Week at a Glance
Monday, May 5 - Friday, May 9: Teacher Appreciation Week
Monday, May 5: District 203 Board Meeting - 7 PM
Wednesday, May 7: National School Nurse Day
Tuesday, May 13: Home & School Meeting - MPR - 9 AM
Thursday, May 15: Fifth Grade Fine Arts Night - 7 PM
Sunday, May 18: National Speech Pathologist Day
Monday, May 19: District 203 Board Meeting - 7 PM
Tuesday, May 20: Kindergarten Music Program
Wednesday, May 21: 5th Grade Pool Party, 4 - 6 PM
Thursday, May 22: Prairie Day
Friday, May 23: Prairie Day Rain Date
Monday, May 26: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, May 27: Wheel of Wisdom Assembly
Tuesday, May 27: Last Day of School; Fifth Grade Clap Out
We are reaching out to remind families with incoming kindergarten students to complete their registration as soon as possible. Currently, we have received registrations from only 53 families out of an anticipated 80 kindergarten students. Many of the families that have not registered their kindergarten student have children that currently attend Prairie.
Securing accurate enrollment numbers is crucial for planning class sections and ensuring a smooth start to the school year. Your prompt registration will greatly assist us in preparing adequate resources and staffing for all our incoming students.
It is time for the annual End-of-Year Staff Gift Card Program. This program is an easy way to say "Thank You!" to our Prairie staff members who have been working so hard this year.
Participation in this program is completely optional, but if you decide to give in this manner, you simply click on the link below to our website, find the staff members you would like to thank with a gift, and enter the gift amount in increments of $5. You can use the “Shop All” button to filter by category; this helps find the names of support professionals who help in each grade level and department.
Follow this link to participate: https://endofyearstaffgiftcardprogram.cheddarup.com
Before the last day of school, staff members will be able to have the individual gifts converted into eGift cards of their choosing from retailers on the RaiseRight website, as well as Downtown Naperville. They will be presented with the names of the families who participated and the collective amount of their gifts. Individual family donation amounts remain confidential, and Prairie Home & School receives a percentage back from the purchased gift cards. *Please note: Staff members receive the ENTIRE amount donated.*
The deadline to participate is Wednesday, May 7th at 9 PM. Due to the time required to process these orders, there will be no exceptions to this deadline.
Thank you in advance for your consideration, generosity, and participation!
If you have any questions, please contact Christal Bagel, Molly Simnick and Audrey Pollard at prairiestaffgiftcards@gmail.com.
Prairie Day is our school’s field day, and it’s known by students and families as the BEST DAY OF THE YEAR! To make this event a success, we need your support! It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the school year with our amazing Prairie community. There are many volunteer opportunities, and your help is greatly appreciated!
Prairie Day is Thursday, May 22 and our Rain Date is Friday, May 23. We need lots of volunteers for both days.
Class Schedules:
K-2nd: 9:00 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.
3rd-5th: 10:00 a.m. - 1:35 p.m.
Lunch (all grades): 11:40 a.m. -12:20 p.m.
DAY-OF VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES (including the rain date) - SIGN UP HERE
This includes full or partial day shifts and helping with setup and take down.
STATION CAPTAINS - SIGN UP HERE
In this role, you'll lead the pre-planned activity at your station and coordinate with your volunteers for each class/group that comes through. Please make sure you have availability for the duration of the event on both days (May 22 and our rain date, May 23).
EQUIPMENT DONATIONS - SIGN UP HERE
We need to borrow your gear! Lend us your tents, coolers and lawn games for the day.
HELP FEED OUR VOLUNTEERS - SIGN UP HERE
Can’t attend Prairie Day but still want to lend a hand? Help the Prairie Day team feed our awesome volunteers by contributing chips, desserts, drinks, etc.
Finally, if you want to get involved but aren’t available for the listed options, please email our Prairie Day Co-Chairs Brittany Piszynski, Julie Belloli and Blaine Kosek.
Thank you in advance for helping make Prairie Day a blast for our students!
Hey 5th Grade Families!
We’ve got some exciting events coming up to celebrate the end of the year, and we want YOU to be part of it! Here’s what’s happening:
Fine Arts Night
When: May 15, 7PM
Where: Prairie Gymnasium
Pool Party
When: Wednesday, May 21, 4-6PM
Where: Huntington Swim & Tennis Club
Rain Date: Thursday, May 22, 4-6pm
Clap Out
When: May 27, Arrive by 2:05 PM
Where: Prairie - Door 14
We’re so excited to celebrate all of these milestones with you and your kids. Can’t wait to see you there!
Cheers,
Megan Pagnucci and Ali McKenna
5th Grade Special Projects Chairs
The Kindergarten classes learned about needs and wants in Social Studies and Phonics. In Writing, they are learning that writers write to make the world a better place. They know that all people need food, but not all people have food. They are organizing a Food Drive from May 5th – 9th and will be delivering the food to the West Suburban Food Pantry on May 12th. Please send non-perishable items to the Kindergarten Classrooms. Please see the flyer for more information. Thank you for helping us make a difference!
Thursday, May 1st is National School Principals' Day, and Prairie Home & School is recognizing Mr. Zallis with a gift. If you see Mr. Zallis, remember to wish him a Happy School Principals' Day and thank him for all he does for Prairie. If you'd like to send him a note of appreciation, you can contact him at bzallis@naperville203.org
We’re looking for a few helping hands to update our school marquee for the 25-26 school year. If you’ve got a few minutes each week and don’t mind planning the message or arranging some letters, we’d love your help! Come be part of the team that keeps our school spirit shining bright for everyone to see!
If interested, please contact Carolyn Buckingham at prairieschoolvp@gmail.com. Thank you!
Mrs. Dunne, one of Prairie's amazing social workers, presented on childhood development and milestones at this week's Home & School meeting. You can view her presentation here. She also made this Developmental Stages Chart for quick reference.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Mrs. Dunne!
We’re excited to share that one talented student from our school has their artwork featured on a notecard in this set of 23 beautiful, limited-edition notecards being offered by the Naperville Education Foundation. You can check it out here!
Purchasing a set is the perfect way to show your support for Naperville 203 students and celebrate students’ artistic talent. Don’t wait—sets will be on sale for a limited time. See the student-designed cards and purchase a set—they make the perfect gift for Mother’s Day or Teacher Appreciation Week!
Here are the details:
● A set of 23 cards with envelopes
● Each card in the set has a different design
● Student artwork on the front
● Blank inside
● Artist information on the back
● Notecard dimensions: 4.24” x 5.5”
Sets will be available for pick-up on May 2nd. Purchase a set today!
Contact nef@naperville203.org with any questions.
The Naperville Public Library is hosting an engaging evening with Kate Hannigan, author of "The League of Secret Heroes" series and "The Detective’s Assistant," one of this year's District 203 Battle of the Books selections. This special event will take place on Wednesday, April 30th from 6 PM - 7 PM at Nichols Library. The event will include a discussion followed by a book signing. For more information, click here.
The district’s Virtual Backpack is an environmentally friendly way to share information that aligns with the district's educational goals and mission, instead of distributing physical flyers to students.
Click here to learn more about events and programming in our area!
The district’s weekly newsletter has all the info you need to stay up-to-date on district-wide events, initiatives and more.
Check out this week’s newsletter and catch up on all the district news!
Please contact Carolyn Buckingham (prairieschoolvp@gmail.com) with any questions, changes or submissions for the WAAG. Submissions for the following week's WAAG are due by noon on the prior Wednesday.
Here are some links you may find useful: