Please join us *TONIGHT* at 7:00 in the LRC for the
October PTA General Council Meeting
*Picture Re-take Day is Friday November 6, 2015*
*Students will remain at school on October 30, 2015 and will not be dismissed at lunch to change into Halloween Costumes. Students can change into their costumes at school. The Halloween Parade will take place at school and parents are welcome to attend*
1. Magazine Subscription Donations
2. Wreck
3. Reflections
4. Math Night
5. Family Fun
6. Student Council Updates
1. Request for Donated Magazine Subscriptions for the LRC
We are looking for some families to make a contribution to the LRC at Whittier by sponsoring a magazine subscription. Interested families can review the list of magazines and subscription rates here and send a check (payable to Whittier PTA) to Theresa Johnson through backpack mail.
Magazine_list_2015
Magazines provide a unique opportunity to get children interested in reading while developing the critical academic skills they’ll need in the years to come. The selection of magazines offered is wide ranging and will certainly appeal to boys and girls of all ages and interests.
With parent contributions we’ll get a full year of issues in the LRC. Your help in making this valuable resource a part of our kids education is greatly appreciated!
2. It’s time for WRECK!
What is WRECK? It is Whittier Robotics and Engineering Club for Kids, a unique free class sponsored by the PTA. Each week we build a Lego model using a motor, gears, and sensors, then we program it with Lego WEDO software to bring the model to life. WRECK is open to 3rd and 4th grade students — both boys and girls — and will meet on Wednesday evenings, from 6:30-7:30 in the Whittier REC Room (yes, WRECK in the REC Room, also known as Room 1). The fall session classes will meet on 11/4, 11/18, 12/2, 12/9 and 12/16, with additional classes in the new year.
Please e-mail Andy Knudsen at andyknudsen@gmail.com to sign up. If your student was in the class last year, the models will be a repeat, but the kids are still welcome.
3. Reflections – Let your imagination fly!
Calling all fine arts enthusiasts!! The deadline for Reflections submissions is nearing. Please be sure to turn in your fine arts submission by Oct. 30th. Art pieces can be turned in to your classroom teacher or to the Whittier School office. Please be sure that the art work is covered in cellophane for protection, and that you attach a completed Reflections entry form to the art work before submitting.
A BIG thank you to Mr. Belonio for hosting 2 lunchtime workshops to get students started on their Reflections artwork!!
Complete rules for each category can be found here under the “Local Leaders” heading:
http://www.illinoispta.org/reflections.html
Please contact Wendy Carter with any questions at wendylcarter@att.net or 630-696-0553
5. Family Fun Dinner at Potbelly’s
Don’t worry about what’s for dinner this coming Monday night! Come out to the new Potbelly Sandwich Shop located at 19 West Ogden in Westmont for dinner on Monday, October 26th, and a portion of the proceeds will go back to the Whittier PTA. The qualifying hours of this event are 5:00-8:00 p.m. and it applies to dine-in orders as well as those placed in the Potbelly drive-thru.
So if you have the time, sit down and enjoy a delicious, work-free dinner along with other families from the Whittier community OR swing by for sandwiches to go if your evening schedule is hectic. Share this date with local friends and family outsides of the Whittier community as well – the more the merrier.
Check your child’s backpack later this week for a flyer with more information.
6. Student Council
Do you love apples? How about caramel? Well, they go so well together and the Whittier Student Council is taking orders for Affy Tapple caramel, peanut, and Halloween sprinkle caramel apples through Wednesday (tomorrow)! Apples are $2 each and will be delivered to backpacks on Friday, October 30th. Can’t find an order form? Just send an envelope with a note including your child’s name and teacher as well as number of apples and type of apples (plain, peanut, sprinkles) along with payment. We’ll happily deliver them next Friday, 10/30!
