What a full week this has been, from 2nd graders marketing items they created or skills they could teach, to 3rd graders ‘describing’ how a parachute made music, to 8th graders simulating the building of new DNA. Great work, students and staff!
We look forward to more next week, with classroom Valentine’s Day parties on Monday and concerts at Country Meadows and Woodlawn later in the week.
All just in time for an upcoming long weekend: There is no school Monday, Feb. 21, which is Presidents’ Day.
Everyone, enjoy your weekend and the coming week!
Coming Up
- February 14: Valentine’s Day parties
- February 15: Board of Education meeting (7 p.m.)
- February 16: Country Meadows / Kildeer 4th-5th Grade Orchestra Concert at Woodlawn
- February 17: Woodlawn 6th-8th Grade Band Concert (7 p.m., Woodlawn; limited in-person and virtual)
- February 21: Presidents Day (No school)
- February 22: Early Release Day
- February 22: Ivy Hall / Prairie 4th-5th Grade Orchestra Concert at Stevenson Performing Arts Center
- 4th Grade Concert: 6:30 p.m.
- 5th Grade Concert: 7:30 p.m.
- February 24: Twin Groves 6th Grade Band & IH/P 5th Grade Band Concert (7 p.m., Twin Groves)
- March 14-15: Parent / Educator Conferences
5Essentials Survey for Students Coming Up
Parents and guardians: Over the next few weeks, your child will be participating in the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, which asks students about their experiences, attitudes and activities in school ~ with the goal of helping schools to improve. This is the 10th year of the survey, which also solicits input from teachers and parents on how their schools may be improved.
The survey is for students in 4th grade and higher. District 96 middle school students take the 25-minute survey the week of Feb. 14. Elementary school students will take the survey the week of Feb. 28.
This online survey is administered by UChicago Impact on behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education. This survey is based on the Five Essentials for School Success ~ Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Supportive Environment and Ambitious Instruction ~ an evidence-based framework developed by the University of Chicago. This framework identifies how school performance on five factors or “essentials” can lead to important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains.
For more information, visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois (choose “Select a Public Survey” dropdown menu) or contact 5Essentials Customer Support at 1-866-440-1874 or [email protected].
GCI Celebrates
Check out the latest entry from a member of Guiding Coalition of Interculturalism (GCI), from the group’s District Instagram Page. Follow KCSD 96’s GCI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d96gci/.
Stevenson Simplified
Congrats and thanks to the Stevenson High School students and Principal Gobble who helped with the “Simplifying Stevenson” discussion this past Monday. The panel was organized by Lubna Andrabi, KCSD 96’s Community Parent Liaison.
Kindergarten Pre-Registration Closing Friday
Parents of incoming Kindergartners, pre-registration closes Friday, Feb. 18. For more information, please email [email protected].
FROM OUR SCHOOLS
Country Meadows
Mrs. Murray’s Country Meadows 3rd-grade music students played with a parachute this week, visually seeing how a parachute could show music. Holding onto a section of the parachute, the students shook it to reflect the tempo and dynamic of the particular songs to which they were listening. Students then drew the wave pattern created by the parachute and noted the tempo and dynamic of the songs into their iPads.
Ivy Hall
Ivy Hall 2nd graders hosted their annual Market today, showcasing and marketing items they created ~ and services they could provide! ~ to their customers, fellow classmates and staff. The school cafeteria came alive with the sounds of shopping, buying, comparing, as students showcased artwork, paper and popsicle stick bookmarks, jumping frogs and binoculars, or sold their services reading from books, writing names in Japanese, teaching a bit of karate and even teaching breakdance and jazz/ballet.
The Marketplace was an offshoot of their Social Studies unit on economics and the relationship between producer/marketer and consumer/customer. Whew ~ phenomenal!
Woodlawn Middle School
During Ms. Warkenthien’s science class, Woodlawn 8th graders modeled the Recombinant method, which is one way biologists modify the DNA of organisms to add beneficial or desired traits, she explained.
Using strips of paper to simulate the genetic material, students removed a gene for insulin production from a human cell’s DNA and inserted it in a bacteria cell’s plasmid (DNA) (pink strip of paper). The students simulated this by using restriction enzymes ~ smaller blue strips of paper with coding on them ~ which worked as molecular scissors. The restriction enzymes were used to “cut” the insulin gene out and used to create an opening in the plasmid where the gene could be inserted!
Bacteria cells that are able to take in the plasmid would contain the gene allowing them to produce insulin.
In The Virtual BackPacks
The Lake County Forest Preserves is hosting Nature/History Zoom presentations on three days in February and March. They’ll be exploring reptiles and amphibians, birds and Potawatomi life. Check the flier for information.
Be sure to check the District’s Virtual BackPacks ~ https://www.kcsd96.org/about/virtual-backpack ~ for other news and information for you and your family!
QUESTIONS?
District 96 will communicate with you every Friday through E-NEWS 96 and through Principal’s Messages from each school in which you have a student enrolled. It’s important to read these messages weekly. Questions about KCSD96 communications? Call 847.459.4260, ext. 8022, or send email to the Media & Communications Specialist @ [email protected].
The next issue of E-NEWS 96 will be Feb. 18, 2022.