Illinois school news Winter 2017 Volume 2, Issue 2 Principal’s Corner Welcome back to Illinois School, we hope you had an enjoyable holiday break. Once again, thank you! Thank you for joining us as we provide an enriching educational experi- IMPORTANT DATES ence for our children toward mastery of the College Career Readiness Standards (Illinois State Common Standards). With this one goal and directive to achieve Second Quarter Report Cards 1/27 90% of all of our students performing at or above grade level, want to remind every- Illinois 1st Semester Awards 2/3 one of some simple steps that can be implemented at home to help Illinois School con- Ceremony tinue its academic progress: Illinois PTL Meeting 1. Come in and volunteer for just one hour each month- This becomes a visual repre- 6:30 pm—7:30 pm 2/15 (Commons) sentation to your child of the importance of community service, and doing you their best in school. Parent-Teacher Conferences 2. Set aside twenty minutes a day of uninterrupted quiet reading time, or reading with (8:00 am—2:00 pm) 2/17 your child time: This reading experience is not the reading students have to do for No School school. This reading is simply for the child's enjoyment. Presidents’ Day 2/20 3. Visit the library bi-weekly to allow your child/children to check out books to enjoy. No School 4. Establish a quiet zone for students to complete homework. 8th Grade Graduation Picture 2/21 5. Develop Literacy Rich Environments in your home. For more information on how to Retakes establish Literacy Rich Environments in your home go to: https://www.bloom- Illinois Black History Month carroll.k12.oh.us/pdf/Providing-a-Literacy.pdf. Assembly and Illinois Sweet- 2/24 6. Keep a positive line of communication open with all of your child's teachers; includ- Dance 6:00pm—9:00pm ing the Extra-curricular Classes. Casimir Pulaski Day 3/6 7. Activate your Power School account and visit our open web page at No School www.sd162.org. If you have not done this already you are missing out on wonderful Illinois Science Assessment real time information for your child's grades and class activities. (5th and 8th grades only) 3/14 8. Join the Illinois P.T.L (Parent Teacher League) and support our fundraising and special events programs. Illinois PTL Meeting 9. Have your child/children practice their High Frequency Words (students in grades 6:30 pm—7:30 pm 3/15 Kindergarten-6th), and their Math Automaticity (fluency with adding, subtraction, (Commons) multiplication, and division). PARCC Test Assembly 3/17 10. Talk with your child/children. Ask them what they learned today, and to show you how to do it. To teach is to learn twice. This will only help your child/children to PARCC Testing 3/20 reflect on the day’s lessons. –3/31 These tips are simple ways to help improve your child's academic proficiency, thereby End of Third Quarter 3/24 helping us to insure our students are on a solid foundation to build on towards becoming Illinois Spring Picture Day College and Career Ready. 3/28

We all look forward to seeing you volunteering at Illinois School. GO WOLVES! Third Quarter Report Cards 3/31

SECOND QUARTER NEWS INSIDE THIS ISSUE Illinois School had a fabulous second quarter! Novem- January began with annual Illinois Science Fair (see Kindergarten/First 2 ber brought wonderful parent participation at Illinois science fair section and website for winners) and Dis- School for our V.I.P. Day and Parent-Teacher Confer- trict Spelling Bee. It is such an honor attending events Second Grade 3 ences. We appreciate all of our parents and other where students are striving to be the very best in a Third Grade 4 special guests who came out to show our students how specific academic area and achieving success as a Fourth Grade 4 important they are to all of us! Mr. Dwayne Bryant result of their hard work. All of these students should was a wonderful V.I.P. Day speaker, keeping us all be very proud of their accomplishments! Finally, we Fifth Grade 5 entertained! We look forward to seeing him back and closed out the 3rd quarter with Pajama and Movie Sixth Grade 6 sharing that positive energy with Illinois School in the Night activity, which was a fun, Friday night activity future! We began the busy month of December with for our students and families. We are gearing up for a Middle School 6 - 7 our Family Fun Night at Fuddruckers and our Illinois strong 3rd quarter, continuing our drive for fluency Thompson/Pieper 8 Holiday Concert at GSU. We continued a strong focus skill mastery and high academic rigor for our stu- Specials 9 on academics, as we prepared for the winter break, dents. This will undoubtedly lead our students to and ended the month with a celebration of festive great success on the PARCC and Terra Nova tests, as music at our District Holiday Concert at GSU. The well as in preparation for the next school year! Illinois choir, band and soloists all sounded fabulous! After our students and staff had a much needed break, KINESTHETIC KINDERGARTEN NEWS

