Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered 

Thursday, September 23rd - Fire Safety Day (fire drill) for Safety Week 

Thursday, September 22nd - Java with Dr. Hunt, 8:30-9:30 a.m. @ Southern Belle’s 

Thursday, September 22nd - 3rd Grade Science Field Trip 

Thursday, September 22nd - September 22nd - New Family PTO Meet and Greet, 4-6 p.m. on K-ground @ Grove 

Friday, September 23rd - 1st Grade Field Trip to Wildlife Foundation (1 class)

Friday, September 23rd - Transportation Safety (bus evacuation) for Safety Week 

Wednesday, September 28th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered

Saturday, October 1st - BHS Homecoming

Grove P.O.P Volunteers Needed

Join the Packs of Plenty volunteers on Thursday mornings and be a part of the P.O.P program. Volunteers meet at Sunny Hill and pack bags of food that are sent home on Fridays with Barrington students that qualify for the program. Thanks to the Barrington Children's Charities this will be the 11th year packing. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved with this important program. You can come once or every week whatever works for you! Visit the following link to sign up and learn more - www.tinyurl.com/GrovePOPVolunteersSunny Hill Elementary

 

It was great to have many families participate in our Family Pictures this week! We can’t wait to get our Grove Community Picture Wall back up in the hallway at Grove!! 

Last Call - Summer Study Work Due Friday, September 16th 

This Friday, September 16th is the last day for students to turn in their math workbooks and reading logs from our summer study! The information sent home in the spring indicated frequent reading (multiple times or daily during the week!) and at least half of the math workbook completed. Students who completed the summer work will be receiving coupons to our Grove School Store which will be re-opening for the first time in 2 yrs!! 

Grove Parent Curriculum Night 

Our staff is eager to share details about the school year and each of their unique classrooms with you on Thursday, September 15th at Grove’s Parent Curriculum Night, beginning at 6:30 p.m.  At this time, you will have an opportunity to get to know your child’s teacher, visit the classroom, and receive an overview of the grade-level curriculum and classroom expectations. We will start the evening in the gym, during which time I will introduce the entire Grove Staff and share additional information about the year. We view this evening as an important opportunity to communicate with parents, and we look forward to seeing you there. Please note that this event is for parents only. 

Schedule for the Evening: 

• 6:30-7:00 p.m.      Principal Presentation - Gym 

• 7:00-7:10 p.m. Transition to Classrooms 

• 7:10-7:40 p.m.      Classroom Session 1- Individual Student Classrooms 

• 7:40-7:45 p.m.      Transition 

• 7:45-8:15 p.m.       Classroom Session 2 - Individual Student Classrooms 

• 8:15 p.m.                 Evening Concludes 

*Sessions 1 and Session 2 will be identical presentations, allowing parents to attend the presentations for multiple teachers in the school if they have more than one child attending Grove. 

Fall Assessments 

We are still conducting our fall assessments this week. All students in grades K-2 participate in Fastbridge Assessments for reading and math.  All students in grades 2-5 participate in the MAP Assessments for both reading and math. MAP assessments started last week and will continue through September 16th. Please be sure to read the district letter with details regarding our assessments. I have included a link directly to the letter for your convenience. 

Reminders

• If your child is absent please be sure to either report their absence electronically in IC or call the Grove school office to report their absence!!! It is important that students are reported absent first thing in the morning each day of an absence. 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, September 14th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered 

Thursday, September 15th - Parent Curriculum Night, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, September 16th - Summer Study Work Due 

Friday, September 16th - Family Movie Night 

September 19th - 23rd - Safety Week 

Tuesday, September 20th - PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. followed by Room Parent Meeting, 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, September 21st -  Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered 

Thursday, September 22nd - Java with Dr. Hunt, 8:30-9:30 a.m. @ Southern Belle’s 

Thursday, September 22nd - September 22nd - New Family PTO Meet and Greet, 4-6 p.m. on K-ground @ Grove 

Wednesday, September 28th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered

GROVE FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT 

Friday, September 16th

***Tickets are not included in movie night packages and must be purchased separately***

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures at Grove for Car-Riders and Walkers

If your child is a car rider or walker, please be sure to watch this 5 min. video with our arrival and dismissal procedures. These guidelines truly help us ensure that our arrival and dismissal is safe and smooth for both parents and students. I have included some key bullet points below for your reference as well: 

