Longfellow Weekly News: January 25th 2018
Dear Longfellow Community,
Parent/Teacher conferences will take place during the week of February 5th-9th. If you have not already signed up for a time to meet with your child's teacher we encourage you to do so. You are your child's first teacher and together we can form a powerful partnership for your child!
Maggie Cahill, Asst. Principal
Supports at Longfellow School
There are a variety of supports that our students can access at Longfellow. Each week we will be highlighting a support in depth to help our community understand what it is, who it serves, and how it can be accessed. This week's featured supports are:
Homework Club & Homework Skills Club: These two programs are often confused because of their similar names. Despite the similar name, they serve different functions at our school. Homework Club is a program that is funded by a grant and partnership with Oak Park Township. Our grant provides funds for third-fifth grade students to participate in an after school homework completion club from 3-4 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students have hands-on support from a teacher and time to complete homework in a quiet and supportive place. Homework Skills Club takes place one time a week during lunch and targets fourth and fifth grade students with 4 or more missing assignments in a trimester. Students are referred to Homework Skills by their classroom teacher and receive 4 lessons/weeks of direct instruction to improve executive functioning skills such as organization and planning to aide in homework completion. If you are a parent of a third-fifth grade student and want to know more about these supports please reach out to your child's teacher.
5Essentials Survey
Please provide input by completing the Illinois 5Essentials Survey. We currently have a 21% response rate from our Longfellow community. Our goal was to receive reach at least a 20% response to ensure that our parent voice was formally documented. If you have not yet taken the survey, you have 6 days left to do so. This survey is based on the Five Essentials for School Success, an evidence-based framework developed by the University of Chicago. The framework identifies how school performance on five factors or “essentials” can lead to important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. Prior research has shown that schools strong on three or more of the 5Essentials were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains than schools weak on three or more of the Essentials. Those 5Essentials are: Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Supportive Environment and Ambitious Instruction. These reports will be sent to schools and districts this Spring and will be included in each State School Report Card which is released by ISBE in the fall of 2018. 5Essentials Reports for our school will also then be publicly available via the Illinois 5Essentials website. Please help us get an accurate representation of our parent perspectives by completing the survey before January 31st. The survey can be accessed by visiting https://survey.5-essentials.
Student Recognition
We would like to recognize students and adults who make a difference at Longfellow School! If you would like to nominate an individual who makes a difference at our school, please fill out this form. The individual you nominate will receive a printed form with a description of their contribution to making Longfellow a great place to be. Have you observed a child making an effort to improve our school, to make a positive impact on another student, or contribute to the community? This is a great way to recognize them!!
Second Step
This week ALL of our grade levels have a home link for Second Step! Please check out the links by clicking here: Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade.
Math-a-thon
Every year our school partakes in the Mathathon where students practice their math skills and raise money for children at St. Jude Children's Hospital. Depending on how much money student's raise, they can also earn prizes. Consent forms/donation submission form with more information regarding prizes were sent home on Friday, December 8th. Students are able to participate online or by doing their math in funbooks. (These do not need to be returned.) Students get sponsors to donate a flat amount or pledge a certain amount per math problem they complete. All checks are made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Money is due to Ms. Bennett by January 30th (in an envelope that was connected to the consent form along with the donation submission form). If you'd like to donate by credit card, please visit our event page. The class that raises the most amount of money TOTAL by Jan. 30th will earn 10 bear necessities each. You can register your child online using the following link.
PTO Winter Carnival on Feb. 10
The PTO Winter Carnival is coming soon on February 10th! New This Year: A Facebook page dedicated to all things Winter Carnival! It’s your one stop for Volunteer Opportunities, Pre-Sale Ticket info, Pie-in-the-Face updates, Auction and Raffle prizes, and much more!! Like our page: @LongfellowPTOWinterCarn
Dining For Dollars
Need an easy and yummy weeknight dinner? Dine-in or carryout at Nando’s Peri Peri in Oak Park on Wednesday, January 31st from 4pm- 10pm. Please mention that you are with Longfellow’s PTO Dining for Dollars program and they will donate 40% back to Longfellow based on pre-tax purchase, excluding alcohol. Dine-in or Carryout. Click here for their menu and link to online ordering. No flyer necessary. Offer valid only at the date and location listed above Questions? Please contact Patty Melgar Hooks at 708-261-2796 or [email protected].
Book Fair!
The Scholastic Book Fair will run during conference week from Monday, February 5th- Friday February 9th. This round the theme is, "Paws for Books!" Come. Stay. Read a great tale! Hope to see you there!
Upcoming Events
Friday, January 26th: No School- Institute Day
Tuesday, January 30th: Mathathon Donations Due
Monday, February 5th- Friday February 9th: Parent/Teacher Conferences and Book Fair
Thursday, February 8th & Friday, February 9th: Half Days, Dismissal at 11am
Saturday, February 10th: Winter Carnival
Tuesday, February 13th: Spring, Yearbook, and 5th Grade Picture Day
Thursday, February 15th: Transracial Adoption Seminar at 7 pm in the Auditorium
Monday, February 19th: No School- President's Day
Friday, February 23rd: Harambee Market from 6-7pm and Harambee Performance at 7pm in the Auditorium