Although the weather used a glyph to create a snowman that represented has gotten colder and ourselves, and then we wrote about it. With just it’s gloomy outside, the about half the school year over, our class has been cheerful voices and busy learning all the way from patterns, to journal energetic students, writing, to identifying sight words, and to working have kept the bright- together in Center ness in the Kindergar- groups/small groups/ ten classroom! Our Reading groups. We did- class made holiday ever- n’t let the winter season green trees using the letters of our names. We bring us down!! each drew our own reindeer following step-by- We are growing into such step directions. They ended up looking a little mature Kindergarteners! different, but that was the fun part of it!! We each created and identified our own patterns, then colored them on gift boxes. Our class also

If you are not willing to learn No one can help you! If you are determined to learn,

FABULOUS FIRST GRADE NEWS

During 2nd quarter, we celebrated the season by having a Fall Feast where we shared each other’s company and enjoyed homemade Chex mix. As win- ter break neared, we made our very own gingerbread houses! The children had fun decorating the houses with gum drops, M&Ms, and peppermints. It turned out to be a fabulous holiday season in First Grade. In Reading we have been focusing on sequence. The students have been using graphic organizers as a tool to help them comprehend different sto- ries. We just began a new read aloud series for EngageNY where the stu- dents will learn how the human body. As we approach third quarter we are going to be focusing on having “fact power.” Make sure to practice addition and subtraction facts with your child. This will help improve their math fluency. Also, make sure to ask your child “how” they solved a math problem. It is important to you have your child explain how they got their answer! Make sure check out our online resources Raz Kids and XtraMath!

2 Illinois School News SECOND GRADE NEWS Second quarter has been quite busy for the second read about rain forest babies. The students became graders! They started the quarter off with map skills scholars of their own rain forest baby when they re- and learning about landforms. They even created their searched one of their choosing in the technology lab. own landform map! In math, students have extended The second graders have also researched bats and their understanding of place value to the hundreds how people are protecting them in one specific habi- place! They also became math detectives by writing tat. Who knows! Maybe some of these second graders and solving addition and subtraction number stories. will become veterinarians or animal rights activists! They are currently studying clocks and how to solve In language arts, the second graders have improved written time problems. Second graders also explored their fluency tremendously through the use of a animals and the habitats in which they reside. We in- morning message from the teacher each day. They did vestigated food chains and created our own. Finally in a great job with our reading targets this quarter: vo- math, students were introduced to the inch and centi- cabulary, text-based evidence, author’s purpose, writ- meter as standard units of measurements and they ing responses, and ask and answering questions. Lastly, measure a variety of objects in the classroom. In the students wrote fantastic pieces of writing for reading and science, second graders are learning winter, Martin Luther King Jr., animal research , and across the curriculum. They are exploring the rain explaining our answers in math! Third quarter, we’re forest specifically. Through nonfiction text, they coming for you!

TERRIFIC THIRD GRADE NEWS During this 2nd quarter, our third graders have been athletic. I am looking forward to reading more stories working hard in reading to improve their comprehen- and exposing them to informational writing next. sion. First, they worked on memorizing their list of In Math class, the third graders have been hard at sight words. 92 % of the class have passed their list work building foundations alongside learning new skills. and have moved on to tackle the next list. Students We continue to master our addition, subtraction, and have been taught how to locate evidence in the story multiplication facts, but have started using these foun- or passage they are reading. They have then carried dations skills to expand our problem solving abilities. this skill over into their writing and are working on con- Please continue/start practicing these foundation structing a proper response to a question by having the facts with your student at home. 30 minutes a day evidence. Third grade students have also been working doesn’t keep the doctor away, but it sure makes math a on personal narrative stories. Students focused on lot easier! events in their own lives to write about. Based on some stories, we have an interesting group of children that Mrs. Duh & Mr. Schleicher have traveled, enjoyed many waterparks and are very

