From Mrs. McCoy: April 2010

Dear McDole Families,

The staff at McDole hopes everyone was able to have an enjoyable and relaxing Spring Break. Around Spring Break, teachers participated in two days of School Improvement Planning. On one day we were fortunate to listen to Dr. Anthony Muhammed discuss ways teachers can improve the culture of the school. Teachers also participated in cohorts where groups of teachers from throughout the dis-trict worked collaboratively on research, sharing or conducting a specific project or area of learning. Staff from McDole discussed what we are currently doing for our School Improvement Goal that focuses on expected behavior in common areas within the school. We also discussed how this goal can be developed as we pro-gress into next year.

As we begin the fourth quarter, we also begin to look ahead at next school year. One of the activities that will be occurring is planning for classroom placement for next year. There are several factors that are considered when making placement decisions. If you have information for us to consider in your child’s classroom placement for next school year, please email or write a letter to Mrs. McCoy no later than May 3.

At this time, I want to alert you of a change the district has made concerning the last day of school. Traditionally, we have been in attendance for only one hour on the last day of school. Starting this year, the hours of attendance for the last day of school (tentatively June 2) will be 8:50 – 11:50 a.m. During this time, we will be participating in Field Day activities. The last day of school for Early Child-hood and Kindergarten will be June 1.

The staff at McDole is looking forward to seeing families of our students at our Open House on Thursday, April 29th from 6:00-8:00. You will be amazed at the amount of learning the students have done so far! We are proud of our students and know you are too! Sincerely,

Martne McCoy

Calendar of Events

April 15 Mad Science 3:35 - 4:35 p.m.

April 16 Early Childhood Screening

@ Morning Star in Aurora

Fourth Grade Springfield Trip

April 17 PTO Daddy/Daughter Dance

April 18 Kaneland Community

Fine Arts Festival - KHS

April 19 Young Rembrandts

3:35—4:35 p.m.

April 20 Fun Lunch

PTO Meeting at 7:00 p.m.

at the Sugar Grove Community

House

April 20 - April 29 Book Fair

April 22 Mad Science 3:35 - 4:35 p.m.

April 26 Young Rembrandts

3:35 - 4:35 p.m.

April 27 Ozzie’s Reading Club

Cougars Game 6:00 p.m.

April 29 Open House 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Messages from McDole

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KINDERGARTEN April is a very exciting month in Kinder-garten. We are learning all about ovipa-rous animals. We are observing chicken eggs in our incubators as we anxiously wait for them to hatch in May. We are learn-ing about other animals that hatch from eggs including reptiles, amphibians, dino-saurs, fish and insects. We look forward to seeing all of our families, past and pre-sent, at open house!

SECOND GRADE April is a very busy month for second grade! The St. Charles Park District will be visiting McDole on April 30th. We will have an in-school field trip all about plants. The students will be able to experience plants from the early stages as a seed, all the way to a full grown plant. We are also gearing up for Tea for Two! Mrs. Kuntsman and Mrs. Plattos are getting our students ready for their performance on May 6th. Each student will be able to invite one special person to watch their concert and en-joy a snack with them afterwards. Second grade families, keep an eye out for an invitation coming home soon. The 'Sky Dome' presentation was also on April 9th. The students really loved seeing constellations, planets, and stars, and hearing all kinds of interesting facts about them from a very knowledgeable guide. A big THANK YOU to our J. A. volunteers this year: Mrs. Brumbaugh, Mrs. Kintz, Mrs. Conley, and Mrs. Fowler! They did an excellent job teaching our kids about economics in our com-munity. And finally, we'd like to announce the arrival of Ashley Pia Schulz! Mrs. Schulz welcomed a healthy baby girl on April 11th. Congratulations, Mrs. Schulz!

FOURTH GRADE All Lincoln, All the Time. Springfield or BUST!!!

Tune in next month for all of the details!

FIRST GRADE Buzz, Buzz, Buzz! First grade is flying into the world of insects. We are looking forward to getting up close and personal with bugs at our Fermilab Insect field trip at the begin-ning of May. We are becoming Entomologists by studying our new class pets...Mealworms! Look forward to some creepy crawly new ad-ditions to your family soon. We are ap-proaching the end of our Read to the Princi-pal program. The program ends Friday, May 14. Keep the reading logs coming.

