Happy Bus Driver Appreciation Day!
Good afternoon Prairie Families,
Fall is in full swing! This week, we took time to celebrate and show our appreciation for our 5 wonderful bus drivers on October 22. They truly are the backbone of our school day, being the first and last adults our students see each day. We are grateful for the important role they play in getting our students to and from school safely. Thank you to our drivers for all that they do!
A reminder that next week we will enjoy the Halloween festivities with an all-school parade and assembly before enjoying class Halloween parties hosted by our amazing PTO. Please see the update below for a change in timing.
Thank you for your continued support, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Warm regards,
Ms. Lauren Delahanty
Principal
Upcoming Dates
- October 31 - Halloween Parade and Parties
- November 5 - NO SCHOOL - Election Day
- November 8 - Report period ends, EC-Grade 8
- November 15 - Trimester 1 report cards issued
- November 19 - EARLY RELEASE DAY
- November 27 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
- November 28 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
- November 29 - NO SCHOOL District Holiday
Update: Halloween Parade Timing
On October 31st, all students will have the opportunity to participate in a parade outdoors. We will start the parade in the building and hope to be outside for viewing between 1:30 and 1:45 pm (dependent upon the weather). Please see the image below for families wishing to view the parade outside. We will notify parents by 1:00 pm if the parade will not take place outside due to weather conditions.
NEW *A Message from Mrs. Spivack: News from Exploration Lab
REPEAT *Spirit Week Next Week - 10/28-11/1*
- Monday 10/28 - Marvelous Monday (Be kind)
- Tuesday 10/29 - Movie Day (Disney short day during unstructured play)
- Wednesday 10/30 - Wonky Wednesday (dress silly)
- Thursday 10/31 - Halloween (costumes in the afternoon)
- Friday 11/1 - Pajama Day & Bring a stuffed animal
REPEAT *Human Growth and Development*
Illinois State law requires all school districts with a comprehensive health curriculum to provide instruction on specific health topics including human growth and development. These topics align to the Illinois Physical Development and Health Standards. KCSD96 recognizes that parents/guardians are the primary educators for their families on these topics.
This instruction falls under a specific list of topics that you may elect to have your child excused from, as outlined by Illinois School Code. If you choose this option, please submit a specific request, in writing, to the school principal, asking that your child be excused from the class during that specific period(s) of instruction, and we will provide an alternate assignment.
For questions about the 4th grade program, please consult the links below. Parents of 5th graders will receive more information after the start of the school year. If you still have questions, please contact the school’s principal or assistant principal.
For specific materials, please see below.
Fourth Grade
This year KCSD96 will be hosting Candor Health Education (formerly Robert Crown Center) on November 18th. Candor Health will provide the learning to 4th grade students, and 4th grade teachers will be present during this learning experience. As in the past, students will not be separated by gender during the presentation by Candor Health.
Please click on the links below for a helpful overview of the program. The letter contains tips for parents to start conversations with children at home. The video will show you everything the students will see during the presentation.
School Program Overviews for Parents – Candor Health Education VIDEO
Password Premier25
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 Thursday, 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
REPEAT *Halloween Festivities on Thursday, October 31*
On October 31st, all students will have the opportunity to participate in a parade outdoors *between 1:30 and 1:45 pm* (dependent upon the weather) as well as the classroom party. Please see the image below for families wishing to view the parade outside.
Please see some reminders below:
- The parade may be viewed by families outdoors. If it rains, it will be indoors for students and staff only.
- The Halloween party in the classroom is only for volunteers already identified via the PTO. At this point, you know if you are a Halloween party volunteer (if so, please no extra siblings)!
Thank you for your help with this and we look forward to the creativity from our students this day!
Once students have walked around the school, they will come back inside the building for 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 1:00 pm 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. If you have never volunteered at Prairie then you must come in to scan your ID or license ahead of the party. 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.