Peterson's News

Good Evening,

It was an amazing first two days!! Thank you to our parent volunteers who helped on Thursday with arrival! It was so good to see the smiles and laughter of the students and teachers in the classrooms, during specials, and at lunch and recess!

In my newsletters, I try to share information about what it is that we doing as well as information that you need as parents! I know that when I used to ask my son and daughter how their day was, I would get answers like: "Fine", "Okay", and "Boring". These responses aren't very helpful!!! I've put together a list of other questions you can ask your child to get more information about their day. I hope you find it helpful!

Best,
Alli Landstrom

We still have many families who have not completed the Arrival/Dismissal form for their students! Please do so as soon as possible. This form will help us to better know how your child is arriving and leaving school each day. We are asking families to fill out a form for each child. We ask that if your child's dismissal plans change on a consistent basis to please fill out the again, so that we can have the most up to date information. Here is the link to form:

As in years past, our school district will continue to follow a late start time for every student on Wednesdays. This time is critical to our school and district professional development. The school day will begin at 9:15 a.m. This late start delays both school drop off and morning bus schedules. It does not change our dismissal time of 3:35.

Wednesday Morning Schedule:

• 9:00 a.m. Doors open
• 9:15 a.m. School Starts

Don't forget there is no school on Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. We look forward to seeing all of our smiling students on Tuesday, September 3rd.

• Please make sure that your car numbers are clearly visible on your dashboard or hanging if you are picking your child up in carline.
• For safety reasons, we do not allow any visitors into the building from 8:45-9:15 am and 3:15-3:45 pm unless they have an appointment.
• We do understand that dismissal plans can change, however, unless it is an emergency, we will not honor any changes in dismissal after 2:30.

It is very important to have clear behavior expectations. Having clear behavior expectations allows all of our students a safe environment for social, emotional, and academic growth. Our Panther Pledges are the expectations for all students to follow. The Panthers Pledges are Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. We continually promote positive behavior by recognizing when our panthers are respectful, responsible, and safe. A variety of building-wide and individual classroom recognitions are in place. “Pledge Points” will be given to students who make positive choices. In addition, our students will celebrate together when we have collectively met our pledges of respect, responsibility, and safety. Our work is based upon the framework called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to support our students' behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. Please see the following link for the presentation that our teachers share with students.

Peterson Elementary is delighted to welcome New York Times bestselling author/illustrators Brad and Kristie Montague on Tuesday, September 10th. Mr. and Mrs. Montague will talk with all students about their careers and discuss their new book, Fail-a-bration. The theme of this book is important for students of all ages (and even adults)! It teaches us to celebrate the way failing actually means you tried and learned something. Failing doesn’t have to be bad! It’s just part of the process of learning to do something better. Students will be able to order autographed copies of the book. Order forms will be sent home soon!

Order your spirit wear by Tuesday, August 27th. You can place your order online by clicking here. Orders already placed in person at the teacher meet & greet and online will be delivered to your student in class in approximately 3 weeks. This will be the only time the spirit wear store will be open for orders until winter.

A few Spirit Wear updates!

• We currently have a back to school sale:

Buy any in stock spirit wear and receive a free pair of wide leg sweatpants!

• To receive sweatpants, just place any in stock spirit wear in the cart with a pair of wide leg sweatpants and the sweatpants will show as $0
• While supplies last, good for adult or youth wide leg pants

• The white women's embroidered sweatshirt is now available in youth sizes!!!

• "Panther to be" shirts available for your future panther for just $5

Use the link below to place your order today!

https://petersonelementary.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true

We are pleased to be hosting a PTA member welcome night on Tuesday, August 27th from 6:30-7:30pm. This event is for PTA members and their families only, so sign up for the PTA asap and please join us! This event is sponsored by Andy's Frozen Custard.

Don't forget to join the PTA for the 2024-2025 school year! We encourage every Peterson family and staff to join the PTA! Joining the PTA is a donation to support school wide events and activities, support our teachers, promote school spirit, and so much more. The PTA is entirely funded through memberships and other forms of donations. All families that join the PTA will receive access to the Peterson school directory. There is no volunteer commitment and no time obligation required when joining. However we of course are always looking for volunteers, so if you are looking to get involved we would love to have you. The prices have remained the same as last year and we still have three tiers for memberships: Faculty, Standard, and Golden Paw.

Golden Paw Membership: $130.00

The 2024-2025 Golden Paw Family Membership gives one family member voting privileges at all PTA meetings and all family members access to most events*. This membership also gives you access to the School Directory. Admission to PTA events is included with this membership for your entire family for the 2024-2025 school year. *This does not include any fundraiser events.

Standard Membership: $35.00

The 2024-2025 Standard Membership gives one family member voting privileges at all PTA meetings and all family members access to events. This membership also gives you access to the School Directory. Admission to PTA events is not included with this membership; however, you are invited to participate for an additional fee per event, per child.

Connect with us on Facebook - search Peterson Elementary PTA or click here

Connect with us on Instagram - search Petersonpanthers (all one word) or click here

If you have questions or want to find out more about getting involved, reach out to us at petersonpantherspta@gmail.com.

As the summer sun shines brightly, our school vegetable garden is bursting with life! The tomatoes are ripening, the green beans are crisp and green, and the basil is fragrant and ready to be picked. This garden is a testament to the hard work and care of our students, teachers, and community.