FLUENT FOURTH GRADE NEWS

Second quarter is of- We really have to persevere to make sure everything ficially done. We is balanced and correct. Colonial America has been have been very busy the topic for reading this quarter. We learn every- in fourth grade doing thing from what the colonial Americans ate, differ- a lot of different ent vocabulary words, and how often they went to things. In math, multi- church, sometimes for the entire day. Writing skills plication is becoming are continuing to build. Using different types of sen- very fluent and we are on our way to almost full mas- tences can make writing more complex. The West tery. Fractions are becoming more prominent in les- region, American history, and animal adaptations are sons along with fractions that are tenths and hun- all topics we will continue to explore this upcoming dredths. We are also working on balancing math quarter. Fantastic job fourth grade! equations with Marcy Cook math. It was a huge hit!

Illinois School News 3 FABULOUS FIFTH GRADE NEWS How time flies!! Here we are at the half-way point of fifth grade! We’ve learned so many new things and skills, and using that information and those skills in fun and exciting ways!! In reading, we are applying what we’ve learned while doing activities in conjunction with our latest novel study, “Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America”. This novel will lead us right into our Black History Month curriculum in Social Studies. Not only will we study the history and contributions to the world made by African-American citizens, but we will also dive into our own indi- vidual family histories, and share our own diverse backgrounds. We’ll end the month with presenta- tions of research done for our Black History projects. Math finds us focusing on fractions…and all the ways we see and use them in our lives each day. Seeing how relevant fractions are in real life makes it a little easier for us to understand and work with them. We would like to say “Thank you!” for all your help at home in pre- paring for a successful science fair. The exhibits were great!! Lastly, but certainly not least – our class will be going to see the movie “Hidden Figures” on February 8th. We are really looking forward to learning about the women who worked at NASA and contributed so much to the space program!

SENSATIONAL SIXTH GRADE NEWS

For the second quarter, our 6th graders have continued to learn the Digits curriculum and everything that it has to offer. The students enjoy doing their homework on computers and lap- tops. In the second quarter, students have emerged themselves into fractions. They continue to work hard and share their work, both in oral and written forms. I can’t wait to see what see what the second half of the school will bring. Mr. Van Dyke’s Math Class

2nd Quarter was exciting! Sixth grade learned valuable information about Ancient Egypt though fun projects and began our journey though Ancient China. The reading classes have been devouring a host of interesting focus skills and engaged in reading their novel, The Lightning Thief. We look forward to the challenging yet enriching months to come. Mrs. Baker’s Reading and Social Studies Class

4 Illinois School News MARVELOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH NEWS The 7th and 8th Graders are busy preparing for standardized assessments and diligently working in Digits!! The 7th Graders are focusing on Multiplying Positive and Negative Integers. The 8th Graders are focusing on Solutions to Linear Equa- tions. Daily review of the Basic Math Skills is being encouraged so we can climb our way to successful college and career ready students!!

MARVELOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL ELA NEWS The middle school students continued to be very busy in English Language Arts during the second quar- ter. Seventh grade continued to read the novel, A Long Walk to Water. While the eighth grade enjoyed their novel, Inside Out and Back Again. Both novel studies focus many aspects that are allowing our students to be college and career ready in English Language Arts. Students are working hard on their writing skills and being able to find textual evidence with their written answers. Seventh graders learned the R.A.C.E.S. method to writing and constructing an answer using textual evidence to help support their answer. Eighth graders contin- ue to utilize this skill to enhance their writing. R = Restate the question in your answer A = Answer the question C = Cite from the text using quotation marks E = Explain in your own words how your citation supports your answer S = Sum it up with a conclusion by writing that pertains to personal experiences or other connections.

MARVELOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES NEWS Our 7th graders have been learning about the early accounts of our early colonization of the Americas and have seen the colonies grow despite the oppression of King George III and Parliament. We are now starting our journey in what will become the United States but not without conflict with the American Revolutionary War. As we wrap up the war in 3rd quarter we will also start our journey into the U.S. and Illinois Constitutions. Watch for the letter concerning these two tests during 3rd quarter.

