First grade students voting for their favorite Halloween art. Winners to be revealed at the Halloween Assembly!
October 27, 2023
Good afternoon Prairie Families,
I hope you had a fantastic week and enjoyed some beautiful warm weather before a cold snap blows in! With the changing weather, here's a friendly reminder to ensure all your child's clothing is labeled. This will help us keep track of those coats, jackets, and gloves as we transition into the cooler season.
We have a lot of fun planned next week with Halloween on Tuesday. Please take a moment to read the information below regarding the parade and parties – it's going to be a spooktacular time!
Thank you for being part of our wonderful community, and let's make the most of the upcoming fall festivities. Have a great weekend!
Warm regards,
Ms. Lauren Delahanty
NEW *Upcoming Dates in October and November*
- Tuesday, October 31 ~ Halloween Parade and Parties
- Friday, November 10 - Report period ends, EC-Grade 8
- Friday, November 17 - Trimester 1 report cards issued
- Wednesday, November 22 - NO SCHOOL - District Holiday
- Thursday, November 23 - NO SCHOOL - District Holiday
- Friday, November 24 - NO SCHOOL - District Holiday
- Tuesday, November 28 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
NEW *This Week’s WOW Winners!*
.png?mask=8)
NEW *Driving Safety at Pick-up and Drop-off*
Within the last few weeks, there have been several reports made to the office of unsafe and potentially dangerous incidents involving student pedestrians and vehicles during drop-off and pick-up times. While we recognize that there can be long lines at drop-off and pick-up, safe and attentive driving is of the utmost importance. Please remind your students to use crosswalks safely and look both ways before crossing any streets.
If you are driving, please remember to stay alert and use caution during arrival and dismissal as there are lots of young children walking and riding bikes and scooters.
NEW *Family Reading Night*
ADVENTURE AWAITS YOU AT PRAIRIE!
Join us and mark your calendars for Thursday, November 16th, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Please use this form to pre-register to help us plan accordingly.
What is a FAMILY READING ADVENTURE NIGHT?
The night will feature guest readers and activities to follow. Does your child like building, art, creating, reading under the stars, or self-directed drawing? On November 16th, you can choose your reading adventure. There will be four different books read aloud with activities to match, but you can only choose 2! Which adventure and path interests you most? Let's take a look at just one of the many adventures that awaits you this year.
A guest reader will read Someone Builds A Dream by Lisa Wheeler.
This picture book is an exploration of the types of work that go into building our world. From the making of a bridge, to a wind farm, or even an amusement park. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men who work tirelessly to see our dreams brought to life.
After this reading, you and your child can think like engineers, and build your own creation. What might you create, a house out of Keva Planks, a giant fort using Straws and Connectors, or maybe the largest skyscraper with Magnatiles? We have so many neat building materials to show off at Prairie!
NEW THIS YEAR! BOOK SWAP
We will be hosting a book swap. If you're like me and have read the same bedtime story for the 30th time, or have a tower of books because your shelves are full, it might be time to mix up your child's book selection by donating to the book swap station. A book swap is an easy way to freshen your library collection at home without spending extra money. It's easy, bring some books that you would like to swap to our Reading Adventure Night, and spend some time swapping them out with other books! Please only bring books that are in good condition. Any books that aren't chosen at the end of the night will be donated to Bernie's Book Bank.
STAY TUNED - Next week's blog will feature a new adventure!
Can’t wait to see you there! - Mrs. Spivack
NEW *Outdoor Club*
Ms. Sauer and Mrs. Davis are thrilled to invite all Outdoor Enthusiasts to join them to do projects relating to the outdoors, and playing outdoors no matter the weather! This club will Meet on Mondays from 3-4 pm beginning November 20th. through May 13th. Please understand that we will potentially going outside no matter the weather- that includes snow, rain, etc. As long as it is safe with proper gear, we will be outside if that is our activity for the day. We will be doing crafts, learning about the outdoors, playing outside, doing nature walks to observe our world around us, and all sorts of fun activities geared at getting kids outside more! Please click the link to sign your 3rd-5th grader up.
NEW *Lightspeed Systems Weekly Student Online Activity Report*
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As a part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring a safe and secure online environment for our students, we are excited to announce that we will be offering the Lightspeed Systems Weekly Student Online Activity Report to all parents and guardians of our school community.
