September News
Principal Message~
Hello~ The school year is off to a great start! I've been enjoying getting to know our new students and welcoming back our returning students. In between hearing about all of our students summer adventures, we managed to squeeze in quite a few activities. In the past 8 days, all students have completed Expectation Walks for each common area of the school, engaged in fall benchmark testing, enjoyed an all-school kick-off assembly for the One School, One Book project, had their fall picture taken and have begun to settle into their daily routines. As the year continues to progress, please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything I can do to support you and/or your student(s).
~Mrs. Laura Garland
Principal
Important Dates & Information
September 3rd- No School- Labor Day
September 4th- PTN Charleston Wrap Fundraiser Begins
September 7th- Tornado Drill
September 11th- First PTN Meeting- 6:30pm at John Stewart
September 12th- Fun Lunch- Potbellys
September 13th and 14th- 5th Grade Outdoor Education
September 17th- Kaneland High School Traveling Homecoming Assembly for students
September 19th- Kaneland Community Homecoming Parade in Sugar Grove- 6:00pm
One School, One Book~ The One and Only Ivan
On Thursday, August 30th, our school kicked off a One School, One Book project with an all-school assembly. This project involves every student, teacher, bus driver, secretary, nurse... everyone, reading the same book following the same timeline. In Kaneland, every elementary school will be reading The One and Only Ivan. At our assembly, each child was given a copy of the book to take home, along with a nighly calendar of readings. We encourage you to read with and/or to your child and to discuss the story at home. If you or your child would like to hear the book read aloud by staff members, log on to our website or Click Here . Trivia questions based on the nighly readings will be read on the announcements each morning and those who participate will be entered into prize drawings.
Visitors
If you have visited the school over the past week, you have experienced the new entry system. Visitors will need to ring the bell located to the right of the main doors to gain entrance. Once inside, the practice of scanning driver's licenses and wearing visitor badges will remain the same. Please remember to bring identification when visiting the school.
**If you bring your child to school after 8:50am, be sure to walk him/her into the building. The exterior doors will automatically lock at 8:50am and visitors will need to ring the bell to gain entry. Young children may be unaware of how to access the building if they are sent in alone after 8:50am. Parents are also required to sign their student in at the main office if they arrive after 8:50am.
PTN
If you have not already done so, be sure to sign up for the weekly PTN emails. You can sign up Here The weekly email contains great reminders about all PTN events, including Fun Lunch!
This year, our Exploratory teachers (art, music, PE, computer, critical thinking) are trying something new. All classes will earn Exploratory Points for each exploratory they attend daily. Each class that earns enough points by November 26th, will have a free-choice day during their regularly scheduled exploratory time. Free-choice day means that each individual student will be able to choose whether they’d like to go to art, music, PE, technology or critical thinking during one of the 30 minute blocks on December 17th. We think students will be motivated by the opportunity to choose their exploratory for a day. Classes that do not earn the minimum number of required points will follow their regular Exploratory schedule.
Music Performances
Given that many of our music performances take place during the day, we understand that some forward planning may be required to allow you to attend. Please note the date and time of each grade level's performance this year, so you can get it on your calendar early.
Kindergarten Performance- February 8, 2019 @2:45pm
1st Grade Informance- December 7, 2018 @2:45pm
2nd Grade Tea for Two- May 10, 2019 @2:45pm
3rd Grade Open House Performance- April 11, 2019 @5:30pm
4th Grade Recorder Performance- May 3, 2019 @2:45pm
5th Grade John Stewart Veteran's Day Celebration- November 16, 2018 @2:45pm
5th Grade Choral District Festival- April 9, 2019 @7:00pm at Kaneland High School
Enjoy a peek at our first few days!
