Longfellow Weekly News: Week of Nov 26, 2018

Dear Longfellow Families,

With snow in the forecast for this evening and tomorrow it is perfect timing to remind everyone of our expectations for cold and wintery weather.  Here are a few things to note:

• Students will be outside for arrival and recess when the temperature / wind chill is in the double digits.  If it's 9 degrees or below we will be indoors for arrival and/or recess. 
• Students should have a winter coat, winter hat, winter gloves, snow boots and snow pants.  If students wear their snow boots to school a pair of gym shoes should be sent for them to wear throughout the day.
• Students will not be permitted to play in the snow unless they have snow pants and snow boots. 
• Students can play and build with snow, but at no time should students throw snow balls or kick snow at one another.  This can be tempting and we ask that all adults help uphold this expectation for all children at arrival and dismissal, as well. 

If you need assistance obtaining warm winter clothing for your children, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher or our school social worker, Ms. Canika Gulley.  

Thank you,
Maggie Cahill

Second Step This Week  

Over the next three weeks of school our third, fourth, and fifth grade students will receive explicit instruction regarding bullying. They will learn what it is, how to identify it, and what to do about it.  You can find the home links for our bullying lessons here:  Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade.  Our younger students will continue their Second Step instruction. Kindergartners are learning about how feelings are physically felt in our bodies.  A Kindergarten home link can be found by clicking here.  Our First Graders are learning how to show care and concern for others.  Their home link can be found by clicking here.  And, finally, our Second Graders are beginning a unit about emotion management.  Their home link can be found by clicking here. We encourage you to check out your child's home link and have a discussion about what they are learning at school. 

5 Essentials Survey

The 5Essential survey window is open to all parents/guardians through Jan. 31, 2019. Parents/guardians can take the survey, which is available in both English and Spanish, by visiting https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/.

District 97 Hosts Vision97 4ALL Community Summit on Nov. 27

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will host a community summit on Tuesday, Nov. 27, to share updates on its vision work and provide opportunities for community members to interact with district administrators.  The Vision97 4ALL summit will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the district's administration building, located at 260 Madison St. Child care will be provided.  Event Flyer (click to open)

 

Feeling Thankful? Submit a "Cheers for Peers!"               

We would like to recognize children and adults who make a difference at Longfellow School.  If you would like to nominate an inpidual who makes a difference at our school, please fill out this form.  The inpidual you nominate will receive a printed form with a description of their contribution to making Longfellow a great place to be.

 

 

 

D97 Seeking Substitute Teachers & Teaching Assistants

District 97 is currently looking for inpiduals to serve as substitute teachers and teaching assistants. Additional information about these positions can be found by visiting http://www.op97.org/hr/substitutes. 

 

Construction Update

Due to the new construction zone families are only able to access the back playground from the Cuyler cul-de-sac and from one entrance next to the alley on Jackson Street (just East of Ridgeland Ave). There is no longer access to the back of the building through the garden area off of Highland Avenue South of the building.  If your student attends the breakfast program please drop them off at the front of the school so they can enter through the office.  Students will not be able to access the building from the playground before school hours.  You can check updates about the construction project on our  "Longfellow Expansion Page" that will be used to post information about the project.  Please click here to view the page.  

 

Dr. David Stovall: Implicit Bias Lecture 

 

The Longfellow persity Committee is proud to host Professor Dr. David Stovall for a lecture and Q & A session about implicit bias in our schools and how this applies to Oak Park. He will be visiting on Thursday, December 20th at 6:30 pm at Irving School (1125 S. Cuyler).  When we talk about the Achievement gap, equity, quality of schools located in and racial disparity in our schools, there is much communities that are discussion about Implicit Bias. We want to know if, or how much Implicit Bias is a causal factor. In a community like Oak Park, are we asking the right question? Register HERE for childcare and/or pizza (at 6pm).  

Fee Reminder  

Please remember that all outstanding fees must be paid through Rev Track!

 

 

 

 

Open Gym Reminder

It's great to see so many students arriving early for Open Gym before school!  We've seen attendance rise and wanted to remind parents that our capacity for Open Gym is 40 students.  If students arrive and capacity has already been met they will have the choice to attend Sunrise Study Hall or line up with their class outside.  Open Gym runs from 7:30-8:00 daily and is supervised by Ms. Bennett and Ms. Patterson. 

 

Upcoming Events

 

Tuesday, December 11th-        Dining for Dollars at Portillos

Thursday, December 13th-      Winter Holiday Concert for Chorus, Band and Orchestra at 7 pm

Tuesday, Decmber 18th-          Larks Concerts at 7 pm

Mon, Dec 24th- Fri, Jan 4th-     Winter Break