Longfellow Weekly News: February 1, 2018
Dear Longfellow Community,
Below you'll find the latest news from our school.
Maggie Cahill, Asst. Principal
Longfellow Kindness Market Makes the News!
Our second grade students raised over $1,000 for Housing Forward through their annual "Kindness Market" that took place in December. We are so proud of them! See a special video about their efforts!
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 support is:
Academic Study Hall (ASH) is a support available to 2nd-5th graders during lunch recess from 11:15-12:10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is hosted by Ms. Hjalmarson and Mr. Weber. Students can choose to attend (during recess) or be recommended to attend (during lunch) by their teacher. They have the opportunity finish class work, work on homework, or study for an upcoming test. For more information about ASH please contact your child's homeroom teacher.
Harambee- Call for Vendors!
Harambee is Swahili for "Let's Pull Together" and is a celebration of African culture and heritage. It takes place in the Longfellow auditorium at 7pm on February 23th. Each year a market is held before the performance from 6-7 pm. We are currently recruiting vendors to sell African inspired arts, products or artifacts. There is a $3 PTO donation per vendor to participate and each vendor will receive a table and space to sell their products. There are no ticket fees or required purchases for shoppers/attendees. Sign up to be a vendor. Response deadline is 2/20.
Transracial Adoption and Racial Identity Seminar with Karen Thomas
Karen Thomas, a teacher at Hatch Elementary School, will lead a seminar on Transracial Adoption and Racial Identity in the Longfellow Auditorium on Thursday, February 15th at 6:30 pm. As a biracial and transracial adoptee who grew up in Arlington Heights, Ms. Thomas has a strong desire to understand her place in the world. Over the last decade she has researched racial identity and colorism in America and continues to have conversations around these topics. Register for the seminar.
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. 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
The home links for Second Step this week are as follows: First Grade, Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade.
St. Jude's Mathathon Update
Longfellow raised $2,215.00 for the St. Jude's Mathathon! Thank you to everyone that participated to make this such a successful event. Ms. Bennett's class raised the most money and earned the bear necessities!
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: @LongfellowPTOWinterCarnival for the latest news. Volunteer your time at http://www.signupgenius.
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!
5Essentials Survey
The window for completing the 5 Essentials Survey has closed. Thank you to our families who took the survey. We had over a 20% response rate, which was our goal! Results will be sent to schools and districts this Spring and will be included in the State School Report Card which is released by ISBE in the fall of 2018. The 5Essentials Reports for our school will be publicly available via the Illinois 5Essentials website.
Upcoming Events
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 from 12-4 pm
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
Monday, March 5th- Friday, March 20th: PARCC testing for 3rd-5th Grades
Thursday, March 8th: Spelling Bee
Thursday, March 15th: Red Carpet Band and Orchestra Recital at 7pm
Friday, March 16th: Winter ALL Classes End
Tuesday, March 20th: No School- Institute Day
Monday, March 26th- Friday March 30th: No School- Spring Break