Thursday, December 20, 2012

Happy Winter Break!

We had kids in shorts last week at school and today we added an extra day to our break by having a snow day.  One can never tell in the midwest what to expect, but that's one of the reasons I love this area.

Our Winter break parties are rescheduled for Friday, January 4th at 3:00pm.  So many families were prepared for these so we don't want to disappoint anyone.

I wish all our West Englewood families a wonderful and safe Winter break! We look forward to seeing all back at school on Thursday, January 3rd to begin a second semester of increased learning.

Happy Winter Break!


Friday, December 14, 2012

Thoughts with fellow elementary school

Our thoughts are with our fellow educators, their students and school community following the school tragedy in Connecticut today.  Please know that our district and school will continue to review our safety procedures to maintain the safest environment possible for our students.

We will give extra high-fives, hugs and handshakes this coming week as we celebrate the wonderful students we have at West Englewood.  We want all to feel safe and secure in their learning environment.



Friday, November 30, 2012

AIRZONE FUN!

Excitement was in the air on Thursday night at the PTO sponsored AirZone event.  Slipping, sliding, jumping, shooting baskets, and air hockey challenges were a few of the activities kids were involved in.  
It was a fun night where fellow students and their families could enjoy some down time together.  Many included dinner in their night with pizza from Northern Lights being ordered.  I loved watching the interactions with the students and their families.  It was a great evening!


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Our Eagle expectations are Be respectful, Be responsible, Do Your Personal Best.
Today I witnessed the following occurring at our school.

+  One of our Kindergartners was showing a new student "the ropes" as he saw it.
This was without being asked but he just stepped in and was doing the responsible thing by welcoming a new friend to our school.

+  A first grader helped another student pick up a backpack that had spilled out on the floor.  Again they did it on their own before the closest adult could help out.  All because it was the right thing to do.

+ A fourth grader was helping a second grader from the bus to breakfast because the younger student hadn't had a positive start to their morning.  Saw the second grader a few hours later and she was all smiles.  Maybe this small kindness helped set her day right.

+  A third grader found three dollars on the floor and brought it to me to turn in.  A few minutes later they were back because they'd heard whose it might be and wanted it checked out.  Turns out it was birthday money for the other student.  Honesty rewarded with a big smile.

Great kids showing what great Eagles they are.  Did they learn these positive attributes at home?  At school?  I'd like to think both played a role as we continue to work in tandem to prepare our students to be college, career and life ready.  A partnership I hope will only strengthen over time.

A reminder......tomorrow night - Thursday 2/29 - at 6pm is a PTO sponsored AirZone night.  Students must wear socks!  Hope to see you there.




Thursday, November 15, 2012

Publisher's chair

I just had to share about the fabulous opinion pieces I had the privilege to hear in Ms. Craven's class this afternoon.  Students had written opinion pieces about various topics including year round school, deer hunting, having animals in zoos, phones in schools, seasons, etc.  They were very interesting and had many opinion points stated.  It was a pleasure to hear students take a stand on a topic that was important to them and to share that opinion in a written piece with their class and guests.  Great job Ms. Craven's class!

Attendance

School attendance is of great importance.  Our new MSIP 5 guidelines count attendance as 90% of our students are at school 90% and above.  Currently we are not making this guideline at West Englewood.  We have contacted families of students that are not in compliance with these guidelines.  Ways you can help your child's school are;

*  Make sure your child is on time - by 9:15am - and remains until the days end - 4:00pm.  When a child is tardy or leaves early it counts against their attendance.
*  Schedule doctor/dental appointments outside the school day or for days off of school.
*  Make sure your child only misses when truly sick.

We appreciate your partnership in getting your child to school on time, every day.  If you've questions about your child's attendance please call the office.

Congrats to 5th grade for the best attendance rate at West Englewood for October.  Kindergarten was number one in September.  Wouldn't it be great to have all grades win for November??

See you at school - every day - on time - to increase learning for all!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Picnic tomorrow at school!

The PTO sponsored picnic will be tomorrow, Thursday, from 5:30pm - 7:00pm at school.
Hotdogs, Chips, Drinks and Desserts will be provided.  Please bring lawn chairs if you've some for
your comfort.  Lunch tables will also be set up.  We have 300+ RSVP's and are excited so many of our families are planning to attend tomorrow night.  Hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Congrats Kindergarten!

We would like to congratulate our largest group of students in the building for being the best in attendance this week.  Our kindergartners had the best attendance rate this week!  Great job!
We always look for that excellent attendance rate of 96% and better each week to increase learning.

We hope to see our families at the Back to School picnic this Thursday from 5:30-7pm at school.  Hotdogs, condiments, drinks, chips and dessert will be provided by our staff and PTO.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Happy Summer!

I hope all our Eagles are enjoying their summer.  We had a great turnout for XLT and fun learning occurred.  Thanks to so many of our families for signing your children up for this extended learning opportunity.
The first day for school is Tuesday, August 21st.  School supply lists are posted on the web site and local stores.  Our Back to School night is Thursday, August 16th from 4:30pm - 7pm.  Class lists will be posted on this evening.  This is a come and go event where you can visit classrooms, join PTO, check out lunch account standings, etc.  We hope to see our families all in attendance.
All the West Englewood staff are looking forward to a great year of learning for 2012-2013.

Keep reading,
Mrs. E

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Today at West Englewood

Wow! What a great day I had today.  Being principal at West Englewood is always a great thing but today I was presented with many great comments, cards, books, flowers and treats for Principal's Day.  I have smiled all day at the wonderful art work and words our students shared with me about the school and their principal.  I love being here and I hope I can live up to their fabulous comments.  Thanks to the entire school....students, parents and staff....for such a delightful day.

Tonight our PTA voted to change our parent organization to a PTO for next school year.
PTA's next newsletter will have more information on this. 

Keep soaring Eagles!
Mrs. E.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Talent Show Time

Wow.....I watched some of the final after school rehearsal for the Talent Show this afternoon. We have some really talented Eagles here at West Englewood.  I hope many of you plan to come to watch either at the 6pm show or the 7:30pm show.  Cost is $1 per person for each show.  Hope to see many of our families tomorrow.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Skating Party - Jan. 27th

It was great to see so many Eagles skating on Friday night.  Thanks to our PTA for another wonderful
skating party. Our next skating party will be March 23rd at 5:30pm.  There will not be a skating party in February due to our Talent Show scheduled for Feb. 24th.  Congrats to Mrs. Craven's 5th graders for the best attendance.  They celebrated with pizza and pop.  If you've not been skating with us this year we hope to see you in March.  It is a fun outing for the family.