The 8th graders on the other hand have been learning about early industrialization and the history of slavery in the United States which leads to Civil War. After the Civil War we will deal with Reconstruction, Westward expansion, The Great Wars, as well as the Great Depression and Civil Rights. So much history and so lit- tle time!

History has been flying by and so much has been experienced! I would also like to take this moment and remind you that the history fair will be approaching in May. Students will start receiving information towards the end of 3rd quarter in order to complete their history board project. Also to give you advance notice the stu- dents will need a 36” x 48” display just like the science fair to display their information. Please have your students bring in their boards by the end of February.

Mr. Graves Social Studies

Illinois School News 5 MARVELOUS MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE NEWS Congratulations to the following students who were selected for the Illinois School Science Fair!!

Science Fair Participants

Kai Allen – Meltdown Patrick Biegler – Which Acidic Food will Win? Abijah Brimley – What Kind of Beverage Stains Your Teeth? Autumn Collier – Alkaline or Acid? Amari Price – Which Detergent Extracts Strawberry DNA the Best? Solomon Sayles – Which Liquid Rusts Metal Faster? Sydney Thompson – Adaptation in Virtual Reality Derron Tillery – What Substance Melts Ice the Fastest? Alyssa Hefner – White vs. Color: Which Candle Burns Faster? Courtney Williams – Which Hand Sanitizer Kills the Most Germs? Chase Cobbs – What Cleaning Solutions Help to Clean Tarnished Pennies the Best?

Trinity Cook – H2O Glows Isaac Culver – Do Gummy Bears Get Bigger Over Time in Different Liquids? Joseph Dunbar – Reaction Time Kaylah Jackson – What Types of Chocolate Melt the Fastest? Krista Jordan - Which Detergent Removes Stains the Best? Jalaun Millbrook – Rubber Band Heat Engine Troi Mohan – Which Citrus Fruit Generates the Most Electricity? Jordan Moore-Stone – Will Chilling an Onion Prevent You From Crying? Tyler Mustiful – Lightbulbs! Haylie Pearsall – Self-Inflating Francisco Perez – Which Paper Towel Brand Absorbs the Most Water? Diamond Steward-Hutton – Which Type of Chocolate Melts Faster? Michael Igbinoba – Do White Candles Burn Faster than Colored Candles?

MRS. THOMPSON’S NEWS “Unique to You” is a modified, standards based curriculum. Each monthly topic includes content information and practice with core subjects. In the November unit, “Here Comes ”, students learned facts about the Sun and its relationship to Earth. December’s topic explored winter celebrations around the world. The January topic, “Times Have Changed”, looked at life in the U.S. and how it has changed over the years. Students demonstrated an understanding of “past” and “present”.

6 Illinois School News EARLYACT ELECTION RESULTS ARE IN!

The 2016-17 officers for our EarlyAct public service club are: Sydney Thompson, President; Christina Agunloye, Vice-President; Sestina Oduro, Corresponding Secretary; Jeremiah Johns, Recording Secretary; and Zoe Drigo, Treasurer. Congratulations!

BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC OF GIVING

The EarlyAct Club of Illinois School continued its tradition of giving by leading a letter writing campaign to Santa. For every letter written, Macy’s Department Store donated $1 to the Make -A-Wish Foundation. The foundation grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. EarlyAct members helped younger students write let- ters, as well as crafting letters of their own. Their efforts raised $187 for a worthwhile cause, proving that no matter how big or small, we can all make a difference in the life of a deserving child!

Illinois School News 7 DECK THE HALLS

When the EarlyAct Club and the Student Council decided to sponsor a Winter Door Decorating Contest, they never imagined all the it would bring to Illinois School! The staff and students transformed the building into a seasonal sensational. Teachers took their classes on a “Door Walk” around the school. This is what they saw:

 There were ornaments and lights that were hung with great care.  Rudolph and his reindeer friends roamed the halls, even in the dark!

This is what they did:  Sat by the fireplace and had a warm gingerbread cookie with the abominable snowman after a chilly snowball fight with the snowmen  Took selfies with Santa, after we pulled him out of the door, of course.  Took a ride on the Polar Express with Snoopy  And talked about peace on earth with the Elf on the Shelf.