THIRD GRADE Third graders have been busy doing research for our biographies and finding out lots of interesting facts to share. During April we are also learning different types of poems and getting to use our creative voices as we create our own poems. In math we are learning our multi-digit multiplications, so please practice at home with your child.

FIFTH GRADE The fifth grade students have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming Fifth Grade Choral Festival. The Choral Festival takes place on May 4 at 7:00 p.m. at Kaneland High School. The students are looking forward to showcasing their talents alongside all the fifth graders in the Kaneland District in their final elementary school performance. Some of the songs being featured that night are Rock and Roll is Here to Stay, Let There Be Peace, Shenandoah, Cohan’s Big Three and Jazz Contate. We look forward to seeing all of you there to hear the musical styling's of our fifth grade students!

EARLY CHILDHOOD Toot toot! Vroom vroom! Our EC kiddos are learning about how we get from here to there - TRANSPORTATION! Some vehicles move us through the air, some move us across the water, and some take us across the land. There are so many ways to get around! The p.m. class also took a “field trip” around our own school grounds to observe signs of spring. We saw buds on the trees, flowers in various stages of blooming, and even a duck egg! It was very exciting to see how our world is changing with the new season. Happy Spring!

MUSIC EVENTS COMING IN MAY Kindergarten End-of-the-Year Celebration

and Graduation Thursday, May 27

A.M. - 10:30 a.m.

P.M. - 2:30 p.m.

The kindergartners will be involved in an end-of-the-year celebration/graduation ceremony in the school gym. There

will be a morning and an afternoon program. The students are very excited to perform for all of their friends and family

members. We hope to see everyone there!

SECOND GRADE

Thursday, May 6

9:30 a.m.

Tea for Two The second grade students will be presenting their annual Tea for Two. Each second grader gets the opportunity to invite one special guest to come and watch their concert which will

take place in the multi-purpose room here at McDole.

District Wide Choral Festival Tuesday, May 4

Kaneland High School

On Tuesday, May 4, our fifth graders will be partici-pating in a district wide choral festival at Kaneland

High School. The students will rehearse their choral pieces as a large combined group in the morning and

then return to the high school at night for a concert in the large gym at 7:00 p.m.

The guest conductor for the day rehearsal and evening concert will be Mrs. Lori Grant, sixth grade choir di-

rector at Harter Middle School.

BOOK FAIR April 20 - 29, 2010

OPEN HOUSE April 29, 2010 6:00—8:00 p.m.

PLEASE JOIN

US

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K N I G H T S

of the

R O U N D T A B L E

The names below are the students that were honored to sit at the Knights of the Roundtable during the month of Feb-ruary. These students joined Mrs. Moeller and classroom teachers for lunch at the table after they were presented with a sash. Following lunch, students got their picture taken as the rest of the classes clapped for them.

Please note that PAST Knight winners can ALWAYS wear their sashes again on the Knight lunch days. They should be proud that they have earned a sash because they worked hard for it and if they choose, they can wear it on the days of the Knight of the Roundtable lunch. Students can ask their teachers for the specific date if they are interested!

First Grade

Blake Moeller

Gabriella Spizzirri

Olivia Ferrell

Dommy Knazur

Second Grade

Maddie Burton

Payton Coluzzi

Maricruz Peneran

Xitlaly Andrade

Third Grade

Sadhana Ugru

Bella Tiani

Marielle Aromin

Leo Espinosa-not pictured

Fourth Grade

Keith Clausen

Joey Romano

Matthew Konrad

Heather Montalbano

Fifth Grade

Paige Guyton

Peyton Rowland

Jasmine Hurkman

Amy Brouch

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Join the Kaneland community for a special day of performances and demonstrations by talented musicians and artists! This excit-

ing event is a community-wide celebration of the Fine Arts. It will be a day the entire

family will enjoy! All events are free!