You will receive an email from District 96 that will enable you to register for the Weekly Student Online Activity Report. Once you receive the email from our school district you will have the ability to register. Simply choose to register and follow the prompts to sign up for the Weekly Student Online Activity Report.
The Lightspeed Systems Weekly Student Online Activity Report is a valuable tool that will allow you to gain insights into your child's web history while using the school's iPad. This report will provide an overview of the websites visited by your child while using the iPad. The report is designed to promote transparency and communication between parents and the school, fostering a safer digital learning experience for our students.
The weekly activity report is only accessible to parents and guardians registered for this service. It will not be shared with any external parties, and the data collected will be used solely for the purpose of improving the online safety measures at our school. Parents/guardians will not start receiving weekly reports until their child has at least a week's worth of browsing data.
Lightspeed Parent/Student Enrollment Email Schedule: Families will begin to receive LightSpeed Parent report emails from Lightspeed. This email correspondence will allow you to enroll and begin receiving your child’s reports from Lightspeed for the following grades on or near the following dates below.
- October 23, 2023 (8th Grade)
- October 30, 2023 (7th Grade)
- November 6, 2023 (6th Grade)
- November 13, 2023 (5th Grade)
- November 20, 2023 (4th Grade)
- November 27, 2023 (3rd Grade)
- December 4, 2023 (2nd Grade, 1st Grade, Kindergarten)
Please note that while we encourage parents to use this tool to stay involved in their child's online journey, it is essential to have open conversations with your child about their internet use. Establishing trust and communication around digital practices will enhance the overall safety and well-being of our students.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Weekly Student Online Activity Report or need assistance with the registration process, please feel free to reach out to the IT department at [email protected].
Thank you for your continued support in creating a secure and nurturing learning environment for our students.
NEW - *Fire Drill*
On Friday, November 3rd, Prairie will be conducting a Fire Drill. Students will be evacuating the building during the drill. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule the drill and communicate the rescheduled drill date. (This is rescheduled from a canceled fire drill due to inclement weather earlier in the month).
REPEAT *Halloween Festivities on Tuesday, October 31*
The Halloween Parade will begin in the school at 1:15 pm. All classes will be picked up to join the parade before eventually walking outside by the Kingsbridge Circle and down the Prairie Path. Students and staff will reenter the school through the gym doors. Parents are not allowed in the building during the parade.
Parents can enjoy the outside portion of the parade (along Prairie Path, on sidewalks, and in front of the school building). We encourage you to wave and take pictures of your child during this time. A reminder that NO PETS are allowed on school grounds.
Once students have walked around the school, they will come back inside the building for a quick whole school assembly followed by their class party. Only Halloween party volunteers will be allowed in the building after the parade. If you are a parent volunteer for the Halloween party, you must enter through the front door and sign in as usual. If you have questions about being a party volunteer, please reach out to our PTO. As a reminder, there is no outside food allowed at Halloween parties.
If the weather does not cooperate and we are unable to have the Halloween parade outside, we will email parents before 12:30pm notifying you that the outdoor parade has been canceled.
REPEAT *IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PTO PARTY VOLUNTEERS*
Parents attending the parties may not bring additional family members, other children, etc. We need everyone to abide by this and will have to ask you to leave if you come with other attendees.
Every PTO volunteer approved to come into our school MUST have their license or ID scanned through our security system to enter. The PTO has shared a Google form with parent volunteers so that the school can pre-print name tags in advance. If you have never volunteered at Prairie, then you must come in to scan your ID or license ahead of the party even if you have filled out the PTO Google form. You have to bring this with you or you will not be able to enter. There is typically a very long line to enter at this first party, so please anticipate this. The more people who come and complete this early, the shorter the line will be on October 31st, 2021.
REPEAT *Halloween Costumes*
Our Halloween festivities will be here before we know it. We look forward to students dressing in their Halloween costumes for our Halloween Parade and classroom parties on Tuesday, Oct. 31st. Please help us with the following costume guidelines. Students will change into their costumes after their lunch period at school. Please ensure that your child can get the costume on with no or minimal help.
Costumes must be appropriate for school. If costumes are not school-appropriate the student will be asked to remove their costume.
- Please no masks, blood, super scary stuff, general ickiness, or weapons
- Please no cigars or cigarette items
- Please no bare tummies
- Please keep hair coloring and make-up simple