Clow School News

• Important Upcoming Dates
• Thanksgiving Wishes
• Parent/Teacher Conference Reminders
• Spirit of Giving During the Winter Holiday Season
• Student Council Food Drive
• Cold Weather Reminders
• District 204 Volunteer Program Information
• LMC Birthday Book Club
• School Hours
• Reporting Student Absences & Late Arrival Procedures
• School Lunch Menus
• Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
• Arrival & Dismissal Map
• Information on MyStop Mobile App

Thursday, November 21st - Parent/Teacher Conferences (4:30 - 7:50 pm)

Monday, November 25th - Parent/Teacher Conferences (8:00 am - 3:00 pm, 4:30 - 7:50 pm)

November 25th - 29th - No School (Thanksgiving Break)

Monday, December 2nd - School Resumes

Wednesday, December 4th - PTA Meeting (9:30 am)

Friday, December 6th - School Spirit Day (wear green/gold, Clow Spirit Wear)

Wednesday, December 11th - Clow Chorus Concert

Friday, December 20th - PTA Winter Classroom Parties

December 23rd - January 3rd - No School (Winter Break)

Monday, January 6th - School Resumes

The month of November provides a nice opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to those around us. On behalf of the staff at Clow Elementary, I sincerely thank you for sharing your incredible children with us. We are fortunate to serve in such a kind, generous, and supportive community.

As a reminder, there is no school for students Monday through Friday of next week. Staff will be in the building on Monday for parent-teacher conferences. The office will be closed Tuesday through Friday. We wish you and your family well as you enjoy time with one another next week.

Warm Regards,

--Katie Bennett

Our staff looks forward to meeting with you for a parent-teacher conference either later this evening (Thursday, November 21st) or on Monday, November 25th. If you have not yet scheduled a conference and need to do so, please reach out to the school office as soon as possible so that we may assist you.

Parents can now see their student’s conferences in ParentVUE on the Student Info tab in the Other Data section. For parents with multiple students, change the student focus to see the next student’s schedule.

When you come to the school for your conference(s), you are welcome to go directly to the classroom. There is no need for you to sign in at the school office. School staff will be near the main door to greet you. Please plan to enter/exit through Door 1.

For your reference, room numbers for our classrooms are:

• Kindergarten Miller - Room 109
• Kindergarten Notariano - Room 112
• Kindergarten Rosanova - Room 108
• 1st Grade McLearen - Room 140
• 1st Grade Mulacek - Room 141
• 1st Grade Stipp - Room 113
• 2nd Grade Hogan - Room 102
• 2nd Grade Siegler - Room 101
• 3rd Grade Berta - Room 209
• 3rd Grade Mackowiak - Room 208
• 3rd Grade Park - Room 210
• 4th Grade Andrews - Room 201
• 4th Grade Street - Room 211
• 5th Grade Joshi - Room 202
• 5th Grade Vicencio - Room 204
• 5th Grade Waller - Room 203
• RISE Fasel - Room 153
• RISE Guleserian - Room 155
• RISE Hemmingway - Room 152
• RISE Johnson - Room 154

The Holidays are quickly approaching and Clow School would like to extend the spirit of giving by offering families and staff an opportunity to contribute a gift to families who may not otherwise be able to provide gifts for their children.

During the months of November and December, a Giving Tree with snowman ornaments will be up in the main office. Each ornament on the tree will list a wish that would be greatly appreciated by a child. If you would like to contribute, please stop by the office to grab an ornament. Ornaments will be placed on the tree for evening conferences on Thursday, November 21st. If you won’t be in the building, but would like to participate, please feel free to contact Mrs. Berck or Mrs. Wenman and we can send an ornament home with your child. If your preference would be to donate a gift card to a family, we will also gladly accept them as donations.

When you have purchased the item(s) listed on the ornament, the gifts should be wrapped and the ornament specifying the contents should be securely attached to the gift. Wrapped gifts can be dropped off under the Giving Tree and should be returned to school by Thursday, December 12th.

