The Patton Post
Friday, November 18th
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE - NOVEMBER 18th
What a fun week we had before we head off for Thanksgiving Break - the snowy flakes certainly made the week leading up to Thanksgiving more festive and fun! Everyone seems very excited to spend some time at home relaxing and having fun with family. Report cards will be coming to you through your email today. We had a fantastic time celebrating the end of the trimester as a whole school today and enjoyed looking back and remembering some of our biggest LOL moments of the year! I have included this fun video below so you can also see some of the fun things that have happened at Patton so far this year! We hope you enjoy seeing some of our pictures in the video below.
Remember there is no school November 21st - 25th! We hope you all enjoy the entire week and have a wonderful break! We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on MONDAY NOVEMBER 28th!
I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and hope you have a wonderful holiday.
Ellie Chin
A Message From the School Nurse - Influenza Awareness
During the winter months, influenza is a common occurrence and can be severe. Flu is a respiratory illness caused by a virus and the symptoms can include:
- A temperature of 100.0 degrees or above. Following any illness, the temperature should remain normal for a period of 24hrs without fever reducing medication before the child returns to school.
- Symptoms that involve the whole body such as muscle pain or body aches
- Headache
- Sore throat and/or swollen glands
- Tiredness/lack of appetite
- Nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Do not send children to school until 24hrs have elapsed since the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea.
- Coughing, sniffing or runny nose.
There are several ways in which you can protect yourself and your children from influenza and communicable diseases. Please reinforce these healthy habits with your children:
- Good hand washing, especially before eating and always after using the bathroom.
- Getting plenty of rest helps avoid stress to the immune system.
- Eating three nutritious meals each day enhances our immune system.
- Not sharing food or drinks prevents the spread of germs.
- Covering mouths when coughing or sneezing and disposing of tissues in a lined wastebasket helps prevent the spread of infections.
- Avoid close contact with ill persons
- Frequently clean and disinfect surfaces that are high-touch areas
- IDPH recommends individuals to get the seasonal influenza vaccine
Please contact me, Lauren Pecora, at lpecora@sd25.org if you have any questions or concerns
ABC/25 Foundation
If your family is not yet a member of the ABC/25 Foundation, please consider joining today by visiting abc25.org/donate. Patton is currently at 21%, needing only 13 more households to join to meet the 25% goal. Once a school reaches 25% membership, that school gets an additional $2500! Can you help us meet the goal?
In previous years the grants we have received have helped provide various materials for our school and classrooms. A few examples include the following:
- Items for the sensory room - bean bag chairs, trampolines, weighted blankets and sensory lights.
- A new sound system for the commons - this ensures our musical shows sound spectacular and is used by the wider community when they borrow our space.
- Hokki Stools for classrooms - these help our students stay focused in class. If you don't know what these are, your child can tell you.
New this year are member benefits! Learn more at www.ABC25.org
All students of participating families will be entered in a drawing to win a ride to school from the Arlington Heights Police Department! All memberships dues go directly towards grants awarded to the teachers and classrooms of District 25.
Patton would truly love your help in reaching our goal. We appreciate your consideration.
Parking for School Pick-up
I need to ask all families for their full partnership and cooperation in keeping our students safe. Please be mindful of the parking signage on the streets surrounding Patton. Please do not park in areas where there is signage indicating that it is a no parking zone.
We know there are many students using the path that exits near Maude and Harvard. Please do not park on the streets where parking is prohibited as it impacts visibility for students checking for oncoming traffic as they prepare to cross the street. We have noticed an increased amount of cars parking on both sides of Maude, very close to the crosswalk. This makes it very difficult for children and their families to see if it is safe to cross. It also makes it very difficult for drivers to see children as they emerge from between parked cars.
Parents have reported experiencing or witnessing dangerous moments where our children have been at risk of being hurt. Some of our neighbors are also finding it a challenge to navigate in and out of their driveways.
We have notified the Arlington Heights Police Department and asked for their assistance in helping to keep our students safe. You may have seen them there yesterday. They will be periodically checking this area to help identify ways that we can better promote the safety of our students.
Thank you very much in advance for your partnership and cooperation on this front - we know everyone wants to keep all of our students safe, that no one wants to cause an accident, and that we want to show respect and consideration to our neighbors.
Patton Spreads Joy Event - Friday December 2nd
Our wonderful PTA have organized this lovely event for us! We are excited about the opportunity to spread joy and give to others as a school community. We hope many of you can attend! You can RSVP for the event here.
Outdoor Recess
All Patton 1st - 5th graders have recess every day. Since we can count on chilly, snowy days with December approaching, we ask that you:
- Keep an eye on the forecast and have students dress accordingly. We had many Panthers today wishing they had worn gloves or a hat.
- Please label your coats, hats, gloves, boots, and snow pants. Our lost and found is full of unclaimed items. It grows daily and labeling items will significantly increase the likelihood of these items finding their way back to you.
Please note that if a student would like to play in the snow at recess they will need to wear both snow pants AND have snow boots - if they only have snow boots, they will have to stay on the blacktop. Please help your child select waterproof boots if they want to play in the snow. Some of our students have adorable boots, but they end up with soggy, cold toes following recess.
Gloves, coats, and hats are also needed for kids who want to play in the snow as it does get cold when the children are out for an extended period of time.
We recommend that you send your child with an extra bag to hold all their winter gear. Reusable bags seem to be a great option and many students are successful with getting all their gear out and back into the bag when recess is over. Please do remember to send your child with shoes to change into if they wear their boots to school.
It may be tempting for your child to leave their snow gear at school if they don't want to bring it back and forth each day. However, the wet snow pants will sit in the bag and not be able to dry overnight so we do tell students to bring them back and forth daily so they can dry at home overnight.
Please also make sure your child knows that the winter gear you drop them off in on a morning are what they should wear out to recess.
LOST AND FOUND
Our Lost and Found continues to fill up - it would be wonderful if we could get it cleared out before the winter break. Please have your child come and take a look or feel free to come in and take a peek!
Thanksgiving - Thurs 24th November
PTA BOOK FAIR - THANK YOU!
Recognize a Staff Member - Give a Pat on the Back to a Patton Staff Member
Enormous thanks to all who have filled this out already this year. Teachers have been so encouraged to receive these kind and heartfelt messages.
Patton teachers and staff work so hard to support our students on a daily basis. We invite you to fill out this google form if you would like to recognize a staff member or a team for their hard work. We will pass on the good news to them. Thank you in advance for sending an encouraging word as we know it will mean so much to our staff. Staff who have received recognition have been so appreciative. It is such a wonderful way to brighten their day!
UPCOMING EVENTS/IMPORTANT DATES
MON 21st - FRI 25th NOV - NO SCHOOL
TUES 29th NOV - RULER Parent Information Night - 7pm
WEDS 30th NOV - 5th Grade Musical Kickoff Event - 7pm
FRI 2nd DEC - Patton Spreads Joy Event (PTA sponsored)
Please be sure to click on the Patton PTA website button above for information about other upcoming events
PATTON ELEMENTARY
Main Line: (847) 398-4288
Fax #: (847) 394-6681
Absence Procedure
Twitter: @AHSD25Patton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AHSD25