Kildeer Principal's Message- May 29th

Kildeer Elementary School

Dear Kildeer Families,

On Tuesday this week, I had the absolute pleasure of hosting our last faculty meeting of the year. It was a time for us to take a trip down memory lane and revisit how we ended the last school year versus how we are ending this one. It was wild to see everything we've been through. However, our tradition carried on. We celebrated

Through the year and remote learning, we've seen hardships. Yet, we've also experienced so much beauty, acts of kindness, and joy. Just to name a few.....

  • Families printing and hanging the cougar paw in the window as a sign we are all in this together.
  • Mrs. Fineman joining our morning announcements as a surprise! 
  • Chalk drawings on sidewalks with words of encouragement and positivity.
  • 5th-grade teachers all joining each of the 4th-grade classrooms to welcome the students to 5th-grade and ease nerves about the transition.
  • Students celebrating their victories from the year in flipgrid and sharing what they are proud of.
  • Support staff carrying load after load of student materials and placing in trunks of your cars. Lesson learned: check the key fob battery!
  • Mr. Higgins laughing at his own jokes in the morning announcements (we all laughed, too!)
  • Families submitting the pledge of allegiance!
  • The PTO setting up signs and hanging out to pass yearbooks out during materials pick-up.
  • Student council brainstorming and sending us positive messages each Friday.
  • Teachers on zooms with creative lessons such as escape rooms or trivia!
  • My own son's language absolutely exploding! Where did he learn that vocabulary? Did I mention I potty-trained him during quarantine?
  • Shout-out after shout-out to our staff from parents with words of appreciation and support.
  • Mr. Grana and his new beard making an appearance to welcome the 5th-graders to Woodlawn. 
  • Buddy classrooms continuing virtually to keep the connections going among all of our staff and students.
  • An incredible assembly to finish off the year in the most celebratory way!
  • Standing at Woodlawn today and seeing the staff social-distanced to wave one final wave to our 8th-graders. This moment really captured my heart!

Like I said. These are just a few. There are countless other examples.

It's been a tough road and we could not have done this without each and every stakeholder in our students' lives supporting along the way.

Were the days easy? Nope. Were there days we lost our patience? Yup. However, we did it. You did it! 

GO YOU! 


*NEW INFORMATION*

I AM ME...WE ARE KILDEER family celebration (3rd annual)

During these tough times, we want to make sure that we are continuing to learn from and about each other. Our staff recently got together to start brainstorming what our 3rd annual family celebration could look like in the fall. Please know we are discussing a virtual experience for later in the fall. More to come and ideas are ALWAYS welcome! We cannot wait!


*NEW INFORMATION*

Elementary Students' Reflections on HOPE

In mid-May, District 96 Language Development Coaches challenged their elementary students in Grades 3–5 to express "What hope means." Their video responses are genuine, heartfelt, and moving.  Please take time for their inspiring reflections: What HOPE means to us – D96


*NEW INFORMATION*

Coloring Fun for Kildeer Elementary Cougars


Show your Kildeer pride! New Kildeer Cougars–and those who will be returning for the 2020–21 school year–may enjoy these KILDEER COLORING PAGES (3-page pdf for download), including our Cougar 5 Pledge. Thank you Ms. Chan for the incredible designs!


*NEW INFORMATION*

Student Report Card Access Today

Your student’s report card will be available for you to access online today AFTER 3 PM. If you need assistance, please CLICK HERE for instructions to view your student’s report card, to switch between your children’s report cards, and more.


*NEW INFORMATION*

Summer Learning Requirements and Options 

Plans for Summer 2020 days ahead look different than most of us anticipated, but they do include keeping the learning going for KCSD96 kids in fun and interesting ways.

Reading during the summer is critically important for students’ continued growth and helps counteract “summer slide”–when some of the achievement gains made during the previous school year slip away.

In addition to summer reading, District 96 faculty have been at work developing Summer Enrichment Activities for 11 weeks of summer!

Find weekly required reading as well as optional activities to choose from related to math connections, science, social studies, writing, music, art, PE, or STEM HERE. (Note: For optional activities they choose, students should be able to work independently. There is nothing to submit.)

