April 2025 EMSD Newsletter

• Bowlesburg Girls on the Run: Inspiring Joy, Health, and Confidence!
• EMSD: Growing Well-Rounded Learners - Elementary PE & Science Spotlight
• Coding, Collaborating, and Problem Solving!
• Boosting Wellness, One Step at a Time!
• Parent University
• Digital Backpack

• School Breakfast and Lunch Menus
• April/May Calendar of Events

Since September 2016, Bowlesburg Elementary has been empowering young girls through the incredible after-school program, Girls on the Run (GOTR)! This physical activity-based positive youth development program is designed to inspire 3rd to 8th-grade girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident. Through a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running, GOTR at Bowlesburg has become a fun part of our school community. Each year, we proudly host both a fall and spring session of Girls on the Run, with approximately 15 - 20 girls per session. Meeting twice a week for 90 minutes over an eight to ten-week period, our coaches guide the girls through engaging lessons that focus on essential life skills, including:

• Making positive choices
• Finding and embracing our differences and the differences of others
• Showing gratitude through our words and actions
• Learning to stand up for ourselves and others
• Setting meaningful personal goals

At each practice, the girls reinforce their understanding of core values and set a running goal for the day. This approach culminates in completing a 5k race. This year, our Bowlesburg team is excited to participate in The Cities Spring Classic on April 19th! The race begins in Moline and takes the girls on a 5k route across the I-74 bridge to Bettendorf and back. Each participant will receive a special GOTR shirt to wear with pride, a goodie bag filled with fun items, and a well-deserved medal at the finish line.

A vital component of the Girls on the Run program is the Community Impact project. At the end of each season, the girls work together to identify a need in our community and develop a project to make a positive difference. Past projects have included:

• Cleaning up trash around the Bowlesburg school grounds
• Creating thoughtful cards for residents at a local nursing home
• Donating much-needed supplies to Gilda's Club
• Making art packets for children and families at a children's hospital
• Sending care packages to support troops stationed overseas
• Showing appreciation by making cards and taking treats to the Silvis Police station

Girls on the Run at Bowlesburg Elementary is more than just a running club; it's a program that builds strong, confident, and compassionate young women. We are incredibly proud of the impact this program has had on our students and the wider community and look forward to many more successful seasons!

In EMSD we believe in nurturing well-rounded students! In middle school, students explore a wide range of topics through a rich selection of exploratory courses, including Project Lead the Way, Art, Music/Band, Languages and Cultures, Podcasting, and more. We're committed to developing our elementary students' experiences too through engaging specials such as PE, Music, Library, and Project Lead the Way classes. Over the next two months this section will focus on what our elementary students are introduced to during specials throughout their years in elementary school, giving you a peek into their exciting learning journey. This month will focus on PE and Science!

Our elementary program is unique by offering science as a dedicated specialist subject. This ensures that students learn from teachers who are not only passionate about science but also possess specialized training in science instruction. Throughout their elementary years, students will engage in a dynamic curriculum featuring Project Lead the Way units. These units provide hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences in life science, light and sound, properties of matter, earth's systems, coding, and robotics, and so much more! PLTW fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A big shout-out to our rock star science teachers for bringing science alive for our students: Greg Wilken, Jacquie Shemek, Jen Manis, and Brent Harper!

In Physical Education (PE), students are introduced to a wide variety of ways to move their bodies, creating a lifelong appreciation for activity. Students engage in a variety of activities that promote holistic development. For example, the drum unit not only explores beat and rhythm, but also encourages whole-body coordination and expression. Throughout their five years in elementary school, students develop essential motor skills. They refine skills like throwing, hitting, dribbling, and catching various balls and objects, and also work on skills such as running, skipping and balancing. Beyond physical benefits, PE develops social skills through teamwork and cooperation, and builds self-confidence through personal achievement. It's a space where students learn to move, play, and grow, laying the foundation for a healthy and active lifestyle. Huge kudos to our amazing PE teachers for getting our kids moving: Tina Docherty, Kyle Chapman, Alexus Coleman, and Tim Vyncke!

Students in Ms. McDermott's 4th grade class at Bowlesburg spent time coding, collaborating, and problem solving to fly drones before spring break. Students learned about how drones are used in multiple career fields and how the content areas we learn about in school connect. Tasked with multiple missions, teams worked together to code their drones. More than once, students found what they had coded was not going to do the trick and they had to go back to the drawing board to find a solution. Each time a team was able to solve the problem together, they felt pride and excitement. Check out some of the students in action via the images above and below!

Our district's School Wellness Committees are dedicated groups at each school, focused on promoting the health and well-being of students, staff, and the community. These committees, made up of school staff, and community partners, work to implement our district's wellness policy at the school level. This year, the committee organized a district-wide staff Step Challenge to encourage physical activity and healthy habits. We're thrilled to announce its resounding success! Over three weeks, 70 participants collectively logged nearly 12 million steps! This incredible achievement highlights our commitment to wellness.

A huge thank you to our sponsors at Community Health Care for donating the Amazon gift cards and Lohman Companies for the Apple Watch to our winners and lucky steppers!

Check out the wide variety of offerings for the 2024-2025 school year from authors, speakers, and other experts by clicking the image. These are learning opportunities for parents/guardians are sponsored by the Glenbard Parent Series (GPS) and offered virtually via Zoom.

April 09 - 1/2 Day Early Release (GV 10:55, Elem 11:30, Early Learning Center -No School)

April 18 - No Attendance

May 07 - 1/2 Day Early Release (GV 10:55, Elem 11:30, Early Learning Center -No School)

May 26 - Memorial Day (No Attendance)

May 28 - Last Day of School