This incredible growth wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and hard work of our amazing volunteers: our Boy Scout – Yuvan K and Jothi, Megan Northcutt, Cherice Hohmann, Brenda Grahn, Payal Patel, Anna Roedin, and Chantal Barentine. Whether you’ve spent hours watering or simply lending a helping hand, your efforts have truly made our garden flourish. We can’t thank you enough for your time, energy, and passion for this project:

Whether you’re tending to your own garden at home or enjoying the fresh produce from ours, remember that every seed we plant is a step towards a healthier, greener future. Let’s continue to nurture our environment and celebrate the joys of growing our own food. Wishing you all a bountiful new school year filled with sunshine, growth, and delicious garden-fresh meals!

Happy Gardening! 🌻

Peterson School Garden Coordinators

Each year, I have a theme for staff that helps to unite us in our focus, sometimes this works with students and other times the theme is more for the adults. This year the theme for staff is Why not? It is based on the book, Why Not? A Story about Discovering Our Bright Possibilities. In thinking about this theme, I have reflected upon some of the practices that we have done and looked at how we can improve them. One of these is Curriculum Night. Curriculum Night is a time when parents are invited to come to school, go to the classroom, and ask the classroom teacher questions about their narrated curriculum slides. This is important for parents to learn about, however, it is only one piece of what parents should be informed about.

Our School Improvement Plan (SIP) helps us to improve our effectiveness in academics, behavior, and social-emotional learning. It's a roadmap that guides us to identify areas of strengths and areas of improvement, set goals, and implement strategies to achieve the school's and district's vision and mission. This year we are going to do Curriculum Night a little differently. Peterson Parent Pathways on Wednesday, September 4th will be taking the place of it. The evening will begin at 5:30 pm and will end at 7:30 pm . We will all meet in the gym where there will be introductions of staff as well as the SIP. Then families will rotate three times and listen to presentations about each of our three SIP goals. The fourth rotation will be back in the classroom teacher's room with an opportunity to ask questions about the curriculum and specifics related to the grade and teacher. Teachers will still narrate curriculum slides and those will be sent home in advance of our Peterson Parent Pathways evening.

I recognize that this structure can present our parents with multiple children with some difficulty. I have two suggestions. One is that parents could go to the teacher of the oldest child and the other is to attend the session with a teacher that is new to your family. Rest assured this isn't the only time, you will interact with your child's teacher. My staff recognizes the importance of communicating and partnering with families and knows that this is ongoing, not reserved for only one evening. Thank you for supporting this new event and embracing our theme of "Why Not?"!

We will continue to have our buses drop-off and pick-up on the side by the staff parking lot and have our car riders drop-off and pick-up in the front of the building. Walkers will be able to enter through Doors 2 and 3, which are in the front of the building and Doors 4, 6, and 10, which are in the back of the buildings. Biker riders will enter using Doors 4, 6, and 10. Please see the following link for more information: https://www.ipsd.org/Domain/818

I am happy to share that we will be continuing to have our birthday lunches! Peterson parents/guardians are invited to come in and eat lunch with their child(ren) one time a year on their birthday, half birthday, or a day of their choosing. Parents/guardians will sit with their child at a table in our MPR. Students will be able to ask 3-5 friends to join them.

You are welcome to bring a special lunch for you and your child; however, we ask that parents do NOT bring lunches for other children. This presents a problem for the school staff in that we do not know that other parents have approved the lunch or food. Please do not bring balloons and gifts. Please note that this special lunch is for the birthday boy/girl and their parents/guardians only. Younger siblings are unable to attend this special lunch. Parents are welcome to stay for recess if they’d like. If you can’t attend and would like to bring a special lunch for your child, you may bring it and put it in the “I Forgot” bins.

Parents/Guardians will need to come into the office, present their license or passport, and receive a badge before going to the lunchroom. Due to safety procedures, parents/guardians will not be allowed into the building if they do not have a license/passport. We can only accommodate two adults due to space constraints. Thank you for following the guidelines above and we look forward to seeing you on your child's special day! Please sign up below.

24/25 Lunch/Recess Schedules

-2nd Grade: 10:45-11:20

-1st Grade: 11:15-11:50

-5th Grade: 11:45-12:20

-3rd Grade:12:15-12:50

-4th Grade: 12:45-1:20

-Kindergarten: 1:15-1:50

For information about the district's hot lunch program as well as to view menus, please see the link below!

Bus routes and your child's stop information were posted on Friday, August 16th in ParentVUE.

To access, log in to ParentVUE. Select "Student Info." Scroll all the way down to find "Transportation Information."

MyStop Bus App

• Allows parents/guardians and students to view the bus stop time, location, and projected arrival time. This feature is available during scheduled route times only.
• Updates approximately every 5 seconds and adjusts the scheduled arrival time as the bus is traveling along its route.
• Will show if the bus has already passed the assigned stop. To learn how to access and use the MyStop Mobile App, view the My Stop User Guide.

Click here for more information on MyStop.

• August 27th - PTA Member Welcome Night - 6:30-7:30pm
• September 4th - Peterson Parent Pathways 5:30-7:30 pm
• September 10th: Author Visit
• September 12th - PTA Meeting - 9:30--10:30am (MPR + virtual option)
  
• September 13th - Family Movie Night - 6:30-9:30pm
• September 18th - Sharko's Dinner Night
  
• September 21st - Fall Festival 12-4pm

Email: allison_landstrom@ipsd.org
Website: http://peterson.ipsd.org/
Location: 4008 Chinaberry Lane, Naperville, IL, USA
Phone: (630)428-5678
Twitter: @allilandstrom