Food Drive Next Week – October 26-30th
Newbery Award winning author Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan) just released her newest title: Crenshaw, an amazing, heartfelt story about a boy Jackson and his imaginary cat friend, Crenshaw. Crenshaw helps Jackson deal with his family’s eviction and homelessness as well as food shortage and hunger. Applegate has written what we predict is another award-winning story, and to respond to the local need in Downers Grove, the Whittier Student Council and LRC, along with Anderson’s Bookshop, will sponsor a canned/staple food drive next week. A table will be located in the hallway by the bulletin board along with collection bins in the LRC too. Please help us support individuals and families in our area that are struggling to secure sufficient food. We know the Whittier community is always so supportive of our efforts, so thank you in advance for your generous support.
The Reading Games Update!
Dear Whittier Families-
We are very excited to announce that team reservations for this year’s Reading Games competition will open on Monday, November 2nd at 9:00 A.M. The Reading Games is a competition for 3rd-8th grade students in District 58. To compete, students form teams of 5-8 students. Teams can be composed of students in mixed grades, as well as mixed schools (i.e.: a friend or two from Lester School can be on a team with students from Whittier; the team can have a few 4th graders with a few 5th graders and 3rd grade students too). Just remember – the team has to decide which book list to read before reserving a spot on Monday, November 2nd. So go to The Reading Games website and take a look at List 1 (selected for 3rd-5th graders) and List 2 (selected for 6-8th graders) and as a team, decide which list of books you’d like to read. No matter what grade team members are in, the team can choose to read either list (i.e. it’s ok for a 6th grade team to select list 1 books). The LRC and Mrs. Krygeris have quite a few of the books available, so you can look at them in person or read reviews of each on the Amazon or Barnes & Noble websites.
We hope to have many teams from Whittier represented at this year’s The Reading Games on Saturday, March 12, 2016 at O’Neill Middle School. So recruit your team, choose a book list, find a team parent to help organize your team, and reserve your spot early on Monday, November 2nd. Reservations open at 9 A.M. and we expect the spots to fill before noon. Please consult The Reading Games website for more information. “Let the books be in your favor!”
Mark Your Calendars
- Tuesday, October 20, 2015: General PTA Meeting
- Tuesday, October 20, 2015: Draw Your Destiny Assemblies
- Friday, October 23, 2015: Variety Show Rehearsal 3:00-4:00
- Friday, October 23, 2015: Student Council Spirit Day Wear Pink for Cancer Awareness
- Monday, October 26, 2015: Family Fun at Potbelly’s
- Monday, October 26 – Friday, October 30: Student Council Food Drive
- Tuesday, October 27, 2015: Variety Show TECH Rehearsal 3:00-6:00 MANDATORY
- Wednesday, October 28, 2015: Math Night
- Tuesday, November 3, 2015: Variety Show Stage Crew Dry Run 3:00-5:00 MANDATORY
- Wednesday, November 4, 2015: Variety Show Dress Rehearsal 3:00-6:00 MANDATORY
- Monday, November 2, 2015: Reading Games Open at 9:00 AM
- Friday, November 6, 2015: Variety Show School Performance
- Friday, November 6, 2015: Picture Re-Take Day
- Thursday, November 12, 2015: Variety Show Tivoli Rehearsal 3:00-5:00 MANDATORY
- Saturday, November 14, 2015: Variety Show at the Tivoli
- Tuesday, November 24, 2015 – Friday, November 27, 2015: Thanksgiving Holiday, No School
- Tuesday, December 8, 2015: General PTA Meeting
- Monday, December 21, 2015 – Sunday, January 3, 2016: Winter Break, No School
- Monday, January 18, 2016: Martin Luther King Day, No School
- Tuesday, January 19, 2016: General PTA Meeting
- Friday, February 12, 2016: No School
- Tuesday, February 16, 2016: General PTA Meeting
- Friday, March 4, 2016: Teacher Inservice, No School
- Saturday, March 12, 2015: Reading Games
- Tuesday, March 15, 2016: General PTA Meeting
- Friday, March 25, 2016 – Sunday, April 3, 2016: Spring Break, No School
- Friday, April 8, 2016: Spring Fundraiser LP4P 2
- Tuesday, April 19, 2016: General PTA Meeting
- Tuesday, May 17, 2016: General PTA Meeting
- Monday, May 30, 2016: Memorial Day, No School
- *Friday, June 3, 2016: Last Day of School
- *June 6 – June 10 possible emergency days
