Message from Aug. 31, 2018

We had a wonderful second week of school! The students are doing a stellar job as we get back into our routines. I already see students engaged in learning and enjoying the new school year!

One of the staff committees that does a lot of the behind the scenes planning is the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Team. PBIS is a school-wide program used across all the District 97 schools to establish and maintain positive behavior. The fundamental purpose is to make sure our school maintains the most effective learning environment possible by creating a safe, predictable, consistent, and positive culture.  The program includes prevention and intervention components at the individual, class, and school level for students and staff.  The PBIS team plans pre-teaching opportunities for teachers and students to participate in order to learn about the Hatch Habits across various settings.  Take a second to ask your child what the Hatch Habits are ( Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe) and what these habits look like in different places at school, such as the classroom, lunchroom, or playground.  

Also, in order to create a safe, predictable, consistent, and positive culture during the lunch hour, the PBIS team is organizing a variety of lunch clubs.  We are currently looking for parent volunteers who are available to run a weekly lunch club.  Some ideas for lunch clubs include lego club, science, crafts, walking, spoken word, or running club.  If you are interested in running a club, please contact Ms. Winfield at [email protected] to get started.  

In order to ensure the safety of our students, we are asking parents who drive their children to please drive slowly and carefully when near school grounds. Please do not double park nor block the street nor driveways during drop off/pick up. Please do NOT park in the handicapped spots without a permit. Whenever possible, please opt to walk your student to and from school. Let’s all work together to keep our students safe!

In order to better plan our instructional practices for individual student needs, we implement a number of assessments throughout the year. Next week begins MAP testing for 2nd-5th graders as well as Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark testing for all students, which will begin the following week.  For more information please visit our D97 Teaching and Learning Department’s page on assessment.

Please join us for the Hatch Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 12th  from 6:00-7:30 pm. During our Curriculum Night you will have the opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and hear about the various learning experiences we have planned this year. There will be two sessions so that families with more than one child can attend each classroom presentation. Session A will run from 6:00-6:45 pm and Session B will run from 6:45-7:30 pm. If you do not need to attend two classroom sessions, I highly recommend you visit our Library, Music, Art, PE, and Spanish teachers. We have an amazing fine arts team that would love to share their curriculum and programing information with you. We will also have our support staff available in the foyer by the main entrance to answer questions and provide information on the many resources we offer our students. 

Please see the attached flyer regarding 15% discount on Yearbooks purchased by September 30th.

Library Newsletter
Be sure to read the District 97 Library Newsletter!

Library Volunteers Wanted
The library is always looking for volunteers to help with a variety of projects! If you are available, please look here for more information on how you can volunteer! Thank you! 

Birthday Book Order Form
The 2018-2019 Birthday Book Program will kick off on Tuesday, September 4th! The birthday books program is a great way to celebrate the students’ birthdays and add new books to the library collection! Please click here for more information on how you can support this meaningful program! Thank you!

We hope you have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!

Sarah Mendez
Hatch School Principal 
1000 N Ridgeland Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 524-3095

PTO Reminders
  • HAH Session One registration ends TONIGHT. Theater, dance, art, sports, games. Catalog and registration link. Session One starts Sept 10.
  • Register for Hatch Golf. The annual PTO sponsored golf outing is September 15. Raffle prizes from sponsors like Spenga Oak Park, The White Sox, and Osteria Langhe. Buffet dinner, hole prizes. Sign up.
  • Taste of Hatch Patch annual celebration. Join Hatch families and staff for a Taste showcasing produce harvested from the school's vegetable garden and orchard. Save the Date: Thursday, September 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Hatch blacktop. Online ticket sales and volunteer sign-ups will be available on September 1.
  • Hatch Patch Harvest time: We like to have 3 parent volunteers from each class in the PTO school garden to help students harvest. Visit the sign up page and look for your child’s teacher's assigned time. If you don't see your child’s class, check back. Updates also posted on Hatch Patch Facebook page.  
  • We still need a few Room Parents for classes in several grades. Sign up here.
  • World Language Program - lunchtime foreign language classes. Registration is open. Details in the flyer.
  • Hatch Student Green Team. Sign up form. Also, please like Green Team Facebook page for updates.
  • Have you checked your child’s Digital Backpack?  District 97 manages a digital backpack with school, district and community flyers and information for families stored online to reduce waste. Here’s the link: http://www.op97.org/hatch/dp
  • Attend monthly PTO meetings to learn about academic programs and policies from Ms. Mendez, along with PTO fundraisers and events. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of every month from 7-8 p.m. Join our online community on Facebook and YouTube, and bookmark hatchpto.org for updates and resources during the year.