The competition was far fiercer than the winter wind in Chicago. Members of the EarlyAct Club and the Student Council were given directions and a ballot to judge the doors. They checked the ballots . . . and then they checked them twice . . . The Winter Door Decorating Contest winners were: Mrs. Han- son (Specialists); Ms. Travis/Mr. Pieper (Middle School); Mrs. Bradshaw and Mrs. Daniels (Intermediate); Mr. Schleicher (Primary); and a special award with a perfect score, went to Dr. Cogar. Prizes were provided for the winning classrooms and staff. Magical memories are made at Illinois School!

DRIVEN BY EXCELLENCE

Illinois School artists public service club, EarlyAct. Autumn was awarded a participated in a contest backpack full of school supplies and a gift card. Once sponsored by the again, Illinois School students exemplify the drive for Matteson Rotary Club to excellence in all they do! design the vehicle sticker for the Village of Matteson. The theme was “Service above Self.” Congratulations to our talented sixth grader, Autumn Collier. Autumn’s artwork won 3rd place in the contest. Autumn knows about serving others! She is an active member of our

8 Illinois School News MUSIC

This past quarter our Kindergarten and first grade students have been introduced basic musical notation and for instrument families, we have concluded with the strings and will introduce percussion. Second and third grade students have continued their knowledge of musical notation, rhythm, and were in- troduced to the musical staff. We also focused on the history of Blues music and identifying the Blues sound. Fourth through sixth graders became better versed in reading notes on the musical staff and were immersed in R&B music for the quarter, in its histo- ry, identifying sounds and instrumenta- tion. Seventh graders studied Blues, R&B, song form, and song writing. Our Illinois Inspirational Choir lived up to their name as they inspired audiences at both the Illinois/Sauk school and District 162 concerts in December. We are look- ing forward to future engagements this spring and accepting new choir members.

MS. LACEY’S COUNSELOR’S CORNER STRANGER SAFETY!

As a parent, we eventually come to the realization that “Don’t bor’s house, into a store or public place, into the house). Have talk to strangers” needs to be refined. Things such as, “Who them tell their story so the authorities can be alerted qualifies as a stranger?” and “When is it ok to talk to a stranger?” need to be explained. We don’t want to scare our -Show them safe places children but we do need to educate them in order to foster -Teach children to trust their instincts. If it doesn’t feel their “street smarts”. Here are some ideas that may be help- right, it’s probably not right! ful in presenting the topic at home. -Encourage your children to play with others and never walk The National Crime Prevention Council (www.NCPC.org) sug- alone. There is power in numbers. gests that a stranger is anyone that your family doesn’t know well. These people can include the next door neighbor, a coach, a teacher, the mailman, mom’s friend from work, the The following can be valuable resources for you and your fam- person walking by you on the street, etc. Teach your child (no ily: matter what age) that there are “safe strangers” that are appropriate people to approach if there is a problem or an www.ncpc.org emergency. These people may include teachers, police, fire- men, principals, the local librarian, or a neighbor. www.mcgruff.org The following are helpful hints in helping to keep your child/ www.parents.com children safe: The Safe Side video on stranger safety- -With your child, come up with a list trusted people www.thesafeside.com -Remind your child that if they are confronted by a stranger to “Yell, Go, Tell”. Yell “NO!” and go to a safer place (a neigh- Mrs. Lacey, School Social Worker…Do not hesitate to call!

Illinois School News 9 WE LOVE TO READ “ARR” BOOKS! Great things were happening in the Illinois School Library during second quarter. We held our fall Scholastic “Bookaneer” Book Fair. Many students par- ticipated and we raised $406 for children, families, and teachers in need of books through the “All for Books” donation drive.

The Illinois School Library would also like to thank our community li- braries: Richton Park Public Library, Matteson Public Library, and Park Forest Public Library. Representatives from the libraries currently come to our school for story time, STEM activities, and book clubs. Activities are available for all grades, Kindergarten through Eighth.