Thank you so much for keeping the holiday spirit alive at Clow!

Our donations are overflowing this week! Thanks to all of the families who have supported our food drive. We will still accept donations through Monday of next week. Please see the flyer for preferred items that they need. Loaves and Fishes Most Needed Donation List.

New this year, families also have the opportunity to donate virtually at our virtual food drive link. If you donate virtually, add Clow Elementary School as the company. Thanks for your support!

We are excited to celebrate our students' generosity this week with a "Pajama Day" tomorrow, Friday, November 22nd!

It's been a whirlwind of a weather week, and so typical of Illinois! Winter weather has arrived! Hats, scarves, gloves, and boots will all help to keep our students warm as they arrive and leave school each day. As a reminder, throughout the winter months, students will participate in outdoor recess when the conditions allow. The temperature and/or wind chill must be greater than 5 degrees and we also review the condition of the blacktop areas for ice, etc. to ensure that students can safely play outdoors on that day. Please anticipate that students will be outside for recess on MOST days!

Thank you for helping to make sure that students have what they need for the upcoming cold winter days.

District 204 is pleased to announce the launch of a district-wide volunteer tracking program using the Raptor Technologies system, in alignment with our Strategic Plan. This program aims to promote and recruit volunteers across the district to support areas such as Boosters, Fine Arts, LMC, PTA, and IPPC events.

All volunteers must complete the district's original volunteer form and a new online application via the Raptor Technologies system. Upload the original volunteer form into the online application. Access the forms on our Volunteer Program webpage. This process ensures consistency across all district schools.

If you have questions about the program, please contact Jeannie Dina, Assistant Director of Community Relations, at jeannie_dina@ipsd.org.

Are you looking for a great way to celebrate your child’s birthday at school? Whether your child already had a birthday this school year, or it is coming up... Clow LMC has the answer! You can donate a book to Clow’s LMC to honor your student AND help build our library collection!

Here are two ways to participate:

1. Go to Amazon.com. Use the following link to access our wishlist:

https://a.co/3hgh2n9. You will find books to add to our library collection to purchase for the LMC. The book(s) will be sent directly to our school from Amazon. It's that easy!

2. Fill out the Birthday Book Club permission slip that came home and return to school at your earliest convenience. If you have misplaced that form, please send an email to nicole_fader@ipsd.org letting me know your student is able to participate. Shortly thereafter, you will see a $15 fee in PushCoin. Your student will be able to come to the LMC and select a brand-new book that we are eager to add to our collection!

With either choice, I will add your student’s picture inside the front cover of the book commemorating the donation and hang his/her picture on the wall of the LMC.

Thank you for considering this program! If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me @ nicole_fader@ipsd.org.

• Regular school hours are 9:05 am – 3:35 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students may begin arriving each of these days at 8:50 am.

• Wednesday school hours are 9:15 am – 3:35 pm. This late start allows time for staff to engage in professional development opportunities. All arrival procedures, student supervision, and bus service will be delayed by 10 minutes every Wednesday of the school year.

If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please remember to call the school office to report the absence (630-428-6060, press option 3). Please also share the reason for the absence, as our attendance system requires that a reason for the absence be entered. If you report the absence on voicemail, please include both your child's name and the reason for the absence. If our school nurse should need additional information, she will reach out to you directly.

When students arrive to school on time, they are able to follow their classroom routine and get the day off to a great start. We do understand that situations may arise that can impact a child arriving to school on time. If you know your child will be arriving to school late on any given day, due to an appointment or other obligation, we encourage you to make the classroom teacher aware of the expected late arrival as well as ask that you contact our school office. Students arriving late to school should come to the front, main entrance doors. A parent/guardian must come in with the student to sign him/her into the office and share the reason for late arrival. Students should not be dropped off without an adult. Thank you for your assistance in getting your child(ren) to school on time each day!