CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2008-09

Policies for Classroom Assignments

Attached to your student's classroom newsletter on Friday will be a letter explaining the process of assigning students to their 2008-2009 classroom. Below is a brief excerpt of this letter:

In making the important decision of classroom placement, we consider all relevant information so that placements will be made to ensure everyone’s success. However, I should emphasize that parents will not be given the option of choosing their child’s classroom teacher. I understand your concern in regard to your child having a successful year; however, I hope you can understand that it would be inappropriate to place one parent’s preference before another’s. Furthermore, it is each teacher’s professional responsibility to create an optimal learning environment for his/her students. Therefore, I must reemphasize that we will make decisions using all the relevant data with regard to placing your child, and then provide a year filled with outstanding learning opportunities.

For the full explanation, please read the letter that will be sent home on Friday. Please feel free to call me at 630-783-5200 if you have any questions.

THANK YOU ELIZABETH IDE BROWNIES!!!!!

BROWNIE TROOP 527 CELEBRATES ARBOR DAY

Brownie Troop 527 helped celebrate Arbor Day by planting 17 trees Friday at Elizabeth Ide School in Darien. The girls raised the money for the dig with a can drive. Troop members include (top row standing, from left) Shannon, Brianna, Kayla, Allannah, Gianna, Erin, Jennifer, Erin S., Elise and co-leader Indra Williams, (sitting, from left) Emily, co-leader Nicole Ackerman, Emily, co-leader Mary Hougaard, Nora, Sarah and troop leader Angela Schoeberle.

The troop originally collected cans to purchase scrap books for the girls, but Angela Schoeberle evolved the idea into helping the community. “I wanted them to give back to the community, and came up with the idea to purchase trees with our can money,” she said. The trees, including Evergreens, Birch, Maple, and a Poplar hybrid, were purchased from the Arbor Day Foundation.

What a wonderful display of Citizenship!!!

CHARACTER COUNTS AT ELIZABETH IDE

How did we celebrate good Citizenship at Elizabeth Ide?

We adopted a Rainforest!

The response to the Adopt-A-Rainforest coin donation was tremendous! While collecting the coins over a 2-week period, WE RAISED $390.28 The students, parents, and teachers at Elizabeth Ide really contributed to raising the awareness about the importance of rainforests. Our donation will be used for a conservation project in either Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, or Nicaragua. We have asked the Rainforest Alliance to allocate our donation to the neediest project. A big thank you to Mrs. Tran for organizing this fundraiser.

We learned how to respect animals in nature!

The second graders were treated to an Owl assembly hosted by the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, donated by Mr. Hansen and organized by the PTO. Students learned how important owls are to the environment and many other fascinating facts.

Thank you for supporting our Character Counts program and Earth Day 2008!

ANOTHER BUSY WEEK

We have a lot going on this week at Elizabeth Ide - please take a look below!

Tuesday, April 22nd - Earth Day - Wear Green Today!!!

Wednesday, April 23rd - Open House - 6:30 - 8:00

Shuttle Buses Available at Prairieview

Thursday, April 24th - Early Dismissal @ Noon

Only PM Kindergarten Attends

Pick-Ups are at 12:15

Saturday, April 26th - Market Day @ LV - 11:00 - 12:00

Sunday, April 27th - Mother Daughter Tea - 1: 30 - 3:00

THE CHICK UNIT HAS BEGUN!!!

The first graders begin the Life Cycle of a Chicken

The first grade teachers have developed a wonderful science unit that focuses on the life cycle of oviparous (my big word of the day) animals. Currently, each first grade class has about 18 eggs in their classroom that are due to hatch on May 6th. They are learning many things about hens, roosters, and chicks then using this knowledge to create different types of projects about the life cycle of chicks. Today, with the help of many parent volunteers, the students created plaster of paris eggs with chicks hatching from them. They were very excited and enjoyed this project very much. You will be able to view this project when you come to OPEN HOUSE next Wednesday, April 23rd from 6:30 - 8:00. Have a wonderful weekend!

