What a fun and exciting week we had! All of our students were given the opportunity to take home books from our annual Book Exchange. Thank you to everyone who participated in this initiative. It is a wonderful and “green” way to support our students’ literacy development. Our Kindergarteners celebrated the 100th day of school with lots of counting and a “cowfolk” theme. We also had our first “Tiger Den '' activity in which we engaged in small group team building across the building with students from each grade level all coming together to form new bonds and relationships across classrooms.
Thank you to all the parents who are volunteering for tonight's Fun Fair! This event requires a great deal of planning and time. Please remember there is no drop off at this event. All parents are responsible for attending with/supervising their children. We are looking forward to another fantastic night!
If your child’s classroom will be celebrating Valentine’s Day next week, please do not send food as Valentines. As will other holidays, any food served at a celebration must be pre-approved by Nurse Rossi two weeks in advance. The food chosen should be from the approved food list. Thank you so much for your patience and cooperation in ensuring a safe celebration for all our children!
Last chance to complete this year’s Illinois 5Essentials Survey! The window closes in one week, February 14th at midnight! This is a unique opportunity to not only provide feedback to the school and district, but to support Hatch on a larger scale. The window closes on February 14th. It should only take approximately 10 minutes to complete. If parents have more than one child that attends the same school, they may elect to participate multiple times. For parents with children enrolled in multiple schools, we recommend that they participate in the survey for each school. Thank you for your support!
To take the 2019-20 Illinois Parent Survey Visit: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/
Please mark your calendars for the Annual Family Literacy Night at the Hatch Coffee House, which is coming to Hatch on Tuesday, February 11th, 6-7 PM. Bring the entire family for a night full of literacy activities, poetry readings, and the kick off of this year's One Book One School!
Support Hatch School by purchasing the 2019-2020 Yearbook! Deadline to purchase the yearbook is March 26. Click here for more information and/or click here for link to purchase.
The Hatch School Talent Show will be on Friday, March 20th. Students in grades 2-5 that are interested in performing, MUST have a signed permission slip (links below) by February 14, 2020. Second graders will audition in the music room during the lunch recess on Thursday March 5th. Third-Fifth grade students will submit electronic auditions. Please see the two links below for more information:
Click here for the 2nd grade Hatch Has Talent permission slip.
Click here for the 3rd-5th grade Hatch Has Talent permission slip.
During the month of January, we celebrated over 60 birthdays with our Birthday Books program here at Hatch! Click here to watch a video of all the January and July half birthday students! They are so happy to be the very first to check out these Hatch Library books. Please remember you are always welcome to make a donation to this great program by clicking here and finding the donation sheet!
Digital Citizenship For Parents and Guardians: The 4th and 5th graders are working on digital citizenship in the library! Being a good digital citizen means making good decisions when using electronic devices. With technology ever changing it is tough to know what technology is out there but Common Sense media is there to help parents understand the apps and websites kids are using. It is always a good idea to check the age recommendations for any app or website your student is interested in creating an account for. In library, we have been talking about how if students see any appropriate activity online that they should tell a trusted adult so please help convey this message at home too. Here is Common Sense Media's take on a variety of apps that the students told us they are using at home:
Whenever possible, please try to schedule doctor visits, etc. outside of the school day and be sure to alert both the teacher and the main office if you know you will need to pick up your child before dismissal in order to ensure the least amount of disruption to the learning process as possible. Thank you!
Whooping Cough/Pertussis Alert: There are several confirmed cases of Whooping Cough in Oak Park. Children are vaccinated for it. However, those who are vaccinated, in rare cases, can contract the disease. Please read the attached link for detailed information about this illness.
FLU SEASON IS HERE!!! There have been several confirmed cases of flu at Hatch. Flu is a serious illness. If your child is ill, please make sure they are fever free for 24hours before having them return to school. The BEST way to prevent flu for you and your child is to get a flu shot. Feel free to contact Nurse Rossi for additional questions.
For more information:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/family/flu-guide-for-parents-2018.pdf
After several years of planning and community input, the Lake Street Improvement Project is getting underway in 2020 with the goals of improving traffic circulation and capacity, enhancing pedestrian and bicycle linkage between retail districts, replacing aging roadway and utilities, and strengthening Lake Street's role as the community's central tourism and retail corridor. To stay informed please attend one of the community open houses below or visit https://www.betterlakestreet.com/ for the latest updates, project overview and communication regarding project timelines and street closures/detours.
- Tuesday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at OPRF Museum, 129 Lake St.
- Thursday, Feb. 13, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave.
For families who are seeking single subject or whole grade acceleration for the 2020-21 school year, the district will be hosting a Parent Information Session on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, 1111 S. Grove St. The session will include a presentation that outlines the process and requirements. Click here to view the event flyer >
Information about the District 97 Accelerated Placement Program, including definitions and timelines, can be found at http://www.op97.org/acceleration.
The District 97 Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Team has created a D97 Parent Resource Site to further support instruction happening in the classroom. The site has been created to provide an overview of MTSS and support all students in the areas of reading, math and writing. Our team has selected resources that offer a free version to our families. If you have additional free websites or resources you would like to share, please reach out to MTSS Director Faith Cole at [email protected]. Thank you for your partnership!
Sarah Mendez
Hatch School Principal
1000 N Ridgeland Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 524-3095
VOLUNTEER NEEDED: The APOLLO aftercare leadership team is seeking a volunteer that can be available to check on APOLLO presence at Hatch as well as to help coordinate next year's contract, relationships and financials. This role will also be responsible for following up on parent or office questions/concerns. Most can be done from home with some in-person presence necessary on occasion. It is a low time commitment. For more information contact [email protected].
UPCOMING HATCH EVENTS AND REMINDERS:
February 11 - Family Literacy Night (6pm -7pm) - Hatch Coffee House
February 13 - DivCo Diversity Meeting (7pm) Cafeteria
February 17 - No School - Presidents Day
February 18 - PTO Meeting (State of Hatch) (7pm)
February 21 - Hatch Student Council Fundraiser - Duck Tape Mrs. Mendez to the Wall ($1) donation asked for.