Week at a Glance

January 20

NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Last Day to Order a Prairie Paws 24-25 Yearbook

January 21

Board of Education Meeting, 7 PM

January 22

January 23

January 24

Committee Chair Meeting - MPR - 1:20PM

Thursday, January 30: Open House, 6 - 7 PM

Friday, January 31: Deadline to Opt Into Further Gifted Testing, 3PM

February 3 - February 7: National School Counseling Week

Tuesday, February 11: Home & School Meeting - MPR - 9 AM

Friday, February 14: Valentine's Day Parties - 1:30 PM

Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day

Friday, February 21: Adult Social, 7 PM

Friday, February 28: NO SCHOOL - County Institute Day

Monday, March 3 - Friday. March 7: National Social Worker Week

Monday, March 3 - Wednesday, March 5: Book Fair
Thursday, March 6: NO SCHOOL - Institute Day; Conferences 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Friday, March 7: NO SCHOOL - Conferences 8 AM - NOON
Tuesday, March 11: Home & School - MPR - 9 AM

Monday, March 17: Kindergarten Preview (**non-attendance day for current kindergartners)
Monday, March 31- Friday, April 4: NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

Please click on the link(s) below for the meeting schedule of your Prairie club. Please email prairieschoolvp@gmail.com to report any errors.

• Battle of the Books
• Mandarin Chinese Ladder
• Ripple Effect
• Spanish Ladder
• Student Council
• Young Rembrandts - Winter Session

The Prairie Pride Lottery is our whole school behavior incentive program to recognize students that demonstrate positivity, respectfulness, independence, drive, and empathy. Students receive a postcard with Paws the Prairie Dog and have their picture taken as a group.

Congratulations to our Prairie Pride Lottery Winners for the week of January 13 - January 17!

The order deadline to purchase the 2024-2025 yearbook is fast approaching this Monday, January 20th.

Order Your Yearbook by January 20th:
This is your last opportunity to purchase the 2024-2025 Prairie Yearbook. Orders will not be available after this date, and no additional prints can be made. Don’t miss the chance to secure a yearbook for your child!

To order your yearbook, visit: https://yearbookforever.com/school-store/QeeZnfYEpdUDhu4OnvfCoifX

Not Sure if You Ordered?
If you can’t recall whether you’ve already placed an order, use this link: https://yearbookforever.com/find-an-order. Enter your email, and you’ll receive an email with your purchase history. Be sure to check the order date—orders for the 2024 yearbook began after August 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Prairie Yearbook at yearbookprairie@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to a memorable yearbook for our Prairie students!

Prairie School is excited to host our annual Open House on Thursday, January 30th from 6:00-7:00. As this is an Open House format, families have the option of visiting at a convenient time within this time frame. During your visit, you will have an opportunity to view your child’s work, peruse the classrooms, and celebrate your student’s accomplishments so far this year.

Please visit Ms. Fiedler in the Art Room for the Out of This World Art Show! The art show features glowing and intergalactic artwork from each student in the school. Mrs. Clarke, Mrs. Boesso and Mr. Gatenby will be available in the LC.

Please understand that Open House is reserved as an evening of celebration and is not a time for conferencing with teachers. We look forward to a wonderful evening.

Regards,

Mr. Zallis - Principal

Home & School and SFCP would like to thank Mrs. Samantha Dunne (LCSW) for taking the time to share her expertise and insights on issues related to the Executive Functioning of children. Mrs. Dunne's presentation at our Prairie Talks for Parent series on Wednesday night was very helpful and left a lasting impression on the parents who attended.

For anyone who wishes to view a video of her presentation (along with her accompanying slides and reference material), SFCP will post a link in next week's WAAG.

Ready to have a great time? Our Dueling Pianos Adult Social is just around the corner, and it's the perfect opportunity to unwind, meet new people, and enjoy an unforgettable experience! It will take place on Friday, February 21st from 7pm-10pm at Cress Creek Country Club.

To buy your ticket, scan the QR code or follow this link.

We hope you can join us for a fun night out to support our school!

Do you or someone you know own a business and want to support Prairie Elementary while gaining valuable exposure? Sponsoring our Adult Social Fundraiser is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your business across multiple platforms, including at the event itself!

If you're interested in learning more, please reach out to prairieschoolsocial@gmail.com

Each Board of Education election cycle, General Home & School partners with the League of Women Voters to host a Candidate Forum and publish a Voter Guide.

This year’s event will be on March 4, 2025. In advance of that, the organization is hoping to receive feedback on general areas of interest and/or specific questions for candidates.

If you have topics or questions you would like to see addressed, please fill out this form. Responses are due by 1/30/25.

MAP Fluency

1/22 - Atwater, Dunlap, Fries, Callaghan, Gargano, Carr

1/23 - LaPerna, Wagner, Knott, Donohue, Millen, Hardin

1/24 - MacDonald, Stercay, Musgrave, Oliver, Olsen, Smith

1/29 - Smith, Loos, Searcy, Schwartz, Noesen, Sanborn

We are pleased to share information about the upcoming process for identifying and placing students into Grades 4-6 Honors Math, Project IDEA, or Project IDEA Plus programs for the 2025-2026 school year. Below is an overview of the timeline, testing requirements, and important guidelines to ensure a smooth experience for your family.