All students entering kindergarten–Grade 5 also have grade-level-specific book ideas to inspire them to discover the pleasure of reading. Links to these lists are found at the foot of the Summer Enrichment Activities webpage.

In addition to optional Summer Enrichment Activities, all students entering grades 6–8 have a Read Outside Yourself Summer Reading Challenge, including a specific assignment.

Which Grade Level?

Grade-level groups at the top of the Summer Enrichment Activities homepage (that is, Grades EC/K–2, Grades 3–5, Grades 6–7) refer to the 2019–20 school year, as this enrichment includes support of some 2019–20 learning targets. Choose the grade level of your student in the just-completed 2019–20 school year. For example, a student who will be in Grade 8 in the 2020–21 school year should select the Grades 6–7 category and complete 7th-grade work.


*REPEAT INFORMATION*

Last Call for Material Pick Up

Thank you, again, for making our material pick-up process so efficient!  For those of you unable to make the assigned dates and times, June 1st will be the last call for student material pick up.  Between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00, please come to the front of the building.  All remaining student bags will be labeled and organized by grade/class.  Please adhere to social distancing guidelines, and safely grab your child's belongings.  All other bags will be kept until the 2020-2021 school year.  

*THE PTO WILL HAVE A TABLE WITH YEARBOOKS ON JUNE 1ST IF YOU DID NOT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOURS!


*REPEAT INFORMATION*

Attention Current 3rd-Graders

Are you interested in signing up for orchestra next year? Check this out

*If you are a current 4th or 5th-grade orchestra student, you might want to check this out, too! 


*REPEAT INFORMATION*

Attention Current 4th-Graders

Are you interested in signing up for band next year? Check this out


*REPEAT INFORMATION*

Student iPads 

Due to both our expanded virtual options for June and our intention to share suggestions and resources for continued learning with families over the summer, ALL RETURNING DISTRICT 96 STUDENTS WILL KEEP THEIR IPADS DURING THE SUMMER. We are pleased to be able to offer families and our students ongoing access to this resource. Please remind kids to continue to take care of these iPads. They will need them in the fall!


***  PLEASE READ THE PTO BLOG - FINAL BLOG OF THE 19-20 SCHOOL YEAR! ***

The partnership with our PTO is extremely important at Kildeer. Please take a moment each week to review the information to learn how you can get involved, support Kildeer, and dates to mark your calendar!


Catch up on very important information from our PTO!

 

*  Canceled PTO Events and Programs:  You should have received an email from Darci Shaw on 5/15 regarding account credits in Membership Toolkit for canceled PTO Events and Programs.  Please see the blog for more details.  If you have not responded via the Google Form, please do so by June 1st.  

 

*  Kildeer School Supply Kits:  Purchase your Kildeer School Supply Kit!  Deadline to order is July 10th. Login to www.shopttkits.com  Account #22106  More details are in the blog.  

 

*  Woodlawn School Supply Kits:  Login to www.shopttkits.com Account #10240.

 

*  YEARBOOKS:  It’s not too late!  You can still pick up your Yearbook on June 1st.  Please see blog for more details.

 

*  Interested in becoming more involved with the PTO???  More details are in the blog.


If you received your yearbook, then I encourage you to read the opening letter. It surprised me just how applicable the message is, even today.

Serving as the Principal at Kildeer Elementary School is an honor and a privilege. I thought heading into my fourth year with an assistant principal for the first time would feel like a different year. Well, it absolutely did, just not in the way I imagined. I continue to believe that it takes a village and we couldn't do it without YOU! We may not yet know what lies ahead of us in the fall or what school will "look like", however, I can assure you our resilience as a community will only help us moving forward. 

To my 5th graders and families leaving Kildeer for the last time, thank you for giving us the gift to be a part of your children's journey. I have a feeling Kildeer will hold a very special place in their hearts. How do I know? I've seen plenty of pictures of our former students graduating from Stevenson and making the journey back to Kildeer for a photo in their cap and gown this year. That tells me a lot

Always remember, once a Kildeer Cougar, ALWAYS a Kildeer Cougar!

Fondly,

Mrs. Vail Kieser
Principal