Click Here for the Weekly PTO Newsletter!

Click here for the weekly PTO newsletter!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Important Announcement and Clarification

Music Announcement:
Oops! Correct to a note sent home to 2nd graders about the Barnes and Noble Book fair Performance:
The date for the concert should be Friday, December 2nd. Sorry for the inconvenience.

From, 
Mr. Rathgeber

Barnes and Noble PTO Book Fair Performances:
Come out to the Lincolnshire Barnes and Noble on Friday, December 2nd for a special performance by every grade at CM! The Barnes and Noble PTO Book Fair is such a fun time every year and the performance has become highly anticipated and enjoyed event for students, families, and staff! Please take a look below for the complete schedule. We hope to see you on the December 2nd!
1st Grade: Arrive by 6:15
Performance at 6:30
2nd Grade: Arrive by 6:30
Performance at 6:45
3rd Grade: Arrive by 6:45
Performance at 7:00
4th & 5th Grades: Arrive by 7:00
Performance at 7:20
CM Singers: Arrive by 7:00
Performance at 7:40

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Friday, November 18, 2011

  • ·      Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!  At Country Meadows, we are so thankful for so much!  We are honored to work with such amazing students, parents, and colleagues.  


  • ·      Before Thanksgiving comes, take some time to review your child's report card and participate in Parent-Teacher conferences.  


  • ·      Thank you for a wonderful Family Reading Night!  Reading really took us places.  It was so fun to see so many of you have a great time last night! 


A message from Paul Louis - Director of Curriculum and Assessment

Dear Parents,
As you know, our first Trimester Report Cards go home today for students in grades 1-5.  Our Kindergarten Report Cards are being provided to you during your scheduled Parent/Teacher Conference.  We are very pleased to share our newly developed standards based report cards with you as we believe that they clearly communicate student achievement of grade level specific learning targets and student work habits.   We have worked hard over the last weeks and months to prepare for these new report cards.  Our teachers have been amazing throughout this entire process from gathering information about each of the learning targets listed on the report card and building consistency across their grade level to learning the new process of inputting grades into the program.  

Please understand that with any new system, we may find a few glitches or issues during this first round of Report Cards.  Some we may not have been able to anticipate until the entire process was completed.  We will work hard to correct or improve any of the issues over the coming months and into next year.  We appreciate your patience and understanding through this process.  Please feel free to direct any questions comments to your building principal or to me directly (plouis@kcsd96.org).  Please remember to fill out the Parent/Teacher Conference Evaluation Form provided to you during your conferences.  Your feedback will be used as we continue to make improvements to the system.

Sincerely,
Paul Louis
Director of Curriculum and Assessment


Report Cards go home today!  This is a link to a presentation that will help you with the report card.  Check it out!  A podcast will be available soon too! UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHILD'S ELEMENTARY REPORT CARD

Conferences will be on November 21st ad 22nd
We are so eager to prepare for conferences to discuss your child’s achievement thus far in the school year.  Our teachers are thrilled to invite you into the classroom and share examples of your child’s success during Parent-Teacher conferences (November 21st and 22nd).  These meetings will be held for 15 minutes so we can make sure that each family has the opportunity to discuss student performance.  Look for your specific appointment time and date in a note from your child’s classroom teacher. 

I would love to see you at conferences as well!  Feel free to call the school to set-up an appointment.  Also, if you wish, find time to stop by the gym and preview the materials that will be used for upcoming units on Human Growth and Development

Click here for more information: 





Friday, November 11, 2011

11.11.11

Family Reading Night is November 17th starting from 7 – 8 pm!  We cannot wait to see you there! 

Report Cards Go Home on Friday, November 18, 2011.  This is a link to the presentation from Wednesday night.  Check it out!  A podcast will be available soon too! UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHILD'S ELEMENTARY REPORT CARD

Conferences will be on November 21st ad 22nd
We are so eager to prepare for conferences to discuss your child’s achievement thus far in the school year.  Our teachers are thrilled to invite you into the classroom and share examples of your child’s success during Parent-Teacher conferences (November 21st and 22nd).  These meetings will be held for 15 minutes so we can make sure that each family has the opportunity to discuss student performance.  Look for your specific appointment time and date in a note from your child’s classroom teacher. 

