Monday, February 22, 2010
Hope for Haiti Recap
Hurray for Holmes! Our students made me proud. They emptied piggy banks. They brought in Dad's change jar. They found change on the playground. They gave unselfishly. Ms. Merz ans Ms. Bingaman spent 45 minutes feeding the change machine at a local bank. The grand total $1,800. The Holmes donation was sent to Hopital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti.
School Fees Due
School Fees for the 2009-10 school year must be paid by the end of February. If you have an outstanding balance you received an invoice in the mail. Please contact Ms. Hackmiller if you need to make payment arrangements.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Coming & Going at Holmes School - Important News for Incoming Kindergarten Students and Transitioning 5th Grade Students
If you have a child who will soon be joining the Holmes Family, Kindergarten registration is being held at the district office, 970 W. Madison, on February 24 & 25, April 6 & 7, May 4 & 5, June 29, and July 28 & 29. Please check the district site www.op97.org, for additional information. Students must be five by September 1, 2010 to enter kindergarten for the 2010-11 year.
The time has come to begin the transition to middle school. This week the fifth grade class attended a BRAVO preview performance of Charlotte's Web. You should have received an information packet from Brooks outlining upcoming events and important dates. Please keep this information handy as there are several deadlines to be met within the next few months. Orientation for students entering Brooks in the Fall is set for Thursday, February 19th at 7:00pm.
The time has come to begin the transition to middle school. This week the fifth grade class attended a BRAVO preview performance of Charlotte's Web. You should have received an information packet from Brooks outlining upcoming events and important dates. Please keep this information handy as there are several deadlines to be met within the next few months. Orientation for students entering Brooks in the Fall is set for Thursday, February 19th at 7:00pm.
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
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!
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!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
September
September 23, 2009
Dear Holmes Families:
The school year is off to an exceptional start. Our enrollment is up, we have hired a new teacher and a new teaching assistant since the year began and we are in the midst of planning some incredible, unique opportunities for you and your children.
This year one area of focus will be about getting you, the parent community, as involved as we possibly can in our efforts to make your child’s experience the best it can be. In order for this to be successful, we need a commitment from each of you to join us.
In collaboration with Response to Intervention (RTI) our School Improvement Team (SIT) and staff made a commitment to globally benchmark all of our students three times per year. This benchmarking information will give us details about our students progress so that we can meet their individual needs most successfully. If it is determined through benchmarking that a student is in need of instructional support either above or below grade level, our support team will work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that appropriate interventions are in place. Students who are below grade level will be progress monitored every 4-6 weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional changes.
Earlier this month, we successfully benchmarked every Holmes student. In grades K-2, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) which is a standardized, individually administered test that provides a measure of risk in the areas of letter naming fluency (K-1), initial sound fluency (K), phoneme segmentation (1), nonsense word fluency and/or oral reading fluency (1-2) was given. In grades 3-5, AIMSWEB, a progress monitoring assessment in the area of oral reading fluency, was administered.
In the coming days you will be receiving your child’s benchmarking information. Your child’s teacher will be reviewing this with you and discussing support programs at conferences in October. If you have not signed up for a conference time, please be sure to do so soon. Many of you will also be receiving an invitation to our Family Literacy Night. I encourage you to partner with us as we work to help your children be successful readers. We can’t do it without you.
For those who will be involved in an intervention program, you will be notified of the support service for your child through the assessment information or by the support staff who will be working with your child. Our after school S.T. A. R.S program will be by invitation only and will begin in early October. If your child currently has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), the intervention program will support the need identified in the IEP.
We are fortunate to be a part of the Power of Partnership program, which is a guided study and after school enrichment program in partnership with OPRF High School, Dominican University and Holmes School and is led by Frances Kraft. More information about this program can be obtained by contacting Ms. Kraft at Holmes School.
As you can see, we are off to a busy and focused beginning. I look forward to seeing you in and around the building as we partner together for all of our kids.
If you have any questions about the information in this letter or want information about a specific program, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Stay Well,
Suzie Hackmiller, Principal
Dear Holmes Families:
The school year is off to an exceptional start. Our enrollment is up, we have hired a new teacher and a new teaching assistant since the year began and we are in the midst of planning some incredible, unique opportunities for you and your children.
This year one area of focus will be about getting you, the parent community, as involved as we possibly can in our efforts to make your child’s experience the best it can be. In order for this to be successful, we need a commitment from each of you to join us.
In collaboration with Response to Intervention (RTI) our School Improvement Team (SIT) and staff made a commitment to globally benchmark all of our students three times per year. This benchmarking information will give us details about our students progress so that we can meet their individual needs most successfully. If it is determined through benchmarking that a student is in need of instructional support either above or below grade level, our support team will work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that appropriate interventions are in place. Students who are below grade level will be progress monitored every 4-6 weeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional changes.
Earlier this month, we successfully benchmarked every Holmes student. In grades K-2, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) which is a standardized, individually administered test that provides a measure of risk in the areas of letter naming fluency (K-1), initial sound fluency (K), phoneme segmentation (1), nonsense word fluency and/or oral reading fluency (1-2) was given. In grades 3-5, AIMSWEB, a progress monitoring assessment in the area of oral reading fluency, was administered.
In the coming days you will be receiving your child’s benchmarking information. Your child’s teacher will be reviewing this with you and discussing support programs at conferences in October. If you have not signed up for a conference time, please be sure to do so soon. Many of you will also be receiving an invitation to our Family Literacy Night. I encourage you to partner with us as we work to help your children be successful readers. We can’t do it without you.
For those who will be involved in an intervention program, you will be notified of the support service for your child through the assessment information or by the support staff who will be working with your child. Our after school S.T. A. R.S program will be by invitation only and will begin in early October. If your child currently has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), the intervention program will support the need identified in the IEP.
We are fortunate to be a part of the Power of Partnership program, which is a guided study and after school enrichment program in partnership with OPRF High School, Dominican University and Holmes School and is led by Frances Kraft. More information about this program can be obtained by contacting Ms. Kraft at Holmes School.
As you can see, we are off to a busy and focused beginning. I look forward to seeing you in and around the building as we partner together for all of our kids.
If you have any questions about the information in this letter or want information about a specific program, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Stay Well,
Suzie Hackmiller, Principal
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