Dear Western Avenue Families, On November 23rd and 24th, we will be having our parent/teacher conferences. These confer- ences provide you with an opportunity to be in- volved in your child’s education by learning about their progress thus far this school year. It is a time to share information, concerns, and successes with each other. I sincerely hope you can attend, and if not will connect with the teacher via phone during your scheduled time. As always, thank you for your involvement and support. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that whatever you do and wherever you go that you have a wonderful time! Sincerely, Ron Zeman A Letter from Mr. Zeman... Friday, October 30, 2015 November Issue Western News Of Special Interest: PTC Conference Sched- uler Opens Nov. 2 Veteran’s Day Assem- bly/4th Grade Program Nov. 10 at 8:15AM Early Dismissal Nov. 13 Conferences Nov. 23-24 No School Nov. 25-27 Inside This Issue: Important Dates! 2 Parent/Teacher Conferences 2 Veteran’s Day Assembly / 4th Grade Program 3 Candy Donation for Our Troops 3 Columbus Race 3 Art for All at City Hall—Recipients 4 From the Nurse 4 News from the LMC 5 PTO Yearbook; PTO Fundraising 6 PTO WAS Kids Care / Bell Ringing 7 PTO Bash for Books 9 PTO Running Club; PTO Family Night 8 Western Avenue School 1500 Western Avenue Geneva, Illinois 60134 Phone: 630-463-3500 Attendance: 630-463-3501 Nurse: 630-463-3506 Fax: 630-463-3509 We’re on the web! Geneva304.org
Transcript
Dear Western Avenue Families, On November 23rd and 24th, we will be having our parent/teacher conferences. These confer-ences provide you with an opportunity to be in-volved in your child’s education by learning about their progress thus far this school year. It is a time to share information, concerns, and successes with each other. I sincerely hope you can attend, and if not will connect with the teacher via phone during your scheduled time. As always, thank you for your involvement and support. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope that whatever you do and wherever you go that you have a wonderful time! Sincerely, Ron Zeman
A Letter from Mr. Zeman...
Friday, October 30, 2015 November Issue
Western News
Of Special Interest:
PTC Conference Sched-uler Opens Nov. 2
Veteran’s Day Assem-bly/4th Grade Program Nov. 10 at 8:15AM
Early Dismissal Nov. 13
Conferences Nov. 23-24
No School Nov. 25-27
Inside This Issue:
Important Dates! 2
Parent/Teacher Conferences
2
Veteran’s Day Assembly / 4th Grade Program
3
Candy Donation for Our Troops
3
Columbus Race 3
Art for All at City Hall—Recipients
4
From the Nurse 4
News from the LMC 5
PTO Yearbook; PTO Fundraising
6
PTO WAS Kids Care / Bell Ringing
7
PTO Bash for Books 9
PTO Running Club; PTO Family Night
8
Western Avenue School 1500 Western Avenue Geneva, Illinois 60134
Phone: 630-463-3500
Attendance: 630-463-3501 Nurse: 630-463-3506
Fax: 630-463-3509
We’re on the web!
Geneva304.org
Page 2 Western News
Important Dates! Monday, Nov. 2nd
PTC Wizard Conference Scheduler Opens
See below for details!
Wednesday, Nov. 4th
Last ASE Book Buzz
2:15-3:15pm LMC
Wednesday, Nov. 4th
“Raising Socially Resili-ent Children” with speaker Cheryl Dunz
6:30pm GMSS cafeteria
Tuesday, Nov. 10th
Veteran’s Day Assembly / 4th Grade Program
8:15-9:15am WAS Gym
See page 3 for details!
Friday, Nov. 13th
End of 1st Trimester
Early Dismissal, 11:20am
BOX TOP COLLECTION!
Tuesday, Nov. 17th
PTO Meeting, 7:00pm LMC
Wednesday, Nov. 18th
PTC Wizard Closes!
