Singing at Barnes & Noble

You've heard about our concert on December 7th at the Barnes and Noble in Lincolnshire.  If you have any questions, please contact Jesse Rathgeber.  Just as a reminder, here are the times for performances:

6:30 - 6:40 1st grade

6:45 - 6:55 2nd grade 

7:00 - 7:15 3rd grade

7:20 - 7:35 4th and 5th grade

7:40 - 7:55 CM Singers

Upcoming Dates!

Check out our important upcoming dates on our first ever CNN (Cubs News Network) broadcast!

This is put together by our 5th grade Tech Club...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj_IDUZgIhY&feature=youtu.be

Tis the Season for Head Lice, unfortunately...

As winter weather has arrived, now is a good time to remind your children not to share hats, headbands, scarves or earmuffs with their friends as this can lead to an increased transmission of head lice.  Head lice continues to be one of the most common communicable conditions among children, and outbreaks are possible whenever and wherever children gather.  Since the onset of head lice is typical this time of year, it is a good idea to watch for signs that your child may have lice such as frequent head scratching. If your child has lice, there are a variety of treatments available.  Please check the District website, www.kcsd96.org, under the  “Family Resources,” “Student Health” link for specific information on head lice and District 96 practices.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from

the staff at Country Meadows!

We are so thankful for many things at CM!  Our students are wonderful and our parental support is unbelievable!  We are also incredibly thankful for a Board of Education that is unwavering in their belief in and support for doing what is best for kids at all times! 

We hope that you have a relaxing and safe holiday with friends and family!  

Visiting Educators!

On Wednesday, over 20 educators from Wisconsin spent the day at Country Meadows to learn about the educational process from the very best. Each staff member spent time speaking with this group (while your child was in specials) about the work that we do and how we do the work. Here are some of the comments that were left behind...

Celebrations from our PLC Visitors (I highlighted some of my favorites!): 

• Over and over again I kept coming back to the thought of “our children.”  In other words, everyone at CM perceives every student as one of “ours.”  That sense of collaboration is incredible and inspiring!

• Wonderful Staff!  Everyone was helpful and approachable.  Thank you for sharing all your experiences!
• Everyone on staff presented themselves in a confident and professional manner.  It was a great day - thank you for sharing your classrooms and ideas with us.  
• I feel so inspired!  I can’t wait to go back and start to implement the ideas I learned from you.  Everyone was so knowledgeable and helpful.  Thanks for a great day!  
• A special thanks to each team for taking the time to teach us today!  Have a great rest of the year!
• I love the way that everyone is on the same page! This must have take an enormous amount of work and dedication!  We are working towards what you are doing and hope we have the same results!
• You are all very knowledgeable and seem to love teaching.  
• The norms established within collaborative teams to promote efficient problem solving are very impressive!  
• Thank you to the specials from spending some time with us!  A big thanks to the whole staff - very friendly.
• Awesome day!  All teachers are so dedicated and on the same page.  Visiting is A MUST for all educators!  
• The staff is very positive and knowledgeable.  Everyone seems very excited about what they do!!
• Thank you all!  It was very informative!  Thank you for opening up your school to us!  
• The staff was very friendly and welcoming!  The school is an extremely inviting place!  Classrooms had a flow and consistency throughout the building, even the look of the classrooms (anchor charts) is similar.  The staff was open to questions all day, helpful constantly!  
• I loved the common sense approach of the teachers.  The acknowledgement that this level of greatness  is a “messy” process was reassuring and encouraging.  
• Thank you for opening your classrooms and disrupting your schedules to share what you do.  Wonderful job explaining.  Thank you for answering our questions - it feels doable!  
• I loved Team Read!  The 1st grade teachers/aides were amazing.  Thanks for sharing the great use of time and structure to meet ALL students needs.  
• Everyone was very well informed about your Professional Learning Community.  It was a pleasure to learn from your staff. I am amazed at the collaboration involved and positive attitudes.  
• The level of competence and passion in all of the “presenters” was wonderful!  The classrooms show how much the students are involved in the learning process!  Each classroom exceeds challenge and extensions!  
• I enjoyed listening to as many teaching staff as possible today.  Everyone is very positive!  
• Thank you to all staff for giving of their time and talents and helping us expand our understanding!

What Happened to the 70* Temps?!

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 (unless it's raining of course).  

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 ebsite 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.

Good News!

GOOD NEWS FOR D96 PARENTS WHO PREPAY THEIR STUDENTS’ LUNCHES ONLINE

District administrators shared your feedback with the staff of MealsPlus and the following improvement is the result: The $100 payment cap on LunchPrepay.com has been removed.Parents will no longer need to make multiple payments for amounts over $100. (Note: The $1.95 transaction fee per payment still applies, however.)

Our Election!

The students of Country Meadows participated in an election on Monday, November 5th.  In order for the students to learn how the process feels as well as their ability to make a change through exercising their right to vote, the students voted on our next spirit day!  