I would love to see you at conferences as well!  Feel free to call the school to set-up an appointment.  Also, if you wish, find time to stop by the gym and preview the materials that will be used for upcoming units on Human Growth and Development
Click here for more information: 

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey about informational opportunities at CM !  Click here for the survey. 
Further, District 96 will be hosting three additional informational parent night this school year.  This Wednesday, we discussed the new elementary report card.  This year, we will also be hosting the following presentations:  The Common Core and Standards Based at the Middle School Level, 21st Century Learning Skills, and Social Emotional Learning.  Be on the lookout for the dates so you can mark you calendars.  For more information about the District 96 Curriculum, click here. 

Email your PTO room parent -
The PTO Room Parents are looking for you to get in touch with the Room Parent to your classroom.  If you are interested in sharing your contact information, you can find the list of emails here. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

Friday, November 4, 2011


Party, Party, Party -

Thank you so much for wonderful Halloween Parties this week!  Students had a wonderful time making crafts and playing games!  We really appreciate your adherence to the District 96 Safe Snack List to make sure students are kept safe while at school.  Prior to the parties, the students paraded through the whole school stopping in every classroom to see friends and share costumes.  They had a great time!  There were a million smiles that afternoon!  We hope that you enjoy some picture below from Jan Kahlben. 

While we are talking about parties, I would also like to mention some information regarding birthday party invitations.  According to the Parent Student Handbook: 

2.5-b Distribution of Party Invitations. Out of courtesy to others, please do not send out-of-school party invitations for distribution at school. Children who do not receive invitations naturally feel hurt.  This can be eliminated by mailing invitations, telephoning, or delivering the invitations by hand.
Brrrr…It’s Getting Cold Out There –

Please make sure your child is coming to school dressed warm enough to stand at the bus stop and go outside for recess at lunch.  We do go outside for recess nearly every day.  The following language is from the Student Handbook: 

The children have outdoor recess during each school day except in the most inclement weather; therefore, the children’s outdoor clothing should be appropriate for the weather that day.  Weather permitting, students go outside for recess every day. In winter the temperature and wind chill and weather conditions will be monitored throughout the morning. The weather Website and playground will be checked and outside supervisors consulted to determine whether conditions are appropriate for children's outdoor recess. When the temperature or wind chill is below zero degrees, students will be kept inside for recess. When the temperature or wind chill is 0–10 degrees, students may go outside for a shortened recess period. If a student has a doctor's note or a medical condition, he or she may stay inside in the building office for recess.

Determination of whether children will have outdoor recess will be made prior to each recess period, based on the weather at that moment and in the judgment of the principal or his or her designee.  Any request for prolonged indoor recess MUST come from the child’s physician.


During the month of October, the following students were celebrated as PRO Paw Winners of the month! 

GRADE 1:                                               GRADE 2:
Dylan Ekrote                                          Bryson Bello
Megan Fox                                            Mia Contreras
Santiago Gonzalez                             Alex Galaviz
Haylie Popkey                                      Muhammad Junaid
Hannah Robertson                             Sonia Nieves

GRADE 3:                                               GRADE 4:
Alyssa Bende                                        Robbie Barreca
Zander Bush                                          Jacob Borowczak
Emily Hernanadez                               Lupita Jacobo
Lucas Hwang                                       Daisy Martinez
Kayla Koppe                                         Mia Nimmagadda
Sammy Maya                                      Aditya Perswal
Serena Mehta                                      Jayden Popkey
Anthony Spina                                     Daniel Sukhavitski
                                                                 Alyssa Smith

GRADE 5:
Arianna Argomaniz
Denna Baniassad
Connor Maynard
Rafay Noor
Ed Salgado

The District 96 Foundation was established for the purpose of raising monies to benefit the schools of District 96.  The Foundation encourages innovation and creativity to enhance the children’s learning experience!  The Foundation is looking for volunteers to serve on the following committees: 
  • District 96 FoundationScholarship (first meeting December 8, 2011)
  • Capital Campaign
  • Golf Outing (August 6, 2012)
  • Recognition Dinner (January 20, 2012)

If you are interested in participating please contact me or the Foundation President, Wright Chase–President (wwc11@aol.com).