Carpenter Elementary School, District 64 300 N. Hamlin Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone: (847) 318-4370 Fax: (847) 318-4201 Web: http://www.d64.org/subsite/ces Principal: Mr. Brett Balduf Assistant Principal: Mrs. Emily Lech Focusing on Civil Behavior and 21st Century Learning CARPENTER COURIER – AUGUST 20, 2015 Dates, Dates, Dates . . . Friday Monday Thursday MONDAY Friday Friday Monday Thursday 8/21 8/24 9/3 9/7 9/11 9/18 9/21 9/24 First Day of Kindergarten District 64 Board Meeting – 7:30 p.m. – Jefferson School Parent Night – 6:00 – 8:10 p.m. LABOR DAY – NO SCHOOL PTO Fall Family Picnic Track-a-Thon PTO Meeting – 7:00 p.m. Carpenter Courier Letter from the Principal . . . Dear Carpenter Parents, As I shared in the Principal’s Blog, the summer went by quickly, but it was exciting to see all of our students and families and we are off to a terrific start. As with every year, the first Courier tends to be the most information-packed, so I’ve organized it into different sections. New Faces, New Places – District and Carpenter Staff: *We have a couple new district administrators. We have been working very closely district-wide administratively, and I just wanted to share some new names and titles: Mrs. Luann Kolstad – Chief School Business Official Mr. Ronald DeGeorge – Director of Facility Management Mr. Gorman Christian – Network Manager Regarding Carpenter Staff: Mrs. Lech is returning as our Assistant Principal. We’ve adjusted her schedule a little, so she is at Carpenter every Monday and Thursday. She will also be at Carpenter on some Wednesdays. Mrs. Cassandra Prejzner moved from 4th Grade to 3rd Grade Mrs. Joan Hoffman moved from Kindergarten to 1st Grade Mrs. Kathleen Hartz (formerly Mulroe) moved to full-time Speech Language at Carpenter Mrs. Melissa Moore – new Health Assistant Mr. Kevin Michael – new Instructional Technology Coach Mrs. Pamela Johnson – new Kindergarten Teacher (formerly Carpenter Assistant and Sub) Ms. Julie Zielinski – new Occupational Therapist at Carpenter Mr. Ron Cacini – new part-time PE Teacher at Carpenter Ms. Lynda Kasky-Hernandez – new Psychologist Intern Departed Staff from Carpenter: We’ve appreciated the positive impact that all of these staff members have had on the Carpenter Community and they will always be a part of our team! Mrs. Risk, Ms. Pelsor, Mrs. Smee, Mrs. Kari Pawlowski, Ms. Jocelyn Ortiz Students: *Not including Kindergarten, we are welcoming 31 new students to Carpenter School this school year. We now have 455 students total at Carpenter School! What’s New or Happening in 2015-2016? *Our Mission: Inspire every child to discover, learn, achieve, and care. *We have a new Strategic Plan with six major objectives: -Develop Students Who Master the 4 C's - Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking - Provide a Rigorous Education for All Students - Differentiate to Meet the Academic and Social/Emotional Health Needs of All Students - Foster Effective Communities of Practice Through Professional Development and Staff Support - Provide Safe and Secure Learning Spaces to Support 21st Century Learners - Maintain Fiscal Responsibility that Reflects a Commitment to Student Learning and a Rich Variety of Programs and Services *Carpenter’s Theme this year is: ALL-IN *Carpenter’s School Goal this year is specific to designing and implementing a specific model of professional development for our staff that aligns with the Strategic Plan and supports our annual focus of Student Learning. *We were also inspired by our district kickoff regarding having a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. Our conversations and meetings throughout the year will embed helping to support one another continue to find ways of having a growth mindset. *We will continue to learn and grow with our usage and implementation of formative assessment and high impact instructional strategies. *Phones – over the summer, the district installed a new VOIP phone system in all of the buildings. Every staff member will have an extension and voicemail. Please be aware that the teacher’s phones will not ring in the middle of the instructional day. Instead, you will be able to leave a voicemail. Of course, email is still available, but person-to-person conversation may be necessary for important or lengthy conversations. 