Our next spirit day will be held on Thursday, November 15th.  Over 200 students voted that we should all wear pajamas to school!  

Pajama Day will be Thursday, November 15th (no slippers please).  This is also Family Reading Night!  The kiddos are encouraged to come to Family Reading Night in pajamas as well!  

Cultural Arts Event

Last Thursday, the students spent time with an engaging, energetic and interactive musician that taught them all about Brazilian music!  He explained each of the instruments and how to play them.  The children were asked many questions and had the chance to ask questions of their own as well.  They even gleaned some background information on Brazil.  Twelve children from each assembly were invited to make "music!"  The students had a great time clapping their hands and tapping their toes!  

Thank you to the PTO 

for making this great experience possible!  

Building Resilience

On Tues., Nov. 13, 9:30 – 11 a.m., you are invited to the Ivy Hall School Mat Room to participate in the facilitated discussion of the book we've been reading as a district: Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings. Parents who have not yet read the book, which addresses social/emotional learning (SEL) for our children, are welcome and encouraged to attend, as well. The interactive discussion will be facilitated by Student Services Director Kimberly Dahlem and Asst. Student Services Director Kim Lechner and is presented in collaboration with our District 96 Parent-to-Parent (P2P) Network. Though walk-ins are welcome, your RSVP is appreciated.

Special Directions for entering Ivy Hall School for the Nov. 13 program: 

Ivy Hall School is located at 1072 Ivy Hall Lane, Buffalo Grove. At the intersection of Arlington Heights and Route 83 (McHenry Rd.), take Arlington Heights Rd. south to Alden Lane (first street on left). Turn left onto Alden Lane and follow to the Ivy Hall School parking lot. Park in available lot spaces or curbside on the streets surrounding the school. 

Enter the Ivy Hall School through the double doors facing Clohesey Lane, near the playground area. Please do not enter through the main office. Staff will be in place throughout the program to monitor hallways and direct attendees to the Mat Room.

Questions? Call the public info coordinator at 847.459.4260, ext. 7722, or send email to bfresen@kcsd96.org

Canned Food Drive!

Hey Country Meadows' Cubs!  

This time of year is a great time to think about appreciation. We are appreciating that we have food and we are able to help those in need. So please bring in any canned foods or boxed foods for our Canned Food Drive. It is a great way to give back to our community. We will be collecting food until Friday, November 16th. Go home and ask your parents to help donate food so that we can help those in our community have food for the holidays! It will make you feel really good that you did something kind. The boxes for the food will be outside of the ICT Center. Let's try to collect more food than ever before! 

From - 
Your Cub Communities

Thank You!

The Country Meadows Community would like to send a BIG thank you to the men and women that serve our country!

We are honored to know so many Veterans and recognize each one on Veteran’s Day!  We are forever grateful for your service. 

We especially want to thank Mrs. Leonard for her service to our country!  You are a role model for all of us.  

Common Core Standards - What are they?

You may have heard reference to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to which our learning standards in District 96 are directly aligned.  As indicated on the CCSS website (http://www,commoncorestandards.org/), the Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.  The CCSS are a more rigorous set of standards than previous Illinois State Standards which we have historically used to develop our learning standards and curriculum frameworks.  The chart below illustrates the standards in place for 3^rd graders prior to the 2011-12 school year, which is when the elementary schools began implementation of the new targets.  This list of reading standards was based on the past version of the Illinois State Learning Standards:

Reading Standards- 3rd Grade

Utilize contextual clues to determine meaning (within and across sentences).

Determine the answer to a literal or simple inference question regarding the meaning of a passage.

Draw conclusions or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.

Identify the author’s purpose for writing a fiction or non-fiction text (to inform, to entertain).

Identify setting (place and time period)

Identify the following forms of genres (tall tales, folktales, fiction, non-fiction, poetry).

Identify the main idea and supporting details of a selection.

Describe and compare character traits citing support from the text.

Identify events important to development of the plot including the problem and resolution.

The chart below illustrates our current standards for reading at the 3^rd grade level. The complexity of what we expect students to do is at a higher level than those in the past. These are the meets level, 3.0, targets for ALL 3^rd graders in District 96.

CCSS- Aligned Reading Standards- 3rd Grade

LITERATURE

Answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Answer inferential based questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Recount stories, including fables, folktales, or myths from diverse cultures

Explain how the central message, lesson, or moral from stories, fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures is conveyed through key details in the text.

Describe characters in a story (traits, feelings, or motivations)

Explain how a character's actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters.

INFORMATIONAL TEXT (NON-FICTION)

Answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Answer inferential based questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Determine the main idea and recount the key details of a text.

Determine the cause/effect of a historical event or scientific ideas/concepts. (From social studies)

Use information gained from text features and illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).