Monday, January 25, 2010

Hope for Haiti

If you've been asking yourself - What can I do to help? Here's an answer for the Holmes Student Council. Donate your loose change between now and February 5th. Each class has a collection jar. Donations will be sent directly to Hopital Albert Schweitzer. (hashaita.org) With your help, we can make a difference for those suffering from the unfathomable tradgey in Haiti.

Fun While Learning

Rocket into Reading

Settling in with a good book is one of my favorite
pastimes. It seems many of our Holmes students share a passion for reading as well. The PTO Rocket into Reading program encourages independent reading along with a little friendly competition. Each class receives a book of their choice. The winning class in each grade level receives a popsicle party and the class with the most hours read overall receives a pizza party with Ms. Hackmiller. As of January 20th Holmes students have read 3,212.5 hours, thirteen classes have logged more than 100 hours and seven classes have reached the 200 hour mark. Rocket into Reading runs through January 29. Let's aim for 4,500 hours. Grab a book, get comfortable and read. Rocket into Reading culminates with Family Reading Night on January 30th from 6:00-8:00 pm in the school's multi-purpose room.

Geography Bee

Everyone talks about the world getting smaller, so it's even more important than ever to have a firm grasp of world geography.
Sixteen Holmes students participated in the school's National Geographic Bee last week. Peter Gonzalez, a fourth grader in Mr. McCauley's class edged out the competition.

How would you have done?

1. The port of Rotterdam is built on the delta of which major European river?

2. What is the term for a part of the ocean or sea that cuts far into the bordering landmass and may contain one or more bays.

3. Which Canadian island is the tenth largest in the world?
a. Queen Victoria b. Newfoundland c. Nova Scotia d. Eellesmere e. Baffin

4. Name the mountain range that extends from Maine to Georgia.
a. Rocky b. Sierra Nevada c. White d. Appalachian Rocky Balboa

5. Pick the answer that contains three Baltic countries.
a. Sweden, Denmark, Spain b. Greece, Italy, Malta c. Finland, Estonia, Norway
d. Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia e. Portugal, Spain, Andorra

Math Con

MathCon, a PTO sponsored contest, will take place for ten days in February. Each day students will have fun, grade-appropriate math challenges to complete. the goal is to show how math is used in every day life. Students earn points and raffle tickets for participating. Raffles are help for small prizes throughout the ten days of MathCon. the class from each grade with the most points will win a class prize. Work together with your children to solve these problems. This is meant to be a fun activity - no pressure.

Answers to geography quiz.

1. The Rhine River

2. gulf

3. d. Ellesmere

4. d. Appalachian

5. c. Finland, Estonia, Norway

Friday, January 8, 2010

January 2010

Heavy Snow Forecast for the Chicago Area

Do you remember when you were excited by a news story like that? Thoughts quickly turned to sledding and fort building. You prayed for a snow day.

Well the snow came, just not the snow day. But that didn't dampen the excitement of the Holmes students. Nothing beats a snowy recess. PTO funds were used to purchase snow toys which are proving to be a huge hit with our students.

So next time your hear the forecast for snow, think like a child. It can be truly delightful.

The Holmes policy regarding outside recess is that we will be outside when the windchill temperature is above 0. Between 0-20, there will be a warming center available. Students are encouraged to go outside for at least ten minutes before heading into the warming center. Since we are outside on most days, please make sure your children are appropriately dressed. Children must have hands and head covered to go out for recess. Snow pants are greatly encouraged.

Please do not call the school office to enquire about a school closing. Call District 97 VoiceLink at 708.524.5830. Consult your school handbook for additional information on school closings.

First one down the hill is the winner!