Week of March 4, 2019
Class Placement Information
Next week Principal Dolezal will send parents a form to fill out to let our school know more about your child’s learning styles for class placement. Please click here to see a presentation about changes to class placement for next year.
Stacey Gibson Lecture at Irving School on 3/14 
The Longfellow PTO's Diversity Committee is excited to welcome Stacey A. Gibson for an interactive lecture on parenting racially aware youth. Stacy A. Gibson is an educator, consultant and writer who is interested in moving beyond the 'diversity conversation' to exploring how we can be more aware of how race-based oppression shapes institutions. She will give practical strategies to recognize systemic patterns of race-based oppression and help us move toward justice based equity in our schools. Professor Gibson will help us understand how the institutional and individual behaviors observed in 'America to Me' appear at very early ages. This event will take place on Thursday, March 14th at Irving School from 6:30-8:30 pm. Please register for childcare and/or pizza by clicking here.
Science Fair
All Longfellow students are invited to participate in the 2019 Science Fair! The event will take place on Tuesday, March 19th from 7-8 pm at Longfellow Center (at Longfellow Park). If your child is interested in participating, please apply via this link by Thursday, February 28th. Any questions, please email Mr. Pod at [email protected] Note: Event space is limited. If the number of entries exceeds the space limits, participants will be chosen at random. Parents/guardians will be notified via email on March 1st confirming whether or not their child has secured a spot as a participant.
Kindergarten-2nd Grade Author Visit: Lori Degman 
We have a special guest coming to visit Longfellow on March 6th. Author Lori Degman will be here to share her experience as an author of children's books. Kindergarten, First and Second Grade classrooms are invited to the presentation. If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of any of her books, please complete and this form with payment as soon as possible. Late orders will be accepted through 2/28.
3rd and 4th Grade Assembly: Amy Liss
Thank you to the Longfellow Diversity Committee for bringing Amy Liss to present to our 3rd & 4th graders last Friday. Amy was a dynamic presenter who helped students understand and celebrate differences while recognizing that we are more alike than we are different. She truly has an, "Attitude of Gratitude" and we were lucky to be able to spend some time with her last week! Please click here to see a short video about Amy.
Erin's Law and the Child Protection Units
In accordance with Illinois State law all public schools must implement Erin's Law. Erin's Law is aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. The Child Protection Units is the curriculum we use to teach this and also a component of the Second Step program. Students began learning about this last Wednesday and will continue to do so for the next 4 weeks. Topics will include important skills about personal safety, touching safety, and assertiveness. In December all parents received a letter regarding this instruction that can be found by clicking here. If you have any questions about this instruction do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or Ms. Canika Gulley at [email protected].
Home links for our third lesson that will take place on Wednesday can be found by clicking on your child's grade level below:
Longfellow Commu
nity Meeting
On Thursday, March 7th there will be a follow up meeting to the Community Meeting that was held January. Come join Principal Dolezal and Assistant Principal Cahill in answering questions about academic achievement and discipline data that was shared last month. We hope you can join us to work together and help more of our kids succeed at Longfellow. The meeting will start at 6:30 pm in the Longfellow Auditorium. Child care will be available.
State Testing Information- Illinois Assessment for Readiness (IAR)
Our district will begin state testing during the month of March. The state is no longer administering the PARCC assessment for 3rd-5th graders, but will give a very similar test called the "Illinois Assessment for Readiness". It is important that every student have a working pair of headphones for the assessment. Our schedule is still being finalized for this test and your child's classroom teacher will communicate exactly when and at what times your child will test during the testing window between March 11th and March 22nd. As is required by law, every student who is eligible to take the IAR assessment will receive a test ticket or test booklet. However, in accordance with our practice, anyone who elects not to take the assessment will be permitted to read a book after the teacher has read the directions to the class and students have begun the testing process. Since students will not be allowed to go to the school library during the administration of the test, we ask that you please make sure your child brings his/her book to class during the IAR testing window (March 11, 2019 to March 22, 2019).
Spelling Bee for 3rd, 4th and 5th Grades
Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 recently took a Spelling Bee qualifying test in their homerooms. As a result, the top 3 spellers from each of our intermediate homerooms were identified and invited to participate in the upcoming Spelling Bee. There will be a separate bee for each grade level held on Tuesday, March 12th in the Longfellow Auditorium. The entire Longfellow community is invited to come out to show their support of our spelling bee finalists! If you have any questions about the bee, or if you're interested in helping out on Tuesday, March 12th, from 5:15 until about 8:00 PM, please contact Mrs. Nelson at [email protected]
Dining for Dollars at Sergio's Place on Tuesday, March 5th 
Dine at Sergio's on Tuesday, March 5th and Sergio will donate 10% back to Longfellow School. Sergio’s Place is located at 6966 W. North Ave and is open 4-9pm. Please help us support our school and Sergio’s place and come enjoy wonderful ambiance and food! Please mention to your server that you are participating with dining for dollars!
Always Learning at Longfellow (ALL) News
The Spring session of ALL is coming soon! Registration Opens Friday March 8 @8:30am and closes Friday, March 22nd @ 5pm. The session will run from April 28th- May 23rd. You can find times, cost, class descriptions, and all you need to know in the brochure listed below. Hard copies of the brochure will be sent home on Thursday, February 28th. As always, any info related to ALL (brochure, registration link, scholarship link, general info) is on the ALL tab of the PTOwebsite. Need based scholarships are available.
Dunking for Diversity
Get ready for some 3 on 3 basketball! Longfellow's Dunking for Diversity event will take place on Saturday, March 16th from 9 am- 12 pm. Recruit your friends for a team or come and get picked up as a free agent by another team. Cost is $5/person and please bring a light and dark shirt. The winning team gets at $50 Scratch Kitchen Gift Card. Click here for more details.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, March 7th- Longfellow Community Meeting
Tuesday, March 12th- Spellling Bee
Thursday, March 14th- Red Carpet Recital in the Auditoirum
Stacey Gibson Lecture at Irving School
Saturday, March 16th- Dunking for Diversity
Tuesday, March 19th- Spring Picture Day
Science Fair
Friday, March 22nd- Opera for the Young
Mon, 3/25- Fri, 3/29- Spring Break
Tuesday, April 2nd- No School, Teacher Institute Day
Monday, April 8th- D97 Choral Festival @ OPRF High School from 7- 8:30 pm