2 I WOULD LIKE TO CAUTION and REMIND EVERYONE This applies to email as well, but I thought it was important to review with the new phone system. Our teachers are teaching during the day. It is highly likely that your child’s teacher will not see your email or get your voicemail during the instructional day. Please do not email or leave a voicemail with time sensitive information. If there is critical information that must be shared, please contact our office. Since it is the beginning of the year, it is helpful to remind everyone and encourage the following regarding that: 1. Please have an after-school plan for your child before he/she leaves the house in the morning. 2. If the plan is something different than usual, write them a note. Children sometimes forget what you tell them in the morning. 3. Please be sensitive and have an understanding of school operations. It is exceptionally challenging to try to relay several different messages to several different children/teachers at 3:25 p.m. See reminder #1. 4. Emergencies and unexpected circumstances arise. We’ll help you take care of them. Please provide us as much time as possible. 5. Reinforce to your children that if they are late – they need to come to the office and through the front entrance on Hamlin. If you are late to pick them up, they should come to the office and through the front entrance on Hamlin. *Please continue to help support our parking, Kiss ‘n Go, and traffic flow concepts around Carpenter. Also please remember, the staff parking lot should not be used as a pick-up or drop-off area for students. *Please remember to complete your handbook acknowledgement by September 1st. *We are beginning our 2nd year of the 1:1 Chromebook Initiative in 3rd -5th grade. We had a successful first year launch, but look forward to continuing to develop our skills and work to develop our students into respectful and responsible digital citizens. *We are excited to begin to use the ELF grants that we received. Our Move and Learn Project was discussed briefly with our staff and students the opening week of school and will begin implementation in September. Our 3D printer and associated implementation will begin as our new Instructional Technology Coach, Mr. Michael gets settled in and we review the curriculum and creatively plan. *We are in our second year of partnership with Beyond the Bell. For all of those students participating, hopefully you’ve signed consent for us to be able to speak with the Park District about your child. The partnership and communication between the school and the program can be so beneficial for your child. *This year we are continuing our use of Accelerated Reader (2nd-5th) and Study Island (3rd-5th). Thank you to the PTO for purchasing the licenses for Accelerated Reader. *We will be continuing our usage of the Principal’s Blog, Facebook, and Twitter. I am in the process of exploring all of the potential of Periscope, which is a live streaming app owned by Twitter. *Look for the PTO’s One School, One Book communications coming in October. *We are continuing with our visitor management system. All visitors are required to check in at the office and have an ID with them for every visit through our new visitor security management system. *Our students in grades 3-5 will be taking the PARCC assessment in March. This year, there is not an End of the Year (EOY) assessment in May. 3 *We’ll see you Parent Night on Thursday, September 3rd. The schedule is below: Time Grades/Staff 6:00 6:30 p.m. PTO representative, Park Ridge Library, Literacy, Art, Music, PE, Spanish, English Learning (Second Language Learners), Channels of Challenge, Special Education/Related Services 6:35-7:20 p.m. PM Kindergarten, 1 , 4 Grades 7:25-8:10 p.m. AM Kindergarten, 2 , 3 , 5 Grades st nd th rd th We look forward to another terrific year. Follow the Principal’s Blog, follow Carpenter Elementary School on Facebook, and CarpenterD64 on Twitter for frequent updates on our year. Sincerely, Brett. A Balduf Carpenter Principal CARPENTER COURIER DATES FOR 2015-16 2015 September 24 October 29 November 19 December 17 2016 January 28 February 25 March 24 April 28 DON’T MISS THESE ATTACHMENTS - D64 Student Handbook 2015-16 Reminder D64 Facebook Flyer Student Accident Insurance Information 4 Logon to Facebook to “like” our District and school fan pages: ! District 64 Park Ridge-Niles ! Carpenter Elementary School, Park RidgeNiles ! Field Elementary School, Park Ridge-Niles ! Franklin Elementary School, Park Ridge-Niles ! Roosevelt Elementary School, Park RidgeNiles ! Washington