Friday, Nov. 20th
Progress Reports Available on Home Access Center
Monday, Nov. 23rd to Tuesday, Nov. 24th
NO SCHOOL
Parent / Teacher Confer-ences
Wednesday, Nov. 25th to Friday, Nov. 27th
NO SCHOOL
Thanksgiving Break
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES—NOVEMBER 23RD AND 24TH
PTC Wizard Conference Scheduler
OPENS
Monday, Nov. 2nd
CLOSES
Wednesday, Nov. 18th
Geneva School District will once again be using PTC Wizard to schedule parent/teacher conferences, which will be held from 8:00am to 8:00pm on November 23rd and from 8:00am to 1:00pm on November 24th. PTC Wiz-ard offers parents an easy, efficient way to schedule conferences day or night!
PTC Wizard will be available for parents to access beginning Monday, No-vember 2, 2015. The link to PTC Wizard will be located on Home Access Center (HAC) at www.geneva304.org/Homeaccesscenter.aspx. Parents will need to schedule their conferences using this link sometime before Wednes-day, November 18th. Parents can enter Home Access Center through our school’s website. After November 18th, parents will need to call Liz Can-non at 630.463.3503 to schedule their conferences.
For additional information on how to use PTC Wizard, guidelines are avail-able on our website – www.geneva304.org or parents can call the office.
The Great Race is Finished and What Results!
Western Avenue School completed the Columbus race with 46,233 miles. We definitely beat Columbus 2,706 miles.
Our top 5 finishers were: 1st place ~ Shannon’s 5th grade; 2nd ~ Mrs. Thompson’s 5th grade; 3rd ~ Ms. Kovarik’ s 3rd grade; 4th ~ Mrs. Bowman’s 1st grade; and 5th ~ Mrs. Was-sell’ s 1st grade. Great job everyone, keep doing your activi-ties and reading.
Mrs. Gregait P. E. teacher
Page 3 November Issue
Veteran’s Day Assembly/4th Grade Program
WAS Gym from 8:15 to 9:15 AM
We are looking forward to a wonderful assembly honoring our Veterans! This program will be
presented by WAS 4th grade students under the direction of Shelbi Busche, our music teacher.
Fourth grade parents are welcome to attend.
Gym doors open at 7:50 AM.
Veteran’s Day Assembly...Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Support our Troops!
Unwanted Halloween Candy is WANTED by WAS Girl Scouts!
WAS Girl Scouts will be collecting any and all unwanted Halloween candy again this year. The candy will be donated to Fox Valley
Troop Support so it can be added to the care packages they send out in December. There are many service men and women over-seas that would LOVE to receive your extra Skittles and M&Ms!
CANDY IN GOOD CONDITION ONLY PLEASE — nothing damaged or opened and no toys, pencils, stickers, etc.
Drop off period: Nov. 2- 20
Drop off location: 2059 Eldorado Drive (bin on the front porch)
1. The parent/guardian and Illinois health care provider will complete the School Medi-cation Authorization Form before the administration of any non-prescription or pre-scription medication at school.
2. The School Medication Authorization Form must be completed annually (annually meaning with the beginning of each new school year) or whenever there is a change in medication and /or dosage.
3. All medications will be provided to the nurse in an original container or vial, as pro-vided by the pharmacist, with the prescription/dosage affixed. Upon request, the pharmacist will supply you with two properly labeled containers, one for home use and one for use at school. Non-prescription (over-the-counter) medications must be provided in the original container labeled with the student’s name.
4. No student may possess or consume any prescription or non-prescription medica-tion during school hours or school-related activities until a completed and signed School Medication Authorization Form is on file.
5. The parent/guardian is responsible for bringing medication to the school and for tak-ing unused medication from the school when no longer required. Medication will only be received by and/or returned to the parent/guardian by the nurse or building administrator.
6. Upon drop off, medication is required to be counted by the nurse and/or building administrator in the presence of the parent/guardian. The parent/guardian will be asked to sign off on the amount being supplied to the school.
7. Medication will be administered by the school nurse or under the direction of the building administrator (unless self administration authorization is received as per Public Act 096-1460 or Public Act 096-1485).