• Parents and students should always use the crosswalk to cross Grove Avenue 

• Cars should not block the crosswalk while waiting in line on Grove Avenue 

• Cars should pull as far up as possible in the circle drive to allow a maximum number of vehicles to enter for pick-up and drop-off 

• Go to the end of the car line to wait in line heading south on Grove for arrival and dismissal, rather than trying to turn left in front of other cars into the circle drive 

• Drop off and pick-up students in the circle drive only, please do not let students exit the car outside of the circle or encourage students to go to the street to enter a car 

• Adults should remain in their vehicles in the car line and circle drive. School staff will assist students with getting in and out of vehicles

• Students should have all of their materials ready to go and next to them in the car so they can get out quickly and on their own or with the help of school staff at arrival 

• Be courteous of our neighbors and be sure not to block driveways when waiting in the car line or parking to pick up students. Please wait in line and do not pass cars that are leaving space for neighbors to pull in and out of their driveways 

• Refrain from parking on Grove Avenue to pick-up students. Parents parking to pick-up students should park on Illinois or Summit. Please park in a way that maximizes the number of cars able to fit and does not block driveways in the neighborhood

Grove Parent Curriculum Night 

Our staff is eager to share details about the school year and each of their unique classrooms with you on Thursday, September 15th at Grove’s Parent Curriculum Night, beginning at 6:30 p.m.  At this time, you will have an opportunity to get to know your child’s teacher, visit the classroom, and receive an overview of the grade- level curriculum and classroom expectations. We will start the evening in the gym, during which time I will introduce the entire Grove Staff and share additional information about the year. We view this evening as an important opportunity to communicate with parents, and we look forward to seeing you there. Please note that this event is for parents only. 

Schedule for the Evening: 

• 6:30-7:00 p.m.      Principal Presentation - Gym 

• 7:00-7:10 p.m. Transition to Classrooms 

• 7:10-7:40 p.m.      Classroom Session 1- Individual Student Classrooms 

• 7:40-7:45 p.m.      Transition 

• 7:45-8:15 p.m.       Classroom Session 2 - Individual Student Classrooms 

• 8:15 p.m.                 Evening Concludes 

*Sessions 1 and Session 2 will be identical presentations, allowing parents to attend the presentations for multiple teachers in the school if they have more than one child attending Grove. 

Grove Family Pictures 

We are offering the opportunity for Grove students and their families to come in on two different evenings to take pictures to be added to our collage of Grove families that we will be putting back up in the main hallway of the school. The pictures will be taken on Wednesday, September 7th and Thursday, September 8th from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Click on the link to choose a time slot to have a picture taken on the Sign-Up Genius. It is free to have the pictures taken and then you can decide whether or not you would like to purchase pictures. We would love for all of our families to be up on the wall! You may choose to have anyone that you would like to have with you in the photos, as we often have grandparents or furry friends join the photos as well!! 

School Pictures for Students 

Picture Day for students is Thursday, September 8th - Picture day flyers went home this week in your child's backpack. For online prepay ordering information go to: https://inter-state.com/order  

Online Order Code: 69768KA

Fall Assessments 

We started our fall assessments with students this past week. All students in grades K-2 participate in Fastbridge Assessments for reading and math.  All students in grades 2-5 participate in the MAP Assessments for both reading and math. MAP assessments will begin this coming week and will continue through September 16th. Please be sure to read the district letter with details regarding our assessments. I have included a link directly to the letter for your convenience. 

Upcoming Dates

Monday, September 5th - Labor Day, NO SCHOOL 

Tuesday, September 6th - MAP Assessments Begin for Grades 2-5 

Wednesday, September 7th - Family Pictures, 4-8 p.m. 

Thursday, September 8th - School Pictures for Students 

Wednesday, September 8th - Family Pictures, 4-8 p.m. 

Wednesday, September 14th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered 

Thursday, September 15th - Parent Curriculum Night, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, September 16th - Family Movie Night 

September 19th - 23rd - Safety Week 

Tuesday, September 20th - PTO Meeting, 9:15 a.m. followed by Room Parent Meeting, 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, September 21st -  Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered 

Thursday, September 22nd - Java with Dr. Hunt, 8:30-9:30 a.m. @ Southern Belle’s 

Thursday, September 22nd - September 22nd - New Family PTO Meet and Greet, 4-6 p.m. on K-ground @ Grove 

Wednesday, September 28th - Tae Kwon Do, after school 2:15-3:00, must be registered

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Movie Night 

Friday, September 16th

***Tickets are not included in movie night packages and must be purchased separately***

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