The Central Scoop
April 20, 2018
From the Principal's Desk...
Dear Parents,
It has been a pleasure seeing many of you in conferences these last two days. We all enjoy sharing your children's achievements and discussing their goals for future success.
Looking ahead, the Green Team and PTA are proud to present this year’s Earth Week! Earth Day is on Sunday, April 22nd, but we will be celebrating all week long here at Central. Starting Monday, each day will have something different for Central students to take part in to celebrate and learn about the environment!
Please pay particular attention to Central's "Walk to School" event which includes an Earth Day Bingo game to play on the way to school. The student Green Team will be sending home a BINGO sheet for each student prior to the "Walk" so all students will have a sheet to use as they walk/ride/scooter to school on Wednesday. The Green Team students will also be passing out Earth Day stickers to all participants at the front door before school.
Thanks to the creativity of our student-led Green Team, there is a new activity this year. The Green Team will be distributing an Earth Day gift. Every student in school will receive a bookmark that is made out of "seed paper." The bookmark can be put directly into the dirt and a few weeks of sun and water should produce some wildflowers! The bookmarks will be given to classroom teachers to pass out to students. If you do NOT want your child to receive a bookmark for any reason, please contact your child's classroom teacher.
Of course we’ll also be reducing, reusing and recycling all week long! Check out the attached flyer for more information about each day! The Green Team is excited to help Central celebrate Earth Day 2018!
Sincerely,
- Becky
Rebecca Littmann
Principal
Central Elementary School
School & District Announcements and Reminders...
Upcoming Board Meeting
The monthly Board of Education meeting is Monday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM at the MEC. Below are a couple of topics that may be of interest. If you can’t make the meeting, you can view it live or later, either on the District website or on Channel 6. Highlights of the meeting will be emailed and posted online within a day or two.
- Student Recognition
- HMS Assistant Principal announcement
- Grades 5-8 Related Arts Course Progression
- Kindergarten Enrichment
- After School Programming at HMS/WJHS
Friday Early Dismissal Changes For Next Year
We are initiating a few changes for next school year regarding Early Dismissal on Fridays. We know this may mean some additional planning for a handful of parents, so we wanted to give you plenty of notice.
With the start of the 2018-2019 school year, 2:15pm-3:15pm supervision for our Friday Early Dismissal will be offered only to families who meet one of following criteria:
Your child attends the Park District After School Recreation Program and takes the 3:15pm bus from Central School to the Wilmette Park District Recreation Center.
You have a child in grades 1-4 who has a sibling in PM kindergarten.
Your child participates in a Friday After School Park District 3:15pm club at your home school (Central).
As we did last year, we will send out material in the summer for you to sign up your child, if eligible, for the Friday supervision.
Attention Kindergarten Families for 2018-19
It's time to enroll for kindergarten! All kindergarteners must be enrolled for the 2018-19 school year. Please visit this link for the required forms and information: Kindergarten Enrollment Time! Then please attend our "Kindergarten Orientation" on Wednesday, April 25th at 6:30 PM in our auditorium for adults only. Both new and continuing parents are welcome.
Online Registration Required for ALL Students
You should have received an email from the district office asking you to complete online registration for the 2018-19 school year. Please take a few minutes to complete the registration process. Once this has been completed, your child can be assigned to a classrom for the 2018-2019 school year.
PE Staff Announcement
Ms. Carol Fritz will be taking a few weeks off of work for a medical leave. She wants you all to know she is “ok” and misses her students. She looks forward to returning soon. In the meantime, Ms. Sarah Soleiman will be Mrs. Fritz's substitute. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and flexibility for the next few weeks.
Summer Enrichment Program
Don't miss out on Summer Enrichment Classes! There is still time to register for Summer Enrichment! Late registration is open until May 4th! During this time there will be a $9.00 late registration fee per class. Visit www.wilmette39.org for more information.
Transition to 5th Grade Parent Night:
Attention all 4th grade parents! Please join us on Wednesday, May 2nd at 7pm in the HMS auditorium for a 4th to 5th grade transition question and answer session. The panel is made up of current HMS parents along with HMS Administration. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Cafeteria Volunteers Needed!
Please sign-up to volunteer to support the cafeteria. Lunch duty is 11:15AM to 12:20PM.
Sign up HERE
New Trier Innovation and Technology Expo
The New Trier Innovation & Tech Expo is a free event for parents and teachers to attend and hear about how technology is being used throughout the township. All New Trier Township schools will be participating in this joint mini-conference taking place Saturday, April 28, 2018. It will be held at New Trier Winnetka Campus, 385 Winnetka Avenue, Winnetka, IL, from 8:30am to 12pm. Registration is not required.
Green Team: Plastic Bag Drive!
For the month of April, the Green Team is proud to partner up with TREX Recycling to reduce our community’s plastic! We are holding a plastic bag drive for the entire month of April! Please see the attached flyer for a list of accepted plastic bags and other plastics. All items for this drive can be dropped off in the collection bin located in the school lobby. Thank you for your help in keeping our community GREEN!
PTA Announcements and Reminders...
