Highlight of the Week
It goes without saying that our Halloween festivities were the highlight of the week. It's always so much fun to watch our joyful kids dressed up in their favorite costumes enjoy a parade around the school with so many adoring parent & grandparent on lookers. We hope that you also enjoyed our annual staff costume. This year, if you hadn't gathered, we were a "school of fish." Mrs. Spivack headed the theme and Miss Sauer designed the costumes for Prairie's grown up kids. Thanks to everyone for coming out on Wednesday to join in this perfectly elementary tradition.
Once we got back into school, we had a blast at our annual Halloween assembly where Mrs. Knuth, Mrs. Lehtman, and I were wrapped up like mummies in none other than "TP." A huge thank you goes out to Mrs. Androjna for putting this assembly together as she has done for so many years. Finally, a big thank you to the PTO Room Parents for hosting such great parties in each classroom. Your time and talents are truly appreciated in making this a special afternoon for the kids. Click here to see pictures of our fun afternoon.
It goes without saying that our Halloween festivities were the highlight of the week. It's always so much fun to watch our joyful kids dressed up in their favorite costumes enjoy a parade around the school with so many adoring parent & grandparent on lookers. We hope that you also enjoyed our annual staff costume. This year, if you hadn't gathered, we were a "school of fish." Mrs. Spivack headed the theme and Miss Sauer designed the costumes for Prairie's grown up kids. Thanks to everyone for coming out on Wednesday to join in this perfectly elementary tradition.
Once we got back into school, we had a blast at our annual Halloween assembly where Mrs. Knuth, Mrs. Lehtman, and I were wrapped up like mummies in none other than "TP." A huge thank you goes out to Mrs. Androjna for putting this assembly together as she has done for so many years. Finally, a big thank you to the PTO Room Parents for hosting such great parties in each classroom. Your time and talents are truly appreciated in making this a special afternoon for the kids. Click here to see pictures of our fun afternoon.
It's Getting Chilly
Please make sure that your child comes to school with outerwear that is appropriate for the weather such as coats, scarves, and gloves. Talking with your child as well about the importance of being responsible and properly dressed for recess will help ensure that child is warm and protected from the elements during recess.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are November 19th and 20th
We are looking forward to sharing your child's progress with you so far this year at our upcoming Parent-Teacher conferences to be held Monday, 11/19 from 5-7pm and Tuesday, 11/20 from 2-7pm. You likely scheduled your conference at Curriculum Night in September. Your child's teacher will be sending a reminder home with your appointment date and time soon. We do hope that you will be able to attend conferences in person. If you cannot, you may request a phone conference with your child's teacher and team members when appropriate. It is not the expectation of the District for teachers to recreate the conference experience outside the dates/times identified on the District calendar.
Please make sure that your child comes to school with outerwear that is appropriate for the weather such as coats, scarves, and gloves. Talking with your child as well about the importance of being responsible and properly dressed for recess will help ensure that child is warm and protected from the elements during recess.
Parent-Teacher Conferences are November 19th and 20th
We are looking forward to sharing your child's progress with you so far this year at our upcoming Parent-Teacher conferences to be held Monday, 11/19 from 5-7pm and Tuesday, 11/20 from 2-7pm. You likely scheduled your conference at Curriculum Night in September. Your child's teacher will be sending a reminder home with your appointment date and time soon. We do hope that you will be able to attend conferences in person. If you cannot, you may request a phone conference with your child's teacher and team members when appropriate. It is not the expectation of the District for teachers to recreate the conference experience outside the dates/times identified on the District calendar.
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 3rd 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 3rd 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 3rd
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).
|
Clearly, the rigor and clarity have increased, which is good for kids! Now, consider the fact that, for learning standards where it is appropriate, we have created scales to clarify what it looks like for a student who has already mastered the standard to truly extend their learning. This "4.0" thinking helps us differentiate to truly take our students to new levels. Our new reporting format will allow us to clearly articulate for students--and parents--what specific standards students have mastered, where they need additional instruction, and where we have been able to extend their thinking. This level of specificity will truly impact student learning and take our communication to new levels!
WOW Names Called this week during announcements...
Grade 3: Gina M., Kelly M., Wyn T.,
Grade 4: Sophia P., Zach S.,
Grade 5: Tyler D., Jun I., Ketna K., Lara K., Andrew C.
Important Dates
*Wednesdays - School Store
*Fridays - Ice Cream Fridays
*Tuesday, November 6th - No School, Institute Day
*Wednesday, November 7th - An Evening of Floral Design at 7pm, Twin Groves
*Friday, November 9th - End of 1st Trimester
*Friday, November 9th - End of 1st Trimester
*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
*Monday, November 19th - Early Dismissal at 2pm.
*Monday, November 19th - Parent Teacher Conferences 5pm - 7pm
*Tuesday, November 20th - No School for Students
*Tuesday, November 20th - Parent Teacher Conferences 2pm - 7pm
*Wednesday, 11/21- Friday, 11/23 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
