St. Edmund Parish School

Principal's Corner

A Letter from the Principal, May 3, 2012

As we near the conclusion of the 2011-2012 school year it is an opportune time to discuss the new Common Core State Standards that will determine not only what is taught, but how it is taught at all grade levels. The “Common Core,” as it is already known in education circles, will provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students across the country are expected to learn. All schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago will be adopting the Common Core Standards. Common Core Standards are in place for Mathematics and Language Arts with other content areas to follow.

The new standards will challenge students to employ critical thinking skills orally and in writing in all content areas. Rather than simply receiving, storing, and repeating information, student assessments will demand that they be able to readily wield information in response to challenging questions that require higher level thinking skills. Of course, our teachers already strive to develop our students’ critical thinking skills through project work and other activities. The new Language Arts curriculum requires students to develop writing skills across the curriculum. Fortunately, our adoption of the Six +1Traits program this year has St. Edmund students focused on developing their writing skills in all content areas. Teachers will be engaged in professional development during school in-service days to prepare for full implementation of the Common Core.

I have posted on our school website a primer on the Common Core Standards published by Education Northwest. This article provides a succinct outline of how these new standards came to be. The article also features excellent examples of how the new standards will shape the types of question posed to students as well student responses. As you might expect, there are numerous websites devoted to the Common Core Standards. You might find visiting our state’s education website an appropriate place to further your knowledge of the standards
(see: http://www.isbe.net/common_core/default.htm). Please do not hesitate to contact me at school if you have questions.

On an unrelated note, I look forward to sharing an exciting Elegant Evening on May 19 with the St. Edmund school community. It requires a Herculean effort to bring this event to fruition each year; our Elegant Evening is a great opportunity to bring school parents and parishioners together for a highly enjoyable social event and most worthy fundraiser.

Thank you for supporting Catholic education,

Michael Sweeney
Mr. Sweeney
Principal St. Edmund Parish School

MAY CROWNING

There will be a special all-school May Crowning Mass This TUESDAY, MAY 8TH at 8:30AM. All students will process from the courtyard to church beginning at 8:25AM. We ask that all children bring a single flower or bouquet of flowers to present to Mary's statue. All parents and guardians are invited to attend.

Students in second and eight grade are asked to dress up for this special Mass. Second graders who are making their First Communion on Sunday may wear their Communion clothing.

ELEGANT EVENING...IN PRIME TIME STEDMUND.GIVEZOOKS.COM This week you can bid on auction items just outside of the school's resource center. Have you bought your allotment of raffle tickets yet. Once again we are asking all families to help in this important fundraising event. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT PARISH FUNDRAISER YOU CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK ABOVE.

BULLDOG EXPRESS BULLDOG EXPRESSS-WINTER EDITION READ ALL ABOUT IT ! Click on the link to read about all the wonderful events and happenings around St. Edmund Parish school this year!!

INK / TONER CARTRIDGES NEEDED INK/TONER CARTRIDGES & OLD CELL PHONES Please remember that we are still collecting used ink / toner cartridges and cell phones. Ask your families, friends and co-workers to donate their used ink cartridges. We receive credit for these cartridges which helps us purchase supplies for school.

SCHOOL OFFICE POLICY ON TUESDAYS Please remember that on Tuesday mornings from 8:30-11:30AM, the school office will not be accepting any calls other than those pertaining to emergency situations. Please hold any general inquiries until after 11:30AM on Tuesdays. Thank You for your understanding

BIG IDEA TEAM
Click here to see BIG Idea Team
The grand prize BIG Idea was to build a “Rooftop Playground" for kids at a school with no outside play area and came from Andrea de Avila and her team, from Oak Park, Illinois. Their BIG idea involved transforming a window-level rooftop into an eco-friendly, garden playground for students. This idea was so BIG and impressed the judges so much that it was awarded the grand prize so that Andrea and her team could make the idea into a reality. Now the team will work with Chicago Cares, an affiliate of the HandsOn Network, Scholastic’s BE BIG partner, to build her students an eco-friendly outdoor playground where they can learn AND play!
Thank you Andrea!

PARENT TEACHER COMMUNICATIONS

If you have questions or concerns that you would like to share with your child’s teacher(s), there are a number of options including our regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences in the fall and spring. Email works well if you have a question that requires a brief response from the teacher. For example, if you have a question about a project or need to inform a teacher about a planned absence, email is an effective means of communication. However, you may well have concerns that require a face-to-face meeting with a teacher. It is school policy to contact a teacher and arrange for a conference at a mutually agreed upon time. Following this procedure allows time for all parties to prepare for a conference and to reflect upon the issue(s) to be discussed and possible solutions. This process is described in some detail in the Family Handbook.

ABSENTEE PROCEDURE If your child(ren) will be out of school for any reason, PLEASE CALL THE SCHOOL OFFICE AT 708/386-5131 TO REPORT THE ABSENCE. When the student(s) return to school, a written, dated notice from the parent/guardian is required.(See pg. 12 of the Family Handbook under ATTENDANCE number 1.)

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