The Illinois School Library would like to encourage students to “check- out” our new and themed books. We have books available for Black History Month, Presidents’ Day, Ground- hog’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

WE ARE SMITTEN WITH TECHNOLOGY We are off to a great start! Our students are learning increasing their typing speed with EduTyping, learning the fundamentals of Word and PowerPoint, and preparing for PARCC by practicing online. Students were able to participate in an Hour of Code and have accounts created to continue the fundamentals of coding in https://studio.code.org. We finally have Windows 10 on our PCs as well as our Kodu Game Lab. Sixth graders are able to experiment with creating worlds to share with others. Our class is truly “smitten” with Tech!

BEING HEALTHY IS A WORK OF ART!

Health and fitness night was a great success for first quarter. The Illinois School Student Council and the P.E. Department will be hosting the next Health and Fitness night on Jan 27th from 6:30-7:30. Please come out and join us for a night of Zumba, basketball, karate, virtual reality games and much more. The pom pons will have a special performance to kick off the event.

The 5th grade art students from the Fiber Arts class are creating outstanding examples of African Dashi- kis. The students have designed and sewn each garment by hand. They have also created a personal Sankofa patch to be incorporated into the design. The finished Dashikis will be worn in February for the Black History assembly.

Artistic Breezes is back! The Matteson Public Library will be displaying the artwork from Illinois School and District 162 for the month of February. Opening reception date TBA. Please join us for a night of great art, friends and fun.

The Art Department received a yarn grant from the Craft Yarn Council. Thirty crochet kits were given to the school for student use in the Fiber Arts class. This program has done research that shows skills like crocheting help to improve motor coordination, and calm and focus students. 10 Illinois School News ¿QUÉ PASA EN LA CLASE DE ESPAÑOL? In Spanish class, the students are combining all the information and vocabulary they have learned and use it to talk about themselves. The students are juggling several vocabularies at the same time while telling their stories. From 2nd to 8th grade and everyone at their own level, the kids are telling where they go on their free time, with whom they go, what they do there, what was the weather at the time, what they or their siblings look like, and their ages. The younger students describe their homes and pets. In some classes, the students write an essay. In other classes, they write and deliver a speech! Everyone says you cannot learn a foreign language once a week and it may be true in other schools, but we are proving them wrong at Illinois School. Our secret? Our students learn Spanish starting in Kindergarten, and we continuously review our materials year after year and eventually it clicks! I am so proud of my students and the program at Illinois!

YEARBOOK IS ON SALE NOW!

Every year the Illinois School Yearbook looks amazing. We have pictures of every event in the school and every homeroom. This year is even better. A full color book, it is going to have hard cover and as a special bonus only for this year the cost is $17. Our Technology department under the direction of the very talented Ms. Burnett is organizing a con- test for the best digital cover. We are going to feature 1st place in the front cover and 2nd through 5th place in the back cover. The students are very excited. The more events you attend in the school the more opportunities for your picture to be shown in the book. There is a special page for the Winter Concerts at GSU, Science Fair, Reading Night, Sunflower Festi- val, Black History Month and other events. We also show candid pictures of every class, sometimes fun fieldtrips, other times a special project. A special page in the middle of the book is all our 8th graders dressed up with cap and gown! Make sure you reserve your copy. You don’t want to miss on the memories. Send your $17 in an envelope with the student’s name and the Homeroom teacher’s name on it. Checks should be payable to Illinois School. Illinois School Yearbook rocks!

Illinois School News 11 ARTIST OF THE MONTH November—Robert Schleicher

My career as a photographer began back in college. I was working with a friend at a one-hour photo lab and he was getting into photography. It looked interesting to me and I had remembered that my dad had some old camera equipment that he wasn’t using. I asked him if he would loan me the equipment and I started going out with my friend and taking photographs. In the begin- ning, I took a lot of bad photographs, but as time went on, my skills sharpened. Photography became a passion for me. I love composing a picture of looking for a perfect back drop. I have photographed sporting events, weddings, engage- ments, family events, and personal journeys. To me, a photograph is a way to capture a memory; an instant way to take you back to a time and place from your past. My photos that are on display are a mix of some of my early years of experimentation and journeys I have been on in the past. I hope you enjoy my memories.

12 Illinois School News