Longfellow Weekly News: Week of Dec 3, 2018
Dear Longfellow Families,
Please take a moment to read the news and upcoming events from Longfellow below!
Thank you,
Maggie Cahill
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!
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Our third, fourth, and fifth grade students will continue to receive explicit instruction about bullying with the Second Step Bullying Units. Over the past two weeks they have been learning that not all mean behavior is bullying. We are teaching students that the difference between conflict and bullying is that bullying happens repeatedly and is one-way. This means that the other student is not continually being mean back to the student who is bullying. Students are also learning what to do about it and how to be an upstander, not a bystander, if they witness acts of bullying. 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 how to manage frustration. Our First Graders are starting a new unit and exploring how to identify feelings in their own bodies. And, finally, our Second Graders are learning how to manage embarrassing situations. There are no home links this week for these grade levels, but we encourage you to have a discussion about what your child is learning from this social emotional learning curriculum.
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-
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.
Construction Updates
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.
Open Gym Reminder- Wear Gym Shoes!
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. Also, please note that students attending Open Gym should wear gym shoes. 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