* The PTA sends out their own newsletter on Sundays - here are just a few highlights
Teacher Appreciation Week!
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7-11th. This year’s theme is “Thank you for helping us grow!” We need your help to show the teachers, administrators, paraprofessional and staff our gratitude for their dedication to our children during this much anticipated and fun week. Please encourage your child to show their school spirit for the teachers by wearing green, flower or garden themed clothing throughout the week.
Here is how you can participate:
Week of April 23rd - Help us by donating gift cards the week of April 23-27th. Gift cards can be dropped off in the school office (“TAW” box) or Allison Singer’s home (1029 Greenleaf Ave). See link for signup and ideas! www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0F49A8A92AA0F94-central1Week of April 23rd - Send in a quote about a teacher (classroom, specialist, related arts, etc.) written by your child via this link: https://goo.gl/forms/a3tfzSaq2nqFdAUa2
Monday, May 7th: Sign up to help bring breakfast for the teachers and staff. Drop off food and beverages between 7:45-8am in the lounge. www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0F49A8A92AA0F94-central1
Tuesday May 8th: Bring a flower to school at drop off. We will collect them outside of the entrances when your child arrives to school.
We have a great week planned for Central:
Monday – Teacher breakfast
Tuesday – Teacher massages
Wednesday – Yummy afternoon snacks
Thursday – Yummy afternoon snacks / teacher gift
Friday – Corner Bakery lunch
** Daily gift card raffles with the help of students during lunch.
Support Central PTA with lunch or dinner at Valley Lodge, 4/26
On Thursday, April 26, from 11:00am - 11:00pm, Valley Lodge will donate 15% of your bill to the Central PTA. Dine in or take out! Just be sure to mention that it is for Central and your meal will support our amazing students and teachers.
In-Store Book Fair, 5/11
The Central School PTA is sponsoring an in-store book fair at The Book Stall on Friday, May 11th and Saturday, May 12th. 20% of the proceeds from sales (where the PTA is mentioned at check out) will benefit the PTA. The money from the fundraiser will be used for One Book/One Central and other enrichment activities for our students. Author Katherine Applegate (author of The Buffalo Storm, Roscoe Riley Rules, Animorphs, and The One and Only Ivan) will be there at 11:00AM on Saturday followed at 2:00PM by author Nicole Dreiske (author of Upside of Digital Devices). Children are welcome to come along for the fun! A few Central School Staff members will also be there to read books to children and to support the fundraising efforts. The Book Stall is located at 811 Elm St. in Winnetka.
From the Nurse's Office
Call Central School "Safe Phone" For Absences: 847-512-6150
Please call the "SAFE" (absence) phone to report absences even if you let the classroom teacher knows, because some teachers don't see the email/voicemail until later in the day. Teachers assume you are calling the office. It's important that the school nurse is directly aware of any absences otherwise, your son/daughter may be considered "missing." The school nurse keeps track of all school absences in the building. For safety reasons, we want to make sure all of our students are accounted for and safe.
New Central Health Office Website!!
Here is your go-to site for all of your health related questions including PE/Recess Notes, Health Requirements, Dental Examinations, Allergy and Asthma, Medications, Snacks in Classrooms, Lice, Influenza...and more!
Community Announcements...
- Centennial Classic Pro-Am Charity Tennis Tournament at Wilmette Tennis Club May 5th at 7:00 pm. Register as a player or viewer. All proceeds benefit the Wilmette Park District Scholarship Fund.
- Wilmette Historical Museum & Wilmette Police Department host open houses on Sunday, May 6th at 11:00 am - 2:00 pm.
- FREE Adult English Language Classes will be offered at Highcrest Middle School for 5 weeks; April 5-May 3rd.
- Wilmette Junior Trevians are hosting a week long cheer camp for all 2018-2019 5th-8th grade boys & girls July 16-20.
- Wilmette Public Library’s "One Book, Everybody Reads" featuring Amor Towles discussing his best-selling novel A Gentleman in Moscow at WJHS Auditorium April 22nd at 3:00 pm
- Illinois Baseball Academy is registering boys & girls 3-6 years old. Register individually or as a group and form your own team.
- Additional information on community events can be found here http://www.wilmette39.org/news/community_events
Family Action Network (FAN)
Click HERE for information about FAN and upcoming speakers.
Join us on Twitter!
Central School is on Twitter!
- We have TWO Twitter accounts. Please "follow" us at Twitter.com! Explore Central 39 (with our actual "handle" as @explorecentral). With this account, we mostly share student activities that are completed in the Learning Commons (but other activities are often included as well). We are also providing this Twitter feed on our Central School homepage.
- There is also a principal page @BeckyLittmann where you can follow a variety of school happenings including all-school events, classroom activities, PTA enrichment, and school goals.
Upcoming Events...
4/23 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm
4/25 - Kindergarten Orientation @ 6:30pm in the auditorium
4/23-27 - Earth Day Celebrations
5/2 - Transition to 5th grade meeting for parents, HMS 7pm
6/14 - Save the Date - 4th Grade Farewell Party