Happy New Year - January Newsletter

January Important Dates

Wednesday, January 7th - Fun Lunch Sign-Up Opens (Closes on1/23)

Tuesday, January 13th - District Wide Spelling Bee @ KHS (5:30)

Friday, January 16th - Preorder Milk Due for 2nd Semester 

Monday, January 19th - No School MLK Jr. Day

Thursday, January 22nd - PTN Meeting 6:30pm

Wednesday, January 28th - Fun Lunch

February Important Dates 

Friday, February 6th - 4th Grade Field Trip to Naper Settlement 
Saturday, February 7th - New Kindergarten Registration (8:30-12:00)
Wednesday, February 11th - Fun Lunch
Thursday, February 12th - 5th Grade Instrument Fitting 
Friday, February 13th - Kindergarten Music Concert (9:30) 
Friday, February 13th - Valentines Parties 
Monday, February 16th - No School Presidents Day
Friday, February 20th - 5th Grade Scheduling for Middle School
Friday, February 20th - 2nd Trimester Report Cards Go Live (4:00)
Wednesday, February 25th - Fun Lunch
Friday, February 27th - No School Teacher Institute Day

Fun Lunch & Milk for Second Semester

Message from the PTN: Fun Lunch sign-up will be from 1/7-1/23.

The PTN has a couple of new vendors this season, but they require a few days to confirm the details. Also, prices have been lowered! We worked with vendors to cap costs at $5. We (the PTN) made a donation to lower the cost and round everything down. If the meal was $3.50 before, it is now $3. The PTN wants Fun Lunch to be more accessible to all families. If you need assistance or have additional questions, please reach out to stewartptn@gmail.com.

Also, the last Fun Lunch of the year will be free! That registration will be sent in April.
Sign-up to volunteer for Fun Lunch will also be in Wednesday’s PTN newsletter email. Please only sign up for 1 slot per family. Thanks!


Prepaid Milk
It is time to order 2nd-semester prepaid milk. Milk may be purchased online through your parent portal on Infinite Campus. Orders are due by Friday, January 16th.

Costs: ($.55)/Milk ($48.00-2nd sem.)

Annual KST Spelling Bee

On Tuesday, December 16th, our students in 3rd-5th showcased their hard work and spelling skills during our school Spelling Bee! After taking a spelling assessment, the top students earned the opportunity to compete in today’s bee.

We are excited to share that the top 10 spellers will move on to represent our school at the District Spelling Bee, which will be held at Kaneland High School in January. What an incredible accomplishment!

A special congratulations to our Top 3 winners:

1st Place: Emily S. (5th grade)

2nd Place: Dylan S. (5th grade)

3rd Place: Leonard T. (5th grade)

Congratulations to all of our participants—we are so proud of your perseverance, confidence, and dedication. Way to shine!

Top 10 Pictured Left to Right: Elaina (3rd), Cameron (4th), Caiden (4th), Eli (4th), Dylan (5th), Emily (5th), Lyla (5th), Leonard (5th), Baylee (5th), Shay (5th)

Final Data Collection for Our School Improvement Goal

We are in the final stretch of our School Improvement Goal focused on helping students strengthen their written responses to grade-level texts. Students are practicing how to answer questions using text evidence and making meaningful connections, and they continue to show growth in their writing.

How families can help at home:
- Provide students with opportunities to write about what they read
- Ask questions like who, what, when, where, and why
- Encourage your child to find details in the text to support their answers
- Offer positive feedback and gentle reminders about grammar (capital letters, punctuation, and using a capital I when appropriate)

For older students, encourage richer vocabulary and more detailed responses.

Reading at Home Challenge

Our SIP goal ties in perfectly with reading routines at home. I know life can be busy, but I want to encourage all of our students to keep growing their knowledge by reading at least 20 minutes each day. Research shows that consistent daily reading—whether traditional books or environmental print—builds vocabulary, strengthens comprehension, and builds lifelong habits. Little moments add up!

Please remember: reading doesn’t always have to look like sitting with a book. It can be woven into your everyday routines. Environmental reading counts too! Things like:
- Cooking together and reading a recipe
- Reading signs while driving or shopping
- Reading instructions for a game or building a toy
- Exploring a magazine, menu, sports schedule, or website together

This year, I’m inviting all families to join our Reading Challenge. Instead of aiming for perfection, I encourage you to set a realistic family goal. Maybe it’s reading together three nights a week… or five… or every night! Whatever your starting point is, choose something that feels achievable and meaningful for your family.

If you’re looking for simple ways to support reading at home, here are a few ideas:- Let your child choose what they read—choice builds motivation!- Take turns reading aloud to each other.- Ask questions like “What do you think will happen next?” or “What was your favorite part?”- Keep books or magazines in the car for quick reading moments.- Create a cozy reading spot at home—blankets and holiday lights make it extra inviting!

Starting this month, students will also be bringing home a variety of books to support their reading—these may come from our Fountas & Pinnell guided reading collection, the school library, or their classroom library. Because many of these books are needed for read-to-self time or for guided reading groups, it’s very important that they are returned to school each day. Please help your child build a simple routine, such as placing their book back in their backpack right after reading. Teachers and students carefully select books that match your child’s reading level, and at times your child may bring home a book that is slightly above or below that level—especially for our younger readers who read several shorter texts. All of these selections support their growth and confidence as readers. Thank you for helping us take great care of our shared books!

Thank you for all you do to support your child’s learning. Together, we can help every child grow into a confident, enthusiastic reader—building habits over winter break that continue strong into the new year and beyond!

Reading Log Templates, if you would like to use one at home for tracking minutes: 

Reading Log

Weekly Reading Log

Incoming Kindergarten Registration 

CLICK HERE: New Kindergarten Registration 

💌 Valentine’s Day Party- Friday, Feb 13th 

Kindergarten: 10:40-11:20

First - Fifth Grade: 2:30-3:20

All students are welcome to bring Valentine’s cards. If cards are brought, please be sure your child brings one for each student in the class. No food items should be attached to Valentine's. Small non-food trinkets are acceptable. Individual teachers will be in contact with their class if a Valentine's box needs to be created at home or if one will be made at school.

We’re Looking for Substitute Lunch Monitors!

Do you love being around kids and want to make a difference in the middle of your day? We have are looking for Substitute Lunch Monitors! Hours are 10:30–1:15, making it the perfect opportunity for anyone wanting to be part of our school community—without a full-day or full-time commitment. Sub Monitors are called on an as-needed basis when our full-time monitors need time off.

If you’re interested or would like more information, please reach out to Mrs. Aversa at 10017@kaneland.org. We’d love to have you join our team! 🌟

You can also complete an online application via the link below.

Kaneland Employment Online Application