Friday, October 5, 2012

Principal's Message 10.5.12






Click here for the PTO Newsletter. 

Prairie WOWs
We are always focusing on expected behaviors at Prairie.  Students are acknowledged for these behaviors by staff regularly.  When positive behaviors go above and beyond, students receive a pink WOW slip.  WOW slips are kept in classroom WOW buckets and then turned into the office WOW bucket each week.  Slips are chosen from the office WOW bucket to be read over the PA during morning announcements on WOW Wednesdays to the tune of "Who Let the Dogs Out."  Students who have their names read, have a group photo taken which is displayed in the Multi-purpose room.  The WOWs are then hung up outside the library on an awesome display created by our Positively Prairie Student Leadership Team.  This week, the following students' names were read over the PA  for being kind, respectful, responsible, and ready.  

Grade 2:  Zoe C.
Grade 3:  Catherine W., Brayden L., Kiran S.
Grade 4:  Michelle G., Connor P., Skylar P. Jordan S., Sophia L.
Grade 5:  Drew L.,

Institute Day
As our students and families enjoyed a gorgeous Friday off from school, all District 96 teachers and administrators convened at Stevenson High School, along with the staff of Stevenson and the seven neighboring elementary school districts that feed into District 125, to discuss current and better literacy practices and to collaborate as to how we can best provide our students with the strategies necessary to be successful now in the 21st century.

Our keynote speaker today, Dr. Nancy Frey of San Diego State University spoke about encouraging us to find ways in which to stretch the reading and thinking of our students beyond our current practices.  Here are a few excerpts from her book, "Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives" (2012) that resonated with us:

"The habits of asking questions, discussing concepts, and formulating opinions are vital in an age when we are becoming our own editors.  To teach reading and writing as a passive act when, in fact, it has become more proactive leaves our learners vulnerable to propaganda, half-truths, and one-sided opinions."

"Students must be taught to analyze text with the eyes of a detective who is never content with surface-level impressions but instead continually returns to the text to consider information from many perspectives."

"We (Frey and others) propose that within classroom communities an instructional shift must occur that prepares students to investigate texts in ways that enable them to scrutinize, critically analyze, produce, and communicate information." 

As impassioned educators, it is our responsibility to teach our students to become readers who are not satisfied with the superficial, and today, we learned a variety of new ways in which we can help achieve that goal.

Scamper Pictures
Check out our Scamper pictures from last week at https://sites.google.com/a/kcsd96.org/prairie/ on our scrapbook/podcast page.

4th Grade Orchestra Concert
The 4th Grade Orchestra Demonstration Concert is taking place on Wednesday, October 24th at 7pm at Prairie. This will include both 4th Grade Orchestras from Ivy Hall and Prairie.  This performance is to show what the students have learned thus far as well as a chance for you to know what you should be seeing at home while they practice. Miss Ying asks that the students be in the orchestra room at Prairie by 6:15 pm to tune and warm-up. Please contact her with any questions at cying@kcsd96.org.  Thank you for your support!  We look forward to a wonderful concert!

Prairie Parent Learning Community
On Tuesday, October 16th at 2pm in the Library, we will hold our first parent meeting.  Our Trimester 1 learning activity will focus on educational learning communities and the various ways students use technology at Prairie.  Please come out to interact with all the cool tools your students use in their classes.

ARE YOU A PARENT OF A 2ND GRADER
All District 96 parents of 2nd graders are encouraged to come to Kildeer School to attend the district wide MATH NIGHT FOR GRADE 2 PARENTS on Tues., Oct. 16, 7:00–8:00 p.m., Kildeer Countryside School Learning Center, 3100 Old McHenry Rd., Long Grove, IL  60047. Math specialists Arlene Steinberg and Lisa Zimmerman will lead a lively workshop so District 96 parents of 2nd graders can learn and practice the focus algorithms their students will be using this year in math.

Important Dates
Wednesdays - School Store
Fridays - Ice Cream Fridays
Monday, October 8th - Columbus Day No School
Tuesday, October 16th - Prairie Parent Learning Community at 2pm
Thursday, October 18th - Picture Retakes
Tuesday, October 23rd - Early Release at 2pm
Wednesday, October 24th - Orchestra Demonstration Concert at 7pm in the MPR
Tuesday, November 13th - SEL Book Talk in the Ivy Hall MAT Room at 9:30am, books available for check out in the Prairie School Office