Sunday, April 18, 2010 Kaneland High School

www.kanelandartsfestival.org

Kaneland Community Fine Arts Festival

BETWEEN FRIENDS FOOD PANTRY

Thank you so much for your continued generosity in donat-ing items to the needy in our community. Below is a list of urgently needed items: Canned Goods: peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, corn, vari-ous fruits

Paper Products: toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels, garbage bags/all sizes, zip lock bags/all sizes

Cleaning Products: floor cleaner/Mop N Glow, Comet, glass cleaner, Scrubbing Bubbles, dish soap

Hygiene: liquid hand soap, deodorant, toothpaste, mouth wash, body/hand lotion, feminine hygiene wipes

Baby Products: baby wipes, diapers size 3 and 4, baby powder

Drop-off bin located at McDole in the front hallway across from the office for your convenience.

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!

Illustration Alex Slou - The Injury at the Zoo Taylor Heiser - Wet Hugs Lauren Lindow - Flowers 4 Ever Carihah Herrero - The Sleepover Mackenzie Mulder - Purr Meow Whatever Allison Northrop - No Biggy Sabeen Rahman - I Wish… Bryana Rivera - The Best Vacation That Almost Wasn’t Jessica Storck - The Meeps Move to Mars Jarred Webster - A Work of Art Lauren White - The Life of Mo

2010 YOUNG AUTHOR WINNERS

Story Alex Slou - The Injury at the Zoo Cade Ory - Cloud Thunder Ella Gusinde - When I Got Smoors Gabby Spizzirri - The Great Guinea Pig Adventure Sophia Swatek - The Girl Who Broke Her Wrist Sienna Chavez - Got Talent? Brooke Delahanty - Peaceful Poems Nehemiah Lee - Lost in the Wild Lauren Lindow - Flowers 4 Ever Mackenzie Mulder - Purr Meow Whatever

Bryan Zollinger, a 5th grade student, recently competed in the Kane County Spelling Bee Finals on March 9th where he placed seventh. The Kane County Spelling Bee Finals are the last step in competition before students go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Bryan earned this huge honor by first winning the McDole Spelling Bee and then placing at the Kane County Spelling Bee and then placing fourth at the Kane County Spelling Bee Semi-Finals on February 19th. Bryan also won the Kaneland Elementary Schools Spelling Bee. McDole is so proud of our super speller!

KANE COUNTY SPELLING BEE

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School Improvement Goals for 2009-2010 School Year Goal 1: During the 09-10 school year, use established rubric and probes (from 08-09 SIP) to develop grade level base-lines for measuring student improvement of comprehension skills on the reading extended response for the purpose of facilitating student learning.

Goal 2: Increase student awareness of consistent school-wide behavioral expectations to promote a safe and positive learning community measured by the completion of the following activities: expectation walks, knight tickets, and the use of a safety patrol during the 2009-2010 school year.

Goal 3: Maintain community awareness of student successes at McDole during the 2009-2010 school year by communi-cating monthly with the district, parents and the local community.

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Students are not permitted on school property before 8:30 a.m. After 8:30 a.m. supervision is provided by the school for the students. Thank you for follow-ing the rules of the school that were established for the safety of the students. Also, when dropping off children, please remember to use the west park-ing lot only.

The last day of school for Early Childhood and Kindergarten will be Tuesday, June 1. The last day of school for First through Fifth Grade will be Wednesday, June 2. It will be a half-day and will dis-miss at 11:50 p.m.

Homework Policy

Upon returning to school from an excused absence, it is the students’ responsibility to check with their teachers concerning tests and assignments that were missed. Students with pre-excused absences will be pro-vided make-up work upon their return to school.

Friendly

Reminders

Make a Wish Foundation of Illinois

JEANS FOR WISHES The McDole staff recently participated in Jeans for Wishes. This is a fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation of Illinois. Staff members had the option to donate $5 a day or $25 for the week to Make a Wish in order to wear jeans to work. This was done during the week of March 15. The money raised goes to help grant a wish for a child with a life threatening illness. The staff was able to raise $505 for this cause. It was a fun week and the staff really enjoyed making a difference in a child’s life.