We want to recognize our students, many who finished Trimester 2 showing great commitment to their pursuit of academic excellence and demonstrated consistent outstanding behavior. The best is yet to come! We have no doubt that our students will continue to grow and accomplish great things in this last trimester of the school year.

• All three grade levels have done a wonderful job on their field trips this school year. Students have represented our school well and had a lot of fun. There are additional opportunities for our students to participate in upcoming field trips - be on the lookout for those details!
• Congrats to our Special Olympics participants on a great showing at the state competition.
• Staff and students are gearing up for state testing which will take place after spring break. Everyone has done a great job exploring practice tests and tools that will help prepare us to do our best.

The week of March 27th we will be emphasizing the importance of mental health. On Wednesday, March 29th there will be several special activities taking place to engage our students and staff in mental health and wellness learning and activities. Stay tuned for the special newsletter for families and ask your child about what they might take-away to have a positive impact on their own mental health.

In the case of an emergency, the nurse’s office has a stock of undesignated medication to be administered as needed: epinephrine for anaphylaxis, albuterol for respiratory distress, and naloxone (Narcan) for opioid overdose. Parents/guardians will be contacted prior to administration, and notified of their student’s status. If the medicine is necessary, it is possible that further evaluation by emergency personnel is also needed. If you have any questions, please reach out to our nurse Claudia Marcano at claudia.marcano@hsd153.org.

IAR Test Dates: Tuesday, April 11 - Friday, April 14

• Students should have headphones for testing (no Bluetooth headphones, no wireless headphones). Please make sure that your child's headphones are working. If needed, please purchase headphones and send them to school before testing. This is not a school provided supply.
• Students should have a fully charged laptop every day of testing.
• Please have students arrive to school on time. First IAR test will begin at 8:45 each day. If the student arrives after 8:45, they will be assigned to a make-up session and will not be able to report to class until the testing session is over.

Remember, our gym is open on Saturday, March 18th from 1:30-3:30pm for some basketball fun. You may attend with your child, but first you will take our 5Essentials survey. Laptops will be set-up for everyone who chooses to participate. Our family participation is going strong at 32%, but we want to capture as many voices as possible. We need just a few more to get that extra recess! ​​

• 35% and higher – Extra 15min Recess​

• 55% and higher – Hat Day​

• 75% and higher – Silly String or Soak the Principal

Please take a few minutes to also complete the HSD 153 Strategic Planning survey. Your input will inform the strategic planning committee as they determine the district's goals in the years to come. If you are interested in being a part of this district committee, please let Dr. Schnoor know at sara.schnoor@hsd153.org.​

Churchill is all abuzz with some exciting upcoming reading activities! Not only are we seeing great gains on our Lexia Core5 reading program, but we are about to jump into March Madness book selection and our All School Read.

Please continue to encourage your student in their use of Lexia at home and ask them about the upcoming March Madness books they are going to explore before spring break. Also, please see the book trailer below about our All School Read book, City Spies by James Ponti.

All 5th grade students are invited to a special dance/open gym to celebrate the last trimester of the school year.

• Each student would start the trimester, or in this case Monday March 20th, with 100 points.
• To earn a ticket to the event, students would need to have at least 75 points to be invited.
• Students can earn 25 points for each positive referral they receive.
• Students will lose 25 points for a major referral and 10 points for a minor.
• By the end of the trimester, we will send an invitation to the following students who have earned 75 points or higher.

Over the last month we have been striving to improve the lunch experience in our gym and cafeteria spaces. Students are doing a better job with following expectations and procedures and making this more informal and unstructured time of day an enjoyable experience for all. The staff have been encouraging great behavior as well as arranging seats and maintaining an expected voice level (sometimes instituting a quiet lunch, whisper or level one voices) to help this time feel comfortable for everyone. We also appreciate all our student helpers and parent volunteers!

Please do not send or allow your child to bring large quantities of food/drink to share with others. Our food policy does not allow outside food to be shared. In some recent cases the items that have been brought and shared could negatively impact those with food allergies.

If you are available and would like to assist with lunchroom supervision between 11:10am-12:30pm, please contact the office.