Happy Friday, Lil Steamer Families!

October 4, 2024

From the Desk of: Principal Hoese

Lil Steamer Families --

As a former high school teacher and student council adviser, I loved looking for ideas or implementing events to serve our students and community. One of my all-time favorites was the Haunted School where student council worked alongside our industrial arts students to plan, develop, build, and run an amazing Haunted School in the gymnasium and throughout the building.

As an elementary principal, I realize that would result in some traumatic experiences with K-5 students! Instead, I'm happy to announce the First Annual PTO Trunk or Treat event which will be held in the FES parking lot during the Fulton Trick or Treat Night on Thursday, October 31 from 5-7 PM!

Our vision for our Lil Steamers and our community is to make the Greatest Little Elementary School in the Universe a "must see" visit during your trick or treating adventure! We will have our spaces decorated and rumor has it DJ Marshmello (Ryan Dail) will be providing music and a light show that night!

We would love to make this event a core Halloween memory for our Lil Steamers, so I encourage anybody in our community to sign up for a spot. It's completely free but if you'd like to make a donation to the PTO that would be wonderful :)

The sign up button is below my note. Roese and I hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend,

JAGH

Click This Button to Sign Up for an FES PTO Trunk or Treat Spot!

From the Desk of: AP Parsons

From our friends at ROE 47:

Cracking the Code: Understanding Your Child's Behavior

Date & Time: November 19, 2024, 7:00-8:30 PM
Description: Join us for this informative workshop and learn effective strategies to understand your child's unique personality and needs, identify the root causes of behavioral challenges, build positive connections, and develop effective communication and discipline techniques.

Parents and caregivers can register at https://forms.fillout.com/t/5sMCD8nDv9us

These events offer valuable insights and support for parents and caregivers.

From the Desk of: Counselor Meumann

The benefits of limiting screen time for your child would include, but are not limited to: improved sleep habits, better focus and brain function, increased academic success, decrease in obesity, better vision, and lower risk of anxiety and depression.

NEW! FES PTO Corner

What a fantastic start to the year for our PTO and school community!

House Lanyards: Just before Sorting Day, each of the four houses received brand new lanyards provided by the PTO! Both the students and teachers loved them, and you can catch a glimpse of everyone proudly wearing them in our previous newsletter. These lanyards will be used for years to come!

Coffee and Donut Fundraiser Success: Thanks to your support, our Coffee and Donut fundraiser raised over $4,800, making it our most successful fundraiser in the past three years! A huge thank you to everyone who participated! Special shout-out to 5C, the winning class, who earned a fun Popcorn Glow Party!

National Custodians Appreciation Day: On National Custodians Appreciation Day, our PTO proudly provided gifts for each of our hardworking custodians. We wanted to show our gratitude for all they do to keep our school running smoothly, so we gifted them some sweet treats and a gift card to Steam Anchor. Thank you to our custodial staff for all your dedication and care!

Upcoming Events:

Trunk or Treat: Set to take place in our new and improved FES parking lot, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone there! However, we currently have low participation and would hate to cancel, so please, sign up today!
Teacher Treats During Conferences: Eagle Brew has generously agreed to donate once again, and many parents have volunteered to drop off baked goods. We hope our teachers enjoy these treats as much as they did last year!

Polar Bear Patch Holiday Shop: Our PTO board is hard at work preparing for the beloved Polar Bear Patch! After great feedback from last year’s holiday shop, we have decided to personally shop for the items this year instead of using an outside company to provide the inventory. The kids loved shopping, and we’re aiming to provide an even better experience this year!

Coming Soon: Donuts with Grown-Ups is coming back this spring, a much-anticipated event loved by our community. Additionally, we're working on a few fundraisers that will make for great holiday gifts—stay tuned for more details!

Recent PTO Approvals: We’ve been busy approving requests that will benefit our students and teachers, including:

Art supplies for Mystery Baskets in Mrs. Long’s Art classes.
Speech supplies for Ms. Bri's current and future students.
Play therapy figures and blocks for Counselor Mrs. Meumann’s students.
Special Education supplies and games for Mrs. Whitney’s classroom.
1,056 bookmarks for all students visiting the library, requested by Mrs. Pannell.
A reading program and supplies for Ms. Maloney’s classes.
Pumpkins and apple juice for kindergarteners at the FES Annual Pumpkin Patch.
A picture book series about making friends for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, requested by LeAnn Smith. This request approval is especially meaningful to our PTO members, many of whom have loved ones on the spectrum and understand the importance of friendship skills.

Next PTO Meeting: Our next meeting will be on November 12th at 7 PM (rescheduled due to Election Day). We hope to see you there!

Thank you for your continued support in making this a great year for our school community!

If you need to contact us, please reach out via Facebook at Fulton PTO, by email at fultonelempto@gmail.com, or connect with one of our board members:

Lynne Coffey – President
Abra Richards – Vice President & Media Manager
Danielle Wilkins – Secretary
Tarah Manon – Treasurer

Elementary Music Festival (4th, 5th, and 6th graders)

Every fall, the Illinois Music Educators' Association hosts a Music Festival for 4th-6th graders throughout Northwest Illinois. Students have the opportunity to choose a group that they would like to participate in for this one-day festival. Click the button below for more information and how to sign up!

EGM Festival Info

September Leadworthy Lil Steamers!

Each month at the Greatest Little Elementary School in the Universe, we recognize one student from each homeroom for going above and beyond in demonstrating our Capturing Kids Hearts monthly character trait. These students were leaders in demonstrating EMPATHY and are our September Leadworthy Lil Steamers!

KA Aydan S., KB Hazel W., KC Lydia S.

1A Lillian S., 1B Vincent S., 1C Hazel C.

2A Skyanne M., 2B Markus M., 2C Vance D.

3A Tinley H., 3B Vida W., 3C Barrett W., 3D Lorelai S.

4A Mazie S., 4B David W., 4C Carlee O.

5A Zayden B., 5B Sarah H., 5C Jayce A.

Way to go, Leadworthy Lil Steamers!

Fulton High School FFA visits 2C!

Megan S and Samara B from FFA came and visited 2C! They read the story "Otis and the Scarecrow" and then did a scarecrow craft with them. The students loved the story and really enjoyed the craft activity! Shoutout to Megan and Samara for doing a great job with the students and keeping their interest!