8. NO herbal, vitamin, or mineral supplements shall be possessed or administered dur-ing school hours.
From the Nurse…
PROCEDURE FOR ALL PRESCRIPTION AND OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS:
Page 4 Western News
Twice a year, the mayor supports the arts by honoring artists from each of the Geneva schools. On October 29th, 10 students from Western Avenue will be honored and their work will be exhibited on Geneva's Public Access Channel 10, "GBN" (Geneva Broadcast Network). Congratulations to the following students:
Juliana Marsh
Victor Wright
Alexandra Lee
Ian Toczylowski
Caitlyn Cilio
Reece Leonard
Paige Flanigan
Ryan Danielski
Avalyn Connolly
Beckett Tucker
Art for All at City Hall!
Page 5 November Issue
In kindergarten we have been working on learning the parts of a book. We have talked about front cover, back cover, and the spine. We are looking at the covers to see if the cover is a wraparound cover or just a front and back cover. We are also working on determining if a book is fiction or non-fiction. We talked about how a fiction book is pretend and a non-fiction book is real. After we read a story we figure out what type of book it is and why it is that type of book. We read some fun Halloween stories in anticipation of Halloween. The boys and girls really liked The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything.
In first grade we have been working on the parts of the books, fiction and non-fiction, and choosing just right books. We have talked a lot about why one of our books should be a just right book. In order to determine if a book is a just right book your child reads the first two pages of the book. For each word they miss they put up a finger. If they have 0 to 1 fingers up the book is too easy, if they hold up 2 or 3 fingers the book is just right, and if they hold up 4 or 5 fingers the book is too hard. We talked about how you have to understand what you read; not just read the words correctly. They are working very hard to find just right books when they come to the library.
The second graders just completed their first research project. They learned about Super 3. Super 3 is a method to help students learn how to locate, interpret, organize, and share information in a meaningful way. The three steps are plan, do, and review. We went through all of the steps two times before they completed the process with a partner. We talked about how to take notes and fill in a graphic organizer and then take those notes and turn them into sentences. We learned how to write an introduction and a conclusion to go along with our report. They did a super job learning how to do all of this.
The third graders have been learning how to use the online card catalog for Western Avenue. We have worked on how to do a subject search and then how to refine your search for fewer choices. We are also working on choosing appropriate books to read. I used the analogy of riding a bike downhill, on a straight road, and uphill. Downhill books are too easy and you will not get enough exercise, straight book are good, but don’t require much work. An uphill book makes you struggle a little bit, but the more you do the hill or read at this level the stronger you get and the easier the hill or books gets. We are also trying to expand what we read and check out a variety of books.
The fourth graders continue to work on genres and subgenres. They are finishing up their second review of literature also. I will introduce their new genre in the next few weeks.
The fifth graders continued to learn more about internet safety. We had a lesson about cyber bullying and talked about the different roles that people play in these situations. The roles are: a target, a cyberbully, an upstander and a bystander. We talked about what each person does or does not do. We have also been learn-ing how to use Image Quest and Encyclopedia Britannica. These are two resources that the students will use to complete any research project. Image Quest is a picture data base run through Britannica that has millions of images. The students made picture folders on their H drives to store their pictures in.
Kindergarten through second grade parents had the opportunity to sign up for Remind. I will send out a re-minder text the night before your child comes to library so that they can get their books in their backpack. If you missed the sign up and would like to receive a text please email me at [email protected] and I will send you the code to sign up.
The pumpkins are here and boy do they look great. Pictures will be posted on the website in the next few days.
We are looking for a few volunteers who like to shelve books in the library. If you are interested please
According to recent surveys, the average Ameri-can spends between $750 and $800 during the holiday season (sources: Mint.com, and American Re-search Group.com). A Target REDcard could save you up to $40 on those holiday purchases alone. The REDcard discounts every Target pur-chase by 5%, offers 30 extra days on re-turns, free shipping from Target.com, AND donates 1% of all purchases tendered to WAS. Families that shop with their RED-card at Target have raised over $26,000 for WAS with the REDcard Take Charge of Education Pro-gram. Designate WAS as your REDcard beneficiary by using code 46747 on your application. Thank you, families!
Reminder!
The next box top collection date is: Friday, November 13!