CHANGES AT ELIZABETH IDE

Grade Level Changes for 2008-2009

Next year we will begin our implementation of the RTI (Response to Intervention) state of Illinois initiative. This program is a general education initiative that is designed to offer all students interventions in reading and math to meet their diverse learning needs. The year 2008-2009 we will begin by implementing RTI in reading only. The changes that will take place will be explained at Kindergarten Orientation night and 1st and 2nd grade curriculum nights.

At this time, we have decided to move select teachers to different grade level assignments. Our new teaching teams are listed below:

Kindergarten - Mrs. Finn, Mrs. Kreps and Mrs. Mazurowski

1st Grade - Mrs. Amish, Mrs. Cornfield, Mrs. Hull, Mrs. Micetich, Mrs. Sis, Miss Tracy

2nd Grade - Mrs. Beseth, Mrs. Oliver, Mrs. Olsen, Mrs. Onorato, Mrs. Schultz and

Mrs. Walega

Reading Specialists - Mrs. Daly and Mrs. Pellin

All of our teachers are very well-educated, professional and certified to teach all of the grades in our building. They will all receive training and support from their new teams and myself to make their transitions flow as smoothly as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 630-783-5200.

DISTRICT 66 BABY BOOM

This past week District 66 has been blessed by the birth of 3 beautiful babies.

Elizabeth Ide

Mrs. Hull and her husband Derek are the proud parents of

Riley Robert Hull born on April 14th

8lbs, 8oz and ? long

Mrs. Parker and her husband Scott are the proud parents of

Olivia Jane born on April 15th
8lbs, 9oz and 21 inches long

(This makes Jack a big brother)

Prairieview

Mrs. Napolitano and her husband Brian are the proud parents of

Nathan Cameron born on April 9th

7lbs, 10oz and 20 inches long

(This makes Brooke a big sister)

Congratulations to all of you!!!

We are very happy for you and can't wait to meet your new family members!!!

MOVIE NIGHT & PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK

TONIGHT IS MOVIE NIGHT !!!!!
Come to Prairieview tonight (Friday, April 11th) at 6:45

to see

SNOW BUDDIES

PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK

Kindergarten Pre-Registration

Monday, April 14th - Friday, April 18th

8:00 a.m. - Noon and 1:00 - 3:00

Late Night: Wednesday, April 16th 1:00 - 6:30

If you have any questions regarding Pre-Registration please call the office at

630-783-5200

Kindergarten is turning into a zoo!!! Check with your students about which animal they are creating this week!

1st Grade - The chick unit has started! Make sure to ask your students about all

of the fascinating facts they are learning!

2nd Grade - The butterfly unit will begin and your students will be visiting different classrooms to create various projects - make sure to ask about it!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

WONDERFUL WRITERS

At last night's board meeting, the first and second grade teachers presented their writing curriculums. Both grade levels explained how writing progresses throughout the year and what is expected of their students. Students also attended to share examples of their work. The presentations were wonderful and really highlighted all of the hard work put into the classroom each and everyday. A big thank you goes out to the teachers, students and parents who participated last night. The link below will take you to the district curriculum and you can see a summary of all of the work done in the different grade levels throughout the year!

http://www.ccsd66.org/Curriculum/Curriculum.html

NEW PRINCIPAL AT IDE

PRINCIPAL FOR A DAY

Tommy the "principal for a day" had a lot of fun and was very helpful. He won this honor at the Horton Hears a Who PTO fundraiser and did an excellent job as principal. Congratulations Tommy!

PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK

Tuesday, April 8th - School Board Meeting at Elizabeth Ide - 7:00

Wednesday, April 9th - PTO Meeting at Ide - 8:00

Friday, April 11th - Ide Movie Night at Prairieview - 6:45

BASEBALL IS BACK

IMPORTANT LESSONS

The Baseball Season is up and running and once again Sox and Cub fans are hoping for the best. As Chicago fans, it's best to remember the old saying, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." Keeping this in mind will prevent many stressful moments during the season.

This saying should also become part of the kids summer sport season. Competition is an important part of life, but it should not be the most important. Trying hard, doing their best, teamwork and good sportsmanship should be the lessons kids learn from playing sports. Please keep that in mind this season and enjoy watching your kids have fun learning these valuable lessons.