Dear Families,
Welcome back and Happy New Year! It has been incredible to see our students this week. It’s very clear that the time during winter break helped us all to reset and begin this year refreshed! All students had an opportunity to participate in a fluency screening this week and I know the collaborative effort was fun for the adults and students. Thank you for making reading a priority over the break and please know that it shows!
One of my favorite thoughts thus far about 2021 is “12 chapters and 365 chances”. It resonated with me to think about the year ahead in smaller chunks and to be intentional each month about different goals. I wonder what chapters our students will write in 2021? I look forward to seeing them in action.
Kindly,
Christine Pfaff
PTO News - Cookie Kits
Looking for a fun Valentine's Day activity to do, the PTO is selling cookie kits from Couture Cakery with a Valentine's day theme. The kits cost $17 and are on sale through January 27th. The kits will be ready for pick up February 11th and 12th at school. Also, all families who purchase a kit will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card to the bakery. Head over to MTK for more information and to place your order.
GIRLS ON THE RUN 2021
Attention Parents/Guardians of 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Girls!
We are excited to announce that for its 10th Season, Prairie is offering Girls on the Run!! GOTR International took the summer to create a great virtual program and since right now D96 is fully remote, and could be hybrid again when the metrics change, our GOTR will be FULLY VIRTUAL this year. Meetings will be 45-60 minutes online after school twice a week (on Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 and Thursdays 4:00-5:00pm. The program will also include 20-30 minutes of offline independent work. The season will start early March and go through early May and culminate with our own Celebration or a GOTR virtual movement challenge (depending on health and safety conditions).
If you would like to indicate your interest for your girl to participate please CLICK HERE to fill out this form by January 18th. If you need more information about GOTR in general, please visit their website www.girlsontherun.com or GOTR Chicago: www.gotrchicago.org. If you have general questions for GOTR-Prairie, please contact Erin Sauer at [email protected].
NEW *January 13th Asynchronous Half Day*
Grades 1-5
On January 13th, students will begin the day by participating in asynchronous learning while teachers collaborate and plan with each other to determine the best way to approach future instruction.
Live learning on Zoom will resume at 10:15am for students in Grades 1-5.
This month, students will be engaging in a variety of activities about how they can make an impact on others and/or how other children have made an impact on others in celebration of the New Year and the observance of Martin Luther King Jr holiday, the National Day of Service.
Classroom teachers will be sure to prepare students for asynchronous learning by sending students materials and previewing expectations. If your student needs assistance during the morning of 1/13, there will be a Zoom session the students can attend to seek assistance. The link to this Zoom will be available to the students in the materials that are shared electronically.
As a reminder, future asynchronous dates and times are as follows:
February 24th live Zoom concludes at 12:45pm
March 17 AM live Zoom resumes at 10:15am
April 21 PM live Zoom concludes at 12:45pm
NEW *Missed Material Pick Up*
Thank you for participating in supply pick up today (Friday, January 8th, 2021). For those families that were unable to make it out to pick up materials today, you may come to school next week Monday - Friday 8am - 3pm. If you have any questions, please contact the office.
NEW *MAP STUDENT REPORTS FOR GRADES 3-8*
At approximately 3pm today, you will receive a message from Jeanne Spiller, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning with your Winter MAP Reports for your child(ren). Please contact Mrs. Spiller at [email protected] if you do not receive a report or if you have any questions.
REPEATING *Pre Register for 2021–22 Kindergarten Beginning Jan. 11*
Preregister incoming 2021–22 kindergartners beginning January 11 and no later than January 31 to receive a free T-shirt for your incoming student. SEE MORE INFO
REPEATING *Preordering Free Meals in 2021*
***Preorder by 10 AM on Thursdays***
Pick up preordered meals 11 AM–2 PM on Mondays (3 breakfast/lunch meal packs) and Thursdays (2 breakfast/lunch meal packs) at either Twin Groves or Woodlawn Middle School.
The first step to preorder is for families to create an account online and add each child receiving meals to the account. Please see this webpage for details and brief instructional videos of the account set-up and pre-ordering process.
Please direct questions to the public information coordinator [email protected].
REPEATING *Tech Hub*
KCSD96 Family Technology Hub! The District 96 Family Technology Hub is designed to guide families through technology tools related to Enhanced Remote Learning. On this site, you can find links to the recordings and the corresponding Slides decks for the parent/family informational sessions from last week. You can also find tutorials on how to use ZOOM, Schoology, Seesaw, Clever, Notability, and other iPad essential tools for student learning. Additionally, there is a link to email the technology support desk. Please save or bookmark this site. It will be updated with tools, resources, and tutorials through remote learning to better support your family.