Country Meadows Principal's Message - February 15th

Country Meadows Families,

What a fun and busy week at Country Meadows!  We had such a fun time at our PTO sponsored Valentine's Day parties, and we would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who made Thursday afternoon so much fun for our students!  We have also done an incredible job as a school collecting pop tabs and earning PRO Paws for showing expected behaviors!  We are going to continue both of these challenges due to the great response we are seeing from students and staff! 

NEW *Spring Conferences* 

Spring Conferences are coming on Thursday, March 7th from 5pm-8:30pm and Friday, March 8th from 10am-1:30pm.   Here is the link to sign up for CM Spring Conferences.  

Spring Conferences are Collaborative Conferences!  

Collaborative conferences means that your child will be leading the conference.  The purpose of collaborative conferences is for educators, students and families to discuss, reflect and celebrate student work, and for families to experience school through their child's eyes.  Students have been working hard to prepare for the conference, and we are excited for you to learn about your child’s progress directly from your child!

Teachers will be available in the room as guides and will be available to answer student questions or elaborate on a point a student is making, but we ask that all participants respect that this is the student’s opportunity to lead the conference by sharing progress and reflections about their own learning.  

Please read below to learn specific information about how collaborative conferences will be structured for each grade-level.   

Grades EC-2

Families will sign-up for a 15 minute collaborative conference. Grades EC-2 collaborative conferences will be structured with one student in the classroom at a time with the classroom teacher as the guide and the student as the leader of the conference.  

Grades 3-5

Families will sign-up for a 30 minute conference. Grades 3-5 collaborative conferences will be structured with up to 3 students in the classroom at a time.  Student/Family partnerships will sit in a private space to engage in the conference. Classroom teachers and other building staff will be in the classroom to guide the process, but students will lead the conference.  Specials teachers will be in classrooms as guides in addition to the classroom teacher. Students should plan to bring their iPad to the conference.

Grades 6-8

Families will sign-up for a 20 minute conference. Grades 6-8 collaborative conferences will be structured with up to 6 students in the classroom at a time. Student/Family partnerships will sit in a private space to engage in the conference. The grade-level team of teachers will be in the classroom to guide the process, but students will lead the conference.  Exploratory teachers, PE, Health, Spanish and Band and Orchestra teachers will host an exposition of their courses. More information coming soon.  Students should plan to bring their iPad to the conference.

What is the Role of Families during Collaborative Conferences?

• Provide reinforcement, encouragement and praise

• Listen and ask questions

• Help students look realistically at quality of work

• Facilitate student’s self-reflection and goal setting

• Be a partner in learning

• See school through their student’s eyes

Questions Families Can Ask During the Collaborative Conference

• What is your favorite piece of work? Why?

• Describe your favorite activities or subjects.

• What experiences at school do you find the most exciting?

• Are there experiences that frustrate you, if so why?

• What goals have you set for yourself for this spring?

• How can I help you at home?

NEW *Spring Club Notification* 

Spring clubs will begin next week, the week of 2/18.  Sign up for spring clubs is now closed.  If you would still like to sign up, please use the sign up for the specific club you are interested in, and we will add your child to a wait list! 

You should have received an email from me confirming your child's registration/session for spring clubs.  If you did not, or if you have any additional questions, please contact me or the club sponsor and we'll be happy to help!   

NEW *No School Monday, February 18th & Half Day Friday, February 22nd* 

This is a friendly reminder that:

*There is no school on Monday, February 18th.  We will see students back at CM on Tuesday, February 19th.

*Friday, February 22nd is a half day for students.  Students will be dismissed at 11:45.  Please plan to pick your child up accordingly.

NEW *Kindness Week Challenge Update* 

Our students have done an amazing job collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and earning PRO Paws for being responsible, respectful, and peaceful!  Our goal is to fill an empty bulletin board with our PRO Paws and we are well on our way!  Our reward will be another spirit week, but have no fear!  Rather than focusing on outfits/themed days, students will be brainstorming fun activities/themes that do not require additional planning on those helping students get ready for school in the morning! :) 

Due to the great success we have had in collecting pop tabs, we are going to keep our collection open until further notice.  Pleas continue to collect your pop tabs and send them with your child to school so we can continue to exercise our CM kindness! 

NEW *PTO Update*

Country Meadow's 3^rd -5^th grade Science Fair will be March 14th, 2019.  Sign up by February 22^nd from this link Science Fair registration form.  We're looking for support to help make the Family Educator Conference Meals great!  Please help out with a Donation, select the item(s) you can donate to the meal.  Like us on Facebook and log into Membership Toolkit to keep up with all the activities.

Find more information in the COUNTRY MEADOWS PTO BLOG!

NEW *Girls on the Run Spring 2018*

Dear Parents of 4th-grade girls (& 5th too)! We are expanding our roster!

We are excited to announce Girls on the Run- Country Meadows is back this spring! Girls on the Run is an international social-emotional learning program for girls. During practices, we play games, do activities, and train to complete a 5K run! More information about this incredible program is available at www.girlsontherun.org or www.gotrchicago.org. 

The program is 10 weeks long and will begin on March 3rd! The program concludes with a 5k race in Lake County.  Practices take place after school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-4:00 and the girls must be present for BOTH sessions during the week. There is a program fee of $155 (financial assistance is available from GOTR-Chicago).

If your daughter is interested in participating, and has not yet registered through Girls on the Run, please email Ms. Zorn at [email protected].

Thank you, 

Liz Zorn and Amanda Johns, Country Meadows Girls on the Run coaches

REPEATING *Dual Language Informational Program for Parents*

Parents of incoming kindergartners interested in learning more about the Dual Language program beginning in the 2019–2020 school year are invited to an informational meeting at Willow Grove Early Learning Center, 777 Checker Dr., Buffalo Grove, on Tues., Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m.

Questions? Please call 847.459.4260, ext. 8022, or contact the public info coordinator [email protected]

I hope the students enjoyed this week as much as we did!  Enjoy the long weekend, and we will see students back at school on Tuesday, February 19th.

Warmly,

Meghan Bird - Principal

¡Encuentre más información en COUNTRY MEADOWS PTO BLOG!