Country Meadow's Principal's Message - February 22nd

Country Meadows Families,

Even though it was a short week, it was packed of fun experiences for our students.  Our students were able to learn all about lacrosse in PE (see below) from two of our CM parents, and we ended our week with an amazing Cultural Arts performance provided by our PTO (see below).  Thank you to everyone who made these experiences possible for our students! 

NEW *Special Experience in PE* 

This week in PE our students were able to have an exciting and new opportunity to learn about one of the fastest growing sports in the US: lacrosse. Thanks to the help and support of some wonderful CM parents who volunteered their personal time, Bob McKelvey and Stacey Paras, all of our students were able to learn some of the fundamental lacrosse skills.

Bob and Stacey are affiliated with the Lake Zurich Lacrosse Club, and provided all of the equipment needed to make this possible. The students learned ball control skills, passing, catching, and shooting. It was a really fun week, and the students really enjoyed learning about lacrosse. This overall experience tied directly to our movement targets in PE, and provided an amazing learning opportunity for our students!

NEW *Student Report Card Information* 

Make a note: Your student's report card will be available for you to access online NEXT FRIDAY, Mar. 1, after 3 PM. 

To better understand your child's report card scores, please READ MORE about the typical progression of standards-based scores included on District 96 report cards.

NEW *Cultural Arts Assembly* 

What an amazing show for our students! John Donahue-Grossman joined us this morning for our final Cultural Arts assembly of the year.  John is an incredible storyteller focused on SEL and motivational speaking.  In the show, Mr. Grossman dresses as a character Ray to portray the importance of not judging others by what they look like.   His overall message was very consistent with our school theme this year, "This is Me", and he encouraged students to think deeply about the assumptions and judgements they make about others. 

Thank you to our PTO for scheduling this show and for relating the performance so closely with our theme! 

NEW *No School Friday, March 1st* 

This is a friendly reminder that students will not be in attendance next Friday, March 1st.

NEW *Stand Strong Informational Program* 

Keeping Teens Safe on the Internet is an informational program for all interested parents presented by Stand Strong on Mar. 14 at the  Lincolnshire Village Hall.

NEW *PTO Update*

Country Meadow's 3rd -5th grade Science Fair will be March 14th, 2019.  Sign up by February 22nd from this link Science Fair registration form.  We are also looking for parents who can help volunteer on March 14th during the Science Fair.  View the link and let us know if you can help out  Volunteer Sign Up for Science Fair

o    There will be two after-school workshops for the Science Fair from 3-4pm on Feb 27th and March 6th

o    Parents will be required to send a note with their child if the student wants to sign up for any of the workshops.

o    Poster boards will be available to be picked up from school on Monday for the kids who have already signed up for the science fair.

 Help make the Family Educator Conference Meals great for the teachers!  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!

REPEATING *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?

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]

Warmly,

Meghan Bird - Principal