Gifted Identification and Placement Timeline

• January 7-24, 2025: Winter NWEA MAP Growth Testing (Reading and Mathematics)
• Results will serve as a preliminary gauge to determine eligibility for further testing. Families will receive MAP results on January 24, 2025.
• Email will come from Gifted Services about the process for opting into testing.
• January 31, 2025, 3:00 PM: Deadline to Opt Into Further Testing
• Families must register their students for CogAT, Iowa Assessments, and Placement Tests. Late requests cannot be accommodated.
• Students must complete ALL assessments (CogAT, IOWA, Placement Tests) for consideration
• February 10-21, 2025: Testing Window for CogAT, Iowa Assessments, and Placement Tests
• March 7, 2025: CogAT/Iowa Results Sent Home
• March 13-20, 2025: Figural Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) for students testing for Project IDEA+
• Results will be used for eligibility determinations.
• April 28, 2025: Placement Eligibility Letters Sent Home
• Families will be notified of their student's placement results.
• May 2, 2025, 12:00 PM: Appeals Due
• Appeals can be submitted by families, school staff, or other stakeholders.
• Late appeals will not be accepted.
• May 23, 2025: Finalized Placement Lists Distributed
• Confirmation emails will be sent to families of students participating in Honors Math, Project IDEA, or Project IDEA Plus.

Important Guidelines

• Deadlines are Final: All district deadlines are solid, and no exceptions will be made for requests or submissions after the stated dates. Please plan accordingly to ensure all requirements are met.
  
• Teacher Artifacts: We kindly ask families not to request letters as artifacts from classroom teachers. Teachers may independently choose to submit appeals on behalf of students, but they are not required to do so.
  
• Program Overview: A pre-recorded overview presentation about Academically Talented and Gifted Services, including Honors Math, Project IDEA, and Project IDEA Plus, is available for families. Please review this resource for detailed information on the programs.
• Gifted Testing Time Requirements: The gifted process requires students to be tested during the academic school day. In some cases, this means missing academic instruction, time in Specials, or classroom activities.
• PI-Up to 5 hours
• HM- Up to 5 hours
• PI+-Up to 11 hours

We are committed to providing a fair and thorough process to identify students for these advanced academic opportunities. If you have any questions, please contact the Gifted Services department at giftedservices@naperville203.org.

Thank you for your attention to this important process.

If your child will be absent, late to school or leaving early for any reason, please let Mrs. Wood know on the attendance line or through the parent portal of Infinite Campus prior to 7:45 AM. Her phone number is the same as the attendance line number and a message may be left at any time of day or night. That number is 630-420-6350.

While it is perfectly fine to let your child’s teacher(s) know of the absence, please do not rely on the classroom teacher to inform the health office. The teacher may be out that day for some reason, and the message may not get to us. If we do not hear from you and your child is absent, you will receive a phone call from Mrs. Wood out of concern for your child’s safety.

As the weather continues to get colder, please send your student(s) to school with labeled winter clothing, including warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. When snow is on the ground, students should also have winter boots and snow pants.

Please make sure that your child is prepared for outdoor recess, as we will be going outside for recess when windchill is above 0 degrees.

The Naperville Public Library is kicking off their Winter Reading Program today!

For more information, you can visit the Naperville Public Library website.

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!

Welcome to the Committee Spotlight, a way to learn more about the different Home & School committees at Prairie and the awesome volunteers who chair them. This week we are featuring Yearbook. Yearbook is chaired by Carolyn Buckingham, Lisa Crisup, and Karen Kuhn.

Carolyn, Lisa, and Karen coordinate everything to do with Prairie Pawprints, our school yearbook. In the fall they create the ladder (the outline of the yearbook), hold the cover contest, open sales, and recruit volunteers. From there on out they are trying to ensure that highlights of the school year are being captured via photographs, checking in with volunteers, and finalizing page spreads and layouts. It is not until March where they can take a few breaths and celebrate for a bit because the yearbook is turned into the printer. It's not too long before May arrives and brings the last flurry with distribution of the yearbook and holding in their hands the book that they and their committee of volunteers have worked so hard to create and provide for us all to enjoy.

If you have not already ordered your yearbook, please place your order now. Orders are open through Monday, January 20th.

Thank you so much to Carolyn, Lisa, and Karen for all of the time and energy you put towards the 2024-2025 Prairie Pawprints!

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:

• JANUARY 2025 Lunch Menu
• Lunch and Play Signup
• Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement
• Prairie Home Page
  
• Prairie Home & School Facebook page
• Prairie Instagram Page
• Prairie Twitter / X
  
• 2024 - 2025 District 203 Calendar
• WAAG Archives
• Home & School Home Page