Elementary School, Park RidgeNiles ! Emerson Middle School, Park Ridge-Niles ! Lincoln Middle School, Park Ridge-Niles ! Jefferson School, Park Ridge-Niles VISIT YOUR SCHOOL WEBSITE READ IT ONLINE & COMPLETE THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORM ONLINE BY SEPTEMBER 1 Accidents aren’t supposed to happen, but they do. School recess, one-day field trips and general day-today activities can all lead to injuries. Having coverage during school hours, or around the clock can insure your loved ones get the care they need without financial hardship to your family. ELIGIBILITY Any enrolled student is eligible for coverage. K-12 ACCIDENT PLANS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR SCHOOL: • School Time Accident Only • 24-Hour Accident Only • Interscholastic Sports • 24-Hour Dental All available plans are offered by Special Markets Insurance Consultants, Inc. To research which plans are being offered by your school, please visit our website’s online enrollment tool at www.k12specialmarkets.com PAYMENT Parents or guardians of students are responsible for enrollment and premium payment. HOW TO ENROLL Enrolling is easy and only takes a few minutes. Go to www.k12specialmarkets.com. 1. Click on Coverage Details at the top, 2. Select State and click “Look Up” 3. Click on School or District 4. Click on link to display plan details. Parents can either print and complete the enrolment application to mail with check or money order or: You can enroll online: 1. Enroll online by clicking “Enroll Now” 2. Select State and click “Look Up” 3. Click on School or District 4. Select school location name (if applicable) 5. Check the plan options 6. Complete online application (more than one child can be enrolled on the same application) 7. Pay by credit/debit 8. Print ID card (800) 727-7642 ext. 6103 FOR QUESTIONS, CALL 800.727.7642 For further details of the coverage outlined above, including costs, benefits, exclusions and any reductions or limitation, and the terms under which the policy may be continued in force, please refer to www.k12specialmarkets.com. Students are able to purchase coverage only if his/her school district is a policyholder with the insurance company. Accidentes no suelen suceder, pero a veces suceden. Recesos escolares, paseos y las actividades diarias en general pueden ocasionar lesiones. Contar con cobertura durante el horario escolar, o en todo momento, te asegura que tus seres queridos puedan obtener el cuidado necesario sin crear problemas financieros para tu familia. ELIGIBILIDAD Cualquier estudiante registrado es elegible para obtener cobertura. SEGURO ESCOLAR DE ACCIDENTES PARA ESTUDIANTES (K-12) DISPONIBLE A TRAVÉS DE SU ESCUELA: • Accidentes en la Escuela • Accidentes las 24 Horas al Día • Deportes Interescolares • Dental 24 Horas Todos los planes disponibles son ofrecidos por Special Markets Insurance Consultants, Inc. Por favor visite nuestro servicio de matriculación en línea en www.k12specialmarkets.com para obtener información acerca de los planes que su escuela ofrece. PAGO La inscripción y el pago de la prima son responsabilidad de los padres y/o representantes del estudiante. COMO MATRICULARSE Matricularse por internet es fácil y lleva sólo unos minutos. Vaya a www.k12specialmarkets.com. 1. Haga clic en “Coverage Details” en la parte superior 2. Seleccione su estado y haga clic en “Look Up” 3. Haga clic en su Escuela o Distrito Escolar 4. Haga clic en el nombre para mostrar detalles del plan Parientes pueden imprimir y completar la aplicación para mandarla por correo o por orden de pago. O TAMBIEN: Pueden inscribirse vía web: 1. Inscríbase vía web haciendo clic en “enroll now: 2. Seleccione su estado y haga clic en “look up” 3. Haga clic en su Escuela o Distrito Escolar 4. Seleccione el nombre de su escuela (si es posible) 5. Verifique las opciones del plan 6. Complete la aplicación vía web (dos o más niños pueden ser inscriptos en la misma aplicación) 7. Pague con tarjeta de débito o crédito 8. Imprima su tarjeta de identificación (800) 727-7642 ext. 6103 PARA PREGUNTAS, LLAME AL 800.727.7642 Por favor, visite www.k12specialmarkets.com para obtener información adicional acerca de la cobertura de este plan, precios, beneficios, exclusiones, reducciones o limitaciones y los términos bajo los cuales la póliza pueda continuar activa. Los estudiantes sólo pueden obtener cobertura si su distrito escolar está asegurado con la compañía de seguros.