It’s hip to clip! Keep clipping!!
November Issue — PTO NEWS
ATTENTION 5TH GRADE PARENTS!
Greetings from the Yearbook Committee! The class/portrait pages of the yearbook are special for our 5th graders! They include both a cur-rent yearbook picture and a picture from Kindergarten for each 5th grade student. We need your help to accomplish this so please provide the following before Nov. 14th:
Wallet size photo of your child from Kindergarten (1st grade or pre-school if necessary).
Preferably a picture taken at WAS or your former school on picture day in Kindergarten.
If you don’t have the school photo, please try to find a picture that is a face shot (not full body).
Mark the picture on the back with their full name. Send it to school in an envelope marked with: Yearbook, Child’s
name, Class code. Please note these photos are sent to the yearbook publisher and we will try to re-turn them to you at the end of the year. Please keep in mind when choosing the photo that the publisher will need to place a little sticker on the back.
Questions? Contact Brenda Carlson at (630) 262-1660 or [email protected]
November Issue — PTO NEWS Page 7
WAS KIDS CARE 2015-16 WAS Kids Care has started the year off and running! For those of you unfamiliar with this group, WAS Kids Care works in cooperation with the PTO and the school staff to create service projects for students where they are able to show compassion for oth-ers, learn about needs of their community, and make connections with the surrounding world.
To support these goals, each grade level at Western participates in a community ser-vice project during the year:
K – Yearlong “pen pal” exchange with Friendship Station Preschool students at WAS
1 – Hat and Mitten collection for Batavia Clothes Closet (DEC)
2 – Operation Support Our Troops America—Wish list collection for troops and letters to servicemen and women (NOV)
3 - Lazarus House “Helping the Homeless” (FEB)
4 – TBD (APR)
5 – Variety Show for Marklund Home, Organizes Western Walks Walk-a-Thon (MAY)
Our KINDERGARTENERS have already begun sharing some terrific artwork with the new Friendship Station preschoolers at Western Avenue. They made a “Welcome Banner” at the beginning of the year and a video to welcome the preschoolers to the building. They are looking forward to growing their relationships with the on-site pre-schoolers throughout the year!
Next up, our 2ND GRADERS will begin their two week long service project for Opera-tion Support Our Troops America out of Naperville, IL. In honor of Veteran’s Day, they will be expressing their appreciation and support for our troops by collecting items from a wish list, creating personal letters/pictures, packing boxes, and sending the box to a troop. They will also hear from a guest speaker about how Operation Support Our Troops America is committed to helping troops and their families, and a second special guest speaker related to a 2nd grade student! Lastly, we hope to hear back from the service men and women who receive the boxes to learn more about how they serve our country!
Please look for updates from WAS Kids Care in upcoming issues of the Western Weekly, and contact Alyssa Lee or Kristin McChrystal with any questions. Thank you for supporting WAS Kids Care and our communities!
Start the holiday season with a little community service!
Bell Ringing for the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign
Once again, Western Avenue Elementary School will be volunteering to help the Salvation Army’s Kettle Campaign by ringing the bell at the Starbucks
on State Street. There are two evenings available for you to help, Decem-ber 3rd and December 8th. We will be working in 30 minute shifts start-
ing at 4pm and ending at 8pm. This is a great opportunity for families, neighbors, or scout troops to give back to the community.
Please call or email Alyssa Lee in the office if you are interested in filling any of the shifts at 630-463-3502 or at [email protected].
MOTION Running Club was a huge success this fall at Western Avenue! More than 80 students came together to get fit and get moving! Each week students learned im-portant lessons for running, including form, stretching, and goal setting. Following each lesson, students played running games to get their bodies in MOTION. Then they set to the track to earn their miles. For each mile a runner completed, they earned a foot for a keychain to show others what they had accomplished. As a grand finale, families and teachers were invited to cheer students on as they completed a “mini marathon”. Students ran for more than twenty minutes with their biggest fans watching and encouraging them along their route! Students also earned a certificate of comple-tion! Great job runners! We hope you keep running all year!
Written By: Coach Graves, Coach Livingston, & Coach Wassell
