In the Groove!

We Show Cougar Pride When We Give FIVE!

1. Follow directions

2. Use kind words

3. Keep my hands and feet to myself

4. Make safe choices

5. DO MY BEST!

A Look Back...

Family Reading Night.....what can I say??  We had a HUGE crowd!  It was very exciting to see all of the kids and families ready for a night of reading fun!  The first session was a BLAST, until the power went down...Thank you to everyone who offered to help during this situation and for giving your supportive words for the fun you had been having thus far.  

Our Cougar Pride Assembly this week focused on keeping hands and feet to ourselves.  We discussed the importance of this expected behavior.  When we keep our hands and feet to ourselves we are following directions, making safe choices, and doing our best!  Thus, this is a very important Cougar FIVE rule to follow.  Here are some dinner conversation starters to link our work around this expected behavior to your home discussions:

• Why is it so important to keep our hands and feet to ourselves?  Which Cougar FIVE expected behaviors does this go against when we act against others with our bodies?
• How does it look to keep our hands and feet to ourselves...
• on the bus? (Very important!  We want our drivers' eyes on the road!)
• in our bus lines? (Goofing/playing sometimes leads to hurting someone)
• at recess? (Safety and respect for others)
• in the cafeteria? 
• in the classroom?
• Discuss that at school we have a school and classroom "family" and it is important that we always respect one another in a way that shows kindness and caring. 
• Discuss strategies that may help your child to solve problems in a positive way if they feel frustrated.  Also discuss that sometimes playing/goofing around in ways where our hands and feet are on others can easily get carried away and lead to accidents.

Third Grade Visit to Archer School

Third grade visited Archer School this week to discover what life was life for students in a one room schoolhouse. They were able to compare their own lives to those of children in the past. One thing is for sure: they are glad we don't have "dunce" caps anymore!

Our annual toy drive has begun! To support this worthy cause please remember to bring a new, unwrapped toy or toys to your child's Parent Teacher conferences, or drop them off anytime between now and December 2nd. The Marines visited our 5th Grade Student Council group last week to kick off the Toys for Tots drive. Click here to see the Local (Buffalo Grove) Chicago Tribune article that featured this visit! We are so proud that the Marines visiting said we were the largest donating school in the area. Thanks to all for your generosity! Thank you to our PTO for bringing this opportunity to our community.

In last week's message I touched on our Parent Night, Understanding Your Child's Report Card, held last week on November 9th. Click here for the Power Point presentation that captures the key highlights reviewed. A podcast is being created that will walk you through the information. When it is ready I'll post it in this message for you to access, as well.


Enjoy a Thanksgiving treat from Ms. Fryer's classroom!  Click here to see the local Chicago SunTimes article featuring the kids' Thanksgiving turkey recipes!  

A Look Ahead...

Bernie's Book Bank Drive

At Family Reading Night we kicked off our drive to collect books for Bernie's Book Bank. The drive runs from November 14th - 30th. Bins for collection are in the front hall waiting to be filled up with your books. Books maybe used (gently) and will be put directly in the hands of kids who need books. We've set a school goal of 4,000 books to be collected by November 30th. We will gladly accept books as you come to the school for conferences. Keep 'em comin'! Thank you!! Click here to enjoy a video clip of the great things Bernie's Book Bank does for kids.

A message from Paul Louis - Director of Curriculum and Assessment

Dear Parents,

As you know, our first Trimester Report Cards go home today for students in grades 1-5.  Our Kindergarten Report Cards are being provided to you during your scheduled Parent/Teacher Conference.  We are very pleased to share our newly developed standards based report cards with you as we believe that they clearly communicate student achievement of grade level specific learning targets and student work habits.   We have worked hard over the last weeks and months to prepare for these new report cards.  Our teachers have been amazing throughout this entire process from gathering information about each of the learning targets listed on the report card and building consistency across their grade level to learning the new process of inputting grades into the program.  

Please understand that with any new system, we may find a few glitches or issues during this first round of Report Cards.  Some we may not have been able to anticipate until the entire process was completed.  We will work hard to correct or improve any of the issues over the coming months and into next year.  We appreciate your patience and understanding through this process.  Please feel free to direct any questions comments to your building principal or to me directly (plouis@kcsd96.org).  Please remember to fill out the Parent/Teacher Conference Evaluation Form provided to you during your conferences.  Your feedback will be used as we continue to make improvements to the system.

2nd Grade Music Concert

Our 2nd Grade is proud to present "Stone Soup" on Thursday, December 1st @ 7:00 p.m. in the small gym. Call time for this wonderful concert is 6:40 p.m. in the cafeteria. Please plan on joining our talented 2nd graders.

Human Growth and Development: Attention Parents of all 3rd, 4th, and 5th Graders

Be sure to look back at last week's Principal's Message if you missed this information. Human Growth and Development is coming up in January for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. We like for parents to be fully informed to know what is coming up. This is also the topic of our December 2nd Keepin' Up With Kildeer parent/principal meeting, which is from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Roller Skating Unit In P.E.

Our roller skating program will be starting on Monday, December 5th for all grade levels. We surely want this to be a safe and fun activity for all of our students and plan on taking every necessary precaution to make that happen. We are so grateful to our wonderful PTO for sponsoring this program for all of our Kildeer students! It is one of the most popular units we teach!

All students are welcome to wear their own helmets, elbow pads, knee pads and wrist guards, and are encouraged to do so. (If your child brings a helmet from home, please make sure that it is adjusted properly for your child’s head.) Any equipment brought from home may be kept in your child’s locker and brought to the gym on our “skating days”. If your child does not have this equipment, we will gladly supply it for them. Because we share helmets, we tie a bandanna around each child’s head and these are a “one time use” and we launder them daily. We have enough for every child that needs one, but you may supply your own if you choose to do so. Knee pads and elbow pads go over their clothing so they should not be a problem. Because many children wear low cut socks, and the shared skates go up the ankle, we ask that your child wear long socks on our skating days. This will also eliminate any blisters from skates rubbing against a child’s ankle. If your child just wants to leave one pair in their locker, that is fine as well. Each child will also be required to wear wrist guards while skating and the skating company sends enough for every child to use. Once again, it you choose to have your child wear their own wrist guards, that is fine!

We are excited to be starting this program and want to reassure you that we are taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of all of our students.

Thanks so much for your help. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Mrs. Blair, Mr. Emde, Mrs. Lehtman and Mrs. Smith

Reminder: Recess

Weather permitting, students go outside every day for recess. Please make sure your child brings a coat/jacket and anything else he/she may need for the increasingly colder weather.

Forms

Click here for access to archived forms.

Calendar Highlights for Next Week

This is a brief look at what's ahead. Please be sure to follow D96 ENews and our Kildeer PTO Newsletter!

• Monday, November 21st - early release day @ 2:00 p.m.
• Monday, November 21st - Conferences 5-7 p.m.
  
• Tuesday, November 22nd - Conferences 2-7 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 23rd - No School
  
• Thursday, November 24th - No School, Thanksgiving
• Friday, November 25th - No School
• Thursday, December 1st - 2nd Grade Music Concert @ 7 p.m.
• Friday, December 2nd - Keepin' Up With Kildeer @ 9:30 a.m.

PTO Highlight of the Week

Please bring in Toy Drive donations during Parent/Teacher conferences. The Salvation Army and children truly appreciate it.

Don’t forget, a little evening fun at Orbit Skating Rink in Palatine on Wednesday, November 30th from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Don't forget to check out our PTO Newsletter, where something exciting is always going on. Thanks to our PTO for all of your support!